I'm SO SO CLOSE to hitting the "Buy It Now" button with these, but can't get myself to commit, d@mn it!
There are just too many choices in this price range...it doesn't make it an easy decision. :/
The most important factors for me are:
1. Fit & Extended Listening Comfort.
2. An overall "Balanced" sound signature.
3. Accuracy/Realism with Acoustic Instruments & Vocals. I'm a musician...drums/percussion, saxophone, and a bit of bass guitar. I also have a home recording studio set up and would also like to use these for monitoring while recording myself and as another reference when mixing, but also for casual listening.
3. Detailed & "Airy" but not harsh or fatiguing.
4. Tight, Accurate, Detailed Bass Response. Not bloated or over-exaggerated, but not too lean either.
5. Great Imaging & Sound Stage. I'm really into hearing/experiencing an accurate/wide/deep Sound Stage when the recording allows it.
Current Gear:
The most important factors for me are:
1. Fit & Extended Listening Comfort.
2. An overall "Balanced" sound signature.
3. Accuracy/Realism with Acoustic Instruments & Vocals. I'm a musician...drums/percussion, saxophone, and a bit of bass guitar. I also have a home recording studio set up and would also like to use these for monitoring while recording myself and as another reference when mixing, but also for casual listening.
3. Detailed & "Airy" but not harsh or fatiguing.
4. Tight, Accurate, Detailed Bass Response. Not bloated or over-exaggerated, but not too lean either.
5. Great Imaging & Sound Stage. I'm really into hearing/experiencing an accurate/wide/deep Sound Stage when the recording allows it.
Current Gear:
iBasso DX90
iBasso DX200 with stock Amp 1
HiBy R6 (on the way/not in hand)
Oppo HA-1
Audio-gd NFB-28 (sold but wish I hadn't!)
JBL LSR-305 Studio Monitors
Neumann KH 120 Studio Monitors
Infinity Beta 15x DIY Subwoofer
Mytek Brooklyn ADC (not DAC)
Audient iD22 & Arturia AudioFuse Recording Interfaces/ADC/DAC/Headphone Amps/Phono Preamp
ZOOM H6 portable Hi-Res recorder
Samsung Galaxy Note FE (Note 7) & Tab S2 8.0 LTE w/ USB Audio Player Pro app
Beyerdynamic T1 v1 SE & Balanced, with acoustic mods & Sonarworks calibration.
AKG K553 PRO with Sonarworks calibration.
Beyerdynamic DT-880 Premium 250 Ohm.
Grado SR125 w/ Senn. yellow foam earpads
Ora Sound Graphene Q Headphones (on the way/not in hand)
I really want to stick with universal IEMs and a ~$1,000 price range, though I've been contemplating the Noble Kaiser Encore universals, ha, but really Do Not want to spend that much!
Music/Listening Preferences:
Jazz Background, Be-Bop, Big-Band/Swing (more traditional "classic" stuff...think Miles' Kind of Blue)
Classical & selective Opera
Blues/Delta Blues
FUNK
Acoustic/Folk/Singer/Songwriter
A bit of Bluegrass & Americana
'80s/'90s/2000s Trip-Hop/Hip-Hop/Pop/New Wave/Alt. Rock/Grunge/Metal/Dance/Trance/Electronica/D'n'B
Selective Hard Rock & Prog Rock
So what ye say, Head-Fi'ers??? What other u-IEMs should I be considering in the ~$1,000 range?
My gut feeling is to go with the AKG's due to the work done by Dr. Sean Olive @ Harmon regarding Target Curve research and his involvement in the development of these u-IEMs. I've found that the Harmon/JBL Target Curve correlates extremely well with my preferences in both my home and car audio systems (the latter with a Helix DSP PRO MK2 for processing).
TIA!!!
B.B. 'da Noob