As an aside from the DHC circle jerk that’s going on right now, I’ve got a question with regards to “body.” After dipping my toe into the world of speakers, I’ve come to a few more realizations with regards to the kind of sound I prefer. I used to lust after large, wide, airy soundstage, usually achieved through a V shaped signature, but a few months ago, I underwent a somewhat life changing experience with a PMC MB2se. At first, I didn’t realize what I was in for. I listened without thinking there was anything too special. Once I went home, I fired up my own pair of speakers and realized the error of my ways. My own speakers sounded like a reverse L now, with lots of treble and a lot less bass and mids, thin and unsubstantial. I realized at that moment that the MB2se had a sound that almost combined the density of my iems with the soundstage of speakers. Images were so solid and real, so close to what I was used to with iems, that I neglected to realize that these were a pair of speakers I was listening to, and that the body these speakers were putting out is what made them special.
I used to think i want iems that put out expansive out of head soundstage, and I still appreciate it, but I think the strength of iems lies in body and instrument density. Herein lies my problem. I’m looking for an iem with even body throughout the midrange, from 200hz up to 8khz. my own A12t, to me at least, sounds less dense than I would like in the 2-6k region, which results in thinner sounding female vocals and splashy cymbal strikes. iems like the VE5 have the density up top that I’m looking for, but pale when it comes to lower midrange density. However at the same time, too much body seems to result in some nasally sounding tonality, something I had trouble with the Solaris in the lower registers, where double basses sounded congested and muffled.
What’s a ciem you enjoy with just enough bass and treble and a neutral but dense sounding midrange?
TLDR: Basically, what’s some good male and female vocal stuff?