[InternetSandman]

Sorry if this is a long read

Basically what the title says. I'm looking for a high end or TOTL IEM that can be worn comfortably under an over-ear headset. I use an Audio Technica BPHS1 (with aftermarket Brainwavz earpads that give my ears more room inside) for when I'm playing online games with people, but I'm not a fan of the headphone's sound, and I don't like the idea of getting a stationary mic, so I figure why not get something I can use everywhere (on my commute, at work, and at home), and that also fits under the headset.

The qualities I'm looking for are:

1. Small: as close to flush with the outer ear as possible
2. Neutral FR with a strong bass boost
3. Comfortable (I know this is subjective, but most reviewers seem to agree on whether certain IEM's are comfortable or not, and I have ears that seem to be on the smaller side too)
4. Isolating

The two that I've somewhat narrowed it down to are:

Shure SE846
64 Audio u12t (less confident about the size than the Shure's)

I'm confident the Shure's would fit, but half of the discussion I see online talks about how mediocre they are in todays landscape compared to equivalently priced offerings. Trouble is, almost all of the "better alternatives" all have much larger housings and look far less comfortable than the Shure's, and the only thing I've found that comes close is the u12t, and those seem to offer about half of the noise isolation of the Shure's, which is another important point of consideration for me

I'm curious if there's anything I may have missed or overlooked in my hunt, or if the criticisms of the SE846 are overblown and I should just go with that

For reference, I would be upgrading from a Shure SRH 1540, and a Sony WF-1000XM3

 

[lantian]

Sennheiser ie800 and ie800s

 

[silent-circuit]

The Custom Art FIBAE 4. The universal is already fairly small, but order the custom shell and it should be even smaller / tighter fit. The graph on their site would make you think it's V-shaped, sound-wise, but it seems much more "flat with bass emphasis" to me.

I have a pair of AAW x TCA 4+2 on the way that may be an even better choice, based on what little I've read. Will let you know when I get them.

That said, not sure why you're against a stationary mic - in my experience they're almost always better than a boom mic. I personally use a Blue Yeti, sometimes even a cheap little Samson ball mic (I think it was like $20). Works fine.