What IEMs do you own?

[Jimbob54]

Solderdude has his huge "What headphones do you own?" thread and I know some post their IEMs in there too, but given we seem to be going IEM crazy at the moment I thought it might be useful to have a specific thread for them.

Personally I am more interested in your favourites and stinkers than long lists but feel free to go "full subjective".

So, here are some of mine:

Current favourites:

Thieaudio Oracle- good bass, sound "right" above that. I use Moondrop Spring tips Large to get a good seal. Shorter tip than the supplied Spinfits which seems to work for me.
Moondrop S8- noticeably less bass than the Oracle, good treble, detailed. I use Spinfit 155 Large for a good seal
Etymotic ER3SE (with an 80 ohm adapter)- a John Yang recommendation and (apparently) very similar to the legendary ER4S

No stinkers I want to own up to. The Moondrop Chu are a bit small and fiddly for my ears. The Moondrop Starfield are a bugger to stay in my ears, as are the Kato. Sound nice when I can get them well seated but I prefer the large rounded concha filling designs

 

[kchap]

I suffer from psoriasis. IEMs are convenient so I would carry a pair around for unexpected, work related, calls but always use headphones when I can. 20min of wearing IEMs would inflame and irritate my ears.

 

[maverickronin]

My daily driver is a Westone Pro X10.

It's expensive for a single BA and the stock FR isn't very good but...

It cleans up well enough with EQ, it's not bling-y like pretty much all the cheaper Chinese IEMs with better stock FR, it's tiny and comfortable, has good isolation, and I can get a good fit with silicone tips which don't need monthly replacement like foamies.

The cable is also way stronger than it looks.

I have a Moondrop Chu which I bought on whim. I spent more than IEM itself on different tips to get a good fit but just keep it as a backup since it's to bling-y to wear in public and has poor isolation.

I have an old Westone UM1 as a backup, plus an old Shure SE530 that never gets used any longer either.

 

[SMc]

Etymotic and Panasonic. Good and cheap, respectively.

 

[digitalfrost]

- Moondrop Chu. That was my start. I was amazed how good IEMs can be for 20$. But they sound too harsh for me.
- Moondrop Aria. Natural step up. Probably price/performance king, but still I don't like the Moondrop target or whatever you want to call it. Female voices sound great, but anything like rock or metal is just too harsh.
- XENNS Mangird Tea 2. Perfection for me. They fix the harshness while still being detailed and they never lose control.

I am really sensitive to the 3khz region. The Harman target has even more level there. I don't like it. It was not easy to find an IEM that is close to crinacle target without going over the line around 3khz, that's how I ended up with the Tea 2. I don't really believe in this "we got 7 drivers in this IEM" stuff, it's just an arms race that got out of hand.

I'd like to try a Tribrid IEM someday. Thieaudio seems to make really interesting stuff, but I'm not buying another 400/500$ pair of IEMs while I'm happy with the Tea 2.

 

[Jimbob54]

My daily driver is a Westone Pro X10.

It's expensive for a single BA and the stock FR isn't very good but...

It cleans up well enough with EQ, it's not bling-y like pretty much all the cheaper Chinese IEMs with better stock FR, it's tiny and comfortable, has good isolation, and I can get a good fit with silicone tips which don't need monthly replacement like foamies.

The cable is also way stronger than it looks.

I have a Moondrop Chu which I bought on whim. I spent more than IEM itself on different tips to get a good fit but just keep it as a backup since it's to bling-y to wear in public and has poor isolation.

I have an old Westone UM1 as a backup, plus an old Shure SE530 that never gets used any longer either.

I have a Shure 535 I got cheap from amazon warehouse. For the longest time I thought at least one driver was out until I put some Ety 2 flange tips on , then they sounded "just OK".

Never tried any Westone- might dabble one day.

And yes, I have been sucked into the Chinese IEM hype, well and truly . Though to be fair, they are damned good to these ears.

 

[Tom C]

Tried Shure, Etymotic, Bowers & Wilkins, but my personal favorite is the JBL Club Pro+. Got them about a year ago. Best sound imo. They just sort are cradled in your ear, though, so the seal is fine as long as you’re not moving around too much. They have dropped to the floor from my ears a couple of times in the gym.
My second favorite is the Apple ear pod. The wired ones you get for like 20 bucks. The volume on them is limited, and bass is pretty limited, but good for when you want low level and still hear what’s going on around you. Very clean and well balanced to my ear, within those constraints.

 

[sq225917]

Fiio fh9 daily drivers, thieaudio oracle for the gym (closed chassis). Sony mdr-ex st800 as spares.

 

[Jimbob54]

Tried Shure, Etymotic, Bowers & Wilkins, but my personal favorite is the JBL Club Pro+. Got them about a year ago. Best sound imo. They just sort are cradled in your ear, though, so the seal is fine as long as you’re not moving around too much. They have dropped to the floor from my ears a couple of times in the gym.
My second favorite is the Apple ear pod. The wired ones you get for like 20 bucks. The volume on them is limited, and bass is pretty limited, but good for when you want low level and still hear what’s going on around you. Very clean and well balanced to my ear, within those constraints.

Dont get me started on True Wireless- I need them for vid calls for work- Samsung Buds plus were good but one failed , Sony XM3 are good for mic etc but hard to fit right.

Ive just pushed the button on some amazon open box JBL club pro plus on the basis of your recommendation, cheers.

 

[Jimbob54]

Fiio fh9 daily drivers, thieaudio oracle for the gym (closed chassis). Sony mdr-ex st800 as spares.

I saw an old post of yours about the Oracle and you didnt like? Was that a fit or a sound thing?

 

[Tom C]

Please let’s us know what you think.

 

[Fregly]

Etymotics Er4sr and 2se. Kato. The Etys are wonderful, but I have gotten less and less enamoured with the fit. Same issue with Katos, worse even. And they sound off to me. People seem to like them so maybe I got a bad pair.

Jimbob's comments about the S8 here and in another thread makes me want to get them, or one of the Blessings. Time for new iems anyway, for sure.

 

[Jimbob54]

Etymotics Er4sr and 2se. Kato. The Etys are wonderful, but I have gotten less and less enamoured with the fit. Same issue with Katos, worse even. And they sound off to me. People seem to like them so maybe I got a bad pair.

Jimbob's comments about the S8 here and in another thread makes me want to get them, or one of the Blessings. Time for new iems anyway, for sure.

I'll be honest, I can't justify the price of the S8 over the Blessing 2 Dusk. For value thats the obvious choice especially if you can /will eq.

 

[EJ3]

Solderdude has his huge "What headphones do you own?" thread and I know some post their IEMs in there too, but given we seem to be going IEM crazy at the moment I thought it might be useful to have a specific thread for them.

Personally I am more interested in your favourites and stinkers than long lists but feel free to go "full subjective".

So, here are some of mine:

Current favourites:

Thieaudio Oracle- good bass, sound "right" above that. I use Moondrop Spring tips Large to get a good seal. Shorter tip than the supplied Spinfits which seems to work for me.
Moondrop S8- noticeably less bass than the Oracle, good treble, detailed. I use Spinfit 155 Large for a good seal
Etymotic ER3SE (with an 80 ohm adapter)- a John Yang recommendation and (apparently) very similar to the legendary ER4S

No stinkers I want to own up to. The Moondrop Chu are a bit small and fiddly for my ears. The Moondrop Starfield are a bugger to stay in my ears, as are the Kato. Sound nice when I can get them well seated but I prefer the large rounded concha filling designs

NONE (not that I wouldn't, but they would need to be wireless, like my Sennheiser TR180 headphones. For me, the #1 reason for either is freedom of movement around the house or shop (ability to be using both of my hands). The #2 reason is it has to have good sound but not great sound because I will not be doing critical listening through them.
Usually I just play through my speakers anyway. My home has a good floor plan that breaks up standing waves. And there seems to be a broad sweet spot where more than one or 2 people can hear great sound. So the speakers are how I have always done my 'critical' listening. But, if I find some cordless IEM's that sound good for a reasonable price...

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

Fiio FH5. I need to upgrade/replace the stock cable soon. The MMCX housings seem to have gotten water/sweat in them and are visibly oxidizing.

 

[MCH]

My list is short:
- Etymotic er2se: Also by @JohnYang1997 numerous recommendations. I like them so much that I don't see the need to even try others. I just wish they were easier to drive: with such low impedance and having to go to pretty high volume in my phone, do they draw a lot of battery?? (no idea, not that I care either, just curious). Ah, and they are ideal when traveling by plane, very good noise protection.
- Moondrop Chu: Bought it taking part of a herd buying spree similar to what is happening right now with those crinacle iems. Only reason being they are cheap and supposedly good, and cheap, very cheap. I don't use them much, I guess I am not a Harman person, maybe I don't have much testosterone, don't know.

 

[AudioAaron]

Etymotic HF5's - with foam tips the isolation was incredible, loved these for flying but ultimately broke them at the plug on a flight.
Brainwavz B100 or 150? - liked these, lost them amongst my stuff, wish I could find them
KZ something - tangly cord, broke them at the cord to ear-piece connector
Fiio FH3 - liked the sound of these, tangly cord, broke at cord to ear-piece connector
Blon BL-03 - tangly cord, very comfortable to sleep in, light on bass (seal issue I believe), use these or the Sonys nightly
Sony ier-m7 - great cord, high quality build, sleep in these or the Blons

Would like to try the "concha" form factor Ety's next.

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

can I list my "owned" IEMs? because right now I barely own any IEMs anymore.

 

[Jimbob54]

can I list my "owned" IEMs? because right now I barely own any IEMs anymore.

Go for it

 

[RHO]

The list:
Tin hifi T2 plus
Blon BL03
KZ DQ6
KZ CRN
Moondrop Chu
Moondrop Aria
Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk

Incoming: Truthear + Crinacle Zero