Quick Comparison of 63 IEMs (Spreadsheet)

[dfkt]

I made a preliminary list of all the IEMs I own (or have tested exhaustively), comparing major aspects, quality- and quantity-wise. Sorted in order of my personal current preference (best on top, worst on bottom):



The list and ranking may change... but maybe it's useful to some of you guys.

And always remember: This is just my opinion, my experience with these IEMs, and your mileage may vary!

[CrowdAds]

[jeweladdict]

you forgot the price column

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by jeweladdict

you forgot the price column

Added... Only the MSRP, you can find most of them cheaper if you look around. (Atrio = $130 on eBay, Vibes = $70 on Amazon, etc.)

[thedodgyguy]

We seem to share broadly similar tastes, interesting.

[ZenChick]

Awesome job as always!

[FreeZ5]

dfkt:

Fascinating chart. Thanks a bunch. I'm a little surprised at your good for the Vibes under Microphonics, because I thought that there were a number of complaints about that on Head-Fi. But if you haven't experienced it, that's great.

Also, I don't like the term Bad for Isolation. Low may be better, as some people would prefer an IEM with less isolation (riding a bike, walking in the big city). I live in a small town. No bus/subway/train rides, so I don't give a toot about isolation. Of course, on my twice a year plane ride (round trip), I might like better isolation

I think it makes the MylarOne X3 stand out in price/perf!!

Steve

[WalkGood]

As always dfkt very useful spreadsheet, thanks! Now I’ll have to find a pair of MylarOne X3’s...

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by Ray

Now I’ll have to find a pair of MylarOne X3’s...

Official place to get them is here: http://www.jaben.net/shopping.html - $57, free shipping, marked down price on the parcel, so you're not going to pay customs/duty.

Jaben is the biggest headphone store in Singapore, and "CrossRoads" is their own in-house brand, AFAIK.

[ZenChick]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Official place to get them is here: http://www.jaben.net/shopping.html - $57, free shipping, marked down price on the parcel, so you're not going to pay customs/duty.

Nice! An overseas manufacturer who speaks my language!

[WalkGood]

Thanks for all da info dfkt, finally ordered mine this morning , now I can’t wait to get my hands on them from all the reading I’ve been doing.

Respect Bredda

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by FreeZ5

I'm a little surprised at your good for the Vibes under Microphonics, because I thought that there were a number of complaints about that on Head-Fi.

I'm wearing the Vibes cables over my ears (like I do with all other IEMs, too), the cables even keep the bent form due to their stiffness. Microphonics certainly are no problem with the Vibes for me.

Originally Posted by FreeZ5

Also, I don't like the term Bad for Isolation. Low may be better, as some people would prefer an IEM with less isolation (riding a bike, walking in the big city).

Yes, you're right - there is no "bad" for low isolating phones in certain surroundings.

Reworded the "isolation" and "bass-quantity" columns - and added a "clarity" column.

[dfkt]

Cool Ray, I'm sure you won't regret it - they're in a whole other league, compared to the CX300's. And they have Y-cables, whee!

[driguez]

i dont see the E500's on that list of popular IEM's

[dfkt]

These are just the ones I own in that list... I'm not a fan of the Shure sound, generally speaking. Neither am I a fan of the Etymotics, as you might have seen (got them from a friend).

I might get an SE530 for a review, I'll post my impressions then.

[driguez]

Originally Posted by dfkt

These are just the ones I own in that list... I'm not a fan of the Shure sound, generally speaking. Neither am I a fan of the Etymotics, as you might have seen (got them from a friend).

I might get an SE530 for a review, I'll post my impressions then.

cool, just FYI E500 = SE530 and if you havent heard them please do, these are just awesome

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by driguez

cool, just FYI E500 = SE530 and if you havent heard them please do, these are just awesome

I know they're the same (only model that's "shared" between the old E series and the new SE one) - I only heard the E2c - E5c yet, and am not really a fan of the analytic sound... but let's wait for the SE530 and see...

[WalkGood]

Got home to a happy surprise package on it’s long journey from Singapore, my new CrossRoads MylarOne X3 IEM’s arrived! I’ve loaded up pink noise to burn them in, but couldn’t resist listening to at least one song. What a crisp clear sound, definitely worth every penny, thanks dfkt for the recommendation (Big Up Mon). I’ll follow up this weekend after burning them in for 8 hours and taking some of my own pictures. In the mean time, here’s picture’s posted in dfkt post.

[MusicOnly]

So how would the Shure E2s fit into that chart? (I know you don't care for them, but it would be a useful comparison.)

[dfkt]

In that price range, you can get some better IEMs...

[MusicOnly]

Originally Posted by dfkt

In that price range, you can get some better IEMs...

OK, rather than start yet another "which IEM" thread, what would you recommend?

I have a pair of Shure E2's that I was quite pleased with until the intermittent wire break on the left channel. Specifically, the E2's always sounded clean, with the plastic sleeves they're very comfortable (I once fell asleep wearing them), and they block external noise well.

The most important factor is that I absolutely cannot stand mushy sound (which seems to be an issue only with the bass). I have tried the Creative whatevers and found them unacceptably mushy (they were also a little to small to be a good fit for my ears).

I don't need perfect sound isolation, but it needs to be pretty good.

Among the widely-recommended phones there seems to be a pretty big gap between the $50 range and the $200 range--not much in between. $200 is a little steep for me, but I can certainly go to $100 or a little over.

Thanks to anyone for recommendations.