I have made this thread simply out of enthusiasm. The fact that at first you seem to be looking for the one IEM tone. The one IEM sound signature that seems to work for your music. Later after finding that, you seem to become more openminded to alternatives..............finally arriving at complementary IEMs. Having two or more (after a while) doesn't add to the confusion, but simply offers a broader window into the possibilities of tone!
This thread is in no fashion meant to diminish the importance/qualities/effort..........if you have stumbled upon THE ONE.
The possibility of having just one is great. Easier really, as you may not have to acclimate to a different IEM every once in a while! But for the group of us that have found more than one love...........what are they? How do you use them, and........has it been a journey? The arrival at the destination is important, but the journey is of equal importance!
I have made this thread simply out of enthusiasm. The fact that at first you seem to be looking for the one IEM tone. The one IEM sound signature that seems to work for your music. Later after finding that, you seem to become more openminded to alternatives..............finally arriving at complementary IEMs. Having two or more (after a while) doesn't add to the confusion, but simply offers a broader window into the possibilities of tone!
This thread is in no fashion meant to diminish the importance/qualities/effort..........if you have stumbled upon THE ONE.
The possibility of having just one is great. Easier really, as you may not have to acclimate to a different IEM every once in a while! But for the group of us that have found more than one love...........what are they? How do you use them, and........has it been a journey? The arrival at the destination is important, but the journey is of equal importance!
Yeah differently tuned IEMs are useful for various music genres/purposes.
Eg basshead IEMs can suit bass forward genres (eg EDM, hip hop) better.
Eg neutralish IEMs may ace classical, or even for stage monitoring, so as not to colour the music unecessarily.
Eg midcentric IEMs are useful for vocal pieces.
Eg V shaped sets are useful for rock, to boost the bass lines.
Eg L shaped sets are useful for treble sensitive folk.
Eg trebleboosted sets are useful for trebleheads.
On the flip side, for example, an IEM with neutral bass may sound meh when it comes to EDM.
Also, nowadays most consumer budget sets seem to be tuned closely to the harman curve, or V shaped/bass boosted. I guess a harman tuned IEM is pretty safe in a way.
And then, there are some IEMs that offer different permutations of tuning via switches or nozzles, so these IEMs in a way give greater versatility as one can tune the IEM to different sound signatures on the fly. 1 IEM can give various tunings eg QDC Anole VX, Smabat Proto, Toneking Ninetails, BQEYZ Autumn, LZ A7, TRI Starsea, Moondrop KATO just to name a few.
This was written before the last response: @https://www.head-fi.org/members/baskingshark.516219/
Probably the fact is we are still somewhat confused by multiple IEMs. I mean how could one replay be so right and the opposite be so right too? Attempting to find fidelity across the board is questionable? Meaning each of the IEMs I will concentrate on in this thread do music with a character. At times the character is un-wanted, at times it’s just OK, and at times it’s fantastic!
After response:
Yes, I agree to have multiple IEMs for different genres. Still I listen to the same music with different IEMs. It’s maybe somewhat sadistic of me? And of course it adds to the confusion, especially if you have IEMs that you love but they do opposite ends of the audio spectrum well!
Take for example:
Noble Audio K-10 Encore:
This is a crazy W signature. It comes across probably midcentric in total. But it’s not mid-forward. The midrange is basically left flat! It does its magic by having a recessive lower midrange which leaves the sub-bass. Still the sub-bass is BA and not that prominent. Combine that with a aggressive rise in an area of the treble and we have a slightly bright midrange IEM. It’s also not bright high up in the treble, so it does guitars well spread out into the soundstage, and of course vocals well.
The Sony IER-Z1R:
The EarSonics ONYX:
Here we are greeted with a lot of bass. Everything the Encore is not the ONYX and Z1R is. They are total opposite. Now at first you would think that playing contrasting music would be the ticket? And maybe it is? Though for every ounce of bass there is in the IER-Z1R and EarSonics ONYX, they are missing the Encore midrange. And....not just the frequencies. The whole spectrum which includes imaging of vocals, spacial effects and so on and so on. It’s like one is white and one is black. And the only way to enjoy them both with the same music is to concentrate on what they showcase as special! At times (actually most of the time) it doesn’t even sound like the SAME song! Lol
Obviously the IER-Z1R and ONYX make the bass special. The existence of a style of bass fully extended and detailed with bass texture and timbre.............which defines bass notes in the song, but will separate two close together (bass) instruments!
The ONYX is slightly darker than the IER, painting guitars and harmonics with an amber dull light. Yet it’s that color that makes it special and intriguing!
The Encore on the other hand leaves all that out, focusing on a spectacular midrange and all that goes into that area.
So listening to the same music allows you to focus on literally different aspects entirely! Maybe some day I will find just one IEM? Still the fact that the Encore has a lower midrange bass minus and slightly reduced BA bass makes the midrange in general big and detailed! Most of all this is mental, meaning it’s not the IEM only, it is the perception of correct that we decide to garnish the IEM with. Most of the time our judgement of correctness in an IEM has 80-90% a basis in what we have been listening to! It’s much harder than we realize to be 100% objective! When we are smitten with an IEM we are ignorant of it’s shortcomings. Still...........(there is no perfect IEM) but we are experiencing better and lesser variations of the art.
Love is blind.
It takes about a day between changing IEMs to accept the new one as correct!
Interesting topic. There are many ways to approach this in my opinion. It depends on your use case, music playlist and how long you listen to music in general.
1 IEM:
- 1 genre: You're someone that listens to the same genre of music. For example your playlist is made up of mostly vocal music. You pick up a mid centric IEM such as the Monarch MK2 or Isabelle.
- Many genres: If you're someone that listens to many different genres, you choose an all rounder like the MK2 / U12T / Traillii.
2 IEMS:
- Two specialist IEMs: You're someone that values top technicalities for your genres. You decide which two can complement your library. For example: Phonix for vocals centric music and Sony Z1R for R&B.
- 1 all rounder and 1 beater IEM: You finally got your TOTL but you buy a budget IEM like the CRA as a back up for physical activities.
- All rounder UIEM / Comfort IEM: You're a basshead so you picked up an EE LX. However the i900 fits your ears better so you listen to it longer listening sessions.
3 IEMs+
The same rules as 2 IEMs but you add a specialist for more categories. Or you add an IEM with unique properties such as the Solaris' big sound stage, A bone conductor / W9 driver EE Evo, Audeze LCD i4 for its open back design or rare IEMs from a collection standpoint.
Interesting topic. There are many ways to approach this in my opinion. It depends on your use case, music playlist and how long you listen to music in general.
1 IEM:
- 1 genre: You're someone that listens to the same genre of music. For example your playlist is made up of mostly vocal music. You pick up a mid centric IEM such as the Monarch MK2 or Isabelle.
- Many genres: If you're someone that listens to many different genres, you choose an all rounder like the U12T / Traillii.
2 IEMS:
- Two specialist IEMs: You're someone that values top technicalities for your genres. You decide which two can complement your library. For example: Phonix for Vocals centric music and Sony Z1R for R&B.
- 1 all rounder and 1 beater IEM. You finally got your TOTL but you buy a budget IEM like the CRA as a back up for physical activities.
- Comfortable all rounder / TOTL all rounder UIEM. You're a basshead so you picked up an EE LX. However the i900 fits better for your ears so you listen to it longer listening sessions.
3 IEMs+
The same rules as 2 IEMs but you add a specialist for more categories. Or you add an IEM with unique properties such as the Solaris' big sound stage, A bone conductor / W9 driver EE Evo, rare IEMs from a collection standpoint.
Yeah differently tuned IEMs are useful for various music genres/purposes.
Eg basshead IEMs can suit bass forward genres (eg EDM, hip hop) better.
Eg neutralish IEMs may ace classical, or even for stage monitoring, so as not to colour the music unecessarily.
Eg midcentric IEMs are useful for vocal pieces.
Eg V shaped sets are useful for rock, to boost the bass lines.
Eg L shaped sets are useful for treble sensitive folk.
Eg trebleboosted sets are useful for trebleheads.
On the flip side, for example, an IEM with neutral bass may sound meh when it comes to EDM.
Also, nowadays most consumer budget sets seem to be tuned closely to the harman curve, or V shaped/bass boosted. I guess a harman tuned IEM is pretty safe in a way.
And then, there are some IEMs that offer different permutations of tuning via switches or nozzles, so these IEMs in a way give greater versatility as one can tune the IEM to different sound signatures on the fly. 1 IEM can give various tunings eg QDC Anole VX, Smabat Proto, Toneking Ninetails, BQEYZ Autumn, LZ A7, TRI Starsea, Moondrop KATO just to name a few.
I guess, a person could do it with two? You would be surprised at how long I use just one IEM. That is the thing with choices, you can choose not to take them, but in your mind they are still an option.
His reply is important here as it’s a lot of common sense and there is no other reply like it.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
