IEM for audiophile starter, entry level vs. TOTL

[mvvRAZ]

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.

Aw thanks dude!

Yeah impressions tend to vary a fair bit from person to person, I think you and I hear things quite similarly, so my recommendations can be useful to you

All in all though the used market is probably the best place to start - I made the mistake myself to buy everything new for my first few months in the hobby and ended up losing a fair bit of money on some IEMs that I could've gotten in mint condition on Head-Fi

 

[dazzerfong]

I'll be frank: the difference from a $200 IEM to a $2000 IEM is $1800 and a bit of sound differences.

I love being picky, but I'm also not going to kid myself that the $2000 IEM annihilates my $200 wireless pair. As for the IEMs you mentioned, I've tried them all out at some point in my journey:

Polaris V2: ridiculously bassy. Strongly prefer V1.
Andromeda Gold: honestly doesn't sound like an Andromeda at all. The whole point of Andromeda is the have those sparkly highs: the Gold sort of attenuates that.
Solaris: lovely bass, but wonky mid-range makes female vocals sound a bit distant (and not in a good way).
IER-Z1R: probably the best bass I've tried, but poor comfort and same wonkiness in mid-range that affects male vocals.

I don't know what your frame of 'neutral' is, because everyone's ear canals are different to the point that the resonance affects what you perceive as 'neutral'. None of them above mentioned sound neutral to me, nor were they intended to be.

Chord Mojo is also not appropriate for any CA IEMs whatsoever as they hiss badly.

 

[knopi]

I agree on some all in one dac/amps, I tried Hugo with iems and it was so bad I prefered my iPhone and also Brooklyn DAC was also so bad with iems.
But there will be sure something valuable specifically made tuned for iems like RME and other sources which some mentioned here.

 

[mvvRAZ]

I'll be frank: the difference from a $200 IEM to a $2000 IEM is $1800 and a bit of sound differences.

I love being picky, but I'm also not going to kid myself that the $2000 IEM annihilates my $200 wireless pair. As for the IEMs you mentioned, I've tried them all out at some point in my journey:

Polaris V2: ridiculously bassy. Strongly prefer V1.
Andromeda Gold: honestly doesn't sound like an Andromeda at all. The whole point of Andromeda is the have those sparkly highs: the Gold sort of attenuates that.
Solaris: lovely bass, but wonky mid-range makes female vocals sound a bit distant (and not in a good way).
IER-Z1R: probably the best bass I've tried, but poor comfort and same wonkiness in mid-range that affects male vocals.

I don't know what your frame of 'neutral' is, because everyone's ear canals are different to the point that the resonance affects what you perceive as 'neutral'. None of them above mentioned sound neutral to me, nor were they intended to be.

Chord Mojo is also not appropriate for any CA IEMs whatsoever as they hiss badly.

Hmm I personally think the difference between 200 and 2000$ IEMs is quite massive but where I agree is that to someone who's just gotten into audio it might be rather small or insignificant. It might be a good idea to start off small - my favourite sub-500 pick is the Noble Savant II for example. Spend some time in mid-fi, and then have a natural escalation/progression. You end up spending some more but it's a more satisfying experience than going from zero to hero

 

[dazzerfong]

Hmm I personally think the difference between 200 and 2000$ IEMs is quite massive but where I agree is that to someone who's just gotten into audio it might be rather small or insignificant. It might be a good idea to start off small - my favourite sub-500 pick is the Noble Savant II for example. Spend some time in mid-fi, and then have a natural escalation/progression. You end up spending some more but it's a more satisfying experience than going from zero to hero

Well yeah, $1800 is massive.

I personally had the 'rule' of doubling each time: my first IEM was $30, then $60, $120, etc. Found that offered a nice balance between experiencing and getting to the top rather quickly.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Well yeah, $1800 is massive.

I personally had the 'rule' of doubling each time: my first IEM was $30, then $60, $120, etc. Found that offered a nice balance between experiencing and getting to the top rather quickly.

I think that's a good rule yeah, and it makes sure that the hobby remains a "hobby" and not a one off purchase. On another note, how do you find the M9? It's an IEM I've been looking at for ages now but haven't quite gotten myself to jump on one

 

[Wes S]

Hmm I personally think the difference between 200 and 2000$ IEMs is quite massive but where I agree is that to someone who's just gotten into audio it might be rather small or insignificant. It might be a good idea to start off small - my favourite sub-500 pick is the Noble Savant II for example. Spend some time in mid-fi, and then have a natural escalation/progression. You end up spending some more but it's a more satisfying experience than going from zero to hero

I concur, that the Noble Savant II is a really great starting place, for getting into good iems.

 

[dazzerfong]

I think that's a good rule yeah, and it makes sure that the hobby remains a "hobby" and not a one off purchase. On another note, how do you find the M9? It's an IEM I've been looking at for ages now but haven't quite gotten myself to jump on one

The IER-M9? One of those BA IEMs that don't sound like a BA IEM. No obvious peaks and troughs anywhere, so that's a very good start in my books. Not prone to hissing at all, and very insensitive to source changes. Very comfortable, but very fit-specific in that it sounds horrible if you seal too well (weird huh). Bass has a bit of meat to it (not quite A12t levels) unless, again, if you seal too well or too little. Best IEM cable in the world bar none (except for the cruddy earhook, which degrades if you look at it wrong).

Overall, I loved it, but I wanted a custom fit so the M9s fell by the wayside. Definitely would not recommend as a beginner IEM as it's so damn fit specific.