I would definitely recommend two days next time. I bought the weekend ticket just before the price increase but was only planning on attending on Saturday as I thought I could demo and purchase my IEMs, and still have time to demo full-sized headphones ahead of my next purchase... I probably take more time evaluating than most due to my requirements but over two full days, I only managed 25x IEMs, albeit with multiple revisits of my top 5 until I convinced myself to part with my cash in the last minute of the show... Worth it though as I am extremely happy with my purchase.My listening targets based on reviews were the THIEAudio Monarch mk2 and the 64Audio u12t. I think the Monarchs are astounding value (better than the more expensive Andros), and I think the u12t are better if you can afford them, although I found the u12t bass a bit overwhelming. What I wonder now is whether that overwhelming feeling would persist, or whether it was a reaction based on a comparison with the Andros that I was living with. I don't know, but it's another lesson for me. Listen more than once, if you can. I had decided to buy the u12t at the show price and listened to the u18t out of curiosity. I'd read a number of reviews before the show where people prefer the u12t to the u18t which is about £1k more expensive. I was hacked off to find I preferred the u18t as the bass wasn't overwhelming. It seemed to retain all the pluses of the u12t and to be more balanced across the spectrum. I couldn't justify the extra cost though.
Funny, our journeys have intersected... I started with the Shure SE530 (or 535, it was a while ago) as well which got replaced under warranty when a cable failed, and the Andromeda was my favourite after a long demo at Audio Sanctuary to decide between closed back and IEMs a few years ago... Are we long lost twins?
Hifi Headphones near Worthing were my last pre-CanJam demo and I left there with the U12T shortlisted as my favourite, but with a lot of unknowns to try at the show. As you mentioned, this level of IEMs are in reality an obscene amount of money...
I would need to spend more time with both, but I also found the U18T to be the better model at the show. It felt very similar to the U12T, but I thought it had a more balanced presentation, more breathing space. They were however my first demo on Saturday morning so I cannot compare after hearing all the others. I tried again briefly in the last run around late on Sunday afternoon, but either my ears had given out or they had because they sounded awful.
I am doubting myself now but if I remember correctly, Michael from 64 Audio said they were using the M15 modules...? I tried the MX, M15, and M20 back to back in the U12T at Hifi Headphones; it sounds like you prefer tighter control like me so I highly recommend the MX as the others sounded too present to me, bloated and not as tight...
I will add that coming from years of full sized headphones and progressively upgraded speakers systems (my final set up consisting of custom floor standers, supplemented by 2x 18" custom subs, properly integrated in a dedicated room), the bass that people rave about in IEMs is far too audible (forward) to be what I would refer to as "sub-bass". I appreciate that it is deemed hard to implement in IEMs but the lower frequencies should be far less (audibly) prominent, and more felt. I say "deemed hard to implement" because I did find some that for me had the right balance of audible LF, with my brain applying what would have been the trouser flapping, punch in the gut sub-bass that continues below 20Hz...
This hobby is far more subjective than speakers though so as per the standard disclaimer, this is all to my ears. I appreciate that most other people are looking for a different experience, which is probably why I struggled so much to find IEMs that sounded right to me, and the ones I settled on are far less popular to most people.
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