What is going on with the personal audio nowadays???

[winsome]

@Roland - would be interesting to see how much the market value for both IEM and headphone. And what is the market share of each brand. And what I'm referring to is those brands outside mainstream brand. ie. sony, beats, apple and to a certain extent Sennie. And agreed on the point of housing shortage that contributing on the rise of personal listening setup

@DSJR - point taken, thanks

 

[winsome]

Here's what I found without going too much into details

The global headphone and earphone market is massive, valued
in the tens of billions of dollars (around $70-115 billion in 2024/2025) and projected to grow significantly, reaching over $100 billion by 2030, driven by wireless tech (TWS) and Asia-Pacific's demand. The specialized In-Ear Monitor (IEM) market is smaller but also growing, expected to reach around $600-700 million by 2035, showing robust growth from a niche audiophile base to broader adoption

As for home audio
The global headphone and earphone market is massive, valued
in the tens of billions of dollars (around $70-115 billion in 2024/2025) and projected to grow significantly, reaching over $100 billion by 2030, driven by wireless tech (TWS) and Asia-Pacific's demand. The specialized In-Ear Monitor (IEM) market is smaller but also growing, expected to reach around $600-700 million by 2035, showing robust growth from a niche audiophile base to broader adoption

But again, it's the combination of consumer product. Have yet to find the market value of "audiophile" brands. But judging from the number, maybe I'm in the wrong. Audiophile personal listening perhaps bigger vs audiophile home audio

 

[Jiraya369]

headphones are a compromise in audio reproduction compared to speakers. A pair of 300 dollar speakers will make you wonder why a 5000 dollar headphone exists, at least above 100 hz. I listened to the Audeze LCD-5, and only headphones in that tier imo are able to do speaker level detail/dynamics, ofc without the soundstage/imaging capabilities. If I have the perfect sub/low end response, I'd take my Adam T5V over those LCD-5s or other top tier headphones ANY day of the week.


But the thing is, with every market, there's low end and then high end, yk, the need for "more", so even though 100 dollar headphones are decent and do their job well of allowing you to monitor stuff at a personal level, there's levels of quality. Now if one is able to produce a product that is top of the line in their market, would they not charge high? That's exactly what happened. All these headphone companies got their best tech out and started charging astronomical prices, why? Because price is part of the appeal.

If the same headphone, priced at 500 and 5000 dollars is given to people with a luxurious design and the pricing info given beforehand, people would prefer the 5000 dollar one and most likely end up buying it in a similar quantity if all of them have the necessary disposable income.

Therefore, personal audio has its use cases, not everyone can afford to listen at loud volumes nor take their speaker system everywhere, that's what iems allow. And iem companies are able to charge high prices just like speaker companies do. There's genuinely an increase, at least to my ears with headphones, with each big jump in price point, but the returns are so diminished it's insane, especially considering the value speakers give.

DACs are a solved issue but even then people need to make problems and solve em in order to feel good about their purchase. Amps are also a mostly solved issue. For 98% of people the Topping DX5 II has more than enough power and for most portable use cases the TRN Black Pearl is great. Both have transparent DACs.



In short, like with other things in audio, diminishing returns hits hard and although some things are genuinely better, it becomes a price/psychological/luxury "fashion" statement more than a genuine pursuit for better audio. Also just people falling for snake oil/peddling snake oil. "This 6k dollar cable made my 7k dollar iem open up, truly life changing, unless you hear this you haven't really experienced music"

 

[Multicore]

What the hell is personal audio?

For example.

Today it could be a phone and the ear warmers young people wear even in the summer.

In my case it's a phone and bone conductors.

 

[Mort]

As long as we are on personal audio, what is the state of the boombox?

 

[MoreWatts]

The high-end headphone market is just as niche as the high-end home audio market. The world has moved to wireless headphones used with phones. Apple sold $18 Billion worth of AirPods last year!

The fidelity is fantastic. Volume limitations can often be alleviated by turning-off 'volume-mathching/replay gain' settings. All the LDAC/AptX arguments usually disappear with blind tests.

Enjoy the music a phone and wireless headphones provide. It is really as good as it's gonna get. Plus, you'll avoid any entanglements....

 

[Ropeburn]

Q

As long as we are on personal audio, what is the state of the boombox?

View attachment 495720

Still quite popular actually. Got the usual upgrades: lithium batteries, Bluetooth, better layout, more bass, watertight.

Modern incarnation of the boombox aka ghettoblaster. Still the bane of the public, perhaps worse than ever. These things are fucking loud.

 

[Multicore]

As long as we are on personal audio, what is the state of the boombox?

I think boomboxes old and new are the antithesis of personal. They are social. Or perhaps anti-social. You be the judge...

 

[Joe Smith]

Along with crazy high-priced items, there is such a nice selection of gear at the low end that sounds great. Trickle-down goodness keeps happening, like what Schiit is doing with their lower priced gear, Fosi, Aiyima, SMSL, etc. I would never buy expensive IEMs - just lost some of my TOZO wireless ones last week, but fortunately only out $28, easily replaced.

 

[winsome]

I dont too. Nowadays I just use a TWS, between AZ80 or Nobel Fokus. Use to own Aviot TE-ZX1, lost it when I left it in the plane.

 

[EliseX]

I'm in a group chat where one serious audiophile is running his Susvaras off a CH Precision preamp and power amp combo. At that extreme level, perhaps even a $10k-$20k dedicated headphone amp isn't going to cut it for them.
Really shocked me......

 

[Chrispy]

audio to use for personal listening

Of a portable type? You can use a lot of things for personal listening....

 

[Mnyb]

yes , the Topping PA5II is a DAC and HP amp combined, and performance wise its all the DAC you ever need and all the HP amp you ever need the end of the line re performance .

Yes i have one .

Also it's perceived as buggy if you use the built in PEQ and they had quality problems in the past with the PA5I and there is always a new firmware .
You may prefer another product for fit and finish and service warranty etc , and perceived brand image.

That would would be the JDS Labs Element IV ? Awesome product

I would have picked the JDS if not for the recent problems with tarrifs etc the price delta is much bigger for me , if you live in the US another story you migth consider this option

 

[Jiraya369]

I'm in a group chat where one serious audiophile is running his Susvaras off a CH Precision preamp and power amp combo. At that extreme level, perhaps even a $10k-$20k dedicated headphone amp isn't going to cut it for them.
Really shocked me......

spending money is the hobby it sseems

 

[winsome]

At that extreme level, perhaps even a $10k-$20k dedicated headphone amp isn't going to cut it for them.

trust me, It's the bragging rights.....been there done that though not as extreme as you described

This hobby is worst than watch collecting, at least with watch, some brand appreciate in value

 

[InfiniteJester]

trust me, It's the bragging rights.....been there done that though not as extreme as you described

This hobby is worst than watch collecting, at least with watch, some brand appreciate in value

As cheap digital clocks are almost always more precise than luxury mechanical clocks, cheap transparent gear based on science is almost always better than expensive gear that needs to justify its price by adding esoteric components.

 

[DSJR]

headphones are a compromise in audio reproduction compared to speakers. A pair of 300 dollar speakers will make you wonder why a 5000 dollar headphone exists, at least above 100 hz. I listened to the Audeze LCD-5, and only headphones in that tier imo are able to do speaker level detail/dynamics, ofc without the soundstage/imaging capabilities. If I have the perfect sub/low end response, I'd take my Adam T5V over those LCD-5s or other top tier headphones ANY day of the week.


But the thing is, with every market, there's low end and then high end, yk, the need for "more", so even though 100 dollar headphones are decent and do their job well of allowing you to monitor stuff at a personal level, there's levels of quality. Now if one is able to produce a product that is top of the line in their market, would they not charge high? That's exactly what happened. All these headphone companies got their best tech out and started charging astronomical prices, why? Because price is part of the appeal.

Can you recommend a $300pr speaker set that will out-perform a decent set of sub $50 iems or sub $200 headphones please?

 

[audiogeek]

This is $109.00 with free shipping Amazon https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...qudelix-5k-bluetooth-dac-headphone-amp.17386/

Add this for $18.00 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/truthear-gate-17-iem-review.61784/

or you can splurge on this for $64.00 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...thear-x-crinacle-zero-blue2-iem-review.62096/

And there are other dongle/IEM combinations that combined are $100.00 - $200.00. Check the reviews before buying.

I dont think spending any more will make a audible difference.

I have had a Qudelix for 3 years now and it still works flawlessly with my truthears. I also have the Sennheiser HD650 and 1more triple driver over ear headphones for a decade and am very happy with both combined with the Qudelix and its PEQ extension.

 

[InfiniteJester]

This is $109.00 with free shipping Amazon https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...qudelix-5k-bluetooth-dac-headphone-amp.17386/

Add this for $18.00 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/truthear-gate-17-iem-review.61784/

or you can splurge on this for $64.00 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...thear-x-crinacle-zero-blue2-iem-review.62096/

And there are other dongle/IEM combinations that combined are $100.00 - $200.00. Check the reviews before buying.

I dont think spending any more will make a audible difference.

I have had a Qudelix for 3 years now and it still works flawlessly with my truthears. I also have the Sennheiser HD650 and 1more triple driver over ear headphones for a decade and am very happy with both combined with the Qudelix and its PEQ extension.

You don't need anything beyond an Apple dongle to listen to the GATEs.

 

[Ropeburn]

Of a portable type? You can use a lot of things for personal listening....

My stereo is 99.9% personal because this is a single household. That's not what is meant here, obviously.