Welcome to the Cult 
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Tri i3 or The Calm Before the Storm
It’s been a pretty quiet stretch since the end of the last IEM tour, where I’ve mostly enjoyed my collection (when it hasn’t been with @mmag05 for measuring) and had a few sets in for trying out. But with the next tour gearing up to start (there is an actually absurd number of IEMs being toured around. The list is eye-watering, I assure you) I’m going to take the time to just relax with a few more borrowed sets before the madness begins. One of those sets is on loan from Marcus; the Tri i3. Let’s talk about it real quick.
Songs to Listen to and Follow Along:
As usual, I’m going to write my thoughts in generalities, but I’ll give you a sample of songs that I listen to, that will relate to the concepts I write about. Feel free to ask for specifics, if you don’t keep up with my thought processes.
Playlist
Swashers/Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa (For imaging/detail retrieval (:00-1:00 Swashers), general technicalities check (both), soundstage depth/dynamics/layering/separation (:00-:30 Bubbles))
The Speedwalker (Live at Madison Square Garden) - The Fearless Flyers (For bass elements, particularly sub-bass/mid-bass interplay, drum kits, soundstage/layering)
DISINTER MY HEART - TRAILS (For treble response and resolution, male vocals, midrange response)
When I Fall (Outta Love) - Kevin Olusola (For Imaging/detail retrieval :00-:07, tonality, timbre, male/female vocal interplay)
Fundamental Elements of Madness - Dax Johnson (For soundstage width 1:10-1:26, piano tonality)
Holding On (Rome In Silver Remix) - Dabin (For female vocals, tonality, mid-bass response within mix From 1:12-1:36)
THE SOUND
Give me some space, love. I’m coming back; Space, love. I don’t need that
Broken Hearted Lovers - Somme
(IEM Tuning Style: Warm-Neutral)
So for the most part, I find the i3 to be a comfortable, warm sounding IEM. It definitely plays the sub-bass over the midbass, which is tuned well to maintain warmth but not be muddy or too thick. These hold a tonality that is warmer than a Tri Starsea, where I’d say the two would make great compliments. Even though the midbass isn’t elevated or fully emphasized the i3 doesn’t lack pop in the bass. I am comfortably satisfied with the bass performance here, even if I wouldn’t say it is mind-blowing.
The i3 gives a very easy, clean midrange playback. Lower-midrange instruments and male vocals sound pretty accurate for my expectations. Male vocals are not husky in any way, but they are not sounding too thin or recessed either. They have very good balance and while these areas get overlooked a lot, for the sexier bass/upper midrange/treble conversations, getting this area right means a lot for me, and I’m glad to say i3 aces that pretty well.
Where the lower midrange giveth, the upper midrange taketh away a bit for me. Female vocals and brighter instrumentation felt…abrupt. Where in the transition from the lower midrange into the uppers, there is not a traditional pinna gain: It kind of just shoots up a little past 1.5kHz, crests at 3kHz, and then dips. So there are times when everything sounds mellow and smooth, then all of a sudden, you can get hit with a shriek that pulls you out from the sharp 2-3kHz emphasis. It is, overall, not a total dealbreaker for me but it is something that would give me pause.
Treble is fine here. It can play a little dull at lower volumes, but scales well with volume to be energetic with decent clarity. This works well with the tuning, save for that 2-3kHz area. Soundstage was alright: it has decent width but lacks depth. With this set being a DD + Planar + BA tribrid, I feel a bit let down by the technicalities. It doesn’t do anything special for me in terms of layering, imaging, and such, which is disappointing considering everything going into this set. They are okay, but these will leave anyone craving more details or nuances wanting.
THE GOOD
- Great midrange performance with lower register instruments/male vocals
- Smooth playback overall with very good volume scaling
- Intriguing driver configuration (DD + Planar + BA tribrid)
THE BAD
- Abrupt pinna gain throws female vocals out of whack
- Dull at mid-volume listening
- Lacks strong technicalities
- They’re fine but not bringing anything meaningful to the table
WHO IS THIS SET FOR?
- Someone looking for a warm, easy-listening set
- Volume scalers
- People looking for bass guitar/male vocals and other things in those registers to pop
- Someone interested in the novelty of a different driver configuration
WHO IS THIS SET NOT FOR?
- People who specifically want female vocals to stand out (in a positive way)
- People who demand stellar technicalities
- Anyone who listens at mid-volume and doesn’t blast their music
- Anybody who doesn’t just want emphasized mids but want the clearest midrange possible
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Tri i3 is a good IEM that I imagine was impressive when it came out, and if I had been in the game at the time, it would have been an IEM that I could see myself having a lot of interest in. But in 2023, I just don’t feel a giant pull to it, considering what is available at its price point and below these days. For me, it’s a “have to hit the right mood” kind of set, and when it does, it’s spectacular. But the holes in this set pull this one down from being even better. Particularly with the upper midrange, I can go from minding my own business one second, to wondering why I’m on fire from shrieking the next. That’s just enough to keep this from being great. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Tri i3: B
Rank With Personal Bias: B
Recommendation Level: Not Recommended Relative to Other Options (Warm-Neutral)
Rank As a Food: Wasabi
7 Likes
Damn it having the i3 back in my ears after a break is bliss. Realize they’re not that technical in todays market but the tonality and musicality to them is so on on point for my library.
3 Likes
Exactly. I enjoyed the tuning a bunch. Lack of technicalities is their biggest sin, but they’re worth a look if that’s not the proority
1 Like
Looking at a lot of my favorite sets it seems technicalities is never really high on my list. U4s is probably the first really technical set that has clicked with me. Yet it still maintains what I consider to be musical and toe tapping energy. Beside that the UP and Meteor are high on my list and while they have technicalities there seems to be issues with them in reviews that make them not inherently what many would consider a technical set.
4 Likes
Just Enjoying Things is underrated.
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Listening to them and reading your review again. Those points for me are so on target. Particularly the first two points
Not much of my library is female oriented so, I never noticed this. Haha I blast my music all the time and the i3 just scales so well with power and volume.
2 Likes
It’s IEM ARRIVAL DAY: PART ONE
Many, many thanks to @rattlingblanketwoman and @MMag05 for a chance to listen to or hold a nice amounts of sets
- GS Audio ST8B (to hold. Thanks John, via @Sonofholhorse)
- GS Audio GX12X
- ISN EST50
- Sound Rhyme SR5
- Sound Rhyme DTE500
- Penon Serial
- Yanyin Canon
- NS Audio NS-2 Composer
I’ll update this later with Part Two, which is a personal purchase that I made for science that I’m excited to get to, but first up I go through these heavy hitters 
15 Likes
Im looking forward to your thoughts on the EST50
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Some very interesting ones in there! Very eager to hear what the respective food equivalents to these sets will be 
And obviously your opinions!
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Very interested in impressions for this, that is the OEM (GS Audio) version of the Fearless Audio S8F afaik.
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Nice lineup there, going to be a fun weekend 
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Nice made it just in time for the weekend. Hopefully you have some time off to get some time in with them.
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IEM ARRIVAL DAY: PART TWO
This is the IMR Ozar. It has tuning nozzles and tuning filters that individually separate. There are 8 sets of nozzle bases and 6 sets of filters for up to 48 different tuning combinations.
Pray for me listening to them.
But even moreso, pray for @MMag05 when he graphs this set
11 Likes
do the nozzles/filters fit the EA500???
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No. They don’t
Yes, I tried
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haha I figured you already did.
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This will probably shock nobody here, but I’ve already gone through 13 of the 48 tuning combinations on IMR Ozar.
This IEM is fun AF (both musically and for science experimentation). I’m totally into this set. This was a complete steal!
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Feel for you!
1 Like
Don’t feel bad for me, I got an absolute steal of an IEM man. This thing freaking slaps
3 Likes