OK. First, i'll Ignore the fact that you had to mention that 2 people have 4 ears. 4 ears does read like you are talking about more than 2 people. I will laugh it off assuming you intended it as a joke.
About how much i would pay for them. Let's see. The best IEM that i own is the inear SD2. I bought them from a shop here in Germany, paid ~450 (in USD) for it. Check out the measurements of the SD2., and they have a similar upper mid dip. IE 800 Pro measurements have a dip in the upper mids as well. I, myself, generally prefer pronounced upper mids but I'm really not missing anything with the IE 500 Pro. I have a personal limit to spend on IEMs, and that is not to pay more than 500 dollars. In fact, i paid even more, ~550 USD or so, to import Donguri Ti Plus, which is an incredible IEM. They have pronounced upper-mids. Also, ATH-CKR100s have pronounced upper-mids. I love these IEM to bits. I've compared the sound of IE 500 Pro in detail against these IEMs in my review, and they do stand their ground and even excel them in some aspects.
The laid-back upper mids/lower treble aids in keeping the region from getting overly shimmery, and splashy (restricts the airiness). To my ears, they still do not lack any detail extraction even in this recessed region - very similar to the SD2 BAs in this aspect. For a single dynamic to do this, i'm seriously impressed and really happy to have them with me.
So, honestly, I would pay 500 USD for these without any regrets (as that is my upper limit). I bought many IEMs in different price brackets, and the IE 500 Pro are technically stronger than all of them. I also compared them to Ultrasone IQ (priced at 650) ,and the IE 500 Pro are not lacking an any sense pitted against them. Where i can pay 500 dollars, one might go so far to pay the asking price. Heck, you know people buy earphones for 2k!
Before i write any further, let me say that I agree and completely understand the rage against these advertisers in disguise. I'm with you on this, i can only say i'm not one of them (they would say them same, i know). The good thing about them is, in a moment you can see through them, and they really add no value to the potential buyer or the those serious in our hobby. I simply just ignore them and not visit their sites. I mean, facebook! Why would you go so far to get enraged?!
Let's touch upon loaner samples and reviews while we are here. It appears that you believe NOT holding on to the IEM and returning them makes your reviews special. Though keeping them adds to some attachment, knowing that they are going to leave you adds to a certain disconnect which is so obvious in any loaner review i have read. So much to the point that i give them no credibility whatsoever simply because they are loaner reviews. You have them for 30 days, look into the horse's mouth (like you put it), and then give an opinion. It doesn't cut it for regular users like me. I, being a simple head-fier here, like to read how much a person likes his/her IEM. What kind of new experience the earphones provide, where it stands against one's other favourite IEMs, and so on. This comes out only when the user is holding on to the IEMs to does constant comparison and (re) evaluation (not returning, nor selling after the review).
Another word on bias, every human has some inherent bias. You, for instance, very clearly have a strong aversion to IEMs priced above 200. That contributes to a bias in the opposite direction. One's favourite signature creates a bias. You look at measurements, don't you? Simply looking at them already forms different opinions on your mind before the first listen. The measurement rig is unbiased, but the human always is. The only way, in my opinion, to eliminate bias, is to first normalize by common aspect (sound signature, price, usability) and then compare with commonly lauded/known earphones. I make sure to spend a lot of time on comparisons for this reason.
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