Sony - IER-M9

What's your budget if you have the funds my recommendation is the Sony IER -M9.

It should be fine as long as you don't try to deep insert them if you are using silicone tips. Divinus velvets, acoustune aex70, xelastecs, and both baroque tips work for me, but that mostly depends on your ears. The eartips should seal enough to not create a vaccum seal. The downside with silicone tips and the m9 is that noise isolation is much worse compared to foam tips.

I would recommend demoing the m9 if you can. I find that the sound changes quite a bit depending on the eartips. Also, the textured coating could be uncomfortable.

**1. poor iem seal** **2. specific product choices.** the ier-m9 is a very poor performing iem regardless of price. i love sony, i use their mv1 (highly recommend you try) and a wm1a, but their iems are not it. thieaudio is meh. Go try the ve7, ve8, 64 audio 12t, 64 audio 18s, nostalgia camelot, ue18+ pro, ue11 pro, uerr if they have it. and the brise fugaku while you're at it. ***trying stuff is free*** Fiio dacs sound bad, same for most low end chinese source gear end. use your phone, wm1a/zx300/Lotoo/cayin dap, or a desktop setup by holo **3. music genre** pop is less picky than say, classical, metal, and jazz **4. diminishing returns** **5. your ears are not trained to pick up on sensitivities within the music** a blessing and a curse. there are music courses that teach how to listen to music, and ear training courses. music majors and those studing at a conservatory, for example, are generally more skilled at listening than the average person

IE600s are notoriously v-shaped IEMs that are pretty far out from neutral with exaggerated bass and treble. In terms of form factor there isn't really a like-for-like replacement for something as small as the IEs. Some additional recommendations worth checking out: Aful Dawn-X, laid-back and natural sound, almost inoffensive. Symphonium Crimson, aggressively fun like the IE600. 4 BAs make it one of the simplest constructions in that price range. Symphonium Europa, a more balanced brother to the Crimson. Letshuoer Mystic 8, very dry tonality but that's also what makes it special. A statement piece of an IEM. Actually close to neutral, as in, most people will find there's too little bass. Yu9 Que, if you could get your hands on one. The hype mainly comes from its price-performance ability and it could absolutely go toe-to-toe with many $1k sets, though I find its tuning stereotypical. It's a solid all-rounder choice if I don't know what your tuning prefs are. 64audio Tia Trio, if you're considering the U12t already you could also consider this. Some of the best bass I've heard in an IEM bar none. U12t sounds boring by comparison. Sony IER-M9, another laid-back oldie and a perennial competitor to the IE600. Depending on where you are, they could be had for cheap. Warm neutral presentation with treble boost, dynamics are its Achilles heel. Thieaudio Valhalla, much more refined v-shape presentation than the Monarch MkIV and more comfortable. Given your budget goes up to $2k, this is very much worth checking out. In terms of fit, Thieaudios are notorious for big shells and contentious comfort, so the advice is always to try before you buy if you could. You'd have the best luck with 64audio, maybe Symphonium, but Symphoniums will take some time getting used to because they aren't vented.

Supernova's nozzles have a small lip and I've had no problem fitting tips, though its nozzle size means you'd need some persuading for smaller tip nozzles. Might be a camera angle issue because it's not that noticeable with black resin. It's also available in plain black if that's your jam. I prefer using [B&K 5128 graphs](https://graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?share=JM-1_Target,Supernova,IE600&bass=0&tilt=-0.7&treble=0&ear=0) for comparing because it's a better measuring rig but I also understand Crin doesn't have measurements of the U12t or the tia trio on the 5128. U12t has physical modules that let you adjust the amount of bass so that might be worth checking out before you even consider EQ, [Precog's graphs](https://precog.squig.link/?share=IEF_Comp_Target,64_Audio_U12t_S3_\(M20\),64_Audio_Tia_Trio,64_Audio_U12t_S3_\(M15\),64_Audio_U12t_S3_\(MX\)) give a good idea of the differences. You can't determine bass 'quality' on driver type alone. While the tia trio does have 'better' bass than the U12t IMO, by no means does this mean the U12t has 'bad' bass. It's still rich and powerful and outperforms many DDs out there, and the same goes for its little brother the U6t. Also depending on where you are, for all of the IEMs discussed, go used if you're willing to. You might get a better deal because they are relatively old.

I like neutral with sub-bass boost though a well-executed warm tuning I can get behind as well. I used to have a set of Sony IER-M9s before I sold them, and those have a pretty notable midbass boost.

Sony IER-M9

Yeah you'll have to find a set secondhand. It's worth the effort.

Bang for buck means something different to everyone, especially considering that we all perceive tunings differently and appreciate different sound signatures. (Sony IER-M9, second hand, is the answer)

I have the Sony IER-M9 at the moment, which I really enjoy. But some new ones would always be cool

Grab a Sony IER-M9. It's still an absolutely superb IEM even today and has the warm, smooth, easy listening vibe you're looking for. I have basically given up on finding something that is more detailed or that has better imaging than my M9. Comfort and accessories are also top-notch. The stock cables are like magic. You'll get a 3.5mm cable and a 4.4mm balanced cable along with something like sixteen pairs of ear tips in various sizes. Out of the box it has great bass impact and texture, but it also handles large eq adjustments well if you want to crank up the bass.

Legend - MDR-R10, Qualia010 Classics - MDR CD3000, SA5000 Studio classics - MDR 7506, V6, V7, CD900, CD900ST Modern Studio - MDR M1, MV1 and M1ST Modern flagship - MDR Z1R In-Ear monitor - MDR EX800ST, EX1000, IER M7, M9 Modern In-Ear monitor flagship - IER Z1R

Odd diatribe. Are you some kind of mind reader who somehow knows that most IEM buyers are lying to themselves and are actually just getting hoodwinked into wasting money by spending more? And how can you possibly know that IEMs aren’t “worth” their price? Worth is subjective, in the eye of the beholder. I disagree with your central claim that IEM buyers are not “getting quality for what they are paying.” I’ve owned IEMs across a reasonably wide price range from $15 to $1,300. The list of them includes the KZ ATE, Moondrop Aria, 7Hz Timeless, Sony IER-M9, Thieaudio Monarch MK4 and Nightjar Singularity. I also listened to the Elysian Pilgrim and Pilgrim Noir for a week when they were sent around on a demo tour. My source has either been a dongle DAC/amp (L&P W2, Cayin RU7) connected to an iPad or the Chord Mojo 2 + Poly streaming Roon. Each of the IEMs I listed sounds different and the sound quality is strongly, positively correlated with the price of the IEM. So as an example, the $220 7Hz Timeless sounds good and most people would be happy with it, but it delivers wooly, somewhat bloated bass. It’s really noticeably inferior in sound quality when compared to the Monarch MK4 or Nightjar Singularity, both of which sound much better to me. When I consider whether to buy an IEM, I don’t care about aesthetics in the slightest. I use IEMs exclusively at home and neither I nor my wife cares how they look. What I do care about is whether an IEM will last, meaning I greatly prefer IEMs with recessed 2-pin cable receptacles or MMCX connectors and try to make sure that the IEM manufacturer offers good long-term customer support. I won’t spend more than $1,500 on an IEM and think the pricing of TOTL IEMs has become absurd. You can buy a really good 2-channel system that will last forever for the price of some IEMs. You’d have to be very gullible to be “tricked” into buying IEMs by YouTube reviewers or comments from internet randos. Most hobbyists do a fair amount of legwork before buying. Ideally, you attend meets to actually demo IEMs to narrow down to the ones you like. On top of that, it’s worth seeing whether a consensus forms around an IEM among people you personally know or at least trust from their post history on various forums, but only after a new IEM loses its flavor-of-the-month status. And it makes sense to talk to retailers to see if the brand offers good long-term customer support. Finally, headphones offer a different listening experience from IEMs. I own a high-end headphone rig to listen to a set of HD800s. Yes, it offers a more realistic soundstage and better dynamics than IEMs, but the downside is that good full-size open-back headphones (which almost always sound better than closed-backs) don’t block out external noise, they leak noise to people around you, and are heavy and uncomfortable to wear for long periods. IEMs are more “in your head” but I really like how comparatively weightless and comfortable they are and how well they isolate from external noise.