IEM addiction?

[Subob]

A general question if I may, please?

Anyone found themselves developing, or developed, an iem addiction?

My latest iem purchase, I have just come to realise, takes my 'collection' up to ten sets

All are well within my limited disposable income budget, so I've no concerns there, but I'm finding it getting a tad silly now as I can't seem to fully resist exploring more.

What's driving this compulsion to keep me buying more sets, do you think?

I admit to being heavily influenced by driver types, and I tend not to use EQ, but rather like a variation in 'sound signatures' that different sets give me. I know the, 'buy just one comfortable, good measuring set, then EQ to taste and you're done' argument. I 100% agree with that excellent advice for anyone just wanting one pair for the best experience they can get, but that's just not me.

Oh, and I've ventured a little bit down the tip rolling rabbit hole, too, and like buying the occasional Aliexpress 4.4mm cable, but for aesthetic reasons only, and usually in the region of about £10.

I think I'm in control of a reasonably harmless, and relatively affordable hobby, but sometimes I'm not so sure.

What's your iem story so far? I'm interested to hear what other people's experiences with these things have been.

 

[Curvature]

I have the opposite. IEMs are the least interesting transducer because their performance is completely dependent on their fit and seal in your ear and the dimensions and shape of your ear canal. It is very difficult to measure the real-ear response—with headphones you can use in-ear microphones, but with IEMs you need to use probe tubes, which are highly impractical and dangerous (not if you know what you are doing, and not probe tubes themselves if you are using professional audiological products, which are very soft and pliable, but giving people reasons to stick things in their ear is nothing but bad), so targeted compensation is unlikely.

The best wired IEMs I have ever used were the deep-insert Etymotics. The best wireless are the Samsung Buds3 Pro (my current ones) and I've liked the Apple Airpod Pro 2s. I think these large manufacturers, along with Sony, JBL and Bose have more or less cornered the market with unbeatable products. I see no technical reason to use passive, wired IEMs which lack noise canceling. EQ, particularly PEQ, is still not standard across companies and products, but at least there are good third party applications.

It is completely unsurprising to me that Samsung and Apple have excellent IEMs, given their published research, especially thanks to Sean Olive.

 

[kemmler3D]

What's driving this compulsion to keep me buying more sets, do you think?

I've observed that all hobbies can lead to excessive volume or frequency of purchasing when the following are true:

* Increased or differentiated performance or value is possible within small price increments
* Performance is subjective to an extent
* Aesthetics are an important purchase driver
* Performance or practical utility is a sufficient justification for buying a unit
* Small enough to fit many units in your home

Not all of these have to be true for people to start collecting stuff, but I've seen men in particular commonly develop hobbies around acquiring stuff that fits these criteria.

Tools, sporting equipment, knives and "EDC" stuff, disc golf discs, keyboards, and yes IEMs.

I think basically the justification for purchase needs to be easy to square with the price, but the criteria for performance are also variable enough that you're never done purchasing. When aesthetics come in, you can multiply your purchases along that axis too.

Maybe before you buy your next set, apply a prospective " poop rule" to see if you really need another set...

 

[Joe Smith]

I went through a patch of buying low-cost ones about 5 years ago, but stopped. I like headphones better if I'm at a desk and want to listen intensely, and have two sets of inexpensive BT earbuds now that I use at the gym and doing yardwork. The wired earbuds are not getting much use.

I recently pulled out the very inexpensive MEE M9 'buds I bought some pairs of back in the day, to use on a plane trip. They still sound very good for what they cost, which I think was well under $20. Very sturdy construction too. These and the Moondrop Chu's are pretty much all I want to use in a wired earpiece.

 

[bargainguy]

My IEM journey stopped at two.

First pair was the Zero:2's. I could never get these to fit properly as the nozzles seemed too big no matter what tip I tried. Nothing wrong with the sound, just wasn't working with my ear size.

Then I treated myself to a pair of Shure Aonic 3's for my birthday.

Didn't realize it at the time (purchased on the internet without a trial), but these have much smaller nozzles than my Zero:2's, and fit much better. As a result, they sound better. Better bass, better imaging, etc. Bonus is that I can wear them while exercising and not worry about them falling out.

I have no desire to start chasing other IEMs in search of better sound. Perfectly happy with what I've got.

 

[DVDdoug]

People collect all kinds of things and there's nothing wrong with that as long as your blowing all of your money and ruining your life or your family's lives.

If you like the variation in sound and fit-feel, that's fine too.

But as far as sound goes... if you want to vary the sound in a practical (and economical) way, a good pair with EQ is usually better.

 

[IngMishael]

A general question if I may, please?

Anyone found themselves developing, or developed, an iem addiction?

My latest iem purchase, I have just come to realise, takes my 'collection' up to ten sets

All are well within my limited disposable income budget, so I've no concerns there, but I'm finding it getting a tad silly now as I can't seem to fully resist exploring more.

What's driving this compulsion to keep me buying more sets, do you think?

I admit to being heavily influenced by driver types, and I tend not to use EQ, but rather like a variation in 'sound signatures' that different sets give me. I know the, 'buy just one comfortable, good measuring set, then EQ to taste and you're done' argument. I 100% agree with that excellent advice for anyone just wanting one pair for the best experience they can get, but that's just not me.

Oh, and I've ventured a little bit down the tip rolling rabbit hole, too, and like buying the occasional Aliexpress 4.4mm cable, but for aesthetic reasons only, and usually in the region of about £10.

I think I'm in control of a reasonably harmless, and relatively affordable hobby, but sometimes I'm not so sure.

What's your iem story so far? I'm interested to hear what other people's experiences with these things have been.

nope but I know people who have G.A.S

 

[digitalfrost]

I had a short period where I bought a lot of IEMs. It's fun but it's not worth it. Fit is much more important than anything else, the rest you can fix with EQ. I have single driver DDs and 7 drivers expensive IEMs, it's a development race with not much to gain. Ever since the development of the JM-1 target, I feel I can easily fit any IEM with good measurements into someting I enjoy.

While I bought big IEMs with lots of drivers, now the ones I like most are the small ones that fit just right. You know what I have an addiction to? IEM tips.

 

[Subob]

I've observed that all hobbies can lead to excessive volume or frequency of purchasing when the following are true:

* Increased or differentiated performance or value is possible within small price increments
* Performance is subjective to an extent
* Aesthetics are an important purchase driver
* Performance or practical utility is a sufficient justification for buying a unit
* Small enough to fit many units in your home

Not all of these have to be true for people to start collecting stuff, but I've seen men in particular commonly develop hobbies around acquiring stuff that fits these criteria.

Tools, sporting equipment, knives and "EDC" stuff, disc golf discs, keyboards, and yes IEMs.

I think basically the justification for purchase needs to be easy to square with the price, but the criteria for performance are also variable enough that you're never done purchasing. When aesthetics come in, you can multiply your purchases along that axis too.

Maybe before you buy your next set, apply a prospective " poop rule" to see if you really need another set...

Good bullet points, thanks.

I'd already clocked the last one, and duly got myself an old fashioned wooden fold out sewing box to house them in, something I wouldn't be able to do with any other hifi related gear. Only trouble is, I've now filled that box

I had to search to see what the 'poop rule' is. Er....interesting is about all I can say on that, lol.

 

[Subob]

I have the opposite. IEMs are the least interesting transducer because their performance is completely dependent on their fit and seal in your ear and the dimensions and shape of your ear canal. It is very difficult to measure the real-ear response—with headphones you can use in-ear microphones, but with IEMs you need to use probe tubes, which are highly impractical and dangerous (not if you know what you are doing, and not probe tubes themselves if you are using professional audiological products, which are very soft and pliable, but giving people reasons to stick things in their ear is nothing but bad), so targeted compensation is unlikely.

The best wired IEMs I have ever used were the deep-insert Etymotics. The best wireless are the Samsung Buds3 Pro (my current ones) and I've liked the Apple Airpod Pro 2s. I think these large manufacturers, along with Sony, JBL and Bose have more or less cornered the market with unbeatable products. I see no technical reason to use passive, wired IEMs which lack noise canceling. EQ, particularly PEQ, is still not standard across companies and products, but at least there are good third party applications.

It is completely unsurprising to me that Samsung and Apple have excellent IEMs, given their published research, especially thanks to Sean Olive.

Definitely agree with your point about the inherent problems with measuring iems, but that's one of the attractions for me. It brings even more subjectivity into it.

 

[Subob]

I had a short period where I bought a lot of IEMs. It's fun but it's not worth it. Fit is much more important than anything else, the rest you can fix with EQ. I have single driver DDs and 7 drivers expensive IEMs, it's a development race with not much to gain. Ever since the development of the JM-1 target, I feel I can easily fit any IEM with good measurements into someting I enjoy.

While I bought big IEMs with lots of drivers, now the ones I like most are the small ones that fit just right. You know what I have an addiction to? IEM tips.

View attachment 482007

Yep my favourite sets tend to be the smaller ones, and with less drivers.

I hear you on the tip addiction, too ...

 

[Somafunk]

Yep my favourite sets tend to be the smaller ones, and with less drivers.

I hear you on the tip addiction, too ...




S

I use a similar box but smaller for my tips - mixture of Dunu S&S, Penon Liquor, Divinus Velvet are my favs.

I have the iem’s below in my collection, all have their merits with differing sound signatures, but I'm considering selling all but one….if I do I’m not exactly sure what one I’ll keep as I’ll listen to one and decide “right, that's it….. I’m keeping this one, selling all the others” but the following day I’ll pick up a different iem and decide “nope…I’m keeping this one, selling all the others”.

Or I could sell them all and buy the new Thieaudio Monarch Mk4 as I rather like it, especially with the two tuning switches

 

[Curvature]

Definitely agree with your point about the inherent problems with measuring iems, but that's one of the attractions for me. It brings even more subjectivity into it.

I thought about this.

I think audio for me is very goal-directed and I lose interest or sell gear I don't actively use. I do have a case of gear I keep around for measurement and some headphones with sentimental value, like the Sony MDR-7506, the first good ones I bought well over 20 years ago.

Where I'm more similar to you is books. I definitely collect, in that I buy more than I read.