The Tralucent 1plus2 had been on my radar for some time. I had always been on the BA side of the drivers debate and I had never liked any of the dynamic drive IEMs. The closest one that I would have purchased was the EX1000. Coming from the ER4S sound the warmth and bassy sound of many dynamic drivers just wasn't my cup of tea. Then the hybrids came and sparked my interest with dynamic drivers again.
I had been avoiding this thread to 1) try to not kill my wallet too many times, and 2) don't let other reviews/impressions skewed my impression. My curiosity finally got the better of me and I met up with Gavin today for a demo. Big thanks to Gavin for spending almost 2 hours with me chatting music and beyond. It was a wallet death trap I willingly walked into fully knowing how many wallet casualties it had already caused.
The man - Gavin is very articulated and is really more of an enthusiast than a vendor/sponsor. The 1plus2 was actually the last thing on our minds when we chatted on the industry, the market, shopping experiences and played with other products. His great affection to Fitear made him sounding more like Suyama-san's representative than of his own brand at times. I must say I'm hooked on his balanced FT334+Intruder+AK100 set even tho I'm stack allergic and is married to the AK120 (at least for now
). It is easy to tell he has a genuine desire to produce the best product for himself and to share the result with us.
The demo - the demo unit came with gold+silver upgrade cable and we demo'ed with and without the Tralucent amp (which is a newer version than the T1) with my AK120 as source. Comparisons below are against FT334+Twag v3 8-conductor unless otherwise mentioned. Having went through the many impressions and review in this thread I really didn't find much to add besides the point that it really sound as nice as the high praise it received. Clarity - check, separation - check, coherent - check, timbre - check, bass impact and accuracy - check, soundstage - check, treble energy - check. It has to have one of the highest resolving power amongst IEMs I had owned/demo'ed. In fact I had just demo'ed the new Fitear Parterre before meeting the Gavin and the 1plus2 (
Fitear Parterre impression here) and to my surprise I would prefer using the 1plus2 for the symphonies and other full arrangement classical music than the Parterre. The 1plus2 provided the perfect accentuation to the sfortzandos and the forte-piano with very crisp attack and just enough decay to fully engage you in the music and not sounding dry. The notes are also sustained with good timbre. When amp'ed it provided even more power and clarity. The dynamic range is very good with sufficient sub bass and treble extension on both end. It also can be more explosive and raw sounding than the more refined/polite Fitear. Compared to the Fitear it feels less warm, have a wider soundstage, and give you more distance away from the mids. Depending on your preference you may or may not like its mids/vocal presentation. I find it different to the Fitear yet quite engaging in its own way that allows me to appreciate the same tracks in a different way. Besides classical, I have also tested with jazz, metal, pop rock, vocals, trance, electronica, and hip-hop and don't find any particular weakness. Personally I like the classical presentation on it the most.
The intangibles - My previous experience with other hybrid demos had me thinking hybrids are nothing more than a fad. The 1plus2 definitely showed that hybrids, when done properly, has the potential to compete or improve upon totl multi-BAs. The sound as it stand is already quite good and I can now understand all the praise it had received on HF. Gavin mentioned he would have another batch of units ready to ship and I can't wait to see a pair of brand new 1plus2 as the demo unit is quite beaten up and dampen my interest with its current aesthetics and built. The gold+silver cable is also very Fitear-seque: great sound quality while stiff and microphonic that seems quite durable.
My wallet may have won the day, but I'm wondering how long it can keep my head-fi lust at bay?
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