Gofre
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2012
- Posts
- 318
- Likes
- 19
Hi everyone,
So yeah, it's been about three years since I have owned a "proper" IEM and I've not really paid attention to the options in this market for about as long. However I'm about to start a job where I will have to say goodbye to my desktop gear for a few years and could definitely benefit from the isolation of in-ear monitors again. I'm getting my annual bonus from work next week so I figured I'd start looking into what options are available now!
So yeah, a few details:
*I have about £800 that I'd like to spend across the IEMs and any source components
*Looking at universal fits rather than customs, simply because I don't have the time to go through the whole process for purchasing customs (in a couple of weeks I will be in a different country every two days or so, making arranging delivery somewhat difficult!)
*In terms of tonality I tend to favour neutral headphones, albeit with a decent bass kick (I spent some time in a local audio store last week and of all the high end headphones they had, the HD800S were the pair I kept coming back to)
*Something with above average soundstage/imaging properties would be awesome, what put me off the last batch of IEMs I tried was the distinctly closed feeling they had. I'm not expecting them to match a pair of full sized open backs, but I'd like something that can convey a sense of space
*Time listening will probably be split 40% "on the go" and 60% at "home", where I can use my laptop as a source. So if a source component is recommended, in an ideal world it would able to connect to either my Android phone or laptop digitally and not be too large (i'm not opposed to carrying around additional amp/player when out and about, as long as the size is manageable). Alternatively if there's a pair that sound awesome straight out of a smartphone/MacBook jack without the need for extra amplification then that's obviously good to know about too.
Hopefully I've covered everything there! Right now I'm leaning towards Noble Audio's IEMs after hearing nothing but good things about them, either by getting a sub-£400 pair like the Noble 4, 5 or Savant and pairing it with a Chord Mojo, or getting the Noble 6 paired with whichever modest DAC-amp-combo I can pick up with my remaining budget. Any thoughts on these pairings, or any other suggestions, would be awesome.
Cheers!
So yeah, it's been about three years since I have owned a "proper" IEM and I've not really paid attention to the options in this market for about as long. However I'm about to start a job where I will have to say goodbye to my desktop gear for a few years and could definitely benefit from the isolation of in-ear monitors again. I'm getting my annual bonus from work next week so I figured I'd start looking into what options are available now!
So yeah, a few details:
*I have about £800 that I'd like to spend across the IEMs and any source components
*Looking at universal fits rather than customs, simply because I don't have the time to go through the whole process for purchasing customs (in a couple of weeks I will be in a different country every two days or so, making arranging delivery somewhat difficult!)
*In terms of tonality I tend to favour neutral headphones, albeit with a decent bass kick (I spent some time in a local audio store last week and of all the high end headphones they had, the HD800S were the pair I kept coming back to)
*Something with above average soundstage/imaging properties would be awesome, what put me off the last batch of IEMs I tried was the distinctly closed feeling they had. I'm not expecting them to match a pair of full sized open backs, but I'd like something that can convey a sense of space
*Time listening will probably be split 40% "on the go" and 60% at "home", where I can use my laptop as a source. So if a source component is recommended, in an ideal world it would able to connect to either my Android phone or laptop digitally and not be too large (i'm not opposed to carrying around additional amp/player when out and about, as long as the size is manageable). Alternatively if there's a pair that sound awesome straight out of a smartphone/MacBook jack without the need for extra amplification then that's obviously good to know about too.
Hopefully I've covered everything there! Right now I'm leaning towards Noble Audio's IEMs after hearing nothing but good things about them, either by getting a sub-£400 pair like the Noble 4, 5 or Savant and pairing it with a Chord Mojo, or getting the Noble 6 paired with whichever modest DAC-amp-combo I can pick up with my remaining budget. Any thoughts on these pairings, or any other suggestions, would be awesome.
Cheers!
