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Your favorite IEMs?

Blank Verse

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Relaxed compared to dark sounding headphones like the HD600/650. The ER series also have an odd dip at 6-7K that is audible.

All Beyers are bright and kinda peaky but they have excellent clarity in the upper treble. The most balanced one is probably the 880 600 ohm.
Aha, I see. You mean that the ER2SE has a similar signature to the HD600? That isn't bad in itself. I like the HD600 (I have an HD580 myself), but I doubt I would like anything much darker. I have never tried the HD650, based on descriptions it seemed to deviate from my ideal sound compared to the HD600, so I didn't even try it. I guess the ER2XM is probably closer to the HD650 then.
 

Blank Verse

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Yes, that is the biggest caveat. Luckily for me no issue. Some people who experience discomfort in the beginning get used to it after a couple of times

The new double flange tips offer more comfort.
Are you familiar with the hack to enhance soundstage for the Etymotics? Some people in the other popular headphone forum around 10 years ago realized that cutting a 3mm or 4mm stem from one of the triflanges and attaching it to the nozzle of the Etymotic ER4P (I think that was the one, though the trick seems to work equally with any of them), then putting this into different tips (I believe they tried Complys and Shure olives) opened up the soundstage to an amazing degree without a lot of ill effects.
 

Blank Verse

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Those ER2XR are awfully tempting. Doubt any piece of audio equipment beats them as far as bang for the buck is concerned. It’s not that they are TOTL, but not too far from it and cost very little comparatively. Too much isolation for me to feel comfortable walking the dog, but that’s obviously not an issue for everyone. The new small foam tips and the dual flange are very comfortable in my ears. I lust for these things but feel signing the divorce papers will be too big of a downer to have them. I may have them mailed to my neighbor...

The Drop JVC FDX1 are also nice for the money, but also a lot more money.

The Moondrop Aria look to be a great value as well. No deep insertion and a similar tuning to the ER2XR. Reports say they are not as detailed of a sound as the ER2, but not bad in those respects. They’d look decent with the Qudelix and you could really pimp them with the Moondrop Gold Cable lol. That’s big pimp-en.

the soon to exist Ety EVO should be interesting as well. I’ve started selling things to buy these already. That way there’s no divorce papers.

in truth though, the Etymotic ER4XR are probably the best I’ve heard, but their imaging is definitely earhole to earhole. They are just very detailed and clean and very well balanced with the red filters in use. The resolution just blows my mind.

My favorite to use are the FDX1. They also sound very clean and detailed, image well and are easy to remove and reinstall. They don’t seem to have quite the resolution of the ER4XR, but they are no slouch in that regard. I’ve owned a number of the older Shure models, Sennheiser, the Apple IEMs, Moondrop Spaceship, and the Etymotic ER4B (which are great for special uses and have the best Ety treble I’ve heard). anyway, that’s my take on the subject.
I was looking at the FDX1, but there were too many concerns about build quality and mechanical failures, which to me is unacceptable. Then when I saw the ER2SE for $50 it was a no brainer.

Soundstage and imaging are very important to me, but I think there are ways around it with the Etymotics. Besides the hack I mention above (which many people swear by) you can use stuff like speaker simulator plugins and stuff like that. Probably not the most ideal solution, but I will find out through evaluation whether it is needed to increase the soundstage to reasonable values, and if it is feasible to do so without engaging in unreasonable compromises with quality.

That is the only reason I can think of (lack of soundstage and imaging) which might make me a little more lukewarm towards the ER2SE, but hopefully it will be OK. I have been spoilt by my vintage Sennheiser headphones in that regard, and once you have seen the light it is tough to have to go back into the Platonic cave.
 
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Deleted member 27694

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Are you familiar with the hack to enhance soundstage for the Etymotics? Some people in the other popular headphone forum around 10 years ago realized that cutting a 3mm or 4mm stem from one of the triflanges and attaching it to the nozzle of the Etymotic ER4P (I think that was the one, though the trick seems to work equally with any of them), then putting this into different tips (I believe they tried Complys and Shure olives) opened up the soundstage to an amazing degree without a lot of ill effects.
Yes i did just that, because i was curious. now i just use the included grey triple flange tips. Perfect for my ear canal.
 

Blank Verse

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Yes i did just that, because i was curious. now i just use the included grey triple flange tips. Perfect for my ear canal.
So, when you tried it, did you feel it really improved the soundstage noticeably, or didn't it work for you? Did you notice any undesirable side effects?
 
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So, when you tried it, did you feel it really improved the soundstage noticeably, or didn't it work for you? Did you notice any undesirable side effects?
Did work but i couldn’t notice any effect I just had what they now sell a dual tip;)
 

DanTheMan

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Etymotic IEMs provide the best value for me personally. Sound quality is amazing but they sound a bit too relaxed in the treble. Clarity is better than ALL of full size headphones that I've heard. Actually, only a few of the Beyers come close to it.
Have you tried the ER4B? With the foam tips I swear the treble is completely perfect.
 

mkawa

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er4xr. i was a believer in the er4sr exclusively ("who needs bass in an IEM? pshaw!"), but i'm a believer now. of course, i still own both so...
 

Merkurio

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Having had (and tried) a lot of IEMs over the years, I currently have the following:

-Etymotic ER4SR: The best compromise between frequency response, technical performance, price and sound isolation. I'm still struggling a bit with their comfort using tri-flanges (the new included bi-flanges are much more comfortable, but at the expense of darker and more confined sound). If I could only have a wired pair of IEMs, I would possibly choose these.
-Audeze iSINE LX: Deal of the century at the Valentine's Day offer ($59 plus + shipping at my country), basically my "mini open headphone" with TOTL technical performance and terrible stock frequency response, as most of the Audeze products. With the proper amount of PEQ, they're truly endgame for me, spectacular planar bass (linear under 20 Hz), top tier resolution, open soundstage and ultra low distortion. Did I say that it can handle up to >130 dB?
-AirPods Pro: The ones I use 90% of the time (mostly indoors, controversially). Great balance between convenience, comfort, features and more than adequate sound quality in terms of FR and technical performance. Sitting in front of the Mac with a DX3 Pro next to it, lying on the bed... You name it, I have these in my ears most of the time.

Honorable mentions (both owned and borrowed from friends):

-Shure KSE1200: Easily the best technical performer, married with good but not perfect FR (great extension on both ends and lack of any kind of bothersomeness in the entire range, just as smooth as the Etymotics), although they're very tip dependent regarding to sound, only foams worked for me. Comfort was good, build quality so-so, but the whole energizer thing was such an inconvenience for a plug&play listening experience and a deal breaker for me. It clipping a lot at high volumes too, so not worthing the hassle, unless you pursuit the best technical performance with proper noise isolation.
-Campfire Andromeda pre-2020: Great spacial clues for a closed IEM, competent technical performance with good high extension, but subdued pinna gain, mediocre bass and not so great/realistic timbre to my ears (maybe a BA related thing, but the ER4SR definitely doesn't have this problem).
-JVC FDX1: With proper EQ around 2 kHz and 4 kHz and no filter mods (despite the overall consensus), these are outstanding and easily one of my favorites. Crazy fast bass and highly technical performance for a DD, overall a better listening experience compared to the Andromedas once EQ'd. If it weren't for the iSINE LX offering, which is even better after EQ, I'd probably have one of these. Great deal for $200 at Drop, but just with EQ.
-Etymotic ER2SE: Very similar to the ER4SR (from memory) and way better that the ER2XR I sold yesterday, hell of a deal at the current Adorama price, but I don't need another Etymotic having the ER4SR.

Another ones I had:

-Audeze iSINE 20 (I regretted selling them, at that time I wasn't too involved into parametric EQ, hence I took the offer of the iSINE LX, which has the same driver arrangement minus the impedance)
-Audiosense T800
-Dunu DK3001 Pro
-Etymotic ER2XR
-IMR R1/R1 Zenith/RAH
-QKZ VK1
-Massdrop Plus
-Sennheiser IE800 (my first expensive IEM)
-TinHIFI T2 Plus/T4
 
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jannek

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I'm an absolute IEM newby, my Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk (a collaboration between Moondrop and crinacle) arrived 2 days ago. I'm pretty impressed by the sound, the treble resolution criticized in some reviews seems to be still better than that of my ears. ;)
But I'm still struggling to get used to the nozzles which I suppose are too big (6,5mm) for my ear canals. I'm using the Moondrops with some Spinfit silicone tips right now but thinking about the comply foam tips for more comfort.
If the nozzles are too big for my ears no matter with which tips, would some custom silicone tips help with that?
 

mkawa

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Having had (and tried) a lot of IEMs over the years, I currently have the following:

-Etymotic ER4SR: The best compromise between frequency response, technical performance, price and sound isolation. I'm still struggling a bit with their comfort using tri-flanges (the new included bi-flanges are much more comfortable, but at the expense of darker and more confined sound). If I could only have a wired pair of IEMs, I would possibly choose these.
try the comply sport/comfort line. completely different (and much better) experience.
 

mkawa

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eh, not significantly. if anything, it follows the measured curves better because you actually get a good seal
 

toddverrone

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Sony IER - M9 is the absolute best I've heard, followed by, in no particular order

64 Audio Tia Trio, U12T, Empire Ears Valkyrie, Etymotic ER2/4 XR

Biggest disappointments were Empire Ears Legend X ( Bass was too overpowering ), Campfire Solaris ( So much hype, but the Solaris midrange is weirdly scooped) and Sony Z1R ( Fit was impossible, treble was painful )

I love my Sony MDR EX1000.. So good. I sold my Campfire Andromedas after getting the Sony's.

I'm very impressed with the JVC HA-FD01 as well.

I was so close to buying the Sony IER Z1R right before I left Hong Kong. They sounded incredible. Better than the Andromedas. Now that I'm back in the US with my stereo rig and all my vinyl, I'm happy I didn't spend that money since I put it towards a Benchmark pre/amp combo. But I do miss going to HiFi shops on a morning and listening to all their offerings.
 

Blank Verse

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Did work but i couldn’t notice any effect I just had what they now sell a dual tip;)
HAHA. I just want to make sure there is not a misunderstanding, but the mod involves cutting a piece of the stem of a tri-flange (it could be a bi-flange equally I guess) and then sticking that 3 or 4 mm stem to the nozzle of the earphone before putting it inside another eartip. It doesn't consist on converting a 3-flange into a 2-flange by cutting one of the tips. I thought from your comment you might have interpreted my post as "converting a 3-flange into a 2-flange by cutting the larger tip and then using that as a 2-flange".

The objective is basically to remove the Etymotic earphone 3 or 4 mm from your eardrum, which is supposed to increase the soundstage.
 

ZolaIII

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Are there any halfway decent IEMs for under $50? I'm getting ready to go back to the gym, and decent sound would be a great reward. These will be sweated on, shoved into a pocket, and otherwise abused, so cheap is important. Mic and headset features would be most welcome. Extra credit if they're available with a lightning connector, so I don't have to worry about forgetting my iphone adapter.

By halfway decent I mean: reasonable tonal balance. They shouldn't sound shrill or like every song is a totally alien mix. There should be bass.
For around 60$ you can get FiiO FH1s.
 
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Deleted member 27694

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HAHA. I just want to make sure there is not a misunderstanding, but the mod involves cutting a piece of the stem of a tri-flange (it could be a bi-flange equally I guess) and then sticking that 3 or 4 mm stem to the nozzle of the earphone before putting it inside another eartip. It doesn't consist on converting a 3-flange into a 2-flange by cutting one of the tips. I thought from your comment you might have interpreted my post as "converting a 3-flange into a 2-flange by cutting the larger tip and then using that as a 2-flange".

The objective is basically to remove the Etymotic earphone 3 or 4 mm from your eardrum, which is supposed to increase the soundstage.
I guess there are a lot of mods. I really meant the dual flange mode. But since I am perfectly happy with the encluded grey tips there is no more need for me to mod.
1E7D0DB4-D247-48E6-96F2-B6AD8A4EE824.jpeg
 
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