crinacle's IEM Ranking List
Apr 29, 2021 at 7:27 AM Post #3,136 of 3,338
Popeyes chicken sandwich: S
Don't think this should get an "S" rating due to the excessive grease quantity from the frying process. This can lead to in-coherency, excessive peaks and muddiness in the lower digestive regions. On the other hand, the fairly recent Chick-Fil-A spicy grilled chicken sandwich provides the user with a much more coherent, clean and enjoyable experience across the full spectrum. It would be interesting to see fat and calorie content graphs comparing the two. :smile:
 
Apr 29, 2021 at 7:33 AM Post #3,137 of 3,338
Don't think this should get an "S" rating due to the excessive grease quantity from the frying process. This can lead to in-coherency, excessive peaks and muddiness in the lower digestive regions. On the other hand, the fairly recent Chick-Fil-A spicy grilled chicken sandwich provides the user with a much more coherent, clean and enjoyable experience across the full spectrum. It would be interesting to see fat and calorie content graphs comparing the two. :smile:
Chick-Fil-A is B rated. Fat = Flavor.
 
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Apr 29, 2021 at 7:38 AM Post #3,138 of 3,338
I think in their case it is more of a combination of brand image and good build quality that boosts the demand. Sound-wise, there's about 5 IEMs in your spoiler list that I'd take over any 64 product, regardless of price. QC-wise, I've heard multiple pairs of Foute and A18 and they all sound very different.
Hi @Edric Li, very interesting; as I don´t see myself ever going for kilo bucks IEMs, I am curious about what IEMs from IEMusic´s list you prefer over 64 Audio products!!
Lately, I have asked myself if really there is a night-and-day difference in SQ between those uber-expensive IEMs and those in the 700-900$ tier (which still are out of my reach right now).
cheers, Jose
 
Apr 29, 2021 at 9:32 AM Post #3,139 of 3,338
Hi @Edric Li, very interesting; as I don´t see myself ever going for kilo bucks IEMs, I am curious about what IEMs from IEMusic´s list you prefer over 64 Audio products!!
Lately, I have asked myself if really there is a night-and-day difference in SQ between those uber-expensive IEMs and those in the 700-900$ tier (which still are out of my reach right now).
cheers, Jose
I think the knee of the price-performance curve is around the $750 price point. Anything higher than that and you get significant diminishing returns. But, to my ear, there is still a difference in sound quality between EE Odin and Thieaudio Monarch, but it's not night and day. If I could only have one IEM and it ended up being my Thieaudio Monarchs, I would be fine listening to them all the time. Fortunately, I don't need to make that decision.
 
Apr 29, 2021 at 10:06 AM Post #3,140 of 3,338
I think the knee of the price-performance curve is around the $750 price point. Anything higher than that and you get significant diminishing returns.

Damn son, that's some truth bomb you've just dropped. I can totally agree 100%.
 
Apr 29, 2021 at 10:41 AM Post #3,141 of 3,338
Chick-Fil-A is B rated. Fat = Flavor.
When it comes to chicken sandwiches, Popeyes is the best for sure. In order to get great texture and flavor, it has to be made like Popeyes unfortunately. Chick-Fil-A is very basic that's just breaded chicken. Popeyes crispiness from the way it's fried with the usual Popeys sig battering is what makes it unique and so tasty. Luv the choice in buns as well.

 
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Apr 29, 2021 at 4:22 PM Post #3,142 of 3,338
Hi @Edric Li, very interesting; as I don´t see myself ever going for kilo bucks IEMs, I am curious about what IEMs from IEMusic´s list you prefer over 64 Audio products!!
Lately, I have asked myself if really there is a night-and-day difference in SQ between those uber-expensive IEMs and those in the 700-900$ tier (which still are out of my reach right now).
cheers, Jose
Hello friend. In his list, I'd take the ThieAudio, Unique Melody and Final Audio offerings over the U18, which is in my opinion the best sounding 64 Audio product. I think if your goal is to get the best possible technical capabilities in your most favorite tuning, it is very likely that you are looking at a $1000 price tag. If you are willing to make sacrifices in tuning and/or technical capabilities, or understand you don't need perfection when you listen on the train most of the time, then we are talking sub $300 solutions.
I think the knee of the price-performance curve is around the $750 price point. Anything higher than that and you get significant diminishing returns. But, to my ear, there is still a difference in sound quality between EE Odin and Thieaudio Monarch, but it's not night and day. If I could only have one IEM and it ended up being my Thieaudio Monarchs, I would be fine listening to them all the time. Fortunately, I don't need to make that decision.
That sounds about right. There are, however, gems that don't come by very often that becomes the gold reference of some high price points, such as the Sony M9 and the VE6. IMO they are worth it, because they are actually pushing the boundaries.

On EE: There are a few IEMs companies that have a track record so questionable that I just can't take them seriously. Like EE (back when they were EarWerkz) with the Legend R and Valkyrie and CA with the Vega. Like, if a company honest thinks a sound like that is worth an arm and a leg, I have to seriously question their taste in music and sound. I was laughing reading those reviews trying to make out what music would sound good on the CA Vega. Even when they finally did put out some good products like Odin and Andro, through apparently years of trial and error, they are still trying to charge people an arm and a leg for those.

This means when I have a choice, e.g. two similarly tuned products in the same price range, everything else equal, I would lean towards a company that has a good track record, e.g. Vision Ears, Unique Melody, Sony etc. I just know that these designers care about music. They don't have to know what is a good sound from studying consumer feedback. They knew it from day 1.
 
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Apr 29, 2021 at 4:34 PM Post #3,143 of 3,338
Hello friend. In his list, I'd take the ThieAudio, Unique Melody and Final Audio offerings over the U18, which is in my opinion the best sounding 64 Audio product. I think if your goal is to get the best possible technical capabilities in your most favorite tuning, it is very likely that you are looking at a $1000 price tag. If you are willing to make sacrifices in tuning and/or technical capabilities, or understand you don't need perfection when you listen on the train most of the time, then we are talking sub $300 solutions.

That sounds about right. There are, however, gems that don't come by very often that becomes the gold reference of some high price points, such as the Sony M9 and the VE6. IMO they are worth it, because they are actually pushing the boundaries.

On EE: There are a few IEMs companies that have a track record so questionable that I just can't take them seriously. Like EE (back when they were EarWerkz) with the Legend R and Valkyrie and CA with the Vega. Like, if a company honest thinks a sound like that is worth an arm and a leg, I have to seriously question their taste in music and sound. I was laughing reading those reviews trying to make out what music would sound good on the CA Vega. Even when they finally did put out some good products like Odin and Andro, through apparently years of trial and error, they are still trying to charge people an arm and a leg for those.

This means when I have a choice, e.g. two similarly tuned products in the same price range, everything else equal, I would lean towards a company that has a good track record, e.g. Vision Ears, Unique Melody, Sony etc. I just know that these designers care about music. They don't have to know what is a good sound from studying consumer feedback. They knew it from day 1.
Please define "Good sound".....
 
Apr 29, 2021 at 4:50 PM Post #3,147 of 3,338
Hello friend. In his list, I'd take the ThieAudio, Unique Melody and Final Audio offerings over the U18, which is in my opinion the best sounding 64 Audio product. I think if your goal is to get the best possible technical capabilities in your most favorite tuning, it is very likely that you are looking at a $1000 price tag. If you are willing to make sacrifices in tuning and/or technical capabilities, or understand you don't need perfection when you listen on the train most of the time, then we are talking sub $300 solutions.

That sounds about right. There are, however, gems that don't come by very often that becomes the gold reference of some high price points, such as the Sony M9 and the VE6. IMO they are worth it, because they are actually pushing the boundaries.

On EE: There are a few IEMs companies that have a track record so questionable that I just can't take them seriously. Like EE (back when they were EarWerkz) with the Legend R and Valkyrie and CA with the Vega. Like, if a company honest thinks a sound like that is worth an arm and a leg, I have to seriously question their taste in music and sound. I was laughing reading those reviews trying to make out what music would sound good on the CA Vega. Even when they finally did put out some good products like Odin and Andro, through apparently years of trial and error, they are still trying to charge people an arm and a leg for those.

This means when I have a choice, e.g. two similarly tuned products in the same price range, everything else equal, I would lean towards a company that has a good track record, e.g. Vision Ears, Unique Melody, Sony etc. I just know that these designers care about music. They don't have to know what is a good sound from studying consumer feedback. They knew it from day 1.
Empire Ears is my favorite IEM company. My first introduction to the company was my blind purchase of the Odin. When a company makes a product that good and it's your first experience with them, you give them the benefit of the doubt. Then, I went to visit them and learned a lot about them. They treated me so well, I bought a Custom Legend X. Dean Vang himself trimmed my ear impressions and had them redone so that they would be perfect. He didn't have to do that. We spent a lot of time talking about products, what I like and why and what I would like to see in a new IEM. All great product companies listen to their customers. I highly doubt any of the product companies you cite would say, "we know what sounds good so we don't need to talk to customers." Exactly ZERO great product companies think that way. ZERO.
 
Apr 29, 2021 at 5:05 PM Post #3,148 of 3,338
Empire Ears is my favorite IEM company. My first introduction to the company was my blind purchase of the Odin. When a company makes a product that good and it's your first experience with them, you give them the benefit of the doubt. Then, I went to visit them and learned a lot about them. They treated me so well, I bought a Custom Legend X. Dean Vang himself trimmed my ear impressions and had them redone so that they would be perfect. He didn't have to do that. We spent a lot of time talking about products, what I like and why and what I would like to see in a new IEM. All great product companies listen to their customers. I highly doubt any of the product companies you cite would say, "we know what sounds good so we don't need to talk to customers." Exactly ZERO great product companies think that way. ZERO.
I have no doubt the people behind EE and CA are great people that stand behind their products. I also agree with you that they are make good quality products now. What I have issue with is specifically the very first hi-end products of them, the first product that they made and thought, "wow, people are *really* gonna like this". For EE, that's Legend R; for CA, that's Vega. I'm criticizing their past, knowing that they've grown better. If you weren't in this hobby back then, good for you for looking past that. It's like a capable politician having said some terrible things when they were young; some people can look past that, some can't.

Regarding consumer feedback: I think there's a healthy balance. Consumer buys Beats/Apple, does that mean you should tune your products that way? Consumer says Harman curve sounds good, does that mean you should tune that way? A good example of following the trend would be U18s deviating from U18t to be more Z1R/Harman-like. On the other hand, you have Vision Ears, JH, Etymotic, Westone, Ocharaku, following strictly to their house sound for decades, in their entire product range. I respect the latter more, even though I personally dislike the house sound of Etymotic, Westone, Ocharaku.
 
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Apr 29, 2021 at 6:01 PM Post #3,149 of 3,338
When it comes to chicken sandwiches, Popeyes is the best for sure. In order to get great texture and flavor, it has to be made like Popeyes unfortunately. Chick-Fil-A is very basic that's just breaded chicken. Popeyes crispiness from the way it's fried with the usual Popeys sig battering is what makes it unique and so tasty. Luv the choice in buns as well.



OTOH the Popeyes sammies are rather salty and lack quality fresh vegetation while chic-fil-a depend entirely on their dipping sauces for flavor. I guess these are the sort of cost cuting compromises you have to accept from fast food places.

At the risk of being dismissed as a total casual, have to say I kind of prefer the less meaty, traditional cafeteria-style breaded puck of frozen mechanically seperated & compressed chicken a la Jollibee w/ their garlicy sauce, or even standard issue Spicy McChicken - if only McDonalds ever had non-soggy lettuce.
 
Apr 29, 2021 at 7:13 PM Post #3,150 of 3,338
I don't have a large enough sample size to identify the exact price to performance inflection point. However right now, having recently had the FDX1, the MD+, the Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk, the Dunu SA6, Sony M9s and the OG Solaris, I'd say the Blessing 2 Dusk hit the sweet spot for me.

My experience has been that there's a clear relationship between price and technicalities, but not nearly as close a correlation between price and tuning and so called intangibles like timbre or cohesion. These factors matter to me more than squeezing the last bit of detail or separation out of track and so I've found myself staying in the mid range more than TOTL range.
 
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