[Summum Malum]

Hey everyone,

I'm in the market for some neutral IEMs (under $500 Canadian). I have the Etymotic HF5, but I find it grainy, bass light (not neutral - I've heard monitors in a treated room and these lack bass), and uncomfortable.

Any suggestions? I'd love your feedback. I'm driving them with a portable DAP, like an iPod touch 7th Gen or something.

 

[surfgeorge]

Did you check Crinacle's list? https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

Purely based on reputation, the Massdrop Plus might be a good option now at $200
Moondrop Blessing

I know and love the JVC FDX1 (smooth and just pure music to my ears, but not the most technical I have)
Classic Sony EX800ST is a good, neutral monitor at low cost, EX1000 even better if you can find a good pair at a fair price.
But both are only for indoor listening, they isolate badly. Both also have a little spike in the treble that can occasionally be too much.

More information about the music you listen to and the conditions under whcih you are planning to use the IEMs would help.

 

[Summum Malum]

Did you check Crinacle's list? https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

Purely based on reputation, the Massdrop Plus might be a good option now at $200
Moondrop Blessing

I know and love the JVC FDX1 (smooth and just pure music to my ears, but not the most technical I have)
Classic Sony EX800ST is a good, neutral monitor at low cost, EX1000 even better if you can find a good pair at a fair price.
But both are only for indoor listening, they isolate badly. Both also have a little spike in the treble that can occasionally be too much.

More information about the music you listen to and the conditions under whcih you are planning to use the IEMs would help.

Thanks for your reply

I have not looked at Crinacle's list, but I will.

This will be my only gear, as I'm not in the financial position to have both an at home and portable setup. I'm often in busy, loud transit, so isolation is quite important.

I typically listen to a lot of metal. I also do some rock, industrial, and classical. Neutrality is really, really important to me.

I will look at the link you provided and get back to you.

 

[ChrisHeld1989]

Shuoer EJ07, it has exactly the same graph but with a subbass boost.

 

[Summum Malum]

Shuoer EJ07, it has exactly the same graph but with a subbass boost.

Wouldn't the sub-bass boost render it not neutral though?

 

[Summum Malum]

Shuoer EJ07, it has exactly the same graph but with a subbass boost.

Wouldn't the sub-bass boost render it not neutral though?

 

[surfgeorge]

Frequency response of the Shuoer looks pretty good, but above budget.

Neutrality is still somewhat subjective, and a flat bass response obvioulsy is too lean for you, even if the measurements are just part of the story.
Since you need good isolation a BA IEM will be better suited for you than a DD, but the BA's have generally leaner, tighter and faster bass.

The Moondrop Blessing or Blessing 2 could work for you, but it is a hybrid, so will likely have a vent, and therefore isolate a little less than an all BA model.
The Drop FDX1 is another option that comes with 3 different nozzles which allow you to adapt the signature. I have a virtually identical JVC FD02 modded and love it. My cheapest IEM but really versatile.

For fit, isolation and neutrality I could also recommend the QDC 4SS, but again that is above your budget, so only an option if you find a used one by chance.
This one is designed as a studio monitor. Ask if you want to know more.

 

[surfgeorge]

Frequency response of the Shuoer looks pretty good, but above budget.

Neutrality is still somewhat subjective, and a flat bass response obvioulsy is too lean for you, even if the measurements are just part of the story.
Since you need good isolation a BA IEM will be better suited for you than a DD, but the BA's have generally leaner, tighter and faster bass.

The Moondrop Blessing or Blessing 2 could work for you, but it is a hybrid, so will likely have a vent, and therefore isolate a little less than an all BA model.
The Drop FDX1 is another option that comes with 3 different nozzles which allow you to adapt the signature. I have a virtually identical JVC FD02 modded and love it. My cheapest IEM but really versatile.

For fit, isolation and neutrality I could also recommend the QDC 4SS, but again that is above your budget, so only an option if you find a used one by chance.
This one is designed as a studio monitor. Ask if you want to know more.

 

[Summum Malum]

Frequency response of the Shuoer looks pretty good, but above budget.

Neutrality is still somewhat subjective, and a flat bass response obvioulsy is too lean for you, even if the measurements are just part of the story.
Since you need good isolation a BA IEM will be better suited for you than a DD, but the BA's have generally leaner, tighter and faster bass.

The Moondrop Blessing or Blessing 2 could work for you, but it is a hybrid, so will likely have a vent, and therefore isolate a little less than an all BA model.
The Drop FDX1 is another option that comes with 3 different nozzles which allow you to adapt the signature. I have a virtually identical JVC FD02 modded and love it. My cheapest IEM but really versatile.

For fit, isolation and neutrality I could also recommend the QDC 4SS, but again that is above your budget, so only an option if you find a used one by chance.
This one is designed as a studio monitor. Ask if you want to know more.

I may be way off here, but I'm skeptical of the HF5 being neutral. The bass just seemed so damn shy relative to my brother's monitor setup in his treated studio. And it wasn't even that the treble was spiked - the bass was just a lot less present.

And I had a great fit. Like, I don't love how it feels, as I'm very sensitive to my sensory experience (was even diagnosed as such when I was a kid). The isolation was unreal, and once I got used to it I found myself being able to hear details in music I hadn't before.

 

[1TrickPony]

Hey man. Just received my blessing 2 by mail today. Where you live? Montreal here. Hifigo is great. Took a month but it's here. I can fill you in if you want more impressions.

 

[Summum Malum]

Hey man. Just received my blessing 2 by mail today. Where you live? Montreal here. Hifigo is great. Took a month but it's here. I can fill you in if you want more impressions.

Oh yeah? I'd love to hear (har har har, I'm punny) your impressions.

I live in Toronto.

Edit: with tax, duties, and shipping, what did it come to?

 

[1TrickPony]

Oh yeah? I'd love to hear (har har har, I'm punny) your impressions.

I live in Toronto.

Edit: with tax, duties, and shipping, what did it come to?

Hm. Hard answer that *ahem*ahem*. I did pay 20$ cad to dhl. Any fees beyond that seem to escape my mind...

I'm curious (forgive me if I missed it); what's your source? So far it's loving my oriolus dp100 DAP. The subbass is CLEAN & SOLID (texture wise). As you may have read, this hybrid is really about the mids, but the pairing is so wonderful that even the subbass frequency is given a lot of love, which is apparent through the imaging isolation. Really loving it upon first listen. Gtg. I'll write some more.

Also, tried it with my Opus#1 and it's been a bit of a tiring listen because of the brighter nature/tilt of the iem... so keep that in mind. Tl;dr, synergy or pairing can really influence how I feel about them.

 

[surfgeorge]

I may be way off here, but I'm skeptical of the HF5 being neutral. The bass just seemed so damn shy relative to my brother's monitor setup in his treated studio. And it wasn't even that the treble was spiked - the bass was just a lot less present.

And I had a great fit. Like, I don't love how it feels, as I'm very sensitive to my sensory experience (was even diagnosed as such when I was a kid). The isolation was unreal, and once I got used to it I found myself being able to hear details in music I hadn't before.

You can only be right about what you hear
I am not surprised about the HF5 being light on bass. It's always about the balance between upper and lower frequencies, and the HF5 has the usual pinna gain boost around 3k but lacks even a moderate boost in bass to balance it out.

Anyway - I think with the blessing you should be on a good track.