The fd5 made me question why do I keep going back to big cans when iems can be so good but I realized I like the variety and havent heard a pair of iems that would keep me away from closed backs and the kind of sound presentation im wanting for the day.
However, I stopped buying closed backs after finding my favorites. Iems played a part in that due to my use cases. Im on my feet, out and about for work, so having a lightweight iem is pretty great.
So its a use case for me. Iems for the spring and summer, closed backs when its cool enough to wear them.
I understand that cheap IEMs>cheap headphones and mid fi IEMs>mid fi headphones. Does anyone here have experience with flagship IEMs and flagship headphones to compare the two?
I think you can enjoy them all. I own open back headphones, closed back headphones, active noise cancelling headphones, active noise cancelling earbuds, and a few pairs of IEMs. They all have times each are the right answer.
I am tempted to say we are already there, and the IEM is usually less money too.
If I had to pick only one for my setup, it would be an IEM, but I would need a decent microphone to go with it. I tend to use the VModa BoomPro mic on my headphones.
I am pondering a Samson Q2U. For about $70 you get a pretty solid setup, pop filter, stand, etc., and they sound pretty nice, it is a dynamic cardioid pattern ( less background noise ). I figure that with a comfy pair of IEMs would be a good setup.
I tend to run my IEMs or headphones plugged into a Fiio BTR5, mostly for the wireless features, but it also lets my phone and work PC connect at the same time. If I want an upgrade on the mic, I could mount a boom arm to the desk.
The other option would be to use a lavalier mic. There are some really good options for not a lot of money with some nice features depending on your needs.
I have a lavalier mic, but I have a nasty habit of forgetting to unclip it when I get up. I used one in my old home office. I clipped it to lanyard, since I almost always wear t-shirts, which are not ideal for lav mics. I used to remember about the point I got to the door and would hang the lanyard on the door knob.
The pop filters did become cat toys, but that is always a risk.
Lav mics are usually condensers that pick up everything in the room, and I don’t have a dedicated room in my current dwelling. I could probably do some settings stuff, or post processing, but an affordable cardioid would be a better out of the box solution for the shared space problem.
In those circumstances a lav would probably not be the best of solutions. I have been using RTX voice with mine which is great for background noise like fans and stuff but not in a shared space with other people talking.
I have heard good things about RTX voice, but I am not always working on Windows, so hardware solutions are always preferable.
Being an embedded engineer and sometimes web developer, I sometimes have some odd setups for work. I am most likely to run MacOS and virtualize Windows and Linux for work.
But all the other factors to me are generally better in iems, its why the value for iems are decimating headphones.
This has been one of the strangest experiences. I’ve been using bigger/enthusiast headphones for years and years, and while I dunno if i’m about to throw out my LCD2s or Auteurs, below ~$800-1,000-ish range the advantage for over ears gets more and more fuzzy. IEMs are crazy fun tbh. IEM’s also seem to enjoy really rapid advancement year over year.
I personally prefer IEMs to most closed back headphones I’ve tried, including the Focal Elegia and AKG K371, for most circumstances. However, I only say that because I use EQ and I’ve found that you can EQ an IEM to match tonality of an open back way easier than a closed back. Of the closed backs I’ve tried, they all exhibit a closed cup effect in some way, IEMs don’t have that problem at least in my experience. I much prefer the JVC HA-FDX1 equalized to match the tonality of the Clear MG, that is honestly an endgame portable solution for me. Only thing you miss with IEMs is large soundstage and physical dynamic punch, but many high end dynamic driver IEMs get you real close.
I also like using HRTF spatial audio plugins like CanOpener or TB Isone, IEMs can really give you an amazing out of your head experience with those.
Yeah it is a fun thing to experiment with, and it really works! Granted it took me a year or two to understand how to properly EQ headphones and IEMs for my own ears, but once you understand your sound preferences, EQ can transform almost any headphone into something you enjoy. Assuming the headphone has good technical ability and responds well to EQ, which is a whole other subject.
…