[mark2410]

Trinity Delta Review

 

Thanks to Trinity for the sample and collaboration.

 

 

 

First Impressions:  Well what I have here clearly isn’t what the rest of you will get.  I’m running on pre production “prototypes” so my packaging is, err a poly bag.  So I guess that means I should crack on with the listening.  Before I do that though, I do see a little tube with the selection of “filters.”  Yes the Delta is one of those sound variable IEM’s that gives a reviewer 3 times as much work, sigh.  Still if you’re going to have just one IEM I can see why it could be handy to have one you can tailor to your tastes.

 

So in the ears and the filter in them is the “silver” one.  I think that’s the flat one.  Hmm going by the colouring surely the silver one ought to be the trebly one, black the bassy and the goldish one the flater one in the middle.  I feel confused.  Anyway, clarity right off is most impressive.  Rather V shaped sound going on here mids could do with more prominence but the treble for a BA seems quite excellent.  I think the DUNU- DN-900 may be in for a bit of a kicking.

 

 

 

Source: Hisoundaudio Studio V 3^rd Anv., FiiO E7/E9 combo, HiFiMAN HM-650, Nexus 5, 1G Ipod Shuffle and the Graham Slee Solo Linear Ultra.

 

Lows:  Deep inside we have a big dynamic doing the low end and depth wise it shows.  Now it changes quite a bit with the different filters.  The silver ones seem to be most sealed and there we get the most V shaped and impactful punch.  The depth feels if anything thing rather slanted upward as it descends.  Poppy, punchy power all the way.  It’s rather rambunctious and eager to show off.  The goldish filters in and they seem rather more vented and it gives a much more open acoustic style.  As with open headphones the lows feel more grown up and begin to fall off rapidly as it descends low.  The black one though, it’s a bit of a queer duck.   Its open like the gold but it also has a filter that sizeable sedates the treble so comparatively the bass and mids come out more.  In regards to the bass, it keeps the open air and while it does suffer the open drop off you have cranked the volume to compensate for the filters muting.  The end result is you sacrifice the deepest lows for a vastly more noticeably nuanced bass.  It feels authoritative and detailed.  It is also agile in a way that kinda takes aim at the DN-900 and sadly for Dunu its a clear level or two up on it.  Sure you need to work the amp a little harder to make it sing but I figure if your buying £90 IEM’s that’s not going to be that big a problem for you.  

 

It comes down to a question of taste.  The gold and black filters give open styled bass with the black being quantitatively much greater.  Open headphones give vastly more articulated bass and far more agility.  Closed gives you that heavy, weighty and solid impact at the expense of nuance and lithe control.  Silver gives you power and punch, black gives you gloriously talented skill.  Gold gives you treble.

 

 

 

Mids:  Oh those filters, once more the black one is the one that appeals to me.  It mutes the top end and being open it loses the punch of a closed IEM.  The mids then have the best opertunity of the three to come forth and play.  They are still not what I’d call middy and I do love mid centric stuff.  Here it’s clear and detailed.  It’s very middling tonally, perhaps it’s the slightest hint towards liquid, it is a BA after all.  Vocals are reminding me of the old but glorious KC3.  It sacrifices a hint of breathiness to give you a somewhat monitor like deadness.  It feels that teeny bit dead inside.  Then I compare it to some other IEM’s and what’s instantly apparent is that its competing at a level above things at the same price.  I know price wise you don’t have to go up too far before you find its comparable.  Vocally it’s not exciting and it’s not particularly emotive either. Nevertheless these are vocally the equal of the triple driver DN-1000 rather than the 900 which is quite something. 

 

Swapping to the silvers and the vocals start to sit back a bit.  They retain their vocal darkness, if anything thing its fractionally more dark but more focused.  The quantity though is what’s really different, the highs and bass both take a step forward leaving the vocals in a valley.  Its that classic V shaped sound signature.  The clarity is still excellent being highly articulate with poppy mediocre vocals.  Breathy subtle vocals aren’t so breathy however.  With the gold ones the bass takes a dive so vocals are a sliver lighter tonally, it is not what I’d call open and breathy vocally, think more rich and fluid.

 

 

 

 

Highs:  For a single BA doing the mids and the treble, I am most impressed.  It’s still a BA so it has issues with treble extension as they all do, if you want the very highest highs you should still look to a dynamic.  Otherwise it’s bloody good.  Head to head with the 900 and this bests it.  The 900 is more narrow and focused where the Delta has a greater width and breadth to it.  It still has that monitor esq hint of deadness to it so some may like the more alive 900 but in terms of technical ability we have a winner here.  With the black filter and its treble filter tames the more brutal aspects and while I could see some finding it too sedate the quality is exemplary.  It is my favourite filter.

 

Swapping to the silvers and that V shaped brutality kicks in and while head to head its competitors it is excellent.  For my ears all a little aggressive and dazzling.  BA’s in my opinion can be too edgy up top and while this puts up a truly valiant effort the MA-750 feels ever so more naturally capable.  With the golds in its just the same as the silvers but sans big bass.  In theory that should make it one for treble heads, it does this by increased venting so I’m not sure treble junkies will love the resultant loss of sound isolation.  The gold filter really does show off just how detailed and capable the driver in side is.

 

 

 

Soundstage:  So so.  Size wise there is nothing super special here.  It’s bigger with the silver and golds in, both being open.  So you get more a hint of air and breadth but its middling in scale.  Putting in the blacks and things take on a bit more of that monitor deadness.  Things feel more closed in and a bit more intimate.  They take one a monitor esq enclosed and darkened room feel to them.  The blacks feel VERY well integrated for a dynamic/BA hybrid.

 

 

 

Fit:  Good.  The angle of the cable coming out the buds id have preferred at 90 degrees to improve wearing up fit but they coped okay.  Wearing down they were likewise effortless to stick in your ears.

 

 

 

Comfort:  Worn up or down their very ordinary shape made for very ordinary fit.  No issues whatsoever.

 

 

 

Microphonics:  None.  Even wearing down if you’re one of those people how insist doing so.  The cable is great quite frankly.  I mean if you will consult crazy earphone like us these are the things that get done right.  Yes Klipsch I’m looking at you, the Custom 3 may have sounded wonderful but the cable was worse than if you had used a coat hanger.

 

 

 

Cable:  Its practically perfect in every way.  Its exactly what I would have picked for them.  Shocking I know.

 

 

 

Amped/Unamped:  These have been built with phones in mind.  They were easily driven to excellence out of just my mediocre Nexus 5.  The bass did loosen up a bitty and the treble took a bit of a quality knock (the phone just hasn’t the treble quality of better sources.)  so you can perfectly happily use these out of a phone and get a great deal out of them, they don’t “need” an amp but….. frankly when you are getting to this quality level you are missing out if you use just a phone.  I realise there are better phone outputs than my Nexus 5 but if you think that any phone matches truly dedicated, quality outputs you are mistaken.  Out of big and ever so slightly expensive Solo Linear Ultra they look on a new degree of ass spanking goodness.  You throw power at them and they make good use of it.

 

Still if you must use your phone, these work well even with sucky amp outputs.

 

 

 

Isolation:  The black and gold filters are both vented so neither isolate massively.  The black ones were a bit better but nothing to write home about.  The blacks were fine for day to day use, being sat on a bus but they are not sealed so I’d skip for a Tube commute or flight.  The silvers being more sealed were a bit better but these remain so so isolators.  It goes without saying, its more than enough to get you run over if you aren’t using your eyes around roads.

 

 

 

Accessories:  You get a fair package.  Funky triangular case, 4 pairs of tips but I think foamies might also be coming.  Then lastly the little metal tube for the filters.  Pretty much what you really want.

 

 

 

Value:  Right now I’m inclined to say it’s my favourite IEM I’ve to date heard for £90.  Best however is always arguable and an abstract term so there is no such thing as “best” rather there is a best for you.  This won’t be everything to everyone, the filters do go some way to making this something you could gift with confidence the recipient will be pleased.  Most buyers will quickly find the filter for them based on their own preferences which for me was the black.  It was bassy and middy and with a price point busting detail level.  At the Kickstarter “earlybird” price they are an outright steal.

 

 

 

Conclusion:  Okay, I pretty much hate music tuning filters.  I have 400 million IEM’s and I know very well what I like and can extrapolate from others writings what is and what is not going to be for me.  Everyone doesn’t have that luxury so I do understand where tuneable filters come from, if you are going to buy just one IEM and you aren’t super sure what’s you and what isn’t, it negates the risk somewhat. 

 

 

 

The gold filter, it’s the kinda trebly one.  Or the flat / neutral one.  Actually with really well recorded things I found myself enjoying it in small doses.  It’s so open and detailed.  However it’s just the sort of thing I’d want a bass boosting amp for.  Err or just use the black filters.  Still treble heads will like I’m sure but to me it seems a shame to net get the most out of that dynamic driver too.

 

 

 

The silver one was not really to my tastes, with its big V shaped sound.  The bass is big and potently punchy, the treble is crisp and dazzling.  It’s a thrilling and dramatic sound.  You get all the oomph that dynamic can give you down low and the crispy edgy BA treble up top.  Both are clearly exceedingly accomplished, I get that, I really do.  Still I found myself gravitating to the black filters again.  The Silvers are just to WAAAA!!!!!!! for little old me.

 

 

 

Then the black.  They just manage to nudge things into an ever so much more grown up, mature sound.  The word monitor keeps flitting into my mind.  They aren’t truly monitor flat dullness but they have that acoustic deadness in the background.  Like every little imperfection and reflection that’s not supposed to be there has been suppressed by taking out the bottom layer of the dynamic range.  That faint wisp of hiss and openness has been Dolby’d out and it leaves something feels so sonically pure.

 

 

 

Music feels like anything extraneous has been gently erased and you’re left with this darkened pit of acoustic goodness.  Everything feels very controlled with an overshadowing darkness.  That darkness pervades everything.  Visually you might think of it as a well calibrated TV that to appreciate it you require to sit in a dimly lit room.  Once you get the acoustic room levelled properly then you can full appreciate the full range of what is being displayed before you.  The black filters give you that appropriate room and then the music become the true centre of your focus.  You can notice and pick out tiny little details that you otherwise would miss because your senses are too busy being blinded with your TV set to “shop” mode.  You know that mode, where the brightness is set to 400% colour, is at max, contrast is at max, edge “enhancement” is turned on etc etc etc.  It pops visually but subtlety is eradicated and along with it a boat load of nuance.

 

 

 

I do rather fee that if your spending best part of £100 on an IEM you will be more drawn to the subtly of the blacks.  Perhaps you may use the Deltas as a transitional IEM, using the silvers as an option to take you away from your former audio listening days and gently ease you into the maturity of the blacks.  For the cash it’s a great and versatile option.  Personally I’d never use the silver or gold filters.  The black ones though, let you see what the drivers can do inside it and when you power it well, feeding it a quality source, they absolutely shine.

 

 

[mark2410]

Trinity Delta Quick Review

 

Thanks to Trinity for the sample and collaboration.

 

Brief:  Yet another new UK firm kicking some serious arse.

 

Price:  £90 or about US$137

 

Specification:      Balanced Armature + 8mm neodymium dynamic drivers, 3 x Interchangeable tuning filter system, Impedance 16Ohm, Sensitivity 110 +/- 3DB,   Frequency response 19 - 21000HZ, Gold plated 3.5mm Jack, 1.2M Cable length

 

Accessories:  Filters, bunch of tips and a wee case.

 

Build Quality:  Looks great.  The jack is particularly sturdy and the cable is perfect.

 

Isolation:  It’s a bit filter dependant.  Black, okay.  Silver, okay, about normal for a dynamic.  Gold, meh.  I could live with these for normal out and about but not really Tube stuff.  More than enough to make you road kill if you don’t keep your eyes open though.

 

Comfort/Fit:  Very good on both accounts. 

 

Aesthetics:  Bland.  I like the gun metal colouring but it’s very subtle looking overall.

 

Sound:  Filter dependant.  The golds are the open trebly ones, which if you want bass light and treble I’d always go for a single BA myself and get isolation.  Still it’s an option if you want.  The Silver, it I can see as appealing to some.  It’s big, brash and highly V shaped.  The bass is hard and punchy, the treble dazzling and attention seeking.  The mids get a bit overshadowed but are still clear and detailed.  Though for me the black filters are where these come into their own.  The bass loses it furthest depths and the highs mute themselves considerably.  In short, they grow up.  The bass takes on a nuance and control that was too busy punching you with the silvers.  The highs are refined and detailed superbly for a BA, especially for a single BA doing the mids too!  The mids, they have a darkness, a certain sense of the void about them like your listening to everything in a treated acoustic chamber.  Everything that bit deadened taking away all the little noises that aren’t supposed to be there. Its offers a beautifully dark background to more fully display the fullest range of colour and shading before you like a properly calibrated TV might in a faintly lit room.  The littlest of differences that you might otherwise miss out on in a less controlled environment.  So much detail yet so subtle in its display yet so apparent when you seek it.  In short its price point leading goodness.  Top class bass, mids and dynamics.  Bar setting audio quality.

 

Value:  Right now as good as it gets. (Kickstarter early bird offers are stupendous value.)

 

Pro’s:   Truly fine audio quality with a sumptuously black background. Glorious.

 

Con’s:  Plain looks.  Gold and silver filters not subtle about the treble.

 

 

 

[mark2410]

here is a link to their Kickstarter  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/157887895/trinity-audio-engineering-audiophile-grade-in-ear
 
and here is one for the main Trinity thread http://www.head-fi.org/t/760277/introducing-trinity-audio-engineering

 

[moracajay]

Better than my re600 when it comes to treble.? Can you tell me if treble is close to re0 using gold filter?

 

[mark2410]

Better than my re600 when it comes to treble.? Can you tell me if treble is close to re0 using gold filter?

hmm interesting, id say re gold and re0 that the treble on the re0 is going to be the better of the two.  the 0 has one of the very very best trebles when well driven and the very best dynamics such as the 0 beat every BA ive ever heard.  that said of course the 0 need power to shine, lots of power and the delta is far more easy to drive.  in terms of quantity they are similar bet the delta still has more fullness in the bottom.
 
so while the delta is very very good up top as to which is "best" is going to depend on what you pair it up to and on which style you prefer.
 
similar goes for the 600.  the 600 like the 0 wants a power station behind it to be its very best.  the delta is certainly much more prominent than the 600.

 

[moracajay]

hmm interesting, id say re gold and re0 that the treble on the re0 is going to be the better of the two.  the 0 has one of the very very best trebles when well driven and the very best dynamics such as the 0 beat every BA ive ever heard.  that said of course the 0 need power to shine, lots of power and the delta is far more easy to drive.  in terms of quantity they are similar bet the delta still has more fullness in the bottom.

so while the delta is very very good up top as to which is "best" is going to depend on what you pair it up to and on which style you prefer.

similar goes for the 600.  the 600 like the 0 wants a power station behind it to be its very best.  the delta is certainly much more prominent than the 600.

Honestly, i am hoping hifiman to re-make the re0 and all its SQ intact. I only have them for six months but really enjoy them. Thas was 4 years ago. From my memory it is still my all time fav when it comes to SQ.

Sadly been searching quite a while now for reO like sound quality IEM.
.. I'll have to settle with re600 for now until re0 rebirth...

Thanks for answering my question.

 

[RedTwilight]

Great review!! I'm actually looking at them as a potential upgrade to the Havi B3P1. Any comments on the comparison between these 2 value kings? Thanks ~

 

[mark2410]

Better than my re600 when it comes to treble.? Can you tell me if treble is close to re0 using gold filter?

hmm interesting, id say re gold and re0 that the treble on the re0 is going to be the better of the two.  the 0 has one of the very very best trebles when well driven and the very best dynamics such as the 0 beat every BA ive ever heard.  that said of course the 0 need power to shine, lots of power and the delta is far more easy to drive.  in terms of quantity they are similar bet the delta still has more fullness in the bottom.
 
so while the delta is very very good up top as to which is "best" is going to depend on what you pair it up to and on which style you prefer.
 
similar goes for the 600.  the 600 like the 0 wants a power station behind it to be its very best.  the delta is certainly much more prominent than the 600.

Honestly, i am hoping hifiman to re-make the re0 and all its SQ intact. I only have them for six months but really enjoy them. Thas was 4 years ago. From my memory it is still my all time fav when it comes to SQ.

Sadly been searching quite a while now for reO like sound quality IEM.
.. I'll have to settle with re600 for now until re0 rebirth...

Thanks for answering my question.

 
i absolutly agree.  hifiman has made some of the most incedible sounding IEM's ever stupidly cheap too, sad that the RE-0 isnt made anymore.

Great review!! I'm actually looking at them as a potential upgrade to the Havi B3P1. Any comments on the comparison between these 2 value kings? Thanks ~

well id love to comment but sadly i have not heard heard the Havi's

 

[EthanSpitz]

Great review! Question for you. I currently own the Shure SE215, do you think the Trinity Deltas will provide a better overall sound in general?
 
Thanks!

 

[RedTwilight]

 
well id love to comment but sadly i have not heard heard the Havi's

 
Managed to find a short comparison in Brooko's review just now but thanks for replying anyway. =)

 

[mark2410]

  Great review! Question for you. I currently own the Shure SE215, do you think the Trinity Deltas will provide a better overall sound in general?
 
Thanks!

 
in a word, yes.
 
the 215 isolates a bit better but acousticaly unless you are desperate to keep the 215's thicker and heavier bass the Delta is pretty much in every way better.

 

[EthanSpitz]

Great news then!
 
Thanks!

 

[Music818]

BA + dynamic...cool!

 

[Ezekeel]

Currently own a pair of IE80 and I am very happy with them; mostly listen to Rock/Pop music. You think it would be worth checking out the Delta or will they offer no improvements over the IE80?

 

[mark2410]

  Currently own a pair of IE80 and I am very happy with them; mostly listen to Rock/Pop music. You think it would be worth checking out the Delta or will they offer no improvements over the IE80?

in a word, no.  or in another word, yes.
 
the IE8's and hence the 80 are true top teir IEM's and the Deltas wont best them.  they are not a top teir but they are at what i think of as that next teir down.  therefore no they are not "better" but at this level its got far more to do with personal preference, and a favoured style, a better DAP pairing, to offer a different flavour. 
 
for me, if i had to have one either the IE8 or the Delta as my only IEM id pick the Delta as it is far more to my personal tastes than the IE8 is.  for me the 8 is far too V shaped and overly bombastic with its huge bass and prominent treble, it would just exhaust me.  the Delta with the black tips i could use all day happily.