[yong_shun]

My first conclusion is: Thanks/unfortunately to my curiosity I will definitely throw some money down some holes.

You put so many interesting aspects to that discussion, I want to take them all into consideration.

Looks like it will become some iterative process, so I will get a better idea of my personal sound and fit preference. I totally understand that especially fit is super important in terms of soundstage, imaging and comfort, of course.

I think, the first outcome of this thread is that I will get a Mojo for me, so I can compare it to the ZEN DAC and to have a DAC to enjoy listening on the sofa at home.

Then I will get me a set of budget to mid-level IEM like JVC-FD0x, Sony XBA-N3, Fiio FH-5, Ety ER4, iBasso IT04 and the CA Polaris, so I can start discovering on my personal journey.

Mojo is a good start and I wish you all the best in the journey of exploring! This is a one-way ticket and you cannot u-turn halfway. HAHAHA!

 

[Raketen]

Then I will get me a set of budget to mid-level IEM like JVC-FD0x, Sony XBA-N3, Fiio FH-5, Ety ER4, iBasso IT04 and the CA Polaris, so I can start discovering on my personal journey.

With some luck maybe the first one you try does the trick for you. Then you can find new money holes with over-ears, or, worse yet, speakers .

( I should stress it's the modded version Drop/JVC FDX1 not the original verisons JVC FD01 or FD02 I was referring to (though you can perform the mods yourself, there is some room for error, drop version also slightly cheaper in US at least).)

 

[discotexx]

( I should stress it's the modded version Drop/JVC FDX1 not the original verisons)

Understood! But they‘re sold out, aren‘t they? You cannot buy them NIB. @surfgeorge has sent me a hint on modding the FD01. I found that quite interesting, so I was thinking of picking one of these.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Stay away from the Mojo imo - doesn’t do well with IEMs and makes more sensitive stuff (like pretty much all campfire IEMs) hiss

I’d say you should try and find a store that does free returns - I’m not sure which ones in the USA do that, but it gives you a good way of buying stuff and then returning them if they don’t fit your preferences (audio46 and musicteck come to mind but idk what their return policy is)

You can also get a bunch of mid-fi IEMs as suggested previously to get a sense of what kind of sound signature you’d like, but you’d also be eating a fair chunk out of your budget in the process. Amazon is an excellent place to try stuff out as their return policy is pretty much 100% sided with the buyer

 

[discotexx]

Since I‘m located in Germany the return policy is not a big problem, but I‘d like to minimise/avoid that (especially for the smaller shops that would suffer a bit from having large B stock). Unfortunately there is no shop near me where I could audition any of the IEMs mentioned here in the thread. That’s a pity!

@mvvRAZ Can you give me some other options to the Mojo from your experience that are portable? Like xDSD?

 

[mvvRAZ]

Since I‘m located in Germany the return policy is not a big problem, but I‘d like to minimise/avoid that (especially for the smaller shops that would suffer a bit from having large B stock). Unfortunately there is no shop near me where I could audition any of the IEMs mentioned here in the thread. That’s a pity!

@mvvRAZ Can you give me some other options to the Mojo from your experience that are portable? Like xDSD?

Lotoo have a new portable dongle thats coming out and looks really good. As far as portable under 500 is concerned I’d say the audio quest cobalt is one of the best options for IEMs specifically - the mojo is more headphone territory.

My personal favourite IEM under 2000 is definitely the IER Z1R (and one of my top 3 overall favourites)

Other things I’d suggest are the Andromeda S (used ones pop up for 750-ish euros), the 64 Audio U12t (and the trio to a lower extent), or the VE8 if you’re willing to stretch the budget a little. All of these are quite easy to like and listen to, and you’re almost guaranteed to at least not dislike what you’re hearing even if you don’t love it

The big question in general is what kind of sound you’d enjoy. I for one like both really flat signatures as well as V-shapes as long as the texture is done right. I know for example that an IEM that doesn’t have forward and extended treble is one that I am almost guaranteed to sell within a week or two of owning

I’d say another great option is for you to start the hobby in the used market - while there are no returns there, you can resell whatever you bought for practically the same price as long as it’s a decently popular IEM. A used U12t in mint condition is about 1300 euros in the EU

Lastly, you can contact Vision Ears in Koln and they might be able to send you some demos of their lineup for you to try. They have all kinds of signatures so you’d also get an idea of what kind of sound you like. Make sure you try the VE8, the 4.2, the 3.2 and the 5 as they offer quite different things

 

[Raketen]

Understood! But they‘re sold out, aren‘t they? You cannot buy them NIB. @surfgeorge has sent me a hint on modding the FD01. I found that quite interesting, so I was thinking of picking one of these.

oh my bad- in that case, yeah it's not difficult, just important to get the right material (lost my first swab based filters & I have experimented with a few other materials since then none of which worked as well, some worse than unmodded (which I personally like but it is not very recommendable IMO))

 

[hkpants]

If you haven't committed to anything yet, I can give some suggestions for budget/mid-fi IEMs and DAC/Amps in a couple hours when I have the time to sit down and write it up.

 

[discotexx]

If you haven't committed to anything yet, I can give some suggestions for budget/mid-fi IEMs and DAC/Amps in a couple hours when I have the time to sit down and write it up.

Yes, of course! Everybody is still free to make suggestions or share his thoughts on this thread.

 

[hkpants]

My suggestions for IEMs and DAC/amp for IEMs.

For IEMs, here are some good ones that either I've tried and consider competitive or I've heard great things about (I'll note which is which). I'll only list budget/mid-fi since you decided you'll go for multiple IEMs instead of one TOTL IEM.

• Budget Hi-Fi (<$150)(Normally I consider budget IEMs to be <$75 but you have a huge budget so I did this so I could include more)
  • Tin HiFi T2 (Neutral)
  • Tin HiFi T4 (Neutral)
  • Moondrop Starfield (Harman)(Haven't heard personally)
  • Etymotic ER2XR (Neutral)(Haven't tried the ER2SE version but I've heard good things about that version)
• Mid-Fi ($150-$500)
  • Etymotic ER4XR (Neutral)(Haven't tried the ER4SR version but I've heard good things about that version)
  • Massdrop Plus (Not sure)(Haven't heard personally)
  • Moondrop Blessing (Harman)(There's also a Blessing 2 that I've heard good things about but never tried)
  • Fearless S8P (V-Shaped)(Custom available)(Haven't tried the S8F or S8Z but I've heard good things about those versions)
• DAC/Amp: I don't have as much experience with difference DAC/amps but here's my suggestion. These are all transportable (meaning easy to carry between multiple locations) but not all are portable (fit in your pocket for on-the-go use) so I'll differentiate between them.
  • iFi Micro iDSD Black Label (transportable): Out of all the ones I've tried, this is has been my go-to for a while now. The built-in IEMatch and different gain modes is godsend for IEMs, especially for sensitive IEMs like most Campfire IEMs. It's technically portable but I find it a bit too chunky for my pocket. It is small enough that you could carry it around for places like coffee shops, libraries, etc.
  • Radsone ES100 (portable): This one is a Bluetooth DAC/amp and is great for portable usage. The sound quality with LDAC coding is honesty good enough that you won't notice a difference while on-the-go. I use this for cases where it's not convenient to bring my iFi Micro iDSD Black Label around or I just want to have my phone detached from my IEM while listening to music (usually while relaxing outside)

That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. There's plenty more that would work, but I suggest checking these ones out.

 

[bland125]

I find it really hard to suggest to others not ever fully knowing what they'd like and what are their listening habits.

My attempt to a suggestion will be based on this: you like to stream a lot? No DAP then. I find that how you listen to music will lead to your type source, DAC and amp so get something portable that has the functions YOU want. For IEMs, I went with the hyped stuff and followed the review train for some time just to hate it all. I listen to the same music as you, I have the Zen DAC like you to as my easy to go to office headphone setup. I own a Polaris V2 as well and I am fully happy with it. I based my choice on how I listen to 2 channel stereo and in my case, 2.1 and that .1 is VERY important to me. Polaris V2 have subwoofer like bass they say, so I bought 1 to try. Yes, subwoofer like bass when called upon to. Hey, there is a kick drum thump and bass guitar in the Rage Against The Machine Battle of Los Angeles album after all!

They might not be my end game set but I really dig them.

The cool thing in this hobby of ours is that there is some stuff for everyone out there and that set you got and finally don't like so much is going to be someone else highly sought-after set and you will happily sell it to them.

 

[surfgeorge]

Stay away from the Mojo imo - doesn’t do well with IEMs and makes more sensitive stuff (like pretty much all campfire IEMs) hiss

I’d say you should try and find a store that does free returns - I’m not sure which ones in the USA do that, but it gives you a good way of buying stuff and then returning them if they don’t fit your preferences (audio46 and musicteck come to mind but idk what their return policy is)

You can also get a bunch of mid-fi IEMs as suggested previously to get a sense of what kind of sound signature you’d like, but you’d also be eating a fair chunk out of your budget in the process. Amazon is an excellent place to try stuff out as their return policy is pretty much 100% sided with the buyer

I don't know where you got that information from.
I have the Mojo and listened to Andromeda and have some pretty sensitive IEMs myself.
USB input on the Mojo has a dead silent, black background.

Outside the US the possibilities of buying, testing and returning IEMs or other products are not common.
Some manufacturers have loaner programs, but that's for the expensive IEMs.

In EU a good option is buying used to reduce risk and loss in case you want to re-sell.
It also takes quite a while to really judge an IEM, I'd say at least a week for myself, and my opinion will continue to evolve even after that.

 

[mvvRAZ]

I don't know where you got that information from.
I have the Mojo and listened to Andromeda and have some pretty sensitive IEMs myself.
USB input on the Mojo has a dead silent, black background.

Outside the US the possibilities of buying, testing and returning IEMs or other products are not common.
Some manufacturers have loaner programs, but that's for the expensive IEMs.

In EU a good option is buying used to reduce risk and loss in case you want to re-sell.
It also takes quite a while to really judge an IEM, I'd say at least a week for myself, and my opinion will continue to evolve even after that.

I owned the Mojo with the Andromeda S and I’m pretty dead certain it makes it hiss. Same goes for the Noble Katana and Encore, the 64 Fourte, U18t etc etc

 

[Wes S]

I owned the Mojo with the Andromeda S and I’m pretty dead certain it makes it hiss. Same goes for the Noble Katana and Encore, the 64 Fourte, U18t etc etc

Excuse me for just jumping in here, but I recently got into iems, and there is no better a person than mvvRaz to get advice from. He has had more TOTL iems and cables than most and has great ears. I got a lot of great info from mvvRaz, and he has never steered me wrong. I trust his ears and advice completely, and if he recommends an iem, it is worth looking into.

 

[Womaz]

I love this thread . I cant really help you as I am a novice compared to most on here but I am looking forward to see how you progress with your choices.
Its mind boggling at times this hobby but a lot of fun , and Head-Fi is an incredible place to get advice.
I have the Andro and the Etymotic ER4XR and I love them both, although they are so different. I used to always ask why people had more than one IEM and Headphone, but I have now joined that club too. I think you will end up with more than one too
You have certainly been thorough in your initial research

PS Just to add if you can get away with the deep insertion I think the ER4XR offers great value for money