[Underoath77]

Hey guys. I'm looking to get a solid CIEM that I can enjoy listening to my mixes and music on. I have a budget of 2000$ . I saw the Roxxanes by JH audio and thought WOW. Locking 4 pin, steel waveguide, designed by the king of IEMs??? But then I started hearding they aren't appropriate to be used on a mobile phone because they need a good dac, in which case I may get a cheaper one such as a UltimateEars. I would like good range, CLEAR audio and something that just makes me tap my toe.

I listen to ALOT of metal amd tons of down tuned guitars.
Thanks!

 

[galangerz]

I wouldn't call JHAudio the king of iems. a lot of innovations has been made elsewhere, and it might just be me since I don't follow news from jhaudio, but I haven't heard about anything new from them in while. last thing I read about them was a comparison to another Iem (can't remember which) and how the jhaudio ones sounded a bit muddy in comparison. the new EE lines has been making waves recently. even their entry level iem are said to be amazing quality for the price. same goes for vision ears with them coming out with their first universal IEM, dunno about the price on those yet. so many other places you can go

noble encore I heard are really good for guitars, lots of energy with good bass, some say it's too bright for them though

same can be said for some iems from 64audio but the price of them could be questionable

forgive my bias, been reading a lot of amazing thing about the empires ears line and their flagship prices still hasn't gone up like 64audio

 

[Underoath77]

Empire ears huh? Hmmm ill check em out! Any opinions on UE? And do more drivers male a better IEM? Thanks

I wouldn't call JHAudio the king of iems. a lot of innovations has been made elsewhere, and it might just be me since I don't follow news from jhaudio, but I haven't heard about anything new from them in while. last thing I read about them was a comparison to another Iem (can't remember which) and how the jhaudio ones sounded a bit muddy in comparison. the new EE lines has been making waves recently. even their entry level iem are said to be amazing quality for the price. same goes for vision ears with them coming out with their first universal IEM, dunno about the price on those yet. so many other places you can go

noble encore I heard are really good for guitars, lots of energy with good bass, some say it's too bright for them though

same can be said for some iems from 64audio but the price of them could be questionable

forgive my bias, been reading a lot of amazing thing about the empires ears line and their flagship prices still hasn't gone up like 64audio

 

[SchwarzeWolke]

I would read the thread from flinkenick if you need some inspiration.

 

[ostewart]

Liking the username (hoping you are referring to the band underoath).

Take a look at the 64 audio lineup, along with campfire audio.

 

[proedros]

I would read the thread from flinkenick if you need some inspiration.

what he said .

also Empire Ears is the new king here , so check their new lineup if you have 2K to burn

cheers

 

[Underoath77]

The Zeus XIV would be all I could afford. But is their even a point without the Adel version? I keep hearing Adel , Adel, Adel,Also 14 drivers is crqzy! But I heat they need a desperate amp and do not work well with mobile phones with no DAC. Maybe I should get a cheaper pair so I can also get a DAC?

what he said .

also Empire Ears is the new king here , so check their new lineup if you have 2K to burn

cheers

 

[proedros]

Phantom seems to be a great ciem , priced at 1800$

i have Zeus XR btw and it's fine off my sony wm1a dap

I am not a fan of noble ciems , they are good but overpriced so you can find better ones with less money - and too much self-hype from their company members , which is always a no-no in my book

EE is probably your best bet , also check Custom Art ,@piotrus-g is a great guy and he won't bullsh.it you trying to tke your hard earned money

 

[galangerz]

Great info from these guys, theyre like the pros of headfi. I agree on the noble line, even though i enjoy the noble k10ua's right now, i bought them off a guy for $950 cad ($725US). noble, 64audio i feel are the moneygrabbers. adel has been dropped by its two biggest customers i think, 64audio and EE. Ive read there may be some clinical issue with it in some peoples ears, ive read that even when it was an option, more leaned toward to more, true to the intended sound of the IEM maker rather than the more opened adel. I think it still has to be proven that adel actually works, and some might be using it as an excuse to play their music louder. some may actually need to play louder to compensate the loss of isolation.

note: reading flincenicks shootouts (and a couple other shootouts) show that the SE5U (at the time) was the most preferred, most natural IEM out, if you ever choose this, know that, if its shipping outside EU, the costs will eventually rack up to what the Zues, or Legend X costs (says one person who ordered it)

 

[galangerz]

Also, just quoting what others have said (im a noob), more drivers do NOT equal better performance. its something one can boast about sure, but the tuning and utilization of the drivers matters most. Sennheiser IE800S, warbler prelude and jomo haka are some examples of waht can be done RIGHT with one driver. some may say that the hybrid flagship w900 has muddy bass and mids. some even say the zeus was too light on bass for them. doesnt mean its bad, just means it wasnt what they were looking for. at $2000, sound signature will be a bigger deal than performance. from one TOTL to another will be like sidegrading, or a very VERY slight upgrade.

 

[hamhamhamsta]

EE Phantom would be your best bet. Its sound profile is based on flickenick 17 IEM Flagships shootout. It would be close in sound quality to SE5U, the winner of the shootout. And Phantom would scale up the better your DAP and cables are. So, there is room for improvement for you in the future. And you got the top dog of EE current IEM line.

 

[yong_shun]

Since you have $2000 to burn, you can consider Campfire Audio. They have different models to cater different personal preference.

Balanced armature: Orion, Nova, Jupiter, Andromeda (TOTL - $1099)
Hybrid: Polaris and Dorado (TOTL - $999)
Dynamic: Lyra II and Vega (TOTL - $1299)

I am currently using Nova with 2 balanced armature driver which cost me around SGD700 but unfortunately they discontinued this model. I guess there will be new model coming out soon.

With the $2000 you can get a TOTL which cost you around $1200 and you can use the remaining to get a DAP or a DAC/AMP. Sony ZX300 is a good choice and the remaining budget can be used to do a re-terminate. Change the Litz cable to 4.4mm terminal to enjoy the best sound quality

Conclusion: Campfire Audio TOTL model ($1200 on average) + SONY ZX300 ($800) + 4.4mm Jack ($50)

 

[PaganDL]

Hi Underroath77,

I would suggest for demo Audio Technica E 70, then save the rest for a good head amp or amps & other audio gear.

 

[koven]

Personally speaking, I feel Andromeda is the best bang for buck. It's $1K and I preferred it over the $3.5K Fourte. I did like the $3K U18 more, but marginally. Spend the savings on a nice DAP like WM1A.

 

[esoriel]

If you don’t mind a UIEM I’d suggest oriolus reborn/mkII. Andromeda sounds good too. The pairing with acoustune cable makes it sound really good.

As for CIEM, there’s an upcoming hybrid n8t from 64 audio. Probably on the higher end of 1k. release is somewhere in April. I’d also recommend Jomo flamenco but it’s slightly above your 2k budget. For brighter sound, you may also try qdc Gemini.

Just my 2 cents, I think EE phantom sounds rather veiled. It appeals more to western market compared to Asian market. So it’s all about your sound signature after all.