this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2024
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I wear a sleep mask on flights and once my IEMs go in they don’t come out until we’re about to land. In short, I don’t see or hear shit.
IEMs?
In-Ear-Monitors. I envy your ignorance. I was once like you. Now I'm broke.
Let's talk about your collection
Hey Migrator! I began with a bunch of KZs, thought I'm smart. Then came in my Shures. Then I found Z Reviews (fuck that guy for showing me this world). Tin T1 planar. Tin T2 on the side. CA Andromedas came in on my birthday. I got IKKO OH10 thinking it's just an itch. Now I'm sitting on Hifiman HE400SE, two DAPs, one Little Bear portable amp, one Toppings MX5, Q acoustics 330i, Topping NX7 and shitty Sony WXM5. What is worse is I want a dongle to go with my laptop. The worst part of all this - I think I'm reasonable. I'm not even remotely rich. These purchases are huge for me. I'm crying now, but damn does my music sound good.
I once thought of purchasing the big boys (for me, in a relative sense) like the Softears RSV, the IER-M9, the Anole VX and perhaps even the U18T.
Then, I reasoned with myself, and thought I'd settle for less. I began aiming for the DUNU SA6 MK2 (I somewhat treble sensitive and the MK2's graph looked even better to me). Maybe the Oracle OG as a reference set.
Now, I've become cheap. I no longer desire for such luxuries, even though it'd be amazing to have them. I now look at the Audiosense DT600 as my preferred target and IEM, and an apple dongle for my laptop and phone.
I do sometimes wonder about the whatifs...the thing is, amidst all of the thinking I did, I didn't actually buy anything. I'm waiting to be blown away by my endless collection of FLAC when I do get the IEMs I want.
Great collection BTW, but like every other guy on Crinacle's livestream: try not to stay trapped in mid-fi hell. CA Andromedas are cool though. Ever thought of the IER-M9/U12t for a relaxing signature?
Thanks. You're way ahead of me. I agree with you. I want to go beyond. My wallet holds me back most of the times. Other times, it's because shipping is a problem. But I get you. After listening to stuff, I understand & appreciate anything that does not feel like a task just to wear. Tin2 gave me that feeling - to some extent. The M9 is what I was also considering when I was thinking about the WXM5s. I chickened out because for some reason, my mind associates wear-ability with the sound signature. Yes, I know - it's dumb, like I said, it's in my head. U12t is just within my reach. Just. Maybe a New Year present for myself. I dislike Apple with every shred of my body, but their dongle is respectfully in my good books. Still, I will never stoop that low to have anything Apple as my possession - no offense. Because I paced through the low tier, by the time I got to where I am, I found good speakers. Work keeps me stuck to the WXM5s, so my ascent beyond the mid-fi has mellowed. I do aim to mature as much as you, but I want it to be natural. I'm happy accessibility is improving by the minute, both for items & music, so I'm sure it will be soon.
And I completely forgot to say: wait till you listen to TOTL headphones. I once listened to the HE1000v2 pair, and except for the bright tuning, bloody hell they make you feel like you're part of the sound. It's a tear-inducing feeling, especially if you've never done TOTLs before.
LCDs are also up there, the new LCD-X really hit my warmish-preferences well. I liked that pair. Maybe someday eh?
I've learnt this hobby to be like a process- journey sort of. I am thoroughly enjoying it. Thus I do intend to get to a TOTL one day. Maybe a few years. The stuff I have now & get to get my hands on, I think of all of them as my training exercises, teaching me how to enjoy, showing me the nuances & helping me find what I like. I appreciate even the crappy ones. I get to see the other end of the spectrum. They show me what is utter shite or what's not my taste. HE1000s- oh boy. Yes. More of such things in the world please. I'm glad there's no dearth of them. I got to hear susvara ONCE, for a minute or two max, connected to a not-so-new macintosh amp. Just once. It was orgasmic I tell you. The gentleman had a tufted leather chair next to it to enjoy it. I want to try some electro stats. Never had the chance. I look at stuff from Meze or Focal for eye candy. That's another aspect. I want my stuff to have that chic look & feel. Electro stats are currently in contrast. Due to their nature, I think. As I realised I love listening to the good stuff, I have now begun building my collection in terms of the gear. Making sure I have good tracks in my drive, having a solid piece of a player, knowing what breaks down easily, etc. All of this is for those shiny top tier goodies. I have inherited this hobby along with my genes from my father. He never was careful with his hearing & is now clinically unable to hear things at even mildly loud volumes. I am going to take care of my hearing so that I can enjoy my TOLT when I get old & wrinkly. I'll get my own biscuit tufted chair with an ottoman. That's my retirement plan.
I will mention that even though I haven't bought the IEMs I mentioned, I have tried them. And every one of them blew me away, bar the ones which are a bit "softer" like the M9/U12t (which I think are better buys for the long-term unless someone has a lot to spend). Also, the M9 is exceptionally comfortable for me
EE Odin was notable alongside the Anole VX as very resolving and fabulously textured. These might be the best TOTLs I have tried. If you have a budget of around $500 I'd suggest looking at the Mega5EST, DMS has a review of it on the Heaphone Show and from the FR it's an insanely balanced set.
No worries, and I'm not all that you think lol. I really just got lucky with knowing what I want, and my wallet forcing my hand.
Edit: I didn't know there were shipping issues with the Chinese brands. AFAIK Hifigo/Linsoul/Aliexpress will ship anywhere really
Basically earbuds, but if someone uses the acronym outside the context of stage or studio work, they are trying to tell everyone that they only use earbuds that are qUaLitY
The shape is significantly different than traditional earbuds, they generally isolate sound better, and they almost always have a removable cable.
You can get really cheap ones, but the name actually does tell you stuff.
I used to be a stage and studio musician, and I still use customs outside of that context. I'm just saying that if I'm talking to someone about casual listening, there's no way I'm specifying "IEMs" over "earbuds". IMO same kind of energy as saying "I used my Arch desktop" when you could say "I used my computer"
"IEMs" is shorter to type than "earbuds". You mistake my laziness for something other than what it is.
P.S.
I use Void. :p
😂 🤷 Ya that didn't occur to me; prolly cuz I think I think I've only ever typed IEM when doing a search, so didn't think about typing-length. But I still stand that that's the vibe it gives off in casual conversation.
IDK. Earbuds are a different thing. I call them IEMs because that's what they are.🤷🏼♀️
They're IEMs, and earphones are a colloquialism. Nobody is stuck up if they call it an IEM, if someone doesn't know we extrapolate for them. I don't see the problem.
I am an IEM enjoyer (used to own Softears but don't need them anymore), and I use Debian.
A true Debian user would never tell us that they use Debian. They would say they use Debian Testing’. BTW.
I mean it's not a problem. I'm just letting you know that if you use a technical term instead of the colloquial one in a casual conversation on an unrelated topic, to me it reads less like "we can extrapolate" and more like "I'm using this word specifically because I want to extrapolate". Not bad per se, cuz idk maybe someone will figure out they love in-ears from this thread. But def that's my first interpretretation when i read something like iem in a post about airplanes.
Edit ps: I also love how everyone is responding to this with their distro 😂 optimal response
Ear buds where the cost goes to quality and isolation as opposed to gimmicks/Bluetooth/functionality.
Airpods are amazing for casual use.
IEMs (with a cable, of course) are amazing for music.
It's what musicians use on stage to hear what everyone is doing (iems and individual mixes are so accessible these days, used to be super $$$$ per iem mix).
They range from budget (1 driver per bud) to decent (3-5 drivers per bud) to esoteric (like 16 drivers per bud).
Most have modular cables that disconnect at the earbud (so when the cable breaks you are paying thousands for a new set. Or to get custom cable lengths).
And all decent brands can be custom moulded to your ear, so you go to a hearing specialist, they will cast your ear, and you send that to the manufacturers and they will send you moulded IEMs. They are very comfy.
Some brands have a DIY moulding process, but I wouldn't trust myself!
If you are into live music & loud gigs, even loud clubs, I really strongly recommend you get a moulded set of earplugs with 10db attenuation. They are for musicians and have as flat a response as is possible, and will take the edge off any hearing damage.
As others have said, "in-ear monitors." However, it's not technically about the quality. Earphones sit in the outer ear, while IEMs go at least a little bit into the ear canal. They do better with blocking out sound, which is better for audio quality, but sometimes you want to be able to hear things around you, so it's a matter of context.
Also, while audiophiles can get wild with it (and there's a lot of snake oil in that area), I just got some Salnotes Zeros for <$20 and they're great.