Preamble
I like the Olina a lot. Like, a whole lot. If I weren’t so addicted to the audiophile IEM journey, this could be my final set of IEMs and I could die a happy audiophile.
If this review feels a little “gushy,” it’s because it probably is. As with all my reviews, I bought the Olina with my own money and everything written here are my own thoughts. I’m not being paid and I won’t make a dime from this. If it feels like I’m shilling the Olina, that’s because it’s something I love and really believe in.
Intro
Yup, it’s yet another collaboration IEM – I promise not all of my reviews will be collaborations. It just happened to come out this way.
HBB stands for Hawaii Bad Boy, aka: Bad Guy, Good Audio Reviews on YouTube. He’s an experienced IEM reviewer and has done many collaborations before. Probably the most successful collaboration he has done would be the Tripowin Mele. Tripowin and HBB took the Mele shell and shortened up the nozzles. Then they stuffed in an OEM (original equipment manufacturer – aka: a driver that anyone could buy) driver – word on the street is that it’s the same driver as the $300 Tanchjim Oxygen. They modified the shells to accept the new driver and voila, the $99 Olina is born.
How does it work out when two different IEM parts get smashed together? Read on to find out!
Tech Specs
Driver Configuration: 10mm Carbon Nanotube (CNT) High Performance Dynamic Driver with Cavity
Sensitivity: 110dB/mw @ 1kHz
Impedance: 32Ω
Frequency Response: 10Hz- 43kHz
Connector: 0.78mm 2 Pin
What’s in the Box?
The Tripowin x HBB Olina – known from here on out as just “Olina,” comes with, umm…well…a pretty crappy cable. This is my only major complaint about the Olina. While the 2-pin cable sounds totally fine and matches the light gray color of the IEMs, it is very thin and tangles like a cat playing with yarn. I’m not partial to extremely thin over the ear cables as they tend to wedge themselves between where my head and back of the ears connect. They rub and irritate in a very bad, highly annoying way. This could just be my anatomy that is the problem, so your mileage may vary.
However, rather than leaving that bummer of a cable on the Olina, Linsoul also sells the $39 Tripowin Noire Cable. The Noire, as near-as-makes-no-difference, matches the Olina in color, is thicker, doesn’t tangle as easily, and offers three interchangeable terminations (2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.5mm). While I don’t believe in cable-rolling, I think this cable is a very nice upgrade to the extremely un-impressive stock cable of the Olina.
The Olina comes with 6 pairs of eartips: a narrow bore set (S, M, L) and a wide bore set (S, M, L). The wide bore eartips seemed to work best in my ears while smoothing out the bass, treble response, and widening the soundstage.
Also included are five sets of replaceable filters, which might be needed if you have very waxy and dirty ears. While I haven’t had to replace any filters (I’m cleaner than that 😜), the extras can also be used to do the “Shortbus Mod.” While I’m not against mods, I am against doing a review based on mods. So this review is in the stock filter configuration.
A beautiful, indigo leather hard case comes included. Honestly, I was not expecting such a high-quality and amazing case to be included with a $100 IEM. The case is absolutely lovely to hold and fits the Olina and larger Noire cable perfectly. However, this case is a little large overall and would not be recommended for pocketable use – it is more of a “throw in a bag” type of case. In fact, this case was such a success that Tripowin and Linsoul are now selling it by itself as well.
The IEMs themselves are beautifully machined in a gray aluminum alloy and finished with a gray, marble-like resin on the faceplate. The faceplates are each unique and are very beautiful. Each shell weighs in at 5.6 grams, which is pretty lightweight for an IEM with metal housings.
Fit, Comfort, & Isolation
The fit of the Olina is very shallow and not deep at all. In fact, I had to size-up from my normal medium eartips to the included large size because of the shallow fit. Since they are so light, the shallow fit is not an issue and they stay firmly in my ears during normal, relaxing listening sessions. With the right sized eartips, these are extremely comfortable and I have had no issues wearing them for hours upon hours. Also because of the shallow fit, the isolation is a little below average. A little bit of extra background sound does creep in, but it’s really not bad unless you are in a very loud environment, such as a bustling cafe during a rush.
Sound
Overall
The overall sound signature of the Olina is pretty much exactly what I’ve been looking for. While not technically neutral, it balances neutral with a sense of fun musicality. It starts with a fairly neutral sound signature, adds a sub bass shelf, extends the upper mids slightly, and adds beautiful, airy, and extended treble.
In fact, it reminds me of the Moondrop Kato, but with slightly extended upper mids and treble, and with better technicalities in most areas.
Bass
Just like the Kato, the bass has a nice little sub bass boost and glides effortlessly into the mids and keeps them clean. The bass makes its presence known, but doesn’t try to steal the show either. Unlike the Kato, the Olina has a hair more punch to the mid bass, but does not quite have the texture of the Kato. The bass is very quick for a dynamic driver on both attack and decay, giving things like bass drums, electric bass guitars, and bassy-synths realistic timbre while going down to the lowest of low notes.
Mids
The lower mids are tuned extremely well and complement the entire frequency range of the Olina. They are smooth and have good texture and timbre – again very similar to the Kato. Vocals and instruments in the pinna gain region are present and lightly forward. The difference to the Kato is however in the upper mids. The Olina’s upper mids are anywhere between +3db and +5db higher than the Kato – this brings a greater sense of micro details, staging, and imaging. The slightly elevated upper mids brings about accurate and detailed cymbal crashes, while adding texture to woodwind instruments and upright bass strings being plucked. Even with the upper mid elevation, the timbre is still exceptional and the Olinda doesn’t get shouty. While I can listen to this slightly elevated level and prefer it, I could see this being fatiguing to those ears that are upper mid/treble sensitive.
Treble
The treble extension sounds like it goes all the way to the top. It gives a great sense of airiness without being grainy and has plenty of that “sparkle” factor, if you’re into it. The resolution and detail retrieval is superb, making cymbal hits and higher resonances sound natural, wide, and dynamic. Just as the upper mids are elevated, the treble doesn’t turn sibilant – although it steps right up to that line but doesn’t cross it. I definitely think treble sensitive ears would not appreciate this level of treble for long periods, but it feels perfect to me.
Soundstage & Imaging
If the Moondrop Kato was a 9 or 10 in terms of soundstage, imaging, and technicalities, the Olina turns it up to 11 (Do I really have to point out this reference? IYKYK). While I haven’t listened to any IEMs in the four-figure range or higher, the Olina’s soundstage and imaging are the best I’ve ever heard. The soundstage is crazy wide for an IEM. In fact, it is so good that I dug out my modified, original Grado SR80s to compare – it had been years since I listened to them. It should be no surprise that open-back, over the ear headphones have an even wider soundstage than the Olinas. Even though this is a completely unfair comparison, the fact that it happened is an amazing feat for any IEM.
The Olina’s imaging is also second to none for an IEM. The instrument separation and imaging are almost holographic in combination with the wide soundstage. While listening to the song Gun Point by CAVS, it sounds like you are sitting in the drummer’s stool. Each drum and cymbal has its own unique space in 3D around you – nothing occupies the same area. Really, this is unbelievably good performance for the small price of $99.
Detail retrieval and micro-details are also amazing. Again, if the Kato is a 9, the Olina is an 11. My current detail king is the Shozy BG – at $280 it outperforms many much higher-end IEMs in this respect. The Olina is definitely on par with the Shozy BG which was already sort of a giant killer for detail retrieval. This level of detail for $99 is mind blowing.
Again, while I’ve never listened to anything in the kilo-buck territory, I’ve heard many other reviewers comparing the Olina’s technicalities to IEMs that cost $800 to thousands of dollars more, and I believe them. Really, the Olina performs amazingly outside of its price point.
Conclusion
The Olina redefines what a $99 IEM can achieve. The $90 more expensive Kato redefined what was capable for the price, and the Olina is taking that, slashing the price, and offering even more. For the price, there is nothing that compares to the Olina – it redefines the category of sub-$100.
Should you buy it?
If you are not treble sensitive, absolutely yes. Even if you currently own much more expensive IEMs, buy it. Basically, if you have a decent 2-pin cable laying around and $99 burning a hole in your pocket, the Olina is easy to recommend. There really isn’t anything like this in the price range and Tripowin could have easily charged $300-500 and it still would be a bargain.