So, I recently realized that I have a lot of amps (or have on the way) that work really well with IEMs - portable THX, ES100, and a AAA 789. However, I’ve never bothered with IEMs for a simple reason: at least with the cheap IEMs I’ve tried (i.e., the AKG pair that comes with some Samsung phones, and a Fiio F1 back in the day) I’ve never been able to get them to fit comfortably. They always feel weird in the ear, or I can’t get a good seal, etcetera.
So, if I want to get into the IEM world what’s the entry level pair that is comfortable/easy to wear? Or is IEM comfort all about tips?
It also all depends on your unique er shape, for some people, some IEM shapes just don’t work and it’s a shame.
Tips matter, and you can even get custom moulded silicone tips but they’re damn expensive. You have to somewhat find out what rough shape works for your ear unless you want to go all out and get custom made IEMs
The cheapest custom IEM in my part of the world starts at $300. I’d rather spend my audio money on, say, headphones rather than IEMs. It’s more of, if I wanted to buy one of the $50 and under IEMs that are popular right now - Tin T2, KZ ZS10 Pro, the BLON BL-03 - are any of them particularly good or bad for comfort?
I find all of these iems reasonably comfortable (haven’t tired the blon though), but its pretty hard to judge because peoples ears are different. If you can’t get a good seal foam can help, but if you have super small ear canals, most stuff might not be comfortable