🔶 Tripowin X HBB Olina

nymz · February 3, 2022, 8:52pm

Tripowin x HBB: Olina - First impressions

By now, these need no introduction. HawaiianBadBoy’s goal is simple: to create a marginally similar IEM to Oxygen, for less than half the price and with better fit.

I can’t honestly answer if the first goal was met yet, as I’m only getting Oxygen tomorrow and I’ll follow up to that soon, but regarding the fit, I can vouch for it: it’s great and one of the best for me, regarding comfort and weight. Those who already have his other collaboration, Mele, already know what to expect: a great fit to most people (YMMV), built like a tank, a premium feel for the bracket and a nice faceplate - and I’m drooling over it.

Package is great, as seen in my unboxing pics, cable feels good for a budget IEM and has some nice details on it like his own logo on the splitter. The only downside being you can only purchase it as 3.5mm single ended.

Build aside, let’s dive into the sound, starting by the tuning. It’s an harman tuned IEM made to be balanced amongst all frequencies. I’ve spent the last 24 hours with it, and these are my first impressions:

The bass has extension, some texture and speed. Lacks some elevation on the sub-bass frequency and some punch on the mid-bass for some genres, but I’d say it’s a very clean bass, making it great for some other genres like acoustic music or jazz.

The dive into the mids is very clean, without any type of bleed, but adding some warmth to the sound, enough to not feel thin, but also just enough to not make the notes blurred or too heavy. The details are on point and together with the techs that I will talk in a bit, make them shine. Upper mid-range is the usual harman, but with a twist. I usually find vocals to get overly shouty but not this time. It just feels there’s enough energy for some bite on those female vocals, but never enough to come across as shouty - and my ears thank me for it. In fact, female vocals are even better than male vocals on this set.
Overall they are clean, forward and detailed, which checks all the marks for me and my library, as I’m a mid-centric enthusiast.

Treble is nicely extended and energetic, although not yet fatiding for me. This was another surprised as, by judging the graph, I was ready to be murdered on this frequency. Detail is very nice and the decay on electric guitar and cymbal strikes is on point.

Regarding technicalities, it’s a beast for its price point. Stage is wide and has good depth, only lacking some height. Imaging is amazing - you can pin-point every drum-roll, - and one of its best characteristics, especially when paired with it’s good separation, turning it into a joy to listen to. Details follows the same path, as it is very detailed, even though it has some tuning (treble) help. Timbre closes this chapter with a golden mark, reinforcing why it’s great for instrumental music.

I made a very quick comparison vs Teas, and these are my raw notes. Please take them with a grain of salt for now:

Olina has more depth. Width seems close. Teas have more height.
Both feel somewhat 3D, but Tea more.
Imaging is great on both but slightly better on Olina.
Tea might have better detail, but Olina has more treble boost.
Olina has better treble extension and a bit more air.
Tea has more body and note weight.
Separation is on Tea’s side.
Teas have more slam.
Dynamics are better on Teas but good on Olina.
Olina has better timbre.
Olina is more fatiding for long sessions, due to treble.
Teas have better sub-bass texture and rumble.
Olina has more mid-bass elevation.
Vocals (male and female) are better on Teas.

Early conclusions: These are a beast for 100 usd. In fact, scratch that. These will be benchmarks for 100 usd. I would take them over ER2XR, which has been the 100 usd gatekeeper in my collection, without even talking about the fit and driveability. Once you A/B it with more budget stuff, the difference is even more shocking.

I’m yet to figure how high is the flight on these, and for that I will need to hear Oxygen first. Besides that, I think a great part of HBB’s goal was reached, and that’s why I’m also being a bit reserved on this take, as I want to spend more time to make sure this is real life and not just a market crasher that will haunt competition for a good while. Again, credit where it’s due, so touché, Chris.

I’ll post more impressions tomorrow and talk about music as well. So far, approved without a doubt. I love it.

nymz,
The CEO

ttorbic · February 3, 2022, 9:19pm

Woww super fast impressions - thanks for your input!! I’m sure you’ll expand on these points as you spend more time with them, but thought I’d ask:

I’m quite surprised you find that the Tea has more rumble and sub-bass than Olina. If Olina=Oxygen, then MRS* squig shows elevated sub-bass and bass vs Tea. Squiglink - IEM frequency response database by Super* Review.
If Olina feels somewhat 3D with more depth than the Tea, then this might be an improvement over the Oxygen. I’m curious to know more once you get the Oxygen
Which tips did you use?

fatG · February 3, 2022, 9:23pm

Tank you for the proper initial review. By the fact that you have mentioned ER2XR I guess it wont be long enough until we will get another epic Sharur video with a big cross and stop sign.

BobBeats · February 3, 2022, 9:33pm

Here is hoping I will get some others that want to play MacDonaldo’s Monopoly with me on my lyrics (when they come in). I mean, I could just pay more for the cable later, but I definitely don’t want to lose my place.

Mandaf_26 · February 3, 2022, 9:47pm

Mele (upgrade cable) vs Olina, which is more rumble and engaging vocal? I have Mele, with Tripowin Jelly cable and small bore eartips, it’s quite significant upgrade about the sound quality than the stock cable. More depth and height, more engaging vocal, better low end, and clean sound.

John_W_Clark · February 3, 2022, 9:47pm

Always tough to win over the Etymotic crowd. I love the sound, hate the fit. That was speedy, that good to hear some good news out of the gates.

Erokh · February 3, 2022, 10:19pm

Damn you! You made me buy another set of earphones, again!!

VIVIDICI_111 · February 3, 2022, 10:39pm

Haha your impression vs the Teas seems to match mine (Tea vs Oxygen vs Hana) fairly accurately. If so, the Olina is probably very very close to the Oxygen with marginal differences. Absolute steal for $100 imo. @hawaiibadboy Amazing job on the set

nymz · February 3, 2022, 10:42pm

Quality and compensation on other regions. When you lock at 20hz:

You get more mids, but also less mid-bass, making it cleaner and easier to perceive. Teas rumble very gooooooood.

Test tracks used: Zimmer - Why So Serious, Jay Cosmic - Tunel, etc.

This is why I really want to hear oxygen. I feel i’m walking on glass here as everyone hears different. To me it’s pretty clear about depth and height, but again, YMMV.

CP100 and Shuoer stock transparent tips.

Lol. That guy told me he could equal U12T on ER2SE by EQ, so he lost my attention.

Olina is an upgrade on everything but sub-bass, over Mele. Regarding cables, sorry, I don’t believe in cables. About tips, I use CP100 on both.

Why do you think people run away from me? U shoulda know better by now

Yes, if I had to extrapolate results, that’s my take as well. Luckly I’m getting O2 tomorrow if all goes well. Oh and also Aria, but I don’t think that will be fair.

ttorbic · February 3, 2022, 11:33pm

Hyyppe can’t wait for my order - just gotta wait 200 orders or so to be fulfilled…lol

cal_lando · February 4, 2022, 1:01am

Hey! Im brand new to this forum and the world of IEMs. I just recently got the 7Hz Timeless and really enjoy them but I would like something more soundstage and better imaging. I know they are very different but for someone who listens to mostly indie, rock, hip-hop and pop how would the Olina’s compare to the Timeless?

Erokh · February 4, 2022, 6:23am

It’s like toxic relationships, right? You know it is not sustainable on the long run, but tout stay anyway, because some moments are soooo good.

Now you’re considered a reviewer by some brands, your means of toxicity are even greater.

My poor wallet won’t survive…

Amar_Wagh · February 4, 2022, 6:46am

@hawaiibadboy How can any consumer buy the dynamic driver for their DIY stuff? Is it possible and if yes the where can we buy it?

nymz · February 4, 2022, 7:02am

Welcome to the hfgf!

Judging by your post, I would I prefer Timeless for HH and pop. Its more U signature (compared to Olina) would help it. Of course this is very personal, as you might guess. Some people love planars, some can only use DDs. Some like boosts, others like everything very balanced and without major elevations (like me).

Like there is a general consensus that if you want a planar you go S12 or Timeless, there was also a consensus that if you wanted a DD, you would go Oxygen (if you ignore Dark Magician due to price). Now Olina is also a player, but for 100. If it goes like I think it will, and Olina is marginaly the same as Oxygen, but for less and with better fit… Chris won the game for a good while.

Of course we will know for sure later, so as for now, oxygen or not, this is a must for its price.

nymz · February 4, 2022, 7:09am

Thanks for the words.

Guess that’s right but I don’t want people to see me like that. As you might imagine, I’m not doing it for the samples or the likes, as my end-game collection is pretty much done and I have few spare time nowadays. I do it for the people and for the music. Not so long ago, it was me in the other side, asking for recs and people were patient to me, so now it’s time to give it back. I only rec stuff I believe in and trust… And that seems to be a problem for some brands, but others like that, and I’m grateful.

There’s no better feeling as a reviewer than to write about something you really love, like Olina, as words just Flow and hype gets passed to the reader. There’s nothing worse than the opposite as well, and that is why I’m so picky.

cal_lando · February 4, 2022, 7:29am

Thanks for the welcome! I should probably just keep the Timeless. I do really like the tuning and honestly they are the best piece of music equipment I have ever owned. My issue is I have never heard a good DD IEM before. Before these I had the Sennheiser MTW2 and M+D MW07 Plus. Neither of which sounded as good as the Timeless imo.

If I had to classify my preferred tuning it would be U or neutral with bass boost. The Timeless highs can be a bit rough on female vocals.

Sorry for derailing! The Olina just looks really good and that price point is right up my alley!

nymz · February 4, 2022, 8:24am

Timeless/S12 are insane picks and I think everyone should try them. At least to understand if they like planar or not.

What you are experiencing it’s probably its resolving power, that is insane and hard to top at that price range.

Regarding DDs, if budget is a variable, at this point I would get Olina and be done with. They are mkre complementary than substitutes.

fudgadeliq · February 4, 2022, 9:05am

Hi HBB and fellow forum members,

I´m kind of a one-IEM-guy which makes it problematic when choosing what to buy. Especially when I don´t have the opportunity to audition many brands.
I mainly listen to reggae and hiphop but also a variation of other genres. I´m not interested in an overly bassy set (i.e. KZ and such) and I feel that my trusty iBasso01 have been a bit overemphasized in that area. At the same time I´m a bit worried that the Olina might be too weak in that regard. Is it?
Any suggestions to help me figure this out would be much appreciated.

Hark01 · February 4, 2022, 10:49am

How is the isolation?

LTyla · February 4, 2022, 10:53am

Hey, I’m also new to this community, but could pitch in regarding your question, at least based on graphs.

Subjectively, I’d say that you would loose some sub-bass extension, but starting from mid-bass, they are not so different, just a few db lower boost.
I’d say that the main benefit, would be way more “correct” mids, with a more flat/reference response and a decrease of possible shouty regions around 5k and 8k.
Basically, a more tamed character IEM, with proper bass and treble extension.