[Damz87]

List update:

A couple of changes, plus adding in some commentary and including the iem's I've owned below #10:

1. Sony IER-Z1R - Pro's: Perfect bass & treble (for my preferences), big soundstage, excellent detail retrieval, comfortable and non-fatiguing Cons: Recessed mids (not as bad as people say in my opinion, but still recessed compared to others i've heard), price
2. Campfire Solaris 2020 - Pro's: Huge soundstage, fantastic for live/acoustic music, sparkly treble, great all round performer, comfortable Con's: Sensitive (higher impedance than the SE so it's a little more versatile), bass is a little tame for a DD, price
3. Campfire Solaris SE - Pro's: As above. Cons: Sensitive, bass is a little tame for a DD, price, not as comfortable as the 2020
4. QDC Anole VX - Pro's: Incredible detail retrieval, excellent BA bass, well balanced. Con's: BA timbre, price
5. Sony IER-M9 - Pro's: Balanced signature, excellent imaging, non-fatiguing, comfortable. Con's: Takes time to find the right fit, lacks some bite, BA bass
6. Sony XBA-Z5 - Pro's: Big deep bass, relaxing yet detailed treble, nice mids, super-wide soundstage. Con's: Not really the best at anything, awkward shape and looks funny when wearing, mid bass sounds bloated without enough power.
7. Campfire Andromeda S - Pro's: Open and airy sound, love the build quality and design, treble is sparkly, nice forward mids. Con's: BA bass (a lot worse than the above), too sensitive
8. Sony EX1000 - Pro's: Excellent detail retrieval/soundstage/timbre, mid bass has a nice punch Con's: Awkward fit, treble peak that becomes fatiguing, gets a little congested in busy passages of music.
9. Sony XBA-N3 - Pro's: super comfortable, huge deep bass, relaxing and smooth sound. Con's: Definition is lacking, too much bass at times, average soundstage, treble not as extended as the above IEM's.
10. BLON BL-03 - Pro's: Value for money, excellent natural tonality, comfortable. Con's: Stock tips are useless and makes the fit difficult, average resolution, below average definition, average soundstage, bass can be a little flabby, needs more power than other IEM's to really shine.
11. Sony EX800ST - Pro's: Nicely balanced. Con's: can sound muffled/hazy/veiled with complex passsages of music
12. Tin HiFi T4 - Pro's: Well balanced, comfortable, scales with better sources. Con's: A little too thin sounding
13. Sony XB90EX - Pro's: Epic bass, comfortable. Con's: Too V-shaped, vocals are hazy, lacks definition, bass can be too much for some genres of music, non-removable cable.
14. Sony XBA-4 - Pro's: Excellent for electronic music, great bass for a BA, very comfortable, excellent separation, can compete with higher ranked sets when paired with a low Z-out source. Con's: Low impedance/very picky with sources, recessed mids, unnatural sounding treble, sounds incoherent with most genres of music (works for electronic music), overpriced.
15. Sony MH1C - Pro's: Smooth and relaxing tuning, comfortable, price. Con's: Non-removable J-cable that is annoying and microphonic, narrow soundstage. Treble roll-off, not very detailed.
16. Sony MH755 - Pro's: price, great tonality, great bass extension. Con's: Narrow soundstage (relative to others on list), rolled-off treble, not very detailed treble, stock cable is too short
17. KZ ZSX - Pro's: Good sound separation, price Con's: One-noted bass, BA timbre (the worst I've heard), uncomfortable


Incoming additions: Vision Ears Erlkonig, Empire Ears Legend X, Moondrop Starfield, Moondrop S8, BLON BL-05

A few new additions to the list:


1. Empire Ears Legend X SE - As @gnahra said above, the LX SE has Effect Audio internal wiring and has a slightly different (but significantly better to my ears) tuning. There's a reduction in the mid/upper bass and a lift in the mids to lower treble region which balances out the FR. You still get the awesome bass quality of the standard LX but with better control and less bloat. The signature is less L-shaped and closer to a balanced sound. It ticks all my boxes.
2. Sony IER-Z1R
3. Campfire Solaris 2020/SE
4. 64 Audio U12t - Edges out the Anole VX for me as the best all-BA set I've heard
5. QDC Anole VX
6. Sony IER-M9
7. Empire Ears Legend X - I find the standard LX too L-shaped for my taste. Still a great IEM though.
8. Sony XBA-Z5
9. Campfire Andromeda S
10. Sony EX1000
11. Sony XBA-N3
12. BLON BL-03
13. Sony EX800ST
14. Tin HiFi T4
15. Sony XB90EX
16. Sony XBA-4
17. Sony MH1C
18. Sony MH755
19. KZ ZSX

 

[Rockwell75]

A few new additions to the list:


1. Empire Ears Legend X SE - As @gnahra said above, the LX SE has Effect Audio internal wiring and has a slightly different (but significantly better to my ears) tuning. There's a reduction in the mid/upper bass and a lift in the mids to lower treble region which balances out the FR. You still get the awesome bass quality of the standard LX but with better control and less bloat. The signature is less L-shaped and closer to a balanced sound. It ticks all my boxes.
2. Sony IER-Z1R
3. Campfire Solaris 2020/SE
4. 64 Audio U12t - Edges out the Anole VX for me as the best all-BA set I've heard
5. QDC Anole VX
6. Sony IER-M9
7. Empire Ears Legend X - I find the standard LX too L-shaped for my taste. Still a great IEM though.
8. Sony XBA-Z5
9. Campfire Andromeda S
10. Sony EX1000
11. Sony XBA-N3
12. BLON BL-03
13. Sony EX800ST
14. Tin HiFi T4
15. Sony XB90EX
16. Sony XBA-4
17. Sony MH1C
18. Sony MH755
19. KZ ZSX

Great list! It lines up in many ways with my own. Really curious about that SE LX...though my chances of ever hearing one are slim. Looking forward to seeing how the Nio stacks up against everything else.

 

[Damz87]

Great list! It lines up in many ways with my own. Really curious about that SE LX...though my chances of ever hearing one are slim. Looking forward to seeing how the Nio stacks up against everything else.

I think we do have similar sound preferences yeah, the positive Nio impressions are very exciting! How is life post-LX? Is the solo Solaris SE filling the gap?

 

[Rockwell75]

I think we do have similar sound preferences yeah, the positive Nio impressions are very exciting! How is life post-LX? Is the solo Solaris SE filling the gap?

Life is good The final straw in my deciding to sell it was that I hadn't touched in in the month since I got my Solaris back. I think fundamentally I'm a one IEM type person-- I really enjoyed having a variety on hand for a while but at the end of the day I just want to grab and go and not fuss about this or that I'm going to use for the day. I'll probably look into something else down the road (cough cough Elysium cough cough) but for the time being Solaris is meeting all my needs and then some.

 

[arch023]

1. Anole vx
2. Andromeda v3
4. Shure 535
3. Ie800
4. Vsonics Gr07 bass
5. Shure 215 se

From what i read around here i’m very interested in the u12t. I Have never auditioned anything, i blindbuy, but so far i have no regrets with these. The vx is my detail monster although i could use some more oomph without using the bass switch which is destroying the balance. Andros are more for relaxed sessions.

Anybody have any suggestions where to look for more bass when i like the detail of vx?

 

[ehjie]

Anybody have any suggestions where to look for more bass when i like the detail of vx?

i have a pair in mind, but u could pm a fellow headfier @audio123 for a better suggestion...

 

[miko64]

Mine:

obravo eamt1c > eamt2c > ksa1500 > ilcd4 > solaris > andromeda > vega

 

[Cactus108]

Hey boys, I've had andromedas for a bit over a year now, and have enjoyed them pretty thoroughly. I have a couple gripes, the bass is just a tad light. I find myself turning my bass boost on my oppo ha2 se on about half the time, but then always go back to wanting more detail retrieval with the switch off. The second issue is that they are really sensitive to moisture, and I live in a pretty cold climate so I find a lot of condensation building up. This poses a problem as occasionally moisture will get too far in the left driver and I have to keep them in their case with a desiccant as the left driver will become slightly quieter until it's completely dried out. I've been wanting to upgrade for a while, and the Solaris 2020 has really caught my eye, but I'm worried the sensitivity to moisture issue will arise again since it's a metal shell as well. I like wearing my iems for prolonged periods of time and it seems as though I won't be able to do that if I pick up a pair of Solaris'. I've been looking at the kaiser encore and legend x, and demoed the legend x but found the highs far too shrill in combination with my ha2se, and I'm tempted to pick up a mojo to demo with them and seeing if it calms down the treble a bit, each 's' sound by vocalists pierced my ears with my oppo. Aside from that, I loved the sound signature of the LX. I haven't tried the encore, but have heard good things about it. Any recommendations would be appreciated, I listen to mostly edm and pop, with a fair bit of rap and alternative rock. I mostly care about how edm sounds though. Bonus points if I can get the iem in CIEM form as I've been wanting to have my first pair of CIEMS for a while.

 

[Poulpup]

1. u12t - best all rounder, best BA bass that I've heard. Better than Solaris Bass for me.
2. Solaris 2020 - sounds dry and weak bass for edm and rap but the layering, details, soundstage, imaging are really nice.
3. Voyager 14
4. Sony M9
5. Solaris OG
6. Fiio FH7

 

[Wayne999]

I am taking what I think are the bests.
1. Spiral ear SE6way
2. VE ERLKöNIG (have not owned it)
3. Fir M5
4. Fitear Titan
5. JVC FW10000

 

[ehjie]

01.64 audio u18t
02.64 audio u12t (+best all rounder, -expensive)
03.1670ss + cable upgrade
04.Penon Orb
05.Andromeda 2019
06.kse1500
07.Rhapsodio Galaxy V2
08.ES3
09.W80
10.Intime Sora

01.64 audio u18t
02.64 audio u12t (+best all rounder, -expensive)
03.1670ss + cable upgrade
04.Penon Orb (vinyl junkie's IEM)
05.Andromeda 2019
06.Penon Sphere on Onso cable
07.kse1500
08.Rhapsodio Galaxy V2
09.ES3
10.Intime Sora

 

[hamhamhamsta]

I am taking what I think are the bests.
1. Spiral ear SE6way
2. VE ERLKöNIG (have not owned it)
3. Fir M5
4. Fitear Titan
5. JVC FW10000

Since you have SE6 how does it compare to SE5; it is just brighter? It pique my interest. You put SE6 above Erlkonig. I heard Erlkonig, very full sounding, all max in bass, mids and trebles and to me it’s pretty much the pinnacle of iem. I have SE5 and to me, it sounds natural and honest with a touch of grandness, of course with top clarity and separation. Now I thought about it, SE5 is in the opposite spectrum of Erlkonig, both top of their field in their approach to music. How does SE6 improves beyond SE5?

 

[Wayne999]

Since you have SE6 how does it compare to SE5; it is just brighter? It pique my interest. You put SE6 above Erlkonig. I heard Erlkonig, very full sounding, all max in bass, mids and trebles and to me it’s pretty much the pinnacle of iem. I have SE5 and to me, it sounds natural and honest with a touch of grandness, of course with top clarity and separation. Now I thought about it, SE5 is in the opposite spectrum of Erlkonig, both top of their field in their approach to music. How does SE6 improves beyond SE5?

I am sorry I have not owned an SE5, so I cannot compare them. As for the ERLKöNIG, it is one of the bests in the world, but one issue is that its sound is too full for me, which sounds a narrow sound stage. But it is only my own opinion and feeling. SE6 has a more natural and healthier sound for me. Anyway, they are all the best overall.

 

[Colors]

Update:

1. 64 Audio U12T
2. Sony Z1R
3. Hidition Viento-B
4. Shure KSE1200
5. Campfire Andromeda MW10
6. Audeze LCDi4
7. QDC Anole VX
8. Campfire Andromeda 2020
9. Sony M9
10. Empire Ears Legend X / Andromeda OG v3

Going to put the U12T at #1 now. It's super coherent, pretty much does everything well, has no glaring weaknesses aside from BA bass (which btw, is some of the best BA bass), but doesn't have the incoherency of DD and BA setups that hybrids often have. Also some of the best treble out there. It's just good at everything not to mention Apex comfort.

Recently got a Hidition Viento-B and I think the vocals + coherency on this IEM are probably among the best I've ever heard (competitor being KSE). Tastefully boosted bass in the B configuration and a surprisingly exciting IEM I actually find w/ the lifted treble, slightly lifted upper mids and boosted sub-bass. A winner if you enjoy a very clean and sharp presentation of your music.

The Andromeda 2020 really surprised me. The upper treble is a bit reduced (no more sparkle), the lower-mids reduced a little and the upper mids lifted a tad. In return, you get a much more focused presentation than the OG, a fairly balanced sound signature and loads of detail and layers. An easy all around recommendation in its price range. Only weakness is the bass is not aggressive (look into the MW10 if you want that).

Can't wait to try the new EE lineup (including the Odin and Hero) next!

 

[Damz87]

Got an updated list too

1. VE Erlkonig
2. Sony IER-Z1R / EE Legend X SE / 64 Audio Tia Fourte Noir (I really can't decide between these 3. I like them all for different things. LX SE has my fav bass, Z1R fav treble, and the Noir kinda does everything well but not my absolute favourite at anything)
3. 64 Audio U12t
4. Campfire Audio Solaris 2020
5. qdc Anole VX
6. 64 Audio Nio
7. Sony IER-M9
8. EE Legend X
9. Campfire Audio Andromeda S
10. Sony EX1000