Is there an iem on the market for a picky basterd like me?

I thought I’d update this thread. I wound up upping my budget significantly. Who would have seen that coming?

My current favorites are the CFA Andromeda 2020, og Solaris and Ara. I guess I’m a CFA fsnboi now. I don’t own the Ara though, the tonality was too dry like the hd650. But I’d love a chance to hear them again.

I also invested in a bunch of upstream gear.

iFI Nano
Airist RDAC
THX 789
LCX

Wheew!

so my biggest complaint now is that I don’t find even these TOTL iem’s (CFA og Solaris and Andromeda 2020) that resolving. They sound fast but my modded vintage orthos sound more resolving than even the Andromeda. Especially my t50rp.

I’m pretty surprised by this as my impression was that high end BA iem’s were resolution/detail monsters.

 

I sold the andro for same reasons, it was fast and good in parts but couldn't even outresolve stock aniso.
Have you tried the jvc fdx? Comfort (too large bore) and dirty bass aside it's the longest I heard any iem.

 

Yeah when a 40$ (heavily modified) Yamaha Yh3 made in the 80’s out-resolves a 1,200$ BA iem that’s a problem. The Yh3 also has flatter FR and has better tonality. The CFA iem’s win in treble refinement though but that’s it.

I haven’t tried the JVC because I’m fairly certain the upper mids will bother me. But I’d love to hear one sometime.

Maybe BA drivers aren’t actually that resolving?

I want to hear an LCD-i4

 

time for a good ortho iem! It should be possible if dynamic iem’s are so widely available.

 

Yeah, while TOTL IEMs are good, I don't consider them to be ultra resolving of little details. There are things I can easily hear with bigger full-size headphones that I can't hear at all with IEMs.

BAs to me sound kinda... echoey and really sharp/sibilant but not really "fast". The recent ES (more like electret?) drivers are pretty fast, but they are tuned by people who treat them like BAs, so... in the end, they don't really sound that good either.

Ortho IEMs if tuned right may sound very good... but the ones I have tried don't really sound all that good. Please don't try the i4, unless you can EQ it.

 

Haha what does the i4 sound like?

 

The i4 is fine if you feed them like you'd feed the LCD4 and wear them properly. The design is meant to be worn without a hard seal, and then it's pretty much the LCD4 but with smaller staging and obviously less bass and other things. Big portable amp or desktop amps only, though. Otherwise go with the lightning cable. I had two pairs and liked them. But if you want to use them as IEMs on the go and with a DAP, the LCDi3 is IMO the better choice as it requires far less juice.

They're not in the absolute top tier of resolution IMO but hold pretty well against midrange multi-BAs. The multi-BA's won't outresolve TOTL cans but something like the KSE1500 is definitely a contender.

 

the i4 isn’t more resolving than TOTL BA iem’s like the Andromeda or Solaris?

that would be the only reason to get one because the CFA iem’s have great tonality already. I doubt Audeze tunes them very well. If still like to hear one someday.

I contacted Linsouol/Tin Hifi about a P2 loaner but never heard back unfortunately.

 

I disagree with your opinion on the LCD-i4. Resolution wise they are better than anything else I own. That includes my Andromeda and Solaris IEMs. They could almost replace any of my full sized headphones as well they sound that good to my ears.

Listening to Mountains from the Interstellar soundtrack with the i4 is like a religious experience in my mind. I don't really get that with other headphones or iems that I own.

I am only talking about them in the context of the apple cable that modifies their base sound.