[berger]

This is reason enough for me to never look at crinacle's list. Or perhaps, sort it in reverse, and then I'll know what I should try out.

For my reference I'd prefer @Damz87 's IEMs ranking list any day of the week

 

[yaps66]

Anyway, what are some iem's that will forever bring you joy and have a place in your lineup no matter far down the rabbit hole you go? I find myself picking up the Final E5000 often, even when there are several kilobuck+ sets on my desk.

For me that is the Indigo. Grabbed my heart right away. Traillii on the other hand is something that has grown on me and one that I will not part with.

For headphones, it is the X9000.

For buds, it is the Ripples.

 

[Frankie D]

I went to test a few iems at Musictek and there was a guy testing and just hating so hard on the bird and jewel like it’s a Flex or something to think your ears are too good for it reminds me of a nasty bum looking at a supermodel saying .. “eh her knee caps look strange pass”

It could be the fit. But most likely he went there predisposed to not like them. That said I disliked the Fir XE6, RN6 and Sony Z1R when last I heard them. If he is a lover of soft, colored bass he will not like the Traillii or Jewel. There could be a 100 reasons. It is so important to one day hear them for yourself.

 

[gLer]

For me that is the Indigo. Grabbed my heart right away. Traillii on the other hand is something that has grown on me and one that I will not part with.

For headphones, it is the X9000.

For buds, it is the Ripples.

Z1R + WM1Z. I can picture keeping other gear I currently use indefinitely too, but that's my 'break glass in case of emergency' system for life.

 

[maegnificant]

For me that is the Indigo. Grabbed my heart right away. Traillii on the other hand is something that has grown on me and one that I will not part with.

For headphones, it is the X9000.

For buds, it is the Ripples.

Indigo is lovely sounding indeed.

Buds is Carbon for me, which is close to Ripples. As long as there is nothing new from Jim with this sound signature and improved resolution, I don't think I will even try another bud.

Also the AMT16 and KSE-1200 are still growing on me, I enjoy them a lot.

But the Shure SE846 will stay most definitely. Although all these Shure releases benefit from EQ, the build and fit is really well done.

 

[fejnomit]

I think this is a common misconception about his youtube persona, which is often based upon a shallow overview of his content.
You are of course entitled to your opinion, however I disagree.

Then what "persona" are you basing your "opinion" on? Did I miss a trove of balanced, reasonable presentations somewhere?

 

[fejnomit]

This was my attitude too in the beginning. Lately between going to CanJams and helping to organize product tours I've found a way to be able to demo lots of great stuff without unnecessariliy breaking my bank. In addition to that I've found that the more systematic you are, and the more you try and tap into what it is you actually like (vs. what the status quo says you should like) then you greatly increase your chances at finding audio bliss. The result for me is that it's been over a year since I sold an IEM (compared to earlier days where I was selling them left and right to move on to something else).



I think most of us are inclined to do that by default however what gets pointed out sometimes is that there are certain things some reviewers do which are frustrating, such as presumption of "expert" status and communicating using a tone and manner which suggests that they know better than everyone else and that their "data point" has more weight than others. There are plenty of reviewers I respect, many of whom regularly post in this thread, but I don't think any of them have better ears than I do when it comes to deciding what is good for me and what isn't. Working in the industry, for a large retailer, having a large Youtube following or even a university degree... doesn't suddently give you golden ears.

For me the highest level a reviewer can aspire to is to see beyond their own tastes and bias and communicate in such a way that while even conveying intense like or dislike, nonetheless does so in a way that makes it clear to those listening who will enjoy the IEM and who will not. If I can watch a review where someone doesn't gel with something but nonetheless describes the product in such a way the people who WILL connect with it can discern that from the review...then that is the ideal... IMHO.

The situation that draws the most ire from me personally is when people present themselves as bastions of objectivity but who are obviously beholden to very specific market trends or interests.



That in itself became something of a noxious trend in recent years, to the point that simply being aggressively negative was taken to be equivalent to being objective...when in reality it was simply swapping out one form of shilling for another.

Yes yes and yes

 

[maegnificant]

Then what "persona" are you basing your "opinion" on? Did I miss a trove of balanced, reasonable presentations somewhere?

I will not engage any further in this "discussion", since I have no desire to proof anything to you. I don't know this man personally, my impression of him is different than yours and based generally on his contribution to the hobby via his website.

 

[fejnomit]

I will not engage any further in this "discussion", since I have no desire to proof anything to you. I don't know this man personally, my impression of him is different than yours and based generally on his contribution to the hobby via his website.

It was a simple question. Just wondering where you formed your opinion about his tone. Honestly wondering so I could check it out. Personally, he has not contributed anything to my enjoyment of the hobby, so there's the difference. Happy to move on.

 

[btwine]

Would love to see comparisons of Annihilator 23 to Mentor if anyone can share.

There's a lot I like about my Mentor, particular mids, treble, imaging, staging. But the bass feels empty to me. Like what some coolers have pointed out, BA describes bass well but doesn't leave you feeling anything, unlike DD. Mentor has the bone conductor supplement, but that doesn't generally match what I want to hear as lower frequency impact. It feels like some extra incongruent quality at least with Mentor.

The impressions I'm reading about Annihilator 23 and how it is winning over fellow non-treble heads are intriguing. Can its low end be enough to balance its apparently magical high end?

 

[freeryder05]

Would love to see comparisons of Annihilator 23 to Mentor if anyone can share.

There's a lot I like about my Mentor, particular mids, treble, imaging, staging. But the bass feels empty to me. Like what some coolers have pointed out, BA describes bass well but doesn't leave you feeling anything, unlike DD. Mentor has the bone conductor supplement, but that doesn't generally match what I want to hear as lower frequency impact. It feels like some extra incongruent quality at least with Mentor.

The impressions I'm reading about Annihilator 23 and how it is winning over fellow non-treble heads are intriguing. Can its low end be enough to balance its apparently magical high end?

Bass has always been a sore spot for Anni owners. I am not into music with deep sub bass like EDM, electronica, pop etc so the midbass to lower mids boost is really nice for some extra note weight on bass guitars. If you're looking for slamming, downright seductive bass, I think looking elsewhere would be better. I still haven't heard better bass than the Z1R, which you already seem to have.

This is just my opinion, so maybe someone else will disagree.

 

[crinacle]

Let me just say a few words, hopefully without staring down a bunch of pitchforks.

I've always been a purveyor of the subjectivity of the hobby, how one shouldn't disparage the opinions of another simply on the basis of disagreement because everyone has different tastes, different ears, different heads. Everyone has different ideas of what makes a particular piece of equipment "good" or "bad", and so I always believe that if you like something, you like it. Plain and simple.

Over the many many years I've been active as a "reviewer", I've been open about this in the disclaimer section of my Ranking List (which, despite the fact that it's the one of the first things people see when they go to my page, has always been woefully ignored and glossed over by the general populace... but that's despite much effort on my part), opening disclaimers in many of my videos, and even dedicated an entire video on how the hobby is subjective, the things that would affect the objectivity of my reviews, and in general the reasons why one SHOULDN'T trust me at all. I've tried hard, and I hope that at least some of you would at least attempt to look at my content through less malicious eyes.

On that front, I truly believe that I've done all I can to fully emphasise that NOBODY holds an authoritative opinion in this hobby. Not I, not anyone in this thread, NOBODY.

But it seems that in the mad rush to find offence in what is essentially an opinion, my opinion... many folks in this thread have become the very thing they claim to be against. Clutching pearls at the few things in the sea of opinions that I as a human being naturally hold, simply because... disagreement. A disagreement between again, subjective opinions of equipment. And while the justifications for these posts may be that certain selections in my list go against some form of unrefutable "fact" (again, impossible given the subjectivity of the hobby), I repeat again:

NOBODY holds an authoritative opinion in this hobby. Not I, not anyone in this thread, NOBODY.

 

[btwine]

Bass has always been a sore spot for Anni owners. I am not into music with deep sub bass like EDM, electronica, pop etc so the midbass to lower mids boost is really nice for some extra note weight on bass guitars. If you're looking for slamming, downright seductive bass, I think looking elsewhere would be better. I still haven't heard better bass than the Z1R, which you already seem to have.

This is just my opinion, so maybe someone else will disagree.

Thanks. I like having an IEM in the stable for jazz, jazz vocals, and “easier listening“ for me vs. rock and pop, something that doesn’t have to thump the skull as much and still has high quality across the rest of the FR (as I hear Anni for example provides). Particularly in the mornings or late at night. But I still need to feel the mid bass/sub bass textures when I know they are part of the song and not MIA thanks to limp BA bass.
Z1R checks some of these boxes and I’d like to know which newer IEMs can do this even better.

 

[emdeevee]

Let me just say a few words, hopefully without staring down a bunch of pitchforks.

I've always been a purveyor of the subjectivity of the hobby, how one shouldn't disparage the opinions of another simply on the basis of disagreement because everyone has different tastes, different ears, different heads. Everyone has different ideas of what makes a particular piece of equipment "good" or "bad", and so I always believe that if you like something, you like it. Plain and simple.

Over the many many years I've been active as a "reviewer", I've been open about this in the disclaimer section of my Ranking List (which, despite the fact that it's the one of the first things people see when they go to my page, has always been woefully ignored and glossed over by the general populace... but that's despite much effort on my part), opening disclaimers in many of my videos, and even dedicated an entire video on how the hobby is subjective, the things that would affect the objectivity of my reviews, and in general the reasons why one SHOULDN'T trust me at all. I've tried hard, and I hope that at least some of you would at least attempt to look at my content through less malicious eyes.

On that front, I truly believe that I've done all I can to fully emphasise that NOBODY holds an authoritative opinion in this hobby. Not I, not anyone in this thread, NOBODY.

But it seems that in the mad rush to find offence in what is essentially an opinion, my opinion... many folks in this thread have become the very thing they claim to be against. Clutching pearls at the few things in the sea of opinions that I as a human being naturally hold, simply because... disagreement. A disagreement between again, subjective opinions of equipment. And while the justifications for these posts may be that certain selections in my list go against some form of unrefutable "fact" (again, impossible given the subjectivity of the hobby), I repeat again:

NOBODY holds an authoritative opinion in this hobby. Not I, not anyone in this thread, NOBODY.

I appreciate your post and point. I feel lucky that, here, we have many great reviewers with access to lots of amazing equipment who all add a lot to our understanding of fact vs opinion. You are, of course, one of the most prominent reviewers and your opinions spark debate which is great. The more debate, the more clear it is that hearing is extremely subjective. Congrats on your success and thanks for your many contributions!

 

[dleblanc343]

Let me just say a few words, hopefully without staring down a bunch of pitchforks.

I've always been a purveyor of the subjectivity of the hobby, how one shouldn't disparage the opinions of another simply on the basis of disagreement because everyone has different tastes, different ears, different heads. Everyone has different ideas of what makes a particular piece of equipment "good" or "bad", and so I always believe that if you like something, you like it. Plain and simple.

Over the many many years I've been active as a "reviewer", I've been open about this in the disclaimer section of my Ranking List (which, despite the fact that it's the one of the first things people see when they go to my page, has always been woefully ignored and glossed over by the general populace... but that's despite much effort on my part), opening disclaimers in many of my videos, and even dedicated an entire video on how the hobby is subjective, the things that would affect the objectivity of my reviews, and in general the reasons why one SHOULDN'T trust me at all. I've tried hard, and I hope that at least some of you would at least attempt to look at my content through less malicious eyes.

On that front, I truly believe that I've done all I can to fully emphasise that NOBODY holds an authoritative opinion in this hobby. Not I, not anyone in this thread, NOBODY.

But it seems that in the mad rush to find offence in what is essentially an opinion, my opinion... many folks in this thread have become the very thing they claim to be against. Clutching pearls at the few things in the sea of opinions that I as a human being naturally hold, simply because... disagreement. A disagreement between again, subjective opinions of equipment. And while the justifications for these posts may be that certain selections in my list go against some form of unrefutable "fact" (again, impossible given the subjectivity of the hobby), I repeat again:

NOBODY holds an authoritative opinion in this hobby. Not I, not anyone in this thread, NOBODY.

I can finally say I'm right and you're wrong! Hah gotchu Crin

Great post. Essentially trust your own ears everyone, experience comes through trial and error and putting bias aside.