Oriolus IEM Succinct Review

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by purr1n, May 12, 2016.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Oriolus IEM Review: Pretty Good, but Not Quite Perfect!

    MEASUREMENTS: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/oriolus-iem-measurements.2069/


    Disclaimer: I have no idea what these really are. @CEE TEE asked me if I wanted to check these out and I said OK. I found out later they were dynamic / balanced armature hybrids. I still don't know anything how the drivers are arranged internally nor do I care, as it seems that IEM geeks, at the least the virgins, masturbate too much over this kind of stuff. All I care about it how it sounds. I also have absolutely no idea how much these cost nor do I know who Dmitri is, although I seem to hear that name a lot. I don't even know were these IEMs originate, although "Oriolus" does sound like some kind of space cruiser in a Japanese anime. I've also spent two minutes taking some photos. Because people like photos.

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    These things sound good. Pretty good. A lot of bass and smooth treble, although the top and bottom ends are not quite woven together. I think my first reaction to @CEE TEE was "meh". But that was because I was trying them from my laptop and my Android phone. Then I spent the night is a hotel room that smelled ilke ketchup and rode a wimpy roller coaster with my kids at Legoland. I also rode the Knights Tournament Ride with my daughter on level 3. We did it again on level 3, although I wanted level 5, but my daughter didn't want to go past level 3. I didn't want my daughter to barf on me, so I agreed.

    [​IMG]

    Thankfully, the Oriolus IEMs were so much better after I got home and tried them from the Schiit Stack and Leckerton / Sony X combos. IMO, the Oriolus NEED an amp!


    FIT

    The Oriolus is a large IEM that sort of sticks out a little bit, kind of like Lt. Uhura's earpiece. Well not that bad. It's acceptable and not anything nutty huge like some of the newer JHAudio monstrosities. I used the grey squishy tip for a light comfortable fit. This approach seemed to sound the best to me.


    SOUND (PRE- MEASUREMENT SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS FROM NOTES)

    The sound is pretty good, but it didn't wow me. I would have liked a bit more air, but these is a common problem with IEMs, even with the UERM, so it would be unfair to complain too much here. The midrange and lower treble are its strong suite. Very smooth overall with a bit of body and lushness to the mids. I didn't hear any nasty treble spike. If anything, maybe a tiny bit laid back in the treble.

    The bass is a little bit too much for my tastes. Just a little bit. I could probably live with it; but unfortunately, I felt bass presentation was just way too different from the rest of the band. The bass sounded one note, slow and plodding (it didn't lag, it was just slow) which was a stark contrast with the fast treble. The midrange (particularly as we go up) and treble had incredible separation and layering, but the bass seemed two dimensional. I was scratching my head why this was, but later found out that this was a hybrid IEM. I can see most people being OK with the disjoint bass and treble, or not even hearing the disjointedness; but one the things that I've learned to appreciate from years of speaker projects are transducer systems which are seamless. My personal belief is that cohesiveness throughout the entire audio band must take precedence before all other technicalities. I might have found the Oriolus more suitable had the bass not been bumped up so much. But honestly, I think the tuning will suit many IEM connoisseurs. I know that I tend to be the minority preferring more neutral IEMs.


    END WORDS


    The Oriolus have a lot of good things going for them. Non-fatiguing smooth treble. Fantastic separation and layering. Perhaps one the best midranges I've heard from an IEM. However, the combination of excessive bass, mediocre bass quality, and bass disjointedness from the treble bother me a little bit. But heck, don't listen to me. @CEE TEE thinks very highly of them I would suggest that you get some feedback from him as well.

    MEASUREMENTS: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/oriolus-iem-measurements.2069/
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2016
  2. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    an SBAF review where one doesn't get barfed upon, due to smartly staying at level 3 is a gem.
    +1 like.
     
  3. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    These are poly are sort of close to what I like sonics-wise, but I find the price way to hot subjectively.

    Ninjago the ride is now open. May check things out this weekend.
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    We beta tested the Ninjago ride.
     
  5. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Awesome or not awesome?

    Lol! I'm proly off topic. Will check things out hopefully this weekend.

    Again, kool review. Pretty much tells me all I need to know about these cute-tips.
     
  6. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

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    I actually kinda loved these. They sounded great out of my iPhone as well as the Leckerton. I didn't notice the lack of treble, but I had just come from the UERMs and these were less bright and more full-bodied. Quite a delightful IEM.

    Also, it seems that there are some more sonic differences between iPhones and Android and probably between Android phones. I thought they'd all just sound like crap regardless of the manufacturer, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the sound of my iPhone.
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yup, Android phones pretty much have crap for audio. The Apple stuff is better, but the iDevice stuff does sound a bit brittle.
     
  8. Griffon

    Griffon 2nd biggest asshole on SBAF

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    I need to know how these go against UERM and Jupiter in more details. Is it possible to get these to Canada? You have me highly intrigued.
     
  9. yaluen

    yaluen Acquaintance

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    I have a set and they're love/hate for me. Overall sound signature is very enjoyable when in the mood for something warm and extra bassy. Agreed that layering/separation is great, as are dynamics. However, I hear a distinct unnaturalness in their midrange tonal balance. Curiously, with music it's not that apparent, but watch a show or play a game with them and it should be noticeable. Spoken word esp female would be slightly veiled/lacking harmonics/sound like it has extra reverb and sfx would be dull. Most conspicuous feature I hear in their response when I run a sweep with SineGen is a dip in the 3-4k region. Driven with iDevice and UHA760. Interested if others hear this as well.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2016
  10. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    Hahaha, totally fun, fair & balanced review! Yeah, I got these to replace my FitEar TG!334 for my fun/warm/big-sounding complement to UERM.

    Been driving to work lately instead of taking lightrail > train/BART > bus so I sent these down to see what Marv would think.

    More fun not to say what is in them and see how they are judged on sound.

    The background is that these are Oriolus Generation 2. First generation had shell durability and finish issues. You can tell Gen 1 from Gen 2 by the metal logo on Gen 2 that says "Oriolus". I bought these from Dimitri at MusicaAcoustics.com in Japan. He was very nice to work with. There was a wait for them due to slow/short supply of these. They were quite spendy so I already sold one pair of FitEar and need to sell my other pair to justify the cost...around $1200.

    I believe they were voiced by iBasso China and it was initially a joint venture between iBasso & Hibino Intersound Co. Japan. But marketed by Cyras Inc. of Japan. Does that clear things up or confuse them? :rolleyes:
     
  11. buonassi

    buonassi New

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    Here is my experience with shallow to medium insertion with medium comply isolation T500 tips and the PW no 5 upgrade cable:

    The thing with these IEMs is their perceived linearity and aversion to sibilance. At least for my auditory system, I've never heard a sine sweep sound so linear with any of my cans or in ears. Oriolus could have achieved this through engineering, or this could be just my ear canals and equal loudness perception (my uniqueness). Probably a mix of both.

    There is a 1.5db heat area around 4k, but other than that slight adjustment - it's a veritable pancake from 250 hz up to 13-14khz. Yes the bass is overdone, but with the emphasis on sub/low bass - it's something I can live with (or EQ down).

    They are the closest in FR to listening to my studio monitors in a properly acoustically treated room from 500hz on up. Not one frequency is masked nor does it contribute to masking other frequencies. It's so good, in fact, I'm likely going to be ordering a custom.

    However, I'm having trouble evaluating the phase/crossover/coherence of the dynamic driver in relation to the BAs. This is my first hybrid and I like what I hear, but not sure how to evaluate the quality of the crossover. Can anyone point me to a resource that could help? This is the last step of due diligence I need to take before buying this IEM in custom form.

    Thanks in advance.
     

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