[Sajid Amit]

Hi Friends. First post on this thread. As far as BA IEMs go, these are both pretty good for rock and metal, IMO.

 

[Leviathant]

@Garney - How is the Nio for soundstage depth/width and instrument separation? (Maybe compared to SA6 which I’m now relatively familiar with)

Reason is I went for a run with my cheaper final E3000 and was listening to the brand new Fear Factory album and the bass response from the DD was really great tbh. So I think I’ll wait on getting an Andromeda until after I’ve bought a new DD set for metal. Also, been listening to my VE8 (all BA) and I can’t get away from how suffocating and closed in these are for complex metal tracks.

I’m looking at the Nio now as my number 1 choice, but reports that they aren’t the most technical/resolving worries me as they certainly aren’t cheap. I’ve also seen that 64A Tia Trio is on sale in the UK at the moment and is actually cheaper than Nio right now, but I think they are too V shaped and I think they’d be too bright for metal (albeit better technicalities than Nio?).

 

[xwfalcon]

Hi peoples from down under ,

Been into metal for about 35 years .I have a set of Shure SE846 for IEM at the moment . I want to buy another set IEM that will be an upgrade over the Shure SE846 . After reading this whole thread i have a short list but still doing research .It is not possible for me to demo any of these IEM at the present time because of that nasty C word .So anymore info on these IEM on my short list would be very helpful as well as any other higher end IEM that should be on my list . Thanks for an advice in advance here is my short list ,

64 Audio U12t
64 Audio Nio 9
UM Mest MK2

 

[firesign]

Hi peoples from down under ,

Been into metal for about 35 years .I have a set of Shure SE846 for IEM at the moment . I want to buy another set IEM that will be an upgrade over the Shure SE846 . After reading this whole thread i have a short list but still doing research .It is not possible for me to demo any of these IEM at the present time because of that nasty C word .So anymore info on these IEM on my short list would be very helpful as well as any other higher end IEM that should be on my list . Thanks for an advice in advance here is my short list ,

64 Audio U12t
64 Audio Nio 9
UM Mest MK2

I have the Mest (OG) and the U12t, and I've always been attracted to the Nio, but I haven't been able to try it.

Keep in mind that I have not tried the Shure 846 either, but from what some friends tell me it is a very dark IEM, with a great lack of treble.

For me the best IEM for metal, of all the ones I have tried, is the Mest. It is true that, from its price upwards, I still have a lot to try. But I also find it very difficult to imagine something that sounds better with Metal. Its sound is very spectacular, surprising, which suits this style of music very well. Of course, keep in mind that all the treble that 846 lacks, here you will find them and multiplied by 3. So if you are not a lover of treble (I am, I love them), look the other way.

The U12t is a very different beast. Much more neutral, and much less surprising. Its sound has less treble than the Mest, and its profile can be more assimilated to what you find in the 846 (much less dark, and much better technically). It is also more comfortable, and thanks to Apex it can be used for hours without realizing that you are wearing it.

 

[immortalsoul]

If you want to buy a great iem for metal music you should look into Jh audio Roxanne. It is the best sounding iem that I tried for metal music and I tried quite a few, you can check my profile and see the headphones that I have/had. Anyway good luck with your buy and I hope your purchase is going to bring you joy

 

[SteveKiwi]

Hi peoples from down under ,

Been into metal for about 35 years .I have a set of Shure SE846 for IEM at the moment . I want to buy another set IEM that will be an upgrade over the Shure SE846 . After reading this whole thread i have a short list but still doing research .It is not possible for me to demo any of these IEM at the present time because of that nasty C word .So anymore info on these IEM on my short list would be very helpful as well as any other higher end IEM that should be on my list . Thanks for an advice in advance here is my short list ,

64 Audio U12t
64 Audio Nio 9
UM Mest MK2

I have all 3 and you couldn't go wrong with any of them.

My preference is (and it's all personal taste)

1) U12t
2) Mest mk2
3) Nio

 

[Garney]

@Garney - How is the Nio for soundstage depth/width and instrument separation? (Maybe compared to SA6 which I’m now relatively familiar with)

Reason is I went for a run with my cheaper final E3000 and was listening to the brand new Fear Factory album and the bass response from the DD was really great tbh. So I think I’ll wait on getting an Andromeda until after I’ve bought a new DD set for metal. Also, been listening to my VE8 (all BA) and I can’t get away from how suffocating and closed in these are for complex metal tracks.

I’m looking at the Nio now as my number 1 choice, but reports that they aren’t the most technical/resolving worries me as they certainly aren’t cheap. I’ve also seen that 64A Tia Trio is on sale in the UK at the moment and is actually cheaper than Nio right now, but I think they are too V shaped and I think they’d be too bright for metal (albeit better technicalities than Nio?).

Sorry for the late reply here. Missed this somehow.

The Nio's soundstage is the best I've heard (not really saying much as I'm still limited here) in an IEM. It's deeper to my ears rather than wider. Instrument separation is pretty dang excellent as well. Certainly better than the SA6. As I mentioned previously, if the recording you're listening to is mixed bass heavy then the DD may slightly overwhelm the mids and make things sound a bit "closed in" or give a "wall of sound" effect. But that's more a fault of the mix and not the Nio in my opinion. I get the same effect with those recordings on the SA6.

The Nio's safer tuning, similar to the SA6, yields zero fatigue which is key for me as 90% of the time I'm listening to fast metal, but I think that comes at the sacrifice of technicalities and treble air / detail. I haven't heard anything higher end than the Nio but from what I've read on here and others comparisons, the Trio will definitely be more resolving, detailed and technically proficient than the Nio. Assuming a lot more sparkle and air to the treble as well which may come off as bright if you're sensitive to a hotter treble area. The Nio is really forgiving with poorly recorded and mastered albums (lots of raw black metal tends to fall in this category).

Good luck in your search!

 

[zepmaj]

I wonder if anybody tried Thieaudio Oracle.

 

[noobandroid]

acoustune hs1650cu incoming, hope its good and fun

 

[xwfalcon]

I have all 3 and you couldn't go wrong with any of them.

My preference is (and it's all personal taste)

1) U12t
2) Mest mk2
3) Nio

The reasons you rank them like that would be awesome if you could give me a bit more info .All the reviews i have read and watched have been very positive for the U12T .Only thing that stopping me from buying is all the talk about DD drivers being so much better for subbass and midbass and the U12T being all BA .

 

[MatW]

The reasons you rank them like that would be awesome if you could give me a bit more info .All the reviews i have read and watched have been very positive for the U12T .Only thing that stopping me from buying is all the talk about DD drivers being so much better for subbass and midbass and the U12T being all BA .

I'd also be interested in the reasoning, and the type of music he listens to. I'm in the DD camp, for metal. I liked the U12T and I'm thinking of buying it again, but I liked it with other genres, not metal so much, too little slam for me.

 

[Tristy]

The reasons you rank them like that would be awesome if you could give me a bit more info .All the reviews i have read and watched have been very positive for the U12T .Only thing that stopping me from buying is all the talk about DD drivers being so much better for subbass and midbass and the U12T being all BA .

The U12t were very good and didn't seem to do anything wrong. Just a very easy listening, technical IEM... The downside of these characteristics become apparent on extended listening sessions. The U12t's lack of DD for bass alongside its inoffensive tuning just makes it boring (to me). Ultimately I ended up selling it and keeping my Solaris SE and Legend X.

I haven't heard the Nio and Mest but I've read that they are better in this regard.

 

[SteveKiwi]

The reasons you rank them like that would be awesome if you could give me a bit more info .All the reviews i have read and watched have been very positive for the U12T .Only thing that stopping me from buying is all the talk about DD drivers being so much better for subbass and midbass and the U12T being all BA .

Hi

The reason I ranked them in that order is that the U12T is more balanced across all the sound spectrum

With regards to the BA vs DD bass, with the U12T both sub and mid bass is excellent a great example of which can be found on Firth of Fifth from the Genesis album Selling England by the Pound.

When the synth and bass kicks in (in the middle of the guitar solo) you can virtually feel the sub bass.

With the MEST mk2 the bass is more prominent in the mix and perhaps could be described as a bit wet vs the U12T being drier.

If I was going to describe the difference between the two simply it would be that the MEST mk2 sounds as if it is being played from a source with the old fashioned "loud!" button pressed whereas the U12T doesn't.

As I said earlier it's all about personal preference and I like both very much indeed.

I hope this is of some help

Steve

 

[ObserverOfEmpty]

What's the best IEM for metal in general up to 150$?

 

[Strifeff7]

What's the best IEM for metal in general up to 150$?

Fiio FH3, Shozy 1.1, TRN BA5, Ibasso IT00,