i am only a few months into this hobby and i have only tried cheap iems but i struggle to understand what expensive iems provides more soundwise, i've seen from youtube videos that some people have mistaken cheap iems for expensive ones which baffles me more. juding from reviews the biggest differences are tuning, which doesn't make sense to me because Eqing exists, and i don't get how tuning affects price and SOUND QUALITY itself since there no objectively "bad tuning". another difference are the materials which from my knowledge doesn't necessarily improve the sound quality just how the iem themselves feel, then there are the drivers which i do not know much about, what i do know however is that a single dynamic driver which is present in a lot of iems from cheap to expensive is more than enough to produce great sound. lastly there are technicalities which i still struggle to understand.. at all, the most i know are that on some iems i can hear the instruments more as in i can tell which instruments are being played better. can someone please educate me? my main motive for this question is because i want an upgrade to my moondrop lan which i found lackluster
what exactly is the difference between a cheap and expensive iem?
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Dogmatrix
Headphoneus Supremus
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Really cheap stuff can have a very short life span
One thing you pay for is quality control, in audio matching left and right is quite important
All said and done it is mostly a matter of finding something you like that interacts well with your gear
One thing you pay for is quality control, in audio matching left and right is quite important
All said and done it is mostly a matter of finding something you like that interacts well with your gear
so sound wise price doesn't matter?
Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
Ok.....maybe.......basically 80% of why you like a signature can be from frequency response. That means that the other 20% varies in technicalities.
Go look-up what all the technicalities are.
It’s an even, correct and complete FR that can begin to be of value. With that said low cost IEMs typically don’t have an element of realness to the tone. They can still be enjoyed and loved, but things like a developed treble are going to be typically found in more expensive IEMs. More expensive IEMs are going to do things like bass timbre and midrange expansion that will add to the realism. Though the fact is at times people argue these concepts because they 1) haven’t heard real instruments played or 2) are only into like rock and are liking one genre, where they think a non-well rounded IEM is still the bomb. But having an over all well rounded example is important too. Laughably Rock is one of my favorite genres!
The main learning thing isn’t necessarily judging the IEM, but learning to hear. Not to be snobby, but understanding the replay quality is a huge part of understanding the difference between cheap IEMs and TOTL. So the quest really starts with you and your perception of playback!
So entry let’s say $20.00 only gets you so far. That doesn’t mean they offer a bad FR because now on 2023 there can be amazing FRs found for your bargain price.
But as you move up the scale you start to encounter realism. Such facts of life will only be found at times through side by side comparisons. So it’s both objective realities of FR and technicalities which will place you into a more realistic playback. Still the confusion starts with IEMs often sound different at different volume levels, they often only play one genre really well, or play a bunch of genres really well.
Also all this depends on complete systems, meaning the quality can be found at times with the right DAP, or the right cable or the right IEM for your personal goals.....synergy!
The goals depend on what style of music is important, or personal sound signature preference. What is your ear anatomy like, what volumes are you into listening at.
So there are a few things to thInk about.
Remember there can always be a TOTL which is still not even, complete and correct in playback. But if you truly understand what you have and are OK with that fact, still all is well. Nothing is perfect out there, there is a confusing level of gear for sale! But it is the result of whole systems getting synergy which blends with what you are after. Only you can determine what you are after, and it even takes time to know what you want, or when to break the rules.
Ultimately there can be communication which is emotion, that is the final judge of quality, and it isn’t always the most expensive IEM.
Cheers!
Go look-up what all the technicalities are.
It’s an even, correct and complete FR that can begin to be of value. With that said low cost IEMs typically don’t have an element of realness to the tone. They can still be enjoyed and loved, but things like a developed treble are going to be typically found in more expensive IEMs. More expensive IEMs are going to do things like bass timbre and midrange expansion that will add to the realism. Though the fact is at times people argue these concepts because they 1) haven’t heard real instruments played or 2) are only into like rock and are liking one genre, where they think a non-well rounded IEM is still the bomb. But having an over all well rounded example is important too. Laughably Rock is one of my favorite genres!
The main learning thing isn’t necessarily judging the IEM, but learning to hear. Not to be snobby, but understanding the replay quality is a huge part of understanding the difference between cheap IEMs and TOTL. So the quest really starts with you and your perception of playback!
So entry let’s say $20.00 only gets you so far. That doesn’t mean they offer a bad FR because now on 2023 there can be amazing FRs found for your bargain price.
But as you move up the scale you start to encounter realism. Such facts of life will only be found at times through side by side comparisons. So it’s both objective realities of FR and technicalities which will place you into a more realistic playback. Still the confusion starts with IEMs often sound different at different volume levels, they often only play one genre really well, or play a bunch of genres really well.
Also all this depends on complete systems, meaning the quality can be found at times with the right DAP, or the right cable or the right IEM for your personal goals.....synergy!
The goals depend on what style of music is important, or personal sound signature preference. What is your ear anatomy like, what volumes are you into listening at.
So there are a few things to thInk about.
Remember there can always be a TOTL which is still not even, complete and correct in playback. But if you truly understand what you have and are OK with that fact, still all is well. Nothing is perfect out there, there is a confusing level of gear for sale! But it is the result of whole systems getting synergy which blends with what you are after. Only you can determine what you are after, and it even takes time to know what you want, or when to break the rules.
Ultimately there can be communication which is emotion, that is the final judge of quality, and it isn’t always the most expensive IEM.
Cheers!
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There's an interesting study here from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, showing that frequency response doesn't correlate to retail price: https://asa.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1121/1.4984044
This study incorporates 283 transducers, from budget pairs to TOTL $5K gear.
I guess sometimes consumers think more expensive = better sound, a high price tag can definitely give bias. FWIW, from my personal journey, I would say in general, as you go up the ladder from budget -> midFI -> TOTL, the diminishing returns kick in very very hard. Have also tried a few so-called TOTL IEMs that sounded quite poor, compared to cheaper sets. The sweetspot is arguably in the midFI region IMHO.
so the difference is how "real" an iem can play audio?Ok.....maybe.......basically 80% of why you like a signature can be from frequency response. That means that the other 20% varies in technicalities. It’s an even, correct and complete FR that can begin to be of value. With that said low cost IEMs typically don’t have an element of realness to the tone. They can still be enjoyed and loved, but things like a developed treble are going to be typically found in more expensive IEMs. More expensive IEMs are going to do things like bass timbre and midrange expansion that will add to the realism. Though the fact is at times people argue these concepts because they 1) haven’t heard real instruments played or 2) are only into like rock and are liking one genre, where they think a non-well rounded IEM is still the bomb. But having an over all well rounded example is important too. Laughably Rock is one of my favorite genres!
The main learning thing isn’t necessarily judging the IEM, but learning to hear. Not to be snobby, but understanding the replay quality is a huge part of understanding the difference between cheap IEMs and TOTL. So the quest really starts with you and your perception of playback!
So entry let’s say $20.00 only gets you so far. That doesn’t mean they offer a bad FR because now on 2023 there can be amazing FRs found for your bargain price.
But as you move up the scale you start to encounter realism. Such facts of life will only be found at times through side by side comparisons. So it’s both objective realities of FR and technicalities which will place you into a more realistic playback. Still the confusion starts with IEMs often sound different at different volume levels, they often only play one genre really well, or play a bunch of genres really well.
Also all this depends on complete systems, meaning the quality can be found at times with the right DAP, or the right cable or the right IEM for your personal goals.....synergy!
The goals depend on what style of music is important, or personal sound signature preference. What is your ear anatomy like, what volumes are you into listening at.
So there are a few things to thInk about.
Remember there can always be a TOTL which is still not even, complete and correct in playback. But if you truly understand what you have and are OK with that fact, still all is well. Nothing is perfect out there, there is a confusing level of gear for sale! But it is the result of whole systems getting synergy which blends with what you are after. Only you can determine what you are after, and it even takes time to know what you want, or when to break the rules.
Ultimately there can be communication which is emotion, that is the final judge of quality, and it isn’t always the most expensive IEM.
Cheers!
can you recommend me some great mid fi iems?
Will need you to advise on these questions first, so the community can give a better recommendation:
1) Budget?
2) What music genres do you listen to?
3) Are you a basshead, treblehead, treblesensitive, midcentric preferred listener?
4) What source are you using?
Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
That is absolutely correct. Yet since no recording studios are standardized in playback, playback the original event recorded is lost in time. There for anyone’s guess what is real.
Record stuff in LA then travel to Colorado and the listening room has different speakers, it is called the circles of confusion. Yet while each recording sounds different still good ones have a more real and natural sound. Or at least close to what the recording engineers and producers wanted. Still it’s only in a proximity of correct. So it will never be exactly right, but we are looking for more real.
Thus everything.....the decay to how the rooms sound, the texture of the bass, how the FR is presented, everything. But still within that there are DDs that do one way, BAs that are clear but offer a slight off timbre.
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requal
100+ Head-Fier
What is the difference? It's gonna be very simple: the difference is that some are expensive, others are cheaper. Contrary to everything you hear - if you are an audiophile, never buy equipment more expensive than you can afford these days. In a week your equipment will be worth half. And if you damage something in it you'll be glad you managed to sell it.
If you are on a budget there is no point in going any further. Today's cheap earphones/items and audio gear is very good.
If you are on a budget there is no point in going any further. Today's cheap earphones/items and audio gear is very good.
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1) let's say below $100
2) i don't think i can give a definitive answer as my playlist is a mix of literally anything but i don't listen to genres like metal or punk or anything more aggressive and loud (?) genres
3) i DO NOT want a bassy iem i dislike bass, i like mids and a bit of treble (not sure if this means anything but i found the samson sr850s to be very shouty)
4) just my phone and computer, i do have a dongle dac however and i do not plan to upgrade them
alright thanks for the insight
For Sub $100 USD, read about the Simgot EA500, Tripowin Olina SE, Truthear HEXA, DUNU Titan S.
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