I’m in the process of upgrading my SHP9500 to some planars, but I keep hearing about IEMs like Moondrops to be comparable or even better to higher-priced Open Backs. I’ll probably buy some IEM to have something on the go, but like really, are they that better? If so, in what areas are they better? If we aren’t taking into factor portability, but pure sound quality, natural tone, and detail, do they still perform better than open backs?
I have read some discussion about their comparisons but it was like 3 years ago or more. But, in the past year, better IEMs had landed in the market. Had public opinion changed in the past year?
With big planar sound, there aren’t many iems that can compare and I’m positive none under $100 would deliver big. They can definitely have the same sound signature but staging won’t ever get much outside your ears or the top of your head.
Hopefully that makes sense.
I never knew IEMs also had planar options! I used to have the SoundMagic E10, but I just can’t listen to them for a long time. I feel like I always have to clean my ears when using it. The isolation it gave was just painful. That’s when I moved to speakers, and now to open backs. I’ll probably give the Moondrop a try.
Also, am I correct to say that Open Backs are of better value than IEMs? Isn’t it more expensive to produce a better sounding IEM than to produce an open back?
What do you mean by better?
I think over-ears are more comfortable. I’ve never met an IEM that rivals the soundstage of an open-back.
But I do believe IEM’s compete for detail at sometimes just a quarter of the price… It kinda depends on what you’re after!
As stated above, tastes play a huge role. I’m currently using a 130$ IEM as my daily driver and ended up selling most of my open back sets because the IEM is delivering something that they couldn’t. My headphones were not cheap, my most expensive set retailed for 1200 dollars. In my experience IEMs are vastly superior in the value department.
Though only in certain aspects. i’ve never heard an IEM that can do soundstage, both in width, height and depth, as well as even a ‘basic’ pair of Sundara.
Same goes, to me, for percussion. I just never experience the same ‘size’ of slam on anything but a big planar
Better value in a sense that I’ll be paying less for a better sound quality. Better tone, soundstage, etc.
We have a local hifi Facebook group here in SEA, and they claim that IEMs provide better sound quality for a cheaper price. But I like to argue otherwise.
I find it hard to decide, since value is subjective. I’m a soundstage whore and love love LOVE the open-back vibes. Therefore, for me, no.
But if you don’t care about soundstage or openness but do care about detail, timbre, and dynamics then yes. I think you can get way better value in IEM’s!
They hit way harder for one. The FH3 has a lot of low end focus and has a driver coating that allows for very fast and very pronounced bass end without messing with the other ranges. I have yet to experience a headphone that can reproduce the immediacy, the speed, the experience of having that pumped directly into my brain. I’ve heard headphone with “big” bass but it’s not the same. I tried chasing that sound with headphones and ended up disappointed. I should have just climbed the IEM ladder, which is what I’m doing now.
Soundstage takes a hit but I have found that I don’t really care because everything else is delivered in such an enjoyable manner. And large soundstage vs in-head sound is another thing that’s down to preference. For my music tastes having every little thing but RIGHT THERE has plenty of appeal. Whenever I got back to headphones for music I feel… Removed, I guess. Because of the seal and the way IEMs deliver sound it’s like the music is all that exists, there’s no gap, no space, just full-on sound. I dig that.
I pull out my last set of headphones for gaming and movies and stuff like that but for pure music enjoyment I like what IEMs are doing more.
From those three I’ve only heard the FD5’s (recently, finally ). And they don’t come close to the wide open stage of my Sundara’s… Fucky ears? or just a preference for open vs closed, regardless of how wide the soundstage is?
But I’ve never experienced anything like a good open pair in any IEM.
). And they don’t come close to the wide open stage of my Sundara’s… Fucky ears? or just a preference for open vs closed, regardless of how wide the soundstage is?