My curiosity has been piqued on this one for a while so we may or may not have a unit on the way soon!
Anyways my top 5, in no particular order:
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Focal Utopia - In my opinion, one of the best TOTLs for all around listening. It doesn’t excel in any particular FR region like most TOTLs where there is a trade-off for great low-end but messed up treble or wonky mids, etc… It also truly looks and feels like a TOTL headphone and it is one that I could easily see myself grabbing a pair of down the line (with different cables of course).
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Rosson Audio Design RAD-0 - Has one of the more natural tonalities that I have heard in a headphone and is just an enjoyable listen all around. The weight can easily be an issue for some but my neck has grown in size twice over since we started the company from office listening so that’s no longer an issue for me. Because of the individualistic nature of the designs, it’s a to each their own kind of thing when it comes to design but I of course have a soft spot for the ones I made last summer. I like describing the RAD-0 as a LCD-X on steroids because it sounds a lot like what the LCD-X wanted to be.
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64 Audio U12t - I had a hard time choosing between this and the Legend X but the U12t ultimately won out in the end. While I do really enjoy the Legend X, I do feel like the low-end can be overbearing at times and the U12t has a more balanced presentation. The U12t will probably be the IEM I go with down the line (or the A12t possibly) as it’s right in line with my tastes. I enjoy the Fourte and Trio but both are a little too bright for my personal tastes.
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Focal Stellia - Easily my end-game closed-back headphone (although I haven’t listened to the VC for any proper amount of listening time). The Stellia is luxury. The pads and headbands are like little clouds, the sound is lush and warm with surprising resolution that I did not expect on my first listen with them and it just hits all of my personal preferences. Once again it’s a Focal headphone that I would get rid of the cable ASAP but at least the Stellia cable is lightweight compared to the Utopia cable. And it doesn’t use the LEMO connector which makes swapping cables nice and easy.
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Empire Ears Valkyrie - Once again I had a hard time choosing between the Valkyrie and the Legend X but for me the Valkyrie is probably the headphone that I could see myself spending the most time with. For me, the Valkyrie is a better Polaris II. It’s more detailed, the low-end is more controlled and the treble is done just right. Make no mistake though, this is a “fun”-tuned, V-shaped IEM that will most likely turn off anybody looking for neutral or Harmon. But they have a gorgeous shell, easy to fit and are right up my alley.
Honourable mentions:
HEDDphone - Very close to cracking the top 5. If they are able to shave down 100 - 150 grams it would probably be there. I would take it pretty easily right now over the HD 800S as I don’t find the tuning fatiguing at all.
Focal Clear - This would be in the top 5 if the Utopia wasn’t there.
Audeze LCD-4 - I really like the LCD-4 but I would take a Utopia over it just for the sake that I find the Utopia to be the better all rounder and the Utopia is more comfortable. There’s something to be said about the low-end, planar slam that’s just so addicting and Audeze’s house sound is generally a treat. Of course, the LCD-4 does suffer in the treble region and I haven’t played with Audeze’s Reveal Plugin with the LCD-4s to fix it.