[Fideon]

So as title says, I'm looking for IEMs that have:
- Great, wide soundstage
- Great vocals/mids
- Great clarity. Instrument separation/Details
- OK bass (accurate, powerful. Not muddy or boomy) and highs (controlled, free of harshness).
- Good Isolation.

I have around 400 USD. Willing to buy used.

So far I've owned:
Tin Audio T2 Pro. Great with port taped. Treble was kinda fatiguing.
Tin Audio T3. Currently own. Love the vocals in this. Soundstage is meh. Comfort can be bad.
KZ ZST. Mids veiled. Ok for the price.
Sennheiser Momentum IE 2.0. Boomy bass. Meh vocals.

Considering:
FLC8N. Heavily considering due to supposedly good soundstage and decent vocals.
Campfire Audio Polaris. Good vocals don't know about soundstage.
iBasso IT04. Good soundstage. Don't know about vocals.
Sony EX800ST. Same as IT04.
Massdrop Plus. Seems like soundstage is decent and details/clarity is great.
ER4XR. Bad soundstage so most likely won't get them but I've heard details are amazing.

Any recommendations are welcomed. Thanks!

 

[PopZeus]

From the early reviews, it sounds like the FH7, Fiio’s new flagship IEM, checks a lot of the boxes you’re looking for. And since you’re not a basshead, the tuning might suit your tastes as well. It is $450 though, so the price is another factor. But the reviews have been pretty glowing, saying it punches above its weight.

 

[Fideon]

From the early reviews, it sounds like the FH7, Fiio’s new flagship IEM, checks a lot of the boxes you’re looking for. And since you’re not a basshead, the tuning might suit your tastes as well. It is $450 though, so the price is another factor. But the reviews have been pretty glowing, saying it punches above its weight.

Yup. Reading a few reviews it seems that this one is a good one I'll definitely be checking it out. Thanks a lot for recommendation!

 

[RollingPeanuts]

I've currently own the massdrop plus and ex800st, so here's my thoughts on the two. Hope it helps!
First off, the soundstage of the massdrop plus is decent but it's nothing amazing. The ex800st's open vented definitely helps a lot in this aspect, giving it a more impressive soundstage compared to the md+. On the flispide, when it comes to seperation, the md+ has the advantage. Although, its soundstage is not particularly huge, its BA nature contributes to a "faster" more thin presentation to music making it easier to pick up on the details (but its not necessarily more detailed than the ex800st). So, the Md+ gives up on some coherency and fullness for greater clarity and separation.

Vocals/mids of both of the iems are phenomenal, probably the best aspects of the two imo. Very transparent and detailed yet smooth without any harshness (although sometimes I wish that they both had a bit more air). The only noticeable difference I can find between the two is that the ex800st's vocals seems to be a bit more forward compared to the massdrop plus, although I don't think the vocals ever seemed "shouty". Also, if it matters, I like electric guitars on the massdrop plus more as it seems to be a bit more gritty and aggressive than the ex800st's presentation of them.

As for bass, you're definitely not going to run into any problems with boominess or bloatedness as the bass is on the lighter side for both iems (without mods). It's very punchy and controlled for both. Although, the drums on the ex800st sounds more convincing and "correct" to my ears.

Similarly, the treble is pretty smooth for the both - no issues with sibilance or harshness whatsoever. Although, since the md+ has a rolled off treble (compared to the comparatively brighter ex800st), it is even more tolerant in "brighter" pieces.

Finally, when it comes to isolation, it's a bit of a no-brainer. The ex800st's open vent means that there is very little isolation. On the other hand, the massdrop plus's support deep insertion (although perhaps not quite ety deep) that provide much better isolation.

Also, another caveat that weren't quite mentioned above. The ex800st has a simple tape mod, where you cover each vent of the iem with two pieces of sturdy tape (like electrical tape). The bass is boosted a lot (and with some proper amping it gets to basshead levels) from the mod. Even with the boosted bass, there is virtually no bleed into the mids, but the mids do become even more forward and have more "body" to them. It also provides a bit more isolation at the cost of soundstage width (it becomes about equal to the md+). It's an adjustable mod too. If the bass is too much to handle, simply poke a hole in the tape to create a small vent hole (which can be further widened to return the iem towards it's unmodded state).

For reference, I use jvc spiral dots for both iems as well as a ifi iematch on the md+ to lower the OI.