But hey on the plus side maybe some competition will have Fiio finally add LDAC to their lineup

This post is mostly for my own posterity but for anyone who is rocking the XM4 and is able to use EQ settings they can give these a shot. These, for my ears, and my tips (which are the SpinFit CP100) gives the most balanced sound without being too "shouty":

Ah, yes, the Fokus are one of the few TWS I haven't tried since I didn't want to mess with their return policy... But I can imagine they sound very good, especially with EQ. The Edifier Neobuds Pros on the other hand were definitely not as good as they were made out to be. Below even the...

So, out of all the TWS earbuds I've tried, the Sony XM4s are by far, BY FAR the best. Though, there are a couple caveats: 1) EQ is mandatory for good tuning. The Sony app comes with a graphic EQ which is actually pretty good. I used the treble boost setting but take the 16k band back down to 0...

Yeah, the U12t is a safer bet for sure but, honestly, against the Monarch it's hard to justify the price increase. While it fixes almost all of the Monarch's issues it also loses the subwoofer-like bass and the whispy treble. So you can say, though its coherence (and mid-bass) is better its...

Cool to see another with such high praise for Monarch! I keep coming back to it as well. Its subwoofer-like bass and, like you say, smooth mid and treble tuning just lets you enjoy music in a unique way. Though, nitpicking, of course, I recognize the coherence issues, particularly BA-timbre in...

That's a great idea and exactly what I keep end up doing, haha! I'll never part with the Monarch MKI due to its unrivaled sub-bass just like I'll never part with the Anole VX due to its unrivaled resolution. The U12t is a better all-arounder out of the three for sure but that just makes it more...

No they are not more comfortable. The Sony Hybrid EP-EX11 might be what you're looking for as they also give a warm sound signature similar to the Final Audio tips however the material is much softer. I don't find the Spiral Dot++ sound signature to be comparable to those two, however.

Hey, so an update. I was able to compare the U12t's sub-bass on that song in comparison with the Monarch and Anole VX. And it certainly leans closer to the Anole than the Monarch. In fact, I was also able to compare against a neutral speaker (with subwoofer) setup and it most closely...

Couldn't agree more and consider, for the most part, we're not listening to live recordings we're listening to small recording room studio performances. This is why, for me, a set with good BAs like the Anole VX which handles the bass frequencies as accurately as my headphones and doesn't...

Ok, yeah, I'm not going to sugar coat it. You will not get the same rumble out of that song with the Anole VX. At comfortable listening volumes the Anole gets maybe 80% of the way there WITH the bass boost switch flipped on. But after cranking the volume up with the Monarch it feels as if you...

I went Monarch (original) -> Anole VX The biggest differences for me are resolution (detail retrieval and texture) and coherence (all levels of frequency have the same timber) greatly favor the VX. Otherwise, I EQ the Monarch's mid-bass so things like kick-drums don't sound so anemic. And the...

I can comment on the couple that I own and have extensive metal listening experience with: I'm not sure what "rich enough" means but I will say these are the only IEMs I've heard that can possibly keep up with a genre such as Tech Death Metal. They definitely compare in detail...

Oh shoot, sorry I didn't see this post until now! I recommend for the Sony's that you do not use their provided tips since the hybrid material (being some sort of foam?) dampens details. Any aftermarket silicone or AZLA Xelastec's TPU (or AZLA's Crystal) should do much better for metal.

I absolutely couldn't agree more. I should have said that a track such as the one I posted is an exception to the rule of greatly diminishing returns. For the usual 99% of cases which apply to over 99.99% of people, a $2000 IEM will in no way sound even 2 times better than a $50 IEM let alone a...

It also vastly depends on the listener's library. I remember I had some fun comparing a $50 IEM vs. a $2000 IEM for some user's library picks and came to the conclusion that, for what they listen to, the $50 IEM was able to portray the music at least 85% as well as the $2000 IEM. On the other...

Damn. I got excited because I thought the 112s were 2-pin like the SA6. Looks like we're still waiting for the 2-pin UTWS5s to start shipping... Nice photo though! :ok_hand:

Agreed with you guys. While I love the Monarch and wish it had more of a bump at 150 Hz without EQ this is going to be a "wait and see what reviewers say" situation for me, too.

Well, it certainly LOOKS like a cheap IEM. Like, I know looks are subjective but good lord.

I think that's a bit unrealistic... but they should sound much better than the UTWS3 and every other TW cable currently on the market 👍

Just FYI, HifiGo is taking preorders now as well.

For a technically capable IEM with relaxing treble and amazing imaging and soundstage would recommend the Sony M9: https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/sony-ier-m9/ I see brand new it's a bit out of your budget but open box/used is frequently below $750. Oh, one added benefit is you can probably...

Too different. U12t has slower more natural decay, especially if you come from speakers or dynamic (non-Focal) headphones. VX has super-fast, almost-unnatural attack and decay like a planar headphone. U12t is more bass-focused where as the VX is more treble-focused. That is to say neither does...

Oh, don't get me wrong, Monarch is competitive in the sub-bass and treble with any IEM, for sure. Though, bass and mids are quite rough and with an especially BA-sounding timber. And, when taking into consideration dynamics, timber (and so coherence), resolution, imaging I just don't think it's...

Like I said before, the Monarch is the only "high-end" IEM I consider to be well worth its retail price since it keeps up with IEMs $1,000 and well over such as the aforementioned Z1R, the Mest, the Odin, etc... Only IEMs it doesn't keep up with are the U12t and Anole VX, IMO.