shotgunshane’s IEM (custom and universal) recommendations, favorites and classics

Of course to each one his own budget and means, but I somehow feel the premium is not justified or these versus iems in the 1-2k range.

 

I think frequency response is overrated to an extent when it comes to realism. BAs don't move enough air to sound like you're at a concert with real sized instruments, especially in the bass region. They don't do timbre and texture realistically. And this claim I'm a little more cautious with, but there's something off about how they handle dynamic range. The swell of an orchestra doesn't hit you the same .

I think there's a bias towards the measurable, for obvious reasons - but I think there's a lot of other factors in SQ realism.

edit: This is an example of a track that I think DDs inherently render much more realistically than BAs, independent of FR.

 

People need to get over this idea that BAs move less air. In a pressure chamber (I. E. a closed ear canal) to achieve a certain SPL, a BA or a dynamic driver move the same amount of air.

Edit: for low Frequencies. For high Frequencies the pressure chamber assumption is no longer correct.

 

Sound Pressure Level is irrelevant wrt amount of air moved. As most BAs are sealed versus vented dynamics, BAs are able to achieve higher pressures while moving less air.

 

Incorrect. In free air SPL is proportional to surface area (S) times acceleration. In a pressure chamber it's S times displacement, which is volume.

 

Exactly, sealed versus vented is key to understanding the issue.

The ear drum moves forward and back, it's not designed to work with a sealed ear canal. A vented shell iem with a diaphragm which also moves forward and back as a dynamic driver does should be ideal for realistic sound.

Yes, tuning is important, of course, but this is another factor.

 

Ah yes, now I understand Grahad2 point, I misunderstood and thought he was talking about back volume venting.

In a sealed system, a BA and a DD would have to move the same amount of air volume for the same SPL.

DD earphones are typically front vented to avoid diaphragm crushing, and that vent basically acts as a low order high pass. So with a vent, the DD would have to move with larger displacement than without a vent for the same spl.

 

I'm not very sold by FAD's tuning, but their vented BA is an interesting attempt at a combination. It's interesting that no one else is doing it - maybe some form of significant trade-off that us not in the field are unaware of.

 

There are many vented BAs though. Even the low frequency driver of the very often used TWFK comes in a vented version. But back venting is different than venting the front volume. Venting the back will make the driver displacement larger in low frequencies. Venting the front volume has the opposite effect effectively, same displacement, less SPL.

 

Just my experience, but I've never found vented BAs in a sealed shell to be like a dynamic in a vented shell. Maybe in theory, but not at all in practice.

That's why the FAD system is interesting. Not that it's like hearing a vented dynamic, either, but interesting.

 

I like how Dan Wiggins explained SPL perception over at HF in crinacle's thread:

Which, in my book, implies, that just because peak SPL may look the same between BA and DD based IEMs in a frequency response graph, that doesn't necessarily mean that their integral of SPL over time will be the same.

Besides, it's interesting to see various technical approaches by manufacturers to add decay to armatures, like using a larger diaphragm (Yashima's moving armatures), a resonating drumhead (Final Audio), or employing a delayed woofer (Spiral Ears). All this despite the fact, that in theory the 'perfect decay' should be infinitely short.

Personally, I tend to think what we perceive as natural / lifelike / realistic, is a result of pattern recognition. Pretty much all live music we listen to (unless in anechoic chambers) has added reverb / decay from room acoustics. Same goes, to some extent, for speakers. But most importantly, moving coil speakers in general, including nearfield monitors used for mixing, seem to have transient characteristics closer to dynamic driver IEMs than balanced armatures. So, if the patterns embedded in your brain have largely been shaped by transient behavior closer to DDs than BAs, it's not unlikely imo, that recognition (and, as a result, preference) may bias you towards the former rather than the latter.

 

So that would mean that you could attempt to correlate subjective perception of bass with how it's CSD looks like? I've not seen evidence for that but it does sound very plausible.

I also think the distortion characteristics of DDs vs BA are important. Distortion from a BA has a lot of third order going on, which isn't pretty. Whereas a fully vented DD earphone (front and back) may have higher THD for the same SPL than a big sealed BA, but it will be largely benign 2nd order.

 

Hum, I think I have to be a bit clearer in what I mean.

What price is reasonable or normal in absolute terms is quite impossible to define. For myself, I try to keep the same reference as when I first started upgrading years ago. 50$ is reasonable, 200$ is premium and a bit expensive, 500$ (price of Shure 530 some years ago, when it was one of the most expensive out there) is luxury and therefore unreasonable, 800$-1000$ is acceptable for customs given the work involved, but still crazy. That is MY reference.

Thereafter I threw this reference out the window in practical Terms when I accepted to pay up to 1500-2000$ to try things.

My point on price is here relative. If Andromeda and PP8 are taken as top performers at 1k, then something sounding less good or merely different, but at twice or three times the price, is overpriced. Others may disagree.

Approach to neutrality is an interesting goal, I judge more how much pleasure I take listening to my music. Try as hard as I could, I could not take much pleasure from the PP8, whatever the tip, source, setting. Only some of my well mastered tracks sounded enjoyable to me. It certainly means I don't enjoy this approach to neutrality.

What I will consider as being overly colored will certainly differ from more discerning listeners. A few examples could be : the Vega has too much midbass for me, the Hidition NT6 has too bright a tonality for me to listen too long, the Tg334 had way too slow bass decay, many one or two BAs really lack subbass for me (like the new Q Jay's).

Others will feel differently based on taste and music, but in any case I think the type / master quality of music you listen to plays an important role.

 

So, Mimouille, what IEM is tickling your fancy these days?

 

hey @ricky64, welcome to SBAF. I notice you haven't got an introduction post: you might want to go and introduce yourself first to let us know a little bit more about yourself. (https://superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/)

If you haven't read through the "READ THIS FIRST" threads then do so too!

 

The Lcdi4, and to a lesser extent the Xelento.

 

Hi! Newbie here.
I'm choosing new IEMs (currently using Titan 5) and want something more neutral or slightly U shaped. After some "research" I selected these: Westone W20, ATH IM02 (they are kinda similar, i guess), FXA5, IT03.
From earphone I want some sub bass rumble (but not overpowered, like on T5), good extension on highs (i want them to be pronounced, but don't want highs to be too hot, it would cause tinnitus problems).
Can someone give me more detailed information on these IEMs or maybe suggest other options at same price range (under 300 USD)?
Also I'm going to buy earphones in my country (or order in nearby countries of CIS), so my options are limited and prices may vary. (For example Noble X is appealing to me but it will cost me around 350 with shipping and taxes, so).
Really appreciate any help you can provide.