[Deferenz]

Managed to get my hands on Annihilator today to try out. Gotta say, the clarity and openness of the soundstage are really out of this world (at least for me), and tuning wise it hits all the right spots for me. Would definitely put this as my final end-game IEM (or at least thats what I'm telling myself now).

You have now taken that final big step into our crazy world! There is no turning back now!

The Annihilator 2023 is excellent. I heard it for the first time at Canjam last month. I loved it so much I’ve now pre-ordered it.

 

[Kweebs]

I like the word "endgame" - but not in a way that's often connected with it. In most cases there is the connection to a video game, when the final stage is completed. But that's not the way I see this.

To my mind it's more a sporty expression. I succeeded and reached my goal, BUT only for this season and there is another one starting soon. So I am ambitious and try to win the next one also...

@Kweebs But you are absolutely right of this season - the ANNI is my ENDGAME, too. The difficulty lies in to shorten the season terms not to single games!

I definitely agree with you on this. Back when I was crazy about keyboards, I always tried to look for the true "endgame" keyboard, but every time it's just an "endgame" for a certain period of time before a new keyboard redefines what "endgame" is. But I would definitely say that regardless, I would put Annihilator as one of my must-haves in my collection. It's just too good.

 

[Kweebs]

You have now taken that final big step into our crazy world! There is no turning back now!

The Annihilator 2023 is excellent. I heard it for the first time at Canjam last month. I loved it so much I’ve now pre-ordered it.

Would actually love to go to an Audiophile event like CanJam myself one day. Really enjoyed the whole experience of like-minded people coming together and sharing about our gears and stuff (back in my keyboard enthusiast days).

 

[twister6]

Yep, I've had Trifecta 2x, I really wanted to love it because of the (DD) bass foundation; I missed it, that's why I wanted it a 2nd time, but in the end I couldn't stand the mids (muddy), the trebles (way too sharp, metallic, bright), the resolution and microdynamics (just not TOTL-level). Still, great bass (as is to be expected) and good macrodynamics…

For that, I'm really looking forward to Xe6 right now - which I didn't like at all at first, but really didn't, and now it's just the opposite: fantastic, maybe on the top of the TOTL next to Mentor for me.

As some others pointed out before, Trifecta is quite polorizing, you either love it or hate it My personal experience with it was limited to an audition at CanJam NYC, about 15min, and I was in the same camp as you are, hearing a great textured bass, muddy lower mids, and sharp treble peaks... while playing a selection of EDM and Top40 test tracks which use mostly synthesized instruments. Then, I switched to my other test tracks with more acoustic "real" insturmetns, and Trifecta came ALIVE!!!

So in my personal opinion, Trifecta tuning is specialized and unique rather than universal, and will depend on what tracks you are feeding it with

 

[Sajid Amit]

As some others pointed out before, Trifecta is quite polorizing, you either love it or hate it My personal experience with it was limited to an audition at CanJam NYC, about 15min, and I was in the same camp as you are, hearing a great textured bass, muddy lower mids, and sharp treble peaks... while playing a selection of EDM and Top40 test tracks which use mostly synthesized instruments. Then, I switched to my other test tracks with more acoustic "real" insturmetns, and Trifecta came ALIVE!!!

So in my personal opinion, Trifecta tuning is specialized and unique rather than universal, and will depend on what tracks you are feeding it with

Tips make a huge difference with the Trifecta even between the supplied ones.

 

[Simpeler]

Tips make a huge difference with the Trifecta even between the supplied ones.

Somehow these ultra cheap feeling tips for the best for me. Got them for free in a box for a basic cable.

They work because they feel really soft, are shallow and dont block the holes. (Wide bore)
I do have sensitive earcannals so this works great for me.

 

[twister6]

Tips make a huge difference with the Trifecta even between the supplied ones.

Yes, noticed that as well! Didn't even use stock ones; I usually bring a "pill box" to CanJam with a dozen of different eartips

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Yes, noticed that as well! Didn't even use stock ones; I usually bring a "pill box" to CanJam with a dozen of different eartips

Can we get a top 3 tips of all time? Would be cool to know

 

[gLer]

Can we get a top 3 tips of all time? Would be cool to know

Really hard to pick just 3 because it depends on the IEM. My three favourites:

Sony EP-EX11 (narrow bore)
JVC Spiral Dot (wide bore)
Acoustune AET07 (medium bore)

But I also have others I've used with great success, and still do:

EarTune Fidelity U (Trifecta/MSE)
SpinFit W1 (MSE/IE900)
Acoustune AEX50/70
Final E-Type
Divinus Velvet
SpinFit CP100

 

[Sajid Amit]

Somehow these ultra cheap feeling tips for the best for me. Got them for free in a box for a basic cable.

They work because they feel really soft, are shallow and dont block the holes. (Wide bore)
I do have sensitive earcannals so this works great for me.

Exactly. These cheap supplied ones changed the Trifecta and the hobby for me (not aftermarket ones).

I hated the Trifecta at first.

Not muddy anymore to a degree that bothers me. Still bright but rather palatable and even fun.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Exactly. These cheap supplied ones changed the Trifecta and the hobby for me (not aftermarket ones).

I hated the Trifecta at first.

Not muddy anymore to a degree that bothers me. Still bright but rather palatable and even fun.

What are your thoughts on certain people having doubts about the resolution at the price point for the trifecta as I’m in the market for it

 

[gLer]

What are your thoughts on certain people having doubts about the resolution at the price point for the trifecta as I’m in the market for it

What other people think is none of my business.

My suggestion is to try before you buy if you can. In my opinion, Trifecta doesn't lack resolution based on what I consider to be more than enough resolution for the music I enjoy with it. I also think that too much resolution is just as bad as too little, but that's another topic altogether.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

What other people think is none of my business.

My suggestion is to try before you buy if you can. In my opinion, Trifecta doesn't lack resolution based on what I consider to be more than enough resolution for the music I enjoy with it. I also think that too much resolution is just as bad as too little, but that's another topic altogether.

Very interesting take! I wish it was easier to try these expensive iems as I mostly rely on you guys from your experienced impressions and so far you guys have all led me in a awesome direction with my purchases so far

 

[Sajid Amit]

What are your thoughts on certain people having doubts about the resolution at the price point for the trifecta as I’m in the market for it

Somehow when I was doing headphones I was indexing for absolute resolution but now that I do IEMs, while I like resolution, my two current favorite IEMs are the trifecta and the perpetua and neither of them constitute the pinnacle of resolution (although they are still quite resolving as @gLer says).

They both have very good bass, wide stage, supreme coherence and natural timbre, the latter two traits being among the intangibles that often don’t get their due importance, IMHO.

The single and all-DD magic of the Perpetua and Trifecta respectively have won me over at present.

And sometime earlier @Rockwell75 posed the question of what indeed is resolution? The bass decay of a Perpetua or the note weight of a Trifecta are also important pieces of information that may not get equated with resolution but can matter much.

 

[Animagus]

I also think that too much resolution is just as bad as too little

What? No! A well balanced neutral tuning (not overly bright) with a reference approach and excellent resolution is one of my main jams!

I think you're referring to manufacturers tuning stuff overly bright for resolution? Because that can be distracting and painful.

FR sure can greatly influence perception of certain aspects of technical performance like detail retrieval and resolution. But for me, proper resolution is when the IEM/headphone comes across highly resolving without being too bright, something which is not the easiest to execute. Actually in terms of FR tuning, linear and well extended treble till 20kHz can greatly help with that quality. So rather than boosting (looking at you Beyerdynamic), I much prefer manufacturers do the R&D to work on getting that linear treble extension.