[BrokeAudiophileMan]

Comparing (I'm a broke audiophile) my best IEM setup (Shanling UP4/7Hz Timeless) with my best headphone setup (HD600/Fiio K7) I can't help but wonder why the IEM setup doesn't come closer to the overall experience of the full size setup. You'd think a $200ish IEM would sound as good as a $350ish headphone? But it doesn't.

I'm just wondering what the scientific reasons behind this are? Also, if I shelled out for a better dongle dac and Blessing 3, would I come closer to the HD600? I can't exactly take a desktop amp with me and I can't afford a DSD gryphon so idk.

 

[lllEvo]

It really depends on what you are looking for when you say something sounds better than the other in what way? if a particular area, rendition of sound is lacking in quality or quantity then changing up the iem might offer sound that you might prefer better than the 7hz and probably the hd600s. But if it is the sensation of how a headphone deliver sounds, then I don't think it's comparable.

The sensation of air hitting the whole ear is just different and no iem can simulate that feel, since it cannot cover such surface area as a headphone does. This is not to be mistaken with soundstage. Some headphones present music in a way that sounds more centrally placed than many iems which sounds more spread out.

 

[Yodamanjaro]

It's all about the air between what makes sound and your ears. That's why if you ask some audiophiles what the best headphone is you might hear "a treated room with speakers" as an answer.

 

[dunring]

The closest to open back soundstage I've had is the Seeaudio Yume II and have an ultra version coming this week. Also Dunu S&S tips helped bump the soundstage putting an IEM just a mm or so further out.
The planar models with vents on the ends bump it out also for more of a headphone sound .

 

[ColdsnapBry]

Hd600 is a really damn good headphone. Part of the problem. 7hz timeless is also good. I feel like there's somethings my ie900 does that the hd600 cannot do. But I had to step up to near top of the line iems to get to that point.

 

[KinGensai]

It's likely due to how your HRTF influences your perception of sound.

Let's start with an actual instance of natural sound. This is the baseline. Our HRTF, the FR of the locale, the sources of the sounds, and all that form the ideal target of high fidelity equipment.

Then we get to speakers. We are cutting out the natural locale and sources of sound and replacing them with recordings amd transducers. Our HRTF remains natural and intact, and the equipment has to be tuned to get as close to natural as we can manage.

Headphones take this a step further and cut out some of the HRTF (torso, distance between ears, effect of our head shape, hair, etc) and should be tuned to compensate for this by both the designer on the hardware side and the consumer on the software side via equalizer & crossfeeder.

IEMs take this further by ignoring almost all of our natural HRTF, namely up to the first bend of the ear canal. This means even more required tuning, making this type of equipment the most subjective in quality available atm.

Comparatively, headphones can get away with more slop and still sound good, whereas IEMs need to fit a very specific set of criteria that isn't very clear without investigation.

Opinion of a layman. Take with a grain of salt.

 

[HappyDragon]

The pinna collects and directs sound waves into the ear canal, helps us localize sounds, and amplifies certain frequencies. I believe the iems problem is that we are bypassing this part of the hearing, so the listening experience will not be as good.