[The-One]

It's been a long time since I've used any proper high end IEMs (the Shure SE500 were high end the last time I made a purchase lol and the UE10 pro was the best IEM in the world), and there's a lot of choice these days. For a thousand bucks or thereabouts would the best be Thieaudio Monarch MK2s? The other ones that caught my eye are the Sennheiser IE900 (previous owner of HD800 long ago), Bayerdynamic Xelento but that might just because they're established brands.

Sometimes I miss the convenience of having very good sound very portably, high end headphones are too much setup wise, but IEMs can be pretty much driven out of a phone. I still have an LG V20 w/ quad DAC and Amazon Music HD. I like good bass, and some of my favourite artists are female vocalists.

 

[ranfan]

I haven't heard the Monarch, but the IE900 are quite easy to drive and pretty good technically especially in the resolution department, provided you could get a good fit with its smaller shell

Another IEM I recently found which I rank highly, is the Softears Volume. May not cost $1000 (only $300), but it's damn good for female vocals and percussions. One of the best in terms of separation or layering regardless of price. Immersive to listen with. Highly recommend giving a try

 

[David Giler]

I haven't heard the Monarch, but the IE900 are quite easy to drive and pretty good technically especially in the resolution department, provided you could get a good fit with its smaller shell

Another IEM I recently found which I rank highly, is the Softears Volume. May not cost $1000 (only $300), but it's damn good for female vocals and percussions. One of the best in terms of separation or layering regardless of price. Immersive to listen with. Highly recommend giving a try

I second, the Softears volume is definitely great for vocals, both female and male vocals. Some complain that it might be too shouty though, but I don't mind it. For me for my preferences, I preferred the volume over the monarch mkii, clairvoyance, Sony IER-Z1R and many other flagships.

 

[The-One]

I’m also interested in the monarch or the monarch 2. I currently have the oriveti oh500. Thinking of selling them…any advice on if the monarchs are a substantial upgrade to the orivetis? Thanks

I made this thread in Feb, it's now August. In that time haven't yet bought an $1k iem, though I did grab a $150 Sennheiser IE300 on Amazon Prime Day sale. And by now I'd probably not spend as much and try a pair or Yanyin Moonlight ($650) when I get the chance. Currently they do not ship to where I live and due to covid in China its bad travelling there (used to regularly go every 1-2 years)

 

[GrBm]

There are a lot of very good IEMs for around $500. Moondrop Variations, Thieaudio Oracle etc. For the 1-300$ range you can pretty much grab anything from one of the more respected manufacturers and you’d probably be good (with minor research).

But something like the Monarch MKI or MKII are quite large and fit would be an issue for quite a few