Your favorite IEMs?

[deafenears]

When I do a search for "Oracle" on this page I get no results.

Ah yes, I see it now. When I open that page in an incognito window, it's also not visible. I'm a subscriber so I think this is why I can see it.

Anyways, the Oracle, together with the Kiwi Ears Orchestra, slots in below Empire Ears ESR Mk2 and above Hidition Violet.

 

[Jimbob54]

When I do a search for "Oracle" on this page I get no results.

Agreed- the only "A" rated Thieaudio IEM I can see on the rankings is the Voyager. I can find the unboxing, graphs and opinion on his site but no place on the rankings

EDIT- just seen @deafenears clarification above. Im not a subscriber.

 

[Rottmannash]

Using the blessing 2 (not dusk) when doing chores around the house... loving it!!

Ditto.

 

[2M2B]

There's some initial impressions over on Head-fi, some fairly experienced folks (ie. who are known reviewers) have weighed in. It doesn't seem like an out-an-out new flagship but a different flavor. One in particular - who has experience with many multi-kilobuck CIEMS - still prefers the er2xr over it, although he was complimentary of it.

IME, it seems to be crossing into Moondrop territory, and at that price, maybe only worth it if you're an avowed ety fan who needs extreme passive iso.

The problem is that quite a few seem to have no clue what they want from the Ety XR line up. I've seen folk say the ER4 treble & 2.7K bump are too much seem like Etymotic took that into account with the Evo since It shallower than the ER4, Now there trying pretend that not what they want and many are just saying "Make a hybrid ER2XR"?.

The same ones can get quite annoying with them claiming the ER4SR not a musical IEM. It is like they refuse to admit they don't like Ety IEM's as much they claim, The ER2XR can be too much in most cases. Don't like how much of bass impressions are just them going how the BA versions have less impact when the ER3/ER4/Evo are fit sensitive, and It will only show bass if the song has It unlike dynamic headphones. They do it a lot with planar/electrostatic HP's too I've noticed.

Many will EQ the Ety Evo's anyway.

 

[rcmo]

IE300 was a huge surprise to me. A wow! I didn't have for a long time now. I use it with an iPhone, and out of ADI-2 and Qudelix without equing. Bass, all the way to low mids, is so good... And there must be a sibilance guard because ss stop right before being ssibilant. ;-)

 

[Phoney]

Did anyone EQ the IE300? I have ordered it and I would like to try something close to Harman at first maybe. I don't know what frequencies that needs EQ adjustments yet.

 

[Count Arthur]

I've added another set of IEMs to my collection: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/your-favorite-iems.22521/page-4#post-753850

THIEAUDIO Monarch MKII

The King, Retuned and Refined  More than one and half years after its initial release, the most popular and praised Thieaudio Signature series IEM is ready to make a comeback! The Monarch has been completely redefined with driver overhauls and an enhanced tuning. The Monarch was a monumental...

www.thieaudio.com

I like these a lot, I think they sound fantastic, punchy bass, incredible detail, all that good stuff, but we're definitely well into the territory of diminishing returns in terms of the improvement over my previous best IEMs, the Blessing 2 Dusk. I was fairly confident that I would like these as Crinacle had ranked them so highly and I like the Blessing 2 Dusk, which he had a hand in tuning: https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

However, they are quite large, I don't have an issue with the nozzle or ear tips, but the body of the IEM itself is fairly bulky and the fit is pretty much on the limit for me and I don't find them as comfortable as the Blessing 2 Dusk.

 

[Rottmannash]

I've added another set of IEMs to my collection: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/your-favorite-iems.22521/page-4#post-753850

View attachment 192387

THIEAUDIO Monarch MKII

The King, Retuned and Refined  More than one and half years after its initial release, the most popular and praised Thieaudio Signature series IEM is ready to make a comeback! The Monarch has been completely redefined with driver overhauls and an enhanced tuning. The Monarch was a monumental...

www.thieaudio.com

I like these a lot, I think they sound fantastic, punchy bass, incredible detail, all that good stuff, but we're definitely well into the territory of diminishing returns in terms of the improvement over my previous best IEMs, the Blessing 2 Dusk. I was fairly confident that I would like these as Crinacle had ranked them so highly and I like the Blessing 2 Dusk, which he had a hand in tuning: https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

However, they are quite large, I don't have an issue with the nozzle or ear tips, but the body of the IEM itself is fairly bulky and the fit is pretty much on the limit for me and I don't find them as comfortable as the Blessing 2 Dusk.

I have the Blessing 2 and the body of the IEM is quite large. Are you saying these are even bulkier?

 

[bkdc]

Moondrop Blessing2 Dusk

 

[Jimbob54]

I have the Blessing 2 and the body of the IEM is quite large. Are you saying these are even bulkier?

Oddly I find the B2 shape a pretty perfect fit for my ear. More so than any other shell type iem I've tried. I'm guessing these don't fit as well into that "bowl" ones ear forms.

I actually think priorities for iem should be :

Fit /comfort (obviously no one size fits all here)
Price
Sound

Get me some comfortable pairs at the right price then let's discuss which options sound best. Something review sites etc cant really do.

(case in point, I struggle with the Kato shape. Had I tried first probably would have passed on them. Price was fine. I'm not sold on sound yet)

 

[Count Arthur]

I have the Blessing 2 and the body of the IEM is quite large. Are you saying these are even bulkier?

Yes, they are noticeably bulkier:

 

[Jimbob54]

Yes, they are noticeably bulkier:

View attachment 192398

Yup. It might be the angles but is the distance from tip hole to rear of shell noticeably more on the monarch? And the tip points out from the shell too whereas the B2 looks as if the tip points at a right angle to the shell?

 

[DivineCurrent]

Without EQ, Moodrop Kato or IE800S. Been a while with the IE800S, but that's my favorite tuning of what I've heard.
With EQ, different story. JVC HA-FDX1 and Dunu Zen Pro have minor tuning issues but incredible technical performance, and are both my top favorites. The FDX1 has better timbre than the Zen Pro, but the Zen Pro is faster and more dynamic.

 

[Dealux]

I've added another set of IEMs to my collection: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/your-favorite-iems.22521/page-4#post-753850

View attachment 192387

THIEAUDIO Monarch MKII

The King, Retuned and Refined  More than one and half years after its initial release, the most popular and praised Thieaudio Signature series IEM is ready to make a comeback! The Monarch has been completely redefined with driver overhauls and an enhanced tuning. The Monarch was a monumental...

www.thieaudio.com

I like these a lot, I think they sound fantastic, punchy bass, incredible detail, all that good stuff, but we're definitely well into the territory of diminishing returns in terms of the improvement over my previous best IEMs, the Blessing 2 Dusk. I was fairly confident that I would like these as Crinacle had ranked them so highly and I like the Blessing 2 Dusk, which he had a hand in tuning: https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

However, they are quite large, I don't have an issue with the nozzle or ear tips, but the body of the IEM itself is fairly bulky and the fit is pretty much on the limit for me and I don't find them as comfortable as the Blessing 2 Dusk.

I had the first version which measures very similarly to this one (in the mids and treble) and I found it to sound kinda hollow and soft in the treble, around 9-10K. Almost like someone trying to hit a target aggressively with EQ. My Etys with the right tips have way more treble detail but slightly worse (harsher) tuning.

 

[Count Arthur]

Yup. It might be the angles but is the distance from tip hole to rear of shell noticeably more on the monarch? And the tip points out from the shell too whereas the B2 looks as if the tip points at a right angle to the shell?

The "nozzle" to "body" dimensions are similar, it's the body itself that is considerably larger:

The Blessing 2s fit almost as if they were made for me and I find them very comfortable, to the extent I almost forget they're there. The Monarchs are OK, but I'm definitely more aware of them.

 

[Phoney]

Sennheiser IE300 arriveed today! Equalizing it as close as possible to IEF neutral worked great for me. Based off of Crinacles measurments. Kept most of the bass though, but removed enough bass/lower mids so that it didn't sound bloaty anymore. Amazing IEMs! (Updated image)

 

[majingotan]

Tried lots of IEMs and none of them can still convince me, taking factor price into account (it would've been the Oriolus Traillii if it only cost 1/6th of its MSRP), to switch from my 4 year old IEM. I don't use EQ on these since they hit my preferred target response from 20Hz -15 KHz.

 

[Bleib]

See signature. Only one I've liked

 

[rcmo]

Sennheiser IE300 arriveed today! Equalizing it as close as possible to IEF neutral worked great for me. Based off of Crinacles measurments. Kept most of the bass though, but removed enough bass/lower mids so that it didn't sound bloaty anymore. Amazing IEMs!

View attachment 193426

I don't touch the lows of IE300 as it's spot on to me. However, tried a IE300 to IE600 based on Crinacle's measurements that work on similar areas of your example: PK/1000/-1.3/2.0, PK/2550/4/1.0, PK/5500/-4/2.0. Your HS however seems rather radical to me.

 

[Phoney]

I don't touch the lows of IE300 as it's spot on to me. However, tried a IE300 to IE600 based on Crinacle's measurements that work on similar areas of your example: PK/1000/-1.3/2.0, PK/2550/4/1.0, PK/5500/-4/2.0. Your HS however seems rather radical to me.

The upper bass/lower mids however made it very bloaty or muddy for me and kind of drowned the rest of the mix a bit, and I'm satisfied with the change I made. And yes, your filter probably makes more sense on the highest frequencies.