ThieAudio Oracle Review

April 14, 2022 4:52 pm

The ThieAudio Clairvoyance is still pretty fresh in my head, but I recently had the chance to listen to its closest rival, the Oracle. They’re often compared to each other for many different reasons, but how exactly does the Oracle stand out?

What You Get

Silicone Eartips x1 Pair
Foam Eartips x3 Pairs(S/M/L)
Carrying Case

Look and Feel

Having listened to the Clairvoyance before the Oracle I was surprised to see that the Oracle sported almost the exact same design as the Clairvoyance. They are hard to tell apart from pictures, and looking at them both it is fairly easy to mix them up. They both feature identical artwork for their faceplate design with a black inner cavity. If the shell didn’t spell out Oracle on it then it would be impossible to tell the difference. It makes sense to have a similar build and artwork since they’re from the same series, but I would have liked to see some variation to give the Oracle its own identity. Thankfully, copying the Clairvoyance also means that it keeps its ergonomic shape. Although the Oracle is still quite big, it fits in your concha with no issue.

Design

The Oracle uses a tribrid driver configuration, implementing a 10mm dynamic driver, a Knowles DFK balanced armature, and a Sonion dual electrostatic unit. Its cable is made from Litz 5N OCC 4 core silver plated wire.

Frequency response: 20–80kHz
Sensitivity: 106dB/mW（@1KHz）

Soundstage

If you’re expecting a large width with a holographic stage, the Oracle isn’t that kind of IEM. Instead, it is an IEM that is more concerned with revealing how much depth it can show you. The way the imaging makes you feel sounds happening all around you in this tighter stereo field is extremely impressive. It’s not too in your head, but you can tell the oracle is dealing with more limited space, making the music more intimate. However, this doesn’t make the Oracle lose any sense of transparency. The separation between layers is excellent in the way it covers a huge range of the sound field. From left to right the sound can be pretty linear, but from top to bottom the Oracle extends itself in height and depth to make sure the sound elements appear realistic and identifiable in the mix.

Low End

In the low end, you get a good sense of space and balance for the rumbly tone to express itself. The deep resonance of the Oracle delves into the sub-bass and brings its texture out for a gripping vibrating effect that you can feel originating in your chest. Its tone doesn’t seem quick enough to really slam though, only able to accomplish a rising feel to its resolving timbre.

Mids

The midrange steps up to the power of the bass with its own considerable drive. Their tone is brimming with detail and reveals its pronounced presence with a sense of natural propagation. Not only does it provide a sense of fullness to the sound signature as a whole, but it has a pinpoint accuracy to it that evenly distributes its frequency content across the spectrum. This gives instruments and vocals a ton of clarity, feeling like they’re playing in the exact resolution you need.

Highs

For the highs, the Oracle gives you a good bite or detailed instruments and effects. It never overly brightens the sound signature but gives the timbre a strong accent to make the treble really pop. It has the ability to sparkle and add a ringing texture to the high frequencies, making the tone feel more crisp and blissful.

Summary

As a pure listening experience, I found a lot to love about the Oracle from ThieAudio. There hasn’t been an IEM from this brand I haven’t liked, but so far the Oracle is one of my favorites. It is not perfect of course, as its design is a little too similar to the Clairvoyance, but from a sonic perspective, these models couldn’t be more different.