Rank the IEM's you've heard
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It's been less than a year since I bought my first IEM (Variations) but I have tried quite a bit in that time.
This list will likely change as I only received the Annihilator, Monarch MKIII, and Diva recently. I own the top 5 and Meteor, and sold the Helios SE, Monarch MKII, and Variations.
1) U12t
2) Elysian Annihilator 2023
3) Monarch MKIII
4) Sony IER-Z1R
5) Elysian Diva
6) Helios SE
7) Monarch MKII
8) Moondrop Variations
9) Symphonium Meteor
Bass - IER-Z1R (only improvement would be more sub-bass)
Lower mids - Monarch MKII / Elysian Diva
Upper mids - Most of these IEMs do upper mids and female vocals very well.
Treble - Annihilator 2023 (the best by a mile)
Detail - Annihilator
Imaging - U12t
Soundstage - IER-Z1R
Dynamics - Annihilator / U12t
Others I have listened to but not owned so not comfortable giving a firm ranking to:
- Empire Ears Odin, would rank very highly and has better male vocals than any of the top 3 on my list.
- Subtonic Storm, listened to this three times but never all that impressed for the price. To my ears it sounds extremely similar to the Monarch MKII. Need to give them a proper listen on my new HiBy R6 Pro II.
- Fir RN6, very very good. Had a slight tinniness but that may be fixed by tip rolling. This would rank highly.
- Fir XE6, preferred the RN6. XE6 sounds too boomy.
- Kinera Loki Emerald, good but need to spend more time with it. Nothing stood out to me.
- Symphonium Crimson, prefer it to the Helios SE and it has more mid bass which the Helios lacked. However, I struggle with the fit of all Symphonium IEMs.
- Nightjar Singularity, shell is just way too small and is a non-starter. Also looks way too cheap for the price. Sounds decent though.
- Sennheiser IE600, would rank at the bottom. Lower mids are non-existent.
- Sennheiser IE900. decent but meh.
- QDC Anole VX and V14, both were very good and I couldn't really tell them apart in the short time I had with them.
- FatFreq Maestro SE, had nice bass but very soft treble that didn't have much detail.
- Letshouer EJ07M, best value IEM I have heard. Beautiful vocals but lacking a lot of bass. Bit small for my ears but maybe some larger tips would fix that.
- Thieaudio V16, better than the Monarch MKII and actually has decent bass and dynamics.
- 64 Audio U4s, very good and bass is more engaging than the U12t. Need to spend more time with it but it could be the smart pick of the 64A lineup.
This list will likely change as I only received the Annihilator, Monarch MKIII, and Diva recently. I own the top 5 and Meteor, and sold the Helios SE, Monarch MKII, and Variations.
1) U12t
2) Elysian Annihilator 2023
3) Monarch MKIII
4) Sony IER-Z1R
5) Elysian Diva
6) Helios SE
7) Monarch MKII
8) Moondrop Variations
9) Symphonium Meteor
Bass - IER-Z1R (only improvement would be more sub-bass)
Lower mids - Monarch MKII / Elysian Diva
Upper mids - Most of these IEMs do upper mids and female vocals very well.
Treble - Annihilator 2023 (the best by a mile)
Detail - Annihilator
Imaging - U12t
Soundstage - IER-Z1R
Dynamics - Annihilator / U12t
Others I have listened to but not owned so not comfortable giving a firm ranking to:
- Empire Ears Odin, would rank very highly and has better male vocals than any of the top 3 on my list.
- Subtonic Storm, listened to this three times but never all that impressed for the price. To my ears it sounds extremely similar to the Monarch MKII. Need to give them a proper listen on my new HiBy R6 Pro II.
- Fir RN6, very very good. Had a slight tinniness but that may be fixed by tip rolling. This would rank highly.
- Fir XE6, preferred the RN6. XE6 sounds too boomy.
- Kinera Loki Emerald, good but need to spend more time with it. Nothing stood out to me.
- Symphonium Crimson, prefer it to the Helios SE and it has more mid bass which the Helios lacked. However, I struggle with the fit of all Symphonium IEMs.
- Nightjar Singularity, shell is just way too small and is a non-starter. Also looks way too cheap for the price. Sounds decent though.
- Sennheiser IE600, would rank at the bottom. Lower mids are non-existent.
- Sennheiser IE900. decent but meh.
- QDC Anole VX and V14, both were very good and I couldn't really tell them apart in the short time I had with them.
- FatFreq Maestro SE, had nice bass but very soft treble that didn't have much detail.
- Letshouer EJ07M, best value IEM I have heard. Beautiful vocals but lacking a lot of bass. Bit small for my ears but maybe some larger tips would fix that.
- Thieaudio V16, better than the Monarch MKII and actually has decent bass and dynamics.
- 64 Audio U4s, very good and bass is more engaging than the U12t. Need to spend more time with it but it could be the smart pick of the 64A lineup.
shaunbr15
New Head-Fier
Elysian diva 2023
Yanyin mahina
Shozy magma
Symphonium meteor
Moondrop blessing 3
Mangird tea 2
Kiwi ears orchestra lite
Moondrop kato
Thieaudio oracle og (unpopular opinion I know. Vocals too recessed for my preference)
Sennheiser ie300
Yanyin mahina
Shozy magma
Symphonium meteor
Moondrop blessing 3
Mangird tea 2
Kiwi ears orchestra lite
Moondrop kato
Thieaudio oracle og (unpopular opinion I know. Vocals too recessed for my preference)
Sennheiser ie300
takoyakeyy
New Head-Fier
Didn't get the chance to try a lot but heres what I have
Technicality: moondrop s8
Vocals: Thieaudio oracle
Bass: fatfreq meastro mini
sold my fearless s8f not long ago but it is a fantastic V-shape iem. Tried the Blessing 3 before but bass is a little bit lacking to my taste. Would grab the B3dusk if they change the face plate as one of my friends got the B3 not long ago but has a ton of micro scratches on them despite being very careful (he puts them back in the pouch every time he finishes using them and never took them outdoor).
Technicality: moondrop s8
Vocals: Thieaudio oracle
Bass: fatfreq meastro mini
sold my fearless s8f not long ago but it is a fantastic V-shape iem. Tried the Blessing 3 before but bass is a little bit lacking to my taste. Would grab the B3dusk if they change the face plate as one of my friends got the B3 not long ago but has a ton of micro scratches on them despite being very careful (he puts them back in the pouch every time he finishes using them and never took them outdoor).
Rextilleon
New Head-Fier
You don't like bright but you put S12Pro near the top and put IE600 towards the bottom. I own both and my experience is pretty much the complete opposite. Shows you how subjective this all is.
dweet
New Head-Fier
S12 are an example of earphones where I don't mind them being slightly brighter. For my ears they are not that shouty and both bass and midrange compensate for this well. IE600s are shouty and thin, with no warmth in midrange. Probably surprising to many I also don't find their bass full and pleasing at all.
If you look at the graphs you can see that the trebles are peeking in different frequencies. Maybe we perceive the "shoutiness" more in other places...
https://hbb.squig.link/?share=Bad_Guy_2022_Target,Sennheiser_IE600,Shuoer_s12_pro
Of course, it is subjective, that's why we should listen ourselves
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BrokeAudiophileMan
100+ Head-Fier
I haven't heard many IEMs, or very high end ones, but:
Truthear Hexa>7Hz Timeless>KZ ZEX>Apple earpods (not airpods)>Truthear Hola ($20 apple headphones with a decent little amp and some EQ are surprisingly non crap)
Yes, I like the Hexa better than the 2+ times more expensive timeless. Timeless are good but they've always been too bright for me and ever so slightly shouty whereas with the Hexa I can listen for hours with no fatigue so it's a better overall experience for me.
Truthear Hexa>7Hz Timeless>KZ ZEX>Apple earpods (not airpods)>Truthear Hola ($20 apple headphones with a decent little amp and some EQ are surprisingly non crap)
Yes, I like the Hexa better than the 2+ times more expensive timeless. Timeless are good but they've always been too bright for me and ever so slightly shouty whereas with the Hexa I can listen for hours with no fatigue so it's a better overall experience for me.
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Rextilleon
New Head-Fier
I don't care about graphs. Meaningless to me. The Sennheisers are hardly BRITE--that's ridiculous. the S12's are planar brite--you either like them or you don't--but they BRITE!!!S12 are an example of earphones where I don't mind them being slightly brighter. For my ears they are not that shouty and both bass and midrange compensate for this well. IE600s are shouty and thin, with no warmth in midrange. Probably surprising to many I also don't find their bass full and pleasing at all.
If you look at the graphs you can see that the trebles are peeking in different frequencies. Maybe we perceive the "shoutiness" more in other places...
https://hbb.squig.link/?share=Bad_Guy_2022_Target,Sennheiser_IE600,Shuoer_s12_pro
Of course, it is subjective, that's why we should listen ourselves
dweet
New Head-Fier
I disagree and don't find it ridiculous tbh. For some people I know the Sennheisers are also borderline bright. Even most of the reviewers agree with that.
The same applies to headphones like Meze 109 Pro: I personally can't stand their shrill treble, a friend from my audio store hates them even more, but some find them "neutral".
As I said: we perceive some notes differently, especially with IEMs where ear canal shape changes a lot.
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Interesting to see Canon in S tier. Can you describe how it sounds?
Worst to Best
JBL Endurance Run > Final e1000 > Fostex TE04 > Fiio JH3 > TFZ My Love 2 > Hifiman RE800 Silver
JBL Endurance Run > Final e1000 > Fostex TE04 > Fiio JH3 > TFZ My Love 2 > Hifiman RE800 Silver
dweet
New Head-Fier
Analogue, very dynamic, with tasteful bass and full immersion in the music. The detail and technicals are not top shelf, but good enough not to be distracting. For me they are a textbook example of "guilty pleasure".
Also provide a lot of fun with switches.
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dweet
New Head-Fier
Updated the list a little
("<" is below expectations, ">" is above)
("<" is below expectations, ">" is above)
| Name | Tier | Expectations vs reality |
| 64 Audio U12t | S | |
| Sony IER-Z1R | S | > |
| Softears Twilight | S | >> |
| 64 Audio U4s | A | > |
| Yanyin Canon | A | >> |
| Audeze LCDi4 (with Cipher) | A | |
| Shuoer S12 Pro | A | > |
| Tangzu Wu Zetian | A | > |
| Unique Melody MEST MK2 | A | < |
| Raptgo Hook-X | B | |
| Moondrop Variations | B | < |
| Sony XBA-N3 | B | |
| Dunu SA6 | B | > |
| ISN H40 | B | |
| Dunu Vulkan | B | > |
| 7Hz Timeless | B | > |
| Aful Performer 5 | C | |
| Xenns UP | C | << |
| Shuoer EJ07M Kinda Lava | C | << |
| Fearless Audio S8Z | C | < |
| Aful Performer 8 | C | |
| Symphonium Audio Meteor | C | << |
| iBasso IT01X | C | >> |
| TRI Starsea | D | |
| Craft Ears Craft 4 | D | > |
| ISN EST50 | D | < |
| FiiO FH7 | D | |
| Sennheiser IE600 | D | << |
| CCA CRA | D | >> |
| Tripowin x HBB Olina | E | < |
| Tanchjim Oxygen | E | |
| Juzear 41T | E | << |
| AudioSense T800 | E | |
| TinHifi T3 Plus | E | |
| Blon BL03 | E | > |
| Tripowin x HBB Mele | E | < |
| Shanling AE3 | E | < |
| Tin T4 | F | |
| Kinera IDUN | F | |
| Moondrop Starfield | F | << |
| NS Audio NS5MKII | F |
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Where is the mentawai? Haha
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