Most of my IEMs are warmer, so not too many mid forward rock/vocal IEMs. In the $250-500 price range, maybe the Moondrop Blessing 2, Thieaudio Hype 4, and anything Penon makes (I really like the Vortex and it's only $200). For $500+, the Oriolus Isabellae probably takes the cake for vocal forward IEMs.
My favorite IEM that I have currently is the FATFreq Maestro SE, but that's out of most people's price range so I definitely wouldn't recommend it for most people. I still feel stupid spending as much money as I did, but hey, I enjoy it so I'm getting my money's worth!
damn near every iem or headphone is able to be pushed I believe 14db higher or lower without issues in terms of eq without pushing a driver to far (we are talking about how they respond to frequencies, not total volume)
any modern driver in an iem thats not snakeoil can be retuned to sound like damn near any other iem, the only difference being how clear they are, ill give an example, I had salnotes zeros to test out modern iems, and I had hifiman editions, in terms of tone, they were near identical when I eq'ed them, but the hifi man was just so much clearer it wasn't close.
then based off a feeling I got blessing 2's the hifi man had issues where bass would bleed into treble causing a wobble, for reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b-FEaGJG8Y is what I used to push bass into worst case scenarios, on blessing 2's, that wobble isn't there, this is an absolute worst case scenario but you can hear bass screwing with other frequencies in other songs/games/music, its just not as in your face with that song, megadrive flawless is a good example of song but its very hard to hear.
personally, I would go with truthear pure, just because I know how much stuff costs even at volume prices, and that kz should be impossible to make if they aren't skimping.
For me the point of diminishing returns is the Thieaudio Monarch Mk IV.
Of all the IEMs and Headphones I own it is the only ones I use without EQ.
I have a pair of DCA E3s that I "can" use without EQ, when necessary, and not find deficient, but I prefer a light EQ curve with a bass boost, that really opens them up.
And it is downhill from there. And I have several pair of what many consider "end game". Including HD 800S, HEKU, HEKS, HE6SE, LCD-X, Focal Elex, and others. I pretty much would not use them without EQ.
I also have several pair of IEMs, including the Moondrop Variations, Blessing 2 Dusks (I have also owned the original B2) among others. But I am extremely happy with the Mk IV, since I acquired them. Incredible detail, balanced sound and great bass without EQ. They do require tip rolling and some effort getting just right. And I understand they will not fit everyone's ears (sucks to be them), and I assume that the critics have not taken the time to configure properly or they don't fit their ears. I can do an improper setup with them and achieve the sound they "claim" about them. But just a touch more work, and voila: magic. And once setup you only have to put them on and play music.
My endgame until such time as the Subtonic Storm becomes available to me...
It looks like a fair option with a lot of output for the money and size.
However, the FiiO KA13 has pretty much the same specs for $25 cheaper (along with FiiO build quality and reliability), and the KA15 looks to be a price to performance champ at only $10 more. The reviews (that I have seen thus far) would indicate some issues with the Crinear. But more research should be done before any purchase.
Yes, all of the above would power most over ears adequately, with only power hungry options crying for more (think HE6SE or HD 800S). Maybe not excelling like a monster desktop amp, but certainly enjoyable. I have used less powerful DAC/Amps and had satisfactory performance, with even a DCA Noire (a bit power hungry).
I have the FiiO QX13, which is a great portable option with a desktop mode of almost 1 watt (900 mw). It is a bit larger than other portable "dongles", and a touch expensive ($220 or $240 depending on finish. but comes with its own case and is small enough to use traveling). Other options either have less power (though smaller) or are bulky and expensive (containing a batter to maintain, as well). Over 600 mw with a desktop mode of 900 mw is enough to power all but the most power hungry headphones well enough to enjoy them. So it can act as both a portable and desktop option. I also have the KA5 & KA3.
I do use a (somewhat) pro setup for my desktop (my hobbies include music production, etc.). with an RME ADI2-Pro, Topping A90D and MiniDSP Flex balanced with Neumann studio monitors and sub. Way overkill for your needs, I'd imagine.
I have tried on numerous occasions using a Schiit stack, with my AKG K702 and my Moondrop B2 to see if I can hear the difference. And if I am really concentrating, there are very few moments of transience that are different. Absolutely no practical difference in everyday listening though.
Now, going from 320Kbps MP3 to lossless? Absolutely impossible for me to hear any difference no matter how much I close my eyes and concentrate.
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.
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.
PART 2
That said, a quick clarification on the Hexa. While it's not the "truth," it's not useless for mixing. If you can get your mix to sound clean and well-balanced on the Hexa, you're probably in good shape for how your track will sound on most consumer gear. It's not a tool for finding problems, but for making sure your fixes sound right to the average person.
But then that raises another question: Does that mean the Etymotic ER series is great for mixing?
Imo it's great for editing. Not good for mixing. Etys reveal flaws really well, but they don’t give the most trustworthy picture of a full mix.
Why? They have no soundstage. From my experience editing voiceover, I’d notice they couldn’t detect issues with people's booths, specifically the acoustics around the microphone. This also means they aren’t very good for things like gaming because they lack soundstage.
What about the Truthear Pure? No. The Pure isn’t accurate at all. It has a very warm tilt that will make you think your tracks have more low-end than they really have.
What about all the IEMs that are the 'new Meta'? No. These aren't accurate either. They are conformed to a frequency response where most people find music enjoyable—a new Harman target. Ironically, not only is this target not 'neutral' for critical listening, but it also doesn't even sound good. Sounds bleh.
Let's get back to the playbook. What would I recommend? I'd actually say the Moondrop Blessing 2. Not the Dusk version. I have the Blessing 2 Dusk and the Crinacle Dusk. Neither of these two are accurate.
A quick point on the Blessing 2. While I recommended them, they aren't perfectly accurate. They're intentionally a little harsh. They aren't the "truth" but rather a tool for finding problems—a "bug-finder," if you will. The original Blessing 2 reminds me of the Sony MDR-7506 with a lot more soundstage. Why is the 7506 so common in studios despite sounding like crap? Because it reveals every flaw in your recording. Studios don’t use the Sony MDR-7506 because it sounds “nice” — they use it because it’s brutally revealing. The joke among audio engineers is if you make it sound good on a 7506 it'll sound good on everything. The Blessing 2, with the default tips, will make you hear sibilance in soundtracks. You need something to tell you where the problems are. The issue with the Crinacle Dusk is that it rolls off the highs and hides flaws. That's great for musicality, but not for critical listening.
For me, personally I'd use something like the Blessing 2 or the Studio4.
I also want to add something that throws a wrench into all of this, but it's a crucial point. Mixing with something like AirPods Pro is not a bad idea at all, even though they sound nothing like the tools I just mentioned.
Many people use them, and they are arguably the most common listening device for a massive audience. So while a truthful "bug-finder" like the Blessing 2 or a neutral headphone like the HD6xx is for doing the work, a consumer-grade device is an essential tool for cross-checking.
Ultimately, your mix needs to sound good on your target audience's playback system. So, getting it right on your professional gear and then checking it on something common like AirPods Pro, a car stereo, or a laptop speaker is a non-negotiable step.
PART 1:
I'm coming back to your post now 22 days later.
Because I wanted to answer this question.
So think of this as a better update/answer than what I gave you.
From a point of simplification, there's monitoring (this means when you use a microphone your voice sounds pretty close to you). There's critical voiceover editing (this means you wear headphones you can accurately detect problems with your audio, ie sibilance, plosives, phasing issues, etc) Then there's mixing. mixing means you are generally trying to make everything comprehensive and cohesive and sounds good on many mediums, ie iphones, speakers, car speakers, cans, openbacks, everything basically.
Here's my thoughts:
The Tanchjim Origin/Tanchim Fission are good at all 3.
The Westone Mach60s (bought recently) excel at all 3. To elaborate, when I use any microphone it sounds exactly like me. When I watch microphone reviews by Podcastage, Boothjunkie, Curtis Judd, not only does it sounds like them to the dot but it sounds exactly individually how that mic sounds on them. When I listen to male singers, they sound correct. When I listen to female singers they sound correct. But it also does a great job of pointing out flaws in audio, ie I can hear everything. But also these have a ton of soundstage.
The Beyerdynamic DT70IE (bought recently) excel at all 3. Though I'd give the edge to the Mach60s. Vocally it's pretty on point, with my voice and others. I noticed a voiceactor on Youtube mentioning the same thing. Just be sure to use the silicone eartips and toss the sponge ones (those suck).
The Shure SE846 (bought recently) can do all 3. However I used the blue filters (neutral) along with the the black adapter from the AZLA SednaEarfit Crystal Standard which allows you to use all eartips, ie Dunu S&S. It veers warmer than the Mach60s but it's still pretty on point. It reminds me a lot of my JBL 305 speakers on my desk.
The Moondrop Blessing 2/Blessing 3/Cadenza 4 excel at all 3. I map these all the same. While not exactly the same they're pretty much in the same camp. If you own 1, you don't need the other.
The Softears Studio4 is good at only 2. Monitoring and mixing. But it isn't good for critical editing for voiceover. This is because it tends to round out sibilance and round out flaws in audio. So you need to cross-check it with something like a Moondrop Blessing 2 or a Thieoaudio Legacy 2.
The Etymotic ER2XR is only good at voiceover editing and monitoring. But because of its poor soundstage it's not good for mixing.
The Crinacle Dusk is good for monitoring. Good for mixing. But not suitable for critical voiceover editing. You won't know you have sibilance and problems in your audio. It even smooths out DMS's old sibilant headphone videos. ie I use his old videos as a reference for detecting horrible sibilance.
The Dunu Titan S (original) are good for monitoring and mixing (it's relatively neutral). But not good for critical editing. It completely smooths out harsh sibilance on female vocals. Wouldn't count on these.
The Salnotes Zero (original) are surprisingly good for $20. They are perfectly fine for monitoring. They also give you a general sense of the landscape and can be used for mixing. I thought it was a meme when I saw a ton of audio engineers mentioning the Salnotes Zero (original) for mixing. It also is good with critical editing (but nowhere near as reliable) as other options but it'll definitely point out egregious areas with your audio. Not bad for $20. I'd still strongly recommend going with the Fission (with S nozzle) which almost the same as the Tanchim Origin for a good price.
Lately these are my favorites. I don’t know their exact sound signatures, but here’s how I’d describe them:
Celest Pandamon 2.0 (with Kiwi Ears Flex eartips) – Super small, comfy, and chill—similar vibe to the Aful Explorer. I actually prefer these over the Salnotes Zero, 7Hz Sonus, Crinacle Zero Red, Artii T10, Tangzu Waner 1/2, Kefine Klean, IE200, Truthear Hexa, Moondrop Lan Reference, Chu 2, FDX1, Blessing 2, Kiwi Ears Cadenza, Inawaken Dawn, Dunu Titan S, and Truthear Gate. It’s about $20, a total “grower.” Boring at first, but comfort and tuning make it great. Likely warm or neutral-warm.
Softears Studio 4 – Kicks ass. Especially on female vocals. I prefer it over all Meta-tuned and Harman IEMs.
Campfire Andromeda 2020 – Neutral-warm with massive soundstage.
Letshouer Cadenza 4 – On par with the Studio 4; I can’t pick a favorite between them. I can't describe how it sounds correctly and it's an IEM that shocked me because it (looks) like it'd be a Blessing 3 on graphs. Sounds nothing like anything out there. It's just an amazing IEM. I think it's U-shaped.
Etymotic ER2XR – Love these for sentimental reasons. My EDC setup—always in my work bag. I use the Final Audio E multipack with the red adapter and my own tips.
Dunu Kima 2 – The definition of neutral-warm to my ears. Filled the one gap in my collection (Lush, Dunu SA6 Mk2, Truthear Pure, S08, Explorer, etc.). The Kima 2 nails what I was missing.
For budget stuff which surprised me. Xuan NV and Defiant. Both are spectacular with female and male vocals. Great punchy bass. Xuan NV is a bit more...liberal with bass. Defiant sounds more...correct with bass. But both are giant killers. Though the Defiant feels like more of a dragon slayer.
Top IEMs on Reddit
1
7Hz
7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2
76% positive of 493 users
Budget gaming pick, but poor cables and polarizing bass.
48-Cobras
