[Bazirker]

My lovely wife has offered to get me a set of CIEM's for my birthday, woot!  I'm trying to figure out which ones to spring for, as I'm hoping I can get these and then basically be "done" with "the search"    She gave me a budget that pretty much opens the door for whatever set I'd like, so I'm really looking to get what will sound best to me.
 
I'm looking for CIEM's that have a natural, engaging sound with lots of energy.  Bass quality and quantity of very important; it needs to have impact and punch across the low frequency spectrum without overwhelming the mids and treble.  Treble sparkle and extension are also important.  I am not looking for phones which necessarily have to be "balanced" or "reference," I want a fun, dynamic presentation that brings my music to life.  At present, the top three phones I'm considering are the JH16, UM Merlins and FS MG6pros.
 
I've had limited experience with balanced armature phones but have been unimpressed thus far.  I've owned UE TF10's and Klipsch X10's, both of which are purported to have plenty of bass, and I found both lacking.  Both also sounded somewhat unnatural to me (the TF10 were much worse in this regard than the X10.)  This, in addition to reports of extreme sensitivity, worry me about the JH16's.
 
The Merlins interested me ever since I heard rumors of a hybrid CIEM with a dynamic driver for the bass.  I'm not sure I want to deal with shipping overseas and that whole mess...
 
My favorite IEM's to date are my Future Sonics Atrios, but they are uncomfortable with a narrow soundstage and underwhelming separation.  This leads me to the mg6pro.  I don't like that they are vented in such a manner that I can't do custom artwork.  There have also been a rash of reports lately of it sounding "echoey".
 
 
 
So...does anyone have thoughts on what direction I should go?  Of course, there are other companies like Heir Audio and 1964 Ears which I would entertain if they have a particular CIEM model that might fit my tastes.  Suggestions welcome!

 

[Seekky]

'emphasis on bass, energy and natural sound'
 
JH16, i guess.

 

[Deadlovestory]

Ehh just look/ask around for demo units of the CIEMs; see which one you like best.
 
Anyways for the UM Merlin, I've read that this Stephen Guo dude handles all USA orders for UM customs, so he basically handles all the "mess" for you. Also read that he's quite helpful and all that jazz.
 
You can contact him at http://www.custom-iem.com

 

[Bazirker]

Thanks for the thoughts.

I don't believe demo units are available at all for the mg6pro, and the demos for the Merlins have been reported to not represent the actual custom sound you get.

 

[sdugoten]

see this post  http://www.head-fi.org/t/651284/the-top-tier-usd-300-bassy-enough-basshead-iem-list  
 
We are searching for the same thing.

 

[DefQon]

Definitely sounds like the UE18's I had 3 year's ago. The ES5 isn't short behind the UE18 in terms of bass, more sparkle though. From what I read the JH16 is a bass bloated mess compared to it's slightly more balanced little brother JH13. If you want absolute neutrality UERM.

 

[lindrone]

If you want something that still has a natural sound through the mids and highs, but with a HUGE amount of bass, you should consider looking into the UE11 instead of the UE18. UE18's bass is absolutely amazing, but it's still on the side of being more "balanced" than what most bassheads would like. If you want bass that's comparable to the "make your seat shake if this was coming out of a speaker" type of thing, UE11 is definitely the way to go.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

If you want something that still has a natural sound through the mids and highs, but with a HUGE amount of bass, you should consider looking into the UE11 instead of the UE18. UE18's bass is absolutely amazing, but it's still on the side of being more "balanced" than what most bassheads would like. If you want bass that's comparable to the "make your seat shake if this was coming out of a speaker" type of thing, UE11 is definitely the way to go.

Interesting...while I haven't heard the UE18's since I sold them a year before joining here...I'm surprised the UE11 have more bass than the UE18 which I find enough for a mild category basshead (myself). Do the bass on the UE11 ruin the mids and/or treble range in anyway? 

 

[pokpokgei]

no expert here. but i think none of the balanced armature earphones will satisfy his preference.
 
his description is that of musicality over monitoring or referencing sound signature which is what i prefer as well.
 
if it absolutely has to be an CIEM, it probably has to be a hybrid between dynamic and BA drivers since only dynamic drivers can provide good, natural sounding midbass and subbass at right quantity.
 

 
if unrestricted to CIEM, the best fit for his preference might be a dynamic iem with custom modded eartips for best isolation so he can hear the faintest details.
 
or perhaps the upcoming multiple dynamic driver CIEMS.

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Interesting...while I haven't heard the UE18's since I sold them a year before joining here...I'm surprised the UE11 have more bass than the UE18 which I find enough for a mild category basshead (myself). Do the bass on the UE11 ruin the mids and/or treble range in anyway? 

UE11 has double bass driver with boosted bass and a single mid and high driver. It's much more pronounced bass over the UE18. The sound signature is still intact, it doesn't compromise high and mids... still very pleasant.