The comfort zone. Oriolus build Szalayi with a planar-magnetic driver to sit at the epicentre of everyone's listening tastes and budget. This tri-brid enlists a 14mm planar for mids and flanks it with one dynamic driver and balanced armature, meeting Head-Fi's sweet spot for performance. It's typical that Oriolus blended three vastly different transducer topologies so seamlessly. Szalayi's three drivers sing in unison, and its coherency leads to a mid-price pinnacle of performance. For that it made its way onto Headfonia's Recommended Buys list. Headfonics say it's "an impressive IEM for bass heads ... capable of delivering a thunderous bass response with a clean and crisp mid-range". Bass and mids are convincingly portrayed with palpable dynamics and presence, topped off by a sprinkling of treble air that is ever delicate and finessed. Szalayi's authoritative, downward-sloping performance never strays out of our sonic comfort zone. [See Product Desc. For More] What a heavyweight Oriolus have on their hands, the clever utilisation of drivers perfect for rendering their assigned frequencies with excellent realism and resolution. Szalayi's star is undoubtedly its 14mm planar-magnetic mid-range driver. With a diaphragm less than two microns thick, mid-range frequencies are rendered with vanishingly low distortion. Despite its large surface area, the low mass of Oriolus's planar unit means it's always under the control of its magnetic array. Transients are produced instantly and effortlessly, without having to worry about modal break-up.  Indeed, Szalayi's thin vibrating surface needs minimal excursion to move plenty of air, reproducing tons of information, as a straight plane. This grants the simultaneous sense of presence and articulation balanced armature counterparts comparatively struggle to balance. With planar-magnetic drivers on the ascendency in multi-ways, Oriolus weighed in quickly and convincingly to define a new era in IEMs. That's because the sum of Szalayi's strengths lies in the contributions of its supporting cast. A stiff 10mm dynamic driver plumbs the lows, with the excellent excursion of audio's oldest transducer technology – perfect for producing a long, slow bass wave that descends in frequency and rumbles away in Szalayi's sub regions. Up high, a balanced armature takes over as the planar mid driver becomes directional and rolls off. Freed from having to move air beyond its means, this specialised tweeter's low distortion is the reason Oriolus's trademark clean, airy and refined treble can be implemented in the brand's latest star. Certainly, the story of Szalayi is one that produces music as it was recorded, adding few artifacts of its own and being true in its playback. There's always a demand for accuracy, and the sheer competence of Oriolus's latest child is bound to show up played through Questyle Audio's M15i, HiBy Music's R6III and iBasso Audio's Amp8 MKII for DX240. For those wanting to move beyond mere proficiency and instead be held spellbound by their music, the flagships from Oriolus await here. Otherwise, browse the rest of our IEMs here.

The hybrid formula has been repeated over and over, so it's remarkable how Oriolus blazed the trail they did with the Traillii JP. This 12-driver, electrostatic and balanced armature UIEM commands the statement, flagship, segment. Transparency is easy to achieve this day, but Traillii JP delivers a whole other X-factor – enough to make the niche its own. A whole, out-of-head, experience awaits. The air, separation and soundstage belies the physics of an IEM. Traillii JP delivers sound that appears as if it's coming beyond the confines of its shell. [See Product Desc. For More] Perhaps it's apt that Oriolus is inspired by the avian maroon oriole species. Traillii JP's sound is free as a bird, in the most acoustically transparent presentation known in Head-Fi – more so than even fabled electrostatic earspeakers, in which the cup enclosure can still be heard, if ever so subtly. Traillii JP breaks boundaries, and the four electrostatic tweeters have something to do with it. Supported by a 21ohm crossover that will work off anything, excellent SPL is derived from the comparatively insensitive Sonion ESTs. That promises abundant treble quantity, and beyond, quality. The ESTs supply a treble presence that is ever-so-sweet, immersing you within the soundscape. Imaging is as you'd expect, with PW Audio 1960 4W cabling bringing you the cable maker's famed soundstage and image precision. It's a theatre effect unheard in IEMs, and Traillii JP's rumbling sub-bass does nothing to hurt that out-of-head presentation. Subtle impact and rumble is judged in the perfect quantity, and the most intricate bore design ensures the crossover delivers all frequencies to your ears in perfect phase and harmony. Cohesiveness is Traillii JP's strongest suit, and it has to be heard to be believed. Once exposed, you'll never go back, and you'll never tire of it either – Headfonics attested it "really shocked me for a long while, and soon became my favourite IEM". About Audio lauded its gigantic staging and endgame performance. Twister6 were drawn to Traillii JP's "quad-EST highs [that] are very natural and still airy and resolving ... on top of that you get a big holographic soundstage", but over time couldn't help but refer to the performance of this status symbol as a whole, the sum of its 12 drivers bass to treble. Please write to crew@zeppelinandco.com for enquiries on pricing and design in South-East Asia. Zeppelin & Co. is an authorised regional dealer of Oriolus Japan, and recognised for all your support needs. Also browse the other IEMs from Oriolus Japan here, or our other earphones here.

Oriolus is famed for its Traillii JP taking a fundamentally correct sound to spectacular heights. But they don't forget those who live for absolute neutrality and detail either, releasing Mellianus JP to cater to those crowds. Silver suits the look of Mellianus JP. Its brilliance shows up too in its sparkling sound. 10 balanced armatures show up here in a model that's anchored the audiophile reference since 2018. [See Product Desc. For More] Technical performance moves to the fore here, with Mellianus JP strongly focusing on allowing you to hear everything. Its mildly U-shaped curve is perceptibly flat listening softer, with a beautiful sparkle up high, while a 36ohm impedance maintains its intended frequency response into a greater variety of sources. Mellianus JP brings it all together with a premium silver cable. You're not going to need to turn up the volume to hear details buried deep – Twister6 sighed he "wanted to hear Mellianus again, so I can get the sound sig out of my head, but instead I became more addicted to this silver bird". Come have a listen to this dose of trouble then, or browse the other birds from Oriolus here and check out our IEMs here.