[Rockwell75]

Cool!

One item as a source though What's your pick?

Let's say you can have as many microSD card as you want.

If I was shipped off to space I would sell my condo, buy a Traillii and take that along with my Shanling M8.

 

[normie610]

buy a Traillii

There are quite a few on sale in the classifieds, I think 3-4 sets

 

[Rockwell75]

There are quite a few on sale in the classifieds, I think 3-4 sets

Realm of fantasy for the time being unfortunately. Even looking at a Traillii at a used price all my current IEMs collectively only come to about 60% of the cost of one-- and I've made some financial commitments come fall that have left the idea of a purchase like that eminently unfeasible at the present moment. I'm very grateful I got to hear one though

 

[normie610]

Realm of fantasy for the time being unfortunately. Even looking at a Traillii at a used price all my current IEMs collectively only come to about 60% of the cost of one-- and I've made some financial commitments come fall that have left the idea of a purchase like that eminently unfeasible at the present moment. I'm very grateful I got to hear one though

I agree, when it comes to this stratospheric price, other financial commitments should come first

 

[Rockwell75]

Oriolus Isabellae – Tuneful Little Bird of Paradise

“It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.” ~ Steve Jobs

Following is a reflective summary of my experience with the Oriolus Isabellae. This will consist of a consolidation of my thoughts & impressions of Isa in the roughly six weeks I’ve had it, as well as some follow-up thoughts including discussion on how this IEM and concomitant exposure to Oriolus, their tuning & IEMs and overall wizardry of "The Old Man" has helped redefine & sharpen my own approach to & understanding of this hobby and what it is all about for me.



TLDR: Isa can be described as very well balanced, decently technical, perfectly coherent and possessing a rich, pleasingly weighty sound with a beautiful natural timbre and a top tier bass response. However what sets it apart for me is the inspired tuning, especially the mids, the vocals and such an immaculate balance across the whole soundscape that one can always zone in on any one element of the sound without losing sight of the whole. The Isabellae to my ears can be approximated alternately as a baby Elysium or in the spirit of what I’ve always imagined a single DD tuned like Andromeda to sound like. If either of those sound appealing or if you are someone who is after perfect balance across the FR, who places a lot of stock in a natural, forward, seductive midrange with a superbly intimate vocal presentation... the Oriolus Isabellae imho are worth a serious look.

For those who want to dig into this a little more...

Personal Caveats:

1) What I am after, with the listening experience, is emotional involvement. All other factors-- technical proficiency, perceived tonal accuracy, neutrality etc.-- are secondary for me. That’s not to say that those factors don’t play a role—but for me they are simply the means to the desired end of emotional engagement.

2) The more time I spend in this hobby and the more IEMs I hear the less I feel inclined to break an IEM down into its constituent parts—bass, mids, treble, technicalities etc. More important to me than individual factors are how they all play together and coalesce into the overall gestalt of an IEM’s presentation.

3) I'm running the Isabellae, and everything else I’ve listened to in 2021, through the Shanling M8 a player which is far from neutral and in my experience has a magical effect on everything I plug into it.

4) Fundamentally to me this hobby is a form of self-discovery. This is my personal review and as such it will be expressed in such a way as is meaningful and authentic to me. Some will find my approach too subjective/wishy-washy/starry-eyed to be useful—to them I say that there are plenty of other sources of information out there that will better suit your needs. This is fundamentally a hobby for me and one of the ways I derive joy out of it is to share my personal experiences in writing. If this is at all useful/helpful/informative/entertaining to anyone, then great! If not, oh well.



Background & Preamble:

I’ve had a fixation on good music and good sound for much of my life since spending hours as a child fiddling with my dad’s-- what was in the early 70s-- pretty solid 2-channel setup and later as an adolescent saving for the latest Sony Sport Walkman I could use to play all the mix tapes I lovingly crafted on my CD player at home.

The Campfire Audio Solaris was my first real love in IEMs. This was partly because of Campfire's whole aesthetic and philosophy, which I just vibe with, but also because Solaris set the first standard for me of a mature version of my personal target, which could be described essentially as balanced with a musical mid-bass emphasis. I tried for a long time to find an IEM which for me constituted a wholesale upgrade to Solaris but for some time I never came across anything that I felt really one upped it across the board (though many came close). The Elysium was the IEM to finally pull me away from Solaris, but even then concessions were made as I had to go without dynamic bass. It seems to me now in retrospect that Oriolus and their IEMs are what I was really searching for back then but, due to a variety of factors not the least of which is Oriolus’ comparative lack of marketing and publicity, it's taken me until now to get some real exposure to them.

Oriolus is one of those brands with a unique & cool mystique to them. Every hobby has its brands that are super hyped and everybody knows and others that are more low key that you only really discover after immersing yourself in the community for a time. Oriolus is just such a brand-- they seem less concerned with fanfare and almost entirely focused on the integrity of their art. It helps that the Old Man is arguably the Masamune of tuning IEMs...without an equal perhaps anywhere in the world. Say what you will about the Traillii but there is no denying it is a masterwork of tuning, with arguably no equal right now. There's a certain satisfaction in discovering Oriolus and their unparalleled tuning despite the lack of hype and publicity as it feels like I've earned and accomplished something worthwhile after a lengthy effort-laden search.



While their overall approaches and aesthetic are distinctly & uniquely their own the more I read about Rao (IE., “The Old Man” or should I say “The Old Master”) and his approach-- which sees him eschewing industry & market norms and forging a path rooted in his own vision, with his products often generating controversy among those of a more traditional caste of mind -- the more I get the sense that he and Ken Ball are kindred spirits in a way, which is perhaps why I am so drawn to both of their respective companies. Oriolus & Campfire Audio are the Yin & Yang of my portable audio life. When I’m after stillness, connection and bliss I turn to Isa or Reborn. Incidentally I listen to my Oriolus IEMS more often while I’m at home. Conversely when I’m more active, out and about, or generally want to have a little fire & thump added to my step I invariably seek out the Dorado or Honeydew. Orilolus, Campfire and Vision Ears all seem to embody different shades of similar ideals reflected through their respective cultures. Each company uniquely embodies and reflects the ideal of visionary devoted craftsmen and each are equally dear to me.

Something I've been thinking about a lot in this latest chapter of my hobby life, in particular my decision to part ways with Elysium largely in light of Isa, is use case. Most of my listening, as in over 95% of it, is done out and about, on the go, or otherwise preoccupied with something like marking or working on the computer. When I sit right down and listen critically it's very clear all the ways that an IEM like the VE Elysium excels Isa (and absolutely everything else I've ever heard for that matter) in terms of subtle creation of an almost living breathing atmosphere, nuance in detail and naturalness, and overall technical skill. The thing is that most of the time I'm too preoccupied with whatever else is in my sphere of activity to give Elysium the attention it deserves to really do it justice.

More important to me is an IEM that can draw me in and keep the back of my mind constantly entertained and engaged in a little bubble of musical bliss whilst I go about my day. For this the thump and overall timbre of a DD is irreplaceable, even in the context of a more balanced presentation like the Isa. I took Dorado on the road with me yesterday and even with the ever-present ambient noise of worldly activity I had its nice, meaty thumping bass & rich timbre keeping me moving and engaged all day. I have done this with Elysium before too and while great it's not the same. Whereas Dorado & Isa provide a backdrop to whatever else I'm doing-- Elysium commands that I stop everything and give it all my attention so it can pull me in to the proverbial palace of Elysium and entice me with its effervescent charms. As much as I enjoy this when it happens it's not something I get to do very often due to my life and listening habits...or at least often enough that really feel I'm getting the most out of it.

All of that said let’s take a look at the Oriolus Isabellae…

Oriolus is a company I first became aware of a few years ago when @twister6 listed the Mellianus as one of his favorite IEMs. I’ve been tangentially aware of them in the time since but, given their comparative lack of marketing, hype and availability in the North American market they’ve pretty much flown under my radar…and I think a lot of people’s radar…until the of the Traillii rocked the portable audio world this year with its exorbitant cost and reputation for weaving a sufficiently potent spell that many “came to scoff but stayed to pray”.



By the time the Isabellae was announced I had become sufficiently interested in the company because of the continued astonished admiration the Traillii was commanding that dropping $600 on an entry level single DD by the company just to see what they were all about seemed like a no-brainer. Initially I had some fears that the tuning was going to be of that variety that has too much upper mids and not enough mid-bass for my liking, to the point that I even cancelled my original pre-order. Fortunately, due to the munificence of @tgx I was able to get my hands on his personal Isabellae early on to hear it for myself. Right from the moment I first heard it I was swept off my feet and won over by the graceful, inspired, alluring human tones of the Isabella.

Suffice to say all my fears proved to be unfounded and I immediately purchased one for myself. Because of my initial reticence about the tuning I went straight to some Creedence Clearwater Revival as their music is typically intolerable to me on IEMs with overloaded upper mids and not enough mid-bass. Suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised. There is a lot of clarity & definition up top as well as sufficient air and energy-- without ever veering into anything shouty, overly vibrant, peaky, piercing or otherwise fatiguing. I could see these being described as bright leaning but it's brightness done right imho-- silky smooth, airy and well extended. These are by no means a bass dominant signature but the bass is very present, thick, well defined and extended with a smooth, natural and clean timbre. Mid-bass oomph seems to dominate a little over sub-bass and lower mid presence is bang on as far as my preferences are concerned. Bass quantity seems about on par with something like the Solaris or Andromeda...but single DD coherence & magic allows Isa to get “more with less” in terms of bass my suspicion is that most people who feel that Andro and Solaris are “bass lite” should be totally fine with the level of bass in the Isabellae.

The Isabellae are a wonderfully smooth, clear, balanced and engaging listen...I often find myself excitedly flipping through my library and liking what I find each time. Standouts for me are vocals and midrange timbre in general-- I'm not usually a "vocal" guy but the texture & delivery seems totally natural, full, seductive and organic. Staging, resolution, layering etc. is good to above average but all of that stuff is secondary to me if the IEM is able to muster that "je ne sais quoi" romantic factor and sweep me off my feet. And the coherence is off the charts good...which I guess is to be expected from a single DD IEM. And just to illustrate a point-- I plugged these in for the first time thinking I'd just get a quick sense of them but they impressed me so much I was sucked in and ended up wiling away my whole lunch hour without getting around to eating lunch. Consequently I spent the whole afternoon hungry, but it was worth it.



Tuning

TLDR: Encountering Oriolus and their products has opened my eyes to the depth of the craft involved in producing & tuning IEMs and further they have imho set the bar in terms of the degree of artistic expression & mastery it is possible to express through tuning. This experience has had a catalyzing effect in various elements of my approach to and understanding of this hobby. In particular it has solidified in my mind the notion of tuning as a mode of artistic expression vs. merely as utilitarian process aimed at shaping a target curve according to some algorithm. Thus far there have been many IEMs whose tuning I’ve loved and appreciated but Rao’s peerless affinity for extracting nuance, emotion and subtle textures out of vocals; of bringing the whole upper mid-range forward without overshadowing the lower mids, sacrificing weight and body in the mid-bass, sweetness in the highs or veering into anything too shouty; of coaxing out the most subtle, dense and satisfying textures from all levels of a bass response—and all the while conjuring a signature in which one is able to fixate on any individual element of it while never losing sense an overarching gestalt and unity…has, in my mind, elevated his best work to a level approaching transcendent perfection. The quality of the tuning in Oriolus' IEMs shines through whether we’re talking about the modest $600 Isabellae or the $6K titan Traillii which presently stands unchallenged as the preeminent example of IEM sound engineering craft available anywhere on the market.

Isabellae certainly isn't the technical marvel that Traillii is...but it shares the same tuning DNA and it was only after hearing Isa for the first time that I finally felt I had some sense of the spell that had been cast upon so many Traillii users since it hit the scene in January. Technicalities alone have never had an emotional impact on me...but good tuning does. Prior to hearing Traillii for myself I would imagine how Isa-like tuning bolstered by summit fi technicalities could have the sort of effect on people that Trailli has had...in fact until actually hearing it this was the easiest way for me to make sense to myself of the whole Trailli phenomenon.

Isabellae also provides me with another example of why I shouldn't read too much into FR graphs. Prior to demoing I was worried about too much upper mid presence. In retrospect I think the excellent mid-bass presence in this IEM serves to balance out the upper mid/lower treble region...which is so deftly tuned as to offer wonderful clarity, body and air without ever being shouty, peaky, metallic or anything. Highs are usually the deal breaker for me on single DD IEMs and the highs here are wonderful. I am coming to understand that regions of the FR shouldn’t be looked at in isolation as it is how they play and interact together, along with other factors, that will determine the quality of the overall sound.

Considering how Isa is able to maintain such clarity and forwardess in the upper mids & highs without ever being (to my ears) too much, I thought about the following possibilities:

a) where and how the FR slopes into the highs

In Isa the FR has a local max in the upper mids and then slopes downward into the highs. I am wondering if it is because there is not a lot of extra energy in the highs, in the form of upward slopes and peaks that I think the mids can be as forward and energetic as they are without becoming shouty or fatiguing. Compare this to an IEM like the Cayin Fantasy that slopes upward into the highs, manifesting ultimately in a few peaks and a more inconsistent midrange presentation.

b) the type of driver

I think the natural, rich and comparatively blunt character of DD timbre allows you to get away with a degree of upper mid presence that would have a greater chance of being fatiguing through BAs.

c) how much mid-bass energy there is.

In the Isabellae the FR has its two highest points at identical local maximums in the upper mids and in the mid bass. I think there is something of a synergistic parity here as the mid-bass presence helps balance out the upper mid presence. Usually in “eastern” tuned IEMs there is more of an emphasis on sub-bass than mid-bass, which is often a lot thinner and, I suspect, leaves the upper mids standing out a bit more. The Isabellae has full bodied lower mids and the bass emphasis is skewed towards mid-bass oomph over sub-bass rumble. While the bass on the Isa extends rather well there is less presence in the sub-bass region. There is lots of upper mid presence on the Isabellae however coupled with the aforementioned mid-bass presence and the downward sloping peak free highs Isa's upper mids serve to add a nice layer of clarity and air to the sound without ever becoming shouty or overly dominant.

Tuning wise Campfire Audio IEMs at their best derive no small amount of their charm by being a little rough around the edges. They remind me a little of Jimmy Page's guitar playing-- a little wild but soooo bloody soulful. They're bombastic, dynamic, in your face and I wouldn't change a thing about them. The Isabellae, expressed in terms I am familiar with, can be described as a Campfre-like tuning but polished to perfection with many of the personality quirks ironed out. Similar in character, but less bombastic, more even keeled, but slightly less distinct-- and no less engaging or enthralling to me.

My experiences with Isabellae have gotten me thinking a lot about different tuning styles and approaches. Different people have different needs and wants when it comes to sound signatures. I have often noted that there are, very broadly speaking, two general paths along which one may approach this hobby—either via the intellect (the head) or via emotional connection (the heart). I understand that most people fall somewhere in the middle, manifesting elements of both in their preferences—but in my experience most people, ultimately, tend to fall more on one side or the other. Approaching sound reproduction from an intellectual standpoint and one tends to focus primarily on technicalities, measurable factors and making sure everything is properly represented in a magnificently consistent order. Approaching from an emotional standpoint and the focus is more on tone, timbre and how one feels when listening to the sound.

In general in this hobby I find there is a lot of overlap around how we approach listening to music and our favorite gear and how we approach food. Imagine if I were to tour the world, taking in all the different sorts of food people ate and liked and subsequently came up with a sort of generic superfood that optimized nutritional needs with people’s preferences so that it was optimally nutritious and minimally offensive. From an entirely intellectual perspective this makes total sense and seems like an optimal, sensible and efficient thing to do. However to those who approach eating from an emotional standpoint, and who want to experience food that inspires and is inspired, food that has flavor, variety, soul and substance—the idea of the act of eating food to a mere utilitarian exercise, while not without its validity, is an anathema, or at the very least somewhat dull and uninspiring.

It seems to me there are parallels with the above to tuning IEMs. IEMs, for example, that are tuned to some variant of a Harman curve are not unlike the “superfood” described in the previous example—they are designed to hit some sort of common average and be minimally offensive but by necessity they are lacking a degree of passion, individuality, inspiration and, I would argue, humanity. The genius in Oriolus’ tuning at its best in that it straddles the best of both worlds—it gives us a tuning that is instantly accessible, highly technical, minimally offensive…yet at the same time sublime and inspired. It actually got me thinking of the idea of a “single perfect tuning”…I have long thought that such a thing is not possible, but my experience with Oriolus and the inspired tuning of their IEMs…has be wondering if that conclusion was premature. If I were permitted to make a bold conjecture I would propose that the u12t is the Traillii equivalent for those whose tastes are more squarely on the “intellectual” side of the spectrum I referred to earlier.

COMPARISONS



Vs Campfire Dorado 2020

I took the Dorado 2020 on the road with me for a few hours one afternoon and listened to it for the first time after close to a week straight with Isabellae. Gone was the tonal perfection, tuneful sweetness and intimate reverie that I have come to love about the Isa-- but to make up for it the Dorado ushered me into a world more primitive and wild but addictively engaging, muscular, bombastic, soulful and fun...and ultimately no less satisfying.

Ultimately, Dorado & Isabellae are nothing alike. Isabellae is about balance, tonal & tuneful sweetness, and vocal intimacy-- Dorado is about big bass, high contrast and bombastic sound. If I had to pick a “Dynamic Duo” of my IEMs that were complimentary and spanned the greatest stretch of my tastes Dorado & Isa would be it.

Vs. Oriolus Reborn

As with Isa & Traillii there are many similarities—and a few key differences between the two Oriolus models Isa and Reborn.

Isa: more balanced, slight mid-bass emphasis over sub-bass, less technical, more romantic, intimate & coherent, a smoother listen overall, more natural timbre in the highs & mids, single DD charm.

Reborn: Maintains a nice balance but is a more fun & musical sound, sub-bass monster, less mid-bass emphasis, which allows it to get away with more bass without sacrificing mids anywhere, more technical (layering, separation & resolution is better), can be a little sharper up top

Both: Bright leaning, open seductive midrange, enticing vocals, Oriolus magic.

Vs. Oriolus Traillii



The idea of a Traillii being simply Isa on steroids is a bit trite and doesn’t come really come close to conveying the epic grandeur and experience of something near transcendent bliss that listening to the Traillii can offer…but imho it’s presently the best way to roughly approximate it. I was as perplexed as anyone come January at the onset of the Age of the Bird when people—and not just people, experienced, reliable level headed Head Fi’ers-- were throwing $6K at this thing like there was no tomorrow. Is there something to this, I often wondered, or is it simply a case of mass hysteria and purchase justification? Lacking a direct frame of reference for myself it was impossible to say. It wasn’t until I heard Isa, and its deceptively alluring, emotionally evocative and balanced tuning, that I finally got some sense of what the Bird was all about—and when I finally got to hear one it did not disappoint.

The power of the Traillii is the gentle urgency with which it pulls you into a fully realized emotionally connected 3-d soundscape-- and on that level the Isabellae falls well short. That said it’s not a pure win for the illustrious Bird. While Traillii is unquestionably the better IEM there humble Isa still has a few aces up her sleeve—including superior mid-range timbre, single driver coherence, alluring intimacy and dynamic bass.

Vs. Vision Ears Elysium



In terms of midrange openness and clarity the Isa is second only to Elysium for me. Vocals on both IEMs are a thing to behold. Both male and female vocals sound fantastic-- always in the spotlight, crystal clear and with a sweet, bodied, and lifelike timbre. Male vocals on Isa are as intimate and natural as any IEM I've heard, surpassing even VE8 for me in terms of overall presentation and I would put Isa behind only Elysium for female vocals.

On the whole Ely has a number of things going for it over Isa—and most of them are in the realm of technicalities. The 1-2 punch of the mids & highs on Elysium are, (or were, now that I’ve heard Traillii) peerless in their capacity to bring a sense of air, naturalness, clarity and breathable space to vocals & instruments. If you listen to music that really benefits from this then I’m not sure anything can really compete with Ely here until you get to the Bird.

All of that said, and as with Traillii, Isa does bring some notable strengths to the table, namely (again) single driver coherence and DD timbre. Modest Isa has a decided edge over Ely for a lot of the music I listen to.

Vs. Campfire Andromeda 2020

My best and most concise description relative to what I've heard before would be to say that Isabellae is a single DD with Andromeda like tuning filtered through the genius & inspiration of a master craftsman. Isa takes a similar "mid/vocal centric & bright leaning with a mid-bass emphasis" and, sacrifices a bit of the raw resolution and staging and adds a healthy dose of DD secret sauce. To my ears Andro, Ely and Isa all share the same central tuning philosophy expressed through different driver configurations.

Vs. Campfire Honeydew

Honeydew and Isa are like an Odd Couple of single DD IEMs. If someone had remotely similar tastes and preferences as me and wanted my rec for a perfect covering-as-many-bases-as-possible one balanced one bassy complimentary pair of IEMs for less than $1K Isa & Honeydew would be my strong rec.

Vs. KBEAR Believe

I was loaned this IEM by @tgx78 because modded it has an FR curve that looks a lot like Isa. There are indeed a lot of similarities with the sound and someone who wanted something approximating Isa at a lower cost would be well advised to take a look at these. But to my ears the tuning lacks, as ___ put it the “grace and refinement” of Isa. The vocals aren’t quite as seductive and the highs seem less finessed and controlled—I found myself reaching for the the skip button sometimes due to fatigue in the highs, which doesn’t really happen with Isa. Also I think the parity between upper and lower mids isn’t as good as the latter sometimes came off a little hollow sounding to me. All in all though the Believe are a great set of IEMs and would get a strong rec from me at their tier.

Vs. UM 3DT

I never compared these two back to back but the Isabellae from memory has much more coherent overall presentation. Both have great mid-range timbre but Isa is much more nuanced and open, especially with vocals. 3DT requires a mod without which it lacks mid-bass and tends towards shoutiness in the upper mids. Isa is perfect out of the box.

Vs. Tansio Spark

Apples and oranges. Spark has more vast and open 3-d staging, more vivid, bodied and resonant highs and is much more of a technical powerhouse. It also has a weak-sauce bass response and lacks Isa's end-end coherence, natural timbre and seductive midrange tuning.

Vs. Cayin Fantasy

The Fantasy has a lot in common with the Isa from the bass to upper mids. Fantasy has a slight sub-bass emphasis so you get better perception of extension down low but you miss a bit of oomph and body in the mid-bass and lower mids. Female vocals are nice and sweet on the Fantasy and the mid-range has decent speed and texture. I found the mids to be reasonably forward, however on the whole not quite as clean, refined and polished they are on the Isabellae-- in particular with vocals. Male vocals are fuller and more natural on the Isa whereas on the Fantasy they seem a little...chesty or something sometimes. On the whole though the bass & mids of the Fantasy and the Isabellae are way more similar than different...it's the highs where the two IEMs are the most different. Isbella feels much more even keeled across the FR and the graphs of Isabellae confirm this-- the highest point of Isa's FR is in the upper mids with the trend being generally downward through the highs. This maintains balance keeps Isa free from peakiness, disjointedness, sibilance, and other issues stemming from overloaded treble.

I haven't seen graphs of Fantasy yet but if I had to guess based on what I've heard I would say that the highs, instead of sloping gradually downward following the elevated upper mids as they do in the Isa, instead slope upward. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an 8K or so peak in there somewhere. For my music I would say like 70% of the time the Fantasy sounds great, and notwithstanding Isa's cleaner mids and more seductive vocals, it stands neck and neck with Isabellae for the most part. A big difference I think is that the aim of Cayin's tuning seems to be more towards a clean and airy sound whereas Isabellae seems more about intimacy and emotional connection

In Summary

The Oriolus Isabellae is the IEM that currently owns my heart. Sublime coherence and timbre across the board, summit fi bass response and along with the Traillii about as close to a perfect tuning overall as my ears have ever beheld.

Most of my IEM experience so far has been with hybrids or IEMs with multiple drivers. I think at least some of the magic in this IEM derives from its single DD coherence-- it gives the whole signature an underlying cohesiveness, completeness & unity that is simply not possible with hybrid or even multiple BA setups. And there is the tuning...so tuneful, so seductive, balanced, well tempered and sweet...it really is like being charmed by a little bird on a tree outside, capturing your attention with its simple yet sweet and melodious musings.

The Isabellae has really impressed me with its masterful tuning-- from bass to highs the signature is wonderfully balanced and oh so refined. When you're listening to it your mind is drawn to the signature as a whole but your heart is drawn into the midrange...not since Elysium have I heard an IEM that so easily draws me in to the heart and soul of what I'm listening to. Further,

In a world that has seemingly gone insane, and in a hobby where more and more IEMs are coming out that push the price to quite frankly ludicrous levels I am quite I relieved that I can derive seemingly total and indefinite satisfaction from such a modestly priced and masterful creation as the Oriolus Isabellea. I've said it before but here is conclusive proof you don't need to break $1K to attain TOTL sound. I could take this as my only IEM and be totally happy for a very long time.



Epilogue

For reference here are my current 5 faves and most recent attempt at a tiering:

Satya Loka (Divine Realm)
1) Oriolus Traillii

Tapa Loka (Enlightened Realm)
2) Oriolus Isabellae
3) Vision Ears Elysium

Jana Loka (Earthly Realm)
4) Oriolus Reborn
5) Campfire Dorado 2020

 

[HarlanDraka]

Goosebumps when listening to this with Reborn

 

[Rockwell75]

Goosebumps when listening to this with Reborn

I grabbed Reborn this morning after spending most of the past 2 days listening to Isa and I'm enjoying it very much.

This is sounding rather divine to me at the moment:

Edit: and holy balls now this:

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Hopefully Branson packs a few more, but I'm taking the 220 MAX and my Thummim, with Satin Audio’s Zeus.

 

[HarlanDraka]

I grabbed Reborn this morning after spending most of the past 2 days listening to Isa and I'm enjoying it very much.

This is sounding rather divine to me at the moment:

Edit: and holy balls now this:

An iem released in 2016 that still amazes after 5 years from the release. New is NOT always better ahah

 

[Rockwell75]

An iem released in 2016 that still amazes after 5 years from the release. New is NOT always better ahah

I think MKii came out in 2016 and Reborn in 2018 in the same general era as the Solaris, IER Z1R etc. Correct me if I'm wrong though. It's still a gem however, regardless of when it was released.

 

[HarlanDraka]

I think MKii came out in 2016 and Reborn in 2018 in the same general era as the Solaris, IER Z1R etc. Correct me if I'm wrong though. It's still a gem however, regardless of when it was released.

You are correct but I consider Reborn more or less the same as mk ii sonically And anyway, as far as I remember drivers etc. did not change between the 2 version

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Oriolus Isabellae – Tuneful Little Bird of Paradise

“It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.” ~ Steve Jobs

Following is a reflective summary of my experience with the Oriolus Isabellae. This will consist of a consolidation of my thoughts & impressions of Isa in the roughly six weeks I’ve had it, as well as some follow-up thoughts including discussion on how this IEM and concomitant exposure to Oriolus, their tuning & IEMs and overall wizardry of The Old Man has helped redefine & sharpen my own approach to & understanding of this hobby and what it is all about for me.



TLDR: Isa can be described as very well balanced, decently technical, perfectly coherent and possessing a rich, pleasingly weighty sound with a beautiful natural timbre. However what sets it apart for me is the inspired tuning, especially the mids, the vocals and such an immaculate balance across the whole soundscape that one can always zone in on any one element of the sound without losing sight of the whole. The Isabellae to my ears can be approximated alternately as a baby Elysium or in the spirit of what I’ve always imagined a single DD tuned like Andromeda to sound like. If either of those sound appealing or if you are someone who is after perfect balance across the FR, who places a lot of stock in a natural, forward, seductive midrange with a superbly intimate vocal presentation... the Oriolus Isabellae imho are worth a serious look.

For those who want to dig into this a little more...

Personal Caveats:

1) What I am after, with the listening experience, is emotional involvement. All other factors-- technical proficiency, perceived tonal accuracy, neutrality etc.-- are secondary for me. That’s not to say that those factors don’t play a role—but for me they are simply the means to the desired end of emotional engagement.

2) The more time I spend in this hobby and the more IEMs I hear the less I feel inclined to break an IEM down into its constituent parts—bass, mids, treble, technicalities etc. More important to me than individual factors are how they all play together and coalesce into the overall gestalt of an IEM’s presentation.

3) I'm running the Isabellae, and everything else I’ve listened to in 2021, through the Shanling M8 a player which is far from neutral and in my experience has a magical effect on everything I plug into it.

4) Fundamentally to me this hobby is a form of self-discovery. This is my personal review and as such it will be expressed in such a way as is meaningful and authentic to me. Some will find my approach too subjective/wishy-washy/starry-eyed to be useful—to them I say that there are plenty of other sources of information out there that will better suit your needs. This is fundamentally a hobby for me and one of the ways I derive joy out of it is to share my personal experiences in writing. If this is at all useful/helpful/informative/entertaining to anyone, then great! If not, oh well.



Background & Preamble:

I’ve had a fixation on good music and good sound for much of my life since spending hours as a child fiddling with my dad’s-- what was in the early 70s-- a pretty solid 2-channel setup and later saving for the latest Sony Sport Walkman I could use to play all the mix tapes I lovingly crafted on my CD player at home.

The Campfire Audio Solaris was my first real love in IEMs-- partly because of Campfire's whole aesthetic and philosophy, which I just vibe with, but also because Solaris set the first standard for me of a mature version of my personal target, which could be described essentially as balanced with a musical mid-bass emphasis. I tried for a long time to find an IEM which for me constituted a wholesale upgrade to Solaris but for some time I never came across anything that I felt really one upped it across the board (though many came close). The Elysium was the IEM to finally pull me away from Solaris, but even then concessions were made as I had to go without dynamic bass. It seems to me now in retrospect that Oriolus and their IEMs are what I was really searching for back then but, due to a variety of factors not the least of which is Oriolus’ comparative lack of marketing and publicity, it's taken me until now to get some real exposure to them.

Oriolus is one of those brands with a unique & cool mystique to them. Every hobby has its brands that are super hyped and everybody knows and others that are more low key that you only really discover after immersing yourself in the community for a time. Oriolus is just such a brand-- they seem less concerned with fanfare and almost entirely focused on the integrity of their art. It helps that the Old Man is arguably the Masamune of tuning IEMs...without an equal perhaps anywhere in the world. Say what you will about the Traillii but there is no denying it is a masterwork of tuning, with arguably no equal right now. There's a certain satisfaction in discovering Oriolus and their unparalleled tuning despite the lack of hype and publicity as it feels like I've earned and accomplished something worthwhile after a lengthy effort-laden search.



While their overall approaches and aesthetic are distinctly & uniquely their own the more I read about Rao (IE., “The Old Man” or should I say “The Old Master”) and his approach-- which sees him eschewing industry & market norms and forging a path rooted in his own vision, with his products often generating controversy among those of a more traditional caste of mind -- the more I get the sense that he and Ken Ball are kindred spirits in a way, which is perhaps why I am so drawn to both of their respective companies. Oriolus & Campfire Audio are the Yin & Yang of my portable audio life. When I’m after stillness, connection and bliss I turn to Isa or Reborn. Incidentally I listen to my Oriolus IEMS more often while I’m at home. Conversely when I’m more active, out and about, or generally want to have a little fire & thump added to my step I invariably seek out the Dorado or Honeydew. Orilolus, Campfire and Vision Ears all seem to embody different shades of similar ideals reflected through their respective cultures. Each company uniquely embodies and reflects the ideal of visionary devoted craftsmen and each are equally dear to me.

Something I've been think about a lot in this latest chapter of my hobby life, in particular my decision to part ways with Elysium largely in light of Isa, is use case. Most of my listening, as in over 95% of it, is done out and about, on the go, or otherwise preoccupied with something like marking or working on the computer. When I sit right down and listen critically it's very clear all the ways that an IEM like the VE Elysium excels Isa (and absolutely everything else I've ever heard for that matter) in terms of subtle creation of an almost living breathing atmosphere, nuance in detail and naturalness, and overall technical skill. The thing is that most of the time I'm too preoccupied with whatever else is in my sphere of activity to give Elysium the attention it deserves to really do it justice.

More important to me is an IEM that can draw me in and keep the back of my mind constantly entertained and engaged in a little bubble of musical bliss whilst I go about my day. For this the thump and overall timbre of a DD is irreplaceable, even in the context of a more balanced presentation like the Isa. I took Dorado on the road with me yesterday and even with the ever-present ambient noise of worldly activity I had its nice, meaty thumping bass & rich timbre keeping me moving and engaged all day. I have done this with Elysium before too and while great it's not the same. Whereas Dorado & Isa provide a backdrop to whatever else I'm doing-- Elysium commands that I stop everything and give it all my attention so it can pull me in to the proverbial palace of Elysium and entice me with its effervescent charms. As much as I enjoy this when it happens it's not something I get to do very often due to my life and listening habits...or at least often enough that really feel I'm getting the most out of it.

All of that said let’s take a look at the Oriolus Isabellae…

Oriolus is a company I first became aware of a few years ago when @twister6 listed the Mellianus as one of his favorite IEMs. I’ve been tangentially aware of them in the time since but, given their comparative lack of marketing, hype and availability in the North American market they’ve pretty much flown under my radar…and I think a lot of people’s radar…until the of the Traillii rocked the portable audio world this year with its exorbitant cost and reputation for weaving a sufficiently potent spell that many “came to scoff but stayed to pray”.



By the time the Isabellae was announced I had become sufficiently interested in the company because of the continued astonished admiration the Traillii was commanding that dropping $600 on an entry level single DD by the company just to see what they were all about seemed like a no-brainer. Initially I had some fears that the tuning was going to be of that variety that has too much upper mids and not enough mid-bass for my liking, to the point that I even cancelled my original pre-order. Fortunately, due to the munificence of @tgx I was able to get my hands on his personal Isabellae early on to hear it for myself. Right from the moment I first heard it I was swept off my feet and won over by the graceful, inspired, alluring human tones of the Isabella.

Suffice to say all my fears proved to be unfounded and I immediately purchased one for myself. Because of my fears about the tuning I went straight to some Creedence Clearwater Revival as their music is typically intolerable to me on IEMs with overloaded upper mids and not enough mid-bass-- suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised. There is a lot of clarity & definition up top as well as sufficient air and energy-- without ever veering into anything shouty, overly vibrant, peaky, piercing or otherwise fatiguing. I could see these being described as bright leaning but it's brightness done right imho-- silky smooth, airy and well extended. These are by no means a bass dominant signature but the bass is very present, thick, well defined and extended with a smooth, natural and clean timbre. Mid-bass oomph seems to dominate a little over sub-bass and lower mid presence is bang on as far as my preferences are concerned. Bass quantity seems about on par with something like the Solaris or Andromeda...but single DD coherence & magic allows Isa to get “more with less” in terms of bass my suspicion is that most people who feel that Andro and Solaris are “bass lite” should be totally fine with the level of bass in the Isabellae.

The Isabellae are a wonderfully smooth, clear, balanced and engaging listen...I often find myself excitedly flipping through my library and liking what I find each time. Standouts for me are vocals and midrange timbre in general-- I'm not usually a "vocal" guy but the texture & delivery seems totally natural, full, seductive and organic. Staging, resolution, layering etc. is good to above average but all of that stuff is secondary to me if the IEM is able to muster that "je ne sais quoi" romantic factor and sweep me off my feet. And the coherence is off the charts good...which I guess is to be expected from a single DD IEM. And just to illustrate a point-- I plugged these in for the first time thinking I'd just get a quick sense of them but they impressed me so much I was sucked in and ended up wiling away my whole lunch hour without getting around to eating lunch. Consequently I spent the whole afternoon hungry, but it was worth it.



Tuning

TLDR: Encountering Oriolus and their products has opened my eyes to the depth of the craft involved in producing & tuning IEMs and further they have imho set the bar in terms the degree of artistic expression & mastery it is possible to express. This experience has had a catalyzing effect in various elements of my approach to and understanding of this hobby. In particular it has solidified in my mind the notion of tuning as a mode of artistic expression vs. merely as utilitarian process aimed at shaping a target curve according to some algorithm. Thus far there have been many IEMs whose tuning I’ve loved and appreciated but Rao’s peerless affinity for extracting nuance, emotion and subtle textures out of vocals; of bringing the whole upper mid-range forward without overshadowing the lower mids, sacrificing weight and body in the mid-bass, sweetness in the highs or veering into anything too shouty; of coaxing out the most subtle, dense and satisfying textures from all levels of a bass response—and all the while conjuring a signature in which one is able to fixate on any individual element of it while never losing sense an overarching gestalt and unity…has, in my mind, elevated his best work to a level approaching transcendent perfection. The quality of the tuning in Oriolus' IEMs shines through whether we’re talking about the modest $600 Isabellae or the $6K titan Traillii which presently stands unchallenged as the preeminent example of IEM sound engineering craft available anywhere on the market.

Isabellae certainly isn't the technical marvel that Traillii is...but it shares the same tuning DNA and it was only after hearing Isa for the first time that I finally felt I had some sense of the spell that had been cast upon so many Traillii users since it hit the scene in January. Technicalities alone have never had an emotional impact on me...but good tuning does. Prior to hearing Traillii for myself I would imagine how Isa-like tuning bolstered by summit fi technicalities could have the sort of effect on people that Trailli has had...in fact until actually hearing it this was the easiest way for me to make sense to myself of the whole Trailli phenomenon.

Isabellae provides me with another example of why I shouldn't read too much into FR graphs. Prior to demoing I was worried about too much upper mid presence. In retrospect I think the excellent mid-bass presence in this IEM serves to balance out the upper mid/lower treble region...which is so deftly tuned as to offer wonderful clarity, body and air without ever being shouty, peaky, metallic or anything. Highs are usually the deal breaker for me on single DD IEMs and the highs here are wonderful. I am coming to understand that regions of the FR shouldn’t be looked at in isolation as it is how they play and interact together, along with other factors, that will determine the quality of the overall sound.

Considering how Isa is able to maintain such clarity and forwardess in the upper mids & highs without ever being (to my ears) too much, I thought about the following possibilities:

a) where and how the FR slopes into the highs

In Isa the FR has a local max in the upper mids and then slopes downward into the highs. I am wondering if it is because there is not a lot of extra energy in the highs, in the form of upward slopes and peaks that I think the mids can be as forward and energetic as they are without becoming shouty or fatiguing. Compare this to an IEM like the Cayin Fantasy that slopes upward into the highs, manifesting ultimately in a few peaks and a more inconsistent midrange presentation.

b) the type of driver

I think the natural, rich and comparatively blunt character of DD timbre allows you to get away with a degree of upper mid presence that would have a greater chance of being fatiguing through BAs.

c) how much mid-bass energy there is.

In the Isabellae the FR has its two highest points at identical local maximums in the upper mids and in the mid bass. I think there is something of a synergistic parity here as the mid-bass presence helps balance out the upper mid presence. Usually in “eastern” tuned IEMs there is more of an emphasis on sub-bass than mid-bass, which is often a lot thinner and, I suspect, leaves the upper mids standing out a bit more. I understand this is the point of such tuning but it's never been something that's resonated with me or much of what I listen to...for which Isabellae seems to be a match made in heaven for the most part.

Tuning wise Campfire Audio IEMs at their best derive no small amount of their charm by being a little rough around the edges. They remind me a little of Jimmy Page's guitar playing-- a little wild but soooo bloody soulful. They're bombastic, dynamic, in your face and I wouldn't change a thing about them. The Isabellae, expressed in terms I am familiar with, can be described as a Campfre-like tuning but polished to perfection with many of the personality quirks ironed out. Similar in character, but less bombastic, more even keeled, but slightly less distinct-- and no less engaging or enthralling to me.

My experiences with Isabellae have gotten me thinking a lot about different tuning styles and approaches. Different people have different needs and wants when it comes to sound signatures. I have often noted that there are, very broadly speaking, two general paths along which one may approach this hobby—either via the intellect (the head) or via emotional connection (the heart). I understand that most people fall somewhere in the middle, manifesting elements of both in their preferences—but in my experience most people, ultimately, tend to fall more on one side or the other. Approaching sound reproduction from an intellectual standpoint and one tends to focus primarily on technicalities, measurable factors and making sure everything is properly represented in a magnificently consistent order. Approaching from an emotional standpoint and the focus is more on tone, timbre and how one feels when listening to the sound.

In general in this hobby I find there is a lot of overlap around how we approach listening to music and our favorite gear and how we approach food. Imagine if I were to tour the world, taking in all the different sorts of food people ate and liked and subsequently came up with a sort of generic superfood that optimized nutritional needs with people’s preferences so that it was optimally nutritious and minimally offensive. From an entirely intellectual perspective this makes total sense and seems like an optimal, sensible and efficient thing to do. However to those who approach eating from an emotional standpoint, and who want to experience food that inspires and is inspired, food that has flavor, variety, soul and substance—the idea of the act of eating food to a mere utilitarian exercise, while not without its validity, is an anathema, or at the very least somewhat dull and uninspiring.

It seems to me there are parallels with the above to tuning IEMs. IEMs, for example, that are tuned to some variant of a Harman curve are not unlike the “superfood” described in the previous example—they are designed to hit some sort of common average and be minimally offensive but by necessity they are lacking a degree of passion, individuality, inspiration and, I would argue, humanity. The genius in Oriolus’ tuning at its best in that it straddles the best of both worlds—it gives us a tuning that is instantly accessible, highly technical, minimally offensive…yet at the same time sublime and inspired. It actually got me thinking of the idea of a “single perfect tuning”…I have long thought that such a thing is not possible, but my experience with Oriolus and the inspired tuning of their IEMs…has be wondering if that conclusion was premature. If I were permitted to make a bold conjecture I would propose that the u12t is the Traillii equivalent for those whose tastes are more squarely on the “intellectual” side of the spectrum I referred to earlier.

COMPARISONS



Vs Dorado

I took the Dorado 2020 on the road with me for a few hours one afternoon and listened to it for the first time after close to a week straight with Isabellae. Gone was the tonal perfection, tuneful sweetness and intimate reverie that I have come to love about the Isa-- but to make up for it the Dorado ushered me into a world more primitive and wild but addictively engaging, muscular, bombastic, soulful and fun...and ultimately no less satisfying.

Ultimately, Dorado & Isabellae are nothing alike. Isabellae is about balance, tonal & tuneful sweetness, and vocal intimacy-- Dorado is about big bass, high contrast and bombastic sound. If I had to pick a “Dynamic Duo” of my IEMs that were complimentary and spanned the greatest stretch of my tastes Dorado & Isa would be it.

Vs. Reborn

As with Isa & Traillii there are many similarities—and a few key differences between the two Oriolus models Isa and Reborn.

Isa: more balanced, slight mid-bass emphasis over sub-bass, less technical, more romantic, intimate & coherent, a smoother listen overall, more natural timbre in the highs & mids, single DD charm.

Reborn: Maintains a nice balance but is a more fun & musical sound, sub-bass monster, less mid-bass emphasis, which allows it to get away with more bass without sacrificing mids anywhere, more technical (layering, separation & resolution is better), can be a little sharper up top

Both: Bright leaning, open seductive midrange, enticing vocals, Oriolus magic.

Vs. Traillii



The idea of a Traillii being simply Isa on steroids is a bit trite and doesn’t come really come close to conveying the epic grandeur and experience of something near transcendent bliss that listening to the Traillii can offer…but imho it’s presently the best way to roughly approximate it. I was as perplexed as anyone come January at the onset of the Age of the Bird when people—and not just people, experienced, reliable level headed Head Fi’ers-- were throwing $6K at this thing like there was no tomorrow. Is there something to this, I often wondered, or is it simply a case of mass hysteria and purchase justification? Lacking a direct frame of reference for myself it was impossible to say. It wasn’t until I heard Isa, and its deceptively alluring, emotionally evocative and balanced tuning, that I finally got some sense of what the Bird was all about—and when I finally got to hear one it did not disappoint.

The power of the Traillii is the gentle urgency with which it pulls you into a fully realized emotionally connected 3-d soundscape-- and on that level the Isabellae falls well short. That said it’s not a pure win for the illustrious Bird. While Traillii is unquestionably the better IEM there humble Isa still has a few aces up her sleeve—including superior mid-range timbre, single driver coherence, alluring intimacy and dynamic bass.

Vs. Elysium



In terms of midrange openness and clarity the Isa is second only to Elysium for me. Vocals on both IEMs are a thing to behold. Both male and female vocals sound fantastic-- always in the spotlight, crystal clear and with a sweet, bodied, and lifelike timbre. Male vocals on Isa are as intimate and natural as any IEM I've heard, surpassing even VE8 for me in terms of overall presentation and I would put Isa behind only Elysium for female vocals.

On the whole Ely has a number of things going for it over Isa—and most of them are in the realm of technicalities. The 1-2 punch of the mids & highs on Elysium are, (or were, now that I’ve heard Traillii) peerless in their capacity to bring a sense of air, naturalness, clarity and breathable space to vocals & instruments. If you listen to music that really benefits from this then I’m not sure anything can really compete with Ely here until you get to the Bird.

All of that said, and as with Traillii, Isa does bring some notable strengths to the table, namely (again) single driver coherence and DD timbre. Modest Isa has a decided edge over Ely for a lot of the music I listen to.

Vs. Andromeda 2020

My best and most concise description relative to what I've heard before would be to say that Isabellae is a single DD with Andromeda like tuning filtered through the genius & inspiration of a master craftsman. Isa takes a similar "mid/vocal centric & bright leaning with a mid-bass emphasis" and, sacrifices a bit of the raw resolution and staging and adds a healthy dose of DD secret sauce. To my ears Andro, Ely and Isa all share the same central tuning philosophy expressed through different driver configurations.

Vs. Honeydew

Honeydew and Isa are like an Odd Couple of single DD IEMs. If someone had remotely similar tastes and preferences as me and wanted my rec for a perfect covering-as-many-bases-as-possible one balanced one bassy complimentary pair of IEMs for less than $1K Isa & Honeydew would be my strong rec.

Vs. KBEAR Believe

I was loaned this IEM by @tgx78 because modded it has an FR curve that looks a lot like Isa. There are indeed a lot of similarities with the sound and someone who wanted something approximating Isa at a lower cost would be well advised to take a look at these. But to my ears the tuning lacks, as ___ put it the “grace and refinement” of Isa. The vocals aren’t quite as seductive and the highs seem less finessed and controlled—I found myself reaching for the the skip button sometimes due to fatigue in the highs, which doesn’t really happen with Isa. Also I think the parity between upper and lower mids isn’t as good as the latter sometimes came off a little hollow sounding to me. All in all though the Believe are a great set of IEMs and would get a strong rec from me at their tier.

To summarize: The Oriolus Isabellae is the IEM that currently owns my heart. Sublime coherence and timbre across the board, summit fi bass response and along with the Traillii about as close to a perfect tuning overall as my ears have ever beheld.

Most of my IEM experience so far has been with hybrids or IEMs with multiple drivers. I think at least some of the magic in this IEM derives from its single DD coherence-- it gives the whole signature an underlying cohesiveness, completeness & unity that is simply not possible with hybrid or even multiple BA setups. And there is the tuning...so tuneful, so seductive, balanced, well tempered and sweet...it really is like being charmed by a little bird on a tree outside, capturing your attention with its simple yet sweet and melodious musings. In a world that has seemingly gone insane, and in a hobby where more and more IEMs are coming out that push the price to quite frankly ludicrous levels I am quite I relieved that I can derive seemingly total and indefinite satisfaction from such a modestly priced and masterful creation as the Oriolus Isabellea. I've said it before but here is conclusive proof you don't need to break $1K to attain TOTL sound. I could take this as my only IEM and be totally happy for a very long time.

Dude, you are such a great story teller. Great review. This is how you sell someone on an IEM. I hate you though. I haven't bought mine yet and now I won't be able to buy one cheap.

This review supports my assertion that people buy on emotion. They are seeking an emotional connection with their purchases and not data. The data is just justification for them to make the emotional purchase. But, they are seeking the emotional connection in the sales process.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Had a little time to myself this morning, and thought I'd try something different with the Elysium, so I wired it up with Eletech’s Plato, and my trusty M8 (with deference to the M8 sifu, @Rockwell75. Man, what a great combination, listened to Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough/Cantice, I've heard this song a thousand times, starting with my Aunt Kathy’s console/record player in 1968 to the present. I know that “I’m hearing things I've never heard, but here it's “times infinity!” Their layering and depth are truly spectacular!

 

[ranfan]

@Rockwell75 Thank you for sharing your thought and ideas. A thoroughly enjoyable read. I really like how wide-reaching this article branches. From tuning philosophy or style, technical analysis, to personal matchability (even comparison to food and flavors). Very interesting

The term 'old' comes from the letter '老'. And in east Asia 'old man' can be literally translated as '老人' (roujin in Japanese or laoren in Mandarin)

Spoiler

If you watch a lot of Kung-fu movies, the term 'shifu' or master is going to come out often. And it is very closely related to the word 'laoshi' because the 'shi' part shares the same letter, which means expert or a master. The greybeard seems to be revered here in the east, with their 'talk less do more' attitude. And it makes you wonder whether something more advanced with state-of-the-art technology could always beat a masterful tuning using old trusty methods. Personally I think that's not always the case..

I believe IEMs are merely tools or lenses to access music portably. They are a mean to a rendering of a recording, and via that mean we're able to enjoy music. And when it comes to enjoyment, it's not all subjective in my opinion. There needs to be one part fidelity or faithful reproduction of a sound (i.e. technicalities), and one part texture of the tone/timbre (essences). I think a portrayal of a sound can be alikened to a painting, in that there is the outline which defines an image, and there is the color of said image. It is what makes something beautiful in my humble opinion, the blending of both symmetry and asymmetry.. Because a color is just that, a color. And there is no absolutely right color, it all depends on the perceiver and their estimation

An IEM could also be alikened to a watch. In that despite them having the same function (i.e. playing music, showing time), the manner of which they perform differ according to each their own style. Why is the more expensive watches so expensive, isn't due to the fact that they're capable of showing time significantly 'better' to anyone from any culture viewing it, if that's the case then digital watches should be more expensive than mechanical ones. The way I see it it's more of the artistic and historical value attached to each. It really all comes down to preferences in the end. Just as how I view my $10 digital watch as 'better' in a sense, than a $2000 mechanical one. Different people like different things don't they

Spoiler

My current favourite, Casio F-91

 

[SBranson]

Had a little time to myself this morning, and thought I'd try something different with the Elysium, so I wired it up with Eletech’s Plato, and my trusty M8 (with deference to the M8 sifu, @Rockwell75. Man, what a great combination, listened to Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough/Cantice, I've heard this song a thousand times, starting with my Aunt Kathy’s console/record player in 1968 to the present. I know that “I’m hearing things I've never heard, but here it's “times infinity!” Their layering and depth are truly spectacular!

This was my set up for 4 months.. not sure if I shouldn’t have just stayed there.. it’s a fantastic synergy.