megabigeye
Headphoneus Supremus
Hi everybody!
I hope you'll be able to help me out.
I'm looking for a $200-$600 universal IEM, with tastefully boosted but well controlled and detailed bass, neutral-to-warm mids, extended-but-forgiving treble, capable of sounding “mean” or aggressive (like distorted guitars, etc.) as needed, detailed but not unforgiving, exceptional isolation and comfort, low profile. I also love detail and dynamics. Good soundstage is nice, but less of a priority.
I own both the DT 1990 and the HD 650 and I’d love an IEM that falls somewhere between the two in both technical ability and sound signature. Yeah, I realize they’re both open-back and that an IEM is going to be different, but I want them to be on a par.
I have very eclectic taste in music. I listen to most genres, or at least some sub-genre of most genres.
I’ll be using them primarily with my phone using UAPP and a DragonFly Red.
A few of my concerns;
IEMs I’ve been eyeballing:
And a couple that I’ve turned down for various reasons:
So far I’m leaning toward the Shure or Custom Art.
Any of the above that I definitely should or shouldn’t consider? Any other recommendations?
Thanks in advance for everybody’s help!
I hope you'll be able to help me out.
I'm looking for a $200-$600 universal IEM, with tastefully boosted but well controlled and detailed bass, neutral-to-warm mids, extended-but-forgiving treble, capable of sounding “mean” or aggressive (like distorted guitars, etc.) as needed, detailed but not unforgiving, exceptional isolation and comfort, low profile. I also love detail and dynamics. Good soundstage is nice, but less of a priority.
I own both the DT 1990 and the HD 650 and I’d love an IEM that falls somewhere between the two in both technical ability and sound signature. Yeah, I realize they’re both open-back and that an IEM is going to be different, but I want them to be on a par.
I have very eclectic taste in music. I listen to most genres, or at least some sub-genre of most genres.
I’ll be using them primarily with my phone using UAPP and a DragonFly Red.
A few of my concerns;
- That with “Chi-Fi” (*shudder* that’s a kind of awful expression) and other bargain basement stuff will sound decent at the expense of being an otherwise good product.
- Also slightly worried about shipping and returns for international stuff.
- That balanced armatures might not quite deliver the bass I want. My old qJAYS had great sounding bass, just not enough of it. Don’t know if newer and/or better earphones are capable of delivering more.
- That dynamic and hybrid earphones won’t offer the isolation I want.
IEMs I’ve been eyeballing:
- Shure SE535 — This has been around a while; has it become long in the tooth or are they becoming classics?
- Custom Art FIBAE2 universal — A little nervous about returns, etc., if needed.
- iBasso IT04 — These look huge and I’m not a fan of the looks. Though somebody told me they have the same signature as the DT 1990.
- FLC8N (I think that’s the newer one, right?) — Ergonomics/fit look like they may not be the best. I’d also rather just have a one-and-done sound sig. I know once I find the setting I like, it’s just going to stay there.
- Orivetti New Primacy — Haven’t really looked into these yet. Are they up to par with the others?
- MassDrop Plus Universal — Might like the tuning on these, don’t know if technically they’re as good as I want. Also, I’ve read a fair amount about quality and cable issues. MassDrop doesn’t seem like a great company to deal with.
- ???
And a couple that I’ve turned down for various reasons:
- Campfire Polaris — Worried about comfort, but mostly the male vocals suck-out sounds like what I dislike about the PM-3.
- Noble lineup — Universals are just too blingy and bulky, and the customs are too expensive for reshelling (which I assume I’d have to do in 2-3 years).
So far I’m leaning toward the Shure or Custom Art.
Any of the above that I definitely should or shouldn’t consider? Any other recommendations?
Thanks in advance for everybody’s help!