[crinacle]

Thank you Crinacle, for your great, meticulous list! The Samba sounds like a really good monitor, perching at S-tier. May I ask, what do you think of its sound in rough comparison with the Dream? They both seem to share a similar tuning, and price. (By the way, the Samba now is not sold at $1500, but ~ $1900 / 2600 SGD). I really like the Dream, especially for its quick, strong bass. However, I've found that the midrange is a bit shy in positioning relative to the bass, and treble. I agree with your opinion about its detail too, it's quite impressive. It's a great IEM for electronic music IMO. So I was wandering how the Samba fares with acoustic music, with lots of vocal, and midrange instruments?

JFC Jomo increased the price? That's such a shame... 2100SGD was such a good price too.

Dream sounds unnatural to me. Could be because of the classic Dita peak at 4k (though the Answer Brass has a similar peak but doesn't sound nearly as harsh). Samba is definitely has the same kind of signature, being rather energetic and dynamic but not as metallic sounding as the Dream in my opinion. Of course, Dream has the upper edge on bass where it has more natural, rounded hits with better articulated subbass than the Samba's relatively limp and soft rumble.

Hi Crinacle,
Thanks for such an awesome job on the list. looking to upgrade from my Futuresonics G10 and was looking at the ath-e70 and the massdrop plus, as you can see I like my IEM's to be like mullets, Business in the front party in the back, my preferred signature is detailed and leans towards analytical in the mids and highs but bass response is what I'm after. Quick, impactful and extended bass because I listen to a vast range of electronic music and love percussion and bass with fast transients. I don't mind sacrificing some sound stage and separation if I have too.

Which of the two would you say would suit my preference?, if any.

Thanks for helping out a very long time lurker, first time poster slowly climbing up the hi-fi spectrum

For what you just described, MD+ sounds like a good fit. I would always say to "try before buy" but in this case it's a bit hard to do so...

 

[ksumii]

I am Able to try the ath-E70, what would be the differences between that and the MD+? also open to other options.

 

[Radec]

Wow this list is amazing. I've been really unhappy with my IEMs lately. Still unsure what to grab but it's looking like the New Primacy and the FLC 8s would be the top contenders based on this list. MD+ look amazing too but that leadtime is brutal.

Any you would prefer as a neutral-ish IEM in that price range?

 

[ezekiel77]

Wow this list is amazing. I've been really unhappy with my IEMs lately. Still unsure what to grab but it's looking like the New Primacy and the FLC 8s would be the top contenders based on this list. MD+ look amazing too but that leadtime is brutal.

Any you would prefer as a neutral-ish IEM in that price range?

I'd say there's very little to dislike about FLC8S. You can tune it from neutral to V-shaped to bassy... it is that versatile.

 

[CrunkedMetalGuy]

Just finished formatting the tiers into table formats. Cells will be filled in over the next few days, and then I can take off the [WIP] tag for real.



That is a very specific sound signature and I don't think a lot exists with that particular FR (there's the Canalworks CW-L05QD2 but it's full BA) especially with a dynamic driver. If the measurements are to be trusted, perhaps the Hifiman RE800 or the RHA CL1 can suit your needs. Never heard them before though.

Hi Crinacle,

Your IEM list is insightful to say the least. I wanted to know your opinion of the RHA CL-1 vs A&K T8i. Basically, I'm looking for the most suitable sub $1000 IEM to use with my Astell & Kern Kann. Any specific advice on that front?

Thanks.

 

[SilverEars]

AK Kann is unusually warm. It's the oddest sounding DAP I've ever heard. It's the artificial sounding warmth. Warmth is ok to degree to bring out naturalness of sound as we know certain outputs sounds a bit thin. AK did warm up the sound of their recent TOTL players, but Kann is just so wrong sounding. AK380 and SP1000 are warmer than previous gens, but you'd have to listen real carefully to tell the differences.

I can't imagine how much worse it can get with warm iem out of the Kann.

 

[lithrai]

I have also AK KANN and it's not unusually warm to me. But I listen with Hidition NT6 or MrSpeakers AEON. Did you try it with yours SE5U? Maybe this pairing is just wrong. I would say that NT6 with Mojo is warmer than with KANN for example.

 

[SilverEars]

I have also AK KANN and it's not unusually warm to me. But I listen with Hidition NT6 or MrSpeakers AEON. Did you try it with yours SE5U? Maybe this pairing is just wrong. I would say that NT6 with Mojo is warmer than with KANN for example.

It was out of Andro. I know the difference between unnaturally boosted warmth vs slightly warm to bring out natural sounds. Mojo's sounds isn't skewed in that manner, and actually mojo generally sounds like it has slight boost to upper bass and mid treble(creating an impact to it's sig and clarity to the treble compared to Hugo 2), and lower treble tend to be smoother(creating a smooth mids sig). Hugo 2, Sp1000, AK 380 has slightly more warmth to the sig compared to the previous gen, and Kann's in comparison is quite unnatural, the most significantly I've heard when it comes to warmth. Mojo doesn't even come close.

 

[dSmurf]

Hi! I would appreciate everyone's help here..

I am this point of choosing.
Should I go with Empire ears spartan IV ADEL UNIVERSAL OR 64 AUDIO U6.

I want to take care of my hearing and got interested in the 2 mentioned abbove

My referrence would be mids, seperation transparency, layering.
Warm or bright Im ok with it.. but I do prefer a warm or slightly warm sig..

Thanks in advanced sine crinacle was able to listen to heaps of iem thanks again!

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

Hi! I would appreciate everyone's help here..

I am this point of choosing.
Should I go with Empire ears spartan IV ADEL UNIVERSAL OR 64 AUDIO U6.

I want to take care of my hearing and got interested in the 2 mentioned abbove

My referrence would be mids, seperation transparency, layering.
Warm or bright Im ok with it.. but I do prefer a warm or slightly warm sig..

Thanks in advanced sine crinacle was able to listen to heaps of iem thanks again!

I can only chip in regarding the U6 which is what I have, and I really enjoy them. When I first got them I thought they were overly warm, but over time you learn to appreciate that the sound is whole and true sounding with excellent layering and separation. It is definitely a warmer, smoother sounding IEM but it still has good detail in the treble.

I use mine with the M15 module to bring out a little more air in the sound, and they sound best with this module in my opinion.

 

[SilverEars]

The quickest transient response I've ever heard was Andro out of Opus #2. That combo has very tight sound. Keep in mind my (c)iem forey is quite limited, I haven't tried out so many like crin(as shown on his list).

 

[Raketen]

Hi Crinacle,
Thanks for such an awesome job on the list. looking to upgrade from my Futuresonics G10 and was looking at the ath-e70 and the massdrop plus, as you can see I like my IEM's to be like mullets, Business in the front party in the back, my preferred signature is detailed and leans towards analytical in the mids and highs but bass response is what I'm after. Quick, impactful and extended bass because I listen to a vast range of electronic music and love percussion and bass with fast transients. I don't mind sacrificing some sound stage and separation if I have too.

Which of the two would you say would suit my preference?, if any.

Thanks for helping out a very long time lurker, first time poster slowly climbing up the hi-fi spectrum

I think you're going to have a tough time finding similar level of bass to Future Sonics, particularly without needing to use bass boost or eq- but if you don't need isolation the Sony ex1000 is my favorite bass- not nearly similar in quantity to G10 and much brighter overall, though if you have a decent source or amp it can take a good amount of bass EQ boost. The main knock on it is that it can be sibilant for some people (I had this problem until I found the right tip/fit combination).

If you haven't seen it might check this thread out: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/head-fi-basshead-iem-thread-lists-page-1.761433/

 

[SilverEars]

One way to reduce sibilance is try foam tips, but I really don't know how well ex1000 responds to comply or foam tips. I recall ex1000 sounded the best with loose fit, not complete seal. It does have a good bass output with the right source.

 

[ranfan]

Hi! I would appreciate everyone's help here..

I am this point of choosing.
Should I go with Empire ears spartan IV ADEL UNIVERSAL OR 64 AUDIO U6.

I want to take care of my hearing and got interested in the 2 mentioned abbove

My referrence would be mids, seperation transparency, layering.
Warm or bright Im ok with it.. but I do prefer a warm or slightly warm sig..

Thanks in advanced sine crinacle was able to listen to heaps of iem thanks again!

For your preference, I highly recommend getting the Spartan ADEL. I have mine with MAM module, and I use it fully-opened. The Spartan for me is a highly balanced IEM. It has a neutral tonality, not sounding too bright, nor too warm. Its technical abilites IMO is its strength, and highlight. Great separation/layering, transparency, and resolution. Listening to it also feels very immersive, because of its huge soundstage. Arguably larger than my DITA Dream, which is big enough. The details are clear, and apparent. It presents each notes with good dexterity, individual instruments are distinguishable, and coherent playing together. It is a good IEM for listening many kinds of music, due to its balanced tonality. Most instruments sounded just right with the Spartan, portraying decent timbre accuracy. It is a little bit more to the warm side, because I feel that female vocals could be slightly leaner, and brighter to sound accurate. Male vocals are pretty realistic though.

 

[tommy1st]

I'm considering getting a pair of ultimate ear pro 18+, however, compare to products with 64 audio which the claim to have apex technology with reduce ear pressure. I wonder comfort-wise, how you compare UE pro 18+ with 64 audio products? Do you feel any ear air pressure issue when trying out UE Pro 18+?