Which IEM with ~500 to 1k budget

[Gipada]

Hello,

I'm fairly new to the whole IEM world but I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a nice one.
The field is pretty new to me and many reviews I've read do not give me a real sense if one or another will be a good fit for me. So I'm here to ask for help.

Here are my needs :
- The best quality for buck I can find
- I don't mind cords, but I would love to have a way to make it portable using BT (maybe a good DAC if that's something possible).
- budget between 500 USD to 1k USD, of course the lower the better

What I currently have is a WF-1000-XM4, which is pretty good but I'm sure I can find better quality of sound.
I could test the vision ear ve4.2 (plug to my phone) which sounded the best I have ever heard. And would like to find the closest I can without having to pay for the 1.7k my local dealer is asking.

I've found several reviews for some that seems to be pretty good and I was wandering how I could compare to the vision ear :

I\O Audio VOLARE
THIEAUDIO Oracle
THIEAUDIO Monarch MKIII
Moondrop BLESSING 3

I know all 4 have very different price tags but I don't know if the difference for each is justified. I know that we can quickly come from audiophily to idiotphily when talking about audio and I don't want to be scammed

Do you have any advice ?

Thank you for your help !

 

[DVDdoug]

[/quote]
- The best quality for buck I can find
[/quote]
I don't own IEMs myself, but with headphones & IEMs there is very little correlation between sound quality and cost. You probably don't need to spend $500.

Most of the "sound quality" is frequency response and you can compare the curves for any IEMs reviewed here. (You can't always compare measurements done at a different lab.)

There is a standard frequency response preference curve, which is not flat, but your preferences may vary.

 

[Gipada]

Thank you very much for this answer.
I'm happy to learn that I won't have to send too much.

I've seen many curves but unfortunatly I have no idea which one is the best for my taste. I only know that to me the wf-1000xm is pretty good and that the vision ear 4.2 was amazing (and the v2 or v3 sounded more "muffled" even compare to the Sony) . I've found curves for the first one but not the second.

And some earbuds are of course not reviewed here.

I'll try to keep searching but if you have other insights I'll be glad to read more.

 

[Brian Hall]

Get a set of these for $25 and see how you like them: Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2

You will be surprised at how good they sound for such a low price.

 

[Somafunk]

I’d forget about spending that much on your first iem especially as you have no idea what your preferred tuning is, have a look at Timmys video below for best under $50 as they all have different tunings, buy them all and experiment with listening to your favourite music then see what iem you prefer, decide if you’d like more/less bass, more/less mids more/less treble then take it from there.

All iems fit differently so the iem that fits well and sounds good is the one for you, this may not the # 1iem as ranked by others due to how it fits in your ears.

Example : I see you have shortlisted the monarch mk3 above, it sounds very very good but it is BIG and uncomfortable in my ears so I’m glad I didn’t buy it.

 

[JEntwistle]

Get a set of these for $25 and see how you like them: Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2

You will be surprised at how good they sound for such a low price.

This.

Read Amir's review:

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 think there is more than one Crinacle that he reviewed. But they are all slight variations of the same thing.

Then these will be the benchmark you can use to compare if you want to spend more.

I have a pair, and besides the sound, i can say they are great build quality.

 

[ZolaIII]

Use LDAC, EQ them and also simulate other IEM's to at least see what would you get regarding FR out of the box.

Wavelet: headphone specific EQ - Apps on Google Play

Headphone specific equalization with lots of customizability

play.google.com

AutoEq

Automatic headphone equalization

autoeq.app

And that doesn't cost you anything.
Read the Auto-EQ wiki about how to simulate other IEM's (pick their error response). Pick same HATS and ear model of measurement and desired EQ curve when ever possible. Some qualities of course can't be simulated (time domain related mostly and regarding enclosure dumping/resonances).

 

[markanini]

Start with buying a handful of well received budget sets to get a feel for what fit and tuning style you prefer.

 

[Gipada]

Waoh , I didn't except that many responses. It seems I have a lot of homework to do and check all of that. I already tried the wavelet with AutoEq on my WF-1000MX4 and I'm really impressed !

I'll try to simulate others. I've also order the Linsoul to give it a try, and will probably check the various from the Gizaudio.

I would love to have a custom one one day (for comfort and isolation), but I definitely need to know more about quality and what feels right to me before going in that direction.

Thank you all !

 

[markanini]

I would love to have a custom one one day (for comfort and isolation), but I definitely need to know more about quality and what feels right to me before going in that direction.

In many cases comfort and isolation is no better than universal. Just different.

Experiment with EQ by all means. Once caveat is that EQ may give you an idea, but not necessarily match the response of a different IEM in you ears.

 

[Robert Weide]

Vision ears 4.2 is extremely treble emphasized and I'm afraid non of the budget friendly iems can match its frequency response. EQ may be a good idea but what you hear can be completely different from the data tested by the dummyhead, especially at higher frequencies above 5000Hz. So don't get too disappointed if the EQ results didn't match your first impressions of VE4.2.

 

[ZolaIII]

Vision ears 4.2 is extremely treble emphasized and I'm afraid non of the budget friendly iems can match its frequency response. EQ may be a good idea but what you hear can be completely different from the data tested by the dummyhead, especially at higher frequencies above 5000Hz. So don't get too disappointed if the EQ results didn't match your first impressions of VE4.2.

So far JM-1 is best try of averaging and present in Auto-EQ.

 

[Dunring]

The Moondrop Blessing 3 is a pretty flat profile, like a Sennheiser HD600 of IEMs. I have more fun with the Moondrop Kato. There's bluetooth adapters for wired IEMs that just clip on. I'd start with the 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 to get a baseline how good something can sound for $25 before anything else. A $9 Apple USB to 3.5mm adapter next, since they can power any IEM easily. The Moondrop Kato and 7hz Timeless (the original, not the AE version which sounds dull with it's dynamic driver for bass) are both great value and sound so good. I've had the Moondrop Variations and Sennheiser IE600 a few times for the business, and they're just not worth the money in my opinion. When you go over $180 with IEMs the diminishing law of returns gets brutal.

 

[anaveragebear]

Hey, I just made this account to say that whatever you choose, it's worth setting aside like 100 bucks for a Qudelix 5k. It gives you a great way to make your cabled IEMs Bluetooth and it comes with a very detailed EQ to let you dial in corrections to targets for your HRTF.

There's really great IEMs to be had for less than 100 bucks. The popular ones that are well tuned are the 7Hz zero 2s, the Truthear Zero (og for a more Harman type of tuning and RED for a more subdued version), The Tangzu Wan Ers (more of a boutique audiophile Tuning), Truthear Hexas (compliant with Heasphones.com's 5128 preference "research") off the top of my head. It's worth spending time in this area to get a sense of what your preferences are and how your ears interact with IEMs before jumping up to that 500-1k range.

 

[Human Bass]

I/O Volare is 600. It has a safe fun tuning.
Mega5est is 550, plenty of extension with no major peaks.

You could also wait for Dunu Davinci, seems really promising, will be released this May for 300.

 

[Gipada]

Thank you again all for all the answers.

I've received the Zero:2 . I must admit that I'm impressed by it for its price. I find my WF-1000XM still have a better sound but it is still really impressive.

I've gave a try for the AutoEq and tried some error fixing to stick to the Harman curve. I have a nice result on the Sony, a little bit less good with the Zero2.
I also tried to simulate other IEMs but I don't have the same feeling as the original (I guess the IEM I try to use is not able to have the same frequency response even with correction).

I'll try and buy the 3 IEMs Anaveragebear suggested to have a feel of the sounds they can have.
The Qudelix 5k seems to be a good solution for the bluetooth need.

What do you think about the shure solution : https://www.shure.com/fr-FR/produits/accessoires/rmce-tw2?variant=RMCE-TW2 ?
It ties me to the shure products but if there is a good one for me it would be an even easier way to have bluetooth on IEMs

 

[Falco]

Hello,

I'm fairly new to the whole IEM world but I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a nice one.
The field is pretty new to me and many reviews I've read do not give me a real sense if one or another will be a good fit for me. So I'm here to ask for help.

Here are my needs :
- The best quality for buck I can find
- I don't mind cords, but I would love to have a way to make it portable using BT (maybe a good DAC if that's something possible).
- budget between 500 USD to 1k USD, of course the lower the better

What I currently have is a WF-1000-XM4, which is pretty good but I'm sure I can find better quality of sound.
I could test the vision ear ve4.2 (plug to my phone) which sounded the best I have ever heard. And would like to find the closest I can without having to pay for the 1.7k my local dealer is asking.

I've found several reviews for some that seems to be pretty good and I was wandering how I could compare to the vision ear :

I\O Audio VOLARE
THIEAUDIO Oracle
THIEAUDIO Monarch MKIII
Moondrop BLESSING 3

I know all 4 have very different price tags but I don't know if the difference for each is justified. I know that we can quickly come from audiophily to idiotphily when talking about audio and I don't want to be scammed

Do you have any advice ?

Thank you for your help !

Maybe I've missed it, but how do you plan to listen to music? What is the source, a phone/desktop/laptop?

I'm using a Tanchjim Space portable dac (usable on phone & PC) and Truthear x Crinacle Zero:RED IEMs and I'm very happy with the sound. Budget wise you're looking at around $150,- for that combo.

Good IEMs is just part of the puzzle I believe, the source dac also needs to be good.

 

[anaveragebear]

Thank you again all for all the answers.

I've received the Zero:2 . I must admit that I'm impressed by it for its price. I find my WF-1000XM still have a better sound but it is still really impressive.

I've gave a try for the AutoEq and tried some error fixing to stick to the Harman curve. I have a nice result on the Sony, a little bit less good with the Zero2.
I also tried to simulate other IEMs but I don't have the same feeling as the original (I guess the IEM I try to use is not able to have the same frequency response even with correction).

I'll try and buy the 3 IEMs Anaveragebear suggested to have a feel of the sounds they can have.
The Qudelix 5k seems to be a good solution for the bluetooth need.

What do you think about the shure solution : https://www.shure.com/fr-FR/produits/accessoires/rmce-tw2?variant=RMCE-TW2 ?
It ties me to the shure products but if there is a good one for me it would be an even easier way to have bluetooth on IEMs

If you don't care about the EQ that Qudelix offers, then I think Fiio's version of this is better and you can choose the connector (MmCX/2-pin), although it doesn't offer LDAC codec support. https://www.fiio.com/utws3

 

[ZolaIII]

Hiby W3 II as basic start point. LDAC and UAT from Hiby app (preferably still Hiby Music, not a BT one).

 

[Phorize]

Honestly go very cheap to work out if you even like iems, play with eq and cut out the last bit that everyone else did (spend between HD 800s and DCA Stealth money on multiple pairs of overhyped iems that are never used, none of the which reach the non-existent end game). Writing this listening to the Orb on a pair of 560s with a qudelix and frankly the audio experience smokes anything an iem could produce. There, I said it.