Softears - Studio4

I felt this about Studio 4. It is sparkly and present but not harsh, which I feel is the case with Aful P8.

1. Hekse (best overall) 2. Softear Studio 4 (best sounding iem for my music) 3. He6se V2 (more dynamic than Hekse but nostalgic as comfortable. Less spacious and open) 4. Aful Explorer (like a lesser Studio 4 for commuting. Very easy listening) 5. HD6XX (comfortable and the baseline benchmark but not my go to) 6. Aful P8 (most boring sounding. Used to like it but not these days. Might be a good gaming iem but I don’t game anymore) 7. EW300 (it’s meh. Use for monitoring)

Of the ones you posted my favorite is the Dusk. Another one of my favorites is the Studio4. Those I would recommend

The softears studio 4's have the best midrange under $600 imo

Softears studio 4, i picked up the U4S recently and still the studio 4 has better vocals compared to U4S, especially female vocals are so good.

Funny that they sound boomy to me because now I'm more used to studio 4 which has that modest BA bass sound

Could try something with EST and very smooth extension if you want minimal masking like HBB Punch which is basically a KE4 with ESTs, though you're going to want to eq the bass down on punch if you want technical. Or you can try something bright like the Braindance. Also harman tuning overall like Volare/Variations would be good as they have a midbass tuck which leaves a clean impression and wider stage, or a bass-light airy harman like Studio4. Lower mids and 3k scoop can also open up the stage a lot, make everything sound very wide and enveloping and leave a very technical impression/much more layering/better perceived detail retrieval like SA6 mk2 (or ultra if you can find one) which are tuned rly similarly to Anole VX. EPZ P50 could be a good more affordable choice it's still a tribrid, with microplanars handling the treble.

I think Pilgrim is the best for detail and clarity here. I loved them but the nozzle is way too big for my ears. Studio 4 is the safest and smoothest, and with the lushest vocals, but they don’t have venting so be aware of that if you’re sensitive. P8 has rather recessed midrange, I like that but it leads to a sense of distance and less clarity that some don’t like. Fit is great and venting is great as well. Don’t have experience with dusk. For my money, if I had large ear canals, I’d go with the Pilgrim, really endgame tech for not much. P8 is the most comfortable for me.

Hard disagree with (1), Softears Studio 4 is such a set, Kiwi Ear Orchestra Lite is also a pretty damn good one too. Hard agree with (6).

Definitely Dusk over Volume S for bass. I prefer Studio 4 over both though. If your budget is $450 maybe you can consider the Kiwi Ears Hbb Punch too.

The Studio 4 is the most "shouty" of the bunch and it's BA bass is rather lean in the mid bass (albeit still good for BA bass). My vote would be on the Pilgrim since it is (to me) the most detailed but it's hard to go wrong with your other choices too. If comfort is a factor though the P8 and Dusk are better.

The Performer8 is the best performer (pun intended) for orchestral music, but considering anime OSTs can often incorporate numerous other genres, you may want to consider something that's more of an all 'rounder. The P8 is the king of clarity and detail under $500. It's still one of the best IEMs in its price range for that use case. The Studio4, which is also a stellar set, is a little more mid-forward and will be more suitable for tracks with vocals and midrange instruments (strings, guitars, etc.). The Origin is one of the few sets I passed on so I can't comment on its performance as I don't like to recommend IEMs I haven't tested myself, but if you were considering the Dusk, I'd also look at the Elysian Pilgrim. It may be the best of both worlds; it has slightly more emphasized bass than the Studio4, but it is well-controlled and will add some additional energy and dynamics to OST tracks with electronic and percussive instruments. The Dusk is still a good option. This is one of the few cases where I would argue for using it in its analog tuning. The default DSP tuning wouldn't be suitable for your preferences anyways; and you could still use the DSP cable for those times when you wanted additional tunings available, or to experiment with other genres. People forget the analog tuning of the Dusk was still a very solid effort. It often gets criticized in relative comparisons to its DSP tuning, as the DSP tuning catered to a wide range of listeners, but if you remove those relative comparisons it can still stand on its own against other IEMs on the market.

Most of these are far too V or U-shaped for critical listening work. The P8 is probably closest, but is still far from neutral. The Studio 4, which was mentioned in passing, is a set I’ve personally used for light mixing work. The Pilgrim would also work in a pinch, but would benefit from a low shelf filter to bring the sub bass extension down a bit so you’re not compensating in your mixes. I ran in-ears as my stage monitors for many years, and some of the older models from Shure, Westone, Sennheiser, and other brands are much more neutral. Most IEMs in the hobby now are fairly bass boosted, and so I still run headphones for most of my critical listening work (LCD-2/LCD-X, HD 490s, HD 600, etc.). One caveat is that FatFreq does make a reference series that might be worth checking out. And they’re fairly cheap compared to the rest of their lineup. I might start there instead.

Hmmm im not a basshead. I like a balanced sound. So i tried the teas and the p7. In the end i returned and sell them. Teas were too warm with too much bass. Tried eq but didnt work for me. Teas have nice soundstage and the bass is high quality. The p7 was not bad but i dont like the presentation in general and stayed with my fermats. I bought the studio4 instead...

I've listened to both Studio 4 and Tanchjim Origin in the past. I currently don't have them anymore but I'm gonna make this comparisons based on my memory so please take this with a grain of salt. Bass Pretty good bass on the Studio 4. At times I wish the bass could have more thump. Tanchjim Origin on the other hand has very good quality bass, but somehow it felt like you can barely hear them. A couple of db higher would've been perfect. Mids Both have amazing mids. Vocals and instruments sound really amazing on both. Everything sounds neutral and accurate. To put into rating I'd give Studio 4 9/10 and Tanchjim Origin 8.8/10 for the mids. High The high is very smooth on the Studio 4. There's no sibilance or harshness whatsoever. You can listen to them for hours without fatigue. Sometimes it feels boring/less exciting due to the lack of air and sparkles on the high region. Tanchjim Origin has beautiful sparkly high and exciting treble but still smooth. Though on certain tracks it can get borderline sibilance, but not on the level that will pierce your ears. Just be aware of that. Imaging/Soundstage Imaging capability is great on both of them, probably on par with each other. Soundstage on the Studio 4 is not too closed in, but not that huge either. Tanchjim Origin has very huge soundstage. Listening to tracks that are able to demonstrate wide soundstage is such a wonderful experience on the Origin. Comfort/isolation. Super comfortable and great noise isolation on the Studio 4. Once you put them in your ears you can barely hear any outside noises. There's ear pressure build up due to the unvented design on the Studio 4 so get yourself a pair of Tangzu Sancai eartips to solve this issue. The Origin is quite comfortable I'd say, but not as comfortable as the Studio 4 due to its ergonomic design. The noise isolation is also very poor on the Origin. There's also a little sound leakage due to the open back-ish design. Though the sound leakage is just minimal and won't bother people around you. Overall I personally prefer the Origin over the Studio 4. Studio 4 is surely an amazing IEM but sometimes they feel kinda boring due to the lack of excitement factors. Maybe if you're a dead neutral lover person you'll appreciate the Studio 4 more.

My top picks are the Pilgrim and Studio 4, the best for technical performancers up to $700-800, upgrade is the Cantor(talking pure resolving). The Pilgrim's darker, but the Studio 4 is brighter. I consider them the King and Queen. One step above all other sets around that price IMO.

Based on my listening experience, For the best price-to-performance, I'd suggest The Pilgrims and the Studio4; they're difficult to surpass given they compete technically against IEMs costing twice as much. Others I highly recommend the Volume S/Arcanis/HBB Punch. Any of these would likely be an improvement over the Tea Pro.

Interesting list and review. I'm using a SoftEars Studio4 for gaming (and music) now and I'm pretty happy with it.

I can say basically the same thing about my SoftEars Studio 4.

SoftEars Studio 4 is amazing!!

King of Neutral is Softears Studio4