TRI earphone impressions - I4 and I3, Starlight, NEW Starsea
SciOC
Headphoneus Supremus
I think it depends on your desired listening volume. I don't believe in audio voodoo, but I know I listen LOUD. Definitely on the too loud side....
What I've found listening this way is that amps that have a lot of power are necessary for me. If you have an amp without a lot of power, when you really start to play it to out past your desired listening level or to mine, it starts making the sound worse overall. But with lots of extra power you won't run into that. The RHA CL2 and my DAPs are a good example. I was listening to them at 95/100 steps on the original Hiby R6 on high gain and wasn't satisfied because it was obvious I was pushing the amp too hard and getting more distortion (I believe around 300mw balanced). Moving to the R6 Pro, I probably achieve the same volume on that set around 70/100. BUT if I push the volume steps to say, 80/100, I don't add much volume but overall the dynamics and soundstage expand with the extra power, without sacrificing quality like a lesser powered amp being pushed too hard.
The desktop stuff I have and the fiio A5 have plenty of power ranging between 1-3 watts output power. The thx amps can go up to 6 watts. Honestly, anything over 750mw or so is probably overkill for 99.9% of IEMs, but personally I need my DAPs/amps to have at least 500mw@16ohm for me to feel comfortable they have enough power....
Side note:. The I3 doesn't need more power than a good chunk of my sets but it's not nearly as power hungry as the RHA CL2 or over the ear sets and earbuds.
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Sounds like you need an Emotiva A-100 amp: link
It's an old school, toroidal based amp, that can deliver more power than any headphone can handle, when the jumper is set to kill (bypasses the 220 ohm resistors). I'm about to dust mine off, to break in some new "bookshelf" (JBL Studio 570) speakers.
Power Output (headphone output; direct drive mode)
(requires internal jumper; USE WITH CAUTION):
8 Ohms: 50 watts / channel
33 Ohms: 12 watts / channel
47 Ohms: 8.5 watts / channel
150 Ohms: 2.6 watts / channel
300 Ohms: 1.3 watts / channel
600 Ohms: 0.6 watts / channel
cleg
Headphoneus Supremus
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My video about the Starsea
Knock Knock, where's Wendy?
Are the new i3's nozzle different?
Hi friend, yes, the new i3 has a different nozzle in mesh with the old one, but the tuning is same and not influenced.
@WendyLi Can you tell us why you changed the mesh on the I3? Does it mean that the tuning has changed?
Hi friend, the tuning has not changed. As for the reason, I do not know why the mesh was changed.
ChrisOc
Headphoneus Supremus
Interesting review, worth watching while we wait to hear them. If I am right, your verdict seems to be, versatile, given the tuning switches, and competent with something for everyone. No doubt we will find out soon.
dharmasteve
Headphoneus Supremus
This morning the postman rang and handed me a nice large package. Opened it and lo and behold, a very pretty large box and inside the TRi STARSEA. The review above from Cleg is quite positive. On this very thread though @baskingshark sees them quite moderately. On another site the review is very poor. I haven't gone into a deep listening session but on one score it is apples versus oranges as my set have quite prominent bass. The supplied cable is very nice, but I like to run things balanced so I attached a two pin balanced copper FAAEAL cable to my HiBy R5, and as I'm more a listener than a reviewer, I put on my L Spiral Dots because I use those tips on most of my IEMs, especially when I compare with other sets. Well.....on three bassy tracks with the Starsea set at balanced, Hans Zimmer.....Why So Serious, at 3min 27 seconds, the Bass/Sub Bass is really prominent, on Nitin Sawhney....Anthem Without Nation the Sub Bass is prominent, and 2PAQ.....Ambitionz Az A Ridah the midbass thump is fairly elevated. Anyone who was worried there is no bass on these need not fear UNLESS there are unit variation and QC problems. I've got a lot more listening to do and possibly after brain burn-in there may be some physical burn-in. I like the sound at the moment, but of course things can change after extended listening. Mids and treble I'll take my time with and come back after a couple of days.
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Thanks for the impressions! Which tuning switch are you using for your above impressions?
I find on all the tuning switches, the Starsea is indeed subbass prominent as you say, but the midbass is a bit lacking in thump, especially on the Vocal and Pure Tone configs. It is north of neutral, but not at basshead levels and the subbass doesn't extend that deep compared to other DD bass types. But maybe I'm a basshead and have different demands of bass haha.
I'm also only using stock tips (the silicone green one) and stock cable, running thru a Khadas Tone Board -> Topping L30 (single ended), which is quite a neutralish setup, so no aftermarket cables or tips used in evaluation for the bass.
dharmasteve
Headphoneus Supremus
I am staying on balanced until I burn them in. With four tunings it can get confusing and I need to concentrate deeply on just one at the moment. It's worth listening to 2PAQ, Ambitionz Az A Ridah to get an idea of midbass. On my set it's quite pronounced. Can you get hold of another set as your set may not be quite right? The bass is actually quite similar to the TRi i3. If yours is not then I think your pair are not quite right. There really is plenty bass.
Yes agreed, the "balanced" and "amazing bass" switches has quite okay bass amounts, definitely north of neutral and around the TRI I3's amounts, but the Pure Tone and Vocal ones are a bit bass lite for my tastes. But the bass are probably intentionally dropped on those last 2 tunings to emphasize the higher frequencies, so there's that.
dharmasteve
Headphoneus Supremus
The Starsea is quite loud. On my HiBy R5 balanced high gain I use Vol 28 out of a 100 and it is loud enough.....and I like it quite loud.
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I do think that the TRI Starsea's bass is definitely adequate in quantity on the balanced and amazing bass switches, just that the bass note weight is thinner and it lacks energy/dynamics for the bass thump, if you know what I mean. The bass is fast and doesn't have the longest decay like the usual DD type bass. The subbass rolls off quite early too, so it really sounds closer to a BA bass in terms of quality and dynamics than the usual DD type bass which "moves air". So it is not really quantity of bass per se.
Yeah, but maybe as I said, I'm a basshead, so we might be speaking from relatively different view points and expectations, and we are also using different eartips/sources/cables, which may affect bass quantity to some extent.
But the TRI Starsea has very good technical performance for sure and it will be a good monitoring IEM, in addition to the different tuning switches giving a variety of options for sound signaturse and music genre preferences. Though I think it isn't a basshead set even on the "amazing bass" config which confers the greatest bass amounts.
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dharmasteve
Headphoneus Supremus
Well these things are quite subjective, but I've flipped the switch to bass enhanced and on my set it really is enhanced. I reckon I'm a bass head, I was reared on big speakers at venues and gigs, and have even got the so called, alleged bass killer, the Smabat Black Bat bass monster IEM on order. I am not a neutral person. I feel sure that on the bass setting on this Starsea it is genuinely bass enhanced. Time will tell and people will give their views. Opinions even out over time so it will be interesting to see how people feel about the Starsea. I do hear bass strongly and I have big ear canals and need large eartips. I'm trying to get to grips with the Timbre and the Upper Mids at the moment.
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