[unfitstew]

Focal Clear. If you can still get them, especially under $1000. You won’t regret it.

Yeah! It is a fantastic fun headphone. Only warning is the Clears can be fatiguing with its treble. You can get the OG (the one I prefer) for $600-$800 used or $900 new. I have many more expensive headphones and I still use it regularly. To be honest one of the biggest reasons I use it and the HD800s more than most my headphones is because they are very comfy.

 

[Rockwell75]

So in your opinion is it safer to pick the bird if I want a more balanced tuning than the Storm then?

What do you mean by "balanced tuning"? These two are an interesting comparison. Both are BA/e-stat hybrids, both are noteworthy for their transparency and both are pretty balanced I think? The biggest difference is that Storm is a more dryer, technical & utilitarian presentation overall whereas Oriolus' house sound is largely about evoking emotion & naturalness in the midrange/vocals. Storm has more of a focus on tech with its bass response...but honestly the Traillii is pretty damn good in that department as far as BA bass goes. Traillii has more mid-bass if I remember correctly.

On another note, the impatience begins....

Sweet man congrats!

Hey guys! Here's my review of Custom Art's Hybrid 3 Pro 2DD + 1 Planar Driver hybrid IEM. Quite a nice addition to Custom Art's new lineup of IEMs. Even more fun to see the interesting driver configs they're experimenting with to tune some very interesting signatures and providing Knowles filter based tuning kits to fine tune the bass shelf to one's liking (which aren't the easiest to handle but do the job quite well). Enjoy the read! Let me know if you have any questions for me. Cheers!

Custom Art Hybrid 3 Pro

​

Great news. Definitely a fan of this brand. I wonder how the DD/planar drivers will intermix given the relative speed of the different drivers.

AP and Phonix LE just aren't that easy to demo for most people.

True, but with the Phonix OG and other UM IEMs there is at least a solid bassline of what to expect.

Can anyone who has heard both Fei Wan and Amber Pearl confirm that they are similar, that Fei Wan is a similar signature but with DD bass?

I didn't think they were anything alike. Fei Wan struck me as something of a more v-shaped Jewel. Bass and highs stood out to me and I found there to be quite a lot of energy up top-- too much for me in fact. Amber Pearl was not as energetic up top and just sucked me right into the midrange.

Luxury Precision LP6 or the elevated variant, LP6 Ti or the ultimate LP6 7AE. I think @Rockwell75 and @Damz87 can corroborate their experiences of LP6 DAPs sharing such qualities you desire.

My review of LP6 https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/luxury-precision-lp6-series.25314/reviews#review-26396

LP6 still takes the crown from me in terms of SQ from every player I've heard save the DMP. The only caveat with it is the software.

The most obvious would be the brand new Bonneville at $1600, but a sleeper choice might also be the CFA Dorado 2020, then $1200, now can be found at $600. This iem also provides what you're looking for, and @Rockwell75 has both and is an expert on CFA sound, so maybe he'll give a few words on how Dorado fairs today.

Dorado 2020 is one of my favorite IEMs, but like Trifecta one I rec cautiously, in this case because of its quirky midrange presentation. Ultimately not an IEM I would rec for someone specifically looking for "Andromeda plus bass". Bonneville is 100% that, however.

Somehow, when I take a break, this thread moves along. I’m 100 pages behind and catching up. Not sure if the poll has ended but here’s my top 3 right now.

Had a bit of shake up, hate and then love. Initially didn’t like the timbre of Ragnar mids and over time faded away. Love the precision, dynamics, and realism.

MM has such wonderful mids and I love the out of head imaging from bcd. Traillii still the all rounder but taking less time these days

1) Noble Viking Ragnar
2) UM Multiverse Mentor
3) Orioles Traillii

Source: LP6Ti7AE or 320Max

Welcome back my friend, there will always be other polls

 

[McCheese]

Yeah! It is a fantastic fun headphone. Only warning is the Clears can be fatiguing with its treble. You can get the OG (the one I prefer) for $600-$800 used or $900 new. I have many more expensive headphones and I still use it regularly. To be honest one of the biggest reasons I use it and the HD800s more than most my headphones is because they are very comfy.

I have heard the Elex is a fantastic alternative that to some people sounds just as good if not better.

 

[RonaldS86]

What do you mean by "balanced tuning"? These two are an interesting comparison. Both are BA/e-stat hybrids, both are noteworthy for their transparency and both are pretty balanced I think? The biggest difference is that Storm is a more dryer, technical & utilitarian presentation overall whereas Oriolus' house sound is largely about evoking emotion & naturalness in the midrange. Storm has more of a focus on tech with its bass response...but honestly the Traillii is pretty damn good in that department as far as BA bass goes. Traillii has more mid-bass if I remember correctly.

Ahh okay, so based on this I think I lean towards Trailli then. By balanced I mean like a W shaped tuning maybe? I'm not good at how to describe it, my bad
I prefer IEM with a warm signature than the neutral reference just like my DAP goes from AK to Cayin.
Thanks for your response

 

[unfitstew]

I have heard the Elex is a fantastic alternative that to some people sounds just as good if not better.

Yeah. I prefer Clear myself but I will say in the end it is preference. Clear has better technicalities but some may prefer the Elex tonality. Which tonality is arguably more important anyways to an extent for out of box experience.

Outside my own preference for the Clears I have heard that the Elex has driver failure issues which would put me off from buying one. Though Clears do have a pretty crappy headband that can break with use.

 

[Rockwell75]

Ahh okay, so based on this I think I lean towards Trailli then. By balanced I mean like a W shaped tuning maybe?

I think they're both peraps different flavors of that. Storm probably has more of a sub-bass emphasis and Traillii from memory has more mid/upper bass presence and is maybe a little more subdued in the upper regions.

I'm not good at how to describe it, my bad

All good we all struggle with this terminology sometimes.

I prefer IEM with a warm signature than the neutral reference

Yeah just based on this Traillii is probably a safer bet.

 

[chickenmcnug]

I prefer IEM with a warm signature than the neutral reference just like my DAP goes from AK to Cayin.

I'm sure some people have mentioned this but the OG Phoenix is pretty much that.

VE are the kings of that signature imo. Though I have never heard Traillii.

Then again, there's the upcoming VEX that I'm really eager to demo, dealers here mentioned they should be in next month.

 

[RonaldS86]

I'm sure some people have mentioned this but the OG Phoenix is pretty much that.

VE are the kings of that signature imo. Though I have never heard Traillii.

Then again, there's the upcoming VEX that I'm really eager to demo, dealers here mentioned they should be in next month.

My experience with VE product is only Elysium and while I like their product presentation, I can't say much about their sound. I'm unable to enjoy it due to bad ergonomics so I can't put it on my ear for too long. The nozzle is too big for me

 

[unfitstew]

My experience with VE product is only Elysium and while I like their product presentation, I can't say much about their sound. I'm unable to enjoy it due to bad ergonomics so I can't put it on my ear for too long. The nozzle is too big for me

That really is unfortunate. Comfort is part of why I traded my Odyssey for an LCD-R so I feel you.

 

[Simpeler]

AP and Phonix LE just aren't that easy to demo for most people.

@Sajid Amit Still waiting for that Hugo2 vs Sony comparison. = P

Can anyone who has heard both Fei Wan and Amber Pearl confirm that they are similar, that Fei Wan is a similar signature but with DD bass? I seem to have heard something to that effect.

I think it really depends on where you live and what your local dealer has to offer.

Here in Amsterdam VE is easy to demo because the dealer has them in stock almost always.

But almost all asian brands are hard to audition because no one is selling them.

 

[deep2285]

Ahh okay, so based on this I think I lean towards Trailli then. By balanced I mean like a W shaped tuning maybe? I'm not good at how to describe it, my bad
I prefer IEM with a warm signature than the neutral reference just like my DAP goes from AK to Cayin.
Thanks for your response

I think what you want is warm-neutral but W can sometimes lean towards bright too.

 

[RonaldS86]

I think what you want is warm-neutral but W can sometimes lean towards bright too.

Well for me as long as it has a weighty notes and good treble extension but not too bright then I'm good. I think my N30LE + OrphyS + Jewel combo right now hit the spot

 

[Valrhona]

Well for me as long as it has a weighty notes and good treble extension but not too bright then I'm good. I think my N30LE + OrphyS + Jewel combo right now hit the spot

A man thinks it must be hard to put the Jewel down.

 

[newToAudio100]

Listening to the album Disco4 part 1 by Health with yggy og a2 -> mj3 -> abyss ab 1266 phi tc. Sounds incredible right now. The abyss really reproduces this album in a stunning way and that chain sounds amazing especially for the cost.

 

[HarveyLowis]

Well for me as long as it has a weighty notes and good treble extension but not too bright then I'm good. I think my N30LE + OrphyS + Jewel combo right now hit the spot

i think traillii is warmer than jewel. traillii has more weighty notes than jewel too.