[Fastnbulbous]

I skimmed through all 21 pages of the Mofasest Trio thread. From what I've seen, the honeymoon period for new IEMs last for about 4 months max, then in November it just went kaput, lol. I made the dude who'd been trying to sell his since December an offer, didn't hear back. Meanwhile I'd sold a few odds and ends this week and had a few hundred in PayPal credit so I thought what the heck, and pulled the trigger on a Shouer EJ07. Linsoul should give y'all a commission!

 

[dan3952]

Shanling ME700 at just under $600.

They use 24K gold plated dynamic drivers for the bass, and those in particular, are quite warm; like I'm using a tube amp. Knowles BA drivers for the midrange and the treble, which are somewhat warm. They have a lively (but not fatiguing as the treble isn't hot) and mid bass forward signature that really works for classic rock as the dynamics are there, as well (not like the dullard Sennheiser open backs I once had).

Voices were so clear with the Knowles, that my jaw had dropped when I had played Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" (itself an over-processed recording with limited dynamic range in typical 1980's style, but with nicely mastered vocals).

I find lots of times, with hard rock and metal especially, I prefer warm gear, as a cold, metallic or brassy signature isn't enjoyable especially with music that has a lot of percussion flourishes.

My DAC and headphone amp, are both neutral, "straight wire with gain" types of devices, which let the sonic character of your headphones present itself.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

Shanling ME700 at just under $600.

They use 24K gold plated dynamic drivers for the bass, and those in particular, are quite warm; like I'm using a tube amp. Knowles BA drivers for the midrange and the treble, which are somewhat warm. They have a lively (but not fatiguing as the treble isn't hot) and mid bass forward signature that really works for classic rock as the dynamics are there, as well (not like the dullard Sennheiser open backs I once had).

Voices were so clear with the Knowles, that my jaw had dropped when I had played Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" (itself an over-processed recording with limited dynamic range in typical 1980's style, but with nicely mastered vocals).

I find lots of times, with hard rock and metal especially, I prefer warm gear, as a cold, metallic or brassy signature isn't enjoyable especially with music that has a lot of percussion flourishes.

My DAC and headphone amp, are both neutral, "straight wire with gain" types of devices, which let the sonic character of your headphones present itself.

Got me interested! Esp. as I too find the Senn drag their feet and like warmer gear for metal - when the song is called “Freezing Moon” I don’t need the headphones themselves to sound like a slice of lunar ice.

 

[dan3952]

Sennheiser's IEMs don't interest me very much. When I had compared ten or more open back headphones in late 2018, all of them had sounded "polite" with rock and metal, and I thought their house sound would carry over into their IEMs. Nothing had touched Audeze for visceral impact (like reproducing kick drums). I had just sold a pair of LCD-3s, and am new to IEMs. Reviews of their new Euclid (their true in ear model) have been disappointing. Probably not a great value either.

Going through all of the reviews is exhausting, there are so many Chinese ones out there. I had ordered my pair straight out of China. As time goes on, I will probably pick up a second pair that has different sonic characteristics.

I had my mind made up on Meze's Rai Pentas, until I started reading about cheaper Chinese IEMs that often offer better value. I will try that Freezing Moon song.

Have a pair of Shanling ME500's for sale at $150 if you're interested. They are unused.

Got me interested! Esp. as I too find the Senn drag their feet and like warmer gear for metal - when the song is called “Freezing Moon” I don’t need the headphones themselves to sound like a slice of lunar ice.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I feel like planars don't work as well in a small form factor just because of how they produce sound. One of the benefits of a full-size planar is that the driver is massive compared to regular headphones, like over 100mm versus 40-50mm, and this can compensate for the fact that it lacks a motor to have the entire diaphragm moving. Down at IEM size when you're talking 12mm vs 18mm I can't imagine that without some serious chicanery in the housing that they'll be able to reproduce that magic. It's like the inverse of why there aren't any full-size headphones that are BA only.

I sold my beloved LCD-3 some time ago, always on the lookout for anything that recaptures the magic.

 

[dan3952]

I always suspected that the LCDi3 uses a piece of their full LCD-3 driver, in that headphone. They do include their Cipher BT module/cable at the $899 price point (a much smaller solution than what I have now). I doubt LCDi3 resolution is exceptional compared to some of the Chinese IEMs at that price.

I had let my LCD-3s go for a lower price than I feel I could have gotten for them, considering that they aren't currently in full production. They were the darkest headphone I have ever owned: I kept turning them up to try and hear the upper midrange, even when using the Reveal plugin. It was obvious that they were going for a warm, lush, pleasing sound, and not outright detail at that price point. They had sounded muffled at lower volumes. LCD-3 bass was so powerful, it had felt like mortars landing (but only noticeable with songs that had a lot of content below 70 Hz). I could hear more stringed instrument texture with Focal's Clears, HiFiMan's Aryas, and my Martin Logan 60 XT speakers (I have only the last product currently). I hadn't felt that soundstage or imaging was exceptional with the LCD-3s, either. Their timbre was better with female vocals than with the Aryas; HiFiMan having what I felt was a hollow, plasticky sound at certain frequencies that I hadn't liked. As for the speakers, even my servo enabled subwoofer can't reproduce notes as cleanly at 60 Hz as the LCD-3s can. I must have room nulls, phase shift, and higher distortion. Clears have a resonant peak at 60 Hz which probably muddies up the bass. Only the Tyll Hertsens generated graph shows it.

ZMF Auteurs are supposed to have a very natural timbre and sound a bit warm. Bass won't be as good as LCD-3s.

I feel like planars don't work as well in a small form factor just because of how they produce sound. One of the benefits of a full-size planar is that the driver is massive compared to regular headphones, like over 100mm versus 40-50mm, and this can compensate for the fact that it lacks a motor to have the entire diaphragm moving. Down at IEM size when you're talking 12mm vs 18mm I can't imagine that without some serious chicanery in the housing that they'll be able to reproduce that magic. It's like the inverse of why there aren't any full-size headphones that are BA only.

I sold my beloved LCD-3 some time ago, always on the lookout for anything that recaptures the magic.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I always suspected that the LCDi3 uses a piece of their full LCD-3 driver, in that headphone. They do include their Cipher BT module/cable at the $899 price point (a much smaller solution than what I have now). I doubt LCDi3 resolution is exceptional compared to some of the Chinese IEMs at that price.

I had let my LCD-3s go for a lower price than I feel I could have gotten for them, considering that they aren't currently in full production. They were the darkest headphone I have ever owned: I kept turning them up to try and hear the upper midrange, even when using the Reveal plugin. It was obvious that they were going for a warm, lush, pleasing sound, and not outright detail at that price point. They had sounded muffled at lower volumes. LCD-3 bass was so powerful, it had felt like mortars landing (but only noticeable with songs that had a lot of content below 70 Hz). I could hear more stringed instrument texture with Focal's Clears, HiFiMan's Aryas, and my Martin Logan 60 XT speakers (I have only the last product currently). I hadn't felt that soundstage or imaging was exceptional with the LCD-3s, either. Their timbre was better with female vocals than with the Aryas; HiFiMan having what I felt was a hollow, plasticky sound at certain frequencies that I hadn't liked. As for the speakers, even my servo enabled subwoofer can't reproduce notes as cleanly at 60 Hz as the LCD-3s can. I must have room nulls, phase shift, and higher distortion. Clears have a resonant peak at 60 Hz which probably muddies up the bass. Only the Tyll Hertsens generated graph shows it.

ZMF Auteurs are supposed to have a very natural timbre and sound a bit warm. Bass won't be as good as LCD-3s.

Were they a pre-fazor? Because I adored my LCD-3s but your description makes them sound like they were a set of closed-back DDs or something lol.

 

[immortalsoul]

I have been looking for the best iem for metal for years and I tried many different iems and I finally decided that I have the best iem for metal, the JH Audio Roxanne Performance Series paired with Acoustic research Ar m2 dap. I tried the same iem with other daps but it doesn't sound as good as with the Acoustic research ar m2. I listened mostly death and technical death metal

 

[SomeGuyDude]

If nothing else we know you got great taste!

 

[IEMusic]

I have been looking for the best iem for metal for years and I tried many different iems and I finally decided that I have the best iem for metal, the JH Audio Roxanne Performance Series paired with Acoustic research Ar m2 dap. I tried the same iem with other daps but it doesn't sound as good as with the Acoustic research ar m2. I listened mostly death and technical death metal

I’ve never heard the Roxanne, but that makes perfect sense, since the Roxanne was specifically designed to handle rock/metal very well.

 

[ScrofulousBinturong]

Yeah I agree, whats the point of having an iem that you cant use with your favorite tracks if they are low quality/mastered.

But fortunately a big majority of my files are high quality, so I dont have to worry about that.

It's a little like insisting on lossless codecs to listen to Bathory's first album

 

[SomeGuyDude]

It's a little like insisting on lossless codecs to listen to Bathory's first album

Nothing like jamming to some Burzum, knowing he recorded it literally on a cheap stereo, with good equipment.

 

[G777]

Nothing like jamming to some Burzum, knowing he recorded it literally on a cheap stereo, with good equipment.

Didn’t Varg record a couple albums while he was in prison? That’s pretty impressive in its own right.

 

[dan3952]

They were post fazor LCD-3s. They were nowhere near as lively as the Focal Clears. If you get Audeze headphones again, I would recommend using only the Reveal plugin with them, instead of trying to EQ them manually. I had wasted a lot of time doing the latter. I liked Audeze headphones the most with classic rock and female vocals, where the warm, laid back, rounded, lush, liquid signature was most welcome. The Clears could sound brassy with percussion and were all about sharp edges to me, in comparison. Those had offered more detail for sure, but this wasn't enjoyable with certain types of music.

I'm currently using Shanling IEMs that use 10 mm 24K gold plated dynamic drivers for bass, and they have really good midbass and slam for rock music. They also sound quite warm (warmer than LCD-3s) Go figure. I didn't think it was possible for such a big sound to come out of such a small package, but they had found a way to do it.

Were they a pre-fazor? Because I adored my LCD-3s but your description makes them sound like they were a set of closed-back DDs or something lol.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

The rumor once was that Varg recorded the vocals for the early albums in the toilet. Not on the toilet mind.
Prison in Norway is... something else. There can be a vacation center vibe. Or there used to be. Although he was in some kind of super-max facility up in Trondheim so that was probably not a fun experience.