[blufox4900]

Closest thing to a meetup I've been to would be my brother but he went end game and spent $1000+ on custom IEMs which of course since they're customs means I can't try em out at all, I just get to hear him talk about it all the time. Outside of that I hadn't been to any of the local meetups yet though there seem to be some like a half hour away from where I live. As for DACs I do have nuforce UDAC 2 on my PC which I'm looking to replace with the Schiit stack but that's something I'm willing to put off down the line since I have an empty spot for portable needs. 

 

[JK1]

With the exception of some places in Japan, there don't seem to be places to try IEMs. That makes sense though, as even when they give you new tips to try it out with, trying out IEMs still seems very unsanitary.
 
As for paying more for better sound, I don't mind paying a bit more for much better sound, however I do very much mind paying 4 times the price for what seems to me to be a 15% or 20% improvement. 

 

[blufox4900]

That's the real key for me, I kinda want to hit a sweet spot but also I want IEMs that I can be happy with for a while. Just thinking about settling for the GR07s and calling it a day so I can focus more on building up a lossless library to justify the more higher end stuff. 

 

[ForceMajeure]

I would recommend you the gr07 bass edition, as it have a tad bit of bass which sound great and not overdone at all.
It is a great IEM, at this point the diminishing in return is quite steep and from there it is mostly a sound signature preference overall difference.
 
 

   
Was it lendmeurears.com that had this discount for black friday?
 

yes

 

[blufox4900]

  I would recommend you the gr07 bass edition, as it have a tad bit of bass which sound great and not overdone at all.
It is a great IEM, at this point the diminishing in return is quite steep and from there it is mostly a sound signature preference overall difference.
 
 
yes

How does the bass edition compare to the classics? 

 

[ForceMajeure]

The bass edition have overall the same sound signature as the classic but with slightly more subbass and a bit more of midbass when I say slightly it is slightly, and are a bit less prone to sibilance.
The nice thing is that the added amount of low end help compensate outside noises better and it also in some cases more suited for energetic music but overall  they sound very similar.
 
Build is the same though the BE use to come with a ton of tips and accessories I don't know now if it is still the case...

 

[Xdaggersoul]

Etymotic ER4PT with a Cayin C5 amp (bass boost on)
Unparalleled clarity with good bass (from C5) IMO.

 

[blufox4900]

Huh that's a relief, I've usually been turned off by anything that has bass in their title. I like bass as much as anyone but not to the point of sacrificing mids and highs 

 

[ForceMajeure]

Here are measurements 
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/VSonicGR07BassEdition.pdf
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/VSonicGR07Classic.pdf

 

[Raketen]

IM02 are fantastic, though maybe not particularly Grado-like (though my experience is mostly with old MS-1 and iGrado). I haven't had them for a while (didn't fit me well), but thought they sounded fairly open by IEM standards- problem is very few IEMs have an open/out of head sound, at least in my experience (more than other aspects this is supposed to be one of those properties that can vary quite a bit from person to person). For instance the fx850 have a very nice soundstage but are actually open... if isolation is not an issue they might be a good fit (maybe 3rd best I have heard for openness behind Ocharaku Flat 4 Nami, and Sony EX1000, neither of which isolate much), though do have strong bass and kinda v-ish.
 
The sony EX1000 (divisively bright) has a more neutral/monitor tuned & cheaper version called the ex800st (or 7550 for western model) that might share it's presentation, I can't confirm, though might be worth reading about.
 
I haven't tried them but the Havi B3 models are reputed to have very impressive soundstage, also seem fairly divisive and have a reputation as being difficult to drive, though.
 
Final Audio's Heaven series has a good soundstage reputation as well.
 
Lear's new NSS earphones have a dual-driver feature that is supposed to create a binaural effect by feeding part of the opposing channel into the second driver... haven't read up on them since they came out so idk how well that actually works.

On the budget front, I just got some JVC HA-FXH30 and they're really terrific all-rounders, have gone really well with the rock, vocal electronic (like Rudimental) and classical stuff I've tried so far, definately an "in your head" sound but decent stereo imaging/whatever, decent bass, mids & treble energetic but have nice clarity and texture/detail I think would go well with trance (don't listen to a lot of that, though I did have some random youtube autoplaylist thing going for a bit and it threw some Armin van buuren in), have noticed some slight peakiness verging on sibilant "ch" and "ss" on two or three vocal tracks though, if that is a sensitivity. (warning, I may be having a bout of New Toy Evangelical syndrome or something...)
 
 
If you are washing machine prone, maybe get some Aurisonics Rockets... titanium, waterproof, strong cable & jack, warrantied for 5 years, sound great (neutral-ish warm sounding imo).

 

 

[Raketen]

Surprised nobody mentioned yet, but Grado have some very well regarded IEMs too...