Yesterday, I had a 2 hour listening session with about 7 or 8 different high end IEMs. It was done in a blind listening test so as to not bias me by brand. Based on my reading, I thought that the u12t would be the best fit for my needs. I told the dealer that I have eclectic musical taste. I listen to everything from Classical (symphony orchestra, violin and piano concertos, classical guitar) and Jazz (big band, bossa nova, small group combos, modern) to classic rock, 80s music and pop. I have decent solutions for every genre except classical music. Nothing I own can carry The Marriage of Figaro Sinfonia. Other high end products I've listened to either seared my ears with bright treble and/or lacked sufficient warmth to satisfy my need for a neutral sound signature that leans warm. None of the warmer cans or IEMs can reveal the detail required to decompose properly that avalanche of sound coming from that piece.... until now.
In the mix for my listening session were Ultimate Ears, JH Audio and 64 Audio IEMs. I was able to rule out almost immediately the UE and JH Audio IEMs. None of them compared favorably to any of the 64 Audio products. It took me less than 60 seconds to rule them out as non-competitive. So, I ended up spending nearly all of my time on the u12t, u18u and u18s even though they were distributed randomly in the listening session. All 3 sounded great. Amazingly, for the first time, I heard The Marriage of Figaro Sinfonia with the level of detail, resolution, clarity and warmth that I have been seeking. But, as I listened to other music genres, I found the bass to be lacking in the u12t and u18t. The last IEM I was present was the u18s. I actually reacted very emotionally when I heard the music. It has the perfect balance for me. I was only able to compare the u12t to the u18s and the u18t to u18s. I ran out of time so I couldn't compare the u12t to the u18s. The u18s was by far the best match for me and by a country mile. I was a Jazz musician. When I first learned how to play in tune, my director told me that you listen to your sound relative to the other instruments and adjust your pitch until the chord lights up. The u12s really lit up for me where I actually had an emotional reaction to the sound of the music. The sound stage was unbelievable. It actually sounded like full open back headphones. I've got to get me a set of these IEMs.
I haven't had the chance to hear any Vision Ear, Noble Audio, Campfire Audio or Thieaudio IEMs since I am so new to this hobby. But at least I have a baseline for what an end game IEM needs to do emotionally and technically to get my consideration.
So, to answer the question of the thread. Best IEMs I've heard. Each space separates tiers of sound quality.
64 Audio u18s
64 Audio u12t (about even)
64 Audio u18t (about even)
Ultimate Ears 18+
Shure se846
Ultimate Ears Live
JH Audio Roxanne
JH Audio Jimi
Sony WF-1000xm3
Airpod Pros
Airpod Classic
In the mix for my listening session were Ultimate Ears, JH Audio and 64 Audio IEMs. I was able to rule out almost immediately the UE and JH Audio IEMs. None of them compared favorably to any of the 64 Audio products. It took me less than 60 seconds to rule them out as non-competitive. So, I ended up spending nearly all of my time on the u12t, u18u and u18s even though they were distributed randomly in the listening session. All 3 sounded great. Amazingly, for the first time, I heard The Marriage of Figaro Sinfonia with the level of detail, resolution, clarity and warmth that I have been seeking. But, as I listened to other music genres, I found the bass to be lacking in the u12t and u18t. The last IEM I was present was the u18s. I actually reacted very emotionally when I heard the music. It has the perfect balance for me. I was only able to compare the u12t to the u18s and the u18t to u18s. I ran out of time so I couldn't compare the u12t to the u18s. The u18s was by far the best match for me and by a country mile. I was a Jazz musician. When I first learned how to play in tune, my director told me that you listen to your sound relative to the other instruments and adjust your pitch until the chord lights up. The u12s really lit up for me where I actually had an emotional reaction to the sound of the music. The sound stage was unbelievable. It actually sounded like full open back headphones. I've got to get me a set of these IEMs.
I haven't had the chance to hear any Vision Ear, Noble Audio, Campfire Audio or Thieaudio IEMs since I am so new to this hobby. But at least I have a baseline for what an end game IEM needs to do emotionally and technically to get my consideration.
So, to answer the question of the thread. Best IEMs I've heard. Each space separates tiers of sound quality.
64 Audio u18s
64 Audio u12t (about even)
64 Audio u18t (about even)
Ultimate Ears 18+
Shure se846
Ultimate Ears Live
JH Audio Roxanne
JH Audio Jimi
Sony WF-1000xm3
Airpod Pros
Airpod Classic
