Article: Best In-ear Monitors In 2023 / 2024

[Sajid Amit]

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[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi @Sajid Amit thanks for this article as well! I have many thoughts on this one.

 

I use IEMs every day and have a love / hate relationship. I've gone through many pairs and have never been 100% satisfied. One thing that I don't see addresses much is the terrible connector that most use. The two pin connector is so delicate when move side to side, rather than just being inserted or removed. Sure, side to side isn't suposed to happen, but when using these while laying down, it happens all the time. I've broken a few off inside the IEM. Such a bummer. 

 

Back to the main course. I may lose my audiophile card for this one, but I purchased Sennheiser IE 200 IEMs. I really wanted the IE 900 that you mentioned in your article, but I think the 200 is smaller. I needed small and good. Perhaps the 900 is the same size, but I couldn't find any details on the size of the driver housing. 

 

I had a wonderful experience testing the 64 Audio tia Fourté. It's an IEM I've thought about often for a couple years. I really wish 64 Audio offered these in customs rather than universal. 

 

I use the Alclair Electro 6 with electrostatic drivers as well. I'd love to give the Aroma Jewel a try after reading about it here. 

 

Last, cheers for the sense of humor :~)

 

Quote

That said, the Jewel’s stock cable is among the worst in the world, a contender for crimes against humanity. Your first course of action should be to replace the stock cable ASAP. 

 

[kumakuma]

51 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I use IEMs every day and have a love / hate relationship. I've gone through many pairs and have never been 100% satisfied. One thing that I don't see addresses much is the terrible connector that most use. The two pin connector is so delicate when move side to side, rather than just being inserted or removed. Sure, side to side isn't suposed to happen, but when using these while laying down, it happens all the time. I've broken a few off inside the IEM. Such a bummer.

 

Look for IEMs with MMCX connectors.

[Sajid Amit]

On 12/28/2023 at 11:06 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

Hi @Sajid Amit thanks for this article as well! I have many thoughts on this one.

 

I use IEMs every day and have a love / hate relationship. I've gone through many pairs and have never been 100% satisfied. One thing that I don't see addresses much is the terrible connector that most use. The two pin connector is so delicate when move side to side, rather than just being inserted or removed. Sure, side to side isn't suposed to happen, but when using these while laying down, it happens all the time. I've broken a few off inside the IEM. Such a bummer. 

 

Back to the main course. I may lose my audiophile card for this one, but I purchased Sennheiser IE 200 IEMs. I really wanted the IE 900 that you mentioned in your article, but I think the 200 is smaller. I needed small and good. Perhaps the 900 is the same size, but I couldn't find any details on the size of the driver housing. 

 

I had a wonderful experience testing the 64 Audio tia Fourté. It's an IEM I've thought about often for a couple years. I really wish 64 Audio offered these in customs rather than universal. 

 

I use the Alclair Electro 6 with electrostatic drivers as well. I'd love to give the Aroma Jewel a try after reading about it here. 

 

Last, cheers for the sense of humor :~)

 

 

 

Thanks, Chris. For me, IEMs were an acquired taste but now I can’t get enough lol! Also thanks for noting and appreciating the humor. 

[Shadorne]

Shure SE846 are my favorites

[R1200CL]

Well, by using Eartune custom fit on my AirPods Pro, I’m getting a quite nice result for 10% of the cost.

 

[Josh Mound]

Another nice roundup @Sajid Amit. Most of these are out of my price bailiwick, but I have your top two near-misses (u12t and IER Z1R) and will be doing a comparison measurement/review in the future.

[Sajid Amit]

9 hours ago, Josh Mound said:

Another nice roundup @Sajid Amit. Most of these are out of my price bailiwick, but I have your top two near-misses (u12t and IER Z1R) and will be doing a comparison measurement/review in the future.

Thanks! 

[Brian A]

To Chris' point, I like small so that I can sleep on airplanes with ear on pillow and have them stay comfortable during a 12 hour flight. Etymotic had a promotion years ago for custom molded earpieces requiring a visit to an audiologist.  I got a pair and love them; I guess I am hooked on "bottom-of-the-pyramid" Etymotic IEMs (on my third set).

 

I don't mean to be a troll; I'm just thinking out loud about how we all value things differently. I compromise (apparently!) sound quality for comfort.  Frankly, for me, I don't know why I would want such high-end "earbuds" when I prefer other options for listening in quiet environments.  My Etymotics stay in my travel backpack.

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, Brian A said:

To Chris' point, I like small so that I can sleep on airplanes with ear on pillow and have them stay comfortable during a 12 hour flight. Etymotic had a promotion years ago for custom molded earpieces requiring a visit to an audiologist.  I got a pair and love them; I guess I am hooked on "bottom-of-the-pyramid" Etymotic IEMs (on my third set).

 

I don't mean to be a troll; I'm just thinking out loud about how we all value things differently. I compromise (apparently!) sound quality for comfort.  Frankly, for me, I don't know why I would want such high-end "earbuds" when I prefer other options for listening in quiet environments.  My Etymotics stay in my travel backpack.

Which Etymotics? I’ve had several over the years. 

[Brian A]

15 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Which Etymotics? I’ve had several over the years. 

Just their ER2XR.  Owning custom earpieces, I now have the cart before the ox; I had to buy the earphone that fit my earpieces rather than shopping the whole product line.

 

Last time I had to replace my earphones, I telephoned Etymotic to ask which product would fit my earpieces.  The technician wasn't really certain and thought the ER2 were the most likely.  They do fit fine, but I am unsure what else in their product line would have also been okay.

 

I do find that the XR version, with its slight bass boost, to be beneficial for the custom earpieces. I no longer use any profile adjustment on my music player and just run it "flat."