There are so many IEMs out there. You can find some from $25-$4000 and all of them from different manufactures and even different countries. With any other product in the computer and tech world, you normally only have to find the most expensive one or the brand name and then you are golden. You don’t have to use a $25 product if you already spent $700 or $1000 on product over there. It’s already understood if you spent more obviously the product is better, hence the price tag. Or you can just know that a no-named brand couldn’t possible do what a named brand could do, hence the name brand product costing more. The brand Ferrari cars, it doesn’t matter what style, you already know you will be charged a lot of money. And you know there isn’t anything that Kia could do to put out a car that is better. It’s just not gonna happen.
With IEMs, this doesn’t apply. You have some name brands that will put out cheap products and expensive one too. Or like Thieaudio, you can find a brand that was just established recently and has already created much respect and shaken up the industry why their product without ever gracing that $2000 price tag. Or a brand like Sennheiser who has a legacy of experience in the music industry that doesn’t own the market in the IEM as it does in others markets and yet still has a huge range of IEMs but again very few that grace the $3000-$4000 range like a Empire Ears Odin. And yet even the Odin is not picked for the majority of people in the hobby even with the money and the ability to buy them because they don’t fit their ears or signature they are looking for.
And of course you still have brands like KZ who is entering the market with a lot of hype because they are delivering on products in the $25 range that have more drivers than some $1000-$3000 IEM. They look good and stylish and yet still won’t fit everyone’s style, tonality, fit, or timbre. Or they could simply just be too cheap to trust.
And then we have the masters of Chi-fi, like the Moondrop as of the world. Chinese IEM seem to be pushing out a sweet spot of prices and technology from different brands. Things like the Kato and Blessing 2 dusk have had their name whispered in forms for the last couple of years in pure respect. And yet still they don’t fit the bill for some reason or another. Either they don’t fit, don’t have enough treble, or just plan too jewelry looking for some people’s taste.
The bottom line, what I’ve learned is that there is no answer to an end game or the perfect IEM you can give to everyone. There is just too many subjective traits people look for that make the IEM so impossible to nail and yet so competitive and open for anyone to find a group that appreciates their design. For me I love mid neutral IEMs that have rich vocals and great timbre, sub bass and tonality is high on my list without any bleed in, mismatch tones. Give me the EST driver treble highs that are crisp without fatigue, and above all..the IEM must be comfortable. And for these reasons…my Thieaudio Oracle MkII is that choice for me. I don’t want colored highs or mids and don’t want unnatural timbre or BA timbre issues or rolled of sub bass and I most definitely hate recess mids. But then again, there are others that look for recess mids, or colored trebles or excessive bass. Or those that only listen to classical who don’t mind rolled off sub bass or no sub bass at all.
I can’t say they are wrong for wanting things that apply to their listening styles or genres of music anymore than they can mine. They could find their favorite IEM in a Kz model for $25 or their endgame for $200-$2000 or more. The $ expense on the tag will never prove that the product is better for you or I no more than the color of the item guarantees that the item will sound great. It’s just far too many IEMs and far too many frequency styles that could be applied to ever truly reach the best for all. It will never exist. If it isn’t the fit, color, look, tonality, bass, vocals, timbre, mids, or something else, it will be something that turns that favorite end game IEM for one person into a product to avoid for another listener.
Then finally the last hurdle is diminishing returns. You will find the higher you spend the less difference they make in performance over the price bracket below it and that starts to matter to people of common sense. So do yourself a favor and don’t get caught up in all the notions that you are missing out on something earth shattering if you don’t spend another $1000 or something. Chances are if you search carefully you can accomplish what you want in a lower tier in a lot of cases. So don’t let cost determine the possibilities of happiness.
Tech-N-Things 