Many of you know, I’m not generally a fan of IEMs, and have been reluctant to spend too much on something that is just not available for me to try before I buy. I don’t think I’ve got ears that are more sensitive than others, but they probably are hairier, (gross) and I find that many IEMs are just not comfortable for more than say, an hour.
Well late to the party I am, because I finally found a pair that I like, having bought used Audeze iSine 20s from @Earmuffs. This is doubly weird because my only prior experience with Audeze was the closed-back LCD-2, and it was not a good experience.
The iSine 20 does not seal tightly in my ear and clips on with a rather better designed over ear clip than Koss does with their clip ons, or an in-ear clip that I have not tried. They almost stay in place without either. They are big, which is probably why they have decent bass without a tight seal. I have not tried them with foam tips because I’m OK with the silly-cone ones. They come in plain and ribbed tip design (Just like Trojans).
The Cipher cable does DAC duty and works great with my i-sources. ROON has EQ presets. I even like the tie-fighter look of the shell.
From what I glean, the iSine 20 is sort of a mid-level earphone/IEM/whatever. I have posted on the Audeze thread here some questions (nobody seems to know the answer) about what the heck is going on with Audeze’ mobile supply. Are they getting ready for new models, or have they discontinued, or do they plan to make more? Is it a Covid supply issue? But most of the models are sold out or nearly so.
Given that I like the sound signature, and everything about the iSine 20, except perhaps the fact that it does not cut out, either passively or actively, external noise, where do I go from here? I have finally experienced a decent quality IEM that might rival headphones as a use case. While I’m not ready to drop a boatload of cash immediately, I am an opportunistic scavenger. What should I be looking at as a step up? The nearly sold out LCDi3? The $2400 LCDi4? Something from a different manufacturer?
I think that the single-driver planar is a good design, and suspect that an electrostat would be similar if it is large enough to provide bass and does not have crossovers. I recall liking the STAX SR-001 when I heard them years ago, but I wasn’t a sophisticated listener back then. But they come with a lot more baggage than a planar, requiring an amp…
This is not an urgent question, but something I’d appreciate seeing bantered about. “What would the old fart like? Yeah, but he’ll never spring for it… Just suppose”