[bcaulf17]

Hey all, hoping I can get some folks to help me here. I’ve been researching IEMs almost non-stop for the past month or so. I think because I’m fully satisfied with my at home setup of Focal Clear as an open back and Emu Ebony as a closed back. In both cases, I have no desire to go any further until one of them breaks.

Now I’m just trying to get the best out of my portable setup, especially since I do most of my music listening at work. Currently have K371 and ER4XR, both are nice but I feel like I would be served really well with a quality IEM.

I was initially looking in the sub $500 category, and actually ordered the Blessing 2 Dusk. However, I ordered them over a month ago and I’m having trouble communicating with the retailer, as they got sent back for invalid address and I’m at a standstill. In that time, perhaps due to impatience, I started looking at IEMs on classifieds...

Then I thought to myself “eventually, I might feel tempted to move up to the highest level I can go” so have been seriously considering going for that IEM that fits in my budget and will satisfy for years.

Only problem is, I don’t know what the best option is. For one thing, I could just wait it out and settle on the B2 Dusk. After all, it seems to be one of the best price to performance IEMs currently. Maybe I’ll be perfectly happy with it?

Or I can go with one of these. I’m planning to get a pair used or open box just to save some cash. I’m looking for the option that will perform similarly to the Clear on a technical level, doesn’t have to sound the exact same tonality wise but I like the Clear’s tuning, maybe could go for something warmer.

- Andromeda 2020 (intrigued by “3D” presentation of these)

- Mest MKI or MKII (prob MKII due to better fit)

- Sony M9 (see some of these for great prices used, but worried about them being “too” safe or boring)

- 64 Audio Nio (pretty face plate, possibly nice option I wouldn’t so tempted to spend $200 for...)

- 64 Audio U12t (I hear nothing but good things about these, probably my dream IEM, but just a little too far from my budget. Would need to get really lucky to find one for $1000)

Would love to hear any thoughts, opinions, advice.

TL;DR: Have a Blessing 2 Dusk on the way but wondering if I should jump for one of the above higher-tier IEMs with a $1000 budget, with similar performance to Focal Clear. Or just hold and try B2 Dusk first.

 

[deafenears]

One of the latest ThieAudio offerings? Monarch, Clairvoyance, Oracle, and/or Excalibur.

 

[surfgeorge]

I have the Focal Clears and a couple of IEMs including the M9.
To me the M9 is somehow the closest I have heard to the Focal Clears. The Clears have that warm, balanced and smooth sound with good clarity and detail.
Most IEMs I have heard have a brighter, more detailed focused sound than the Clears. The M9 is still a bit brighter and a bit more detail-forward, but it is quite close to the smoothness of the Clears. That is the special property of the M9, it has the detail of a good BA IEM but sounds more natural. Imaging is also top-notch, but of course the sound is much more in your head. I have to adapt to the M9, to "dive into" the much smaller soundstage illusion. Then it feels very accurate and actually also quite large.