So a little bit ago I explained my endgame for the headphone world. Days later I got the endgame for the IEM game ( for me). And again I will point out the things that are required for my eyes for IEM.
Comfort must be a thing. I can not have IEM that causes air pressure to build up in my head and therefore must contain workable venting, not just cosmetics holes. The IEM can not have driver flex or cause my head to fill like a pressure bulb waiting to pop.
Sound must be next level. Must have excellent Tonality, Timbre, and Vocals. Must also have proper sub-bass extensions without early roll-offs and mids must not be pushed back nor highs too high. Imaging must be VR like along with matching separation. And soundstage must not be too wide that it loses intimacy but not too shallow that it hurts the separation or imaging.
Lastly the Cost to performance must match. I refused to pay more than $500 for an IEM because the Law of Diminishing returns cuts off at this point. I do not believe that any $600-$4000 IEM should be able to be beaten by any IEM cheaper in even 1 single area. And unfortunately, this is exactly what happens. Too many people are willing to pay hundreds if not thousands more just for 10-20% better sound quality in 1 area or another. This is not acceptable for me. I am willing to pay $1000ās if your performance shows you are 1000ās of dollars better in performance. But unfortunately, this doesnāt exist and therefore neither will my wallet pay for out for anything more than the $500.
My Genre. If I buy you better be good for all styles not just 1 or 2. I listen to everything from Eyna and Hans Zimmer to Boris Brejcha and Future. I donāt have time to switch IEM based on what Iām listening to and if I spend hundreds of dollars on an IEM it better be able to kill it no matter the genre.
Lastly, Driveability. I again refused to pay hundreds of Dollars on an IEM that canāt sound great on my smartphone and Dac dongle. I know several IEM that can only be used on the Amp system for your desk computer or sound system. This is not acceptable and again I refuse to spend hundreds of dollars to be limit to my desk for sound quality on an IEM.
So these 5 things shape my choices for IEMā¦for ME. I am not at all suggesting that you are me or I am you. You do you but this is my standard and the rules I follow for my IEM tech. This is how I fell in love with the Blessing 2 dusk. Itās the worldās first perfectly Tuned IEM and checks every single box.
I completely agree. And I had focused on 1000+ dollars IEMs, but I think itās hard to justify the price. Iād rather have 2-3 IEMs for $ 500 with different sound signatures and enjoy them than one for $ 1500-2000! Itās great that youāve found your āend gameā.
Iām curiousā¦what is the most expensive IEM and / or headphone youāve ever listened to / demoād?
4 years ago I had the opportunity to demo the Focal Stellia, Clear OG and a couple of their lower end models as well as the HFM Arya, Ananda and Audeze LCD-2. I forget what the source was, but a DAP of some sort that was plugged into a Questyle CMA Twelve. I was not using the balanced output though.
at that time, the headphones Iād been using most of the time were the Stax SRS-2100 kit.
the Stellia gobsmacked me; it was ethereal and I was almost brought to tears and Iām saying that literally, not figuratively; hence the reason I say gobsmacked! the Clears sounded really good, but not as good as the Stellia, a sizable difference but one I could probably live with because they are half the cost of the Stellia. The other Focalās were absolute rubbish in comparison. the Arya wasnāt bad, the Ananda wasnāt bad and I didnāt like the LCD-2 at all, thought I suspect thatās due to the short time I demoād these and the fact the Stellia are so good that nothing else could compare but or the Clear OG.
so yeh, the Stellia are $4000 and the Clear are half that (these are Canuck Bucks) and while the Clear were really good, I was corrupted and knew that the Stellia were better. I donāt know how to quantify the diminishing returns as it was obviously better and even if I had the Clear (Iām too broke to have anything that good this day n age) I would still want the Stellia. the Clearās would only be stop gap to satisfy the wantā¦
it would be neat to see what the IEM world is like in comparison, but because I love headphones so much and IEMās are a really hard fit for me, I have a hard time justifying any expense to ācheckā them out.
see if you can demo the radiance, theyāre pretty amazing. out of all the focals, open or closed iāve tried (which is basically all but the utopia and clear mg) they stuck out to me as being the one with the best tuning. the stellias were outstandingly capable but the stock tuning just seemed off for me. didnāt expect their stupid bentley collab to be my favorite lol.
Had the same experience with the Stellia. Blew me away when I listened to them in November in a shop in Seattle.
Before hearing the Stellia, I thought I never would pay more than $1,000 for a set of headphones. After hearing the Stellia, I was thinking of what organs I could donate to find the extra two grand.
