Mine are not exactly what I’d call all-rounders, especially with the their slightly elevated upper mids and they’re crazy picky when it comes to sources. After 6 months I run them from the Topping G5 most of the time but then the larger part of my music collection stops at ~1975 and to my ears the 'Soks resonate better with modern, cleaner recordings. YMMV.
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I’m a big fan of the Tanchjim Oxygen (I’ve got a second edition with slight bass lift). Timsok reminds me of that. Presses all the right buttons. I’m running it off a Lotoo DAP for first listens.
I don’t listen to RnB, soul, J/Kpop, much pop at all really. Most listening is instrumental electronic, experimental/ambient, post punk, folk, ‘90s-‘00s indie. So enhancing tones and textures are big on my wants list.
I’ve got the Symphonium Meteor. It’s Hobby Talks favourite set but I’m, at best, lukewarm on it. However I listened to some early Springsteen and Peter Gabriel albums with it and it fitted that music. It’s the Pink Floyd/Fleetwood Mac meta, or something 
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The fast spinning rotation of sets is now -
Sivga Nightingale (gets described as a love/hate tuning but bass is perfectly fine and unconcealed by pushed frequencies elsewhere. Miles Davis Kind of Blue is fantastic on it)
Sivga Que UTG (you had me at glass diaphragm. In China these are called the Magpie, I think.)
Intime Miyabi II (the piezo tweeter gives it very engaging haunting sound)
Intime Har Gao (bassier Miyabi)
Timsok TS-316
Softears Twilight (I listen to this a lot trying to work out why I don’t like it as much as I should. With all the vents it’s like a tiny desktop speaker system around your ear).
Are the IE600’s still in one of your top spots for Metal too? I’m all over the place from technical death metal to power metal to black metal. Using the Pula PA02’s now, which does a very good job, but I just want that speed haha.
Yes, still. He’s hard to beat.
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Maybe we could mention our usual listening levels here (and elsewhere)?
I’m usually listening at pretty low levels, about 60-65 dBA and that’s one of if not the main reason I grab my EA500LM (specifically modded to work best at those low levels (Fletcher-Munson)) more often than I ‘should’, given that I own IEMs I paid up to 10 times as much for.
Starting at about 70dBA though I usually grab something else, like the Timsoks or the Himalayas, etc… but anyway … at those lower levels the LM do a fantastic job, ‘better’ in almost every way than the EA1000 as well, at least to my ears and with those specific mods. 65€ VERY well spent.
YMMV, as usual.
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I usually listen around the same level (60-70 dBA) And your mention of the EA500LM peaked my interest in that set. Are the mods something you did yourself or does it work just as well for low level listening stock out of the box?
Yes, I did a number of extra mods on my Simgots and most of my other sets, including internal ops … replacing the wiring w. silver, adding dampening materials, enlarging port holes here and there, … but just playing around with the extra nozzles you get with any of the Simgot et. al. sets (+ tips, cables, DACs, …) can change the sound quite a bit and you can move on from there if needed.
Thing is that the drivers in the EA500LM are top notch and I’m not the only one who prefers this set (modded to taste in a synergetic signal chain) over some that cost x times as much. YMMV.
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Got an EJ10 to demo atm - my actual Top 5 list - in no particular order depending on mood - would look like this
Maven II
Night Oblivion Uranium
Astrolith
EJ10
Plunge Audio Dynamic / Turris 12 Ti
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Man EJ10 is a sonic riot…
9 Likes
Latest update (in order), always subject to change:
- ISN H60
- Softears Volume S
- Penon Fan 3
- KiwiEars Aether
- Thieaudio Hype 2 (selling soon, as H60 makes it redundant)
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Current listening-
Timsok TS316. After the initial “wow” still enjoying them but can be fatiguing and heavy in the ear. Doesn’t seem to respond as well to warmer sources.
NiceHCK NX8. Great languid bass. I like a piezoelectric scratching up the treble.
DDHifi Surface. Gentle mids and highs with a thick low end.
Kinera Skuld. Fun. A lot of light shone on the mids.
Night Oblivion Butastur. Sounds dry and odd to me. Can never guess what music it’s going to work with.
2 Likes
Among the collection so far that I have, the Juzear Defiant for me has been the de facto IEM for its price that somehow live up to its name for it is really defiant for its given price, due to its overall tuning and presentation out of the box.
Sure it is not the most technical well-versed set but the musicality of it is the charm of the set and as well as its tuning for I found myself just using it more often that I should be. Really worth the blind buy, especially from a guy who is coming back from a burnout recently.
4 Likes
I would preface this with my use case for IEM’s is more for competitive gaming and playing the drums.
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Aful Explorer - mainly used to listen to music when I’m making audio notations and casual listening.
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Kiwi Ears Cadenza - attached to my TRN BT20XS mainly for when I work out or out and about as an EDC.
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KZ x HBB PR2 (with the Mesh) - mainly used to switch between my Cadenza when I miss listening to planer drivers on the go.
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Fir Audio Electron 12 - my CIEM just for when I am at the studio playing the drum kit.
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Simgot Super Mix 4 - my main IEM attached to my desktop Dac/Amp, used mainly for when I’m gaming, editing, listening on music on the desk and working. I’ve said before that this would be my “endgame” for now, mainly because I am looking at the I/O Volare to replace this.
I do have headphones for when I want to just sit back, have a glass of whisky and listen to music Senn HD650 and Hifiman HE400SE, but when I’m at my desk working, a headphone becomes too uncomfortable for me as I listen to wearing glasses and becomes too hot.
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Not a lot of love for the Skuld. Lovely sound, but by modern standards it’s very bass-light. I love what it does, though.
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I don’t find it bass light myself. The turnover of products and “correct taste” is so rapid. With trends, nonsense peddling and micro influencers having really geared up in recent years a lot of great stuff gets dumped as redundant.
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Current Rollout:
- GL-AMT16
- IER-Z1R (now with Tri Clarion Tips)
- BGVP Phantom (OG)
- AFUL MagicOne
- Mangird Top Pro
AMT16 has actually been on Mario Kart World duty. Only set I have with the treble shape/profile that doesn’t make the sfx muddy-sounding. Switch 2 works with some dongle DACs (RU7 in my case), which is how I’m able to get it to full volume. I was struggling with the IER-Z1R again (nearly sold it), but with the Tri tips and off the Apos Gremlin (hybrid tube amp), I’m back in business.
3 Likes
Update….
- Night Oblivion Uranium
- Elysian Annihalator 2023
- Icelabs Spectrumica
- Thieaudio MMIV
- Yue9 Audio Que
Honorable mentions
- NiceHCK Rockies
- Alpha Omega Ra
- Ruviest Audio Prelude
7 Likes
I’m in a shoving stuff deep in my ears phase.
Etymotic ER4XR (still one of my favourite IEMs)
Etymotic ER3SR (dampener changed -brown- to lower impedance and increase detail)
Etymotic ER2XR (dampener changed -red- to increase warmth)
YU9 404 Not Found 2025
YU9 U556
Both YU9 sets are Ety style fit and are variations on the Etymotic ER4B (Binaural) sound. The 404 is a great set.
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Recent update on my top 5:
- Softears Volume S (new arrival)
- FatFreq Deuce (bass)
- Letshuoer Cadenza4 (at the office)
- Ziigaat Arcadia (daily with BT adapters)
- QKZ x HBB (favorite cheap set)
6 Likes