It turns out the reason this was happening was that there was a significant channel imbalance around the 2000-2500 frequency range. There was often graininess in the audio in that range and the left ear was getting a lot of that graininess while the right ear wasn't. The main cause of this...

IEMS are u12t and one that came with the phone. Music is Amazon lossless. For example, on "Bad Romance" when she goes "You and Meeee" there is that crackling. Basically all listening levels except very soft.

Yeah, it's the same with two different IEMS each with different tips and cables. It's the same if I try on a different source (phone).

I put the left earpiece in my right ear and the right earpiece in my left ear. I do get the same issue with another IEM.

With IEMs, I hear crackling noises (kind of like if it's a lower quality transducer) during some passages, usually somewhat trebly, such as female vocals in my left ear. Strangely, it's only in my left ear since if I reverse the left and right earpieces I still hear it in my left ear. What could...

Can the RME adequately drive the Aryas? It seems like some people on this site are suggesting that even though the RME can generate enough volume, an external amp is needed to be able to drive the Aryas to full potential. How are the D9200s compared to the Aryas coming out of the RME?

It's conceivable that headphones could be accidentally dropped on the floor. Possible ways this could happen are by tripping over the cable or stepping on the cable while getting up, resulting in the headphones being yanked off the head.   The LCD-2 headphones weigh more than the vast...