I love a wide soundstage, but don't think that really exists with headphones so I care much more about imaging (speakers are another story though).
I'm with you. I love my HD800S, but my MEST MKIIs consistently bring me to tears.
Look for something from a company that implements bone conduction well (Unique Melody, Penon, FlipEar for example). It pushes IEM soundstages to their limits.
MEST Mk2 has an absolutely massive stage. More expensive options exist that bring similar features.
Just to add you are completely on point with hardware limitations. The MEST Mk2 really can’t add much more bass or the BCD/DD will get out of sync for example. BCDs won’t ever be reflected on a graph, but have significant impact on listening experience.
As someone with HD800s and Mest MKII, I share a lot of your sentiments. What helped my HD800s a lot is listening to them in quieter/silent environments. All the little environmental noise from fridge, cars outside, AC, fans etc while not really noticeable, all kind of mask details and make the headphone sound worse. That's why IEMs feel so effortless when it comes to sound quality as they block out a lot of external noises. Btw I also have small canal openings and have to use S/SS eartips. Luckily Moondrop Spring tips are very comfy to me and doesn't cause any itch.
The issue I have with the claim that frequency response is the end all be all, is that it should mean that eq can make everything sound the same.
>I've EQed the AirPods Pro 2 to have significantly better "technicalities" than any IEM I've heard.
In that case shouldn't you only rank post-eq and comfort scores? Why do any of the pre-eq sound scores matter?
Why try iems? Why own anything but a $20 dollar pair of apple earpods that you dont have to be afraid of getting stolen or broken, when eq can make it sound like the Prisma Lumen that tops your list?
Why does the Prisma Lumen top your list, if you can eq the Shure KSE1500 (that you rank 1.85 in sound) to equal that? After your eq, wouldn't the top-notch comfort of the Shure make it a better iem?
I really do appreciate the quantity of iems with low sound scores, which many others arent willing to do.
As for the list: fulgrim, alter ego, uerr, 622b, volur, camelot. 6/10 (might be missing some): u12t, trio, ve7, se5r, mest ii, moondrop solis, eminent ears emrald, inear pmx
highest tier: alter ego, fulgrim
then: uerr, 622b, camelot, volur
then: mest ii, 12t, se5r, ve7
for years i've left trade shows and shops even more content with what I own. Only recently have I found iems that were better and arguably better value. But it's hard to justify putting that much money into a non active/creative hobby.
for something easily bought relatiely cheaply i recommend the open back mv1 from sony. sounds good on my laptop, scales well with high end desktop dac/amps
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.
Accomplished-Bag6197
