Sounds very accurate what you are saying.
Although I personally believe no one can be entirely free of bias. Whether it is bias from as you say, only stating the good things to get on the manufacturers good side. Or simply buying it yourself and it sounds crap, but you want to justify your purchase (otherwise it would have been a waste of cash) so you overestimate it.
Edit: This is the kind of bias I was trying to describe.
"
Choice-supportive bias or
post-purchase rationalization is the tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected and/or to demote the forgone options.
[1] It is part of
cognitive science, and is a distinct
cognitive bias that occurs once a decision is made. For example, if a person chooses option A instead of option B, they are likely to ignore or downplay the faults of option A while amplifying or subscribing new negative faults to option B. Conversely, they are also likely to notice and amplify the advantages of option A and not notice or de-emphasize those of option B. "
source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice-supportive_bias
Haha what you described in a nutshell is "buyers' remorse". I agree with
@IEMusic , best to follow a few reviewers or headfiers that tend to have the same preferences as you in music and sound signature. It would also be good to get a consensus of all the reviews and take the average of the most stellar review to the worst review and the IEM probably lies somewhere in the centre, and certain strengths and weaknesses of the same reviewed IEM should be quite consistently seen in most legit reviews.
Just my 2 cents, but it is sometimes difficult to put reference tracks in reviews, headfi is an international site, as such we all listen to different music genres, we are all of different age groups and even listen to different music of different languages. Perhaps someone who has listened to solely EDM all their life will probably not know what to look out for in a classical piece, and vice versa.
I do occasionally listen to non english songs, so I wonder how will that translate to someone who doesn't understand what is being sung. Well perhaps music is universal and certain areas of the music like melody, rhythm and harmony still can be conveyed to non native speakers, regardless of language.
On the same issue of reference tracks, we all use different source files even for the same track, some are using lossless stuff, some Mp3s, some spotify/streaming, some youtube. I know that's a big can of worms, whether 320 mp3 is as good as FLACs, but that's another story for another time. I don't have golden ears, but I do hear quite a subjective difference in details and dynamics and the higher frequencies between 192 mp3 and FLACs. One audiophile friend once told me that youtube also puts a filter at 192 mp3s for their uploads and they also filter out some the higher frequencies, not sure if someone can confirm this.
Source is another thing that may affect an IEM's review, some reviews only use one source for the review. Some multi BA sets with crossovers may sound quite different in the curves with different impedance output, especially if the amp's output impedance is > 1 ohm. Source also can colour the music indirectly, as some ain't neutral, but add warmth or brightness to the music. Some sources also have a subbass roll off for example.
Another thing other than our individual music genres and sound signature preferences, is that we are all at different stages of hearing health (either from noise induced hearing loss due to prolonged exposure in work or hobbies, or due to age related hearing loss). So other than being trebleheads, some have different tolerances to treble even for the same IEM, that may explain the varying opinions.
Listening volumes may also affect the bass/treble frequencies (Fletcher Munson curve). Music sounds more V shaped at higher volumes, while it is more U shaped at softer volumes. I've not seen a lot of reviewers state how loud they are pumping their music, but maybe certain highly sensitive IEMs may be affected by this more than others.
Hi, I am looking to buy TRN BT20s in summer sale and potentialy new IEMs after not buying anything for quite a while
Currently I am mostly using the piezo hybrid that we shouldn't talk about (non pro) and still like it quite a lot (like the bass and details) and I would be totally ok to stay with it if it would be more comfortable worn upside down for use with BT cables... Also have couple of awesome MH755. Other than that I have NiceHCK N3 (like the detail) and EP10 and still use Tennmak Piano with TRN BT10. Various earbuds and few other older KZs and DIY attempts.
I am looking for something that would ideally be usable with TRN BT20 for on the go listening and with ES100 balanced for more quality listening. Ideally MMCX as I have all my cables and current sets with MMCX and all my DIY stuff is MMCX.
I also have no experience with those multi driver hybrids or full ba sets other than couple days with KZ ZS6. Unfortunately most of currently hot hybrid stuff seems to be 2pin and I cannot find much with MMCX. Anything with MMCX that would be worth looking at (listening to)? TRN BA5 looks interesting. Or maybe Blon BL-03?
Is it worth it? Or would I be better off with modded and mmcxd MH755 and saved money?
The BT20S may be quite hissy with highly sensitive IEMs, just a ballpark figure, but some sets with sensitivity > 100 I get a hiss with it eg TFZ No. 3. The hiss is mostly not noticable when music plays, but it can be apparent during soft parts in the music. But otherwise the BT20S is quite good in battery life, connectivity and sound quality, good compromise from a TWS as u can use the existing IEM u have and just connect it on.
What's your budget for your IEM? And you have any preferred sound signatures or preferred music genres?