IEM recommendations

[Cankle]

Hi
I am looking for my first pair of wired earphones.
I have done quite a bit of research but am bewildered by the number of different IEMs available.
My budget is £100, and will be playing via a Hip Dac v2 linked to my MacBook or iPhone. I am not a basshead but value a decent soundstage.
Does anyone have any recommendations please?

 

[sweetchaos]

Welcome to ASR.

Amir's golfing panther (highest award) IEMs:

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests and measurements of the Truthear Crinacle Zero IEM review. It was sent to me by @crinacle as he has been a consultant on the project. It costs US $50. I like that it has a bit of "bling" but not too much. The cord is just the right length for me (many IEMs...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Truthear x Crinacle Zero:RED IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of Truthear x Crinacle Zero:RED IEM. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $55. I was relieved that they are more mahogany/darker red than what the name implies. Compared to the previous Zero version, they are supposed to have...

www.audiosciencereview.com

7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the 7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM. It was kindly donated by a member and costs US $22 ($20 on Amazon now). The molded plastic looks cheep and the left and right markings barely visible. The included tip was extra soft/thin which may be a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM. It was kindly donated to me by a member and costs US $24.99. The cable is soft and longer than typical which I like. They take fair amount of effort to push it but then they make a reassuring...

www.audiosciencereview.com

KZ ZSX IEM Review

This is a review, measurements, listening tests and equalization for KZ ZSX IEM. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $60. Not much to say about the look of the unit. The owner sent me one set of tips which I used for measurements. They were kind of worn out but still worked out...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Dunring]

The ones I've had and would buy again:
Moondrop Starfield
7hz Salnotes Zero:2
Simgot EA500
Truthear Zero Red

They're versatile and could be used for music or gaming. If you can push the budget for the Moondrop Kato you'll be really impressed.

 

[Rednaxela]

I got myself these last week.

JBL Endurance Run 2

Sean Olive was talking about JBL Endurance Run 2 recently on Twitter. I thought I give it a try. Here are the measurement shared by Dr. Olive himself. I generally find in-ears uncomfortable. This one is OK. More than OK actually, I'd say they are quite comfortable for me. Packaging is what...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Not at all a connoisseur, but I’m over the moon about them.

 

[Brian Hall]

Hi
I am looking for my first pair of wired earphones.
I have done quite a bit of research but am bewildered by the number of different IEMs available.
My budget is £100, and will be playing via a Hip Dac v2 linked to my MacBook or iPhone. I am not a basshead but value a decent soundstage.
Does anyone have any recommendations please?

Get these. They are really great for the price ($24):

7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM. It was kindly donated to me by a member and costs US $24.99. The cable is soft and longer than typical which I like. They take fair amount of effort to push it but then they make a reassuring...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I have those along with Sennheiser's IE200 iem ($150). They both sound great.

To get the best sound, it is important to select the right size ear caps. Don't just use the size that is on them when you get them. Try two or three different ones to find the right fit for your ears. You want a good seal without too much pressure.

 

[goblino]

Hey all,
I’m looking to get into iems. I mainly listen to bass-heavy music like drum&bass and sometimes ambient music. I'm after something with strong bass and clarity in the mids and highs.

Thank you.

 

[staticV3]

Hi @goblino! I would recommend you start with the Truthear Zero 2.

 

[goblino]

Hi @goblino! I would recommend you start with the Truthear Zero 2.

Does it matter where I order it from?
In terms of build quality

 

[goblino]

Looking for more suggestions
(I am hoping to try every suggestion).

 

[Timcognito]

Best 'Bang for your buck' IEM - Poll

After reading the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero:RED review and thinking to myself that I should get at least one pair of IEM (even though I mostly listen with speakers and subs for the soundstage and tactile experience). I almost fell into the 'buy now and think later' mentality with the Zero Reds...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Klonatans]

For deep and controlled bass and good technical performance in general I would definitely recommend planar IEMs. Price/performance wise you can try something like Letshuoer S12 or Artti T10. EQ is a must though, as almost all of planar IEMs have treble peaks and other tonal imbalances that are relatively easy to correct with PEQ.

 

[Timcognito]

1MORE Quad Driver Review (IEM)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the 1MORE Quad Driver "THX Certified" IEM. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $150. I must say this is one excellent work of packaging! The little carrying box has magnetic flap which is nice. Headphone cord seems to be made out of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[staticV3]

Does it matter where I order it from?
In terms of build quality

It doesn't matter.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

If you are willing to do a premium spend, I think the Crinacle X Dusk would be hard to beat. In Default DSP, they're very nicely tuned. In addition the app allows for 4 alternative tunings including a "V-shaped", and a "Bass Plus" which is the bass head tuning. Crin's tuning turns down the pinna gain by about 4-5 db which seems to be a trend in the new, highly touted releases. Because of the cable you really won't need a dongle either, which I think is a plus, though others my disagree. And no, I don't detect any digital artifacts from mine, though I can't guarantee there are not noisy units in the wild.

 

[Matias]

Hi @goblino! I would recommend you start with the Truthear Zero 2.

You mean 7Hz Zero 2, right?

7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM. It was kindly donated to me by a member and costs US $24.99. The cable is soft and longer than typical which I like. They take fair amount of effort to push it but then they make a reassuring...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Kfnakand]

I would highly recommend the Tanchjim One, lovely sound, small comfortable and don’t look odd like many of the other IEMs.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/tanchjim-one-iem-review.50793/

I use mine running from a Topping DX3Pro+ and more than happy.
Could do with just a little more sub bass, just waiting on Topping doing a combined dac/amp with PEQ



Kev

 

[staticV3]

You mean 7Hz Zero 2, right?

7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM. It was kindly donated to me by a member and costs US $24.99. The cable is soft and longer than typical which I like. They take fair amount of effort to push it but then they make a reassuring...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Yes!

 

[CapMan]

Love my Crinicle RED - such good value for money

 

[AnthonyH]

Based on my experience:
The Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 is excellent.
The Truthear x Crinacle Zero is worth considering but has an impedance of only 10 ohms so some amps may not drive it effectively. I'm convinced that it doesn't play well with my Tanchjim Space dongle for this reason.
The Tanchjim One earphone is also a good choice if you prefer not to have the wires looped over your ears. I haven't noticed the distortion at 8 kHz that Amir measured. This is probably because music doesn't have much content at that high a frequency. Also my ears are ancient and can't hear beyond 6 kHz. If you buy this one, be aware that there are three versions on Amazon. You probably want the one with no microphone and a 3.5mm plug. After buying one like that, I bought the USB C version just out of curiosity; it sounds surprisingly good and I'd be happy with it on an airplane but you don't want to buy it by mistake.
As an aside, the Fosi DS2 dongle is outstanding - it really does set a new standard for the portable DAC+amplifier devices.
It's hard to go wrong nowadays with all the good, cheap hardware available.

 

[pchmykh]

Amir's golfing panther (highest award) IEMs:

Is there some way to see all IEM recommendations from Amir? Thank you.