Cascara. It's only $500 but I would take it over everything on that list that I've heard except the Perpetua (haven't heard Svanar or A8000). The Dunu Zen Pro is another great.
The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
Cascara. It's only $500 but I would take it over everything on that list that I've heard except the Perpetua (haven't heard Svanar or A8000). The Dunu Zen Pro is another great.
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
Indeed this would be of interest to me as well.
Good question, and a it's good time for me to do a brief Sunday comparison.
I find Erebus and VE10 to be very different, and very complementary. Erebus has a more neutral sound vs. VE10's warm wave. Both are fairly well balanced. Erebus is much more of a technical listen, particularly with its strength in speed, dynamics, resolution, immersive staging and imaging. VE10 provides much more of an intimate "organic" sound, while still featuring very nice resolution, separation, dynamics, and transients.
Both have good DD sub bass with similar medium-depth nicely-articulated thump, but VE10's mid bass warmth comes up into the mids more than Erebus'. VE10's more forward mids are excellent: warm, emotive, with great timbre. Its mids are really its calling card, and are up there among the best I've heard (caveat there are plenty of mids champs I haven't heard). Erebus has very pleasing mids but they are less warm, slightly less forward. Both have treble well-suited to my tastes. VE10's upper end features decently crisp detail, effective transients, and rolled off edges. Erebus by comparison has more treble extension, air, detail, snap, dazzle, while at the same time offering no sibilance or sizzle; Erebus has among the best treble I have heard (after king Anni).
A key difference between the two is an elevated upper mid/lower treble for Erebus, lending it more energy and urgency (and it is on the cusp of being too much for me at times), versus VE10's utter lack of that type of peak. VE10 is the mellower listen of the two.
I like VE10 particularly in the mornings when I am easing into my day, or late at night. Erebus is more of a midday awake and ready for “relaxed verve”, immersion and refinement set for me. Both sets are versatile for just about any music I listen to (lots of rock, jazz and jazz vocal at the moment), and are particularly terrific with vocal-focused and acoustic music, VE10 especially. Erebus really shines with live music.
Some negatives: VE10 doesn't fit me very comfortably, due to its shorter nozzle popping out (reasonably solved with Coreir tips), and it is very sensitive and thus not great with the wrong source or at louder levels (some hiss at high volume). Erebus meanwhile has its upper mids verve that I'm not always in the mood for. I will add that I do not find either to be particularly attractive. They would not win any beauty contest where I'm a judge (not that anyone is offering me that role).
Also, it's fair to point out that Erebus is over 50% more expensive MSRP (4800 vs 3000 USD), so one might expect it to outperform VE10 by a lot, which I don't find to be the case.
Great thoughts, probably cemented that I'd still prefer the VE X.
Don't forget about Acoustune and FAudio.
maegnificant
Headphoneus Supremus
Timsok Ts-316, please
Big fan of your video Sajid! subscribed to your YouTube. this video would be interesting to watch. I hear Final A8000 is super bright and I wonder where it stands when compared to Nobel Audio Ronin which is also known to be a super bright iEM. If you can message me how they compare i'd greatly appreciate it.
salwani8888
100+ Head-Fier
acoustune hs2000mx mk1/2/3
drftr
Headphoneus Supremus
From your second sentence I'm making you're not referring to a L/R mix-up but a +/- mix-up, as that indeed can lead to a weird, lean, and hollow sound. This is partly because of inverse dynamics: You hit the drum and you don't hear an explosion but an implosion.
If it's really just a L/R mix-up then there's absolutely nothing wrong with the sound; it just sounds different from your memories as all instruments and effects come from the opposite direction. I honestly saw someone demoing that way at a late night demo party after CJ SG last year and he hadn't noticed while always using the same tracks for demoing. He then said it sounded excellent and I scratched my head as everything would be off by comparison.
Tnx for the great write-up. Looks like VE10 would be much more up my alley. Just hoping it's not too polite.
drftr
Beyerdynamic Xelento 2
nocturne19
100+ Head-Fier
I doubt if Ronin is considered super bright because Ronin sounds the most organic among the Noble lineup (other than Spartacus). I guess you are talking about Viking variants. Comparing Viking variants to A8000, I still find Viking to be the brighter set, notably in the 6-8k region. Yes you have impressive resolution and staging, but for treble-sensitive guys this probably ain't for me. A8000 has less energy in mid treble but more energy in upper mids, which does great on anisongs.
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
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I haven't done any of those for 200 hours so I'm not burnt in enough to speak. But I do wonder what shoe sole material is the best to minimise cable microphonics (optional during handstand unless wind friction becomes a factor??)Would that hold true if you walked backwards, on your hands, in the other direction, or in the southern hemisphere?
drftr
TiTANS - The Creator and The Bird
Hi Coolers! Hope you’re all doing well! So recently, I had the chance to demo two of the highly sought out Oriolus Traillii Ti and Fitear Creator (DC Ti), thanks to the super kind and beloved whale Indonesian cooler member @RonaldS86 ! I’m so thankful and grateful for his generosity lending me these two wonderful IEMs! Thanks again bro!
Y’all might know me as I pop up here and there, but let me just re-state what I use daily and which gears I owned. I’ve used a couple of IEMs previously, but the ones that really had my heart were, Fitear TG334 (Old Ver.), Oriolus Traillii (Yes, the famous “Black & Red” edition that y’all got from Musicteck or anywhere else, that’s originally my design and yes, I’m still so proud of it, also yes, you’re welcome! P.S. Hey Oriolus, I still see that you often use my Traillii design these days for Chinese exhibitions and all that, so where’s my commission huh? Hahaha!), Aroma Audio Fei Wan (Yes the black and gold design, yes many people are also using that design, so still waiting for my commission from Aroma too! LMAO just kidding, please don’t ban me), and now I daily drive Subtonic STORM and Elysian Annihilator Ti 2023 paired with iBasso 320MAX Ti.
My library consists of Female Vocals, Pop, J-Pop, K-pop, K-Indie, K-Hip Hop, C-Pop, Indo Pop, Hip-Hop, Metal, Rock, EDM, Electronic, Jazz, Classical.
My default test track: Baek Yerin – Square (2017)
P.S. My English, writing skill and photography skill is downright terrible. But I will try to better myself one step at a time!
The Bird Ti (US$8,500) [Traillii Ti > W89 4W (Stock) > Azla Sedna Earfit Standard > iBasso 320MAX Ti]
Okay, I can’t lie that this is an IEM that I’ve set my eyes on for a while ever since they announced it last year. The bird Ti feels premium in hand, very solid build but still very light and very comfortable in the ears, just like the OG. The faceplate design is clean, but I feel like they could’ve made a better design for it, perhaps the Oriolus bird logo instead of just the word “Oriolus” on it? Well no matter, let’s get into the sound.
First thing I noticed about the bird Ti is how neutral it sounded compared to the OG off my memory. It hits me with a cleaner, airier, brighter and more spacious presentation, whilst keeping the thick notes, natural timbre, relaxed and smooth character of the OG. But yes, I kind of expected this when I read and heard some impressions from friends and others, honestly the differences were identical to when I compared Anni Gold 2023 and Anni Ti 2023.. Everything just opens up with more clarity and a better sense of air in between the instruments.
The staging has also changed as the OG had more of a wide staging going on less height, whilst the Ti retains that width and added more height and a bit more depth. Overall, it feels bigger than the OG yet it is still quite 2D with a bit of holography within the space.
Bass is definitely a step up here, it is more textured, good slam, not super punchy but just enough so that it doesn’t intrude into the mids. The mid-bassy quality of the OG bird is replaced with a more sub-bassy bass setup and this definitely gives the Bird Ti a better balance, cleaner feel of the lower end frequency. I do appreciate this retuning of the bass, but is the bass quantity lesser than the OG? No, I think it’s not lesser, but since the focus is shifted to the sub-bass, the mid-bass hump is what’s ‘missing’. Bass has good rumble on the sub-bass, reaches deep with a good attack and decay on the mid-bass, it strikes fast with a solid thump and air. It’s definitely a good and satisfying BA bass, a much better bass presentation than the OG with better quality and definitely complimentary to the overall tuning of the Bird Ti.
MIDS is what I championed the OG Traillii for and it remains that way here in the Bird Ti. The buttery smooth vocals, the pleasant and inoffensive texture is just Oh. So. Good! This is the soul of traillii, the smooth and analog quality of its mid, it’s caramel like. Giving you the right amount of sweet, buttery goodness that leaves you craving for more! Makes you wanna sing along, if not, at least mouth the lyrics along with the singer. With its relaxed and vivid presentation, it just puts you in the seat of an audience watching a live concert.
The Treble is now more airy, more sparkly, well-extended without being too bright and has no harshness. It gives notes in the higher register a bit more twinkle on the edges and space for its resonance. The whole package is fine-tuned with great tech and amazing detail retrieval! The tech on Bird Ti has definitely been supercharged from the OG. I was surprised at the amount of detail, sound imaging, layering, and resolution level that I was presented with, it is definitely a significant improvement upon the OG. The level of tech on the Bird Ti lets it stand among other great IEMs such as Fei Wan or Annihilator, but again the tech doesn’t pop at you, only because of the relaxed nature of Traillii, it sits back but it’s all there to show you what’s up. But is it STORM level? Yea mate sorry nah not that far.. But hey, it is more than enough for the overall tuning.
So TL;DR, is it great? Yes. Still sweet and addictive? Yes. More technical? Yes. Better bass? Yes. So overall it’s a better Traillii? Hell YES! So am I getting one? No. Why not? Okay, first things first, PRICE. Not in my budget to spend that much for a traillii improvement and also the place of a Traillii in my collection would be for when I listen to music whilst doing work. If that was my use case, at this point of my life, I’d just buy my OG traillii back and be done with it. It is because of its smooth and inoffensive presentation is why I would consider this IEM for a ‘Music in the background’ use, it is not distracting as compared to other iems like the Annihilator 2023 or even STORM. Secondly, remember I said I loved traillii for its mids? I need to a/b and test this, but I have a feeling that the OG traillii vocals might have a bit more rawness and emotive quality to it compared to the more ‘refined’ traillii ti. But again, my reasons not to get it is mainly financial. But hey, if you love Traillii’s sound signature and want an upgrade on tech, soundstage, bass quality, and not lose the OG qualities, get it, it is truly a legendary IEM for what it does. Personally, I’d regard this bird as Oriolus Traillii Pro Max and not so much a Traillii 2.0. Maybe one day if I have spare money, I’d get this Bird Ti for my collection.
Fitear Creator (US$8,500) [Fitear Creator > Creator Clarity 4W (Stock) > Azla Sedna Earfit Origin > iBasso 320MAX Ti]
First of all let me start off by saying, This is the best IEM build I’ve ever held in my hands! Suyama-san’s Titanium is second to none! It’s literally the titanium used for dental implants! Yes it’s shiny and I love it, I don’t mind the fingerprint magnet that it is, it just speaks premium, solid, and beautiful to me. Meanwhile the faceplate cover that you see with the creator logo is made of silver rather than titanium which I believe is manufactured by K2Craft. If you are wondering why I’ve put “DC Ti” next to the Creator name, it’s because Fitear Creator is the Universal version of Fitear DC Ti that only comes in CIEM form. The Fitear Creator is originally made to be paired with Creator cable from HK and it is a HK exclusive IEM. So SQ wise, Creator and DC Ti should be identical, notwithstanding that DC Ti CIEM form might give different focus on different FR, unique to each individual’s ears, also do note that DC Ti, when purchased, doesn’t come with a stock cable, because Suyama-san wanted people to explore and find their favourite cable pairing with the DC Ti.
If I were to oversimplify my impression on the Creator into 3 main points, it would be :
- Musical
- Immersive
- Engaging
Vocal is Creator’s specialty, it is so textured and so extended, and if I can coin @Deezel177 's words, it has a certain huskiness in its tone. As with its bass, vocals here is so well extended, it resonates long and far till it dissipates into thin air. Vocals are positioned quite forward and intimate, very emotive and lyrics do come to life. The sense of air in the vocals is so life-like, allowing each syllable to travel well. On top of the well-textured quality, there is also a certain smoothness to its vocals. Treble is adequately well extended, airy and has sparkle to balance out the massive lower end of the spectrum.
The Creator is an IEM that doesn’t try to impress you with its technical prowess and it does take a second of brain burn in to understand it. But once you realize what it does, you’re enveloped in a world of texture, weight, resonance, nuance, warmth, and analogue-ness. Above all, it defines what musical means. It doesn’t throw its tech proficient at you but rather does so with endless extension and meatiness in every spectrum. It just pulls you in to the music and gets you emotionally moved from note to note. This IEM literally says, forget everything, let’s just enjoy the music. That’s what Creator or DC Ti is to me.
I haven’t mentioned anything about its technicality, simply because it is technically capable and very resolving, but subpar in its detail retrieval and resolution. But is it enough tech in there? Definitely. Heck, I didn’t even realize what I was missing since I was so deep into the music. Only after a/b‘ing with my Annihilator that I was like “oh, that’s not there, oh where is this instrument? Where’s that synth? Didn’t hear that”. But really, you don’t need that with the Creator. Simply tune in and enjoy, as simple as that. Also, as I’ve said before that it is a specialist, how do I know this? I realized that I kept looking for specific tracks when listening with the Creator, meanwhile I just let my library play on shuffle with the Bird Ti. It’s not that I don’t want to hear other fast paced tracks and only certain ‘slower’ tracks on the Creator, but because it does so exceptionally well on these ‘slower tracks’ that it compels me to select them.
Suyama-san made a truly exceptional IEM here, I’ve never heard an IEM so musical and immersive. But I do feel that the best way to enjoy this IEM fully is to go the CIEM route, that is the Fitear DC Ti. The fit on the Creator is very wonky and not optimal for my ears, it is big, thick and uncomfortable to wear for long sessions. The only reasons why I can see people buying Creator is perhaps the universal shell does fit their ears, or future reselling purposes or catch and release kind of thing or they have no way to purchase the CIEM. Now, the DC Ti is definitely on my Radar as an immersive and vocal-specialist IEM, but we’ll have to see what SG Canjam 2024 has to offer, I have a feeling there will be quite a few surprises. Oh did I mention that Creator or DC Ti is super hard to drive? Yeah, it requires a similar amplification power as STORM if not more. Please do note that before buying, as you might need a desktop amp to fully release its potential.
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- Joined
- Feb 18, 2007
- Posts
- 311
- Likes
- 1,541
+1 to Acoustune HS2000MX, in whatever gen but especially mk3 or the ACT47
maegnificant
Headphoneus Supremus
The WDR Big Band and Vince Mendoza are a match made in heaven.
Hi Coolers! Hope you’re all doing well! So recently, I had the chance to demo two of the highly sought out Oriolus Traillii Ti and Fitear Creator (DC Ti), thanks to the super kind and beloved whale Indonesian cooler member @RonaldS86 ! I’m so thankful and grateful for his generosity lending me these two wonderful IEMs! Thanks again bro!
Y’all might know me as I pop up here and there, but let me just re-state what I use daily and which gears I owned. I’ve used a couple of IEMs previously, but the ones that really had my heart were, Fitear TG334 (Old Ver.), Oriolus Traillii (Yes, the famous “Black & Red” edition that y’all got from Musicteck or anywhere else, that’s originally my design and yes, I’m still so proud of it, also yes, you’re welcome! P.S. Hey Oriolus, I still see that you often use my Traillii design these days for Chinese exhibitions and all that, so where’s my commission huh? Hahaha!), Aroma Audio Fei Wan (Yes the black and gold design, yes many people are also using that design, so still waiting for my commission from Aroma too! LMAO just kidding, please don’t ban me), and now I daily drive Subtonic STORM and Elysian Annihilator Ti 2023 paired with iBasso 320MAX Ti.
My library consists of Female Vocals, Pop, J-Pop, K-pop, K-Indie, K-Hip Hop, C-Pop, Indo Pop, Hip-Hop, Metal, Rock, EDM, Electronic, Jazz, Classical.
My default test track: Baek Yerin – Square (2017)
P.S. My English, writing skill and photography skill is downright terrible. But I will try to better myself one step at a time!
The Bird Ti (US$8,500) [Traillii Ti > W89 4W (Stock) > Azla Sedna Earfit Standard > iBasso 320MAX Ti]
Okay, I can’t lie that this is an IEM that I’ve set my eyes on for a while ever since they announced it last year. The bird Ti feels premium in hand, very solid build but still very light and very comfortable in the ears, just like the OG. The faceplate design is clean, but I feel like they could’ve made a better design for it, perhaps the Oriolus bird logo instead of just the word “Oriolus” on it? Well no matter, let’s get into the sound.
First thing I noticed about the bird Ti is how neutral it sounded compared to the OG off my memory. It hits me with a cleaner, airier, brighter and more spacious presentation, whilst keeping the thick notes, natural timbre, relaxed and smooth character of the OG. But yes, I kind of expected this when I read and heard some impressions from friends and others, honestly the differences were identical to when I compared Anni Gold 2023 and Anni Ti 2023.. Everything just opens up with more clarity and a better sense of air in between the instruments.
The staging has also changed as the OG had more of a wide staging going on less height, whilst the Ti retains that width and added more height and a bit more depth. Overall, it feels bigger than the OG yet it is still quite 2D with a bit of holography within the space.
Bass is definitely a step up here, it is more textured, good slam, not super punchy but just enough so that it doesn’t intrude into the mids. The mid-bassy quality of the OG bird is replaced with a more sub-bassy bass setup and this definitely gives the Bird Ti a better balance, cleaner feel of the lower end frequency. I do appreciate this retuning of the bass, but is the bass quantity lesser than the OG? No, I think it’s not lesser, but since the focus is shifted to the sub-bass, the mid-bass hump is what’s ‘missing’. Bass has good rumble on the sub-bass, reaches deep with a good attack and decay on the mid-bass, it strikes fast with a solid thump and air. It’s definitely a good and satisfying BA bass, a much better bass presentation than the OG with better quality and definitely complimentary to the overall tuning of the Bird Ti.
MIDS is what I championed the OG Traillii for and it remains that way here in the Bird Ti. The buttery smooth vocals, the pleasant and inoffensive texture is just Oh. So. Good! This is the soul of traillii, the smooth and analog quality of its mid, it’s caramel like. Giving you the right amount of sweet, buttery goodness that leaves you craving for more! Makes you wanna sing along, if not, at least mouth the lyrics along with the singer. With its relaxed and vivid presentation, it just puts you in the seat of an audience watching a live concert.
The Treble is now more airy, more sparkly, well-extended without being too bright and has no harshness. It gives notes in the higher register a bit more twinkle on the edges and space for its resonance. The whole package is fine-tuned with great tech and amazing detail retrieval! The tech on Bird Ti has definitely been supercharged from the OG. I was surprised at the amount of detail, sound imaging, layering, and resolution level that I was presented with, it is definitely a significant improvement upon the OG. The level of tech on the Bird Ti lets it stand among other great IEMs such as Fei Wan or Annihilator, but again the tech doesn’t pop at you, only because of the relaxed nature of Traillii, it sits back but it’s all there to show you what’s up. But is it STORM level? Yea mate sorry nah not that far.. But hey, it is more than enough for the overall tuning.
So TL;DR, is it great? Yes. Still sweet and addictive? Yes. More technical? Yes. Better bass? Yes. So overall it’s a better Traillii? Hell YES! So am I getting one? No. Why not? Okay, first things first, PRICE. Not in my budget to spend that much for a traillii improvement and also the place of a Traillii in my collection would be for when I listen to music whilst doing work. If that was my use case, at this point of my life, I’d just buy my OG traillii back and be done with it. It is because of its smooth and inoffensive presentation is why I would consider this IEM for a ‘Music in the background’ use, it is not distracting as compared to other iems like the Annihilator 2023 or even STORM. Secondly, remember I said I loved traillii for its mids? I need to a/b and test this, but I have a feeling that the OG traillii vocals might have a bit more rawness and emotive quality to it compared to the more ‘refined’ traillii ti. But again, my reasons not to get it is mainly financial. But hey, if you love Traillii’s sound signature and want an upgrade on tech, soundstage, bass quality, and not lose the OG qualities, get it, it is truly a legendary IEM for what it does. Personally, I’d regard this bird as Oriolus Traillii Pro Max and not so much a Traillii 2.0. Maybe one day if I have spare money, I’d get this Bird Ti for my collection.
Fitear Creator (US$8,500) [Fitear Creator > Creator Clarity 4W (Stock) > Azla Sedna Earfit Origin > iBasso 320MAX Ti]
First of all let me start off by saying, This is the best IEM build I’ve ever held in my hands! Suyama-san’s Titanium is second to none! It’s literally the titanium used for dental implants! Yes it’s shiny and I love it, I don’t mind the fingerprint magnet that it is, it just speaks premium, solid, and beautiful to me. Meanwhile the faceplate cover that you see with the creator logo is made of silver rather than titanium which I believe is manufactured by K2Craft. If you are wondering why I’ve put “DC Ti” next to the Creator name, it’s because Fitear Creator is the Universal version of Fitear DC Ti that only comes in CIEM form. The Fitear Creator is originally made to be paired with Creator cable from HK and it is a HK exclusive IEM. So SQ wise, Creator and DC Ti should be identical, notwithstanding that DC Ti CIEM form might give different focus on different FR, unique to each individual’s ears, also do note that DC Ti, when purchased, doesn’t come with a stock cable, because Suyama-san wanted people to explore and find their favourite cable pairing with the DC Ti.
If I were to oversimplify my impression on the Creator into 3 main points, it would be :
It pretty much sums up the character of the Creator. A very masculine and analog IEM that does everything in a grand manner with lots of depth, warmth with tons of expression, long resonances, rich, thick notes, meaty mids and hard hitting transients. The soundstage is wide that feels oval-ish, with more width than height and great depth, giving a grand presentation overall. For me this is a specialist IEM, PRaT here feels unrushed almost ‘slow’ if I can put it that way, where every note is expressed to the most, making it sound especially impressive for female/male vocals or pretty much any track with an ensemble setup such as jazz, acoustic, trios and so on. I love how strings that dwells in the bass clef such as Viola, Cello, Contrabass are so pronounced and the reverb lasts forever, every stroke is full of expression and the resonance lasts awhile without muddying the next notes. In addition to that, the bass quality of Creator.. is something I truly love, a foster DD bass with very deep, visceral, hard hitting, amazing texture, decay lasts and you can feel the air with every attack. But I have to say that it is not the fastest bass out there, with faster Electronic tracks, it does fall behind.
- Musical
- Immersive
- Engaging
Vocal is Creator’s specialty, it is so textured and so extended, and if I can coin @Deezel177 's words, it has a certain huskiness in its tone. As with its bass, vocals here is so well extended, it resonates long and far till it dissipates into thin air. Vocals are positioned quite forward and intimate, very emotive and lyrics do come to life. The sense of air in the vocals is so life-like, allowing each syllable to travel well. On top of the well-textured quality, there is also a certain smoothness to its vocals. Treble is adequately well extended, airy and has sparkle to balance out the massive lower end of the spectrum.
The Creator is an IEM that doesn’t try to impress you with its technical prowess and it does take a second of brain burn in to understand it. But once you realize what it does, you’re enveloped in a world of texture, weight, resonance, nuance, warmth, and analogue-ness. Above all, it defines what musical means. It doesn’t throw its tech proficient at you but rather does so with endless extension and meatiness in every spectrum. It just pulls you in to the music and gets you emotionally moved from note to note. This IEM literally says, forget everything, let’s just enjoy the music. That’s what Creator or DC Ti is to me.
I haven’t mentioned anything about its technicality, simply because it is technically capable and very resolving, but subpar in its detail retrieval and resolution. But is it enough tech in there? Definitely. Heck, I didn’t even realize what I was missing since I was so deep into the music. Only after a/b‘ing with my Annihilator that I was like “oh, that’s not there, oh where is this instrument? Where’s that synth? Didn’t hear that”. But really, you don’t need that with the Creator. Simply tune in and enjoy, as simple as that. Also, as I’ve said before that it is a specialist, how do I know this? I realized that I kept looking for specific tracks when listening with the Creator, meanwhile I just let my library play on shuffle with the Bird Ti. It’s not that I don’t want to hear other fast paced tracks and only certain ‘slower’ tracks on the Creator, but because it does so exceptionally well on these ‘slower tracks’ that it compels me to select them.
Suyama-san made a truly exceptional IEM here, I’ve never heard an IEM so musical and immersive. But I do feel that the best way to enjoy this IEM fully is to go the CIEM route, that is the Fitear DC Ti. The fit on the Creator is very wonky and not optimal for my ears, it is big, thick and uncomfortable to wear for long sessions. The only reasons why I can see people buying Creator is perhaps the universal shell does fit their ears, or future reselling purposes or catch and release kind of thing or they have no way to purchase the CIEM. Now, the DC Ti is definitely on my Radar as an immersive and vocal-specialist IEM, but we’ll have to see what SG Canjam 2024 has to offer, I have a feeling there will be quite a few surprises. Oh did I mention that Creator or DC Ti is super hard to drive? Yeah, it requires a similar amplification power as STORM if not more. Please do note that before buying, as you might need a desktop amp to fully release its potential.
Great reviews my friend!
love that we have a little silver VS gold thing currently going on right now 
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Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Great review! As always, balanced, informative and insightful!
Hi Coolers! Hope you’re all doing well! So recently, I had the chance to demo two of the highly sought out Oriolus Traillii Ti and Fitear Creator (DC Ti), thanks to the super kind and beloved whale Indonesian cooler member @RonaldS86 ! I’m so thankful and grateful for his generosity lending me these two wonderful IEMs! Thanks again bro!
Y’all might know me as I pop up here and there, but let me just re-state what I use daily and which gears I owned. I’ve used a couple of IEMs previously, but the ones that really had my heart were, Fitear TG334 (Old Ver.), Oriolus Traillii (Yes, the famous “Black & Red” edition that y’all got from Musicteck or anywhere else, that’s originally my design and yes, I’m still so proud of it, also yes, you’re welcome! P.S. Hey Oriolus, I still see that you often use my Traillii design these days for Chinese exhibitions and all that, so where’s my commission huh? Hahaha!), Aroma Audio Fei Wan (Yes the black and gold design, yes many people are also using that design, so still waiting for my commission from Aroma too! LMAO just kidding, please don’t ban me), and now I daily drive Subtonic STORM and Elysian Annihilator Ti 2023 paired with iBasso 320MAX Ti.
My library consists of Female Vocals, Pop, J-Pop, K-pop, K-Indie, K-Hip Hop, C-Pop, Indo Pop, Hip-Hop, Metal, Rock, EDM, Electronic, Jazz, Classical.
My default test track: Baek Yerin – Square (2017)
P.S. My English, writing skill and photography skill is downright terrible. But I will try to better myself one step at a time!
The Bird Ti (US$8,500) [Traillii Ti > W89 4W (Stock) > Azla Sedna Earfit Standard > iBasso 320MAX Ti]
Okay, I can’t lie that this is an IEM that I’ve set my eyes on for a while ever since they announced it last year. The bird Ti feels premium in hand, very solid build but still very light and very comfortable in the ears, just like the OG. The faceplate design is clean, but I feel like they could’ve made a better design for it, perhaps the Oriolus bird logo instead of just the word “Oriolus” on it? Well no matter, let’s get into the sound.
First thing I noticed about the bird Ti is how neutral it sounded compared to the OG off my memory. It hits me with a cleaner, airier, brighter and more spacious presentation, whilst keeping the thick notes, natural timbre, relaxed and smooth character of the OG. But yes, I kind of expected this when I read and heard some impressions from friends and others, honestly the differences were identical to when I compared Anni Gold 2023 and Anni Ti 2023.. Everything just opens up with more clarity and a better sense of air in between the instruments.
The staging has also changed as the OG had more of a wide staging going on less height, whilst the Ti retains that width and added more height and a bit more depth. Overall, it feels bigger than the OG yet it is still quite 2D with a bit of holography within the space.
Bass is definitely a step up here, it is more textured, good slam, not super punchy but just enough so that it doesn’t intrude into the mids. The mid-bassy quality of the OG bird is replaced with a more sub-bassy bass setup and this definitely gives the Bird Ti a better balance, cleaner feel of the lower end frequency. I do appreciate this retuning of the bass, but is the bass quantity lesser than the OG? No, I think it’s not lesser, but since the focus is shifted to the sub-bass, the mid-bass hump is what’s ‘missing’. Bass has good rumble on the sub-bass, reaches deep with a good attack and decay on the mid-bass, it strikes fast with a solid thump and air. It’s definitely a good and satisfying BA bass, a much better bass presentation than the OG with better quality and definitely complimentary to the overall tuning of the Bird Ti.
MIDS is what I championed the OG Traillii for and it remains that way here in the Bird Ti. The buttery smooth vocals, the pleasant and inoffensive texture is just Oh. So. Good! This is the soul of traillii, the smooth and analog quality of its mid, it’s caramel like. Giving you the right amount of sweet, buttery goodness that leaves you craving for more! Makes you wanna sing along, if not, at least mouth the lyrics along with the singer. With its relaxed and vivid presentation, it just puts you in the seat of an audience watching a live concert.
The Treble is now more airy, more sparkly, well-extended without being too bright and has no harshness. It gives notes in the higher register a bit more twinkle on the edges and space for its resonance. The whole package is fine-tuned with great tech and amazing detail retrieval! The tech on Bird Ti has definitely been supercharged from the OG. I was surprised at the amount of detail, sound imaging, layering, and resolution level that I was presented with, it is definitely a significant improvement upon the OG. The level of tech on the Bird Ti lets it stand among other great IEMs such as Fei Wan or Annihilator, but again the tech doesn’t pop at you, only because of the relaxed nature of Traillii, it sits back but it’s all there to show you what’s up. But is it STORM level? Yea mate sorry nah not that far.. But hey, it is more than enough for the overall tuning.
So TL;DR, is it great? Yes. Still sweet and addictive? Yes. More technical? Yes. Better bass? Yes. So overall it’s a better Traillii? Hell YES! So am I getting one? No. Why not? Okay, first things first, PRICE. Not in my budget to spend that much for a traillii improvement and also the place of a Traillii in my collection would be for when I listen to music whilst doing work. If that was my use case, at this point of my life, I’d just buy my OG traillii back and be done with it. It is because of its smooth and inoffensive presentation is why I would consider this IEM for a ‘Music in the background’ use, it is not distracting as compared to other iems like the Annihilator 2023 or even STORM. Secondly, remember I said I loved traillii for its mids? I need to a/b and test this, but I have a feeling that the OG traillii vocals might have a bit more rawness and emotive quality to it compared to the more ‘refined’ traillii ti. But again, my reasons not to get it is mainly financial. But hey, if you love Traillii’s sound signature and want an upgrade on tech, soundstage, bass quality, and not lose the OG qualities, get it, it is truly a legendary IEM for what it does. Personally, I’d regard this bird as Oriolus Traillii Pro Max and not so much a Traillii 2.0. Maybe one day if I have spare money, I’d get this Bird Ti for my collection.
Fitear Creator (US$8,500) [Fitear Creator > Creator Clarity 4W (Stock) > Azla Sedna Earfit Origin > iBasso 320MAX Ti]
First of all let me start off by saying, This is the best IEM build I’ve ever held in my hands! Suyama-san’s Titanium is second to none! It’s literally the titanium used for dental implants! Yes it’s shiny and I love it, I don’t mind the fingerprint magnet that it is, it just speaks premium, solid, and beautiful to me. Meanwhile the faceplate cover that you see with the creator logo is made of silver rather than titanium which I believe is manufactured by K2Craft. If you are wondering why I’ve put “DC Ti” next to the Creator name, it’s because Fitear Creator is the Universal version of Fitear DC Ti that only comes in CIEM form. The Fitear Creator is originally made to be paired with Creator cable from HK and it is a HK exclusive IEM. So SQ wise, Creator and DC Ti should be identical, notwithstanding that DC Ti CIEM form might give different focus on different FR, unique to each individual’s ears, also do note that DC Ti, when purchased, doesn’t come with a stock cable, because Suyama-san wanted people to explore and find their favourite cable pairing with the DC Ti.
If I were to oversimplify my impression on the Creator into 3 main points, it would be :
It pretty much sums up the character of the Creator. A very masculine and analog IEM that does everything in a grand manner with lots of depth, warmth with tons of expression, long resonances, rich, thick notes, meaty mids and hard hitting transients. The soundstage is wide that feels oval-ish, with more width than height and great depth, giving a grand presentation overall. For me this is a specialist IEM, PRaT here feels unrushed almost ‘slow’ if I can put it that way, where every note is expressed to the most, making it sound especially impressive for female/male vocals or pretty much any track with an ensemble setup such as jazz, acoustic, trios and so on. I love how strings that dwells in the bass clef such as Viola, Cello, Contrabass are so pronounced and the reverb lasts forever, every stroke is full of expression and the resonance lasts awhile without muddying the next notes. In addition to that, the bass quality of Creator.. is something I truly love, a foster DD bass with very deep, visceral, hard hitting, amazing texture, decay lasts and you can feel the air with every attack. But I have to say that it is not the fastest bass out there, with faster Electronic tracks, it does fall behind.
- Musical
- Immersive
- Engaging
Vocal is Creator’s specialty, it is so textured and so extended, and if I can coin @Deezel177 's words, it has a certain huskiness in its tone. As with its bass, vocals here is so well extended, it resonates long and far till it dissipates into thin air. Vocals are positioned quite forward and intimate, very emotive and lyrics do come to life. The sense of air in the vocals is so life-like, allowing each syllable to travel well. On top of the well-textured quality, there is also a certain smoothness to its vocals. Treble is adequately well extended, airy and has sparkle to balance out the massive lower end of the spectrum.
The Creator is an IEM that doesn’t try to impress you with its technical prowess and it does take a second of brain burn in to understand it. But once you realize what it does, you’re enveloped in a world of texture, weight, resonance, nuance, warmth, and analogue-ness. Above all, it defines what musical means. It doesn’t throw its tech proficient at you but rather does so with endless extension and meatiness in every spectrum. It just pulls you in to the music and gets you emotionally moved from note to note. This IEM literally says, forget everything, let’s just enjoy the music. That’s what Creator or DC Ti is to me.
I haven’t mentioned anything about its technicality, simply because it is technically capable and very resolving, but subpar in its detail retrieval and resolution. But is it enough tech in there? Definitely. Heck, I didn’t even realize what I was missing since I was so deep into the music. Only after a/b‘ing with my Annihilator that I was like “oh, that’s not there, oh where is this instrument? Where’s that synth? Didn’t hear that”. But really, you don’t need that with the Creator. Simply tune in and enjoy, as simple as that. Also, as I’ve said before that it is a specialist, how do I know this? I realized that I kept looking for specific tracks when listening with the Creator, meanwhile I just let my library play on shuffle with the Bird Ti. It’s not that I don’t want to hear other fast paced tracks and only certain ‘slower’ tracks on the Creator, but because it does so exceptionally well on these ‘slower tracks’ that it compels me to select them.
Suyama-san made a truly exceptional IEM here, I’ve never heard an IEM so musical and immersive. But I do feel that the best way to enjoy this IEM fully is to go the CIEM route, that is the Fitear DC Ti. The fit on the Creator is very wonky and not optimal for my ears, it is big, thick and uncomfortable to wear for long sessions. The only reasons why I can see people buying Creator is perhaps the universal shell does fit their ears, or future reselling purposes or catch and release kind of thing or they have no way to purchase the CIEM. Now, the DC Ti is definitely on my Radar as an immersive and vocal-specialist IEM, but we’ll have to see what SG Canjam 2024 has to offer, I have a feeling there will be quite a few surprises. Oh did I mention that Creator or DC Ti is super hard to drive? Yeah, it requires a similar amplification power as STORM if not more. Please do note that before buying, as you might need a desktop amp to fully release its potential.
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