@lithiumnk, that's a wonderful pic. I couldn't agree with you more. I've also watched the parade of ever-improving flagship IEMs go by. I read up on the ones that catch my interest–for fun, not for purchase. No matter how many new designs, new configurations of BA, dynamic, electrostat drivers, etc., until they make an open-back like the i4, I'm not interested.
But–there is a non-IEM that has been piquing my interest in recent years: the SR1A. The thing is I'm not sure that I'm ready go to back to a full-size I have to wear on my head. The unique strength of the SR1A is in its speaker-like imaging, but I use Realiser convolution with the i4s that better simulate speaker/room. However, convolution compromises accuracy and resolution, and even if I didn't run convolution, the SR1As are still superior in that department.
The SR1A and LCDi4s are almost on the opposite sides of the headphone world in terms of form factor. Yet, that is what I'm comparing in terms of a next purchase. I got a chance to hear the Raal once at a dealer a long time ago. I haven't gone back because of Covid. Since you have both phones at home, in a desktop setup, I would love to hear your impressions between the two. My assumption is that, without convolution, the SR1A just rises above the i4s in every way at the cost of form factor. What are your thoughts?