Let me preface this by saying I’m not a basshead, far from it. Also I actually prefer a more relaxed tuning in the high-mids/ highs since metal music is pretty taxing already if the IEMs are too bright.
From your comments in this thread it’s evident that you are not the biggest fan of BAs and that’s fine. But I think what you are saying is pretty subjective, since I’ve heard others like Metal571 and Resolve (from the headphone show), specifically liking the SA6 for metal music. And also personally, I’ve had BAs before that I loved for this genre, such as the Westone UM3X. So saying that anything with a DD will be a better choice might not always apply to every pair of ears.
However if I do end up not liking how the SA6 sounds, I can always send it back and look at other options, no big deal.
So I don’t own any Thieaudio IEMs, but I do want to say that I get where Resolution is coming from on this. It’s not a basshead thing, the dynamic driver thing is more of a texture thing: bass sounds more punchy, and to my ear, more realistic.
I don’t listen to a lot of metal music, so this’ll be a funny example, but something like the intro of Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out” (~20 sec in) makes it pretty obvious what the difference is. /That said/ I think the SA6 is still a great IEM and you’ll probably still really like it! (For some reason, all of the posting I’ve done about the SA6 is in the EST 112 thread, lol.)
EDIT: Also, I bought my SA6 from Headphones.com and had no problems, figured I’d mention it since people were having issues with Linsoul, I guess.
Nah, if I do end up returning the SA6 I’ll be looking at something in that price range. The Oracle seems really interesting but the shell size and fit have me concerned. My ears are on the smaller side so this might not be for me.
I’ll see how it goes with the SA6 and check how much “leeway” I have with a potentialy larger IEM. But hopefully I love them and that would save me from any trouble
ok guys i just got my Oracle, funny enough the IEM that im coming from happens to be the SA6 which i loved but sold due to lack of dynamic type slam even though they had great bass. anyways just breaking them in, so far im using bellari tube pre amp with gold lion tube into an IEmagni on high gain with the pre amp set exactly as my he5xx only slightly higher volume on iemagni for the 5xx than the Oracle. idk i find that strange? sureley they cant be using that much power. will be trying on my qudelix later. anyways
Listening impressions are very good, take into account i have a tube in line, i will update with pure solid state impressions however it has a warmer sound than SA6, more rich in male voices and bass seems quite flat down to pretty low freq, the upper freq are something special. maybe the electro static drivers? its got great sparkle like a focal type sound. ultra clear but not bright. Ariana grande sounds insane. but going to billie eilish is stil great to. i will say the sound stage isnt INSANE or anything i think the sa6 might have done that better? not sure. so basically to me a more relaxed but somehow more detailed than SA6 and maybe my tubes are adding to this but the mids and low end are very rich and harmonic same as treble. for the price amazing! its like an ultra refined fiio fh3 with less bass .
edit - yes one side does slowly slip out of my ear the nozzles are large in diameter will try larger tip in that side. im using XELASTEC
thanks, you as well. You wouldnt happen to know what size the nozzle is on these? my xelastic fits but im looking for alternatives because my right ear doesnt fully seal with xelastic i just tried the smallest foam that came with the oracle and it works perfect MUCH more bass than before. would like to know what size and or brand i should go for . dont foams require replacement after a week or 2? thanks again.
i take back what i said about the lack of bass. the bore of the tip is quite large and one ear works for me with xelastic and one does not , with 2db bass shelf from 70hz increase. these things RUMBLE its quite amazing. bass and so much texture and detail throughout the range liking them more and more with the right tips.
I have a horrible time getting a seal with most tips. I think I actually keep my ears too clean. I have to use Spinfits usually to get a proper seal. I highly recommend picking up a few set sizes to try if you have difficulty getting a proper seal. Try CP 100 first. I suggest picking up the medium and large sizes. If they don’t work for you, I apologize.
thanks. so cp 100 is the bore size? or just the model number? will all spin fits fit on the oracle bore? ive heard good things. so many choices ill probably buy many different kinds. i really love the xelastic first type to stay in my ear but the problem here is not the size but the length of the tip being too short on one side.
Spinfit have a number of different tip styles. The CP 100 are pictured in the image I posted in the group of 5 in the back. CP 45 are the three in front of them. You should be able to see from the photo that the silicone is a bit more transparent on the CP 100. For me, the thin silicone form to my ears and create a perfect seal. They actually seal so well I experience inner-ear suction issue from my IEMs if they aren’t vented enough. But hey, I can’t complain about not getting a proper seal and hearing everything the IEM can give me.
The CP 45 silicone is a bit thicker and holds its original shape a bit more. I can get a seal with either CP 100 or CP 45 but the CP 100 stick better in my ears.
Both CP 100 & 45 will fit the Thieaudio tribrids. The CP 100 fit tightly which I prefer. The CP 45 will hold but slid off the bore with little effort. CP 100 and CP 45 will fit just about every IEM I own. I haven’t looked at an actual bore size to see if I have tips that will fit the IEM in years. My collection of my favorite tips…
There’s no point in giving reactions to an IEM until you’ve got your tip issues resolved and had some time with the IEM to understand its strengths and weaknesses.
thanks for the info. i do think initial impressions can be useful and also documenting the problems initially as well. ive gotten the xelastic to work in my other ear. these have a large bore and a short bore tied with a rather flat IEM without the large curves to go around your outer ear which makes it harder to push deeper. however i think most people will be fine i do think you need aftermarket tips. these came with spiral dot cp100 seemed like medium and not only did it not seal in 1 ear but they ripped as soon as i tried to take them off, not deep enough for my ears with the short nozzle. however one ear works fine with most of the tips
so my final thoughts after 12 hours of listening (they might change slightly) are that these are end game IEMs for me. the bass is tight and textured and DEEP not boomy at all i even wish for more sometimes but thats the bass head in me . literally zero complaints about anything. first time a single product has had so many audiophile buzz words for me lol. “sparkly, airy, rich, crisp” its got that audio phile sound in a friendly package and i cannot see myself needing “more”. more what? bass? no, bass texture? no, high end sparkle without being bright ? dont need more of that. so yeah im quite impressed. however, it took a second because it doesnt have that WOW factor out of the box. but if you know what high end sounds like you will find it once you take time to listen . love it! i wont clog the thread anymore until more people want to chime in.
i put a shelf EQ from 70 hz 2db boost and it feels like i have subwoofers inside my brain lol i wonder what percentage of the sound you get from the oracle to the higher tier? ive heard the oracle is just as good and some that its close but not quite. they are better than almost every headphone ive heard under 1600 and not just because of the low end extension.
I haven’t had the SA6 for a while, I really enjoyed it though. Just didn’t think it was worth 300 more than my fdx1, although it was probably better overall. From what I remember, the sa6 is close to neutral but a little more exciting in the bass and upper mids, with a relaxed treble. I thought distorted electric guitars sounded great on them, so I’d say they are good for metal. The bass absolutely thumps when the boost switch is on, it’s definitely impressive even though it’s all ba drivers. It’s also really small, well built, and comfortable, and Dunu’s cables and tips are really nice.
Oracle’s tuning sounds perfectly reference neutral to my ears, with a slight bass boost. I agree with gruntslayer that the thing that makes it stand out from other iems I’ve had is the excellent treble timbre and detail. I’m also not treble sensitive at all (I love beyerdynamic lol) so maybe someone who was might think it’s a little hot up there. Those est drivers are really impressive. I listen to all sorts of music (post-punk, punk, 80s college rock, folk, country, rap, experimental electronic and ambient, drone, death metal) and the oracle sounds good with everything. It doesn’t have mind blowing soundstage or anything but it does a very good job of instrument separation and keeping up with complex passages without muddling. I think the sa6 is similarly good in that regard.
So this is a really long-winded way of saying that I think the oracle is better than the sa6, but I could see someone liking the sa6 more if they prefer a more relaxed treble, if they have small ears that the sa6 fit more comfortably, or if they find flat neutral tunings boring and want something just a little more exciting. But the oracle is tuned perfectly for my preferences.
