[baskingshark]

Kiwi Ears Quartet graph, via IEC711 coupler. 8kHz is a coupler artefact peak.

Good news is the switches are not gimmicks, they do change the sound signature for sure, giving the Quartet great versatility in tonality.

The last few IEMs I tried with so-called tuning switches/nozzles - the Hidizs MS5, KZ D-Fi, CVJ TXS and TRI Starsea - were gimmicky with the changes in sound, and the changes were at best subtle, or at worst there were no changes at all in some configs like in the TRI Starsea and CVJ TXS!!

At least with measuring rigs in this day and age, we can hold manufacturers accountable if they try to smoke us with hyperbole tuning switches that don't work, in addition to showing channel balance (QC) and perhaps use graphs as a gatekeeper to see if we will like or dislike the IEM tonally.

Will do some listening and report back, for the Quartet!

 

[Click]

Kiwi Ears Quartet graph, via IEC711 coupler. 8kHz is a coupler artefact peak.




Good news is the switches are not gimmicks, they do change the sound signature for sure, giving the Quartet great versatility in tonality.

Sadly, I personally think the switches are a detriment to the Quartet. Sure, they work as they're supposed to, but they don't improve the sound quality to my ears, in my opinion. They just boost the low end and mids/highs, making the default tuning more wonky and messes up the good tonality of the Quartet. I much prefer the default tuning with both switches off. Some people might enjoy the tuning switches on but not me.

Will do some listening and report back, for the Quartet!

 

[RaB7382]

I’ve just placed the order for P8 sample



I guess it depends on the ears and 5kHz tolerance. To me, It’s just vibrant and crisp but not stabby. But no, if you want smooth mid-range focused DD, the JD7 is still my recommendation.

the JD7 is still my recommendation.

 

[Leonarfd]

Sorry, bad excuse. It's just marketing to sell their own cables.

 

[Leonarfd]

Joyodio VZ10 1DD+ 4BA with 8 switches. Since there has been the year of the switch

 

[Asakurai]

How many switch do you have? 8....

it's becoming more and more ridiculous lol, a nightmare for grapher, also a nightmare to listen

 

[Carpet]

Joyodio VZ10 1DD+ 4BA with 8 switches. Since there has been the year of the switch

So switch count is chasing the old driver counts!

Expecting double stacked rows of switches next?

 

[baskingshark]

Joyodio VZ10 1DD+ 4BA with 8 switches. Since there has been the year of the switch

This Joyodio is on the balance of evidence, a KZ sister company. The previous Joyodio Shine came packed with KZ Starlines, and the shells look very similar to the KZ D-Fi with tuning switches.

When their rep was asked on social media whether Joyodio is related to KZ, they didn't dare to reply haha. Silence means consent.

How many switch do you have? 8....

it's becoming more and more ridiculous lol, a nightmare for grapher, also a nightmare to listen

So switch count is chasing the old driver counts!

Expecting double stacked rows of switches next?

Some of these so-called "tunable" IEMs are just marketing gimmicks.

CVJ TXS supposedly has 4 tuning options, 3 sound the same (and graph the same). The last tuning option that has a difference that is extremely minimal LOL:

The tunable version of the KZ D-Fi supposedly has 16 tuning options, but there's only a 4 dB difference in the bass between the most extreme of switches:

TRI Star River supposedly has 4 tuning options, but there are only 2 real different graphs on measurements:

This tuning switch craze is probably just a flavour of the month thing; CHIFI companies see another rival selling their "tunable" IEMs like hot cakes and wanna ride on the hype. But more often than not, the implementation of the switches is hit or miss. Honestly, I think we rather the companies take out the cost of these sub-par switcheroos and give us a more affordable well-tuned product.

 

[nibe90]

Aful Perfomer 8 Unboxing

 

[nibe90]

And the first Review
unfortunately no sub titles



I assume that if there was an embargo, that it is gone

 

[DynamicEars]

I stopped chasing the shadows of mythical dragons.

So, this will be quite a long story, if you all don't mind. Some discovery of the endgame story, some discovery of multi-kilobuck TOTL
While I was abstaining from this thread for around one and a half months, I accidentally upgraded my source or fell down the deepest rabbit hole.
At first, I just wanted to try the new Sony ZX-707 to pair with my Z1R, as in "Sony meets Sony," a superb pairing. Then, after reading some reviews,
And lurking on the ZX-707 thread, I found that WM1Am2 is a better source; for that, I have to stretch my budget more. Out of nowhere after I was sure enough
to grab a used WM1Am2, an old friend of mine that has little business in the audio world posted about the Fiio flagship, the M17, for quite an interesting offer.
more or less the same price as the used WM1Am2, where the M17 new price is higher than the used WM1Am2 at $1800. Short story: He let me audition for the M17, and I was impressed for its technicalities. The dynamics and attack transient are clearly better than WM1Am2, although this M17 is a more neutral presentation (or uncolored) than the colored musical WM1Am2, which is nice too. I thought my M11 plus ESS was a great DAP, and yes, it was until I heard the M17 with my own ears. I already had this diminishing return in mind, and I am skeptical about how much improvement the flagship can deliver.

The M17 changed my perspective about how important the source is, more so than my previous beliefs. If someone has "Fiio source = bright" in mind, listening to M17
will make that perception go away. M17 has more body in the mids and every transient attack. About bass, it produces weighty, deep, and textured bass (grande sub bass), but paired with very tight and snappy midbass, preventing midbass bleed with superb control. And then the refinement, soundstage, and imaging presentation
at its very best. I was at a crossroads about picking up this M17 or WM1Am2, and leaning toward the M17, I asked for a bargain, and I got a super great deal at $1100 for a mint used M17, with the back plastic cover still attached to the surface.

So here my closest to endgame IEMs, my trident of Sony IER-Z1R, Unique Melody Mest (OG aka MkI), and Thieaudio Monarch MkII with Fiio flagship DAP M17 :


I was very close to reaching my endgame after 20+ years in this hobby, with great buys and also a lot of flops. I spent time and money. So what can be improved, then?
Of course, the debatable cable thingy I chased the last 5% improvement for my Mest with the cable. Cable does have differences, especially from full copper to pure silver.It's like warm DAP vs. cold DAP; we can hear it. Just about how many percent of that cable possessed copper or silver parts?
So I make a diagram like this:

The most easily distinguishable differences are from pure copper cable to pure silver cable.

And then about my Mest. The Unique Melody Mest MkI and MKII have divided their customers. Some prefer MkI, which has more technicalities, superb imaging, but more "on steroid" sounding mode, a very clear and crispy sound that deviates from naturalness, especially on highs. While MKII has more body and is more laidback on the edges, with a little bit of cut on technicalities (but still one of the best out there). I would be happy to get one of them since both share great bass presentation: clear, defined, deep, and textured. I rated it 8.5/10 for the bass, and that's quite a high score from me.For me, the vivid imaging is one of the best in the IEM world, presented on a large soundstage. Precog prefers MkI to MkII; some prefer MkII; I believe both are sidegrades rather than upgrades.the Mest Mk I have crispy details that sometimes sounded too much, so I want to bring them to a more natural approach. I seek out copper cable, and in the end, I make this custom thick litz copper cable with a 4.4mm balanced connector. The cable has a little bit of silver plated on it, but much less silver than the original cable. Now my Mest sounds more natural but still has that steroid crispy timbre, especially on high, but much better. It's a UPOCC litz copper 19AWG, very thick; the Mest shell looked small attached to it. Nice pairing, although a little bit of copper or warmth is more desirable.I made them at a local store; I also know the store owner, so after the discount price, I got them for around $100ish.Here is roughly how I positioned the copper cable for my Mest compared to the original cable:

So now my Mest maybe sounded in between Mest MkI and MkII with approaching to more body, low end and naturalness.

Alright, then I got a long-haul flight, brought my M17, and had to choose 1 IEM to go. I picked up Mest with copper cable and confidently left the original cable at home.The big brick of the M17 body is quite a hassle; I have to buy a big case for it, but then I listen to the M17+Mest+copper cable combo all flight long, passing all in-flight entertainment movies, was a blessed me time moment.I also brought the Fiio UTWS5 with modded Timeless for quick draws, short listening sessions, or on the go.I'm stopping by Singapore in 1 day. I was thinking to meet up with @baskingshark, but I really have no time, and I couldn't go to Zeppelin & Co either. Too bad. Maybe next time.


Here comes the eye candy part for you guys, I spent half a day here in Seoul for audio needs, in Gangnam area to be precise.
The Scheherazade, they have account here in head-fi too but seems inactive.

Sorry for the bandwidth!

The Scheherazade Store in Seoul, from in front of the shop :


Inside the store :


Noble Audio area :


Vision Ears and Empire Ears display area :


There are also lot of brands here like AAW, Shure, Etymotic, Westone, Sadly no 64audio here since I wanted to try the new u4s :

Literally heaven for all of us, we can try anything on display, too bad my time also limited.

I tried many IEMs there; they have nice seats with tables for customers. The atmosphere was so quiet, like in a library, with just a simple but welcoming nod from the clerks.
When I was there, the shop wasn't filled with a lot of people; just two people were listening to their full-sized headphones, and I picked up an IEM and then sat down on the chair, 4 meters away from another customer who was also starting to take out their DAPs, etc.


I bring the Fiio M17, with my best eartips collection : Azla Sedna Crystal, Feaulle Latex H570, Spinfit W1 and Moondrop Spring.
My genre is JPOP mainly, with Hi-Res FLAC 24bit / 96khz - 192khz files mostly for test. The Gain set up to Hi-Gain and Over Ear Headphone Mode (FYI M17 have 5 gain mode : Low Gain, Medium Gain, High Gain, Overear Headphone Mode, and DC powered only Enhanced Overear Headphone Mode)

Here a few of my humble impressions (I didn't graph them since I didn't bring my coupler on the go), written at the time I was listening them :

Fir Audio Xenon 6 / XE 6 ($3899)
Driver Configurations : 1DD+4BA+1EST

Impressions : Although the bass is fairly impactful and tactile, the emphasis on the mid and upper bass is too much for me. They constantly leak into the mids area. What a waste of Kinetic Bass technology—very loud and heavy mid and upper bass, badly adjusted.
The tom sounds, especially the floor toms, are quite forceful and open, however the bass bleed throughout the bass presentation is a significant turnoff. If I concentrate on the mids, they have wonderful resolution but too much body and aren't clean. The microdetails are good overall. Great details and just the right proportions, no harshness at all, and an airy upper register make the upper area a delight.
The shell isn't big, fit is OK. I'll pass on this definitely because of the bass bleed. The price is crazy for super bass bleed set (B+ rank)

Empire Ears Odin ($3390)
Driver Configurations : 2DD+5BA+4EST

Impressions : I'm listening to Odin for the second time, but this time from a better source. I'm still impressed, if anything. This Empire Ears Flagship has no significant major flaws. Quite good bass quality that I rate at 8.5 out of 10 puts it on par with Mest bass, though with less impact. The bass is also quite deep, cleanly tuned without bleed, tactile, and has excellent texture. Odin doesn't have a lot of bass; rather, it has a just nice amount in purpose to let the mids shine.
The vocals on the mids can sound a touch forward for my liking and can be thin occasionally, but not always. Mids are forwarded on Odin with such great details and top-notch resolution, so there is nothing wrong with it. In contrast, the tremendous mids of the Monarch MkII sounded thicker, yet Odin had superior resolution than the Monarch MkII, and in every other departments, Odin dominates the Monarch MkII. While the high trebles are slightly intense but not at all harsh, the lower trebles are detailed but not splashy. Technically, it's among the best I've ever heard, with a big soundstage (although Z1R and Mest are a little wider in comparison) and excellent imaging.
Coherency is also excellent given that a tribrid and several drivers are used, and the timbre is still close to natural. However, the note transients have been given a little extra crispness and sharpening in exchange for more details and resolution.
Although expensive, the king has those qualities. The Shell is really stunning—shimmering and sophisticated all at same, with no fit issues. I honestly really enjoy this, but I doubt I'll buy it because I already have Mest and the Odin price is too high for me.

Sennheiser IE900 ($1299)
Driver Configurations : 1DD

Impressions : Semi U-shaped tuning with a relaxed midrange and a well-balanced bass and treble range. Have "true details" and are very resolving for one driver. The timbre is excellent; it sounded quite natural and wasn't overemphasized. I adore the bass because it is so great, punchy, deep, clean, and fast. It's a 9/10 bass in my opinion because it's superior than Mest and Odin Bass but slightly less impactful than Z1R. Mids sound natural and have good substance; they are not recessed but rather more relaxed. Trebles are not as powerful as Z1R on lower trebles but have a boost on upper trebles without hurting ears at all.
Soundstage is wide, but the imaging precision level is average for this level. I believe this is the limitation of single driver. I kind of like this one too, also because of how compact and light it fits.

Vision Ears Phonix ($3900)
Driver Configurations : 13BA

Impressions : This set is really easy to drive despite having 13 BA drivers tuned semi-v-shaped with thick mid and upper bass. It reminds me of the IER-M9 and M7 bass, but honestly, the M7 and M9 bass are better in quality.
The bass is thick, bold, and bleeds to the mids; it is not a clean presentation. Mids have very good body; warm mids like M9 too, but upper mids sounded unnaturally boosted. I heard BA timbres in the high mids and lower trebles on first listening, which have odd tonality too. On the positive side, because of the resolution boost in the presence region, they have top-notch resolution like Odin.
Upper treble has a lot of details, is intense, and is prone to sibilance. Details are very good, but soundstage and imaging are nothing special for this bold price. TLDR: I don't like this set; better get the IER-M9, in my opinion, even though it has a slight cut in details and resolution but a huge cut in price.


Noble Audio Nodachi ($5800)
Driver Configurations : 8BA+4EST

Impressions : Weird tonality and sounded "hollow" or "boxy" at first listen. Overall tilted to a little bright and thin tonality. The bass sounded clear but couldn't reach deep enough to meet my standards, especially when looking back at the price tag. Quantity is also slightly south of my preferences for the bass. 7.5/10 bass score from me. Mids sounded clear but were on the thinner side and didn't have body; not my cup of tea. Trebles were too safe on the lower treble and sounded distant. Technicalities are also just average.
Well, they need to work on tuning. Sorry for my words, but as a flagship, this is a failure. The Viking Ragnar is better on tuning (similar to Mest) but has sibilance, much more than Mest (Wow).


And here my personal rank of the Best IEMs to date of any price range :
S Tier IEMs :
-Empire Ears Odin : Combination of fun and balance tuning, doesn't do anything wrong at all with super top notch resolution. Mids take the lead, quite reaching the borderline shouty, awesome technicalities, detailed mids and trebles without harshness on upper region. Nice shell and great fit too.
-Elysian Annihilator : A sample of V-shaped fun tuning done right with great deep and bold bass, forwarded and little bit aggressive mids, decent trebles. Fun tuning with airy trebles that backed up with great technicalities too. Shell is beautiful with great fit. Mid and upper bass have little bleed.
-64audio U12t : best technicalities on reference monitor tuning with great layering imaging, easy to love tuning, snappy dynamic transient and detailed. Bass is great for BA, but still lacks real air impact of great DD. Fit is very good. Treblehead may find these little bit too polite and craving for more little bitey lower treble presentation. Higher extension (air) are very good though.
-Sony IER-Z1R : Fun slight U-shaped tuning with best bass quality of any tranduscers i ever heard (combination of texture, air moving impact, depth, speed), close to perfect 9.5/10 bass score from me, can be 10 if slight reduce on 100-150hz area and tilted to more sub bass focus instead, combined with grande presentation of large soundstage, great technicalities (even though not considered the best on their class), good body weight and natural detailed treble while intense. Some find mids are recessed but not for me as I listen on high volume combined with wide bore eartips (Azla sedna Crystal). Fit is very niche and infamous, try the fit don't blind buy them.


S- Tier IEMs :
-Unique Melody Mest MkI : Package of great quality clean bass with zero bleed, superb soundstage and best layering imaging, mids are quite forward and detailed, minus point on unnatural high frequencies crispy presentation.
-Unique Melody Mest MkII : Similar to Mest MkI with more body, slight cut on crispy edges and resolution & imaging for natural approaching than MkI
-64audio Tia Trio : Best 64audio bass, impactful with air moving feeling, great air and resolution with very good soundstage and imaging, slight odd tonality on mids area though have thick body
-Sony IER-M9 : All rounder reference monitor that tilted to warm presentation with great BA bass. Imaging is superb and top class, thick bodied notes and vocals with safe trebles. Soundstage isn't the largest but have great depth and sounded "correct". One of the best fit with caution of pressure build because of no vents.

A+ Tier IEMs :
-64audio Nio : warm with bold bass tuning, similar tonality to Z1R but with less sparkles on trebles. Technicalities is very good too but not the best.
-Thieuadio Monarch MkII : Best Value on kilobuck mark, great reference excellent tuning with sub bass boost, great solid natural bodied mids, with the bass quality left behind as TOTL contender. Great imaging but more intimate presentation on soundstage rather than spaciousness.
-QDC Anole VX : Detail and resolution oriented IEMs, that can be too much and go beyond natural, sounded edgy, crispy, hyper detail with odd timbre. A detail specialist IEM. fast transients.
-Vision Ear Phonix : Slight V-shaped full BA flagship with great resolution but too thick bass and have unnatural timbre. Technicalities are great overall but nothing special if looking at the price tag.

A Tier IEMs :
-Oriolus Traillii : Reference monitor with great mids but little bit lacks excitement on bass and lower treble parts, can be boring. The mids are delicious with plenty of details though, very pricey set
-Campfire Andromeda : Great imaging and layering with bodied mids, but the bass sounded dry and bleed to mids area.
-Moondrop S8 : Harmanish set with great mids and detailed trebles, nice transients but the bass quality is holding off to be on higher level.
-Sennheiser IE900 : Great dynamic with awesome bass and treble, but the technicalities aren't up to competitors on top class level. Fun and easy to love tuning.
-Sony IER-M7 : Super imaging for the class, outclasses competitors, even though can be "boring" because of the safe and warm tuning, good allrounder for the class, one of the best BA bass.

Honorable Mention :
Modded 7hz Timeless (A- Tier IEM) : replaced the nylon filter damper with mesh500 damper and cut a hole and put the foam damper inside the nozzle sideways to make airflow for bass, when amped have great details that near TOTL, snappy bass that better than BA bass, wide soundstage
(original Timeless is overdampened with 3 dampers on driver, foam on nozzle stakced with nylon damper on nozzle, these kills the dymanics and block the airflow)

All IEMs on the top 3 tier list (S, S-, and A+) are considered the best you can get from the IEM world, some really good in one department and some not so good, and vice versa. But beyond that, they are really, really good, and from there, personal preference really matters. I can see if someone has their endgame IEM from those lists, even "only" from the A+ tier.
IEMs I want to hear : Subtonic Storm (possibly S tier, possibly endgame IEM with no possibility for me to buy them because of the hefty price tag), Symphonium Helios / Helios SE, 64Audio u4s, UM Mest Mk III, Effect Audio X Elysian Gaea. I need to go to Singapore sooner or later.

So after trying so many IEMs on the journey, including some TOTLs, I can rest assured that my collections are considered my preference or closest to my endgame.The true endgame may never exist, so I will stop chasing the shadows of the dragons. I have to stop here and believe these are all the best I can get and afford.The Mest with copper cable and correct eartips (Feaulle Latex H570) is closest to my Endgame: great bass impact and quality with sub bass focus, quite forwarded mids, best imaging and layering, great details, large soundstage, very good fit with minimum flaws for me, which are intense treble that is not as smooth as Z1R's and an unnatural crispy timbre of high frequencies. But I couldn't find anything better in one package. I think I prefer this by the hairline to my Z1R now, and I take this any day of the week to my Monarch MkII.

From my experience, maybe the best value and best sound you can get are in the $1000-$2000 price bracket, which is the sweet spot for endgame IEMs paired with a top-class DAP or desktop unit.

No, I won't be retiring from here so soon; I'm still going to catch up on budget segments because I feel the market here is really interesting because of how they are tuned better, with better technicalities, and at the same low price.
I hope one day the giant killer will really be born here, or something close to it.
Meanwhile, enjoy the process. On the other hand, receiving your endgame IEM can be a sad day, signaling the end of the journey. Somehow I feel that too; I was really enjoying upgrading and the "what next" process.

Thanks for reading my long letter
Cheers and best regards,

DynamicEars

 

[Click]

I stopped chasing the shadows of mythical dragons.

So, this will be quite a long story, if you all don't mind. Some discovery of the endgame story, some discovery of multi-kilobuck TOTL
While I was abstaining from this thread for around one and a half months, I accidentally upgraded my source or fell down the deepest rabbit hole.
At first, I just wanted to try the new Sony ZX-707 to pair with my Z1R, as in "Sony meets Sony," a superb pairing. Then, after reading some reviews,
And lurking on the ZX-707 thread, I found that WM1Am2 is a better source; for that, I have to stretch my budget more. Out of nowhere after I was sure enough
to grab a used WM1Am2, an old friend of mine that has little business in the audio world posted about the Fiio flagship, the M17, for quite an interesting offer.
more or less the same price as the used WM1Am2, where the M17 new price is higher than the used WM1Am2 at $1800. Short story: He let me audition for the M17, and I was impressed for its technicalities. The dynamics and attack transient are clearly better than WM1Am2, although this M17 is a more neutral presentation (or uncolored) than the colored musical WM1Am2, which is nice too. I thought my M11 plus ESS was a great DAP, and yes, it was until I heard the M17 with my own ears. I already had this diminishing return in mind, and I am skeptical about how much improvement the flagship can deliver.

The M17 changed my perspective about how important the source is, more so than my previous beliefs. If someone has "Fiio source = bright" in mind, listening to M17
will make that perception go away. M17 has more body in the mids and every transient attack. About bass, it produces weighty, deep, and textured bass (grande sub bass), but paired with very tight and snappy midbass, preventing midbass bleed with superb control. And then the refinement, soundstage, and imaging presentation
at its very best. I was at a crossroads about picking up this M17 or WM1Am2, and leaning toward the M17, I asked for a bargain, and I got a super great deal at $1100 for a mint used M17, with the back plastic cover still attached to the surface.

So here my closest to endgame IEMs, my trident of Sony IER-Z1R, Unique Melody Mest (OG aka MkI), and Thieaudio Monarch MkII with Fiio flagship DAP M17 :


I was very close to reaching my endgame after 20+ years in this hobby, with great buys and also a lot of flops. I spent time and money. So what can be improved, then?
Of course, the debatable cable thingy I chased the last 5% improvement for my Mest with the cable. Cable does have differences, especially from full copper to pure silver.It's like warm DAP vs. cold DAP; we can hear it. Just about how many percent of that cable possessed copper or silver parts?
So I make a diagram like this:

The most easily distinguishable differences are from pure copper cable to pure silver cable.

And then about my Mest. The Unique Melody Mest MkI and MKII have divided their customers. Some prefer MkI, which has more technicalities, superb imaging, but more "on steroid" sounding mode, a very clear and crispy sound that deviates from naturalness, especially on highs. While MKII has more body and is more laidback on the edges, with a little bit of cut on technicalities (but still one of the best out there). I would be happy to get one of them since both share great bass presentation: clear, defined, deep, and textured. I rated it 8.5/10 for the bass, and that's quite a high score from me.For me, the vivid imaging is one of the best in the IEM world, presented on a large soundstage. Precog prefers MkI to MkII; some prefer MkII; I believe both are sidegrades rather than upgrades.the Mest Mk I have crispy details that sometimes sounded too much, so I want to bring them to a more natural approach. I seek out copper cable, and in the end, I make this custom thick litz copper cable with a 4.4mm balanced connector. The cable has a little bit of silver plated on it, but much less silver than the original cable. Now my Mest sounds more natural but still has that steroid crispy timbre, especially on high, but much better. It's a UPOCC litz copper 19AWG, very thick; the Mest shell looked small attached to it. Nice pairing, although a little bit of copper or warmth is more desirable.I made them at a local store; I also know the store owner, so after the discount price, I got them for around $100ish.Here is roughly how I positioned the copper cable for my Mest compared to the original cable:

So now my Mest maybe sounded in between Mest MkI and MkII with approaching to more body, low end and naturalness.

Alright, then I got a long-haul flight, brought my M17, and had to choose 1 IEM to go. I picked up Mest with copper cable and confidently left the original cable at home.The big brick of the M17 body is quite a hassle; I have to buy a big case for it, but then I listen to the M17+Mest+copper cable combo all flight long, passing all in-flight entertainment movies, was a blessed me time moment.I also brought the Fiio UTWS5 with modded Timeless for quick draws, short listening sessions, or on the go.I'm stopping by Singapore in 1 day. I was thinking to meet up with @baskingshark, but I really have no time, and I couldn't go to Zeppelin & Co either. Too bad. Maybe next time.


Here comes the eye candy part for you guys, I spent half a day here in Seoul for audio needs, in Gangnam area to be precise.
The Scheherazade, they have account here in head-fi too but seems inactive.

Sorry for the bandwidth!

The Scheherazade Store in Seoul, from in front of the shop :


Inside the store :


Noble Audio area :


Vision Ears and Empire Ears display area :


There are also lot of brands here like AAW, Shure, Etymotic, Westone, Sadly no 64audio here since I wanted to try the new u4s :

Literally heaven for all of us, we can try anything on display, too bad my time also limited.

I tried many IEMs there; they have nice seats with tables for customers. The atmosphere was so quiet, like in a library, with just a simple but welcoming nod from the clerks.
When I was there, the shop wasn't filled with a lot of people; just two people were listening to their full-sized headphones, and I picked up an IEM and then sat down on the chair, 4 meters away from another customer who was also starting to take out their DAPs, etc.


I bring the Fiio M17, with my best eartips collection : Azla Sedna Crystal, Feaulle Latex H570, Spinfit W1 and Moondrop Spring.
My genre is JPOP mainly, with Hi-Res FLAC 24bit / 96khz - 192khz files mostly for test. The Gain set up to Hi-Gain and Over Ear Headphone Mode (FYI M17 have 5 gain mode : Low Gain, Medium Gain, High Gain, Overear Headphone Mode, and DC powered only Enhanced Overear Headphone Mode)

Here a few of my humble impressions (I didn't graph them since I didn't bring my coupler on the go), written at the time I was listening them :

Fir Audio Xenon 6 / XE 6 ($3899)
Driver Configurations : 1DD+4BA+1EST

Impressions : Although the bass is fairly impactful and tactile, the emphasis on the mid and upper bass is too much for me. They constantly leak into the mids area. What a waste of Kinetic Bass technology—very loud and heavy mid and upper bass, badly adjusted.
The tom sounds, especially the floor toms, are quite forceful and open, however the bass bleed throughout the bass presentation is a significant turnoff. If I concentrate on the mids, they have wonderful resolution but too much body and aren't clean. The microdetails are good overall. Great details and just the right proportions, no harshness at all, and an airy upper register make the upper area a delight.
The shell isn't big, fit is OK. I'll pass on this definitely because of the bass bleed. The price is crazy for super bass bleed set (B+ rank)

Empire Ears Odin ($3390)
Driver Configurations : 2DD+5BA+4EST

Impressions : I'm listening to Odin for the second time, but this time from a better source. I'm still impressed, if anything. This Empire Ears Flagship has no significant major flaws. Quite good bass quality that I rate at 8.5 out of 10 puts it on par with Mest bass, though with less impact. The bass is also quite deep, cleanly tuned without bleed, tactile, and has excellent texture. Odin doesn't have a lot of bass; rather, it has a just nice amount in purpose to let the mids shine.
The vocals on the mids can sound a touch forward for my liking and can be thin occasionally, but not always. Mids are forwarded on Odin with such great details and top-notch resolution, so there is nothing wrong with it. In contrast, the tremendous mids of the Monarch MkII sounded thicker, yet Odin had superior resolution than the Monarch MkII, and in every other departments, Odin dominates the Monarch MkII. While the high trebles are slightly intense but not at all harsh, the lower trebles are detailed but not splashy. Technically, it's among the best I've ever heard, with a big soundstage (although Z1R and Mest are a little wider in comparison) and excellent imaging.
Coherency is also excellent given that a tribrid and several drivers are used, and the timbre is still close to natural. However, the note transients have been given a little extra crispness and sharpening in exchange for more details and resolution.
Although expensive, the king has those qualities. The Shell is really stunning—shimmering and sophisticated all at same, with no fit issues. I honestly really enjoy this, but I doubt I'll buy it because I already have Mest and the Odin price is too high for me.

Sennheiser IE900 ($1299)
Driver Configurations : 1DD

Impressions : Semi U-shaped tuning with a relaxed midrange and a well-balanced bass and treble range. Have "true details" and are very resolving for one driver. The timbre is excellent; it sounded quite natural and wasn't overemphasized. I adore the bass because it is so great, punchy, deep, clean, and fast. It's a 9/10 bass in my opinion because it's superior than Mest and Odin Bass but slightly less impactful than Z1R. Mids sound natural and have good substance; they are not recessed but rather more relaxed. Trebles are not as powerful as Z1R on lower trebles but have a boost on upper trebles without hurting ears at all.
Soundstage is wide, but the imaging precision level is average for this level. I believe this is the limitation of single driver. I kind of like this one too, also because of how compact and light it fits.

Vision Ears Phonix ($3900)
Driver Configurations : 13BA

Impressions : This set is really easy to drive despite having 13 BA drivers tuned semi-v-shaped with thick mid and upper bass. It reminds me of the IER-M9 and M7 bass, but honestly, the M7 and M9 bass are better in quality.
The bass is thick, bold, and bleeds to the mids; it is not a clean presentation. Mids have very good body; warm mids like M9 too, but upper mids sounded unnaturally boosted. I heard BA timbres in the high mids and lower trebles on first listening, which have odd tonality too. On the positive side, because of the resolution boost in the presence region, they have top-notch resolution like Odin.
Upper treble has a lot of details, is intense, and is prone to sibilance. Details are very good, but soundstage and imaging are nothing special for this bold price. TLDR: I don't like this set; better get the IER-M9, in my opinion, even though it has a slight cut in details and resolution but a huge cut in price.


Noble Audio Nodachi ($5800)
Driver Configurations : 8BA+4EST

Impressions : Weird tonality and sounded "hollow" or "boxy" at first listen. Overall tilted to a little bright and thin tonality. The bass sounded clear but couldn't reach deep enough to meet my standards, especially when looking back at the price tag. Quantity is also slightly south of my preferences for the bass. 7.5/10 bass score from me. Mids sounded clear but were on the thinner side and didn't have body; not my cup of tea. Trebles were too safe on the lower treble and sounded distant. Technicalities are also just average.
Well, they need to work on tuning. Sorry for my words, but as a flagship, this is a failure. The Viking Ragnar is better on tuning (similar to Mest) but has sibilance, much more than Mest (Wow).


And here my personal rank of the Best IEMs to date of any price range :
S Tier IEMs :
-Empire Ears Odin : Combination of fun and balance tuning, doesn't do anything wrong at all with super top notch resolution. Mids take the lead, quite reaching the borderline shouty, awesome technicalities, detailed mids and trebles without harshness on upper region. Nice shell and great fit too.
-Elysian Annihilator : A sample of V-shaped fun tuning done right with great deep and bold bass, forwarded and little bit aggressive mids, decent trebles. Fun tuning with airy trebles that backed up with great technicalities too. Shell is beautiful with great fit. Mid and upper bass have little bleed.
-64audio U12t : best technicalities on reference monitor tuning with great layering imaging, easy to love tuning, snappy dynamic transient and detailed. Bass is great for BA, but still lacks real air impact of great DD. Fit is very good. Treblehead may find these little bit too polite and craving for more little bitey lower treble presentation. Higher extension (air) are very good though.
-Sony IER-Z1R : Fun slight U-shaped tuning with best bass quality of any tranduscers i ever heard (combination of texture, air moving impact, depth, speed), close to perfect 9.5/10 bass score from me, can be 10 if slight reduce on 100-150hz area and tilted to more sub bass focus instead, combined with grande presentation of large soundstage, great technicalities (even though not considered the best on their class), good body weight and natural detailed treble while intense. Some find mids are recessed but not for me as I listen on high volume combined with wide bore eartips (Azla sedna Crystal). Fit is very niche and infamous, try the fit don't blind buy them.


S- Tier IEMs :
-Unique Melody Mest MkI : Package of great quality clean bass with zero bleed, superb soundstage and best layering imaging, mids are quite forward and detailed, minus point on unnatural high frequencies crispy presentation.
-Unique Melody Mest MkII : Similar to Mest MkI with more body, slight cut on crispy edges and resolution & imaging for natural approaching than MkI
-64audio Tia Trio : Best 64audio bass, impactful with air moving feeling, great air and resolution with very good soundstage and imaging, slight odd tonality on mids area though have thick body
-Sony IER-M9 : All rounder reference monitor that tilted to warm presentation with great BA bass. Imaging is superb and top class, thick bodied notes and vocals with safe trebles. Soundstage isn't the largest but have great depth and sounded "correct". One of the best fit with caution of pressure build because of no vents.

A+ Tier IEMs :
-64audio Nio : warm with bold bass tuning, similar tonality to Z1R but with less sparkles on trebles. Technicalities is very good too but not the best.
-Thieuadio Monarch MkII : Best Value on kilobuck mark, great reference excellent tuning with sub bass boost, great solid natural bodied mids, with the bass quality left behind as TOTL contender. Great imaging but more intimate presentation on soundstage rather than spaciousness.
-QDC Anole VX : Detail and resolution oriented IEMs, that can be too much and go beyond natural, sounded edgy, crispy, hyper detail with odd timbre. A detail specialist IEM. fast transients.
-Vision Ear Phonix : Slight V-shaped full BA flagship with great resolution but too thick bass and have unnatural timbre. Technicalities are great overall but nothing special if looking at the price tag.

A Tier IEMs :
-Oriolus Traillii : Reference monitor with great mids but little bit lacks excitement on bass and lower treble parts, can be boring. The mids are delicious with plenty of details though, very pricey set
-Campfire Andromeda : Great imaging and layering with bodied mids, but the bass sounded dry and bleed to mids area.
-Moondrop S8 : Harmanish set with great mids and detailed trebles, nice transients but the bass quality is holding off to be on higher level.
-Sennheiser IE900 : Great dynamic with awesome bass and treble, but the technicalities aren't up to competitors on top class level. Fun and easy to love tuning.
-Sony IER-M7 : Super imaging for the class, outclasses competitors, even though can be "boring" because of the safe and warm tuning, good allrounder for the class, one of the best BA bass.

Honorable Mention :
Modded 7hz Timeless (A- Tier IEM) : replaced the nylon filter damper with mesh500 damper and cut a hole and put the foam damper inside the nozzle sideways to make airflow for bass, when amped have great details that near TOTL, snappy bass that better than BA bass, wide soundstage
(original Timeless is overdampened with 3 dampers on driver, foam on nozzle stakced with nylon damper on nozzle, these kills the dymanics and block the airflow)

All IEMs on the top 3 tier list (S, S-, and A+) are considered the best you can get from the IEM world, some really good in one department and some not so good, and vice versa. But beyond that, they are really, really good, and from there, personal preference really matters. I can see if someone has their endgame IEM from those lists, even "only" from the A+ tier.
IEMs I want to hear : Subtonic Storm (possibly S tier, possibly endgame IEM with no possibility for me to buy them because of the hefty price tag), Symphonium Helios / Helios SE, 64Audio u4s, UM Mest Mk III, Effect Audio X Elysian Gaea. I need to go to Singapore sooner or later.

So after trying so many IEMs on the journey, including some TOTLs, I can rest assured that my collections are considered my preference or closest to my endgame.The true endgame may never exist, so I will stop chasing the shadows of the dragons. I have to stop here and believe these are all the best I can get and afford.The Mest with copper cable and correct eartips (Feaulle Latex H570) is closest to my Endgame: great bass impact and quality with sub bass focus, quite forwarded mids, best imaging and layering, great details, large soundstage, very good fit with minimum flaws for me, which are intense treble that is not as smooth as Z1R's and an unnatural crispy timbre of high frequencies. But I couldn't find anything better in one package. I think I prefer this by the hairline to my Z1R now, and I take this any day of the week to my Monarch MkII.

From my experience, maybe the best value and best sound you can get are in the $1000-$2000 price bracket, which is the sweet spot for endgame IEMs paired with a top-class DAP or desktop unit.

No, I won't be retiring from here so soon; I'm still going to catch up on budget segments because I feel the market here is really interesting because of how they are tuned better, with better technicalities, and at the same low price.
I hope one day the giant killer will really be born here, or something close to it.
Meanwhile, enjoy the process. On the other hand, receiving your endgame IEM can be a sad day, signaling the end of the journey. Somehow I feel that too; I was really enjoying upgrading and the "what next" process.

Thanks for reading my long letter
Cheers and best regards,

DynamicEars

Imagine living near an audio store like that where you can test out and demo to your heart's content regularly.

Literally audio heaven.

 

[o0genesis0o]

The M17 changed my perspective about how important the source is, more so than my previous beliefs.

For me, it was the P6 Pro. Before listening to that one. i was sure that nothing else can be done on the source side.

I think it’s mostly the amp, followed by the DAC. The trick is finding truly well controlled amp rather than simply “loud”

The Scheherazade Store in Seoul, from in front of the shop :

What a store! I’m drooling.

64audio U12t : best technicalities on reference monitor tuning with great layering imaging, easy to love tuning, snappy dynamic transient and detailed. Bass is great for BA, but still lacks real air impact of great DD.

Spot on description. The bass lacks the “bounciness” of good DD. That’s why I try to retune the MS5 to keep that juicy bass.

Fun fact, MS5 bass is actually BA + DD at the same time.

64audio Tia Trio : Best 64audio bass, impactful with air moving feeling, great air and resolution with very good soundstage and imaging, slight odd tonality on mids area though have thick body

Also spot on. That 1kHz is love it or hate it, IMHO.

Campfire Andromeda : Great imaging and layering with bodied mids, but the bass sounded dry and bleed to mids area.

Have you tried it with M17?

IEMs I want to hear : Subtonic Storm (possibly S tier, possibly endgame IEM with no possibility for me to buy them because of the hefty price tag), Symphonium Helios / Helios SE, 64Audio u4s, UM Mest Mk III, Effect Audio X Elysian Gaea. I

Hopefully you can try the Mk III. I also want to hear your impressions of the Gaea

From my experience, maybe the best value and best sound you can get are in the $1000-$2000 price bracket, which is the sweet spot for endgame IEMs paired with a top-class DAP or desktop unit.

IMHO, a good $500 IEM, a decent dongle (or just apple dongle), and a portable headphone amp, is the cheapest way to have nearly “up there”.

Still hunting for portable headphone amp that is good for IEM but even cheaper than Topping NX7.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

EA collab? It’s going to be expensive

Yea that’s my concern

 

[chinmie]

I stopped chasing the shadows of mythical dragons.

So, this will be quite a long story, if you all don't mind. Some discovery of the endgame story, some discovery of multi-kilobuck TOTL
While I was abstaining from this thread for around one and a half months, I accidentally upgraded my source or fell down the deepest rabbit hole.
At first, I just wanted to try the new Sony ZX-707 to pair with my Z1R, as in "Sony meets Sony," a superb pairing. Then, after reading some reviews,
And lurking on the ZX-707 thread, I found that WM1Am2 is a better source; for that, I have to stretch my budget more. Out of nowhere after I was sure enough
to grab a used WM1Am2, an old friend of mine that has little business in the audio world posted about the Fiio flagship, the M17, for quite an interesting offer.
more or less the same price as the used WM1Am2, where the M17 new price is higher than the used WM1Am2 at $1800. Short story: He let me audition for the M17, and I was impressed for its technicalities. The dynamics and attack transient are clearly better than WM1Am2, although this M17 is a more neutral presentation (or uncolored) than the colored musical WM1Am2, which is nice too. I thought my M11 plus ESS was a great DAP, and yes, it was until I heard the M17 with my own ears. I already had this diminishing return in mind, and I am skeptical about how much improvement the flagship can deliver.

The M17 changed my perspective about how important the source is, more so than my previous beliefs. If someone has "Fiio source = bright" in mind, listening to M17
will make that perception go away. M17 has more body in the mids and every transient attack. About bass, it produces weighty, deep, and textured bass (grande sub bass), but paired with very tight and snappy midbass, preventing midbass bleed with superb control. And then the refinement, soundstage, and imaging presentation
at its very best. I was at a crossroads about picking up this M17 or WM1Am2, and leaning toward the M17, I asked for a bargain, and I got a super great deal at $1100 for a mint used M17, with the back plastic cover still attached to the surface.

So here my closest to endgame IEMs, my trident of Sony IER-Z1R, Unique Melody Mest (OG aka MkI), and Thieaudio Monarch MkII with Fiio flagship DAP M17 :


I was very close to reaching my endgame after 20+ years in this hobby, with great buys and also a lot of flops. I spent time and money. So what can be improved, then?
Of course, the debatable cable thingy I chased the last 5% improvement for my Mest with the cable. Cable does have differences, especially from full copper to pure silver.It's like warm DAP vs. cold DAP; we can hear it. Just about how many percent of that cable possessed copper or silver parts?
So I make a diagram like this:

The most easily distinguishable differences are from pure copper cable to pure silver cable.

And then about my Mest. The Unique Melody Mest MkI and MKII have divided their customers. Some prefer MkI, which has more technicalities, superb imaging, but more "on steroid" sounding mode, a very clear and crispy sound that deviates from naturalness, especially on highs. While MKII has more body and is more laidback on the edges, with a little bit of cut on technicalities (but still one of the best out there). I would be happy to get one of them since both share great bass presentation: clear, defined, deep, and textured. I rated it 8.5/10 for the bass, and that's quite a high score from me.For me, the vivid imaging is one of the best in the IEM world, presented on a large soundstage. Precog prefers MkI to MkII; some prefer MkII; I believe both are sidegrades rather than upgrades.the Mest Mk I have crispy details that sometimes sounded too much, so I want to bring them to a more natural approach. I seek out copper cable, and in the end, I make this custom thick litz copper cable with a 4.4mm balanced connector. The cable has a little bit of silver plated on it, but much less silver than the original cable. Now my Mest sounds more natural but still has that steroid crispy timbre, especially on high, but much better. It's a UPOCC litz copper 19AWG, very thick; the Mest shell looked small attached to it. Nice pairing, although a little bit of copper or warmth is more desirable.I made them at a local store; I also know the store owner, so after the discount price, I got them for around $100ish.Here is roughly how I positioned the copper cable for my Mest compared to the original cable:

So now my Mest maybe sounded in between Mest MkI and MkII with approaching to more body, low end and naturalness.

Alright, then I got a long-haul flight, brought my M17, and had to choose 1 IEM to go. I picked up Mest with copper cable and confidently left the original cable at home.The big brick of the M17 body is quite a hassle; I have to buy a big case for it, but then I listen to the M17+Mest+copper cable combo all flight long, passing all in-flight entertainment movies, was a blessed me time moment.I also brought the Fiio UTWS5 with modded Timeless for quick draws, short listening sessions, or on the go.I'm stopping by Singapore in 1 day. I was thinking to meet up with @baskingshark, but I really have no time, and I couldn't go to Zeppelin & Co either. Too bad. Maybe next time.


Here comes the eye candy part for you guys, I spent half a day here in Seoul for audio needs, in Gangnam area to be precise.
The Scheherazade, they have account here in head-fi too but seems inactive.

Sorry for the bandwidth!

The Scheherazade Store in Seoul, from in front of the shop :


Inside the store :


Noble Audio area :


Vision Ears and Empire Ears display area :


There are also lot of brands here like AAW, Shure, Etymotic, Westone, Sadly no 64audio here since I wanted to try the new u4s :

Literally heaven for all of us, we can try anything on display, too bad my time also limited.

I tried many IEMs there; they have nice seats with tables for customers. The atmosphere was so quiet, like in a library, with just a simple but welcoming nod from the clerks.
When I was there, the shop wasn't filled with a lot of people; just two people were listening to their full-sized headphones, and I picked up an IEM and then sat down on the chair, 4 meters away from another customer who was also starting to take out their DAPs, etc.


I bring the Fiio M17, with my best eartips collection : Azla Sedna Crystal, Feaulle Latex H570, Spinfit W1 and Moondrop Spring.
My genre is JPOP mainly, with Hi-Res FLAC 24bit / 96khz - 192khz files mostly for test. The Gain set up to Hi-Gain and Over Ear Headphone Mode (FYI M17 have 5 gain mode : Low Gain, Medium Gain, High Gain, Overear Headphone Mode, and DC powered only Enhanced Overear Headphone Mode)

Here a few of my humble impressions (I didn't graph them since I didn't bring my coupler on the go), written at the time I was listening them :

Fir Audio Xenon 6 / XE 6 ($3899)
Driver Configurations : 1DD+4BA+1EST

Impressions : Although the bass is fairly impactful and tactile, the emphasis on the mid and upper bass is too much for me. They constantly leak into the mids area. What a waste of Kinetic Bass technology—very loud and heavy mid and upper bass, badly adjusted.
The tom sounds, especially the floor toms, are quite forceful and open, however the bass bleed throughout the bass presentation is a significant turnoff. If I concentrate on the mids, they have wonderful resolution but too much body and aren't clean. The microdetails are good overall. Great details and just the right proportions, no harshness at all, and an airy upper register make the upper area a delight.
The shell isn't big, fit is OK. I'll pass on this definitely because of the bass bleed. The price is crazy for super bass bleed set (B+ rank)

Empire Ears Odin ($3390)
Driver Configurations : 2DD+5BA+4EST

Impressions : I'm listening to Odin for the second time, but this time from a better source. I'm still impressed, if anything. This Empire Ears Flagship has no significant major flaws. Quite good bass quality that I rate at 8.5 out of 10 puts it on par with Mest bass, though with less impact. The bass is also quite deep, cleanly tuned without bleed, tactile, and has excellent texture. Odin doesn't have a lot of bass; rather, it has a just nice amount in purpose to let the mids shine.
The vocals on the mids can sound a touch forward for my liking and can be thin occasionally, but not always. Mids are forwarded on Odin with such great details and top-notch resolution, so there is nothing wrong with it. In contrast, the tremendous mids of the Monarch MkII sounded thicker, yet Odin had superior resolution than the Monarch MkII, and in every other departments, Odin dominates the Monarch MkII. While the high trebles are slightly intense but not at all harsh, the lower trebles are detailed but not splashy. Technically, it's among the best I've ever heard, with a big soundstage (although Z1R and Mest are a little wider in comparison) and excellent imaging.
Coherency is also excellent given that a tribrid and several drivers are used, and the timbre is still close to natural. However, the note transients have been given a little extra crispness and sharpening in exchange for more details and resolution.
Although expensive, the king has those qualities. The Shell is really stunning—shimmering and sophisticated all at same, with no fit issues. I honestly really enjoy this, but I doubt I'll buy it because I already have Mest and the Odin price is too high for me.

Sennheiser IE900 ($1299)
Driver Configurations : 1DD

Impressions : Semi U-shaped tuning with a relaxed midrange and a well-balanced bass and treble range. Have "true details" and are very resolving for one driver. The timbre is excellent; it sounded quite natural and wasn't overemphasized. I adore the bass because it is so great, punchy, deep, clean, and fast. It's a 9/10 bass in my opinion because it's superior than Mest and Odin Bass but slightly less impactful than Z1R. Mids sound natural and have good substance; they are not recessed but rather more relaxed. Trebles are not as powerful as Z1R on lower trebles but have a boost on upper trebles without hurting ears at all.
Soundstage is wide, but the imaging precision level is average for this level. I believe this is the limitation of single driver. I kind of like this one too, also because of how compact and light it fits.

Vision Ears Phonix ($3900)
Driver Configurations : 13BA

Impressions : This set is really easy to drive despite having 13 BA drivers tuned semi-v-shaped with thick mid and upper bass. It reminds me of the IER-M9 and M7 bass, but honestly, the M7 and M9 bass are better in quality.
The bass is thick, bold, and bleeds to the mids; it is not a clean presentation. Mids have very good body; warm mids like M9 too, but upper mids sounded unnaturally boosted. I heard BA timbres in the high mids and lower trebles on first listening, which have odd tonality too. On the positive side, because of the resolution boost in the presence region, they have top-notch resolution like Odin.
Upper treble has a lot of details, is intense, and is prone to sibilance. Details are very good, but soundstage and imaging are nothing special for this bold price. TLDR: I don't like this set; better get the IER-M9, in my opinion, even though it has a slight cut in details and resolution but a huge cut in price.


Noble Audio Nodachi ($5800)
Driver Configurations : 8BA+4EST

Impressions : Weird tonality and sounded "hollow" or "boxy" at first listen. Overall tilted to a little bright and thin tonality. The bass sounded clear but couldn't reach deep enough to meet my standards, especially when looking back at the price tag. Quantity is also slightly south of my preferences for the bass. 7.5/10 bass score from me. Mids sounded clear but were on the thinner side and didn't have body; not my cup of tea. Trebles were too safe on the lower treble and sounded distant. Technicalities are also just average.
Well, they need to work on tuning. Sorry for my words, but as a flagship, this is a failure. The Viking Ragnar is better on tuning (similar to Mest) but has sibilance, much more than Mest (Wow).


And here my personal rank of the Best IEMs to date of any price range :
S Tier IEMs :
-Empire Ears Odin : Combination of fun and balance tuning, doesn't do anything wrong at all with super top notch resolution. Mids take the lead, quite reaching the borderline shouty, awesome technicalities, detailed mids and trebles without harshness on upper region. Nice shell and great fit too.
-Elysian Annihilator : A sample of V-shaped fun tuning done right with great deep and bold bass, forwarded and little bit aggressive mids, decent trebles. Fun tuning with airy trebles that backed up with great technicalities too. Shell is beautiful with great fit. Mid and upper bass have little bleed.
-64audio U12t : best technicalities on reference monitor tuning with great layering imaging, easy to love tuning, snappy dynamic transient and detailed. Bass is great for BA, but still lacks real air impact of great DD. Fit is very good. Treblehead may find these little bit too polite and craving for more little bitey lower treble presentation. Higher extension (air) are very good though.
-Sony IER-Z1R : Fun slight U-shaped tuning with best bass quality of any tranduscers i ever heard (combination of texture, air moving impact, depth, speed), close to perfect 9.5/10 bass score from me, can be 10 if slight reduce on 100-150hz area and tilted to more sub bass focus instead, combined with grande presentation of large soundstage, great technicalities (even though not considered the best on their class), good body weight and natural detailed treble while intense. Some find mids are recessed but not for me as I listen on high volume combined with wide bore eartips (Azla sedna Crystal). Fit is very niche and infamous, try the fit don't blind buy them.


S- Tier IEMs :
-Unique Melody Mest MkI : Package of great quality clean bass with zero bleed, superb soundstage and best layering imaging, mids are quite forward and detailed, minus point on unnatural high frequencies crispy presentation.
-Unique Melody Mest MkII : Similar to Mest MkI with more body, slight cut on crispy edges and resolution & imaging for natural approaching than MkI
-64audio Tia Trio : Best 64audio bass, impactful with air moving feeling, great air and resolution with very good soundstage and imaging, slight odd tonality on mids area though have thick body
-Sony IER-M9 : All rounder reference monitor that tilted to warm presentation with great BA bass. Imaging is superb and top class, thick bodied notes and vocals with safe trebles. Soundstage isn't the largest but have great depth and sounded "correct". One of the best fit with caution of pressure build because of no vents.

A+ Tier IEMs :
-64audio Nio : warm with bold bass tuning, similar tonality to Z1R but with less sparkles on trebles. Technicalities is very good too but not the best.
-Thieuadio Monarch MkII : Best Value on kilobuck mark, great reference excellent tuning with sub bass boost, great solid natural bodied mids, with the bass quality left behind as TOTL contender. Great imaging but more intimate presentation on soundstage rather than spaciousness.
-QDC Anole VX : Detail and resolution oriented IEMs, that can be too much and go beyond natural, sounded edgy, crispy, hyper detail with odd timbre. A detail specialist IEM. fast transients.
-Vision Ear Phonix : Slight V-shaped full BA flagship with great resolution but too thick bass and have unnatural timbre. Technicalities are great overall but nothing special if looking at the price tag.

A Tier IEMs :
-Oriolus Traillii : Reference monitor with great mids but little bit lacks excitement on bass and lower treble parts, can be boring. The mids are delicious with plenty of details though, very pricey set
-Campfire Andromeda : Great imaging and layering with bodied mids, but the bass sounded dry and bleed to mids area.
-Moondrop S8 : Harmanish set with great mids and detailed trebles, nice transients but the bass quality is holding off to be on higher level.
-Sennheiser IE900 : Great dynamic with awesome bass and treble, but the technicalities aren't up to competitors on top class level. Fun and easy to love tuning.
-Sony IER-M7 : Super imaging for the class, outclasses competitors, even though can be "boring" because of the safe and warm tuning, good allrounder for the class, one of the best BA bass.

Honorable Mention :
Modded 7hz Timeless (A- Tier IEM) : replaced the nylon filter damper with mesh500 damper and cut a hole and put the foam damper inside the nozzle sideways to make airflow for bass, when amped have great details that near TOTL, snappy bass that better than BA bass, wide soundstage
(original Timeless is overdampened with 3 dampers on driver, foam on nozzle stakced with nylon damper on nozzle, these kills the dymanics and block the airflow)

All IEMs on the top 3 tier list (S, S-, and A+) are considered the best you can get from the IEM world, some really good in one department and some not so good, and vice versa. But beyond that, they are really, really good, and from there, personal preference really matters. I can see if someone has their endgame IEM from those lists, even "only" from the A+ tier.
IEMs I want to hear : Subtonic Storm (possibly S tier, possibly endgame IEM with no possibility for me to buy them because of the hefty price tag), Symphonium Helios / Helios SE, 64Audio u4s, UM Mest Mk III, Effect Audio X Elysian Gaea. I need to go to Singapore sooner or later.

So after trying so many IEMs on the journey, including some TOTLs, I can rest assured that my collections are considered my preference or closest to my endgame.The true endgame may never exist, so I will stop chasing the shadows of the dragons. I have to stop here and believe these are all the best I can get and afford.The Mest with copper cable and correct eartips (Feaulle Latex H570) is closest to my Endgame: great bass impact and quality with sub bass focus, quite forwarded mids, best imaging and layering, great details, large soundstage, very good fit with minimum flaws for me, which are intense treble that is not as smooth as Z1R's and an unnatural crispy timbre of high frequencies. But I couldn't find anything better in one package. I think I prefer this by the hairline to my Z1R now, and I take this any day of the week to my Monarch MkII.

From my experience, maybe the best value and best sound you can get are in the $1000-$2000 price bracket, which is the sweet spot for endgame IEMs paired with a top-class DAP or desktop unit.

No, I won't be retiring from here so soon; I'm still going to catch up on budget segments because I feel the market here is really interesting because of how they are tuned better, with better technicalities, and at the same low price.
I hope one day the giant killer will really be born here, or something close to it.
Meanwhile, enjoy the process. On the other hand, receiving your endgame IEM can be a sad day, signaling the end of the journey. Somehow I feel that too; I was really enjoying upgrading and the "what next" process.

Thanks for reading my long letter
Cheers and best regards,

DynamicEars

Reaching an endgame (i won't say "the", because sometimes the goalpost moves ) is both a feeling of relief and hollowness, and it would weigh more to one or the other depending on how we see it.

I decided that i have reached my "summit" a while ago, so all i could add to your journey would be congratulations, and now is the time to purely enjoy the music. Cheers!