Comparisons: Traillii Ti Vs. Traillii JP (Review link)
Since we’ve gone through the overall major impressions of the Traillii Ti, let’s dive even deeper by doing a one-on-one comparison with Traillii JP. Here, we’ll be covering the details that weren’t mentioned earlier.
Bass
Traillii Ti brings out a similar bass quantity as Traillii JP but the nature of the bass is quite different. Traillii JP has a smoother, more analog bass response that isn’t necessarily slow in response but does take its time to deliver. Meanwhile, Traillii Ti’s bass is very agile and has higher precision in strike and decay. It knows the when and how much. The bass texture is tighter and crispier to the next level.
Most importantly, the style of the reverbs is different. Traillii JP sure has deep, thick-colored reverbs that make a delicate, careful approach. Once we switch to Traillii Ti, there’s a significant difference in clarity and color thickness. While the bass from Traillii JP isn’t mushy, Traillii Ti makes it feel so. The bass tightness and solid slams are incomparably better on Traillii Ti. Other than these improvements, Traillii Ti carries out almost exactly the same bass output. Unless you prefer not to harden your bass texture, Traillii Ti is a full upgrade in every aspect, at least for the bass.
Vocals
The differences in vocals are overall similar to the changes made to the bass. Trailli’s unique full and mellow charms are kept but improved in separation and resolution. The next difference I’ve noticed is that the vocals are now better divided from the lows, not allowing the upper lows to make any smears to the mid-range. The sound transition still feels just as natural and harmonic.
The most significant change is the vocal reverb. Traillii Ti further controls the vocal reverbs, so that it has highly resolving cleanliness as I’ve mentioned earlier. The technical performance has also improved. The texture is now tighter and harder. Vocals are now slightly brighter yet the change remains within the Traillii’s original tone. The upper vocals on Traillii Ti carry significantly more airiness and openness. As the vocals mildly increase in brightness without causing any sibilance, this change will once again be a full upgrade unless you’d like to stick with the full warmness of Traillii. Using titanium shells is well known for easily causing spikey trebles and sibilance but Oriolus has tuned this one very well.
Trebles
The last portion to compare is the trebles. Trebles go along nicely with the low mids while letting the treble instruments pop in detail. If Traillii JP has a warm soundstage that generously fills the field, Traillii Ti prepares an extra larger room, filling with more details, and still leaving some space to allow extra room for these details to dance. This is what makes Traillii Ti sound larger and feel “limitless”. Needlessly the say, the resolution, clarity, and intensity have all increased in Traillii Ti. These changes don’t make the trebles tiring, so I’d expect the original Traillii JP users to get used to the sound right away, but even better. Traillii JP had full-on heaviness for the trebles while Traillii Ti now has liveliness that makes the trebles sound more proactive and engaging.
Comparison: Traillii Ti Vs. Supreme V3 (Review link)
If you questioned if there’s an IEM that could compete with Traillii Ti either in pricing or performance, we have the Supreme V3, the ultra flagship model from Rhapsodio. Priced at $6399, Supreme V3 uses a single proprietary MST driver with multi-diaphragmed membranes and a gold-plated brass housing. Both IEMs share the same idea of creating a co-existence of awesome grand and liveliness. They are also the same in the sense that they have almighty performance that matches a variety of genres. However, the difference gets more evident as we look into the details.
Let me make some metaphor. Traillii Ti is a black Rolce Royce that is classy, experienced, and old-schooled yet also well-aware of the trend. Traillii Ti sounds dignified and smooth, being able to fetch details clearly and precisely, keeping the sound flow like a calm lake stream. Meanwhile, the Supreme V3 is a yellow Ferrari. Its strength resembles a wild horse that felt like it would be uncontrollable yet once faced, it’s very controlled, beautiful, and energetic. This unexpected charm of “controlling the uncontrollable” allows Supreme V3 to create a more passionate sound with further elevated clarity and crispness.
Due to these differences, Supreme V3 and Traillii Ti differ a lot as I give more listen. Treble expressions and sibilance control are superior on Traillii Ti. Alongside, the tonal precision, vocal size, and the overall “realness of the sound” are superior on Traillii Ti. However, sounding more realistic doesn’t necessarily appeal more to the ears.
The strong rumbles of the bass are better on Supreme V3. Most importantly, Supreme V3 has an unquestionably higher vocal density than Traillii Ti. The ups and downs of the dynamics, and the brightness spectrum of the sound are also superior on Supreme V3. Lastly, the headroom is a lot more spatial on the Supreme V3 while Traillii Ti creates a relatively more two-dimensional headroom.
In short, the realness of the nuance, the vocal’s sheer size, and the ability to naturally breathe in air to the vocals are the superior aspects of Traillii Ti. As for Supreme V3, it’s superior in vocal density, headroom, and spatialness. Deciding which is better, or fits better to your taste, will be decided by your subtle preference and specific priorities.
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown…”
As I listen to these IEMs, a short Shapekspeare quote comes to my mind: “Heavy is the head that wears the crown”. Might sound bombastic, yet there’s a reason for such an expression. Spending over $8k for an IEM is definitely not meant for anyone nor it’s guaranteed to deliver an equivalent level of satisfaction. This hobby is nowadays being immensely polarized in pricing, leading flagship IEMs to get even higher in both prices. I thought I was quite used to the skyrocketing pricing of the summit-fi IEMs, yet the Traillii Ti’s pricing once again made me question about the phenomenon. I couldn’t wrap around my head why an IEM should be that expensive, even for a summit-fi IEM. Well, that’s what I thought until I listened to it.
Human psychology is a scary topic. The mind failed to understand nor accept it, yet the ears have been possessed. Traillii Ti is an IEM that is capable of giving the detailed, whispering sensation that IEM commonly carries, yet also giving a ridiculously large and thick sound to the point that focuses me if I’m listening to a set of huge high-end speakers. Traillii Ti is worth titling the greatest of all times for Oriolus that eventually surpassed the great Bird. You wouldn’t want to pay its price yet its singing allures you with its irresistible charms once you listen. If you’d like to feel the charms, you must bear its weight.
