Hi everyone! First-time poster.
Until now, I’ve been listening to music in two ways: through a Dragonfly DAC with Shure E425 earbuds, or via Bluetooth with Sony WH-1000xm4 headphones.
Now after years of lusting after upgrades, I went and got myself an SR25 MkII. Thing is, none of the two pieces of kit I own really work with it. I’m going to explain why in the hopes that it can help you guys figure out what would work better.
The Shure are a bit too thin on the bass for a chunk of my library. I listen to a range of things, from classic metal to soft folk through electro, trip-hop, and classical. Also, their fit is not very comfortable; overall, I get both physical and listener fatigue from them quite quickly.
On the other hand, the Sony’s bass is tuned too high, and the sound is a bit muddy. I make them kinda work for me with the EQ settings below - hopefully, that helps pinpoint what I find pleasing - but I’m pretty sure I can do better. Besides, they’re bulky, and I’d rather have IEMs that I can carry with me and listen to at work etc.
So that brings me to now! I’d like to get some IEMs that would play nice with the SR25 and would offer a good experience for the range of things that I listen to. Because the entire endeavour is a “treat yourself” situation, I’m fine to get something somewhat expensive, but I’m also wary of investing too much since I haven’t tried many IEMs, and so I’m not sure what sort of tone and/or fit would be best for me.
With that in mind, is there anything in the $400 - $600 range that screams to you “this would be right”? Or failing that, are there a couple of recommendations in the $200 or below range that I could compare and contrast (and eventually upgrade later down the line)?
Thankful for any and all suggestions!
