[ohcrapgorillas]

TL;DR a good pair of balanced IEMs below $300 is very rare and that pisses me off
 
As much as I love my HD650 (which are probably being traded for the HD600 soon, but that's another topic altogether),  I work in an office with eight other people and because I spend most of my day in front of a computer, so I end up listening to IEMs more often than not. I also tend to cycle through IEMs, and I've owned quite a few. None of them have sounded quite right to me, there's been some critical flaw in any of them. This has been extremely frustrating to me.
 
My preferred sound signature is *natural*, which basically means balanced and neutral or just slightly off-neutral. I like bass, mids and treble and don't see why anyone would want any part of the sound spectrum to be recessed, apart from taking the edge off of the treble (although I don't personally like recessed treble) or maybe a slight but tasteful bass boost (KSC75 holla).
 
The v-style sound signature that dominates the IEM market, with exaggerated bass and treble, is absolutely offensive to my ears. I am truly baffled by the attack on the midrange, unless everyone else is listening to nothing but EDM (which is the best me-repellent ever, I absolutely loathe it and it is psychological torture for me to listen to). I've heard mid-forward IEMs too, and they're just as equally offensive: what is the midrange without bass to back it up and treble to give it life? Boring as hell, that's what.
Here are the IEMs I've been through, and what I thought of each, organized roughly by price (note that I don't own most of these anymore):
 
Philips SHE3590 (6/10) I actually really enjoyed despite being V-shaped, as the midrange is still audible without being attacked by treble or drowned by bass. Surprisingly detailed, and the bass is fun. They don't get much use these days, but I still keep them around as a pair of beaters. I think they're out in my car at the moment.
Brainwavz Delta (5/10) For the price, these are decent! Actually really nicely balanced and clean sound, but when things start to get hairy (see: metal), they lose their cool and everything becomes a hot mess. Returned because of left channel would cut out out of the box.
Sony MH1C (7/10) These are actually a great pair of headphones for the price. Bass and mids are thick but clean and resolving, but the treble is weak with poor extension. Also, the cable is basically the stupidest thing I've ever experienced. Sony, WHY did you ruin a great pair of headphones with an unbearable cable?!
TTPOD T1E (5/10) I bought these on the premise that they were balanced but with a little extra bass. I thought that sounded good, but I ended up giving these away to a friend for Christmas. The bass is definitely exaggerated, but ultimately isn't really that good. The rest of the sound spectrum is balanced as promised, but ultimately isn't that good. They have a very tiny soundstage and aren't that resolving. Very disappointing.
Brainwavz M2 (3/10) Excessively warm, bloated and mid-forward. Generally awful.
Meelectronics M6 (4/10) not bad for the gym, but not really that good either. with their mild v-shaped sound they're not my cup of tea. good starter headphones, though.
Zero Audio Carbo Tenore (6.5/10) Very good at their price point, but ultimately their exaggerated sub-bass, excessively warm mids and brittle treble were their downfall. I once played around with EQ and was amazed at how much better and cleaner they sounded when I took these down -3db at 300 Hz. I couldn't un-hear that.
Etymotic HF5 (4/10) Shame on you if you've ever called these things neutral; they're not. I could barely hear significant details in the bass, some bass lines that are definitely intended to be present although not forward were outright missing. I couldn't tell you what the rest of the sound spectrum sounded like, because I spent the entire time pissed off, straining to hear the low frequencies, and wondering why the f@#$ anyone would want headphones to sound like this.
HiFiMAN RE400 (7/10) These are pretty good headphones! Not a huge wow factor, not terribly engaging, but at least they're truly f@#$ing balanced. Slightly warm, which I don't mind, and I enjoy listening to them when the cable is in position to deliver music to the left ear (it usually isn't). 
Fostex TE05 (6.5/10) Not bad! I think these had the mildest recession in the mids, not hugely noticeable at first but over time I think it got to me. They delivered music accurately, but there was no excitement and they just weren't engaging at all to my ears.
TDK ie800 (8/10) Currently my favorite pair of IEMs. Truly balanced, good extension on both ends. Mids are clean, balanced and natural. Treble is crisp and realistic. Bass is strong but not exaggerated in any way. Bass texture is not perfect, but still quite decent. Soundstage is pretty good for an IEM. My only complaint is they feel cheap as hell and are awkwardly large but nbd I still love 'em.
Klipsch x10 (5/10) same as Fostex TE05, decent but not exciting or engaging.
Westone 2 (W2) (7/10) The best midrange outside of Sennheiser full-sized cans, unfortunately despite being touted as neutral-as-hell I found them to be fatally mid-forward. I sold these to fund the JVC HA-FX850, which was probably the worst audio-related mistake I've ever made.
 
I thought I'd identified the perfect pair of headphones, thanks to Head-fi reviews: the JFC HA-FX850. Based on reviews, these things were designed to deliver strong and bad ass bass, have an extremely realistic and natural timber in the midrange with gobs of detail up top and a wonderfully wide soundstage. Many people called them balanced, many people called them very slightly v-shaped. Many people called them an end-game IEM despite their price. Many people have called them many wonderful things. So, I saw a used pair on ebay and snagged them. I was elated to finally have my search for the perfect IEM come to an end.
 
So, I've revised my review after tip swapping. Somewhere on the third page is my new full review, but suffice to say while these things are most certainly not balanced, they are very clear and resolving and natural sounding. My apologies to anyone led astray by my original review. Not sure why the stock tips are so awful in my ears and yet so wonderful to others, but my previous review no longer stands.
 
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REVIEW BELOW IS ONLY STILL HERE FOR THE RECORD OF WHAT THESE THINGS ORIGINALLY SOUNDED LIKE ON STOCK TIPS TO MY EARS. The review above is far more accurate.
 
WELP....
 
These are the worst f@#$ing IEMs I've ever had the displeasure of putting in my ears. They are offensively v-shaped and just offensive to my ears in general; if you've ever called these things balanced, you're wrong and your hearing is bad. People swear these improve with burn-in, and even though I bought them used I've given them plenty in the desperate hope that this isn't the intended sound signature. I've tried listening to so many different types of music that I thought would be great for these. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "The Mercy Seat" from Live Seeds was hilarious: all of the vocals and most of the instruments were recessed to obvlivion, except cymbals or whenever Nick was making "s" sounds. Warren Ellis' violin in The Dirty Three had great natural timber, but was buried under more stabby cymbals and snare drums. ISIS's post-metal masterpiece Oceanic was a mess of muddy upper bass and lower mids, I never made it all the way through the first track. Even Purity Ring's psychedelic electro-pop album Shrines, a personal favorite with its combination of deep psychedelic bass sweeps and gorgeous, magical female vocals, I found that I would rather listen to the sounds of Austin public transportation than continue to have the JVC HA-FX850 ruin a perfectly good album.
 
I'm adding this line to my IEM list:
JFC HA-FX850 (2/10) Best mid and sub-bass besides the HE400. Upper bass/lower mids are bloated and bleed together. Offensively v-shaped; while the midrange is at a comfortable volume, my ears are being assaulted by a wall of ****ty, messy treble. Soundstage is ok.
 
Anyway, rant over. Thanks for reading. If you'd like any further comparisons of any other IEMs, I'd be happy to write up what I remember about them.
 
PS This isn't intended to be a purchase request, more a description of my journey and my frustrations, but if you have suggestions I'm all ears.

 

[ForceMajeure]

Well,
I appreciate your honesty and I must say that I take any review with a salt shaker as it became really difficult to discern the true properties of headphones on Headfi lately.
Trying to dust the HYPE that is going on over 50 pages on numerous threads, put some perspective over exaggerated claims and finally taking into account the pros and cons regarding not only sound quality but also comfort and overall quality became really time consuming.
Of course it helps if you can take some user advice you have learnt to trust and got familiar with more seriously.
Some might say its the younger generation faults other might take into account the increasing amount of new "best IEM's under 100$" that are flooding the market recently...
 
Anyway I am curious how you have missed the Vsonic gr07 line.
I really think it's the one you could have settled with.
In two word Vsonic gr07 fairly neutral, no dominant part over the spectrum, as long as your listening at normal to high volumes you should't expect piercing highs, good instrument separation. 
                  Vsonic gr07 BE a little bass boost and I mean a little with excellent texture, slightly behind mids (3dbs behinds bass) same treble,  good instrument separation.
Both have the same design and are comfortable to wear, good quality cable, of course a good fit is indispensable for good sound as with any IEM.       
 
Goodluck

 

[Stuff Jones]

I have similar preferences as you but I actually don't love the TDK 800s. They sound a little thin and plastic. Just don't get great realistic instrument timbre and weight with them.
 
Let us know if you do find something a little more to your liking. I've been searching fruitlessly for a while now too.

 

[jelt2359]

The 850s are a love-em-or-hate-em IEM. I think most of us who enjoy the sound also feel that something has to be done to it to get better enjoyment; whether EQ or modding.
 
That being said, the absolute last thing I would call them is balanced/ neutral. As you've mentioned, they're v-shaped, with more emphasis in the lows than the highs.
 
Have you tried the ER4P/S? The Aurisonic Rockets may be another option for you.

 

[waynes world]

Is it possible that your pair is defective? I only ask because they seem to be universally praised (I haven't heard them btw). Also, have you tried different tips?

 

[Mcgeggy]

I enjoyed reading your post because, although I do not yet have a lot of experience in the hi-fi world of iem's, I feel that my desired sound signature is the same as yours.
 
Of all the iem's in my sig, I think the Phillips sound the best so far, especially because they offer the most volume as well. They cost me $7.50 from Amazon. I like the SoundMAGIC E10M and am looking forward to how they may sound with the new xDuoo X2 DAP I just ordered (hopefully with a bit more volume).
 
In the huge multi -IEM review, the Nuforce NE-600X were described as having a:
 

 bass-heavy sound signature - The bass is deep and powerful, with impact and rumble reaching what I consider “basshead” levels."

 
But they do not sound that way to me, unless I place my finger over the hole on the back of the iem...
 
I really do not want to spend $$ on an IEM over $100 only to discover it is lacking. I almost bought the Vsonic GR07be, but settled on the VSD3 instead. That will be it for awhile (hopefully my wallet will agree with me, lol).

 

[Stuff Jones]

One hypothesis is that there's a correlation between listening to music on the go and listening to pop, hip hop and electronica which are all V shaped styles of music.
 
Another is that because its easier to hear V shaped music over ambient noise, IEMs are mostly V shaped.

 

[jelt2359]

  One hypothesis is that there's a correlation between listening to music on the go and listening to pop, hip hop and electronica which are all V shaped styles of music.
 
Another is that because its easier to hear V shaped music over ambient noise, IEMs are mostly V shaped.

I think our hearing is the keenest in the mid-range, since that's where voices are. The treble is a close second. A V-shaped signature, especially in the bass, brings out detail that is typically much harder for our ears to discern.

 

[Smurfs2010]

Breath of fresh air - thanks for the honest impressions.  

 

[Stuff Jones]

  I think our hearing is the keenest in the mid-range, since that's where voices are. The treble is a close second. A V-shaped signature, especially in the bass, brings out detail that is typically much harder for our ears to discern.

 
Interesting. But isn't the purpose of hi end audio to imitate the experience of how our ears hear music live, not distort that experience? I want to hear an acoustic guitar sound exactly the way it sounds when I play it or a jazz band to sound the same as when I go listen to them live.
 
Maybe because a lot of music now has so many synthetic sounds, there's not that baseline for people to compare what something should sound like to.

 

[omastic]

It really is a matter of taste - the FX850/750 are very colored iems, but somehow there coloration seems to be well taken by many audiophiles. As for them being labelled as "balanced' or "slightly V-shaped" or "having a natural timbre", I always take these descriptions with a large bag salt. Everyone hears differently and each individual has their own definition of what these labels mean to them.
 
I was not impressed by the JVC FX series as well, in fact almost all JVC iems I have tried seemed to be too funky and colored for my taste. 

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

  I have similar preferences as you but I actually don't love the TDK 800s. They sound a little thin and plastic. Just don't get great realistic instrument timbre and weight with them.
 
Let us know if you do find something a little more to your liking. I've been searching fruitlessly for a while now too.

 
I don't disagree with the thin and plastic sounding comment. I put them in last night before going to bed and I think you're right. Which is why I'm not stopping my search for my IEM. That being said, I still like them a lot better than any other IEM I've heard so far.
 
Right now, I'm eyeing the Etymotic ER4S and the Fidue A83.
 
I was originally told that if I hated the HF5, the ER4 wasn't going to be my cup of tea. But looking at FR charts, the ER4S doesn't have that hard roll-off in the lows starting at about 100 Hz. The downside is that it apparently soaks up power and could take a serious amp to get the most out of them.
 
The Fidue A83 reviews have all been sounding promising, with the exception that people say they don't have the best sub-bass. Which is upsetting to me, but if it can do everything else right then I'd forgive that I suppose.
 
Similarly, let me know if you come across anything good.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

 
Have you tried the ER4P/S? The Aurisonic Rockets may be another option for you.

I was once told that the ER4S wouldn't be my cup of tea if I hated the HF5, but I'm giving them a second look.
 
 

  One hypothesis is that there's a correlation between listening to music on the go and listening to pop, hip hop and electronica which are all V shaped styles of music.
 
Another is that because its easier to hear V shaped music over ambient noise, IEMs are mostly V shaped.

 
People also tend to say V-shaped sound signatures are best for rock and metal too, which I don't understand since the midrange is where, y'know, most of the music and instruments are. The only genre I could see being better suited for a V-shaped sound is EDM where everything is synthetic and there's tons of bass, and I loathe EDM.
 
And well, I just outright disagree with the theory that V-shaped sounds are easier to hear over ambient noise, that's absurd from my experience and and probably has little basis in reality. Besides, to be honest, I'd rather hear ambient noise than a V-shaped headphone.

  I think our hearing is the keenest in the mid-range, since that's where voices are. The treble is a close second. A V-shaped signature, especially in the bass, brings out detail that is typically much harder for our ears to discern.

 
Detail for the sake of detail is not why I listen to music.

 

[james444]

Originally Posted by ohcrapgorillas /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
TDK ie800 (8/10) Currently my favorite pair of IEMs. Truly balanced, good extension on both ends. Mids are clean, balanced and natural. Treble is crisp and realistic. Bass is strong but not exaggerated in any way. Bass texture is not perfect, but still quite decent. Soundstage is pretty good for an IEM. My only complaint is they feel cheap as hell and are awkwardly large but nbd I still love 'em.

 
Funny that, after all the venting and ranting about v-shaped phones, your favorite "truly balanced" IEMs measure like....
 
... a v-shaped phone. 

 

 

 ON SECOND THOUGHT #4: When two of TDK's double-driver IEMs are compared simultaneously, they clearly exhibit difference in tonality. While BA200 is tuned for neutral sound signature by following the diffuse-field reference in downsloping manner, IE800 is an over-exaggeration of original sound by emphasizing the bass & treble greatly. Although there is not much of point in distinguishing sonic superiority between these two, I personally prefer BA200 for its balance and smoother bass.

 
Source: M.R.O.

 

[339305]

I empathize with the sentiment of the OP, but a few questions come to mind. 
 

•  What type of music are you listening to?  When purchasing an IEM it's not necessarily a terrible idea to look into what genres it's supposed to complement.  If you're intent on purchasing blindly then it's best to have an open mind to the unexpected.
•  What source are you using to drive your IEMs?  Just a quick protip, try to have multiple sources on hand to see if it's a defect of the IEMs or the source itself.  Also try to search around to see if anyone else is also having the issues that are bothering you with regard to any particular piece or arrangement of gear.
•  Are the files you're listening to poorly mastered or are they quality recordings?   Some IEMs have the ability to smooth out artifacts and others don't - theoretically the more sensitive the IEM, the less forgiving.

 
Also I personally own the JVC HA-FX850, and my pair, while agreeably far from neutral, is an extremely pleasant listen.  Either your pair's defective or it veers outside your expectations for what constitutes a good sounding IEM.  But even if I wasn't immediately taken to the sound signature, I'd at least be able to understand its purpose and that others may find it enjoyable in spite of my own hypothetically disagreeable preferences.