I really love my Auteurs, but even those eventually cause me irritation and discomfort given enough time. I assume this happens to many folks, not just me, It was simply particularly irritating tonight, and I wanted an excuse to research IEM’s…
Maybe flesh out your HT setup instead?
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I am thus far very pleased but I have not finalized the wiring or set-up. It does it’s job well and is distinctly different from the $200 Bic America sub that’s been doing sub duty for me the past 2 years. Although as of this moment, the Bic sub isn’t going away. It has its place and until I figure out how to better integrate the REL with different speakers its staying right where it is. It’s finally time for me to get in touch with the nice folks at Maple tree audio and have them make me some custom switch boxes for amps, speakers and sources…Only way I can actually use the REL the way I want in this multi system set-up.
It might be too early to ask, but, could you give a general impression of what you think of them compared to the other zmfs you own?
So… those Polks gave me an idea for yet another set-up in my primary HT room. I’m working on it. I purchased a 4k tv for that room 2 years ago and it’s still sitting in the box in the closet. Also my big amp I got for it has collected dust and I’m tempted to try the Polk’s as the mains in that room. I think…I’m thinking it through slowly. Maybe a combo HT and 2.1 set-up if i get the right pre-pro… 
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That was my original thought and goal, then I just ended up getting a separate stereo setup, then potentially a third setup for my desk/near-field, lol.
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i’m pathetic, I’ve managed to excuse 6 separate systems…Most folks would have been happy with any one of them. And the desktop can do about a dozen different sound signatures currently, even more if I’m in the mood to pull and swap wires 
I always lose control and get stupid with my hobbies… I like the way you think, and your stuff is NICE! Did you get rid of the Polk’s or relegate them to duties elsewhere?
I still have them. I’m trying to get about $500 for them (or at least 450). If not, I am thinking about pulling my desk back and that will be my near-field setup. My bedroom will look stupid though. I already have floorstanding Klipsch speakers in there.
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I certainly like the Polks enough that I’d rather keep them if I get anything less than 450 back. I really do think they are wonderful all-rounders.
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Nooo, man those are great to have around and a nice value especially being a 3 way design. Hell use them as rears for a tv somewhere in the house. You will pay more for less speaker any day of the week. Just my opinion, i haven’t let go of anything yet and currently don’t plan to. I just re-purpose or swap out every few weeks to hear something different 
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I haven’t had a chance to A/B them much, but the Auteurs sound like cousins of the Eikons, which I’m a big fan of. I haven’t listened enough to see all the differences, but they are close enough that I’d have been happy with either. I think the Auteurs are slightly better than the Eikons, but I really like the Eikons tuning so I may be giving it the benefit of the doubt. I’ve been listening to a lot of live Grateful Dead and either of these paired with a tube amp is maybe the best combo I’ve ever had for it.
The Verites are awesome. I really can’t complain about anything with them, but I still find myself reaching for the Eikons/Auteurs more. At least today with the current pads/sources I’m running I think those are more enjoyable for me. If I was listening to classical I think I’d grab the Verites. I like to use them with female vocals a lot too, and they have the best build with the reduced weight and beautiful grille. I like them enough that I one day may end up picking up the Verite Closed. It’s not a priority for me with how much I like the Eikons, but I’ve heard great things.
The Aeolus are the ones I still can’t get used to. I know I’m in the minority for not absolutely loving them, but the sound presentation is just really different for me and I haven’t gotten used to it yet. I wish I had heard them first, because I think the Eikons spoiled me. I’m not saying I don’t like them, but I am surprised they seem to be the crowd favorite. I’d probably want to hear the Atticus a bunch before buying them since I’m not sold on the Aeolus.
Lastly, since I knew I was going all in, I decided to splurge and go with the $500 4 strand silver XLR cable upgrade. I’m not going to tell anyone to spend money on cables, but it has really incredible build quality. I haven’t seen the other cable options, but I may look to them for some of my other headphones that I know are keepers
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KZ ZSX, BLON 03, Moondrop Starfield, Moondrop Blessing 2, ikko oh10, Thieaudio Voyager 14, campfire andromeda, Beyerdynamic Xelento
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I’m pretty much the same when it comes to headphones…After years of reasonable (circa £5k) speaker based systems then a long break before I got back into Hifi but now living on a continual moving barge the speaker option was some what scuppered, so naturally I started down the headphone route. Don’t get me wrong I like headphones but they never have seemed to properly capture the essences and delivery of a decent speaker system, detail wise most defiantly but over all no, this may well be down to not good enough sets or Dac/amps etc but one thing above all else that stopped me wanting to invest more was the same as you, hot sweaty ears after about 2hrs (numerous pad swops tried) which is fine if you only listen in short sessions, but like a lot on here days off and time permitting 4-8 hrs is the norm.
So that’s how I started down the iem rabbit hole, the financial tumble has halted with the purchase of FH7’s this set when driven by the iFi Micro gives me most of what I need for my all round listening.
I hoping to attend UK’s CanJam this year as i’m interested to see how iem’s scale when being drive by higher end kit like the Hugo2, also to try higher iem’s like the 64 audio Tia Trio etc.
But as it stands now it’s all about the music and iem’s for me 
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There is a time and place for everything and that is why I like both HP’s and IEM’s; in some situations one is just better than the other.
If I am to narrow it down, then these two are my favourite IEM’s:
64Audio A3e custom
Campfire Audio Comets
And when I get around to it, I will get the Campfire Polaris
Custom IEM’s are not for all, but I really like my 64Audio CIEM and mainly due to the sound. It is so detailed and clear, that I will get more from 64Audio when I have the $ for it.
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Etymotic ER4 SR or ER4 XR, very accurate and balanced, very well made and excellent value for money for the quality provided.
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Moondrop s8 mentioned? Apparently probably the best thing under a $1000 according to crinacle. Probably worth looking at. I haven’t heard it yet though
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Sounds like Fiio FH7s or CA Polaris 2’s for you, my friend!
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what eartips did you use?
I have the latter (and love it) and is interesting in the former. 
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That’s funny! We’re in flip flopped positions. I LOVE my FH7s, but I’m interested in owning the Polaris as well! Not sure I’m ready to pull the plug yet
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