IEMs are ruining my headphone experience

As we know, add me to the list of IBasso IT00 channel imbalance victims. Second set is doing fine tho. Listened to it last night. It’s a nice sounding IEM, but it doesn’t have any weight behind it. I’m sure it’s going to be great at a certain music style, I just haven’t found its niche yet.

yeah, hopefully it is just a early batch problem or something with the IT00.

But Chi-fi seriously needs to step up their damn QC…some instances are so bad it prevents people from recommending it to others (like the Urbanfun, Legacy 3…).

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I really want to buy the Clairvoyance, especially after reading Crin’s review, but I’m scared to death of the QC and size/fit issues dealing with Thieaudio if I have problems. When they have an awesome product at an awesome price point, they need to make it worthwhile for consumers to take a chance on them. Right now, I don’t think I can take that risk. I feel the IER-Z1R would be a much safer bet at more than double the price just because of QC and customer service.

Just wait another year or 2 for those EST iems to be cheaper lol. :joy:

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You’re right. I have way more than enough at the moment. It’s addicting and fun to constantly be thinking about what to get next though. I know YOU know what I mean! :wink:

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hahahah yeah it sure is addicting alright…

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@Pr3ssAltF4 Would be interesting to hear any thoughts you have here in accordance to the title since your moving over from headphones to iems.

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I like iems more than headphones in my personal circumstances. I like the portability and extra detail per dollar that IEMs provide. The extra space and the extra configurability (tips / cable swaps) allow me to have a little more fun playing around for cheap. In regards to price v performance, I was able to grab totl IEMs for less than the full price of a clear / arya (hifi, but not summit fi). If I ever need the extra stage I’ll go back to cans, but for now, IEMs are the way for me to go.

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Yeah, I kinda know what i’m looking for in my IEMs, but I honestly prefer a variety of sound signatures (but not too different) so as to have some variety and pick what flavor do I want to listen today kinda thing.

What other IEM’s you have at the moment @PapaEmeritus ? Just curious.

That was the biggest deciding factor for me when it came to either the Z1R or MEST …Go with the tried and trusted, bombproof and generally loved Z1R or the new must have kid on the block that apparently already has two tuning variants?..well that decision was a no brainer in the end lol.

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Too many.

Right now, I’m on a Fiio kick. I have two FH3’s, the FD1 and FH7. I have the FH5 ordered and should be here Tuesday.

Moondrop Starfield, KXXX, ISN H40, Mangird Tea, Tin T2, 2 Blon Bl-03s, Urbanfun, IBasso IT00 etc…

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I was the complete opposite of the original poster because I started with IEMs for the first couple of years but when I heard the HD600 and original HE-400 it was game over for the IEMs. I still have a few and get a pair every now and then but at home I’m all about headphones because they sound so much better to me.

@PapaEmeritus as you have a ton of IEM and Headphones how something like an FH3 that costs 130 bucks would compare on the headphone world? Well, this question is not quite directly to @PapaEmeritus but for anyone with an experience on both sides. I just commented about @PapaEmeritus as I saw a picture he posted with lots of headphones.

I never had/used good headphones so it’s really hard to compare. Sometimes I think about going to headphones to have a better audio experience but the lack of a comparison point is a deal-breaker for me. I also don’t want to expend a ton of money just to test the theory if the headphone would be better than the earphone or not :sweat_smile:

Being also wireless is also really important for me. I’m just waiting for something like this but with a better battery life.

you honestly cant really compare headphones to iems.

It would be like comparing a car and a plane. Completely different things.

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Pretty much, just like trying to compare speakers to headphones, you typically don’t get anywhere doing so. Speakers, headphones and iems all have unique experiences that the others can’t replicate, and while there will be some similarities with each other, overall generally they tend to be different enough that it’s hard to draw comparisons that are meaningful

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Would be my choice of playback if I had the :moneybag: and space, HP’s do a good job at emulating speakers but fail in my experience, IEM’s don’t try to either they just do thier best at plugging the source directly in to your ear/brain…So Speakers, IEM’s then HP’s :man_shrugging:

In terms of realistic sound reproduction I think speakers easily take the cake, but that being said not everyone is going for nor wants what speakers have to offer, iems do offer an experience that can be more enjoyable than speakers and headphones at times, so honestly while I would argue that speakers > headphones > iems in terms of lifelike reproduction, all three are equally valuable and viable options once you figure out what you like, I know people who have abandoned speakers for iems and people who abandon iems for speakers, it’s all about finding what you like and what is best suited for your preferences tbh

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I think as we all well know a good HP set up will reproduce an awesome sound for a fraction of the price of a good speaker system…but this’s where IEM’s (as long as you’re comfortable with them) deliverers a curveball and offers the best play back and detail retrieval bang for :moneybag:?

I would say if you don’t mind the unnatural presentation iems do offer more sound per dollar than headphones imo (to an extent, moreso in the budget and midrange imo)

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I agree with this. I know I am still riding the hype train on IEMs at the moment, but from my limited experience, I found an IEM that surpassed any headphone experience in regards to sound stage and imaging.

I was closer to being tricked that I was listening to speakers more so than any headphone I’ve used so far (noting that I haven’t been to summit-fi headphone tier yet)

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