Hi there,
I'm a Metalhead and new to the Audiophile world, been using Audio Technica m40x's and Final E2000's for the past 2 years and I found them to be too bright and hard to listen to some metal with because of the annoying hi-hat and their lack of rumble (average bass) and their isolation is bad because I commute a lot. I spared 300€ and decided to get something better, I asked some people online and they recommended etymotic ER2XR's for the deep insertion for isolation But I decided to post a thread here if I'll find better recommendations by audio experts.
So there it is need something in the range of 300 euros and is exclusively good for Metal music.
Thanks in advance.
I have used the Audiotechnica M40X and it is very neutrally tuned and is more suited for studio monitoring rather than music listening. I find general music listening on it is boring at times. The isolation I agree is below average.
I have heard the Audiotechnica M50X, which is the big brother of the M40X and it has more boosted bass than M40X, but isolation is still average.
I don't listen to metal at all, but maybe u can ask the others in the dedicated headfi metal thread:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/headphones-for-metal-music-ultimate-solution.715478/
I know a few headfiers who use the Audiosense T800 IEM for metal. It retails ~ $298 USE and is my end game all BA set (8 knowles BA). But I would be hesitant to ask u to jump into a midfi set immediately. I would advise it is better to start with a sub $50 USD set and see if u like the tuning/sound signature and upgrade from there. Just in case u jump into the deep end and realize the sound is not for u and u end up wasting money. But FWIW the Audiosense T800 excels at clarity, details, instrument separation. It has a bass that sounds like a DD due to its vented subwoofer and tuning, extends very low in the subbass. Isolation ~ 30 dB, the best I have so far in my IEMs, I use it for stage monitoring exclusively. It is a bit bright, but the treble can be tamed with knowles filters or eartip/cable changes.
I've been using IEMs for the past 15 years for stage monitoring and music listening and I can honestly say the CHIFI IEMs have caught up to the western budget to midfi IEMs in the past 2 years. If u are not brand conscious there are good CHIFI IEMs that excel at price to performance ratio. IMHO $50 - 100 USD can get u some great sound nowadays, so your $300 budget is way more than adequate to get a good midfi set.
For a great entry CHIFI IEM, I would recommend the KZ ZS10 Pro - retails about $35 USD. I've seen it cheaper at sales and there's a big sale on 11/11 coming up. KZ ZS10 Pro is a good allrounder for most genres, good details, clarity and instrument separation. It can hit about 80% of sound quality (subjectively) of my westone 3 which costs 10 times more. The hi hat on the ZS10 Pro I gotta say is a bit artificial sounding, like most budget sets, but I can't complain much at its price point. It provides ~ 15 dB isolation, I've used it previously for stage monitoring and airplanes/subways/buses, it provides good isolation and comfortable fit. The KZ ZSX is a successor to this model and has better timbre and slight improvements, and is a few bucks more (though I haven't heard the successor).
There are a lot of good CHIFI fare that are < $50 USD with great reviews that were recently released: TRN V90, KZ ZSX, CCA C12, BLON BL-03. U can check out or ask more at these threads:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bes...nd-impressions-sharing-reference-list.805930/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bes...ith-reference-list-no-big-brands-here.872245/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/
All the best and hope u find what u are looking for!
