It was a bit shouty to me stock but that was really only when I was cranking the volume higher than my ears would like anyway
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Olina under $80 is a steal.
That is a very good description of it.
@Aromato remember that you have to filter reviews understanding the reviewers. I like Dave (honest audiophile) too, but know that he really prefers dead neutral, with big sound stage, so I figured he was going to like other IEMs better, but they were going to be far more expensive. Sometimes he will enjoy something with some bass to it, but I havenât figured out what Dave approved bass looks like.
Every reviewer has their own preferences, and you have to read around that a bit. Some are very good about owning it and this is why I like Chris ( HBB ), since he talks about it and is open about his own bias. Super Review likes bright mid forward gear and also very clear about his preferences. Some reviewers are less open about it, and some take time to decode. There are a few big reviewers that I still donât understand, and I am not patient about decrypting them, since I have reliable sources without bothering to figure them all out.
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I had the O2 and I think the 250r filter stacked on the nozzle has a better character than the stock O2/tanya filter. Put another one on the front vent and youâre done. Eq wonât fix the Q of the bass the way a filter will.
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What are the 250r filters? I did a search and couldnt find any info.
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Itâs a reasonable opinion. Shoutiness is something different people have different sensitivities to. I donât personally find it shouty and actually like it stock. I havenât changed the filters; I have quite of few of the other $100 benchmark ChiFi IEMs and I sort of think, why mod the Olina to be more like other stuff I have already if I like it already.
But it is very definitely veering on shouty. For me- itâs the right side of shouty. But this is a delicate line and I can totally understand why someone else might think it falls the wrong side of that.
In fact, even many of the people who love the thing seem to think itâs a bit shouty. The whole point behind all the filter mods is to bring down that whole âshoutyâ upper mids region, thatâs what all of them do. The double filter mod brings it down a lot- maybe too much, the Tanya mod brings it down a little. No one is modding this to increase that region. The fact that so many of those that love it are modding it to reduce the shoutiness region, is an indication that some may find it shouty and this is a reasonable take.
He makes the point in the video that he reviews IEMs stock and he isnât going to mod it as itâs on loan. Thatâs also perfectly reasonable. Most reviewers review what they get stock, thatâs what Iâd expect them to do. I certainly wouldnât expect a reviewer to mod it. But he also does point out in the video that people say it does sound better modded, so heâs being informative on that.
The way he describes it sounds accurate and reasonable to me. Itâs just a personal perception thing as to how far it goes with the shout.
He says itâs âadaquateâ and âOK soundingâ, itâs clear he doesnât love it but thatâs personal taste and thatâs OK.
He says he prefers the Tin T3+, and describes the differences accurately. It does have more bass and less upper mids, you can see this on HBBâs own graph of them. Itâs OK to prefer that.
He also prefers the Dunu Titan S, another IEM that has had a great reception, I havenât heard that.
He mentions twice the Olina having particularly wide soundstage- which it does, and says the Olina does have a bigger soundstage than either of the other two. That gels with my experience.
So we have a review where heâs pretty on point with his descriptions of the IEM, heâs pretty on point with his comparisons⊠he just has a specific tonal preference, and a sensitivity to shoutiness and he finds it a bit shouty and prefers two other IEMs that are less shouty. Reasonable.
You can still like it⊠itâs an IEM, not a religion or a political ideology. Someone can not like it, and thatâs OK. That doesnât mean thereâs anything wrong with the reviewer.
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One of the biggest differences between those two and the Olina is the difference around the 5k area, where there is nearly a 5db gap. That is a sibilance hotspot for a lot of people, and it wouldnât surprise me if that was the issue. I found the stock the Olina was just a touch hot there for my ears. I am a T3+ fan, but I struggle with longer sessions, because it is right at the size limit for my ears.
The double mesh mod solved it for me, and I also wouldnât do that to someone elseâs IEM. That mod gave me just a little more bass, which made it a complete win for me.
I have a hard time with reviews on this set because the modded Olina is amazing, but the stock one was very good. If not for the mod, Olina would get about 1/3 of the current listening time it does. With the mod, it is one of my absolute favorites. I have to view them as two different IEMs, and you can make a case for each.
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I am doing the double stock filter mod, where I end up with two on it. You raise a good point, because some people remove that and replace it completely with a Tanya filter, and others put a stock Olina filter over one of the vents on the shell.
I think this was the video that got me to try it. It really worked for me.
Michael Bruce also has a video on the Tanya filter mod, and he is doing some EQ stuff with them now.
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iâm considering to buy a new set of filters to fix the condensation issue. does anyone know the bore size(when i tried it with a ruler it was around 4-5mm or my eyes have failed me)? i have no experience with filters so i will gladly take some recommendations other than the tanya filters because they are not sold separately. the one im looking at is called 304 stainless steel, not sure it is any good but look good and cheap.
Mod looks simpleâŠjust stick another one on? Also how is the isolation vs a closed back over ear? If I get them they would also be used when my noisy AC is on, lol.
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if you have sound playing itâd cut out a lot of ac noise depending on volume
just having them in would only reduce the noise a bit
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Ok, as I would imagine. I have the Etymotic ER 2 SE which isolate Very well, but
canât wear them too long due to that deep fit. Just searching possible alternatives and Olina is one I have considered. (vs a closed back over ear)
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It is a super simple mod, and they filters came with the IEM.
I wear glasses, which makes getting a good seal on most closed backs challenging. I have better luck with most IEMs for isolation than closed backs.
They work fine for listening with the AC running, but both places I had done that had central AC units. That might not be the case with a window unit, or some other more noise generating solution.
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Thanks, John. Very helpful. I forgot about the glasses thing. I usually donât wear mine around the house but DO for tv. Iâve read a lot about the Olinaâs signature
and performance and feel it may be the one for meâŠfor music (classical, female vocals, jazz, some pop mostly) as well as for tv speech and general programming.
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Itâs favored by many but it takes it too far the other way for my taste, both on the nozzle and the vent.
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Good to have varied opinions, as always. I always keep in mind that everything
said here is âimo.â 
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That is very true, and sometimes an IEM that you didnât expect to, will blow you away.
I would say that my three favorite sets right now are the OG Tea, the Olina, and the S12. Other than the bass on Olina and S12, those three have nothing in common.
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@John_W_Clark Just listened to Danâs audio reviews comparison which included modded and original Olina. YT and gear limitations aside, I found it very
helpful and picked both out of 5 in the blind test at the end. After a LOT of researching and thought (I donât spend $ impulsively, lol) I plan to order a set
today. Thanks for your comments and help (others too).
Will be sure to let you all know my thoughts and experiences with them!
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Yes I am also benefitted from others sharingâŠthanks to community.
My experience with OlinaâŠTanya filter is great than dual damper mod since it improves bass and did not reduce the wider soundstage. Besides wide bore stock tips are best. Olina somewhat sensitive to pairingâŠi got best synergy with Ovidius B1 dongle no uppermid or harsh treble at allâŠmids are very lush and organic sounding. Whereas E44 dongle is very aggressive forward sounding did not pair well with Olina. Thanks.
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