Like the title says, looking for recommendations on good all around iems to use at my desk. Daily use meaning watching movie, listening to music (rock and indie mostly) and playing games (tarkov and cs mostly). Id like to get a mold of my ear done so UEIM or CIEM preferably (if you have a preference to one or the other id love to hear it). There are just to many options. I currently use a set of Sennheiser 660s with a schiit stack.
There’s actually so many great models below $750, so it’s very hard to make choice) I’ll probably just advice to consider one of my favorite universal models - Sound Rhyme DTE500.
It’s a wonderful all rounder to my taste. I like it more than Thieaudio Oracle, Xenns UP, Letshuoer EJ07M, mentioned Orchestra and Timeless. I think this model will be perfect for your genres. DTE500 is engaging yet still universal set. It’s tuned very nicely: warm, but not muddy, with good amount of details and air, and with great soundstage.
Shells are quite big, but they fit me well and if your main case is using at home it shouldn’t be a problem.
I actually had Orchestra Lite and it was also very good and universal set. Perhaps less engaging due to less bass and treble, but still very smooth and universal. Timeless is also good, but i listened to it quite a long time ago, so can’t compare thoroughly.
The tribrids mentioned above are all very good and may suit you better depending on you preference. Oracle is rather flat and wide sounding, UP is mild V-shaped with beautiful, but bright-ish highs, EJ07M is sub-bass and upper-mids focused set.
I think for $750 I would swing for the Sound Rhyme DTE900 but in that range you can also get stuff like the AuR Ascension (and Neon Pro), both of which have a lot of fans. I just haven’t heard them. The DTE900 is very mid-forward so it’ll be a completely different experience from most Sennheisers. Also they’re pretty damn good for CS, but I dont play Tarkov so no idea there.
As far as custom vs uiem I would go UIEM all day unless you are getting like a 2k+ IEM. I jumped straight into the deep end with the Mest MKII customs and in hindsight I would have done the process differently, definitely would have sent them back for adjustment at least once because I don’t get a great seal on the left ear and I wasn’t experienced enough to really know. I have to tilt my head slightly downward to get a proper seal until it’s really had time to sit in my ears for while.
UIEM also lets you adjust the fit with ear tips which can be super helpful. I would suggest getting a couple sizes of something like the Spinfit W1’s because each IEM will need different types of tips for the best fit since the nozzles are all different from a width / length perspective. The DTE900 for example I use way smaller tips than I do with most IEMs because it needs a deeper insertion.
If you do go custom, check out Hisenior. They have some popular models and I think it’s a nice price point for customs. Quite a few reviews of the different ones out there.
If you are used to 660s you might very well like Orchestra lite. If you want more bass DTE 900. I would choose Asencion that is mentioned. But it is difficult to recommend IEM’s to others that don’t already have a preferred tonality.
I found this channel when I was looking for a good imaging gaming in ear. He has good info on how sets do in games and for music. Might be worth a watch for some of the in ears you are interested in.