[KelFab]

Results so far:

Watercooler top 3 IEMs that own your heart right now, summer 2023 edition.

For me right now it is :

1. Fir Rn6
2. Fir Xe6
3. AE Mentawai

 

[Kobe4ever]

Results so far:

Watercooler top 3 IEMs that own your heart right now, summer 2023 edition.

Rn6 x10

Annihilator x5
Viking x5
Ronin x4
Trifecta x4
u/a12t x4
Xe6 x4
Grand Maestro x3
Traillii x3
Mentor x3

AüR Audio Aure x2
Mest III x2
P-Zero x2
Phonix LE x2
AüR Audio Aurora x2
Maestro SE x2
Impact x2
Indigo x2
Jewel x2
IER Z1R x2

Singularity
Quintet
Aful P8
RedHalo
Scarlet Mini
Inear PMX
SR8
Perpetua
Odin
Tesseract
Supreme v3
Fitear MH334SR
Valkyrie Mk 1
Goldplanar GL-AMT16
KSE-1200
Shure SE846
Dorado 2020
Elysian X
TGX Prototype
SR7
ISN Audio Neo 5
LOAK-TC
AüR Audio Neon Pro
Mentawai
FranQL Pegasus
Bqeyz Winter
Tangzu Heyday
Mason FS

The landscape looks quite different than last year, which was all about the Trallii, Jewel and Xe6. I love watching how the dynamic and preferences of this community evolves over time.

Keep the submissions coming.

1) Jewel
2) Thunder

Currently, I have "only" 2 IEMs, which give me
great satisfaction, every day.
In the future, I'm waiting for the new IEM from the Aroma boys

 

[EdvonSchleck76]

I have not tried the Nimbus series but I adored the Violectrics I had. I suppose those are marketed as pro devices but they are decidedly colored to my ears, not really 'reference' the way one would expect from a pro device. That being said, I very much enjoyed their darker, more analogue "British Hifi" sound...

Actually it is a german company but I understand what you mean

 

[fejnomit]

Actually it is a german company but I understand what you mean

Yes I realize, just meant the sound profile. Cheers

 

[berger]

Orpheus was probably my next favourite but even on that pairing I didn’t particularly like the upper treble roll-off or the mid bass/lower mid thickness compared to stock. YMMV and all that

Your findings align with mine, treble roll-off, mid bass/lower mid thickness compared to stock. In my case though, they happen to be what I'm looking for with Mentor. So Orpheus is my 1st pick for Mentor. YMMV indeed. Anyway, glad to learn/be reassured once again that what I experience from cable rolling may not be just a placebo .

 

[GiullianSN]

There’s really no right or wrong answer, it’ll just come down to ones preferences and priorities. For me, the tonality with the stock cable simply works. There may be some technical improvements by using another cable, but to my ears, other cables messed with Mentors tonal balance too much and that’s not a worthy trade off for minor stage/separation/detail/dynamics improvements.

My advice is to trust your ears and enjoy whichever pair up you like best with your music

Wise words Dam.

There's never right or wrong answer. It's all about what ones likes more, what brings joy. Forget what others will think.

Happy Friday y'all.

 

[-rowan-]

Results so far:

Watercooler top 3 IEMs that own your heart right now, summer 2023 edition.

Ragnar, Trifecta, Impact.

(Auditioned Rn6 twice and was surprised but secretly relieved it didn’t do too much for me. Dare I tempt fate a third time?)

 

[Rockwell75]

Does it beat Dorado for you ?

Very hard to compare them as they don't have much in common. Dorado is a hybrid with an entirely different sort of tuning. Also I've owned it for over 2 years so on the one hand it's not as significant to me at the moment due to overfamilarity, but I also can't discount the fact that I've had it for over two years, a feat no other IEM has accomplished for me yet.

That said, I will say that Singularity has a more refined and balanced tuning on the whole will no doubt be more widely appealing for this reason. The biggest strike in Dorado's favor against the Singularity is the sheer weight and power of its sound-- my only gripe with Singularity so far, and this is just nit-picking, is that I could use a bit more weight and fullness to the sound sometimes. That said I'm presently unsure if this is because I've become so acclimatized to Trifecta in the past few months as Singularity is the first IEM apart from the Rn6 that's really fully captured my heart and attention in the past few months. I'm presently working through different source, cable and tip synergies to see what I can come up with. I think Singularity is an IEM that will shine with lots of power. On the other hand Dorado's powerful ballsy sound and deceptive clarity and technical chops (due in part to the ceramic shell) is nothing to trifle with and even after all this time there are days when I want that Dorado sound and nothing else will do. With a little EQ opening the upper mids a bit with and the right sort of music the Dorado 2020 can hold court with any other IEM I've heard.

A used DX300? I loved that DAP while I had it. DX170 also punches well above its weight.

I owned the DX170 for a bit-- just a bit too much energy up top for me and the interface was too laggy and buggy for me.

 

[mbirand]

traillii
mentor
storm (haven’t heard but has my heart somehow - idk if this counts?!)

 

[Rockwell75]

Dare I tempt fate a third time?

Make sure you hear it with the red module if you do.

haven’t heard but has my heart somehow - idk if this counts?!

For this poll, yes.

 

[mbirand]

i have been hoarding some important cables lately and i have to do a/b to decide which one stays or not.

having no experience in a/b ing, i’d like to know what would be the best course to do this ?

 

[dleblanc343]

My top 3 ear time in June-July:

1. Annihilator 2023
2. KSE1500 EQ’d (most usage time in July)
3. IER-Z1R

I can say KSE is still comfortably alone at the top for technical ability and effortlessness and thanks to some EQ can also be a musical juggernaut.

Storm is the most technical+natural iem out-of-box overall, Anni23/ Mentor for me are masters of treble and mids respectively, and Z1R is just one of the most engaging iem’s with realistic timbre, crazy dynamics and superb holography.

Don’t forget the legends of old! I could totally see Sony and Shure revisioning their flagships in 2023 and charge 4K and it would be very reasonable to the current market - and to think you get TOTL sound for about $1100 on the used market!

 

[Rockwell75]

Don’t forget the legends of old!

The IER Z1R has had a prominent standing in just about every poll we've ever done. Incidentally I came across a photo from about 4 years ago this week when I had the IER Z1R and Cayin n6ii. It's only a matter of time before I buy this IEM a third time.



I could never get in to the KSE personally. Possibly the most "minty fresh" sound I've ever heard in a transducer.

 

[claud W]

Fir Xe6
Jewel
????

Penon 10th Ani and NJ Singularity just arrived in house and will shake up order.
Leaving for my beach house tomorrow for a week or so. New toys arrived just in time.

 

[dleblanc343]

The IER Z1R has had a prominent standing in just about every poll we've ever done. Incidentally I came across a photo from about 4 years ago this week when I had the IER Z1R and Cayin n6ii. It's only a matter of time before I buy this IEM a third time.



I could never get in to the KSE personally. Possibly the most "minty fresh" sound I've ever heard in a transducer.

n6ii was cool! Can’t believe It 4 years.

Z1R’s DD’s both scale tremendously with power and better sources. The Sony DAP’s ironically don’t even come close to rendering them justice.

Yeah KSE is decidedly dated for its poor tuning, and literally like D tier.

But fill out its mids to offset the bright treble and give it sub bass and a sliver more midbass body and it’s basically an electrostatic Mentor. Super impressive.

I wanted to blow @HiFiHawaii808 ’s mind with it at Canjam but he was too busy listening to Storm — understandably