Cadenza4

letshuoer cadenza 4 are known to be a neutral planar. i'd very strongly consider this set, divine looks quite neutral as well

Never heard OG Hype 4 but MKII have this low frequency physical push I so love on my Letshuoer Cadenza 4. Same dip in the bass area too. I do not like warm earphones. MKII are definitely slightly harder to drive than most of my earphones

Didn't see the Cad4 on sale! Any time you can get it for under $200 is good. Highly under rated IEM. Super sweet vocals and mid centric detail. Super comfortable.

Cadenza 4. Tanchjim Origin. DX1. If you have to go below the price of the Studio4, these are solid picks. Funny enough, that last paragraph you wrote? That’s basically the Shure SE846. (I bought it recently.) Fantastic for critical editing, mixing, mastering, and voiceover work. In blue filter mode they honestly remind me of the JBL 305s on my desk. The Cadenza 4 is near perfect for the task. Great for mixing, voiceover editing, video editing, and monitoring. Ironically, the Studio4 is pretty bad for critical editing. It rounds off flaws so you won’t even realize they’re there. ======= Edit: I mentioned the DX1 because they reminded me so much of the Hexa. LIterally returned them promptly.

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.

This is my jam! :D Here's my recommendations for pop and female vocals: Kiwi Ears Astral (go one size larger than usual on eartips) (I used stock) Softears Studio4 (Hard to explain but super magical how it sounds) (I literally cannot explain in words how it sounds. But it's magical. It's almost like they're singing right next to you is the best way I can describe it) Letshouer Cadenza 4 (a sleeper pick that wowed me. Definitely recommend)

The $400 range is where it really maxes out. It doesn’t get better at $500 or more. I swear I’ve seen this exact discussion before. I basically have $400 sets that perform better, or about the same, as $500, $600, even $1,000 sets. That’s where the improvements stop. Dusk is $400 and Tea Pros are around $340. Softears Studio4 is currently around $350. We’ll use that as a reference. Dunu SA6 Mark 2 is $600. One of the most overrated and overpriced IEMs I own. Sounds like flat coke. I’d take Studio4, Tea Pro, or Dusk over it — all around $350–$400. Xenn Top Pro, even at $500+, isn’t “better.” It’s just different. I have cheaper sets I like more, like Kiwi Ears Astral, Cadenza4, Studio4. I extensively tested the oh-so-hyped Mystic 8. My Studio4 still beats it (for me). Mystic 8 is $1,000. Studio4 is $300–$400. I like the IE600 and IE900, but they weren’t better than what I own now. And those things are stupid expensive. Mega5EST a few months ago was $500+. It was eh. Murky. I like Dusk and Tea Pros better. Again: things don’t really get better past $500. I also have zero interest in the Mega7. Would not be shocked if Kiwi Ears Astral or Xenn Top Pro kicks its ass. And while unrelated, this is exactly why I don’t bother with 99% of Thieaudio. They make it SO easy for me. Stupid expensive, stupid huge. If your idea of “premium” is building IEMs the size of BOULDERS that don’t even fit smaller ears, then thanks — you just removed yourself from consideration. I demo them, I try them, and I literally can’t wear them for long. So you never get my money, and you never will. You’re basically the GORUCK of IEMs: stupid expensive, stupid big. Easiest pass in the entire hobby.

Cadenza 4, Studio 4, Kiwi astral, Tea Pros/Dusk Things don't get better after these 4. They just get "different".

From experimenting with a ton of IEMs, I’ve found there are three real “value peaks” where performance jumps make sense: **$80–$100 tier:** Defiant, Explorer, Xuan NV, Dunu Kima 2, Truthear Pure — this is where good sound starts. **$200 tier:** Performer 5+2, Kiwi Ears Astral, Letshuoer Cadenza 4 **$400 tier:** Dusk, Softears Studio 4, Tea Pro — this is where things get *really* good. **Beyond $400, returns drop off hard.** For my preferences: * Mega5EST didn’t beat Tea Pro or Dusk. * Dunu SA6 Mk2 fell behind Studio 4, Zigaat Lush, and Dusk. * Top Pro is good, even great, but not $550-good — Astral and Studio 4 gave me more. * Mystic 8 at $1000 disappointed; Studio 4 still sounded better to me.

Both of those are actually good/great. I’d lean towards Cadenza 4, but it’s preference. The Daybreak genuinely surprised me — it’s fun to listen to, but it’s honest. It won’t hide bad mixes or sibilant tracks. I like Cadenza 4 a lot though. You can’t go wrong with either. Edit: Just one more tidbit. The Cadenza 4 is one of those win-win situations. If you don't like it for critical listening/mixing well then you'll definitely enjoy it for enjoyment. It's one of the very few that does both well.

Damn. A lot of the ones I think hit the mark are either discontinued or recently went out of stock. I really wish they still had the Westone Mach 60s deal for $350. They used to have this deal where it was the Westone Mach 60s + Ifigo for $350. That imo is pretty spot-on accurate with vocals, microphones, etc, and doesn’t compromise on soundstage. Overall it’s like perfect for your application. But yeah, they don’t have the deal anymore. That said, here’s what I’d recommend, trying to calibrate to what you’re saying. Since you have the Studio 4, I can calibrate to that. If you want something with more bass than Studio 4, accurate vocals, but less soundstage and technicals than Studio 4, you can go for the Xuan NV. They’re basically like the Audio Technica M50x, over emphasized bass but accurate vocals. They imo completely replace the Audio Technica ATH-E40. TLDR: accurate vocals, exaggerated bass, not as good soundstage. Shure SE846, 1st gen or 2nd gen, but go 1st gen. Use the neutral blue filter and either the included yellow sponges or just plop on a Final Audio E large. This imo gets pretty close to JBL 305s. Don't bother with the 2nd gen. The only draw of the 2nd generation is the red filter and the red filter isn't even good. Blue filter is closer to neutral. Zigaat Lush with Moondrop spring tips. I tested a bunch of tips but for some reason the Spring tips help a lot. These have an HD600 tonality and sound. It does tend to dull out sibilance a bit, so it’s not good for critical editing, but it’s pretty warm-neutral. Tanchjim Fola, but use the D filter. D filter equals a better Nora. Warmer than Truthear Hexa, but a bit less warm than Truthear Pure. This is the Truthear Hola upgraded, if you have it from years past, but with better technicals and better vocals. Hard to explain, but you’d only understand this if you have all of these to understand: Truthear Hola, Truthear Pure, Truthear Hexa. Totally different company though. If you use the S filter (default filter) it'll sound like a 90% Tanchjim Origin. Which still actually is useful for your application too. Dusk, Tea Pros, RSV Mark 1 if you’re looking more for the Meta sound and you think Meta is neutral. Beyerdynamic DT70IE. These are very accurate with vocals, but also have bass. These are sort of a refined version of the Xuan NV. Think Xuan NV but better soundstage. A bit overpriced as all Beyer stuff are, but even voiceactors swear by this (they talk about how accurate vocals are on it). I have it and these have amazing comfort. I feel like the fair price for this is $300, but these are great for what you’re looking for. Cadenza 4. Odd choice, I know. But I pegged these as accurate enough for mixing and critical editing. No weak bass on these. Vocals are accurate. U-shaped. Excellent for enjoyment. You might love these. Letshouer Galileo. This is honestly the closest I’ve seen to dead-neutral. I have these and these are insane. When I wear a microphone and speak into this, this sounds exactly like me. It’s insane how neutral these are. But good luck finding these. They’re very hard to find. But imo much closer to my notion of neutral. Kiwi Ears Aether. Think better Hexa. This is not an enjoyable set at all, but I respect its existence. It’s neutral-ish, less harsh than the Hexa, and has better soundstage than the Hexa. But it’s joyless. You might like these. Keep the Studio 4s since they bring so much joy.

Going to use a grading system: A, B, C, D, F like in school A means excellent B is good C is average D is bad F is absolute fail **Mixing:** Going to avoid using the word "neutral" because then every mofo comes in the thread saying, what's neutral. Let's use the word "even-keeled'. Good iems for mixing are generally more even-keeled. If it has way too much bass you'll thin out your mix. If it's way too trebly and bright and shouty you're going to overcompensate. Ideally you want something more even-keeled. **Enjoyability:** Subjective. But how enjoyable it is **Critical Editing:** This isn't the same as mixing. But it means will it let you know if you have shit audio. If I listen to Kanye's sibilant ass tracks does he sound sibilant on them? If I listen to Lana White Dress is she sibilant on it? She better be. If I watch a DMS video from 6 years ago, does he sound sibilant on it? He better. Because he does. This is important because you need to evaluate your audio and the iem lets you know your audio is shit before thousands of people hear it. Etymotic ERXR Enjoyability: C to B to A. Pretty good, depending on who you ask Critical editing: A+. Very good at letting you know areas of trouble in your audio Mixing: D. Poor soundstage Truthear Hexa Enjoyability: D. I hate it Critical editing: A+ with wide bore tips Mixing: C. Imo actually a bit thin on lowend. You'll overcompensate. Also the soundstage on Hexa is kinda eh ngl. Salnotes Zero Original Enjoyability: C. I think it's ok. Or mid. Critical editing: B. Honestly pretty good at letting you know egregious areas. The version 1 is less forgiving with sibilance than 2, so it's better for critical editing. Zero 2 blunts the sibilance out (better for enjoyers; bad for audio engineers) Mixing: A. pretty neutral imo Softears Studio 4 Enjoyability: A to A+. Very enjoyable IEM Critical editing: D. Ironically. It smooths out all sibilance so you won't know sibilance is there. This is why it's so beautiful sounding. Mixing: A+. Very neutral. I'd even say probably my closest definition of neutral Moondrop Blessing 2 Enjoyability: D (harsh, shouty, bright, sibilant). Same with Blessing 3. Critical Editing: A. These are very picky with harshness in vocals. I genuinely think these are the Sony MDR 7506 in iem form. Mixing: A Zigaat Lush Enjoyability: B to A Critical Editing: C You won't really find problem areas of sibilance. You really really really have to crank it to hear it. Mixing: A. Pretty even-keeled. Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite: Enjoyability: B to C Critical Editing: A. Excellent at picking out flaws. Mixing: A+. Excellent at telling you the whole picture. Excellent for mixing. Very very even-keeled.

Letshouer Cadenza 4 Enjoyability: A to A+ Critical Editing: B to A Mixing: A. While a bit U-shaped it's not egregious. It's enough to make decisions. Sennheiser IE200 Enjoyability: B to A Critical Editing: D to F (rounds out a lot of sibilance imo, which is actually a good thing for enjoyers). Mixing: B. Kind of shocking but while people call this v-shaped this is actually not as v-shaped imo. If you monitor yourself using these iems it'll sound exactly like you down to the microphone. Most other v-shaped iems don't do that. Crinacle Daybreak Enjoyability: B to A- Critical Editing: A (rofl. It's funny because it genuinely is good at picking out bad audio. If it sounds harsh it's because the original track is harsh) Mixing: B (This is more of a "Meta" tuned iem. But imo just enough where it sounds true) Crinacle Dusk Enjoyability: B to A+ (depending on who you ask) Critical Editing: C on Analogue. F on DSP. It rolls out sibilance by quite a large margin. Mixing: A on analogue mode. Honestly pretty neutral. almost HD600ish. But about a C on DSP mode. Tanchjim Origin Enjoyability: C to A (depending on who you ask) Critical editing: A (it'll definitely let you know spicy regions Mixing: A. A bit bright-slanted but definitely capable for mixing. Theioaudio Legacy 2: Enjoyability: C Critical editing: A+ Mixing: A+ Xuan NV (honorable mention) Enjoyability: A Critical editing: B Mixing: D (too bassy imo) I mention these because imo these are the Audio Technica M50x of iems but the size of 2 quarters. They basically give you accurate vocals down to the tee but thumpy bass. The vocals are very accurate on these. Not good for mixing though. Dunu Titan S (original) Enjoyability: C Critical editing: D (the treble is rounded out quite a bit) mixing: A (these are my imo pretty close to neutral)

**Zigaat Lush + Moondrop Spring Tips (large)** Neutral warm. It really shines with those eartips for me. I’ve gotten feedback from folks saying those exact tips seem to help a lot. (For context, I tried Clarion, Tang Sancai Wide Bore, Tang Sancai Balanced Bore, Divinus Velvet.) But it was, for some reason, the default Crinacle Dusk eartips (Moondrop Spring Tips) that made it sound much better. Reminds me of an HD600. **Letshouer Cadenza 4 ($199)** More U-shaped. Absolutely spectacular. I'd honestly get these (while they're on $199) over everything here. It's not precisely what you asked for but you should absolutely get it while you can. **Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite ($199)** Closer to neutral. I wouldn’t put it in neutral bright like Blessing 3, Blessing 2, Tanchjim Origin, Salnotes Zero OG, or 7Hz Sonus. I also wouldn’t put it on the warm side like Dunu Sa6 Mark 2, Lush, Truthear Pure, Tea Pros, Mega5EST, or Dunu Kima 2. It’s more in the middle. Not the left, not the right. My definition of neutral. I don’t think Meta is neutral. I don’t think Etymotic are neutral. I think the Studio4 is neutral. That’s where the Orchestra Lite lives. Note!!! Comfort can be fiddly. Unvented. **Truthear Pure** In my opinion, the Pure should be recommended instead of the Hexa to people who are confused between the two. Just remember: don’t use the stock eartips. Use Tang Sancai Balanced Bore. This cleans out the muddiness and vastly improves the sound. **Xuan NV** An unconventional pick, but it might be what you want. Vocals are spot-on and are reference quality (like M50x etc). It accurately displays my voice on a microphone exactly how it sounds. Male vocals sound exact. Female vocals sound exact. They also come with Tang Sancai eartips, which are normally $20. The cable, artwork, and sound are fantastic. Basically neutral and accurate vocals with a fun bass boost done well. And imo it’s what you are asking for: – i.e. better than Hexa, a far more enjoyable listen. Good reason why many people complain about the Hexa on this subreddit and regret buying it. It’s a meme at this point. – Better than the Delci. Ironically, I liked the Kefine Klean over the Delci. Delci is like a V-shape but male vocals are thin sounding. Synthetic sounding. The Xuan NV has a more full tonality to all male and female vocals. – Better than the Hola. Tough one because I love the Hola, but Xuan NV has more detail and punchier bass. – Better than the Salnotes Zero. Just literally better on everything across the board. Better vocals. Better bass. Better tonality. Punchier bass. Fuller vocals. – S12 Pro: I can’t comment on that. But I have the S12 Ultra. I felt the S12 Ultra were honestly too blunted on treble. Sounds like the S12 Pro is the exact opposite. Just note the soundstage isn’t the best, but still a helluva deal at $67. **Daybreak** It’s on discount right now. It’s Meta done pretty well but at a great discount. It’s done well. Mild V, warm neutral, Meta-ish tonality. **Performer 5+2** More of a mild V. Then again it might be more of a textbook V. But it’s one to check out as well. **Sennheiser IE200 (unconventional)** I’d actually label this as a mild V and closer to neutral. Vocals sound exact. When monitoring and switching between different microphones (MXL 990, AT2035, SM7B, TLM103, SE4100, etc.) It accurately showed my voice exactly as it sounded. People consider the IE200 kind of V-shaped, but it isn’t an extreme V-shape like Hype4 or IE600. I’d even argue it’s less V-shape compared to the Defiant. The comfort on the IE200 is S-tier, and I often veer toward my most comfortable pairs. That’s precisely why I never buy Theiaudio IEMs. As great as they sound, they never fit my ears, and so they never get my money.

Cadenza 4 is one of the most well known female vocals set for sure and it also EQs quite well if you're into that. Alternatively something Harman like the Truthear Nova (foam tips required), Supermix 4, or Binary Chopin is probably fine as that tuning is often female vocal forward

You're saying Cadenza 4 with peq beats out the Martilo as a basshead set? Cadenza 4 + Qudelix 5k + peq has been my main basshead iem for a while now... crazy good to me, BUT I haven't heard any bass focused iems in the $300+ range, sooo I don't know if my opinion is just cope.

for me it's letshuoer cadenza 4

I don't produce music, but my neutral/natural reference set in that price range is easily Letshuoer Cadenza 4.

Cadenza 4 is crazy underrated. It unexpectedly became my pause-game for about a year. Definitely my favorite natural/reference set up to like $400ish out of what I've heard.

I have been using the Letshouer Cadenza 4 and can't recommend it enough. It's really an underlooked gem. Clarity is insane vocals have the right touch, they feel correct, but not flat or boring. Really good price to performance