@PaganDL, do you have any intel on the M7 vs. M9? I open this question up to anyone, really.
I called Crutchfield, today, and the rep really tried steering me to the M9 - said he's listened to both and believes I'd be happier with them. Have checked out a few reviews comparing the two, and most reviewers are giving the M9 the leg up. They say that with the additional high-frequency driver (M7 has 4 drivers, M9 has 5), the treble is not "rolled off" and you get a much more balanced representation across the instrumental spectrum including percussion, etc.
Structurally, the M7 is in a plastic housing while the M9 is in a magnesium housing, purportedly providing further reduced "resonance", etc.
From there, if I were to drop $1K on a pair of stock IEMs, would I be doing myself a disservice for not looking at some CIEMs in the same price range?
Is there any logic to suggest that there are "better" components (Sony proprietary) in a $1K stock pair of IEMS than what you would get in a pair of $1K CIEMs - custom form factor obviously comprising a great deal of the cost, leaving less room for as high of quality components?
@U2Joshua,
I have the M7 but have also demo the M9 extensively so I can easily speak about both though the answer should be clear which I go for.
Honestly, subjectively & personally, without auditioning yourself, it is tricky to have a good impression & I would say the salesperson was just trying to sell you the pricer unit as it would look good on his sales quota more than anything else...
Personally, for me the M9 lacked a lot though I'm sure others will disagree...
But you have to ask yourself, is the M9 favoured due to Perception & Expectation Bias...
But good case in point, when I auditioned the M7 & M9, I also auditioned the Z1R, with not only my own DAP, Cowon Plenue D but also Sony DAPs & AK DAPs...long story short,
for me, only M7 & Z1R stood out with any distinction...though not by much...
By the way, this was over 3 days so I knew each sound signature very well by that point...
Also, gear synergy is important & personally, I find Sony DAPs lacking severely especially for their own IEMs but this is just my humble opinion.
So aside from the bling factor & high price, Z1R was & still is definitely off the table despite it having a good sound, actually remarkably similar to M7, in fact, though personally, I wouldn't call it flagship but once again, my humble opinion...
M9, even with a good source, perhaps the Highs were a
little more rolled off' than it should be though I can't comment much on this as I am not a fan of sharp Highs due to sensitive hearing among other things...
Bass response was more flabby & poorly extended, especially on Sony DAPs.
Mid Range was a little too polite as well & tended to hide behind both bass & highs more often than not...
So for me, this is definitely not an all rounder with M7 clearly taking that lead.
Honestly, I wouldn't be too hung up about material acoustics as I have heard more plastic & resin IEMs which
sound way, way better than their metal counterparts...at ANY PRICE POINT...
I also understand material science & dabble in it, I can tell you while generally metal is often better structurally, for acoustics, it all depends...but usually sucks...
Not to mention what technology &/or config, Driver or otherwise goes into said IEM matters a whole lot as well as the Sound Tuning...
There are many 'Flagship' head gear which does jack all for me sonically, where more often than not, more affordable options do more, the same goes for gear.
Unfortunately, just as a quick aside, though it is still on topic, especially in this hobby, due to Perception & Expectation Bias, there is a deep skew towards price being an indicator of quality...
Sure, the thing may be aesthetically pleasing but does it sound like it should be priced without bias?
It can be hard to say...
On the brief topic of CIEMs, while I have little experience in compared to Universals, I have tried quite a few Universal versions of Customs or IEMs which have a custom option, above $1K as with my previous statement above, price doesn't determine sound quality.
But if you are interested in the a custom option, CustomArt has the best sounding IEMs in both sound & price.
In audio, quality components certainly help but largely mean jack all as there are quality components which don't cost ridculous money...just because...Neutrik, Rean, Canare are such which come to mind...
The final thing I will leave you with is just try to demo as much as possible at various price points you're interested in with a good quality source with well recorded music then decide for yourself as at the end of the day, the only opinion which matters is YOURS, no one else's...
Hope this all makes sense.
Hope you have a great day !