[Rolu]

Current top ten!

Ie100 hahaha! I remember hearing it and it was better than maybe just the SE425

 

[Damz87]

Ie100 hahaha! I remember hearing it and it was better than maybe just the SE425

What’s so funny? There’s basically nothing in this hobby that’s truly “better” or “worse” as it’s all subjective. Not everyone wants or enjoys an IEM that’s more technical or more resolving or whatever metric another person may define as “better”.

@ranfan has heard as many top IEM’s as anyone else around here so it’s not always as simple as new or more expensive = better. Obviously for his music taste, his tuning preferences, his ear anatomy, his source, his use case… It’s better than most other IEM’s.

 

[emdeevee]

So many newer IEMs featuring BCD...do you need to use specific tips to get max effect, or just like all others, find the good seal and fit? I tend to like foam but have no clue whether BCDs need thin silicone.

 

[ranfan]

Ie100 hahaha! I remember hearing it and it was better than maybe just the SE425

I'm glad it cheers you up! It's quite an uncommon list. So I can see the funny side of it. I'm curious to know what your list looks like. Hope you have a fine day

What’s so funny? There’s basically nothing in this hobby that’s truly “better” or “worse” as it’s all subjective. Not everyone wants or enjoys an IEM that’s more technical or more resolving or whatever metric another person may define as “better”.

@ranfan has heard as many top IEM’s as anyone else around here so it’s not always as simple as new or more expensive = better. Obviously for his music taste, his tuning preferences, his ear anatomy, his source, his use case… It’s better than most other IEM’s.

Thank you Damien, I appreciate your kind consideration. It is a hobby after all, so having fun is part of it

I haven't heard the Mentor yet, and with all the praise it's been getting it really piques my interest. May I ask why do you rate it so highly?

 

[drftr]

My top 15+5:

Class A: Would buy

1. Noble Audio Sultan
2. Noble Audio Kublai Khan
3. 64Audio U18t
4. Oriolus Traillii
5. Unique Melody Mason FuSang

Class B: Could certainly live with

1. Fitear ToGo 334
2. Acoustune HS2000MX
3. 64Audio U12t
4. Vision Ears Phönix
5. 64Audio Trio

Class C: Very interesting but somehow no love yet

1. Aroma Audio Jewel
2. Vision Ears Elysium
3. Softears Turii Ti
4. Vision Ears VE8
5. 64Audio Nio

Class Z: Most anticipated but not heard Class A/B contenders

1. Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor
2. Fitear Titan
3. Noble Audio Viking Ragnar
4. Dita Audio Perpetua
5. Fitear TG334

drftr

 

[ranfan]

1. Oriolus Trailli
2. Elysian Annihilator
3. Sony IER-Z1R
4. 64 Audio U12t

OK I saw it, that's a solid list!

 

[Damz87]

Thank you Damien, I appreciate your kind consideration. It is a hobby after all, so having fun is part of it

I haven't heard the Mentor yet, and with all the praise it's been getting it really piques my interest. May I ask why do you rate it so highly?

I think it’s the combination of the BCD imaging and extreme technical performance, with warm and rich mids that don’t sacrifice bass and treble quality. It ticks a lot of my boxes

 

[DaveStarWalker]

Updated and specified, for the first three entries (I am too lazy for the rest...) :

Ok...

I had to find a solution... undecidable - I was - for the top position (#1). And I found it. Finally.

Here it is :

The magnificent ten, em... thirteen ! (or the thirteen assassins...)

DAP : Aune m1s, balanced output, fast filter (One gear to rule them all... ).

And :

1/ FiiO FH9 (Absolute - balanced - weapon of mass destruction). Stock balanced cable x8 (pure litz sterling silver, just excellent) and tips "Canal Works 肉球 Gel Wide Bore" L.
And...
1/ Aure Audio Ringo (Perfect alliance of a reference tuning and a magic spell). Rhapsodio Graphene balanced cable x4 (ABSOLUTE TOTL as I think ; best match ever with these uiems) and tips "Canal Works 肉球 Gel Narrow Bore" L.
And...
1/ Aure Audio Elixir (aka "Squaring the - organic - Circle"). PlusSound Tri-copper x8 balanced cable (one of it's kind ; best match ever with these uiems) and tips "Canal Works 肉球 Gel Narrow Bore" L.

Then :

Fir Audio Kr5... One word for the general restitution : IN-TEN-SE !!!!.... In my book, more intense than the most intense iems I've ever known, i.e. Kaiser Encore, Final A8000 and mighty Infinity mk2! but... We're on the verge of a foul, amha. I listened to about 20 minutes of these intras, and I was starting to feel tired.
Also, it is "over spectacular", but it lacks naturalness (timbres) so much that everything is over the top. Also, the homogeneity of the bandwith is not perfect, in the sense that the kinetic bass play in it's corner (but what a corner !!! Telluric bass, etc., lots of rumble - I don't think I've heard such a marked effect elsewhere for iems, but under control - The lower midrange is a bit too forward though), then the "rest" (BA), with the tuning that belongs to them... In short, I found that it tends to "sting" a little... but it piqued my curiosity, because I love this type of extreme product, which behaves like F1 cars, and which must be tamed. These are my favourite products, and these KR5's (apart from the **** price), from a purely sonic point of view, are among them. You'd have to play with the tips (however, those I used during my listening seemed to do the job : unidentified though)... but especially with the cable! Because the stock cable tends to be bright, and, I find with the kR5's, aggressive. But, having in hand my Plussound GPS x8, which is a pure gold plated silver with just superb timbres, a great smouthness (too much with the Ringo... ) and a lot of matter, texture, in particular in the bottom end, and with full hyper natural mediums, and finally very extended but soft an d sweet highs in short... It was so mush better !... KR5s in custom... Hum.... I would say, I would consider these intras for this. But you need 3, 4000 buck (including the good cable...). In my top ranking gears, 1 place(s) (see above).

Well.... Craft Audio Aurum (PlusSound Tri-copper x8 balanced cable - one of it's kind - or EA Eros II x8 balances cable - way less good that the aforementioned Tri-copper x 8 or, "worse", Aaw Aoraki x4 cable - hell of a cable, one of the best as I think - ) and tips "Canal Works 肉球 Gel Narrow Bore" L) = a real problem about these uiem's... they are just power (current) hungry. Never seen a thing like that before !!!!... So, one of the best uiem I know, but one of the less drivable product too (worse, with my dap, than a full size headphone like a Final 8000 pro !! )... So about a real ranking ? I don't know... But they are really, really, really good, at the top of my food chain... In my top ranking gears, 3 or 4 places.

2/ Rhapsodio Supreme Mk2 (Lord of the Audiophile Rings)
3/ Final A8000 (Gods of infinite clarity)
4/ Rhapsodio Infinity Mk2 (Kaiser Encore on steroids !)
5/ Noble Kaiser Encore (Emperor of the razor-sharp... katana's)
6/ Empire Ears Zeus XRA (United colors)
7/ Jomo Flamenco (hidden son of Zeus XIV and Kaiser Encore)
8/ FitEar 435 (Muhammad Ali is back)
9/ FitEar To Go ! 334 v3 (Baron von tone)
10/ FitEar a111 (Japanese lightning fast feet )

Much, much, much more satisfying !

Almost terminated (life is cruel...) :

Campfire Solaris (very good, euphonic and fun sounding gear, but I have to choose), Oriolus Oriolus (the same), UM Mason V3 (so smooth and musical, liquid, but a little sleepy), Andromeda V2 (everything very good but nothing really exceptional, except for the soundstage), Fir Audio Xe6 (too warmish for mee, unbalanced), Vision Ears Phoenix (well... safe, safe, safe, safe and... safe tuning. Nothing wrong, but... Almost terminated )...

Terminated (RIP) :

U12t (boring, generic tuning...), u18t (very good but... no magic), Fourté Noir (very weird tuning !...), Legend X (too much BASS for me...), Dunu Luna (too safe for me), Sony Z1r (king of the V tuning but...), Jomo Trinity brass (no homogeneity...), Campfire Altas v1 (huge bass, and ?...), Fidue a83 (my first real love but... Meh... sorry), Brainwavz B2 (only treble), Qdc Anole vx (boring), Vsonic gr07 (no phonic isolation), Jomo Samba (well, very clean, but...?), Audio Technica IM03 (there is a long, long time ago... ), Ultimate Ears ue18+ v3 (very - boring...), TDK BA200 (flat, boring, muffled...), Earsonic Grace (I don't even understand what they wanted to do... veiled, muddy... a total mess ), Alambic Ears Mundaka (very fun but way to bassy for me, disbalanced), Vision Ears EXT (unbalanced, pronounceed "V" shape decent technicalies...), Vision Ears VE7 (weird tuning, medium muffled ??? fatty but extended high at the same time. Weird)...

(...)

And a lot more, but I have forget them...

Want to hear :

Thieaudio Monarch mkII, Empire Ears Legend X Evo and Odyssey, Nostalgia Audio Camelot, Istfit Fusion, UM Indigo, Alambic Ears Mentawai (last version), Noble Kublai Khan, Viking, Ragnar, JH Jolene... non-exhaustive list.

That's all folks

So, here it is...

Disclaimer:

What I'm looking for in my hifi listening, are products whose general behaviour, the sound, is as close as possible to the sensations of a live session. It has to be lively, as dynamic as possible, with nuanced transients (from murmur to extreme violence). I'm not interested in whether it's "neutral" or "straight" or "transparent". What I'm looking for is balanced and homogeneous products, both in BP and in texture. I'm also interested in "definition" and "resolution": it has to be as high as possible, but still natural. It's like a TV with too much or too little sharpness. You have to find the right gradient. So I like products that are "on the edge". You also need substance, harmonic richness. I'm not interested in overtly analytical sounds... because they are not realistic. The same goes for the opposite, when I think it's too "round", or too "hot", or lacking in "sparkle" and "bite" (these are purely musical notions by the way). The stories of "musicality" also seem completely abstract to me...

In short, this is what I'm looking for. If a recording, a song, a track is aggressive, then it should sound like that. If it's soft, then it should sound "soft", if it's... we get it.

The merciless ranking version !!!...........

DAP : Aune m1s, balanced output, fast filter (One gear to rule them all... ).

1/ Aure Audio Ringo* (Perfect alliance of a reference tuning and a magic spell). Aaw Aoraki mk7 balanced cable x4 (ABSOLUTE TOTL as I think ; best match ever with these uiems) and tips "Canal Works 肉球 Gel Narrow Bore" L.
And...
2/ FiiO FH9* (Absolute - balanced - weapon of mass destruction). FiiO "LC-RE Pro 2022" 8-wires, balanced cable (pure litz sterling silver, plus copper plated gold and pure copper : perfect match) and tips "Canal Works 肉球 Gel Narrow Bore" L. Vents modded (value 700 for the filtering strength).
And...
3/ Aure Audio Elixir* (aka "Squaring the - organic - Circle"). Penon Totem x2 coaxial balanced cable (one of it's kind ; best match ever with these uiems) and tips "Canal Works 肉球 Gel Narrow Bore" L.

Then :

4/ Final A8000 (God of infinite clarity). Dunu Blanche balanced cable and tips "Azla Xelastec", L.
5/ Fir Audio Kr5 (Love and Thunder). PlusSound GPS x8 balanced cable and "(unidentified ; stock tips ?) black silicone tips, medium bore", L.
6/ Rhapsodio Supreme Mk2 (Lord of the Audiophile Rings). Rhapsodio Evolution SPC Ultimate Edition balanced cable x 4 and tips "Xelastec ML"
7/ Rhapsodio Infinity Mk2 (Kaiser Encore on steroids !). PlusSound Tricopper x8 balanced cable and "Azla Xelastec ML" tips.
8/ Noble Kaiser Encore (Emperor of the razor-sharp... katana's). PlusSound Tricopper x8 balanced cable and "Rapgo adaptive eartips (gel modded), L"
9/ Empire Ears Zeus XRA (United colors). Penon GS849 x8 balanced cable and "Ultimate Ears (old = discontinued, what a shame...) grey tips, ML".
10/ Jomo Flamenco (hidden son of Zeus XIV and Kaiser Encore). Penon GS849 x8 balanced cable and "Jomo Whirlwind tips, L".

Almost terminated (life is cruel...) :

Campfire Solaris (very good, euphonic and fun sounding gear, but I have to choose), Oriolus Oriolus (the same), UM Mason V3 (so smooth and musical, liquid, but a little sleepy), Andromeda V2 (everything very good but nothing really exceptional, except for the soundstage), Fir Audio Xe6 (too warmish for me, unbalanced), Vision Ears Phoenix (well... safe, safe, safe, safe and... safe tuning. Nothing wrong, but... Almost terminated ), FitEar 435 (excellent, just excellent, but not in the A list anymore), FitEar 334 (the same), FitEar a111 (idem).

Special case : Craft Audio Aurum... Excellent. Just excellent. Maybe in the 4th place of my ranking. But... current and power hungry like no other product I know...

Terminated (RIP) :

U12t (boring, generic tuning...), u18t (very good but... no magic), Fourté Noir (very weird tuning !... medium wise...), Legend X (too much BASS for me... and uncontrolled), Dunu Luna (too safe for me), Sony Z1r (king of the "V tuning" but...), Jomo Trinity brass (no homogeneity...), Campfire Altas v1 (huge bass, and ?...), Fidue a83 (my first real love but... Meh... sorry), Brainwavz B2 (only treble), Qdc Anole vx (boring), Vsonic gr07 (no phonic isolation), Jomo Samba (well, very clean, but...?), Audio Technica IM03 (there is a long, long time ago... ), Ultimate Ears ue18+ v3 (very - boring...), TDK BA200 (flat, boring, muffled...), Earsonic Grace (I don't even understand what they wanted to do... veiled, muddy... a total mess ), Alambic Ears Mundaka (very fun but way to bassy for me, disbalanced), Vision Ears EXT (unbalanced, pronounced "V" shape, decent technicalies...), Vision Ears VE7 (weird tuning, medium muffled ??? fatty but extended high at the same time. Weird)...

(...)

And a lot more, but I have forget them...

Want to hear :

Thieaudio Monarch mkII, Empire Ears Legend X Evo and Odyssey, Nostalgia Audio Camelot, Istfit Fusion, UM Indigo, Alambic Ears Mentawai (last version), Noble Kublai Khan, Viking, Ragnar, JH Jolene... non-exhaustive list.

That's all folks



* Not the last word about the bass, but... tones, timbres, definition, musical realism are just crazy good.... Crystal transparency. So subtle.
* Perhaps the ultimate musical all rounder I know, ever. Totl level (technicallies...). Not as transparent and subtle as the 1st one mentionned above, but what an incredible talent... And the stock cable is... almost perfect. Perfect with the optional FiiO "LC-RE Pro 2022" 8-wires, balanced cable (pure litz sterling silver, plus copper plated gold and pure copper (better tones, timbres, harmonic richness texture and weight...)
* W shaped. Very powerful and full of life and fuel... Not as subtle and refined as their cousins the Ringo's, less technical and "every think is in the bag" (the stock cable is horrible...) than the Fh9's, but what a talent too !!!!.... The Penon Totem cable takes them very far, however, in an amazing way.

About the other gears, I can expand upon request.

 

[Rockwell75]

My top 15+5:

Class A: Would buy

1. Noble Audio Sultan
2. Noble Audio Kublai Khan
3. 64Audio U18t
4. Oriolus Traillii
5. Unique Melody Mason FuSang

Class B: Could certainly live with

1. Fitear ToGo 334
2. Acoustune HS2000MX
3. 64Audio U12t
4. Vision Ears Phönix
5. 64Audio Trio

Class C: Very interesting but somehow no love yet

1. Aroma Audio Jewel
2. Vision Ears Elysium
3. Softears Turii Ti
4. Vision Ears VE8
5. 64Audio Nio

Class Z: Most anticipated but not heard Class A/B contenders

1. Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor
2. Fitear Titan
3. Noble Audio Viking Ragnar
4. Dita Audio Perpetua
5. Fitear TG334

drftr

Have you heard the Annihilator? If so where would it fit above?

 

[drftr]

Have you heard the Annihilator? If so where would it fit above?

I would unfortunately have to put it in an extension of class C as this is one that a really tried to like but couldn't. I demoed them in Singapore and then a month later in Kuala Lumpur, wondering if I had listened to one that wasn't broken in or not being amped adequately. But unfortunately during both demos they didn't make it to my "electrical" round 2 (round 1 being acoustical pop, jazz, and classical) as I need to a big plus for both. From my notes written while listening:

Elysian Annihilator
Great tonal balance, too lean mids make female vocals focus on upper mids and treble only (making them sound 5-10 years younger), slightly nasal, disconnected s sounds, whispy, unlistenable, excellent details, good imaging and spatial cues, plenty of air around instruments, excellent dynamics, bit thumpy low end.

Elysian Annihilator (2nd demo, see the linked to Singapore write-up)
Great tonal balance. Slightly veiled. Okay-ish imaging. Singer becomes one with instruments and doesn't stand out, where I prefer a big step in front of the instruments like on stage. Acoustic bass boomy and too much body in comparison to singers. Okay-ish resolution in mids but I'm missing info. Missing attack and air in acoustic guitar strings. Low resolution in low end. Small-ish soundstage but very good imaging nevertheless. Quite power hungry. Truly hate the pressure on especially my left ear drum, guessing it's not vented in any way.

With your music focus being quite different than mine and the love it gets from others I take it you may hit gold anyway!

drftr

 

[Quixoticelixermight]

Aroma Jewel > U12t > Andromeda > Chepies/Bluetoohers

 

[Rolu]

What’s so funny? There’s basically nothing in this hobby that’s truly “better” or “worse” as it’s all subjective. Not everyone wants or enjoys an IEM that’s more technical or more resolving or whatever metric another person may define as “better”.

@ranfan has heard as many top IEM’s as anyone else around here so it’s not always as simple as new or more expensive = better. Obviously for his music taste, his tuning preferences, his ear anatomy, his source, his use case… It’s better than most other IEM’s.

What's funny is that I don't believe this hobby is 'all subjective'. There's a reason a u12t is priced significantly higher than a Bl03, and is rated by almost anyone (even an audio noob) to be better. Tuning may be a preference, but not liking more details in your music or for the sound to image better- well I believe that's simply going opposite of what people would like.

 

[Rolu]

I'm glad it cheers you up! It's quite an uncommon list. So I can see the funny side of it. I'm curious to know what your list looks like. Hope you have a fine day

Thank you Damien, I appreciate your kind consideration. It is a hobby after all, so having fun is part of it

I haven't heard the Mentor yet, and with all the praise it's been getting it really piques my interest. May I ask why do you rate it so highly?

Haha more strength to you! The ie100 just stuck out to me. I've heard it but in no world would put it at no. 2 on my list. But whatever rocks your boat I guess

 

[Rolu]

OK I saw it, that's a solid list!

Thank you! I have heard many many more but yeah I didn't think it'd be worthwhile rating everything I heard

 

[Rockwell75]

What's funny is that I don't believe this hobby is 'all subjective'.

I agree that it's not all subjective. I would even go further and say that there is a foundation of objective principles at the root of everything in this hobby-- this is why if two people are being sincere then any discrepancy in the way something is heard can, through discussion, be traced back to things like hearing sensitivities, music library, and so on. However despite the fact that there are clearly objective principles at play this hobby is by and large driven by subjectivity-- which is to say individual responses to objective principles. While any two people can objectively listen to the same thing, no two people will necessarily hear it the same and thus this hobby goes. These "ranking lists" for me are simply favorites lists-- what I happen to be enjoying at a given moment. That said here is my current top 10, that is to say the 10 IEMs I am currently enjoying-- or most fondly remember enjoying-- the most. After about the top 5 it's fairly arbitrary.

1) Annihilator
2) Trifecta
3) Gaea
4) Supermoon
5) EXT
6) Kr5
7) Traillii
8) Mentor
9) Zen Pro
10) IER Z1R