I find Tri Clarion fantastic tips and they work pretty well on almost all my iems, L size are particularly useful since there are not many other cheap tips available with 14mm width. I generally find M size good on iems with narrower and longer nozzles while L size are perfect on shorter nozzles\shallow fit ones. Only iem where they not performed well are Truthaer Zero:Red, but to me
those iems are very picky and didn't perform well with any other short and large bore tips.
Do you find that the Tri Clarion tips worked better with the other IEMs that you tested? And did you test the tips that you liked with the T10 with the other IEMs? I ask because personally I find that tips that I like work well on more or less every IEM in my collection (which is now embarrasingly large). Ironically my go to tips are the Tri Clarions but I also like the Xelastec tips by Sedna and the Moondrop Spring tips, the Xelastec tips would be my favorite if they didn't make some of my favorite IEMs sibilant.
The enormous bore size of the Tri Clarions can definitely change the sound of IEMs, but I find the change to be positive. In my experience oversized bores tend to mellow sibilant frequencies, but narrower bores can definitely boost the bass.
THIS IS ABOUT THE TRI CLARION EARTIPS
One does not know what the original music sounded like, so the best one can do, is compare how it sounds on different devices. Who knows what the truth is.?
I had been listening to the KZ EDC Pros with the TRI Clarions, for at least a month, more like 2 months, and was relatively happy with the sound.
On the KZ EDC Pro's, compared to the stock tips, (I typically use LARGE, in all tip sets), the TRI Clarions :
1. Give the Bottom End that bit more heft. Not excessive, just really solid thump, of kick drums, and snares. Not boomy. But solid hits become more audible, without needing any EQ. SOLID, Just the right amount of bass, and engagement. Proper attacks but also smooth, not harsh, and edgy.
2. The vocal range, becomes more natural, relaxed darker, detailed yet without the kind of fatigue that is immediately unbearable, yes it is bright, but that comes from the IEM itself. I would describe it as feather bright.
3. The top end smoothens out, and becomes less harsh, yet more harsh(see item 4 below). Now that is a surprise, and if I had not done an intense comparison, I would have assumed that the TRI Clarion would make the high end bright. ON the contrary, the things like pianos, just become clear, just almost short of becoming harsh.
4. There may be just a little bit of enhancement of the air frequencies, the really high treble, while tucking in the mid treble, so that the treble overall just sounds ethereal, from another world, detailed enough, vivid enough, natural, not soft, but not particularly harsh. Scratchy soft.
So over all some kind of additional U shape., with a boost in the clarity and body of the vocal, with air on top, at the bottom end.
Another way to look at it is like some kind of tilt EQ, softening some of the treble and boosting the bottom end, + fairy dust on top.
I think listening to devices in isolation, should not be done. Really great to compare.
The TRI Clarions pair very very well with the KZ EDC Pro's.
A teeny weeny bit of high shelf to trim some of the harshness on top, then brings everything into an even better presentation. Very cohesive sound.
Definitely an impressive combination, feathery punchy sound.
But when I compare with the stock eartips, and listen to these again, the TRI Clarions, have the following possibly negative impact, on the audio.
1. Softening the transient response. I kept using the word feather earlier. Definitely a smoothing out of the transients. A kind of more relaxed listen, the pace of the music does seem slower, and seems to be coming from a bit more of a distance. With the stock eartips, all the elements in the music are much closer to the listener.
2. A similar phenomenon is how high frequencies are absorbed in air over distance. That crispness is lost somewhat. There is a certain veil over the music, definitely NOT as punchy.
As enticing as the impact is, I think while the softening may be welcome, on music that has quite a bit of harshness in the music itself, or the IEM has a trebly presentation, I think the TRI Clarion, is having an impact that denatures the audio. My subjective opinion. Wish it was just EQ, that it alters, but I think its more than just EQ, cos I can use EQ to simulate the impact/sound signature of the TRI Clarion, when using the stock tips, by attenuating the pinna gain frequency, with a low Q band filter, but without any extraneous loss of the transient response, it still stays punchy and immediate and forward., and crisp, and not feathery.
Does make me think - how is the TRI Clarion achieving this change?
In the final analysis, what the TRI Clarion does is no mean feat, very enjoyable and it is so hard to decide which I prefer, TRI Clarion or the stock. For casual listening, I prefer the TRI Clarions, with these IEMs. But it sounds like I have placed a compressor on the music, to smooth out all the rough edges. Apologies, for using terms from my job, I'm an audio engineer. So the average loudness is increased, peaks are reduced. But intelligibility is lost a bit, it sounds really nice, far easier to listen to., and relax and enjoy.
So much easier to hear into certain elements of the music. With the TRI Clarion.
I cannot decide which is better, the TRI Clarion or the stock tips. Psychoacoustically, the thump of the bass introduced by the Clarion, is more satisfying, addictive. Awesome bass. And the reduction in harshness makes for a pleasurable listen, if I must admit it feels smoothed over, and veiled like a rough surface polished, more difficult to feel the elements, above the bass, you just hear them smooth. Like a sub woofer was added and some tissue paper was placed on the tweeter. Club like music - Thumping. Better? Not sure.