Thieaudio Excalibur and Oracle Quick Sound Impressions
In terms of build quality and accessories, Thieaudio’s been pretty consistently lately with their quality control, so let’s just get straight to what matters: the sound.
Starting with the
Excalibur, the tuning is styled more like a typical mild-V shape like most of what’s in the current IEM market today. Emphasis is on the quantity of the subbass and bass as well as crisp treble. The slow rolloff in the bass shelf (the bass rise starts at 600Hz and keeps rising towards 20Hz) means that the mids on the Excalibur are on the warm side, rather than neutral. This makes lower tones, such as bass guitar, more audible, and thickens up the body of most instruments and male vocals. Probably suitable for rock/metal genres where you want that in-your-face excitement of thumpy kick drum, toms, and bass guitar. The amount of pinna gain (the rise from 800Hz to 3kHz) compensates for the amount of bass, giving it a good balance for the warmth. Normally with warm mids, the issue lies with vocals sounding like they are behind the mix, but the 3kHz placement of the pinna and 7dB quantity keeps the vox still clean and clearly discernible within the mix. EST implementation is well done, and its typical hot/metallic timbre is quite noticeable. That is just the nature of the EST drivers, and some may like it, others may not. It extends the upper trebles very well and gives a good sense of space and resolution, but it’s not as natural sounding as typical BA tweeters. Anyways, you’re getting your money’s worth for the EST implementation.
The
Oracle is the same driver configuration as the Excalibur, but tuned differently. Whereas the Excalibur is going for a more typical “fun” and enjoyable sounding IEM, the Oracle is tuned specifically for neutrality. A completely linear (flat) mids from 200Hz to 1kHz means you’re getting the sound as it is, no extra coloration. You can think of them as studio monitors vs home theatre systems. The amount of neutrality gives the sound quite a bit of sterility, and it is definitely something that mostly professionals will appreciate. These are monitors to the truest sense of the word. In the mix, vocals come front and foremost, with really well articulated crispness. The subbass on the Oracle still gives enough thump to keep the mix energetic, but the emphasis is more directly on the kickdrums rather than bass guitar. This style of tuning definitely lends to a more lean signature, but thankfully, the treble is tamed after the pinna gain, meaning it isn’t overly bright. Treble emphasizes more of the natural instrument overtones and gives cymbals a nice shimmer.
Between the two, if you are just a music enthusiast looking for a good set of earphones, the Excalibur is recommended. The Oracle is specifically designed for studio engineers and performing musicians in mind. They are studio monitors designed to reproduce the sound as uncolored and true to the original mix as possible, which allows engineers to precisely mix on the board, but may also come off as “boring” or unnatural to regular listeners.
Excalibur vs Dunu EST 112
The biggest difference is in the resolution. Particularly noticeable, the 112 mids falls behind in resolution and definition compared to the Oracle or Excalibur. The 112 is also a much smoother listen compared to the Exclaibur, which has a more engaging upper treble. The 112 sounds almost hollow when directly compared with the Excalibur. Vocals gain a little more presence and bite on the Excalibur over the 112 for this reason. However, the 112 does have a better textured bass, being a little more tighter and punchier than the Excalibur.
Excalibur vs Clairvoyance
Clairvoyance has a much punchier and tighter bass response than the Excalibur. And despite the lack of mid-bass on the Clairvoyance compared to the Excalibur, the Clairvoyance ends up sounding fuller and more engaging than the Excalibur, which in comparison sounds a little thinner and leaner. While the Clairvoyance also sounds more balanced than the Excalibur, the Excalibur does give a little more upper treble sparkle than the Clairvoyance. Excalibur has a little wider soundstage, but resolution, definition, and imaging are all better on Clairvoyance.
Oracle vs Monarch
Monarch has a significantly punchier and more impactful subbass than the Oracle, which in direct comparison feels limp. The Oracle has a more relaxed and smoother treble than the Monarch, which in turn, is more engaging in the upper treble. This however, does make the Oracle feel a little more balanced than the Monarch. Vocals on Monarch are slightly more forward and mid-upper emphasized, while the Oracle emphasizes more of body and bite. This is quite easy to visualize on the graph, with the Oracle having a scooped 2kHz region. This less aggressive pinna gain makes the Oracle not as forward as the Monrach, which I know some have complained about. Better resolution on the Monarch.
Monarch angles is more like blessing2 type wider than 100 degree, whereas clairvoyance is more 90 degree. I believe Thieaudio even used Western ear molds samples to build Clairvoyance, same to Monarch while using Asian ear molds.
Though I'd assume they'll add customization options later.
, but we’ll find out soon likely.
