So I’ve been in this hobby for a while now and have my Clears, HE1000s, 660s and Focal Bathys. Pretty happy and feel I have a fairly good understanding of the market. I love the Bathys when I’m travelling but also interested in really reducing my overall hand luggage on planes for obvious reasons. So I’ve started to look at IEMs - that way I can travel really light. It seems to be another whole world of discovery on what to buy. I have my AirPod Pros which are fine for work calls but not happy with the quality for music. I was going to get Royal wireless but then read wired IEMs are much better for the price (?). Wired is fine for me as I’ll be on the plane. To start the process I saw the Meze Albas tick many boxes and are in the sale on Headphones.com. I also saw the RE2000s from Hifiman used to be in the thousand dollar range and now $200. Tbh I’m shooting in the dark. Are those two a good start? Hoping for Alba for general use and RE2000 for classical. Is the degradation for wireless a true statement. Looking for some 101 advice here - and I’d say my expectations are set by the Bathys. Thx!
You can do far better for wired IEMs than the Alba and better than the RE2000. What’s your preferred sound signature and price range?
thx. I’d say 300 for budget. As for sound signature - good question. I’m looking for an “easy listen” tonality in the IEMs if that’s not too general - like my 660s. I use my HE1000s for classical with the excellent soundstage etc, but not looking for that from these IEMs. Cheers.
The new Softears Volume S might be a good first iem for you. I think for now you can purchase them for $320. Their warm neutral tonality with the exact correct timbre are very “easy to listen”, good technicality as well. I had one myself arrived last week and am pretty satisfied, purchased another pair for my friend.
Here is a fantastic review of Volume S from Mr. Super Review, hope it helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lfRM1uFNOw&t=16s
Thanks! Will take a look.
If you are new to IEMS I advise to start fairly inexpensive and see how you get on with the issue of ‘fit’. I invested in 3 expensive pairs (EE LEGEND X, 64 Audio U12T and Thieaudio Monarch2) before learning that -no- commercially available eartips worked for me, and I would have to go with audiologist provided custom molds. Fortunately I found Advance Ear Fidelity custom after market tips and was able to get them for all three of those TOTL IEMs. Having done so, despite many criticisms of them, I found Legend X to bring the best combination of tonality, timbre and stage/imaging. A more recent version, the Legend EVO was better reviewed, but I cannot comment as I haven’t heard those. I did need warranty service from Empire Ears and they were excellent to me. Crinacle provides a rank list of IEMS and produces individual IEM reviews as well, as do also the Headphone Show guys. Good luck!
There’s an unexpected aspect to starting with iem’s - allocate $50-$100 for buying a bunch of tips and seeing what works for you.
The fit is critical for iem functioning and you just can’t predict what type of tip will work for your specific ears. Try different sizes and materials until you find a winner.
Edit: Wireless technology (ie bluetooth) is not capable of the bandwidth required for high-res or even cd quality sound. You will be giving up “maximum” sound quality when using wireless.
For many this ends up not being an issue because the environment you are in can be noisey anyway, and your attention may be mainly on activities going on - working out at the gym, navigating the airport, etc.
Out of interest, if you have an iPhone, have you set the audio quality of Apple Music to lossless? I only recently discovered that the default setting was “high quality” 256 kbps, and was pleased with the better sound with my AirPod Pros when I switched to lossless.
I also thought that switching the tips on my AirPods improved the sound. I’m now using AZLA XELASTEC, which a bunch of people on the forum recommended. One benefit is that you can buy them in half-sizes to get as close a match as possible to your ears. Amazon sells a variety pack of sizes to figure out what you need.
Going back to your original question, IEMs are so varied in sound, I feel like I won the lottery when I fell in love with the bassy sound of the first pair that I bought (64 Audio Nio). If you’re able to visit a CanJam or other audio show, you’ll be able to try all the different models from multiple companies. It’s remarkable how even one IEM company can have a whole range of different sounding IEMs.
If you want to pack really light, a Bluetooth amp like the iFi GO blu is indispensable too. One less cable to worry about, and great sound in a tiny package.
Yep, Volume S is a good recommendation. A cheaper one, at around $105, is the AFUL Explorer. Same kind of “meta tuning” with less shouty upper mids and relaxed treble.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have the highest quality that I can on the I-phone, and that’s also why I am going wired. Quickly realizing, as others have also mentioned, about fit and the right tips. Just ordered some spinfit tips. The journey begins!
Great recommendations. Thank you
Thanks. Appreciate the advice. I’m fast realizing the fit and tip journey that go with IEMs.
I would not write off wireless IEMs. I have the Sony WF-1000XM5 bluetooth IEMs and HifiMan Svanar wired IEMs, driven by the Topping G5 amp. The Svanars offer superb fidelity and sound utterly beautiful. These have received rave reviews at $2k. I find the Sonys to stack up well. I use them way more due to convenience. Although I love the sound of the Svanars and get more pleasure from them, I never feel short-changed listening to the Sonys using the Bluetooth LDAC codec, available from most Android phones these days.
Since you asked about the RE 2000s, I will share my experience a year ago auditioning Svanars alongside the HifiMan RE 2000 Silver and the RE 800S (already owned). Listening was via bit-perfect USB output from my phone to my Topping G5.
HifiMan RE 2000 Silver (currently $349): Perfect balance, no obvious peaks. Good soundstage, accurate timbre. Immersive, engaging. Detail is there, but well short of what I am used to with my HiFiMan Arya over ear 'phones. Snares and cymbals did not sound quite right.
HifiMan RE 800 Silver (currently $99): Sounded better than the RE2000 on snares and cymbals! Bass hits harder than on the 2000s, sounds good but is a little too thumpy. Harsh on massed vocals. Screechy when the mix gets crowded.
The HifiMan Svanar ($2,000) untangled complex tracks, made it clear that the RE 800 bass is exaggerated. Airy sense of space. Liquid vocals. So engaging.
I have never listened to the HifiMan Svanar Wireless, but the reviews are very intriguing. I have the impression that they have a similar presentation to the wired Svanar’s airy soundstage, but obviously lacking the benefit of a beefy amplifier. They look like a steal at current price of $249.
So I have heard both, the wireless was nothing like the wired in terms of sound quality, at least the one I heard. If you like the wired one, I’d caution you about the wireless one.
Thanks for adding some insights. Any thoughts on the RE2000 Silvers? 200 for open box seems to be a great deal.
Haven’t heard them sorry.
For travel I have two suggestions, both iems with a neutral signature but with very different fit. For me isolation is important when traveling, I always want to hear as little as I can from other passengers, trafic etc.
Etymotic 2SE sound the best from this family in my opinion and doesn’t cost that much… Dynamic driver, super isolation, neutral resolving sound. The big but with the Etymotic is the fit, it needs to be very deep and some cant stand that. Personally it doesn’t bother me.
Next suggestion is a more conventional iem except for the fit (again), but not very deep this time. The Plunge unity stays in place, are super resolvolving, dynamic, neutral sound signature. Expensive but worth it.
Mike