Do premium IEMs sound better than entry level ones?

[Palladium]

Are they pre-amplified?
I know they are excellent monitors, even looking at the measurements, but I have a doubt: does the tweeter make "background noise" or is it completely silent?
1 year ago I bought some Adam 5 and the tweeter was very noisy and could be heard even at 1m at medium-low volume and I was forced to return them

The tweeters does hiss so it probably wouldn't suit you. But that doesn't bother me a feet or more away and for something that only cost $99 each when they were on discounts I'm definitely not complaining.

 

[Madlop26]

IMO its safe to say don't expect miracles in this IEM climate. Even for speakers I still haven't heard anything that got me remotely go wow as much as my LSR305s bought in 2013.

Well, it is kind of a miracle that nowadays that for few dollars you can get EIMs which can handle a full spectrum frequency response on compliance to a researched standard curve with negligible distortion. Not that i do not have experience with monitors, I have Revels and Genelecs, and I have to tell you, these cheap IEMS easily deliver similar high-fidelity sound.

 

[Palladium]

Well, it is kind of a miracle that nowadays that for few dollars you can get EIMs which can handle a full spectrum frequency response on compliance to a researched standard curve with negligible distortion. Not that i do not have experience with monitors, I have Revels and Genelecs, and I have to tell you, these cheap IEMS easily deliver similar high-fidelity sound.

Well, that was I originally wanted to meant: The cheapo IEMs are already so good that the expensive ones have little else they can bring to the table, mostly in terms of non-SQ aspects like fit and comfort.

Even Harman's own research on headphones found very little correlation between perceived SQ versus price if done blind.

My English side of the brain isn't working very well these days.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Recently, I bought a pair of Truthear x Crinacle Zero RED IEMs with a Moondrop FreeDSP cable to EQ them even closer to the IEF target. The sound quality is outstanding. Every time I put them on, the clean bass and the level of detail amaze me. I enjoy listening on these cheap IEMs at least as much as on my desktop (Genelec 8030c + Arendal 1961 1S + miniDSP Flex) or living room (5.1 comprising KEF HTS 3001, SVS SB1000 classic, Denon AVC-3800h, and A1 Neuron) setups. The passive noise isolation is also great for commuting on the train and, at least subjectively, beats the active cancellation of my Sony WH-1000MX3.

In short, the experience has been quite transformative. I did not believe this level of performance to be possible, let alone for just ~100 bucks. I am extremely grateful to the community on this forum -- and especially @amirm -- for pointing me in that direction.

Now, I wonder whether more premium IEMs, such as, e.g., Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk or Thieaudio Monarch Mk. II, sound even better? Looking at the measured frequency responses (particularly after applying EQ), my intuition says no. However, I somehow find it hard to believe that their more complex construction and higher cost would "only" result in more pride of ownership, collectible value, and maybe better comfort. Being a total noob when it comes to IEMs, I'm a bit at a loss regarding this question and wonder whether I'm missing something.

I own both the Dusk and the Crinacle Zero Red as well as the Crinacle 7hz Zero 2 and the Simgot EA 500 LM. I hate to tell you this, but the Dusk just sounds better to me, a lot better than all of them. And since it has those two DD bass units, I am able to EQ it to just about anything on Squiglink. I have EQ's to match them to the tuning of the Monarch 2 and 3, the Elysian Annihilator, the Xenns Top Pro, the Mega5est, the Aful Cantor, the Variations, and the Thieaudio Oracle and Oracle Mk 3, and the Thieaudio Origin. I just create the PEQs on the Usb Audio Pro App with Toneboosters Plugin. And since the cord is my dac, I can travel super light. I really love the Dusk. It definitely sounds high end to me.

Personally I think it might have something to do with the Dusk DSP tuning. It's not Harman, and I personally find anything Harman 2019 is really not to my liking. I lot of the phones and tuning I like seem to reflect the "Meta" tuning. Also the Dusk with Azla Light tips seems to fit me perfectly which definitely helps. The other three phones are also very good, and I loved them when I got them, but they just don't seem to have the resolution the Dusk is capable of. IDK what to make of it. Personally I think it mostly relates to fit and tuning. I find the whole concept of "technicalites" nebulous, so I'd never resort to that to explain the difference. Then again, maybe it's just psychological. I can't dismiss that possibility either. In any case, I know I really feel comfortable with the Dusk as my daily driver, and, while expensive, they're not that much more expensive than buying 5 or 6 $50-80 phones so often recommended here. Personally, I don't think I will be spending another dime on IEMs for a good long while.

 

[vsch]

I own both the Dusk and the Crinacle Zero Red as well as the Crinacle 7hz Zero 2 and the Simgot EA 500 LM. I hate to tell you this, but the Dusk just sounds better to me, a lot better than all of them. And since it has those two DD bass units, I am able to EQ it to just about anything on Squiglink. I have EQ's to match them to the tuning of the Monarch 2 and 3, the Elysian Annihilator, the Xenns Top Pro, the Mega5est, the Aful Cantor, the Variations, and the Thieaudio Oracle and Oracle Mk 3, and the Thieaudio Origin. I just create the PEQs on the Usb Audio Pro App with Toneboosters Plugin. And since the cord is my dac, I can travel super light. I really love the Dusk. It definitely sounds high end to me.

Personally I think it might have something to do with the Dusk DSP tuning. It's not Harman, and I personally find anything Harman 2019 is really not to my liking. I lot of the phones and tuning I like seem to reflect the "Meta" tuning. Also the Dusk with Azla Light tips seems to fit me perfectly which definitely helps. The other three phones are also very good, and I loved them when I got them, but they just don't seem to have the resolution the Dusk is capable of. IDK what to make of it. Personally I think it mostly relates to fit and tuning. I find the whole concept of "technicalites" nebulous, so I'd never resort to that to explain the difference. Then again, maybe it's just psychological. I can't dismiss that possibility either. In any case, I know I really feel comfortable with the Dusk as my daily driver, and, while expensive, they're not that much more expensive than buying 5 or 6 $50-80 phones so often recommended here. Personally, I don't think I will be spending another dime on IEMs for a good long while.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!

Have you tried to eq the Zero Reds and/or the Zero 2s to the Dusks' "Meta" frequency response? Would be interesting to know whether the Dusks' additional resolution is mostly due to their Meta tuning or some hardware advantage.

FWIW, the Zero Reds definitely sound better after I applied the below filters in the FreeDSP cable to get closer to the Meta tuning. However, I don't have the Dusks to compare them to.

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 60 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 0.300

Filter 2: ON PK Fc 100 Hz Gain -2.1 dB Q 1.400

Filter 3: ON PK Fc 420 Hz Gain 1.7 dB Q 2.000

Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 1.500

Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2600 Hz Gain 0.9 dB Q 2.000

Filter 6: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 1.600

Filter 7: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain -2.2 dB Q 2.000

Filter 8: ON PK Fc 17000 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.500

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!

Have you tried to eq the Zero Reds and/or the Zero 2s to the Dusks' "Meta" frequency response? Would be interesting to know whether the Dusks' additional resolution is mostly due to their Meta tuning or some hardware advantage.

FWIW, the Zero Reds definitely sound better after I applied the below filters in the FreeDSP cable to get closer to the Meta tuning. However, I don't have the Dusks to compare them to.

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 60 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 0.300

Filter 2: ON PK Fc 100 Hz Gain -2.1 dB Q 1.400

Filter 3: ON PK Fc 420 Hz Gain 1.7 dB Q 2.000

Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1600 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 1.500

Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2600 Hz Gain 0.9 dB Q 2.000

Filter 6: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 1.600

Filter 7: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain -2.2 dB Q 2.000

Filter 8: ON PK Fc 17000 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.500

IDK, haven't tried to retune the Reds to Dusk tuning, but I know some of the tunings (like Oracle's two tunings) I found on Head Fi for them did not work for me. Personally, I think I just put a +2db shelf with .7 Q at 200 hz which seemed to me to make them sound their best. I think less is more with them as they are tuned closer to the Meta tuning than the Crinacle Blues which are tuned to Harmon. I had those and I gave them away. The Reds are very good, but I found them less resolving than the Dusk's.

 

[Earfonia]

To me, Harman is about right other than ~2 dB excess boost at the top of the treble hump. I'm 67 and don't hear anything above 12k, if that.

Yes, ~2 dB excess, similar to my observation as well.

My latest preference target curve (EITC-25) is set with +9 dB ear gain (from the midrange dip), as compared to the Harman IE 2019 target that has around +11 dB ear gain. Other good sounding IEMs that on my measurement showing around ~9 dB ear gain:
Truthear HEXA
Kiwi Ears KE4
SeeAudio Yume
JUZEAR x Z Reviews Defiant

I EQ-ed my ~$70 Moondrop MAY to my EITC-25 target curve, it sounds better than my other IEMs costing several times more.
So short answer to the question, not always.