Best IEM Timbre?

Hey guys,

What is the best iem timbre? No budget and im willing to buy another dap if I need better synergy. I would like to avoid a secondary portable amp if at all possible though. My current timbre benchmark is P6 Pro → Mass Kobo 428 → Diana V2 and raal on mha150 (havent heard susvara, and the raal was just a demo albeit extended). I would love something a dash less fatiguing than the P6P/428/v2 combo if possibly but flat out timbre is realy the focus here. Is there anything that even approaches the legendary timbre of sus in the iem game?

Thanks in advance,
-esk

Budget: Blon BL-03

Otherwise my pick would be the Tanchjim Oxygen.

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Everything I’ve tried from Jomo has had great timbre (Quatre, Flamenco, and Trinity SS). I recently picked up a pair of Rhapsodio Infinity Mk2, and despite being all BA, I have to say they are some of the most natural sounding I’ve heard. Higher end stuff can be pretty picky, but fortunately you’ve already got the source gear covered with the P6 Pro.

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BLON 03

Semkarch CNT-1

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Vision Ears Elysium. Known to have one of the best mid ranges (not just for IEMs) and pairs well with the Shanling M8. Another suggestion, maybe Oriolus Traillii? But haven’t personally heard the Traillii

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I’d also vouch for the infin MK2 and the traillii, imo great paring with the p6p so no worries there. Both pretty fantastic when it comes to timbre. I do think there are some desirable aspects of driving it off your mass kobo, but I think right out of the dap is very satisfactory as well so it’s not needed or anything. Both are really great at the time domain performance that good timbre demands, they really are stars at that.

Tuning wise the traillii is more of a balanced and neutral set slightly laid back, and very organic overall, very impressive coherency throughout the range. I’d say it really doesn’t tend to focus on one range the most, it’s very complete sounding tuning wise although I’d say the bass and treble are a bit more impressive than the midrange. The infinity is more slightly midrange focused but still reasonably neutral, although it has a bit more sweetness and forwardness than the traillii in tuning that ends up highlighting anything in the midrange really well without being overwhelming. Neither are really all that dense sounding and neither are really all that warm either, but end up sounding pretty organic tonality wise anyways (I’d say the infinity feels more dense and full in the midrange where the traillii feels more meaty in the bass)

I think these iems more end up pulling this off with their raw technical ability, both represent timbre really damn well because of this imo. They both also excel at low level resolution and can really pull a ton out of the recording with a slight edge to the traillii here. Dynamically the infinity does pull ahead over the traillii for more large scale changes, but both handle nuance about equally well with a slight edge to the traillii. Spatially the traillii is more open and grand with more space to play around with while still being extremely accurate and having lots of dept, where the infinity is more intimate but has very sharp imaging and a ton of depth to make up for it imo. Both are crazy fast as well without being unnatural with the traillii feeling a bit more refined here. I’d say the traillii feels more extended. Impact and slam wise, neither of these iems kick super hard, but they end up being extremely tight and accurate, I’d say the infinity has more impact in the midrange and traillii more impact in the bass. Texture wise I think the traillii has more texture in the low end, but the infinity has more texture in the midrange, both are great for treble. Extension wise I think the traillii is more impressive here with better bass extension, but both reach well for treble. I’d say in terms of forwardness the infinity was consistently more forward and pushy in the midrange and ends up being more in your face than the traillii overall, but neither are overly forward to where it would get distracting. The infinity is more sensitive to source gear than the traillii, but both pair really well with the p6 so that’s not a concern for you here (either of these are going to be unimpressive on a lackluster source anyways, both scale pretty high as well)

I did find the ve erlkonig decently organic depending on the music but thought it was meh in other ways, so I’d prefer the above (really excellent tonality, nice smoothness, and good tonal density as well, not offensive for poorly recorded music, but felt it was falling behind technicality wise in comparison to other options at the price point and imo that kinda made it just feel dull and uninteresting at times)

I’d also give a nod to the thummim as I did find it pretty organic timbre wise, but tonality isn’t for everyone and you have to enjoy a more fun tuned iem (can get a bit loose and have some bass bleed). It’s presentation can sometimes take away from its organicness factor (as while it’s spatial recreation is very immersive it’s not super accurate in terms of how things would actually be laid out, think of how focal presents almost with that more spherical stage). But def worth a try if something technical while being more warm and rich, impactful, and immersive and fun sounds appealing

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Another +1 for the Infinity MK2. It is quite magical on the P6P. There is a ton of microdynamics and texture that adds to the natural and organic-ness that you may seek.

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Im really sorry y’all. I had thought i responded all ready if I am honest.

So general consensus seems to be infinity mk2 and just go from there. I know not many have probabaly heard the p6p/428/diana combo so for any of yall that have heard VX, is infinity mk2 a distinct step up from that timbre wise? I ask because that is currently the best iem timbre I have heard and I realy am wanting a distinct step up from there.

@M0N tyvm for the fantastic breakdown between the Traillii and Infinity mk2 as the Traillii was one I was pretty heavily considering already (that, MAD24, and UM Mentor FuSang are kind of top of my curiosity list). From the description you gave it looks like I would probably lean towards the mk2 sound sig wise as well. both being a bit slam light from the sounds of it is kind of annoying, but not like the diana slam at all either, and im guessing the stage of either option here is bigger than diana on 428 anyways.

As for the thummium, ill keep it in mind. I like fun tunings, but am quite sensitive to peaky trebbles so I had kind of written it off without being able to demo it. Hopefully one just pops up cheap I can get to try.

@McLovin tbh where I care most about timbre is trebble as opposed to mids. I dont listent o much acoustic guitar so where I realy keep finding issues with timbre is clarinet, horns, pianos. I will find setups that do one or two, but finding a setup that does all of them with great realism can be a real issue

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