I pulled the T3+ and tried a couple tracks that I tend to use for stage and imaging and did back to back listening with the Olina. I tried to normalize the volumes, but I donāt have a measuring rig, so it isnāt measured.
Steely Dan āPegā and āHey Nineteenā are my go to stage and imaging, but most yacht rock is really well engineered for sound, and did cool and bizarre stuff that really stands out, and still is rock somewhere under the hood.
On the T3+ the instruments tend to be laid out wide, but with very little height. When I change to the Olina, I start hearing sounds from different heights too, and the depths are clearer. It is crazy because you could diagram where they were during the run out as the volume lowers at the end of Peg.
I had the same effect on the T3+ with Hey Nineteen, when I changed to the Olina, the keyboard is far enough above me that it is sitting in a space in front of my forehead, and the guitar seems left and behind me and down a bit, where the drum hits are directly right of me, which creates an asymmetric feeling. The singing voices fill in the gaps, giving you the feel of being in the room with them, which is amazing.
@drewid
After listening the Olina with the double mesh mod, the Aria sounds thin. I say that as someone who liked the Aria, but always wanted something better. The T3+ blew the Aria away for mids and bass, but it didnāt have the treble resolution of the Aria. As a classic rock fan, the mids and bass mattered more, but not every IEM is the same for every genre.
I posted a few weeks ago in this thread, post #1295 about how double mesh filters stacked really congested the Olina and affected itās 3D like presentation. I ordered some bore filter tuning sponges from Aliexpress and I can report they work great. Reducing simbilance and keeps the sound stage/airiness. Most people will like using a single high-density sponge filter, however stacking two also works well. 2 makes it fairly bassy, which may be a turn off for some. Not sure which I like better. Iām going to try double stacked for a week then go to one sponge filter. I still have the Stock mesh filter over the bore covering the sponge filter. Hereās the link for the sponge filters. The white low density filters did nothing but the black high density sponges work.
Aliexpress Link: Black high density bore filter
Given this one has been the rage lately and some people considers it toppling the Moondrop Katos that I love in terms of sounds, with my curiosity getting the better of me, I am going to get this and give it a whirl in time.
Plus, it might give me a new perspective on Tripowin for I have not bought a single IEM from them.
Well crap, I donāt have a Tanchjim Tanya with me to do that mod but it seems simple enough to do. Not sure though if I want to consider getting this if I have to mod an IEM just to get a great sound from it.
I have just about all of em.
Ones I dont are in transit.
I had a lot but they got mixed up to the point they were worthlessā¦and old so just rebuild the stash
goodvibes on Head-fi recommended: āFor those that want to try a mod, honestly, just get a pack of 250 filters in the largest diameter. Throw one over the vent and one on top of the stock filter.ā He/she had tried a bunch of different grades, and settled on that combo. Might wanna give that a go as well! Not sure if it fixes the condensation issue though
Do you use 2 high density foams + stock mesh or without it?
Can you compare 2 foams vs dual damper?
Glad that you mentioned it. Iāve ordered these for CRA. Nice to hear they work for Olina as well
The Olina already has great sound in stock configuration. The mods are about subjectively better (e.g. I wish it had more bass or I wish the 5KHz was a tad lower), slight improvements to sound that are completely optional.
Additionally buying both the Tanya filters and the sponges will put you around $120. Mod takes like 5 minutes, very easy to do.
Imo If you already have the Kato then itās probably not worth getting it since itās not that much of a upgrade from the Kato. I have the Kato ranked high B+, and the Olina modded low A-. So take what you will from that.
which point of reinforcement? given that Olina + Tanya filter in replacement of stock filter is 99% the tuning of Hana v2, wouldnāt that be redundant?
I can understand why in that youāre doing tuning collabs. You can only trust the manufacturer to an extent, if their attempts to reach your curve target are out of your control. within your control is to say: ātake the tuning as it exists and put x filter on the nozzle and weāre good to goā, or ātake the tuning as it exists and put a X densty foam in the nozzle and weāre good to goā.
To do that, youād have to have access to all those tuning foams (and filter densities) and retain control over what you want released under your collab name.
There is some controversy going around how they need mod. My take is, they donāt necessarily need mods but I preferred it with double filter and now waiting for Tanyas to try their filters. Last night I compared it with several IEMs and preferred Olina, even to my Timelesses.
Anyway, I think what makes Olina amazing is how it is easily customizable. If you think about it, thatās how legends are made. (T50RPs comes to mind) Community loves to take something with potential for cheap and improve it. Not trying to say they are faulty, but customizable according to preferences. Iām not sure if such examples would become legends if they were closer to their potential (hence pricier) and nobody messed with them.
Sometimes I feel like Iām the only one who prefers the Olina with no mods lol.
I also feel like Iām the only person that gets condensation buildup, yet has zero performance issues when it happens. Hasnāt been an issue yet, at least, but Iām not super worried.
