[Pascal3366]

Hey head-fi community!

These days I thought about buying my end-game iems in the future.

Currently I am rocking the ISN H40. While these IEMs are very good and have an outstanding value at their price point,
I am still seeking for the high end / utopic experience.

I want to enter the high-end segment so I am searching for the ultimate IEMs for up to 1000€ / 1200$.

I am mainly listening to Metal / Rock, sometimes eletronic style music.

What I am searching for are high end totl IEMs that are:

- very high resolving
- highly detailed
- very musical
- natural tonality
- fun
- easy to listen to / fatigue free / ready for long listening sessions
- still have a high resolving / crisp, well-extended treble
- lovely musical, full-bodied, high resolving midrange
- high clarity
- above average / up to very big / holographic sound stage (high, wide & deep)
- very good layering / instrument separation
- bass should reach all the way down, thick/strong punch (powerful bass impact) and sub bass
- nice timbre
- vivid / lively sound presentation

What they should not be:

- harsh
- boring
- fatiguing
- sibilant
- shouty
- uncomfortable to wear

Currently I have kept my eyes on the iBasso IT07, but I don't know if that would be the best option for my preferences.

Any recommendations are welcome.


Cheers!

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I would consider a Thieaudio Clairvoyance or Monarch.

 

[Pascal3366]

mids

I would consider a Thieaudio Clairvoyance or Monarch.

Oh yes I should put them on my list, thanks!

 

[silent-circuit]

The Custom Art. FIBAE 4 may be slightly too dark for you, based on description of what you're looking for, but the 6 or 7 would probably be a good fit. (7 at 1200 Euro would be out of budget but you can probably find in budget used)

The AAW x TCA Project 4+2 would also be an option. You'd probably want to use the "neutral" bass module most of the time, for rock and metal, but having the tuning options is nice.

(As you can see I am a big TCA fan)

 

[Pascal3366]

The Custom Art. FIBAE 4 may be slightly too dark for you, based on description of what you're looking for, but the 6 or 7 would probably be a good fit. (7 at 1200 Euro would be out of budget but you can probably find in budget used)

The AAW x TCA Project 4+2 would also be an option. You'd probably want to use the "neutral" bass module most of the time, for rock and metal, but having the tuning options is nice.

(As you can see I am a big TCA fan)

The Custom Art. FIBAE 7 looks interesting!

Sadly I could not find any review about the AAW x TCA Project 4+2.

 

[silent-circuit]

Sadly I could not find any review about the AAW x TCA Project 4+2.

https://headfonics.com/aaw-x-custom-art-project-4-2-review/
Here's a review.

Crinacle has graphed it but I don't see a review.
https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/aaw-x-custom-art-project-42/

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/custom-art-aaw-project-4-2.950090/
This is the main thread for them here.

They haven't gotten a lot of press, which surprises me given it's a collaboration between two pretty big well known names in the IEM field. They're definitely my favorite IEMs in terms of sound signature and technicalities, but the FIBAE 4 is slightly more comfortable.

 

[buke9]

Hey head-fi community!

These days I thought about buying my end-game iems in the future.

Currently I am rocking the ISN H40. While these IEMs are very good and have an outstanding value at their price point,
I am still seeking for the high end / utopic experience.

I want to enter the high-end segment so I am searching for the ultimate IEMs for up to 1000€ / 1200$.

I am mainly listening to Metal / Rock, sometimes eletronic style music.

What I am searching for are high end totl IEMs that are:

- very high resolving
- highly detailed
- very musical
- natural tonality
- fun
- easy to listen to / fatigue free / ready for long listening sessions
- still have a high resolving / crisp, well-extended treble
- lovely musical, full-bodied, high resolving midrange
- high clarity
- above average / up to very big / holographic sound stage (high, wide & deep)
- very good layering / instrument separation
- bass should reach all the way down, thick/strong punch (powerful bass impact) and sub bass
- nice timbre
- vivid / lively sound presentation

What they should not be:

- harsh
- boring
- fatiguing
- sibilant
- shouty
- uncomfortable to wear

Currently I have kept my eyes on the iBasso IT07, but I don't know if that would be the best option for my preferences.

Any recommendations are welcome.


Cheers!

What you are describing is the Empire Ears Phantoms yes a bit over your budget at $1349 but as you described what you want.

 

[Pascal3366]

What you are describing is the Empire Ears Phantoms yes a bit over your budget at $1349 but as you described what you want.

Thanks I will take a look at them

Edit: Mhhh a few downsides in the head-fi reviews are keeping me off from them:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/empire-ears-phantom.23164/reviews

Like:
- May lack upper-treble sparkle and raw, immediate clarity to some
- Slightly dulled transient attack
- Dull uppermids, lack of sparkle, somewhat dry

 

[SilverEars]

Phantom was a really wonky sounding response. I hate to see you drop that much and find out you didn't like the iem. I would contact the vendors and see if they can send over demos so you can try them out. That would be the best way. The reviews here don't tell you anything, but just a wall of texts. lol

 

[Pascal3366]

Phantom was a really wonky sounding response. I hate to see you drop that much and find out you didn't like the iem. I would contact the vendors and see if they can send over demos so you can try them out. That would be the best way. The reviews here don't tell you anything, but just a wall of texts. lol

Yes that's true but I don't know if iem manufacturers like Custom Art are doing that.

And I live in Germany so they would need to ship them over here..

 

[Pascal3366]

Oh neat!

I just found out that custom art is offering the Fibae 7 as a test unit!

Shipping is free inside the EU and I just have to pay 600€ as a refundable deposit.

That's awesome.

https://thecustomart.com/demo/

 

[AmericanSpirit]

+1 Monarch / Clairvoyance
I may wait a bit to see how Moondrop Variations would be ranked among the competitive sub $1000, it may be another candidate.

 

[Pascal3366]

+1 Monarch / Clairvoyance
I may wait a bit to see how Moondrop Variations would be ranked among the competitive sub $1000, it may be another candidate.

How do the Monarch and Clairvoyance compare to the Fibae 7 ?

 

[kadinh]

MEST Mk II?

 

[Pascal3366]

MEST Mk II?

Mh the MEST MK2 is a bit expensive I think.

But how does it compare to the Fibae 7 ?

Edit: i just saw that i can't get the MEST here and importing them would be wayyy too expensive. So they're out of the equation.

Edit2: just found the MEST on hifigo.com for 1258€ but I am not sure if and how much import fees would be needed to import them to Germany / EU. Looks like they ship from USA, that would be extremely expensive.