More thoughts on the IEM-X's for anyone interested
Update on IEM-X’s after more days of listening: Continue to be impressed with the IEM-X’s, especially at their price-point of $129. The resolution for this type of IEM is really quite good, again being much better in the mids and the highs than their fraternal twin Vibratos. These are by no means “dark” sounding IEM’s, having a rather open higher-end with good resolution. Their tuning appears to be emphasized somewhat on the bass end, but that’s how most people like it these days. Did some comparison against the RHA T20’s that are some of my favorite IEMs in the ~$200 price range, and I honestly prefer the IEM-X’s. They’re higher resolution in my opinion and more fun to listen to . To my ear the IEM-X’s have more clarity in the mids and highs, although also maybe a little bit too much “shine” in some of the areas treble range (as also called out by another reviewer here) but that could also be due to my being used to a bit “darker” headphones like the Audeze’s. The IEM-X’s besting the T20’s in my opinion is a pretty impressive feat given their difference in price – with the IEM-X’s retailing for $129 and the T20’s selling for $239.95 on the rha-audio.com site. The RHA’s case and selection of ear tips is nicer, but I go with SQ as my primary decision point. Is important to point out that I’ve had the T20’s for almost a year, so know that they are hardy, but have only had the IEM-X’s for a few weeks, so can’t make a call on how sturdy/reliable they are, but given the build quality I’d hope not to have any issues (although LHL has had some issues in the past with product quality – hope they’re past that now). Another data point that people need to be aware of – the IEM-X’s are made to be used with a 3.5mm TRRS balanced output. They won’t work with all 3.5mm TRS jacks, and require a TRRS to TRS adapter to make sure they’re backwards compatible with SE outputs. These adapters aren’t the easiest to come by, but LHL says they are working on building just that adapter and making it easily available for those who want to run the IEM-X’s in SE mode. No idea about timing, availability or cost yet, but I’ve seen a picture of a prototype, so they’re definitely in process.
Conclusion: If you’re looking for a pair of IEM’s in the $100-150 range (or even up to $250-300) and want the ability to run them balanced using a piece of Geek portable gear (V2, V2+, future Wave, etc.) then the IEM-X’s deserve a serious look. They punch well above their price-point in terms of SQ and appear to be well made and thought out, so I’m happy to recommend that my fellow Geeks out there take a listen. Cheers
Disclaimer: I was provided one pair of IEM-X’s early (I’d already ordered 2 pairs a long time ago via the fun at Indie-gogo) with the request (not requirement) that I post an honest review here.
