Funk-O-Meter
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2005
- Posts
- 247
- Likes
- 20
Hello in there...
It's been like 10 years since I posted anything here! And now I feel old having realized that...
I'm on a quest and I need help. I'm a live audio engineer and I'm wading through the vast sticky quagmire of all these new IEM's from all these different companies trying to find a really great, durable IEM at an affordable price. A WHOLE lot as changed in the IEM game since I last shopped for a set and I barely know which way to look. So if there's any other monitor engineers lurking here that are IEM junkies I REALLY need some advice.
The grail I seek is a durable, well-built set of IEM's with easily replaceable cables who's sound signature is somewhat conservative and similar to the standard CIEM stuff musicians use such as JH Audio, UE, etc... That usually means 2-4 way multiple BA designs, a bass boost below 200hz, a bit of top-end boost for clarity, but nothing too far from a mellow U or V kinda signature.
I'm trying to avoid overpaying (again) for a CIEM from 64 Audio or JH when I know there's plenty of great stuff these days for far far less. I now cause I've heard the difference and it ain't $2,000 worth. Gone are the days when there where only 3 companies in the game and everything started at $700 and went up. Everybody and their sister are making IEM's these days and Knowles and Sonion no longer have the market cornered on BA drivers.
Price range is $50-$500ish
A hard acrylic or metal housing is prefered such that they can take abuse
MMCX or 2 pin detachable cable is a must
Proprietary cable connectors are best avoided
Must be able to be worn over the ear
A universal model is needed for auditioning but a CIEM version is welcome in the end.
No real preference on driver type or configuration
Conservative sound signature with little or no listener fatigue
So far I've tried the following:
CCA C12 - Killer for the price but was a bit peaky in the upper mids which lead to fatigue.
CCA C16 - Horrible upper-mids and fatiguing.
Fiio FH-5 - Now we're getting somewhere. There's a few of the typical BA upper mid humps that aren't really Ideal though.
1MORE Quad - I really like these but the cables are non-replaceable and the mid-bass forward sound signature isn't ideal for gigs. HF extension could be better as well.
Sennheiser IE 400 Pro - Was quite disappointed in these for the asking price due to the mediocre build quality and the massive 9-10khz spike that makes everything unnaturally sizzley. The IE 500 Pro adds a $.10 cent filter in there to tame that a bit, but the whole idea of paying almost twice the price and still having a poorly made IEM with proprietary MMCX cables gets a no from me.
Ones I'm considering:
Shure 535SE - I've tried Shure IEM's in the past and found them all dull and lacking clarity. That was years ago though and I think the top of the line where the 435's back then. Id bite on the 846's too if they live up to the price but I'm really sceptical.
Etymotic ER3XR - I toured with the ER4's when they first came out but they lacked bass impact on stage and we had problems with durability and stiff cables. I'd try the updated, inexpensive 3XR's though, since I could keep spares on hand.
Fiio FA7 - On paper, these looks great, but I don't know if the sound signature will be too bass-heavy and lack hi-end clarity.
Audio Fly AF180's look good. A bit on the spendy side. Hard to get.
DCM6 - Some say slightly fatiguing. Worth a shot?
What say the sages? Roll the bones, read the tea leaves...throw some ideas at me!
It's been like 10 years since I posted anything here! And now I feel old having realized that...
I'm on a quest and I need help. I'm a live audio engineer and I'm wading through the vast sticky quagmire of all these new IEM's from all these different companies trying to find a really great, durable IEM at an affordable price. A WHOLE lot as changed in the IEM game since I last shopped for a set and I barely know which way to look. So if there's any other monitor engineers lurking here that are IEM junkies I REALLY need some advice.
The grail I seek is a durable, well-built set of IEM's with easily replaceable cables who's sound signature is somewhat conservative and similar to the standard CIEM stuff musicians use such as JH Audio, UE, etc... That usually means 2-4 way multiple BA designs, a bass boost below 200hz, a bit of top-end boost for clarity, but nothing too far from a mellow U or V kinda signature.
I'm trying to avoid overpaying (again) for a CIEM from 64 Audio or JH when I know there's plenty of great stuff these days for far far less. I now cause I've heard the difference and it ain't $2,000 worth. Gone are the days when there where only 3 companies in the game and everything started at $700 and went up. Everybody and their sister are making IEM's these days and Knowles and Sonion no longer have the market cornered on BA drivers.
Price range is $50-$500ish
A hard acrylic or metal housing is prefered such that they can take abuse
MMCX or 2 pin detachable cable is a must
Proprietary cable connectors are best avoided
Must be able to be worn over the ear
A universal model is needed for auditioning but a CIEM version is welcome in the end.
No real preference on driver type or configuration
Conservative sound signature with little or no listener fatigue
So far I've tried the following:
CCA C12 - Killer for the price but was a bit peaky in the upper mids which lead to fatigue.
CCA C16 - Horrible upper-mids and fatiguing.
Fiio FH-5 - Now we're getting somewhere. There's a few of the typical BA upper mid humps that aren't really Ideal though.
1MORE Quad - I really like these but the cables are non-replaceable and the mid-bass forward sound signature isn't ideal for gigs. HF extension could be better as well.
Sennheiser IE 400 Pro - Was quite disappointed in these for the asking price due to the mediocre build quality and the massive 9-10khz spike that makes everything unnaturally sizzley. The IE 500 Pro adds a $.10 cent filter in there to tame that a bit, but the whole idea of paying almost twice the price and still having a poorly made IEM with proprietary MMCX cables gets a no from me.
Ones I'm considering:
Shure 535SE - I've tried Shure IEM's in the past and found them all dull and lacking clarity. That was years ago though and I think the top of the line where the 435's back then. Id bite on the 846's too if they live up to the price but I'm really sceptical.
Etymotic ER3XR - I toured with the ER4's when they first came out but they lacked bass impact on stage and we had problems with durability and stiff cables. I'd try the updated, inexpensive 3XR's though, since I could keep spares on hand.
Fiio FA7 - On paper, these looks great, but I don't know if the sound signature will be too bass-heavy and lack hi-end clarity.
Audio Fly AF180's look good. A bit on the spendy side. Hard to get.
DCM6 - Some say slightly fatiguing. Worth a shot?
What say the sages? Roll the bones, read the tea leaves...throw some ideas at me!
