Fit and Comfort

Seen above is the right channel of the Tripowin x HBB Olina installed into an artificial ear mold, and I am using the size M gray silicone ear tips that come with these IEMs. This was my preferred set for testing and use too, and illustrates the achievable fit with these IEMs. I do have average-sized ears, and the ear mold above represents my own experiences well enough as a proxy. The uncommon design with a more vertical approach as opposed to an angled ergonomic one might have one think the fit could be an issue, but the Olina is quite good for a few different reasons. For one, the petite form factor makes it more amenable even for those with a smaller ear concha, and the nozzle angling inward and extending further in with these ear tips in particular makes for a secure fit with a good seal. Memory foam tips might do better yet, but can dampen the sound signature, especially in the treble range, to where you need to account for this if you go that route. As it was, the Olina snugly fit in my ears, with all the smooth contact surfaces providing for multiple surfaces of securement, and not just discrete points. The cable also works well enough, with the pre-formed hooks going over and behind the ears for another venue to keep and support these IEMs when installed. The two vents don't make this the most isolated set I have used, but allow for pressure balance without being semi-open and affecting the seal. The IEMs also have an average weight of ~8 g each—these aren't physically fatiguing even after several hours of continuous use.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

The driver composition and tuning of the Tripowin Olina is a slippery tale, if only because there are first-party reports of it using exactly the same driver as in a more expensive set released earlier. It's a supposed 10 mm carbon nanotube (CNT) diaphragm dynamic driver, but as someone who's worked extensively with CNTs, I can assure you there is no way this is a pure CNT diaphragm. Even if it were, it would not purely be CNTs without any other contaminants, and performing worse than standard mylar diaphragms. As with most such situations, this is likely a case of a CNT coating over a base substrate, but that's about all I can tell you. No information about the substrate, surround, topology and morphology of the diaphragm, coatings, and even magnet type and geometry is provided. What we know is that the more expensive set in question, the Tanchjim Oxygen, also claims to use a CNT diaphragm paired with a dual-chamber cavity as opposed to the single cavity-based tuning used on the Olina. HBB and Linsoul also published frequency responses showing a very similar, albeit for ethical purposefully not identical, tuning of the two.

Ultimately, it matters little as long as the net result is pleasing. I don't have any experience with the other set either, but felt it merited a note. The Olina ends up being slightly harder than average to drive for IEMs with a rated 32 Ω impedance at 1 kHz, but helping is a higher sensitivity of 110 dB/mW, once again at 1 kHz. In practice, it is still plenty fine with mobile devices, and a portable DAC/amp will suit your needs perfectly for when you find yourself without an available 3.5 mm audio jack on the go. A better source and a DAP may be considerations, useful in avoiding potential hissing and clipping with some sensitive IEMs, which these are not. If not using them on the go, the shorter cable included with IEMs might be a potential handicap when connecting to a PC as the audio source, so a cable upgrade may make sense.

Frequency Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature emphasizing a slightly elevated bass and smooth treble range with detailed mids and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.


Our reproducible testing methodology begins with a calibrated IEC711 audio coupler/artificial ear IEMs can feed into enough for decent isolation. The audio coupler feeds into a USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running and the earphones connected to the laptop through the sound card. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, which nets a good balance of detail and noise not being identified as useful data. Also, the default tuning was used for testing, and no app-based settings were chosen unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is tested thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the three individual measurements for statistical accuracy. For IEMs, I am also using the appropriate ear mold fitted to the audio coupler for a separate test to compare how the IEMs fare when installed in a pinna geometry and not just the audio coupler. The raw data is then exported from REW and plotted in OriginPro for easier comparison.


The IEC711 is such that you can't really compare these results with most other test setups, especially those using a head and torso simulator (HATS). The raw dB numbers are also quite contingent on the set volume, gain levels, and sensitivity of the system. What is more useful information is how the left and right channels work across the rated frequency response in the Tripowin x HBB Olina, or at least the useful part. The left channel was separately tested from the right one, and colored differently for contrast. I did my best to ensure an identical fit for both inside the IEC711 orifice, so note how the two channels are effectively identical across the entire frequency response, even past the coupler resonance at ~8 kHz, making this one of the best channel-matched pairs I have ever used. This partly comes down to the more definite fit and seal discussed above, again proven by the response with the artificial pinna being near-identical to that of the coupler alone, our ideal scenario. It shows how good the seal was with the IEMs installed in the pinna, and I am happy to say that the individual measurements used for the averages above were no different from each other. This reproduciblity continues over time as well, with measurements taken after 20 hours of testing, including with these playing a mix of various songs as well as white or pink noise and sine sweeps, showing no difference. There was no perceived burn-in effect thus, and none was measurable, either.


This is the average frequency response for both channels of the Tripowin x HBB Olina plotted against my personal target taken from VSG.squig.link, which also gives you an idea of my personal preferences to better correlate any possible biases. The tuning of a set of headphones or earphones does not have to match my target as long as it is tuned with some direction, makes sense, and is executed well. After all, no one set will appeal to everyone, and having different options is what makes this hobby so interesting and hard to quantify. The tuning for the Olina is one part V-shaped, one part bright, which, when combined, can make or break the listening experience.

The Olina handles bass very well, and this is a major part of the lovin' it section. Indeed, knowing that HBB's preference tends to be towards rock music with plenty of kick drums and bass guitars, I can certainly see the Olina falling in line for those who share said preference. There is just shy of 8 dB elevation in the bass from the mids, with pretty good extension into the sub-bass. It's no EDM monster, but one that's punchy enough to evoke strong emotions when you are listening to your favorite rock n' roll music. The bass is substantial, with weight behind it, which also makes for a relatively large dynamic range of notes that quickly decay as one music stroke leads to another. Faster music especially is where I noted the somewhat remarkable manner the Olina handled things easily compared to other value-oriented IEMs, which proved handy for when a random playlist brought up Lemmy again with Motörhead.

In fact, that's an excellent segue to talk about male vocals, another strong point with the Olina. It's energetic and forward-facing, without distorting, and only by enough not to affect instrument clarity. Metal music is also very good here, as are baritones and country music performances. Even old country pop with string instruments and vocals is a pleasure to listen to. At the same time, acoustic instruments feel somewhat lacking by comparison, and percussions and snare drums felt muddled along with background vocals. This is where detail and resolution comments enter the picture, and where more technically competent IEMs do better. The mids thus go from a strong point to one that's an area of improvement, which ultimately makes imaging so-so dependent on the genre of music. The soundstage is wide enough for the output, and I feel any more would have exacerbated the imaging issues.

As expected with a V-shaped tuning, we see the frequency response rise up from ~800 Hz onward to address pinna gain compensation. This is handled very well, but those favoring the likes of pop and jazz may want to bump things up slightly via EQ. It's not really an issue for most I imagine; female vocals come off quite well, too. There are nuances that are appreciated here, and the vast majority of people will find the Olina pleasant in this region. It's what happens next that can be jarring, especially for those who came in expecting energy and warmth. Instead, the Olina is brighter than warm, and the default tuning in the treble region can unfortunately be fatiguing as well. Tripowin/Linsoul made the call to change the tuning slightly from the previous iteration of used drivers, but I wish they had done it the other way around, with a decreased 5 kHz peak and tamer treble response. I can't tell whether this tuning was influenced by the current rage of getting treble extension out of any IEM, but it's executed so poorly that I can't recommend the Olina for most things instrumental with fundamentals in the high frequencies—piano keys, strings, bells, cymbals, and even some flutes.

Comparisons

The $100 market is an extremely exciting time for IEMs today, and the Tripowin x HBB Olina is an excellent new addition compared to the choice few entries we have. Seen above is the Olina compared to a few others in this price range we have covered before or shortly will, including the MOONDROP Aria (2021), ThieAudio Legacy 2 and DUNU TITAN S, the review of which has been submitted, though it likely will not be published before this goes live, with a few others yet to be covered, including the TinHiFi T3 Plus aiming to best these, too. The Aria and TITAN S are $80 sets and cost less than the Legacy 2 and Olina, as well as the likes of the FiiO FD3, which I omitted here given it's tuned fairly differently and a generally much warmer set. I thought the TITAN S was a neutral-bright set, and the Olina makes it seem tame by comparison in the treble response. It's not as balanced as the Aria either, and the Legacy 2 does V-shaped better. The Olina's main issue relative to these contenders is it trying to do too many things, excelling at some and not so much elsewhere. Technically, however, I would say it is the best of this lot overall. Those dynamic drivers out-punch the market segment it belongs to. It is still worth considering overall—the build quality and accessories are also more than adequate since it even bests some more expensive sets in that regard.