[el-jorge]

Switching the tips multiple times, to see which have the best seal, sound, comfort.

Been there done that
I settled for now in the symbio W.

I got the monarchs with the plastic case. I have a feeling they barely fit. I can see a mark in the case cushion of the tip when they have been in there. Did someone else also notice this.

 

[ValeryPaul]

That was the reason that I wrote "probably" I don't know that. I read that sometimes, for example in crinacles blog. I think he has a lot of experience with IEMs and the quality (control). His first impression of the ThieAudio Oracle:



Another reason is this thread here. There a some users with defects and for example with cosmetic problems. For example that the faceplate doesn't match. Linsoul wrote to this specific topic, that there were problems in the QC. I have no reference to Sennheiser, but can't imagine that there would be such problems with the IE900, especially cosmetics problems. The IE900 is the only IEM from Sennheiser which is produced in Germany. That doesn't mean that the QC in Germany is in general better than in China. But normally producer take that step to produce in the more expensive homeland to guarantee a good quality and to controll the end results. I think that's the reason that you get a certificate of the QC.

That's the same with Leica, Zeiss, VW (Phaeton)....The expensive products are produced in Germany to to guarantee the quality.

But shure, you have to pay for that extra.

For a long time I have drank that German engineering kool-aid despite being a victim of the hype of German engineering. My VW GTI has its speakers going mute right after the 24,000 miles mark. Go figure, right on the spot when the warranty doesn't apply anymore. I have to admit, that was hard to do. I don't think the Chinese nor the Japanese could time it so perfectly! And then the lights of the dashboard, oh boy...leaking oil where the cap is...windows working on a part time basis. Despite this experience, I decided to upgrade my ride to a BMW 5 series, thinking well that was a VW, let's go up. More upscale. Headaches! All headaches! Only headaches! I'll take Chinese made anytime, cheaper, and disposable! I have the MEST Custom, brilliant, especially with the graphene cable from...China! Hundred bucks!

 

[GDunlop]

Been there done that
I settled for now in the symbio W.

I got the monarchs with the plastic case. I have a feeling they barely fit. I can see a mark in the case cushion of the tip when they have been in there. Did someone else also notice this.

Yeah, I get that too. They will fit but very snuggly inside the foam inside.

 

[SlydZ]

For a long time I have drank that German engineering kool-aid despite being a victim of the hype of German engineering. My VW GTI has its speakers going mute right after the 24,000 miles mark. Go figure, right on the spot when the warranty doesn't apply anymore. I have to admit, that was hard to do. I don't think the Chinese nor the Japanese could time it so perfectly! And then the lights of the dashboard, oh boy...leaking oil where the cap is...windows working on a part time basis. Despite this experience, I decided to upgrade my ride to a BMW 5 series, thinking well that was a VW, let's go up. More upscale. Headaches! All headaches! Only headaches! I'll take Chinese made anytime, cheaper, and disposable! I have the MEST Custom, brilliant, especially with the graphene cable from...China! Hundred bucks!

You misunderstood me. I did not want to emphasize the quality of German products, but German products that are also manufactured in Germany. Especially when the company decides to produces only a few premium products in Germany and the rest in low wage countries. This should apply equally to other countries where production costs in their own country are significantly higher than in low-wage countries. The reason is often that you can control the quality within the country. Of course, this does not mean that this is a guarantee of good quality and that this is always the case.

This is especially true for the German car industry. The German premium car models are mostly made in Germany and the cheaper ones in Eastern Europe.

I think its the case, because the company pay extra high wages to "guarantee" the quality.

A famous company is the soft toy manufacturer Steiff, which is really premium and high priced. They really tried hard to get the same quality to produce in china, but gave up and produce now again in Germany.

 

[drummguy26]

So a quick survey here... If you had the choice to go with the Campfire Atlas or the Thieaudio Excalibur, which would you choose? I can have one of the other but not both and I'm having a hard time deciding.

 

[bithloman]

FYI if you find Oracle too harsh in the upper mids/treble, try tip rolling. The stock tips (Spinfit CP100 M) are considered to be neutral, but i tried them with a few other IEMs and they indeed boost upper mids too much for me. Not a good match with brighter IEM such as Oracle. I might be too treble sensitive, so I enjoy long listening sessions with Oracle + Comply TX400 (the ones with the mesh), which I never used before due to dampening treble too much. Now I have to find tips for critical / focused listening. Got some (BGVP, ePro Horn, even Spinfit CP145 L to try if better seal would help) on the way.

i dont find the oracle bright in any way. it is quite neutral not saying you cant feel that its bright but i would say on average they arent bright at all . tips rolling can help as well as using foam tips can cut some brightness. i do have trouble with the bore size on the oracle, i find xelastic to sound the best with most earphones.

 

[bithloman]

So a quick survey here... If you had the choice to go with the Campfire Atlas or the Thieaudio Excalibur, which would you choose? I can have one of the other but not both and I'm having a hard time deciding.

the excalibur is supposed to be a more V shaped version of the oracle. so if you are sensitive to brightness might not be the ones but im sure they are more fun havent heard much about the atlas , might want to check the freq response of both using crinacles program that compares different graphs over the top of each other and you can see if something is more bright or not . obviously Freq response doesnt mean everything.

 

[bithloman]

For a long time I have drank that German engineering kool-aid despite being a victim of the hype of German engineering. My VW GTI has its speakers going mute right after the 24,000 miles mark. Go figure, right on the spot when the warranty doesn't apply anymore. I have to admit, that was hard to do. I don't think the Chinese nor the Japanese could time it so perfectly! And then the lights of the dashboard, oh boy...leaking oil where the cap is...windows working on a part time basis. Despite this experience, I decided to upgrade my ride to a BMW 5 series, thinking well that was a VW, let's go up. More upscale. Headaches! All headaches! Only headaches! I'll take Chinese made anytime, cheaper, and disposable! I have the MEST Custom, brilliant, especially with the graphene cable from...China! Hundred bucks!

if you think german quality in general is worse than chinese or that chinese is fine because its so cheap that its disposable i guess we just have different views of what quality actually is. just because something is so cheap its disposable doesnt make it better in any way. the car industry is a well oiled machine to keep people buying more cars. but the engineering of non chinese companies cannot be ignored. there is a reason all the main medical equipment and military equipment is not made in china. nothing bad to say towards china but its not even close . i dont understand your argument . other than saying things are disposable which i agree with but i find that to be a very bad thing. things should not be disposable for more reasons than the environment. sennheiser makes the single most reliable headphones in the world that have been going on for 25 years of the same model people still have the originals. find a single chinese audio product that would last that long.

 

[bombom]

How is Oracle compared to L5, particularly bass and mids? Is bass better on Oracle or it is of the same quality?

 

[MynnyD]

So a quick survey here... If you had the choice to go with the Campfire Atlas or the Thieaudio Excalibur, which would you choose? I can have one of the other but not both and I'm having a hard time deciding.

What is your price for Atlas? MSRP (899$) is quite a bit higher than Excalibur. Your driver preference is important, some people prefer hybrids (speed, resolution, treble, taking full advatage of different types of drivers), while others pure single dynamic drivers (potentialy more coherent and pleasing sound less prone to peaks).

 

[kael13]

Well... My Oracle is now at my local delivery office.. Which happens to be closed on a Wednesday. Just my luck.

Edit: nope! Here they are! Impressions to follow. On a meeting all day but from 2 minutes listening - very smooth! And enough bass... Don't know what I was worried about.

 

[drummguy26]

What is your price for Atlas? MSRP (899$) is quite a bit higher than Excalibur. Your driver preference is important, some people prefer hybrids (speed, resolution, treble, taking full advatage of different types of drivers), while others pure single dynamic drivers (potentialy more coherent and pleasing sound less prone to peaks).

Actually I already have the Atlas, but was thinking of selling it for the Excalibur. I'm quite the fan of hybrid IEMs and the sound they produce for the same reason as you stated, taking advantage of different types of drivers for their target frequency range.

I love the bass of the Atlas, but definitely wish there was more treble. So I find myself EQing the Atlas a lot to get the sound I want.

Even though the Atlas is more expensive over the Excalibur, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's better IMO. I've read a couple reviews about the Excalibur and everyone says it has a very fun and exciting sound signature. That was the reason why I got the Atlas in the first place, but if the Excalibur can solve the EQ problem, then I might just make the jump over to the Excalibur.

 

[bithloman]

Actually I already have the Atlas, but was thinking of selling it for the Excalibur. I'm quite the fan of hybrid IEMs and the sound they produce for the same reason as you stated, taking advantage of different types of drivers for their target frequency range.

I love the bass of the Atlas, but definitely wish there was more treble. So I find myself EQing the Atlas a lot to get the sound I want.

Even though the Atlas is more expensive over the Excalibur, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's better IMO. I've read a couple reviews about the Excalibur and everyone says it has a very fun and exciting sound signature. That was the reason why I got the Atlas in the first place, but if the Excalibur can solve the EQ problem, then I might just make the jump over to the Excalibur.

thieaudio IEMS are the only ones i have never had to EQ maybe add a bit of bass to the oracle but the Excalibur already has that EQ so i imagine the treble is even more airy without being metalic or hard sounding and the bass is nice and punchy even on the oracle let alone the Excalibur. i really dont think you need to worry, they hit above their price point. not many people got the excalibur over the oracle IMO the oracle is just like the perfect smooth profile but you want exciting so seems the excalibur is perfect for you.

 

[drummguy26]

thieaudio IEMS are the only ones i have never had to EQ maybe add a bit of bass to the oracle but the Excalibur already has that EQ so i imagine the treble is even more airy without being metalic or hard sounding and the bass is nice and punchy even on the oracle let alone the Excalibur. i really dont think you need to worry, they hit above their price point. not many people got the excalibur over the oracle IMO the oracle is just like the perfect smooth profile but you want exciting so seems the excalibur is perfect for you.

Yes. My thoughts exactly! Looks like I'll be selling my Atlas then.

 

[James Shoegazer]

del