Welcome
@Orlok - you seem like someone I'd like to be friends with. All of mine have really crappy gear.
Yes, I need friends who can understand this addiction and be supportive. I don't have anyone around who can even begin to understand what I'm going through.
I want to add that my severe affliction extends to mobile outside of my "opium den" and that I need the fix going through almost all of my waking hours. So I have the following to keep me from having nasty withdrawal reactions.
Being that I'm a nature/outdoors enthusiast who goes on 5-mile hikes daily around the local hills and trails, I have the Audeze LCDi4 to calm my nerves. Great soundstage, imaging and very open sounding for in-ears, excellent clarity and detail with the high-mids and treble being reminiscent of the HD800S, and big and strong bass as one would expect from Audeze. The EQ curve is slightly scooped with a tonality that's quite different from the LCD-3 and LCD-4. Overall, sounds quite gorgeous for being alone with nature.
For the commutes and dealing with the LA traffic, I have the JH Audio Layla CIEM being driven by Chord Mojo. Of course, for safety sake, it's only for freeway commutes through routes I'm very familiar with and for interstate cruises. The Layla is quite different from the LCDi4 - more compact in stage but with a better balanced midrange. Initially, the clarity was not on par with the LCDi4 but I upgraded from the stock cable to the Moon Audio Silver Dragon and, in this case, the improvement was rather dramatic and now surpasses the LCDi4 in some respects. The sound isolation is excellent and I can even enjoy quite nuanced music with great detail while driving.
Overall, the JH Audio IEMs are voiced more for modern pop music (Lady Gaga being a prominent endorsee and user) but I find that the Layla can handle almost anything equally well. The sound is very well balanced from top to bottom and sounds
big - not in stage but in the overall presentation. The sound is more dense with a closed-back and "in-your-skull" sound compared to the LCDi4 but still very pleasing all around. This little system makes the commutes and the notorious LA traffic much more bearable. Being stuck in traffic without this would give me serious convulsions.
And here's my trio of pandemic-furloughed devices for business travel (normally, I travel to Asia for 2~3 week trips visiting suppliers three times per year), the gym and for lap swimming: Sony WH-1000XM3 primarily for ANC (not the sound) during the long flights, Sennheiser Momentum TW for weightlifting and racquetball sessions, and a waterproofed iPod shuffle with Underwater Audio ear buds, which actually sound surprisingly good. Swimming with music is another form of euphoric high that needs to be experienced. Without it, I wouldn't swim at all. Lap swimming is an excruciatingly boring activity.
I need a stronger high than the XM3 for the flights (and the occasional hot tub sessions) and I may opt for the Apple APM when I can start traveling again to Asia and around the US. I've been reading the reviews but I really have no idea how potent it is. Reviewers say that it sounds "great", "fantastic", and like "audiophile quality" but then say it's "way too expensive".
So I'm totally confused on what kind of high it will deliver but I'm willing to give it a try. The XM3's murky midrange haziness, claustrophobic staging, and the utter lack of imaging (all the instruments sound like they are blended together in some gooey slop) bring on the withdrawal symptoms in a majorly way. I will definitely need something that provides a better fix for the long flights.
As for the occasional 60~90 minute gym usage (when I can start going to the gym again), I'm very satisfied with the potency of the Sennheiser MTW. It gets me through that time slot with no withdrawal symptoms developing at all. The sound is clear and transparent with decent stage and imaging. The lows are surprisingly big and punchy for a Sennheiser. The sound isolation is really good so I feel no need to get the 2nd generation ANC version. It destroys the Air Pods that the rest of the family has and handily beats the Sony WF-1000XM3 ANC ear buds I tried.
Once things return to somewhat normal, I'll be going out and about in a big way - including long RV excursions around the American West and shorter trips to the CA mountains and the deserts. This means I will need to make sure I can continue getting my current dosages in one form or another. For the RV trips, I can take the HMS and TT2 rig along with the TC and LCD-4. I'm investing in a 1000w battery with three AC outlets so I can enjoy my highs outside of the RV while taking in nature. But, for the shorter 2~3 day camping trips, that'll be too bulky and too much of a hassle. The LCDi4 may not be potent enough as I continue to develop a strong tolerance. That means something like the combo of Abyss Diana Phi and Woo WA11 Topaz may be needed for the backpacking trips through the mountains and the woods. I have a feeling that will provide a very strong high when I can't take my main stash of injection peripherals with me.
Mobile is very important. When the pandemic ends, we are all going to be moving about like never before but we'll still need the highs. It's a concern...
