[Lindholdt]

Hi all
First post here, I'm super excited to learn more about headphones and IEM's.

I'm a long time "Audiophile" but have almost exclusively used speakers in the past. But now that I have a newborn in the house, I can't fire up my speakers as I'm used to, and therefore I started looking more into what headphones have to offer.

I visited a local dealer, and heard a few models, including the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth which really gave me a great experience. It is also double of what I expected to pay for a headphone, but I'm considering paying the price of the HE1000's based on this experience.

The main question I have, is if any IEM's can give me the same experience, but for a lower cost? As I understand, IEM's are typically cheaper, relative to the sound quality you get, compared to headphones.
So my question is: Are there any IEM's, cheaper than the $1300US, I should try before buying the HE1000's?

I'm mainly looking for phenomenal soundstage and imaging, but a good, reasonable neutral response curve is also pretty high up on the priority list.

Any suggestions, or is it simply impossible to get HE1000 performance in IEM's?

Looking forward to any feedback, thank you very much

 

[Lindholdt]

I got an answer elsewhere on the forum, but for anyone searching the forums for an answer to this same question: The short answer from the experts is "No, IEM's cannot compete with TOTL open back headphones when it comes to sound stage and imaging, no matter the price."

 

[dunring]

The Seeaudio Yume 2 can compete. The soundstage is deep and wide and I've had almost the whole Hifiman line including Arya stealth and Audivina.
If it's the fun planar sound you want, the KZ PR1 Pro is a great value for money. There's always a tradeoff, but IEMs offer noise isolation and closed back headphone choices are limited.

 

[LeonidK]

I got an answer elsewhere on the forum, but for anyone searching the forums for an answer to this same question: The short answer from the experts is "No, IEM's cannot compete with open back headphones when it comes to sound stage and imaging, no matter the price."

Not true. Famous HD600 are open back headphones and their soundstage and imaging are a joke compared to something like Mest MKII. Do HD600 sound 'bigger'? Yes, in a certain way (any crap on/over ear headphone will sound bigger, they have much bigger drivers after all), but they sound narrow and I find their imaging to be non existent, while Mest MKII or Yanyin Moonlight create wide, holographic, out of head 3d experience with very accurate instruments positioning and center image. I actually hate imaging of most over-ear headphones and find IEMs to create much more lifelike and realistic soundstage. HD600 is just used here as an example of hp that is particularly bad in soundstage, of course egg shaped Hifimans are much better in that department, especially Arya and higher models. But are they better than TOTL IEMs? I wouldn't say so. Just a different experience. IEMs present sound in a relatively smaller scale but usually with more accurate soundstage. YMMV

 

[Lindholdt]

The Seeaudio Yume 2 can compete. The soundstage is deep and wide and I've had almost the whole Hifiman line including Arya stealth and Audivina.
If it's the fun planar sound you want, the KZ PR1 Pro is a great value for money. There's always a tradeoff, but IEMs offer noise isolation and closed back headphone choices are limited.

Interesting. And luckily easy to test out, as those IEM's are very affordable, so I have the chance to purchase them and give them a test.
Looking up reviews on the Yume 2, does not look that spectacular, but i guess reviews isn't always the whole truth.

Not true. Famous HD600 are open back headphones and their soundstage and imaging are a joke compared to something like Mest MKII. Do HD600 sound 'bigger'? Yes, in a certain way (any crap on/over ear headphone will sound bigger, they have much bigger drivers after all), but they sound narrow and I find their imaging to be non existent, while Mest MKII or Yanyin Moonlight create wide, holographic, out of head 3d experience with very accurate instruments positioning and center image. I actually hate imaging of most over-ear headphones and find IEMs to create much more lifelike and realistic soundstage. HD600 is just used here as an example of hp that is particularly bad in soundstage, of course egg shaped Hifimans are much better in that department, especially Arya and higher models. But are they better than TOTL IEMs? I wouldn't say so. Just a different experience. IEMs present sound in a relatively smaller scale but usually with more accurate soundstage. YMMV

I should have been more specific with my quote, but I assumed that since I asked about the HiFiMAN HE 1000 in the OP, that the reference was to TOTL or near that, open back headphones.
That being said, I am curious to hear what high-end IEM's can offer, so I'm trying to arrange that my next comparison session includes the Audeze Euclid. This is around the same price as the HE1000's, and the most "high-end" IEM the reseller has available. Will be exciting to compare them, if I can get it arranged

 

[LeonidK]

I should have been more specific with my quote, but I assumed that since I asked about the HiFiMAN HE 1000 in the OP, that the reference was to TOTL or near that, open back headphones.
That being said, I am curious to hear what high-end IEM's can offer, so I'm trying to arrange that my next comparison session includes the Audeze Euclid. This is around the same price as the HE1000's, and the most "high-end" IEM the reseller has available. Will be exciting to compare them, if I can get it arranged

I thought you meant all open back headphones in general. I heard HE-1000SE once and these are good headphones, but I didn't find them much better than Arya for a fraction of the price. I heard HEDDphone, Clear MG, LCD-X, Arya, HE1000SE, Abyss Diana... these ~$4k headphones are just minor upgrades over fantastic mid-tier headphones that can be bought for ~$1k, definitely not day and night difference for me. Of course people have different requirements and wallet capabilities, but for me good speaker system is a reference and it's not like TOTL headphones/IEMs will sound more like speakers than cheap headphones/IEMs. They never will. It's just my take and I don't care that much for more expensive headphones because they don't get much better at some point.

 

[Lindholdt]

I thought you meant all open back headphones in general. I heard HE-1000SE once and these are good headphones, but I didn't find them much better than Arya for a fraction of the price. I heard HEDDphone, Clear MG, LCD-X, Arya, HE1000SE, Abyss Diana... these ~$4k headphones are just minor upgrades over fantastic mid-tier headphones that can be bought for ~$1k, definitely not day and night difference for me. Of course people have different requirements and wallet capabilities, but for me good speaker system is a reference and it's not like TOTL headphones/IEMs will sound more like speakers than cheap headphones/IEMs. They never will.

Yeah, that was my bad, I should have been more specific with my reference.
I have the Sundara's at the moment, and heard the Ananda Nano, Meze109 PRO, Audeze LCD-2 and HE 1000 Stealth at a local dealer. The HE 100 was on a completely other level for me, than any of the others. I hope to hear the Arya Organic, Focal Clear MG, Audeze MM-500 and Euclid for my final comparison before committing to a purchase.
I agree that neither Headphones or IEM's will ever sound like speakers, but I'm after the best sound I can get, when I'm not able to use my speakers

 

[LeonidK]

Yeah, that was my bad, I should have been more specific with my reference.
I have the Sundara's at the moment, and heard the Ananda Nano, Meze109 PRO, Audeze LCD-2 and HE 1000 Stealth at a local dealer. The HE 100 was on a completely other level for me, than any of the others. I hope to hear the Arya Organic, Focal Clear MG, Audeze MM-500 and Euclid for my final comparison before committing to a purchase.
I agree that neither Headphones or IEM's will ever sound like speakers, but I'm after the best sound I can get, when I'm not able to use my speakers

I don't know anything about Arya Organic but I heard the stealth version and it's very likely you will find 90% of HE1000SE there. Arya is a significant upgrade over Ananda imo.

 

[Lindholdt]

I would prefer to hear Ayra Stealth, but they only have the Organic, so that will have to do

 

[worms]

Let me link to this thread, because I have a similar problem.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to one of the stores to listen to the Hifiman Arya Organic, and the HE1000v2. The headphones were connected to several pieces of equipment.
SMSL M500MK3,
FiioR9
SMSL D3000 +VIOLECTRIC HPA V222
I'll admit that I didn't hear much difference between the 3 sources, probably the fault of being in an unfamiliar place.
At home it would probably be different.
But for me the HE1000v2 despite a little less bass was the winner over the Arya Organic, I liked it better.

However, another problem arises, as it turns out the leakage is so high that these are not the headphones for me. I will disturb all the household members, and I won't be able to focus on the music myself either.
Now I'm wondering what direction to go in when it comes to IEM to get closer to HE1000v2?
Is the KZ PR1 Pro a good direction for a fraction of the price as written earlier, or is there something better?
@Lindholdt did a colleague choose something for himself from IEM that provided a similar experience?

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

[Lindholdt]

A lot has happened over the last year, and I've been lucky enough to try out a lot of gear. Quite a number of headphones, but also a few IEM's.

I've only tried entry to low-mid level IEM'S so far, but it has been a very nice experience. You get a lot of great sound for the money. It is a different experience than what you get from open back headphones, but nonetheless still very enjoyable.
Next week I should be getting the Hisenior Mega5EST and while this is a step into the "mid-fi" category, I still don't expect it to give the same type of experience as the HE1000 gives me. As said, IEMs are different to me.

If you can't use open backs because of sound bleed, closed backs and IEM's are the way to go. I haven't tried many closed backs, so cannot comment on that. But after getting more into IEM's, I have considered not replacing my current closed backs with something better, as I often end up enjoying my IEM's more.

 

[worms]

I started looking through the posts of people who bought the Mega5-EST 5-Drivers Hybrid IEM
I was pleased to hear that these might be better headphones than the MKIII, which at one time I thought hard about. In addition, at half the price with some super cable.

I have the same thing I really like the IEM, They give me the freedom that other bigger headphones don't. When I race various games my movements are severely restricted side to side in a bucket seat. Larger headphones are a problem, IEMs give a lot of options I can turn my head from side to side.
Very much looking forward to hearing from you about your new purchase.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

[PinkyPowers]

Hi all
First post here, I'm super excited to learn more about headphones and IEM's.

I'm a long time "Audiophile" but have almost exclusively used speakers in the past. But now that I have a newborn in the house, I can't fire up my speakers as I'm used to, and therefore I started looking more into what headphones have to offer.

I visited a local dealer, and heard a few models, including the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth which really gave me a great experience. It is also double of what I expected to pay for a headphone, but I'm considering paying the price of the HE1000's based on this experience.

The main question I have, is if any IEM's can give me the same experience, but for a lower cost? As I understand, IEM's are typically cheaper, relative to the sound quality you get, compared to headphones.
So my question is: Are there any IEM's, cheaper than the $1300US, I should try before buying the HE1000's?

I'm mainly looking for phenomenal soundstage and imaging, but a good, reasonable neutral response curve is also pretty high up on the priority list.

Any suggestions, or is it simply impossible to get HE1000 performance in IEM's?

Looking forward to any feedback, thank you very much

The closest thing I've found so far is the Empire Ears Odin. It does a lot of what I love in the HEK Stealth. Their tuning and presentation aren't one-for-one, but they are in the same realm. The HEK is clearly the superior sounding, but Odin is keeping up in some pressive ways, such as detail, resolution, and transparency. And it's soundstage, for an IEM, is enormous.