Thieaudio - Oracle MKII

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by luckybaer, Dec 3, 2022.

  1. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

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    Thieaudio – ORACLE MKII (MSRP: $589.00 US)

    Technical Details (from thieaudio.com):
    Drivers: 10mm DD + Sonion & Knowles BA + Sonion ES
    Driver Impedance: 11 ohm
    Driver Sensitivity: 100dB @1kHz
    Cable Specs: 26AWG 5N OCC Silver Plated Litz Cable – 0.78mm 2-pin
    Cable Plug Type: Modular System, 2.5mm, 3.5mm, 4.4mm
    Cable Length: 1.2M

    TL;DR: A well-built IEM. Neutral presentation, highly resolving with gobs and gobs of detail. Worth the price!

    Unpacking Overview:
    Big black box with sleeve. Larger box than the Moondrop Blessing2, Kato, 7Hz Timeless. Contents include the earphones (duh), cable, big case (size of a Wonderbread ham and cheese sandwich with the crust aggressively trimmed), variety of tips (silicone and foam), plugs for modular system as noted in Technical Details.

    Lousy iPhone Photos:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]


    Listening Set Up:
    I burned some test tracks as .wav 16/44.1 to a CD-R and this is the chain:
    Denon DCD-1600NE -> Schiit Gungnir MB Gen 5 -> Khozmo Passive Preamp -> AURALiC Taurus MkII

    Test Tracks:
    1. Rush – “YYZ,” Moving Pictures [Mercury 800 048-2]
    2. Dire Straits – “Sultans Of Swing,” Dire Straits [Warner Bros Records 9 47769-2]
    3. Natalie Merchant – “Carnival,” Tigerlily [HD Tracks]
    4. The Beatles – “Here Comes The Sun,” Abbey Road [Parlophone CDP 7 46446 2]
    5. Jeff Beck – “Greensleeves,” Truth [Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2223]
    6. A Tribe Called Quest – “What?,” Low End Theory [Jive 1418-2-J]
    7. The Brothers Johnson – “Stomp,” Greatest Hits [A&M Records 31454 0552 2]
    8. Michael Jackson – “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Off The Wall [Epic EK 35745]
    9. New Order – “Fine Time,” Technique [Qwest Records W2 25845]
    10. Primal Scream – “Don’t Fight It, Feel It,” Screamadelica [Warner Bros Records/Sire 9 26714-2]

    Build Quality:
    Build quality appears excellent. No rough edges or raised seams on the actual earpieces. The 2-pin cable connector is quite snug and will make anyone nervous if trying to disconnect to swap out a cable. They insert smoothly, but require a firm and steady hand. Good thing the cable quality appears quite high – I don’t think I’ll be fiddling with cable swaps.

    Comfort/Ergonomics:
    I tried all the included silicone tips and couldn’t get a good seal. I had some Comply 400 sitting around, and they fit well. I got a good seal, and feel that I’m not making any acoustic compromises with my choice to go foam. Comply tips are quite comfortable. I treat them like I do my foam earplugs for the shooting range: roll them in my fingers, stick them in my ear and let them expand to fill the ear canal. This guarantees a good seal. The shape of the Oracle MkII matches the shape of my ears well. I can wear these for a long time without really knowing I’ve got anything in my ears. Light, yet substantial build. I like these.

    What Brought Me Here:
    I had never spent much on IEMs. My first pair were Shure ER4C way back when, and I didn’t think they were worth whatever I paid for them (at least two bills, IIRC) – at least compared to full-sized cans. They had build quality issues, and the sound was not quite right – light on bass, lacking resolution, plasticky, etc.

    I would have looked strange wearing full-sized cans (DT880, K-601, HD650... all OG stuff) at work, so I settled on Audio-Technica ATH-CK7. I liked the sound, they were comfortable, and about $80. A few years later, I purchased another pair of sub-$100 IEMs from Massdrop (Drop): EDC and EDC3 (first multi-armature IEM I ever tried). I was quite satisfied – EDC for the gym, EDC3 for work.

    I recently made the decision to leave my unsatisfying job (great title, meh pay, bad culture, out of whack work/life balance), and decided to reward myself. I splurged on Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Blessing2, 7Hz Timeless, and went all-in on the Thieaudio Oracle MkII. And… here I am.

    Sound Overview:
    These are fantastic IEMs for getting lost in the music, or for critical listening:
    • Bass: Plenty of bass, but not loose or flabby. Great bass extension. Of the IEMs I listed above, the MkII is similar to the 7Hz Timeless. It is an IEM, so I don’t “feel” the sub-bass like I would with my 2-channel set-up, but it IS there, and I come damn close to feeling it.
    • Mids: According to graphs, the mids are slightly recessed, and I guess it shows a U-Shaped tuning. To my ears, the sound across the spectrum is quite balanced. I may have become accustomed to mids being pushed forward in some of my other set-ups, so these are different, but not better/worse. Very natural sounding. Vocals are absolutely gorgeous with a tremendous amount of detail. Timbre is nailed. I advise ignoring the graphs and just listening to the music.
    • Treble: Not harsh at all to my tin ears. Highs like cymbals are realistic sounding, not skissssssssssssssh or mushy. The resolution on these things is fantastic. I used to struggle with microdetail and plankton, but these help me understand what those are now.
    Initial Comparison (for reference): Moondrop Blessing2
    I dig the Blessing2. Pretty neutral presentation (maybe oh-so-slight goosing of bass to my ears), good build quality, no sins of commission, etc.

    No discernable difference in build quality between the Blessing2 and Oracle MkII. The Oracle MkII’s cable does seem to be of a higher quality. Both cables are very flexible, but the Oracle MkII’s is more substantial, and it does use higher quality copper – OFC vs OCC (4 nines vs. 5 nines purity).

    I used Comply tips on both IEMs.

    The Oracle MkII’s overall presentation is noticeably better to my ears than the Blessing2. The Blessing2 is a wonderful sounding IEM, but the Oracle MkII is on a different level:
    • Bass is cleaner, tighter, without losing any extension or impact. From rock songs like Dire Straits’ “Sultans Of Swing,” to funk like “Stomp” by The Brothers Johnson, to electronic/dance stuff like New Order’s “Fine Time,” the MkII does not disappoint!
    • The Oracle MkII makes listening to busy, layered passages effortless. Instead of trying hard to pick out details, I am lost in the music and I can easily separate various tracks/lines/sounds. The separation is the best of any IEM I own. Listening to well-engineered and well-crafted pop songs like The Beatles “Here Comes The Sun,” and Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” is a real treat. The closest analogy I can come up with is an optical illusion of sorts. Remember those funky pictures that contain a picture within a picture? Sometimes I would have to work hard to get my eyes to focus properly to see the hidden picture, and at other times, without any effort, the picture would leap out at me. That’s the Oracle MkII. No effort on my part to hear everything in a song.
    • As mentioned earlier, I think I finally understand plankton and microdetail. The texture on notes and sounds comes through clearly with the Oracle MkII. The Blessing 2 seems to “smooth” (albeit slightly) the edges of notes and sounds. This jumped out at me with Natalie Merchant’s vocals on “Carnival” and Jeff Beck’s guitar on “Greensleeves.”
    The Blessing2 is US$319; the Oracle MkII US$589. Maybe not a fair comparison, but Blessing2 is pretty popular, well-received, and the closest IEM in price to the MkII that I own. For folks looking for an upgrade to the Blessing2, and not wanting to spend 3X of the cost of the Blessing2, the Oracle MkII deserves consideration.

    Questions and/or comments are welcome.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 3, 2022
  2. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

    Staff Member Pyrate Flathead IEMW
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    Couple of questions for you:

    How does midrange resolution compare to Blessing 2? This is the Blessing 2 strength, so curious to see how close they are in this one aspect.

    How does treble timbre compare? This is a weak point on the Blessing 2 to me. Curious if Oracle is that much better. The only tribid I’ve heard (Dunu EST) has its own funky treble timbre. Any comments on the Oracles cymbal decay and incisiveness?
     
  3. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

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    These are very resolving IEMs. In the mid-range, I can distinguish individual notes easily, and microdetail is easy to pick up. Busy passages are easier to decipher.

    I think they nail timbre in the higher registers. Cymbals and higher notes seem very natural to me. Macrodynamics and microdynamics are quite good. Cymbals really sound like metal objects being struck by wooden sticks - not plasticky splashes. Attack, decay, sustain... all presented well.

    vs. Blessing2:
    Bass: clear advantage Oracle MkII for the tight sound with no loss of impact or extension.
    Mids: if taking just one of the following timbre, resolution, separation, there's a slight edge for the MkII. Taken all together, the MkII packages everything into a cohesive sound that gives it a clearer advantage.
    Highs: Microdetail and timbre - advantage MkII. Again, very slight, but preferable to my ears.

    I enjoy both IEMs, and the differences are very slight to slight when taken individually. Taken as a whole, I find the Oracle MkII to be better, but not to the point where the Blessing2 loses any love from me.

    For listening enjoyment, both get the job done, but I'd reach for the Oracle MkII if I were comparing gear or doing some really analytical listening.

    I need to spend time with them some of my "lesser" gear - like iPhone + Lightning to 3.5 dongle and Modi MB + Vali 2.
     
  4. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

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    I have spent quite a bit of time listening to these IEMs with both Spin Fit silicone tips and Comply foam tips.

    Spin Fit (CP145 - size "M") - price $11.50 for 2 pair, $5.75/pair
    Pros:

    • Very comfortable
    • Easy to stick on and pull off
    • Nice looking - Clear flange w/Orange sleeve (size "L" has Blue sleeve)
    • Easy to insert
    • Less expensive than the Comply
    Cons:
    • Loss of low end impact is not ideal for my listening preferences
    • Size "M" might be too small, so I ordered Size "L" to see if that might help lessen loss of low end impact

    Comply (Sport Pro 400 - size "M") - price $20.00 for 3 pair or $6.67/pair
    Pros:

    • Comfortable, but more noticeable to me while using them
    • Improved low end impact relative to the stock silicone tips and the Spin Fit tips
    • Outstanding seal
    • Easy enough to insert - the foam gets soft from body heat, so I just slowly push them into my ears
    • Ear wax filter - no wax will get to the IEMs. Also available w/out the filter, but I've never tried those
    Cons:
    • Very slight loss of high end "sparkle," but that works for me - does not make 'phones sound muffled, congested, too dark, dull, etc. YMMV, of course.
    • Patience needed to put them on
    • If not careful, they could tear when taking them off
    • More expensive than the Spin Fit
    I prefer the Comply foam tips with the Oracle MKII. The added impact in the lower frequencies takes a neutral, fun, immersive IEM to a new level of enjoyment without loss of detail for those who love critical, analytical listening.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2022
  5. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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  6. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

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    I think I can safely say that these things scale with better gear. I spent a lot of time listening to these via Modi MB (USB to Singxer SU-6 to Modi's coax in) -> Vali 2 and Magni 3. The Oracle sounds much better fed by Gungnir MB (also fed by the Singxer to the BNC in) -> Taurus MkII.

    I'm too lazy to swap cables and shit to find out whether the biggest impact on the improved sound is the DAC or the amp.

    Anyway, the easiest identifiable improvement is in the bass. The budget set-up had bass that was less defined - sloppy, relative to the mid-level gear. Attack and decay were also improved with Gungnir/Taurus, as was separation, microdynamics, and plankton.

    Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed listening to the Modi MB/Vali 2|Magni 3, but from a technical perspective, the Gungnir/Taurus combo was noticeably better, IMHO. Thank goodness, since Modi MB/Vali 2|Magni is $250/$149|$99, and the Gungnir Taurus both check in at over $1,200 each. They'd better be noticeably better!!
     

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