ER4XR

Kinda agree with you. But even etymotics are colored (super forward mids in most of them and veiled treble on some models). I had the er4xr and they were artificially clear, with forward mids and elevated treble. Definitely not neutral to my ears.

I had a pair of really terrific Klipsch ear buds & probably used them every day for about 9-10 years. Finally, a short developed on one side. I wore them out. Glad they lasted THAT long! I almost bought a new pair off EBay - new ones in original pkg. I have almost enough headphones for inside use. So I researched IEMs for a replacement for the Klipsch. It was between the Aful Performer 5+2, Kiwi Ears Orch Lite & Kiwi Ears huge planar, Aether. So I got the Aether when Amazon had a weekend sale of $139. Love it so far‼️More than enough sub-bass & bass for me, crystal clear mids & very airy, light treble. Have had difficulty finding memory foam ear tips - a set from Bulletz & Comply BARELY seal for me. The Arther has a very wide 6.5mm nozzle, & that nozzle is short. Wish I could find a foam tip to fit that X-wide bore AND, has a length 12 to 16mm. I also got the Etymotic ER4XR, likely closer to the Klipsch. You mention sticking an entire headphone can in deep ones ear🤣😩 That's the exact notoriety of Etymotic‼️Etymotic states clearly that, "if after a few days, doing so is painful, take a few days off & try again (try to deliver pain into your brain yet again)‼️"🔥🔥🔥🔥😩😎🥸😩😱

So I actually kinda bought a ton of IEMs to answer this question too. I was trying to find something that works for voiceover, for mixing, for critical editing, and for checking how mics sound in reviews. If I had to choose under $300, here’s my categories: * Mixing: Neutral enough to translate well on different setups (HD6xx, speakers, etc.) * Critical editing: Can it expose bad audio or does it hide flaws? * Monitoring: How good it is for hearing your own voice accurately. * Enjoyment: Just how fun it is to listen to. Letshouer Galileo Mixing: Excellent Critical Editing: Excellent Monitoring: Excellent (voice literally sounds just like me when monitoring) Enjoyment: Low Moondrop Blessing 2 / Blessing 3 Mixing: Excellent Critical Editing: Excellent Monitoring: Excellent Enjoyment: Low (pretty harsh, basically MDR-7506s in IEM form) Zigaat Lush Mixing: Excellent Critical Editing: Below average unless you crank the volume on sibilant spots Monitoring: Excellent Enjoyment: Good

Etymotic ER2XR / ER4XR Mixing: Below average (soundstage is too 2D) Critical Editing: Excellent Monitoring: Excellent Enjoyment: Okay Crinacle Daybreak (surprisingly) Mixing: Depends—more “Meta” neutral than Etymotic-style Critical Editing: Excellent (picks up sibilance like crazy, great for catching issues) Monitoring: Excellent Enjoyment: High Xuan NV (big surprise) Mixing: No, too much bass Critical Editing: Excellent (vocals are super accurate for both male and female) Monitoring: Iffy—low impedance can be weird with interfaces like the MOTU M2 Enjoyment: High Thieaudio Legacy 2 Mixing: Excellent Critical Editing: Excellent Monitoring: Excellent Enjoyment: Decent Cadenza 4 Mixing: Excellent Critical Editing: Excellent Monitoring: Excellent Enjoyment: Excellent Orchestra Lite Mixing: Excellent (surprisingly neutral—not bright like Blessing 2/3, not warm like Dusk or Lush) Critical Editing: Excellent Monitoring: Excellent Enjoyment: Excellent Basically the Studio4 but more revealing with sibilance instead of smoothing it out. Hexa I don’t really recommend it—too many fit issues and inconsistent impressions. If you do try it, use wide-bore tips (not narrow). Video explaining why: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x-T8el9fbs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x-T8el9fbs) Hope this helps.

Any of the the Etymotics (in order of cost): ER2SE, ER2XR, ER3SE, ER3XR, ER4SR, ER4XR. SE/SR models have less bass, XR models have a small bass lift (the ER2XR has a larger bass lift, but is close to Hexa for bass amount). These are extremely neutral, and all very detailed with fast (albeit not heavy) bass attack. Soundstage is tiny though. 

Etsy are excellent, I love my 4xrs.

For noise isolation, you want an IEM with a deep insertion. Etymotic is known for their sound isolation and triple flange tips, if you can handle them. ER4XR is great. But seriously any deep insertion IEM will do.

Issue: I own and have used the ER4XR daily for the past 1.5 years. I love the sound signature, but the fit sometimes hurts and is very becoming concerning. Personal search: In similar threads, I found people generally siggest Harman tuned iems; ex. Moondrop, theiaudio etc., I'd like to maintain Etymotics more flat response. From further research I've started to believe what I really want are typically described as reference monitors, typically used by live-sound engineers and musicians, examples include Alclair Studio 4, Ultimate Ears, JH Audio etc. The problems I have with this conclusion are that these iems are all 1000+, custom molded and all reviews tend to reference their performance in a live music environment. Cost is not necessarily an issue, however with so many options at various price points it's hard to believe the 300~ to 1000~ jump is necessary. As a footnote I have tried the ERX. Its advertised as an ER4XR with a EVO shell which is essentially my dream. Unfortunately I dont believe the advertisement is accurate. They sound close but the ERX has a very sharp spike in its higher frequencies that made me return them. In addition, I found their soundstage very forward and shallow which in combination with its harsh treble made them sound cheap. Does anyone have any recommendations? Do you believe I am right to look toward the reference monitor iems I referenced?