Rank the IEM's you've heard
Feb 25, 2019 at 9:12 PM Post #1,921 of 5,055
My current setup is JH13 (original) customed with whiplash twau ref cable terminated in furutech rhodium 3.5mm and eidolic premier 2pins. And i would still personally rate them as the best i have heard even above noble k10/ 64 audio a18/ tia trio because it just sounds right to me in every aspect. But this is just my personal preference, so take it with a grain of salt.
Also, you will be surprised how much a cable and its termination changes the sound of the iem, so go along and try out different cables to match it to your taste before committing.
 
Feb 25, 2019 at 9:14 PM Post #1,922 of 5,055
Just leaving a drop here after can jam NYC 2019. I had a listening session for about 20~ minutes of the Noble Audio Khan's and they have to be my new favorite.

1. Noble Audio Khan - Effortless, clear and deep, impactful, tightly intricate bass with a touch of delicacy. Absolute killer in imaging, seperation and sound stage. (I almost bought these b/c they offered a discount but my GF went with me and talked me out of spending 2k out of nowhere. If you can pull the trigger for these during the sales for 20% off they wont dissapoint you. One thing to keep in mind. If you have an iphone with the lightning cable, you will need to replace the cable with lightning cable. With the stock Khan cable into a dongle it will make serious hissing and static noise. Otherwise, with a changed cable they sound absolutely superb)

2. QDC - Anole VX - Has small switches that can alter the sound signature. Very close second and not quite sure if I liked Anole XV better or the Khan. This reminds me of the Lime Ear Aether but better and the bass was more controlled. The sub bass at times on the Aether got out of touch.

3. QDC Hifi 8 - These surprised me. I tried a few others on the QDC line at their booth. I never heard of this company and it wasnt until someone recommended me try the Anole VX that I stumbled into their booth. This one was great. 8 BA drivers. No gimicky switches or anything but sound signature was clean, crisp, clear and cohesive.

4. AAW W900 - These I tried as part of a tour and didn't enjoy them very much. If you have a DAP with flac files which I tried at canjam, they are absolute monsters. Unfortunately, I usually look for something sensitive enough to drive from a phone, but after hearing the difference with all these TOTL IEM's in a great DAP, I am extremely tempted to buy one now that I know what I am missing out on. These did blow me away in terms of how far the difference was with a DAP or source capable of handling them properly. After auditioning a bunch of these, I went back to Khan and just found that the competition out there was too fierce to drop 2k on the IEM when much cheaper options could be had that performed at 1k price.

5. Campfire Solaris - Great IEM imo but only technically on paper. It didn't sound very fun. The clarity and seperation were by far very clear but almost a touch too far that I would hear hi hats a little too much in tracks that I think were a bit distracting. Amazing if you are an analytical person and like that kind of stuff but I listen to be moved by music.

6. Campfire Atlas - Heavy and not the most practical. They reminded me a little of my IE800's. Similar sound signatures. I am not sure if these were burned in. I know my IE800's since having them replaced by warranty havent had many hours in on them and the mids and vocals sound a bit more recessed than what I remembered from my original pair. Perhaps it will change in time but I found the combination of the weight pulling out of my ears and mids being a bit recessed a bit meh.

The IEM's that I have at home right now are the IE800's & SE846 and FLC8S. I still enjoy the SE846's as they are fun sounding but man, I need an upgrade! Hope you guys enjoyed my mini review. Feel free to ask away. If I auditioned them longer, I would be able to describe them more in detail. Flaws usually come out when I have a week or two with them.

You can try getting the audirect beam if you want to pair up your iphone with the noble khan, sounds really good.
 
Feb 27, 2019 at 10:14 AM Post #1,923 of 5,055
Top Tier

1. Shure KSE1200/1500
2. Moondrop Kansas Pro
(best recommendation i ever got)

Good

3. Westone W40 (balanced)
4. AKG N40
AKG N5005
1More Triple-Driver
Westone W40 (unbalanced)

Not so good

8. Shure SE535
9. The rest

Though the KSE 1200 were the best quality wise they showed me that soundquality doesn't automatically mean more enjoyment. So the only IEMs i'd really recommend are the Kansas Pro which i find incredibly good and outmatch even most of the sub 1000$ over ears i heard.

(btw. first post :smile_phones:)
 
Feb 27, 2019 at 1:39 PM Post #1,924 of 5,055
Top Tier
2. Moondrop Kansas Pro
(best recommendation i ever got)

The KPE are nice for what they are but they're not the best for those who prefer a bit of substance in the low end (though I've heard that changes after 100hours or so of burn in which mine don't have yet).
 
Feb 28, 2019 at 1:40 AM Post #1,925 of 5,055
Update!

1- Vsonic GR07 BE
2- BGVP DM6
3- Brainwavz M3
4- Brainwavz M5
5- Sennheiser CX300-ii
6- Nicehck Bro/BGVP SGZ DN1
7- JBL J33
8- Sennheiser CX200ii
9- Apple Earpods
10- KZ ZS3
 
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Feb 28, 2019 at 2:02 AM Post #1,926 of 5,055
Top Tier

1) Campfire Atlas

Mid Tier

2) Moondrop Kanas Pro
3) Campfire Comet
4) Shure SE 215
5) Sony MDRXB50AP (These were still surprisingly good for something I bought for $30 out of an airport vending machine)

Forgettable Tier

6) Bose Soundsport In Ear Headphones

Wishlist: Campfire Solaris
Curiosity List: Sony MDR EX 1000, Campfire Andromeda
 
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Feb 28, 2019 at 12:28 PM Post #1,927 of 5,055
Tier 1
Sony IER-Z1R
Jomo Trinity

Tier 2
Campfire Andromeda
Sony IER-M9
64 Audio U18t
Jerry Harvey Audio Layla
Audeze LCD-i4

Tier 3
Campfire Atlas
Campfire Solaris
64 Audio Tia Fourte

Tier 4
qdc Neptune
CA Vega
Audeze isine 20

Tier 5
BGVP DM6

Tier 6
Sennheiser ie80
Shure SE846
CA Orion
Shure ER4XR

Tier 7
Westone W30
Shure SE215
Visang R02
Bose ie2
KZ ZS6

Tier 8
VJJB-V1S

Tier 9
Panasonic RPHJE120S
 
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Feb 28, 2019 at 1:24 PM Post #1,928 of 5,055

Tier 2

Campfire Andromeda
Sony IER-M9
64 Audio U18t
Jerry Harvey Audio Layla
Audeze LCD-i4

Tier 3
Campfire Atlas
Campfire Solaris
64 Audio Tia Fourte

What do you prefer about the Andromeda relative to the Solaris? One day down the road I'll be looking for another IEM to complement the Atlas and the Solaris and Andromeda are high in the running (sadly everything else in your upper tiers is well out of my price bracket lol).
 
Feb 28, 2019 at 1:40 PM Post #1,929 of 5,055
What do you prefer about the Andromeda relative to the Solaris? One day down the road I'll be looking for another IEM to complement the Atlas and the Solaris and Andromeda are high in the running (sadly everything else in your upper tiers is well out of my price bracket lol).

The Atlas and Solaris sound less clear to me and I'm not used to the amount of bass they put out. They're pretty close though in overall sound quality. I just prefer transparency to bass at the moment.
 
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Feb 28, 2019 at 1:42 PM Post #1,930 of 5,055
1. Tied between Kanas Pro and DM6 depending on my mood and the fidelity of the recording
2. Velodyne Vpluse. BRING THAT BASS, OH YEAH (nice mids and treble too)
4. Sennheiser over the ear HD650 (yeah yeah I know)
3. Bunch of 50 bux chinese IEMs
4. KZ ZS10
5. Samsung boxed IEMs with S7 phone
 
Feb 28, 2019 at 2:36 PM Post #1,931 of 5,055
Tier 1
Sony IER-Z1R
Jomo Trinity

Tier 2
Campfire Andromeda
Sony IER-M9
64 Audio U18t
Jerry Harvey Audio Layla
Audeze LCD-i4

Tier 3
Campfire Atlas
Campfire Solaris
64 Audio Tia Fourte

Tier 4
qdc Neptune
CA Vega
Audeze isine 20

Tier 5
BGVP DM6

Tier 6
Sennheiser ie80
Shure SE846
CA Orion
Shure ER4XR

Tier 7
Westone W30
Shure SE215
Visang R02
Bose ie2
KZ ZS6

Tier 8
VJJB-V1S

Tier 9
Panasonic RPHJE120S
Do you mind comparing the IER-Z1R to the U18t, Andro, and/or Solaris? I'm very interested in the IER-Z1R but have yet to demo it.
 
Feb 28, 2019 at 5:55 PM Post #1,932 of 5,055
  1. IMR R1 Zenith
  2. AKG N5005
  3. Oriolus Finschi
  4. JVC HA-FX850
  5. LZ A4
  6. KC06A
  7. Trinity Techne
 
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Feb 28, 2019 at 8:27 PM Post #1,933 of 5,055
Do you mind comparing the IER-Z1R to the U18t, Andro, and/or Solaris? I'm very interested in the IER-Z1R but have yet to demo it.

The IER-Z1R is like the Andromeda plus bass. Sounds a lot like the MDR-Z1R. Still very clear sounding though. Clearer sounding than the Solaris and U18t. I'd say the U18t is a little better overall than the Solaris, which sounded darker and not quite as clear. I think the bass was a little muddier on the Solaris.
 
Mar 14, 2019 at 2:56 AM Post #1,934 of 5,055
1 - UE18+ Pro
2 - Audeze iSine 20
3 - Acoustune HS1501 AL
4 - Etymotic ER4SR (with HeSuVi)
5 - Etymotic ER3XR with 20 Ohm resistor
6 - UE 900 S
7 - UE Triple.Fi 10
8 - Sennheiser IE 80 S
 
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