[NawiLlih]

As the title might suggest, I'm, looking for the best IEM for Trance and EDM right now. I know there have been other threads for this, but the last one was from when the Westone 3 was new, as far as I can tell :/
 
The price bracket is $1-$700. If a $100 pair sounds better for Trance than a $700 pair, recommend the $100 Only the sound matters here, I'm not asking for build, accessories etc.
 
So away we go! As of 2014. what is the best IEM in existence for trance? (up to 700 bucks )
 
N.B: this is for research purposes primarily, if I was looking to buy straight away I'd be considering build, accessories and aesthetics as well.
N.B.N.B: $700 is about £400 for us Brits
 
EDIT:
I'm now adding a list of 'competitors to this OP, to give everyone some sense of where it's up to
 
EDITEDIT: Now added [Tier] explanations:
[Tier 1]: Superstars, these have been recommended repeatedly across this thread and others. These are considered solid choices for Trance.
[Tier 2]: These have received either a gushing recommendation that hasn't been followed up, or they are solid choices that don't have the army of loyal fans that [Tier 1] have. This tier includes IEMs that 'won' past Best For Trance threads but that haven't yet been recommended here.
[Tier 3]: These have been indicated, but lack sufficient love for [Tier 2] status.
 
[Tier 1]:
Aurisonics ASG-2
Yamaha EPH-100
DITA The Answer
T-PEOS H300
VSonic GR07 (and Bass Edition)
 
[Tier 2]:
UE Triple.Fi 10
T-PEOS Altone 200
Earsonics SM64
JVC FXZ200
/
Westone 3
Sennheiser IE80
Sennheiser IE8
Earsonics SM3 (and v2)
Audio Technica CK10
Audio Technika CK100 (and pro)
 
[Tier 3]:
Audio Technica IM50 
Audio Technica IM70
DUNU DN-1000
 
I'll keep this maintained as we go along

 

[nehcrow]

Up to $700? Heapssss of options. But I suggest trying something a little cheaper first before you know your preferred sonic signature.
I'd so a slight V-shape signature suits trance extremely well for most ppl (with emphasis on female vocals) - so with that in mind I'd probably go with T-Peos Altone200 (high end sound for peanuts apparently), see if you like that, identify whatever flaws you find with the sonic signature and upgrade appropriately Maybe you will love the Altone200 so much you won't even need to upgrade

 

[NawiLlih]

  Up to $700? Heapssss of options. But I suggest trying something a little cheaper first before you know your preferred sonic signature.
I'd so a slight V-shape signature suits trance extremely well for most ppl (with emphasis on female vocals) - so with that in mind I'd probably go with T-Peos Altone200 (high end sound for peanuts apparently), see if you like that, identify whatever flaws you find with the sonic signature and upgrade appropriately Maybe you will love the Altone200 so much you won't even need to upgrade

As I stated in the OP, this isn't a 'what should I buy' thread, it's a research thread, so feel free to list as many options as come to mind
 
I usually find that v-shaped signatures actually aren't that great for Trance in particular, as there's a lot going on in the mid range. Too much treble/ bass emphasis means that all you hear is air sounds and drum rolls. The mids tend to be where the 'body' of the synths lie, with the distortion being what reaches up into the treble regions.
That isn't to say that bass or treble are unimportant though. Sub-bass rumble is especially important for atmospherics, and if treble gets to splashy, then the aforementioned air noises get a bit fatiguing.
 
I have said enough
 
[/textwall]

 

[H20Fidelity]

I hear those Aurisonics ASG-2 hybrids pull off some fairly wicked EDM / Trance music

 

[B9Scrambler]

Just a thought, but do you think breaking this up in different price ranges would help?

If so, I'll nominate the NarMoo S1 for under $100. If not, I'll nominate them anyways since they have great bass presentation, a solid soundstage, forward enough mids for Trance, and nicely detailed treble without ever being simblant.

I listen to a ton of Infected Mushroom (psy-trance...close enough) and EDM, and they are amazing for it.

 

[NawiLlih]

Just a thought, but do you think breaking this up in different price ranges would help?

If so, I'll nominate the NarMoo S1 for under $100. If not, I'll nominate them anyways since they have great bass presentation, a solid soundstage, forward enough mids for Trance, and nicely detailed treble without ever being simblant.

I listen to a ton of Infected Mushroom (psy-trance...close enough) and EDM, and they are amazing for it.

Well, my consideration was that if giant-killers came up, then they wouldn't be able to fit that kind of structure. I.E if a £50 pair was crowned 'best,' then it would suit Trance better than any other pair in any range. 
This isn't a technical proficiency thread, it's a musicality and 'fit-for-genre'-ness thread.
 
if we did it in categories, then the £50 would top the Sub-100 category, but wouldn't top the 300-400 category, even if it fit better than a 300-400 pair.
 
I hope I got my point across there :/

 

[B9Scrambler]

Sure did, and it definitely makes sense

 

[NawiLlih]

Sure did, and it definitely makes sense

Thanks for the encouraging remark
 
Anyway, I thought I'd post up some of the suggestions from older threads. We'll see how they hold up against things that have come since:
 
EarSonics SM3 (and V2)
Yamaha EPH-100
UE Triple.Fi 10
Westone 3
Audio Technica CK10
A T CK100
A T IM50
...off the top of my head. there were others, but they garnered less praise than these.
 
Suggestions made so far in this thread:
T-PEOS Altone 200
Aurisonics ASG-2 
Narmoo S1
 
I'm all business, aren't I?

 

[NawiLlih]

  I will recommend to try GR07, Sennheiser IE8(orignal one) for these genres music with Amplifier but if need amazing clarity than detailed punchy dynmic sound then Sony EX1000 and Ck100Pro are great sounding.

I had intended to put the IE8 on the list earlier. I'll edit that in now. Thanks for the heads-up!
 
Is the CK100 Pro any different to the standard CK100?

 

[djcarpentier]

Phonak Audeo pfe 232. Sadly discontinued, but still findable.

 

[nehcrow]

I hear those Aurisonics ASG-2 hybrids pull off some fairly wicked EDM / Trance music

We will see soon 

I have no doubts they will be up to the task

 

[H20Fidelity]

We will see soon 
I have no doubts they will be up to the task

I have vivid memories of being in the kitchen savagely struck with bass behind my forehead. And that was with bass tuning ports idling!

 

[nehcrow]

I have vivid memories of being in the kitchen savagely struck with bass behind my forehead. And that was with bass tuning ports idling!

THAT is what I want, that physical feeling of losing braincells

 

[NawiLlih]

  THAT is what I want, that physical feeling of losing braincells

Careful, someone might hold you to that later.....
 
 
Back on topic, I found this enlightening quote about the EarSonics SM64 on Ohm Image:
" It is the first Earsonics earphone that I can flat-out recommend for trance fans."
 
'Sounds' promising (punintentional)

 

[ubs28]

I would just buy a cheap IEM for trance. Trance is horribly mastered and mixed and high-end IEM's will expose their bad quality. Something like a Shure SE215 would do fine. 
 
But if you want to spend big money, the Shure SE846 is very good for trance. (however I don't think trance music is high quality music that deserves high quality IEM's)