• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

72 Hours Into the IEM Rabbit Hole — Now I Know Nothing. Help Me Choose Wisely

Wow. Thank you all for your valued input. I am genuinely thankful that I can start the hobby with $20 iem’s and work my way up - if it’s even necessary. Before I posted I was moments away from ordering $300+ for myself and $100+ for my daughter. Based off of community consensus thus far I am going to order the Zero:2 and the Gate so I can compare them myself.

I guess I’d like everyone to weigh in on this Questyle Qlink-C USB C to 3.5mm Headphone Adapter USB Type C to AUX Audio Jack Hi-Res DAC Dongle Cable before I buy it - please!

Amazon.com: USB C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Audio Adapter, Aux to USB-C Dongle Cable with Chip CX31993 for iPhone 17 Pro Max/17 Pro, 16/15 Pro Max,16/15 Pro,Samsung Galaxy S23/S23/S22/S21,and More Type C Devices : Electronics

Amazon.com: USB C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Audio Adapter, Aux to USB-C Dongle Cable with Chip CX31993 for iPhone 17 Pro Max/17 Pro, 16/15 Pro Max,16/15 Pro,Samsung Galaxy S23/S23/S22/S21,and More Type C Devices : Electronics
a.co
 
rdscuba said:
I guess I’d like everyone to weigh in on this Questyle Qlink-C USB C to 3.5mm Headphone Adapter USB Type C to AUX Audio Jack Hi-Res DAC Dongle Cable before I buy it - please!

Amazon.com: USB C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Audio Adapter, Aux to USB-C Dongle Cable with Chip CX31993 for iPhone 17 Pro Max/17 Pro, 16/15 Pro Max,16/15 Pro,Samsung Galaxy S23/S23/S22/S21,and More Type C Devices : Electronics

Amazon.com: USB C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Audio Adapter, Aux to USB-C Dongle Cable with Chip CX31993 for iPhone 17 Pro Max/17 Pro, 16/15 Pro Max,16/15 Pro,Samsung Galaxy S23/S23/S22/S21,and More Type C Devices : Electronics
a.co
Click to expand...
It'll do just fine.

Personally, I'd buy an Apple headphone adapter instead as it has a much better microphone input as well as higher SNR on the headphone output, but I don't expect any difference in audible sound quality.

And the Questlye looks like it would hold up better over time.
 
I also have a pair of hexa, definitely worth a listen if you're not satisfied with the Gate / Zero:2 but I didn't find them to be vastly different than the gate, maybe more refined sounding, whatever that means.

That said, the point about final response being a product of your own ear interacting with the IEM is very important. This is also true of over-ear headphones to an extent. So one person's ideal IEM might not be quite right for another person.

Basically when you're listening to speakers, a flat frequency response is flat. If a speaker sounds a certain way, it will sound that way for everyone, more or less.

When you're listening to headphones, a flat frequency response isn't flat, because the sound from the headphone / IEM bypasses your head, torso, and ears. Normally, those body parts actually filter the sound a bit, and your brain compensates for that filtering. When you put on headphones, you bypass the filter and your brain is now compensating wrong.

The "target curves" you hear about are attempts to re-compensate the sound so it sounds right even with the "missing" head, torso and ears.

Of course everyone's body / ears are shaped a little differently, so a given target curve won't sound exactly the same for everyone.

An IEM or headphone that does a good job sticking to a target curve is the right place to start, hence the popular recommendations in this thread. However, the "last mile" of getting an ideal frequency response for headphones / IEMs either involves a long quest of buying and trying different sets, or using EQ to tweak a given set to your liking. The EQ route is popular around here because it's a lot cheaper and more predictable than going on a protracted buying journey.
 
This guide is incredibly useful and contains a lot of information not only on how to EQ but the science behind.

iem-eq-guide.pages.dev

Myths & Misconceptions

The following section covers a few myths and misconceptions that are popular, and whether or not they have any validity.
iem-eq-guide.pages.dev iem-eq-guide.pages.dev

The "pages" link on top contains all the relevant scientific studies and tests.
 
Jiraya369 said:
dont take this the wrong way but it's 1 of 3 things
1.) complete skill issue, not being able to eq is a lack of skill, not many possess this ability, i only trust oratory.
Click to expand...
Woops, yes I accidentally deleted the bit in my post where I mentioned this. My point was meant to be that even if EQ can make one pair of ear/headphones sound like another, I was not able to do so, so spending the money on a new pair was definitely worth it.

As an asside, I don't like the targets Oratory makes their EQ's for. But just as a quick experiment I tried their Sennheiser HD560s and HD550 profiles, and the HD550 still sounds better to me, not as much better though than when they both have no EQ. Of course the test wasn't blind, not very well level matched, and it took some time to switch between headphones and EQ.

Of course my custom EQ is much better than Oratory's, so it was definitely worth the time and effort learning how to make them sound the way I like (or I could just have gotten lucky with ny filter settings).

2.) absolute placebo, you buy something new and based on the reviews/preconceived ideas, it sounds exactly how others describe it or something
Click to expand...
I don't put much stock in what others say, as I don't understand what they mean and I often disagree with them. Yes though I am probably biased into finding nicer looking/more comfortable ones as sounding better. My better sounding headphones though are the slightly uglier and less comfortable ones.

Jiraya369 said:
3.) The FR of your preivous IEMs was so unbelievably bad it can't reasonably be eq'd to be that much better, least likely. You can get anything to sound good, just that in order to sound great you usually need a good base to start off with.
Click to expand...
Right, in my experience what sounds best without EQ, also sounds best after me making a custom EQ.

Jiraya369 said:
Unless you listen to something tuned neutral for your ears you wont understand what im talking about.
Click to expand...
I'm not convinced that "neutral" is actually the best sounding, not that I've got any way to know if I have successfully created such a tuning. (I am not good at judging the details of sound, like whether two things are the same volume etc... I can only really say whether music sounds better or worse, and even then I often can't decide).
 
Last edited:
I'm not a IEM expert, my passion is multichannel speakers but last year I was in the hospital for 2 months and wanted something besides the openback headphones I had at home. I didn't want to spend much money so after doing some homework I chose the $20 JBL Endurance Run 2 wired that had been reviewed here. Without doing some lame attempt
at a fancy prose review, all I'm going to say is that for $20 they sound amazing to me, unbelievable at so little money. For the cost of a burger and fries I don't know how anyone could be disappointed, if for any reason you are, just give them away to a family kid or friend. LOL
www.audiosciencereview.com

JBL Endurance Run 2 Wired IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests, detailed measurements and EQ of JBL Endurance Run 2 Wired "sports" waterproof IEM. It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale for $9.95 on Amazon including Prime shipping (retail: $19.95). As you see, there are magnets at the end of each formed earphone...
www.audiosciencereview.com www.audiosciencereview.com
 
somebodyelse said:
It's worth keeping in mind that the final frequency response is a result of the interaction between the IEM and your ear canal. The measurements are taken with a standard fixture that approximates the effect of an ear canal, and the target curve is an average for the population. It's a good starting point for personal adjustment that's probably pretty close for most people, not the final destination for everyone. It's also one of the reasons why you'll see so many different opinions about the same IEM - they genuinely sound different to different people. Provided distortion is low and there aren't any major resonance issues, EQ should be able to get you to a good personalised sound.

I'll emphasise the point about ergonomics too - you need to find something that's comfortable for you, seals well and doesn't keep falling out of your ears. Tips make a difference to the last two, but the first is down to the shape of the IEMs, and you might have to try a few to get one that's a good fit. This is where the low cost is a real advantage - you can try several without blowing the budget. You might also find you can't stand the feel of something sticking into your ears like this - particularly with the deep insertion tips that provide the best isolation.

Something you might not have thought about is cable microphonics - the transfer of mechanical noise from things rubbing against the cable to your ears. One of the reasons the usual cable routing is forward from the IEM then up and back over the ear is that the contact between the cable and skin damps this a fair bit, but some cables are still a lot better than others for this. how much it matters will depend on how much you'll be moving while listening. Clipping the cable to clothing can help with this too.
Click to expand...
This ☝️
  1. I ended up getting a pretty commonly well regarded IEM, both in terms of sound and ergonomics. This is a compact, mild custom shaped IEM but it didn't fit my ears all that well. Turns out I have a pretty shallow concha so I couldn't get a deep enough fit and good seal without it creating a hotspot where the back bulge touches the ear.
  2. Sound was ok but nothing exceptional. I thought, based on graphs it might be what I was looking for. While there was nothing wrong with the sound, there was also nothing particularly exciting about it.
  3. Then I got to try an IEM I thought wouldn't suit me at all. Has a very vanilla shape and graphs like something like I didn't expect to like all that much.
    Turned out pretty perfect. Sound signature is close to perfect even without EQ and I can wear them for hours on end.
So regardless of what anyone writes about any IEM anywhere, take everything with a pinch of salt. Get something affordable (preferably used) to establish a reference and go from there. I've posted impressions on other forums and some people ended up getting the same pair with less than good experiences which is why I defer from listing any particular models here.
 
IsaacOscar said:
Woops, yes I accidentally deleted the bit in my post where I mentioned this. My point was meant to be that even if EQ can make one pair of ear/headphones sound like another, I was not able to do so, so spending the money on a new pair was definitely worth it.

As an asside, I don't like the targets Oratory makes their EQ's for. But just as a quick experiment I tried their Sennheiser HD560s and HD550 profiles, and the HD550 still sounds better to me, not as much better though than when they both have no EQ. Of course the test wasn't blind, not very well level matched, and it took some time to switch between headphones and EQ.

Of course my custom EQ is much better than Oratory's, so it was definitely worth the time and effort learning how to make them sound the way I like (or I could just have gotten lucky with ny filter settings).


I don't put much stock in what others say, as I don't understand what they mean and I often disagree with them. Yes though I am probably biased into finding nicer looking/more comfortable ones as sounding better. My better sounding headphones though are the slightly uglier and less comfortable ones.


Right, in my experience what sounds best without EQ, also sounds best after me making a custom EQ.


I'm not convinced that "neutral" is actually the best sounding, not that I've got any way to know if I have successfully created such a tuning. (I am not good at judging the details of sound, like whether two things are the same volume etc... I can only really say whether music sounds better or worse, and even then I often can't decide).
Click to expand...
just sayin, it's just placebo, unconscious bias from different things.

And again, you have not heard a proper neutral set, you don't have a great point of reference, neutral for your ears and something that is relatively good are different things.
 
IsaacOscar said:
Is this different from getting a normal IEM but with custom tips?
Click to expand...
I suppose it depends on your definition of "normal".
One could categorize them into:
  • Earphones - Just your basic buds with a general earbud shape (i.e. ovioid).
  • Semi-custom - An opinionated design that's designed to generally conform to the shape of ear contours.
  • Custom - A fully custom-molded design, shaped to your particular ear.
Tips are a separate discussion, though they can have a substantial impact on comfort, fit, seal and sound.
Ime replacement tips will not correct for a bad shell design but i do recommend trying different tips.
 
Super Panda said:
This ☝️
  1. I ended up getting a pretty commonly well regarded IEM, both in terms of sound and ergonomics. This is a compact, mild custom shaped IEM but it didn't fit my ears all that well. Turns out I have a pretty shallow concha so I couldn't get a deep enough fit and good seal without it creating a hotspot where the back bulge touches the ear.
  2. Sound was ok but nothing exceptional. I thought, based on graphs it might be what I was looking for. While there was nothing wrong with the sound, there was also nothing particularly exciting about it.
  3. Then I got to try an IEM I thought wouldn't suit me at all. Has a very vanilla shape and graphs like something like I didn't expect to like all that much.
    Turned out pretty perfect. Sound signature is close to perfect even without EQ and I can wear them for hours on end.
So regardless of what anyone writes about any IEM anywhere, take everything with a pinch of salt. Get something affordable (preferably used) to establish a reference and go from there. I've posted impressions on other forums and some people ended up getting the same pair with less than good experiences which is why I defer from listing any particular models here.
Click to expand...
What did you find that became your favorite?
 
rdscuba said:
What did you find that became your favorite?
Click to expand...
Letshouer S12 Ultra. If anything, it made me realise how misleading graphs, and how different our subjective impressions can be.
With that being said, i generally tend to EQ to personal preference and I find it pretty intuitive. But there are technical aspects to sound (detail, resolution, whatever you want to call it) that are harder to fix after the fact. So I prioritise comfort above all else, technical performance second and tonality last. The S12's just so happened to have great tonality as well.
 
Super Panda said:
Letshouer S12 Ultra. If anything, it made me realise how misleading graphs, and how different our subjective impressions can be.
With that being said, i generally tend to EQ to personal preference and I find it pretty intuitive. But there are technical aspects to sound (detail, resolution, whatever you want to call it) that are harder to fix after the fact. So I prioritise comfort above all else, technical performance second and tonality last. The S12's just so happened to have great tonality as well.
Click to expand...

Graphs are not misleading, subjective impressions include all kind of expectations and that alone makes them unreliable.

There are no technical aspects (that is the constantly repeated audiophile ones) IEMs are minimal phase devices, frequency response is the most important metric.
 
muza_1 said:
Graphs are not misleading, subjective impressions include all kind of expectations and that alone makes them unreliable.

There are no technical aspects (that is the constantly repeated audiophile ones) IEMs are minimal phase devices, frequency response is the most important metric.
Click to expand...

Not denying the value of graphs. They can be very informative. Just saying a frequency response graph alone is not the definitive measure of how one perceives sound quality, especially in the higher frequencies of an IEM. I agree that frequency response is the metric to focus on but the issue lies not so much in how to interpret a graph, but rather in how headphone and IEM measurements are notoriously all over the place. HRTF plays a major role also.

As for the technical aspects like details, they often correlate to the frequency response yes but there are definitive differences in how a dynamic driver behaves compared to planars or BA's.
 
staticV3 said:
Citation please? Or is this a "trust me bro" thing?
Click to expand...
Speaking purely from experience. References listed below.
I suppose some will argue that different driver topologies are used for marketing purposes only but I tend to think there's more to it.
 
kemmler3D said:
I also have a pair of hexa, definitely worth a listen if you're not satisfied with the Gate / Zero:2 but I didn't find them to be vastly different than the gate, maybe more refined sounding, whatever that means.
Click to expand...
I don't know what refined means. Everyone will hear an IEM differently due to the nature of individual anatomy imposing massive individual FR differences in practice.
All I can say about the Hexa's performance for me is that I can listen for longer, even to dense genres like extreme metal. It's easy for me to pick out details in the instrumentation. On other IEMs i get ear-fatigued quicker, or the playback quality is less clear or does something quirky that doesn't sound like an intended aspect of the original recording. This includes some pricier IEMs I've owned. I've owned dozens low-budget IEMs and have been impressed by their performance, some gave me issues mostly due to fit, or clogged filters over time. Purely from my experience the Hexa delivers for the money. I would have gladly skipped buying all those other IEMs if I knew, OTOH I wouldn't appreciate the Hexa as much. Don't take this as me suggesting pricier IEM always sound better. They don't IMO, in fact the Hexa is the only pricier IEM I tried that I thought was worth it.
 
Last edited:
Super Panda said:
https://doi.org/10.3390/app13179912
Driver architecture inherently dictates the limits of soundstage and detail retrieval regardless of the target curve.
Click to expand...
This appears to be a nothing burger with no concrete conclusion reached WRT driver selection.

Super Panda said:
https://www.soundguys.com/driver-types-19347/
Mass-to-surface-area ratio affects the impulse response and the "speed" of the driver.
Click to expand...
Equally nothing burger. No research data, no concrete conclusions WRT driver type.

Super Panda said:
https://doi.org/10.3390/app9235047
Hybrid designs are a physical necessity because BAs lack the volumetric airflow (Vd) required for low-frequency reproduction at high SPL.
Click to expand...
And yet again zero data or research on driver differences.

The premise here is that "Hybrid earphones [...] can produce better performance over a wider range when compared to [...] (BA earphones) or [...] (dynamic earphones)."
but this is never substantiated.

Have you even read these before posting the links?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Golgoth
Are there any IEM that offer a truly wide soundstage for under $200?
Replies
16
Views
1K
Golgoth
Golgoth
J
Question choose buy iem
Replies
18
Views
1K
Conehead
C
Shrek6
Good IEMs with small housing / body?
Replies
7
Views
541
Berwhale
Berwhale
H
Help finding right Sennheiser Headphone
2 3
Replies
41
Views
3K
Linnie
Linnie
C
IEM Purchase advice. Which budget is reasonable?
Replies
14
Views
2K
delta76
D
Back
Top Bottom