[ericp10]

We have had this debate before (although I haven't seen it in months). The camps are pretty much divided and no one ever reach middle ground on this from what I have read. So, I stand in the camp of yes. I only heard and own one custom (1964-Q) and it beats my M-50, beyer DT-150 and former-owned D2000 without a problem. Now, I've never owned a headphone above the $350 price range, so I don't know how IEMs compare to those $1,000 headphones. As for universals, the FX700 iem I owned destroyed the D2000 in every way IMO. So yes, I believe some some customs and universals can compete and outperform some full-sized headphones.

 

[average_joe]

I prefer IEMs over headphones until you get to the expensive stuff.  Here is my comparison review of 2 customs and the LCD-2 and Tesla T1.  

 

[Somnambulist]

From attending a meet and reading plenty of impressions on here, the general gist seems to be that either are going to be really good, neither are perfect, and they both have strengths and weaknesses, so really it's down to personal preference based on how they fit in your life and current situation. Worth noting that one of the LCD-2s weaknesses (compared to other high-end phones) is that the soundstage isn't huge, and is probably comparable to custom IEMs (see Joe's post above).
 
For me, IEMs make more sense because I do a fair bit of listening on the go and I can listen to speakers at home at a reasonable level, so I'd rather have one thing that will sound awesome when I'm out, and fill in that 10-20% of home listening when people are in bed and speakers can't be used. They're also scalable in that they can be used straight up with something like an iPod, but will get better as an amp and more competent DAC is added to the mix. 
 
Think about how and when you do most of your listening, and base your decision on that. If you're going custom IEM though, I would wait a bit and see how these hybrid driver or full dynamic driver customs turn out, since it seems dynamics seem to offer some advantages over balanced armature customs e.g. more realistic bass, since they're actually moving air and lower pricing due to them being less fiddly to install/repair than BAs.

 

[aLm0sT]

I'd say yes as well. But then again I haven't heard headphones north of $1000. The headphones I've heard (DT990, HD600, PRO 900, ...etc ) simply can't compete with my JH16. They outperform them in every aspect.
Also, for people who travel a lot or listen a lot on the go like me, the portability of IEMs is a huge advantage.

 

[sphinxvc]

There's a certain natural soundstage (read: realism) that comes with an out of head sonic experience, custom IEMs sacrifice this.  Even full-size headphones don't escape this (except MDR-R10s).  For that kind of experience, it's speakers > MDR-R10s > full-size headphones > IEMs.
 
With that out of the way I think I could say that, yes, high-end IEMs do rival full-size rigs and do it very well.  

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

There's a certain natural soundstage (read: realism) that comes with an out of head sonic experience, custom IEMs sacrifice this.  Even full-size headphones don't escape this (except MDR-R10s).  For that kind of experience, it's speakers > MDR-R10s > full-size headphones > IEMs.

 
I'd agree with this.  As impressive as the soundstage of my customs (JH16 and ES5) can be--and a balanced cable and SR71b amp make it even wider and airier--I have found that the soundstage of customs just can't match the holographic nature of the best full-size cans.  The LCD-2's soundstage may not be on the level of the HD800's, but it can definitely portray an out-of-head, inches in front of the face kind of image.  My customs can play cool tricks within and directly around my temple area, and I never feel like the sound is congested or claustrophobic, but the space for customs to play in seems basically limited to within my head.
 
Aside from soundstage, I think customs can definitely compete with, if not surpass, the technical ability of the best full-size headphones I've heard.  Within the more limited soundstage canvass that the ES5 and JH16 have available, they both have amazingly precise imaging.  And the tonal balance, clarity, and detail retrieval of the ES5 and JH16 are at least as good for me as the LCD-2--with my meager equipment.  But really, that's another advantage of customs:  They can sound near their best on portable, reasonably-priced sources and amps.  If anything, I would think that they won't sound good on the top-tier desktop amps, unless the hissing can be controlled and the channels can be balanced at comfortably low volumes.
 
It comes down to how much you are willing to spend, and what settings most of your listening will take place in.  If I did most of my listening at home, and had the money and space for a full desktop rig, I would definitely choose a full-size headphone system over a custom IEM, mostly for the expansive soundstage and more comfortable long-term listening of an over-the-ear headphone.  But customs allow me to have sublime, if somewhat intimate, musical experiences wherever I go...

 

[darknessproz]

It's weird seeing how this old thread i started revived again. Just to add in my experience over the past few months, i have spent more time with my MS1000i, a relatively good full-sized can in its price bracket, and have owned a wide array(again relative, cannot be compared to what some people around here owns) of IEM in various price brackets.
 
Personally, i find that i prefer the sound of an IEM in general. I like how they sound more intimate to me, as compared with full sized cans soundstaging capabilities. I have sold my MS1000i, and will be picking up either a W4, or a 1964-T in the coming months.
 
Just my 2 cents.

 

[YTCrazyTieGuy]

I actually don't have any experience what so ever, but from reviews here I think I have to go with yes, mainly because of the new 3A DSP amp that goes with the 13s or 16s. From what I read, their soundstage and imaging is incredibly layered and accurate, and everything else is very good too. Here are some reviews:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/496086/jh-3a-first-impressions

 

[MuuMuu]

IEMs can't quite match full-sized headphones at the highest level.  And while I say that, the best headphone still can't compare to mid-range (read: 2000-6000dollar) speakers.  Different experience, sure, but while I can get 95% of the HP experience off my customs I can't get 90% of the speaker experience from the best headphones.  I own a JH-16, sold my LCD-2, love my Salk HT1-TLs to death and that's my opinion.

 

[3rdear]

How would you compare the JH-16s to the LCD-2s?  Was there a reason besides portability that made you choose the 16s over the LCDs?

 

[High_Q]

What about when it comes to reducing as much distortion as possible?  Wouldn't IEMs be best for that?  I think its obvious sound stage is greater for cans.  Arn't monitors used in studio for its accuracy?  Whether or not its in-ear or full size, its preference, but for accuracy headphones are used.

 

[twylight]

Treated room + speakers wrecks head phones so bad so keep that in mind.
 
I find IEMs to be very nice in the fact the sound is really in your head and very private.  A couple of audio situations:
 
Dedicated room - speakers
Small room (study) - smaller speakers
Sitting next yo your wife ignoring her - IEMs > traditional headphones as she cant hear them and you block her out completely
traveling  - IEMs > rest - see above
work - tough call.  IEMs are too isolating and people sneak up on you.  Closed big head phones make you look like a tool.  Speakers are too loud generally unless you are the boss.
 
If you have a headphone rig in a study or small listening room, try speakers of a similar price range - your headphone rig will probably hit the for sale forum pretty fast.  I went from a ~3k headphone rig to a ~2.5k usd speaker rig for nearfield and low volume in my study and its a major major upgrade compared to headphones.
 
The great thing about headphones if you buy FOTM stuff it sells very fast so you can dabble and dump it if you want.  I went the closed headphone approach at work for now - cant stand the sneak up factor.

 

[MuuMuu]

I alternate between my IEMs and the trusty KSC-75 at work.  Usually the latter when I'm expecting someone to sneak up on me as twylight mentioned.
 
3rdear:  Comfort, portability, and the fact that my LCD2s were collecting dust once I upgraded my speakers.  It was a close match back when I was still listening w/ some bookshelf speakers (the previous gen of these speakers: http://www.svsound.com/products-spks-mts02.cfm ), but once I upgraded it was no contest.  The main benefit of headphones over speakers in the case of a transportable like LCDs is that you can listen at any levels w/o disturbing neighbors; my listening level is low enough that my neighbors don't mind, hence there was no real incentive to continue to use the headphones.  Basically, much less of a JH16 vs LCD2 issue and more of a LCD2 vs speakers issue.

 

[tumble]

I've spent a lot of time with full-size Stax electrostatics, and with custom IEMs (Unique Melody Miracles).

I agree with what average_joe says in his comparison review (see above for the link):

I do think the headphones outperform the customs by a bit, but I enjoy the form factor and ease of use/storage of the IEMs, not to mention the portability.

Also, my IEMs (like most) have great isolation and my full-size headphones (like most) don't.

So I mostly prefer to spend time listening to my CIEMs, for those reasons. On every aspect of sound quality, though, my full-size headphones win. It's not even a close competition.