Hello there Head Fi-ers! This is my very first post on this forum so please go easy on me. Weirdly enough though, I've been following this forum and specifically the IEM threads for about 1-2 months now, but only joined as a member recently. I am by no means an "audiophile" in every sense of the word, but I've enjoyed personal listening ever since I was a young boy and got my first pair of buds (they were the stock Apple earphones that came with my first gen 512mb iPod Shuffle) by the way. I'm currently using a pair of W4s which I love very much, but am considering making the switch to custom IEMs.
Which leads me to my question: Which custom IEM suits me best??
Some of my favorite artistes: The National, Deerhunter, Freelance Whales, Bon Iver, Jeff Buckley, Chromatics, Beach House....
Naturally, the ES5 is one custom that I'm looking at. However, I've heard good things about the JH13, UE18, and some UMs. I mostly listen to indie, soft rock and occasionally some classical music. I value transparency very highly in IEMs, and would appreciate a good amount of bass that is more detailed than overpowering. Also, a wide soundstage wouldn't hurt. I listen to music mostly on the go (on the commute, walking around town), so I don't use any amps. Price is something of a dealbreaker to me, so recommending top-of-the-line $2000+ buds, while appreciated, isn't really something I can afford right now. I would say my budget would be up to around $1, 200 max. I am looking at a few 2nd hand customs, however.
So far I've narrowed down my choices to the ES5 and the JH13, but considering that I'm relatively new to the world of high end monitors, I'm still open to suggestions outside of those two as well. Thanks in advance and have a great day!
Which leads me to my question: Which custom IEM suits me best??
Some of my favorite artistes: The National, Deerhunter, Freelance Whales, Bon Iver, Jeff Buckley, Chromatics, Beach House....
Naturally, the ES5 is one custom that I'm looking at. However, I've heard good things about the JH13, UE18, and some UMs. I mostly listen to indie, soft rock and occasionally some classical music. I value transparency very highly in IEMs, and would appreciate a good amount of bass that is more detailed than overpowering. Also, a wide soundstage wouldn't hurt. I listen to music mostly on the go (on the commute, walking around town), so I don't use any amps. Price is something of a dealbreaker to me, so recommending top-of-the-line $2000+ buds, while appreciated, isn't really something I can afford right now. I would say my budget would be up to around $1, 200 max. I am looking at a few 2nd hand customs, however.
So far I've narrowed down my choices to the ES5 and the JH13, but considering that I'm relatively new to the world of high end monitors, I'm still open to suggestions outside of those two as well. Thanks in advance and have a great day!