[SBranson]

so in what areas does the Elysium better the isabella?

I responded in the email but I figured I’d post my opinion here as well .

In my opinion it’s no contest; the Elysium are in a different league. I don’t see that people are giving up the Elysium for the Isabellae but that they have a similar quality of tuning and the Isabellae are a 1/4 of the price new so if cost is an issue then you can get a dose of the Elysium tuning in a much cheaper package.


The Isabellae is balanced and very natural sounding and yes the single DD does have a great sense of coherence. The Elysium has better realism and refinement. Instruments sound more life like to me and I get more of the sense of “being in the room”. This is based on my baroque acoustic tracks and female vocalist with a guitar type music. As mentioned, the treble is so delicate and detailed with amazing decay.
In my opinion, if anyone is saying that the Isabellae is the equal, it’s probably a price/performance ratio. We all know that big increments of cost don’t often equate to commensurate increases of quality but those small bits of quality are certainly noticeable and it’s up to everyone to decide individually whether it’s worth it.

 

[SBranson]

A quick addition comparing the two on a solo violin from Christophe Poppen playing Bach’s d-minor partita (Morimur -Hilliard Ensemble) and the difference is much more apparent. The Isabellae is much closer, sharper and less full bodied. Still good but lacking the fullness in the mids or the imaging and staging of the Elysium.

This is very music specific though and if you’re into solo classical it’s hard to top the Elysium but as a general all’rounder the Isabellae is great and, as mentioned, a sure thing for the price.

 

[Malfunkt]

The more I think about it, I think brain burn-in is something very real in that our brain adapts and adjusts to what we hear, the longer we hear it the better more adept they become. Just like how our vision seem seamless, when there is actually a blind spot in between our eyes which intersect and overlap with one another. Our brain somehow automatically filled that in so that we can see in unison with both eyeballs. This most likely happens as well in our auditory faculty.

crazy. Been thinking about this exact possibility just recently and it reminded me of uni class i took in the Psychology of Perception.

there was one experiment where we listened to stereo headsets. We had controls to pan the L and R of the stereo channel. The clip we listened to on the Left channel were just the beginning and end fragments of words. On the Right channel it was just short segments of white noise bursts.

when we center panned both channels together the noises bursts filled in the middle of each word fragment. The resulting illusion, the mind “filled in” the gap an audibly perceived sound. You could understand the entire sentence.

what else is our mind filling in?

One thought,is that each of us has experience hearing a range of audio spaces and room acoustics. Similar to how some people have a good sense visual spatial perception, perhaps some of us have a more flexible memory or ability to imagine the acoustics of room spaces - and when we hear different frequency tunings in headphones, our minds matches that curve with an imagined room and speaker space, one that would make such a tuning possible.

to go further, for some us, we may be able to “fill in” for less detailed and less transparent headphones providing we allow our minds to perceive the presentation as a certain room space,speaker type etc.

ive gone through wondering if there is a perfect sound to now being pretty flexible with what I’m listening to. As I also use spatial DSP a fair bit it also helps with the perception of room spaces. I think of my headphones almost as each being able to render a different space. The Utopia is very open and transparent, whereas something like the Blon Mini is more of a warehouse with bass bins type of sound.

 

[NewEve]

He says shipping next week hopefully.

Andrew should get the Isa by July 6th.

Shipping to our demanding souls should soon follow (I'm among them).

 

[Rockwell75]

In my opinion it’s no contest; the Elysium are in a different league.

As you emphasized in a later comment it really depends on the sort of music you listen to and what you're after in the listening experience. For a lot of what you listen to clarity and realism is of paramount importance and (having not heard Trailli yet myself) I would agree that in that sense Elysium is decidedly in a different league than everything else I've heard (for reasons I've mentioned in great depth in my review). On the other hand I'm finding for myself that lot of the music I listen to, ie., EDM and music rooted in driving rhythms & beats, doesn't really take advantage of Elysium's strengths to the fullest and further the Isabellae, with its DD bass and peerless coherence, does have some tangible advantages over Ely for me. Couple that with the fact Isa & Ely share many of the same mid-forward, vocal centric tuning characteristics and the Isabellae does emerge a more sensible choice for me in a lot of ways-- without even factoring in price-- even if though it objectively falls short of the soaring heights Ely is able to attain at its best.

Andrew should get the Isa by July 6th.

Shipping to our demanding souls should soon follow (I'm among them).

Great to see you're on board...make sure you share your thoughts here

I'd also like to share my findings. Relating to 3 of my favourite IEMs currently; namely Prelude, C/2019, and Isa. They're to say bluntly very different in sound. Each have their own 'style' or 'flavor' for the lack of better word. They possess that essential tone which in particular resonate with me on a personal level. That something in common can be alikened to the 'star' shapes below (also in my signature). They're all stars, but drawn differently
＊ = Prelude - This represents the lines essential to shaping a star. It can be seen as branching outwards, or crossing inwards. But both have a commonality which is they meet in the middle. The midrange and more specifically its timbre. The Prelude is a mid-centric IEM which focuses primarily on rendering vocals in such a way that I very much enjoy. It may not portray the most realistic accurate version of them, More analog cassette or vinyl-like type of sound. Suitable for music
★ = Isa - A star shape fully filled within. It represents coherency and the maximization of a single driver to provide reach throughout, and subsequently power and finesse in doing so. It has two points from where its power stems from. One in the mid-bass, which forms as the basis for its lows. And another in the upper-mids, from where it spreads both ways to cover its mids and treble. Like the majestic form of antlers spreading outwards from two foundations. It's a tuning gracefully done despite any and all limitations
☆ = C/2019 - The outline of the star. This represents simplicity at its best. Three drivers; one for lows, one for mids, one for highs. It has this neutral tuning that is the result of proper balancing of each their respective region/kingdom. All three coexisting in harmony, and performing in esprit de corps, creating this transparent frame from where music flows. The more I listen, the more I doubt whether if I'm actually listening; or am I hearing how the player/source sounds..

Sorry for the slightly odd post..

Loved this!

thanks...just currently deciding if i should get a new Isabellae, used Elysium or the used Percivali (which has a lack of reviews/comparisons, but in theory should be better due to price)

currently on the OG solaris and i listen through a chord hugo

What kind of music do you listen to mostly and what sort of characteristics are you looking for in an IEM? Solaris was my bread and butter for over a year

In other news no sign of my Honeydew...tracking stalled out a week ago and I'm starting to wonder if it was lost/pilfered in the mail

 

[claud W]

A quick addition comparing the two on a solo violin from Christophe Poppen playing Bach’s d-minor partita (Morimur -Hilliard Ensemble) and the difference is much more apparent. The Isabellae is much closer, sharper and less full bodied. Still good but lacking the fullness in the mids or the imaging and staging of the Elysium.

This is very music specific though and if you’re into solo classical it’s hard to top the Elysium but as a general all’rounder the Isabellae is great and, as mentioned, a sure thing for the price.

Do you mind sharing what cable do you have on your Elysium. From your sig, it appears that you are using the Eletech Socrates on Isabellae.

A quick addition comparing the two on a solo violin from Christophe Poppen playing Bach’s d-minor partita (Morimur -Hilliard Ensemble) and the difference is much more apparent. The Isabellae is much closer, sharper and less full bodied. Still good but lacking the fullness in the mids or the imaging and staging of the Elysium.

This is very music specific though and if you’re into solo classical it’s hard to top the Elysium but as a general all’rounder the Isabellae is great and, as mentioned, a sure thing for the price.

 

[Rockwell75]

Do you mind sharing what cable do you have on your Elysium. From your sig, it appears that you are using the Eletech Socrates on Isabellae.

I believe he uses the Eletech Plato.

 

[SBranson]

On the other hand I'm finding for myself that while Elysium's strengths aren't really diminished a lot of the music I listen to, ie., EDM and music rooted in driving rhythms & beats, doesn't really take advantage them

Yes, if EDM or hip hop were your main music library then the extra cost of the Elysium is probably not worth it for what they excel at.

In other news no sign of my Honeydew...tracking stalled out a week ago and I'm starting to wonder if it was lost/pilfered in the mail

I have a cable stalled in the mail since about the 8th of June.. not to discourage you but there’s clearly something up with the postal service.

Do you mind sharing what cable do you have on your Elysium. From your sig, it appears that you are using the Eletech Socrates on Isabellae.

Yes, the Plato.. it compounds the Elysium’s strengths

 

[Rockwell75]

Yes, if EDM or hip hop were your main music library then the extra cost of the Elysium is probably not worth it for what they excel at.

As well as soul, funk, rock, blues, even a lot of jazz. While Elysium is king for female vocals I actually prefer male vocals on the Isabellae so when you factor in the DD bass stuff like Dire Straits, CCR, James Brown, etc. actually sounds better to me on Isabellae.

All of this said Elysium is on the whole the technically superior IEM-- I would never dispute this. But I've found that as long as it does a few salient things right in terms of tuning, presentation etc. my brain can adjust to and enjoy an IEM like Isabellae without feeling the need to seek out anything else.

I have a cable stalled in the mail since about the 8th of June.. not to discourage you but there’s clearly something up with the postal service.

Did yours ever clear customs? IE. could it still be in the US? My last notification says it was released by customs and is now with Canada Post.

 

[ian91]

Because I feel most of us here have somewhat similar tastes, I'm going to drop a cheeky recommendation:

Faaeal Rosemary 150ohm bud via AE. Absolutely bowled over by its sound out of the M8 (turbo mode) for the price ($20). Handles vocals/wind/string instruments incredibly well and its surprisingly dynamic with the bass presence rivaling some in ears I've heard.

I really hope you guys take the dive on this one!

 

[Rockwell75]

Because I feel most of us here have somewhat similar tastes, I'm going to drop a cheeky recommendation:

Faaeal Rosemary 150ohm bud via AE. Absolutely bowled over by its sound out of the M8 (turbo mode) for the price ($20). Handles vocals/wind/string instruments incredibly well and its surprisingly dynamic with the bass presence rivaling some in ears I've heard.

I really hope you guys take the dive on this one!

I may get around to it

Link for the interested:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32858195175.htmlbud

This is kind of hilarious. I started my journey near the top with the OG Solaris and now years later I'm starting to accumulate a collection of budget fi IEMs. I'm doing things in reverse it seems.

 

[ian91]

This is kind of hilarious. I started my journey near the top with the OG Solaris and now years later I'm starting to accumulate a collection of budget fi IEMs. I'm doing things in reverse it seems.

The secret is knowing what you like and seeking synergies between transducer and source (with a helpful dash of Chinese ingenuity).

 

[mashuto]

I may get around to it

Link for the interested:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32858195175.htmlbud

This is kind of hilarious. I started my journey near the top with the OG Solaris and now years later I'm starting to accumulate a collection of budget fi IEMs. I'm doing things in reverse it seems.

I feel the same way as you in a lot of ways. While I started more budget and worked my way up to higher end stuff, I honestly find myself much more interested now in low to mid range stuff. Having heard higher end stuff, I know a lot more what I like and I know that I can get a very large portion of the performance for a fraction of the price. And at a fraction of the price it's a lot easier to experiment and play around and have more options.

I will say though, can't do earbuds. They have never played nicely with my ears.

 

[ranfan]

I could only find the Iris and Iris 2.0 on Amazon. Both are around $250. Wonder how they sound. Source picky and hard-to-drive earphones are a deal breaker for me though, as I mostly listen through my phone and laptop
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B08MWLJ56D/
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B08MXNRLMX/

 

[ian91]

I have the Iris 2.0, it also sounds fantastic from the M8 (high gain), slightly better imaging than Rosemary but a little less magic in the mids (only a little). Still plenty of body and bass impact for my tastes. If you can only go low impedence definitely try the Iris 2.0.

Edit: omg the price on amazon.co.jp...As much as I love them I wouldn't recommend paying that if you can get them for $5 off AE

Is there an issue importing to Japan?

Iris