Olina is a clear step up from KAI and Melee to me so:
Modded Olina
Olina
KAI/Melee
KAI has slightly better imaging & separation than the Melee, but neither are on the same level as the Olina in terms of technicalities and staging. I’d personally grab the Melee–>save up for the Olina since I feel like the KAI is in an awk position due to small differences vs Melee IMO. Still a stunning set tho
Also, have you tried the double filter mod on the Olina yet?
I feel there’s something the graph isn’t telling because I didn’t like Mele (gave away to family after a couple weeks) but the Kai is just doing some things for me… as always YMMV
I have both the stock double filter mod and the port filter. I didn’t realize the Tanya filters tamed it more so, may look into getting those. Don’t get me wrong it’s an amazing set and still would probably be my preference for a lot of music. The mod did help but, it’s still to aggressive on songs like Seek and Destroy for me. Guess it could possibly be something else. However, it’s always drawn to electric guitars and cymbals being the issue.
Unfortunately I don’t want to build my listening habits or playlists around that. I just hit shuffle and flow through all kinds of genres. Hate that I skip songs because of this. Which leads to me seeming to favor that area of treble as the key point.
While I definitely agree that technicalities and imaging are better on Olina. Guessing I just place them lower in my overall liking of an IEM. For me it seems to go; treble, bass, technicalities and then imaging. It’s probably because of this I favor the Kai. It just works for all the songs that give me troubles usually. Same goes for OG Tea, Moonlight and N3 which are my outliers and exceptional in every area for me. Appreciate the response.
It’s most likely due to the KAI having less mid-bass, allowing more room for mids to breathe. Also the tame uppermids helps with scaling+the small bump in imaging
It’s a solid set if you want to rock your brains out.
Can’t agree more. Especially with songs that aren’t mixed well. Totally destroys my ears since I listen very loud, as well as the immersion. And ya, Tanya filters are thicker! Two of those did the trick for me at high volumes.
I agree for stock Olina since it was too bright for me, but x2 Tanya filters really did the trick. And YES, the Tea hits all the sweet spots for me: smooth treble for loud listening, godly vocals and clean mids, and great imaging and separation. Still haven’t had the chance to try the moonlight yet, but it looks promising. Would you say it’s a clear technical upgrade to the Tea? I remember you saying it’s a Tea with EST treble right?
I did. In the sense you get all of the same qualities you mentioned just with more technicalities. Details come out more, staging opens up more, clean mids. Where I think they differ is, one in layering. Moonlight seems to handle busier tracks better. I get a slight sense of less congestion on Moonlight. Two, with the bass it seems as if the driver can handle more. There’s some tracks I listen to that on OG Tea it starts to distort, if that’s the word, at higher volumes. For the EST treble what I mean is it’s cleaner and crisper but, still buttery smooth. It never hits the frequency region I spoke of on Olina that it’s to hot or aggressive. I think Moonlight retains most of the qualities of OG Tea that its different enough to stand separate, but also satisfy us Tea lovers.
Are you United States based by any chance? I can’t remember if we’ve done any transactions together. If so @rattlingblanketwoman will have my Moonlight in a few days to demo. I felt safe sending it to him since we’ve done a handful of exchanges. Possible we could talk further about arranging something to have it your way next. I’ve got the Mahina on the way so I can do without it for a little.
Great to see a short video like this well done Chris. All reviewers should make the effort as well to not just talk about pieces that would be recommended! Thumbs up
And not just shit on a set to say it sucks, but the constructive criticism is what a good company should listen to, to get better. Raptgo - make more stuff like the Hook X so I can tell people to buy your stuff, or Rose Technic - Improve your internals because you have a good tuning, is the kind of thing that they should want to listen to and make better product. Because when you can get a Salnotes Zero for $20, Crin’s Zero for $50, and Olina for $99, then what are you bringing to the table at $200+ to even put a dent in that?
Just a note on the Hodur; based on the literature, it sounds like it’s actually a coaxial magnetostatic driver. So the EST driver is basically what was used in the Tape / Tape Pro, or the KZ ZEX.
That’s why you have our trust; the graph had me worried and waiting for impressions, then you laid those impressions out. I have a mostly similar library, and our takes on a lot of units have lined up pretty well. Glad I have the KAI on the way and not these!
(You can also use x2 Tanya filters instead of the stock ones if it’s still not enough)
I’m in Canada actually, I’ll dm you 
