[akatsuki]

I have Massdrop Pluses that I like quite a bit. Looking for a clear step up but similar sound profile. Looking for universals. Budget is $800, can be used or new. This isn't urgent, so I can wait for stuff to appear on the market.

Other IEMs I have owned:

• Blessing Dusks - a bit thinner and just not as engaging for me. They are fine.
• Campfire Dorados - absolute pieces of crap with muddled mids and terrible, well, everything.
• Shure SE215s - meh
• Etymotic ER4 - great, but I don't like the lobotomy feeling of that deep insertion
• Hear Audio 4.i CIEMs - these were pretty good sounding, mine were stolen. Don't want to deal with earmolds and the rest though.

Headphones

• Philips X2s - I love these. This is another thing I haven't found a great upgrade for
• ATH-M50s - I have no idea why so many people like these. Tonality is crap. Articulation is crap. Comfort is mediocre.

So basically I like warmer bass than the Harman curve, open and wide soundstange.

Ones I have been thinking about:

• Campfire Andromedas - I feel pretty burned on the Dorados. But everyone seems to like these. Campfire maybe is a one-hit wonder company
• Sony IER-M9s
• Thieaudio Monarch 2s - Since the Blessing Dusks tuned by crin weren't to my taste, I am a bit hesitant to go with this recommendations. But these are supposedly warm. I could wait for some used ones to appear to hit my price point.
• Thieaudio Clairyvoices - He says these are warmer, so maybe these would be a better choice?
• Nobles - I liked the Heirs when I had them. But I have heard these are bit boring in profile?
• Hiditions - Too hard to get in the US

Happy to add to or subtract from the pool here.

 

[surfgeorge]

I think the IER-M9 could be a good choice.
Warm-balanced with great detail yet no BA nastiness. A little tricky to get tips and cable right, but for me, with Spiral Dot ++ and a CEMA PS cable they rival the full size Focal Clears on my Hugo 2 desktop system. Laying music out in front of you in all detail, giving each element the same weight, with the exception of bass which is present but doesn't move as much air as a DD
Potential downsides, depending on your preferences: limited slam/rumble due to BA design, focus on balance & coherence rather than exciting/v-shaped, imaging excellent but stage size not the most expansive.

If you didn’t like the Blessing 2 I think you are right to be cautious about the Monarch’s.
I had the B2 and now have the much better Variations, but like you, I find the recessed lower mid a little too thin.

Clairvoyance should be a good option too, but it seems like nobody expects them to really compete with the M9.