shotgunshane’s IEM (custom and universal) recommendations, favorites and classics

I missed out on a meet, where I could have tried it. But hopefully soon. These days I am not interested in IEMs that are picky about sources due to hiss and impedance mismatch problems. Else, I probably would have picked up a used pair by now.

 

I think it's a lot less picky than Andro around impedance mismatch and imho its reputation as a hiss monster isn't really deserved. I've used it on a number of sources and never really had an issue with hiss, except perhaps a little on the ZX300 but even then it didn't detract from my enjoyment of it.

 

Has anyone heard the HFM RE2000 (gold or silver)? The silver can be had for 800, and is apparently the same as the 2000 dollar gold, aside from housing material, packaging and cable.

I'm intrigued. It's a single DD which HFM has a pretty good track record with. (The RE0 got me started down this wormhole and I often pined after the RE262's supposedly great mids at a time when 149 dollars seemed like crazy money for IEMs).

 

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/hifiman-re2000-impressions.4597/

 

Speaking of their re-released 'Silver' editions (aluminum housing) they're reportedly tuned different from the originals (gold-plated brass housing) and the prices are certainly more reasonable. RE2K Silver is more similar to the original and seems like a very good deal at the current asking price compared to the original. I'd like to try either out sometime to see what it's all about, but even $800 is a bit more than I'd consider myself and the ergonomics seem odd.

I had read a few places the RE800 Silver has reduced the peak in the upper mid / high range and a bit more sub bass forwardness/extension with the usual Hifiman style mids. Perhaps a tad more on the thin side of average whereas the RE2K is said to be thicker sounding. Still impressions had implied it shares traits with some of the older model tunings in various ways, just with the new driver technicalities, so that's got my attention. Had wanted to try those and now they can be had new in the lower $200 range apparently. I personally prefer the style and ergonomics of the RE800 and fixed cables don't bother me too much, recabling these types of IEMs isn't too difficult if it fails haha. I don't think too many here have tried them out yet.

Since HFM is always re-releasing old models of their planars, why not a modernized and more robustly built RE262/272? Could be cool anyway.

 

Hearprotek ultra comfortable sleep IEMs:

I frequently listen to audiobooks at night and tend to get annoyed by IEMs that dig into your ear canal whenever you turn to sleep on your side. So, when I came across these cheap "designed for sleeping" IEMs, I decided to give them a try.



They're less than $20 / €20 from Amazon, so I said to myself, what can go wrong with these?

https://www.amazon.com/Hearprotek-Lightweight-Silicone-Headphones-Relaxation/dp/B082D8VGMQ/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hearprotek-Lightweight-Silicone-Headphones-Relaxation/dp/B0832K9P66/
https://www.amazon.de/Hearprotek-komfortable-Lautstärkeregler-Schlaflosigkeit-Seitenschläfer/dp/B0832K9P66/

Well, I was in for several surprises...

First of all, I received 2 pairs. Yeah I know, it says "2 pairs" in the product description on Amazon, but for some reason I thought they meant 2 earpieces (I was expecting the usual sloppy Chinese translation). But no: it's actually 2 pairs!

Second, these are probably the most comfortable IEMs I've ever tried. Not only are they really tiny, but they don't have nozzles. Instead, they just consist of drivers wrapped in full silicone sleeves that end as dual flanges at the front. Which of course means you can't swap tips, but the dual flanges are very soft and comfy, and should fit most ears.

Third, they really do sound decent. In fact, I was so surprised by the great intelligibility and vocal timbre when listening to audiobooks, that I tried them with music and still thought they're not bad at all. Then I measured them (DF-compensated):



Blue graph is the stock response, it's gently downsloping and free of peaks up to 13kHz or so. The high peak seems to be a resonance, dependent on how the driver interacts with its full silicone sleeve, because once I shoved the driver about 1mm towards the front end of the sleeve, the peak disappeared and I got the green response as a result.

Bottom line, these are some very nice budget IEMs for a number of reasons: they're really tiny and should comfortably fit even the smallest pair of ears. Bass is neither rolled-off nor bloated, and reasonably quick. Mids have great natural timbre with decent resolution. Vocals sound a little warmish, but quite realistic. Treble can be anything from slightly peaky to slightly subdued, depending on how the driver interacts with its sleeve and your ear canal. I'd suggest the trial and error method: if necessary, shove the driver cautiously forward in its sleeve, until you find a treble signature that suits you. Everything else, like soundstage, separation, imaging is quite decent. Even the TPE-cable isn't half bad, though a little noisy.

At less than $20 / €20 for 2 pairs, they're certainly no giant killers. But bang for buck with these is through the roof. One thing's for sure, the sound quality is definitely an overkill for audiobooks.

 

Thanks @james444 - will give them a try for my wife, who has small ears and is not overly demanding of her headphones.

Also have to say that's some A+ photo shopping of that picture. No one could ever tell that it's a stock photo that's been altered...

 

@james444 The Amazon listing says:

Does the 4-pole 3.5mm jack have an iOS or Android pinout?

 

I can only attest that the remote works with my Android LG V30. Unfortunately, I don't know about iOS.

Edit: just found in the user manual that pressing the multi-function button for 3 seconds will start Siri. Guess that means it's supposed to work with iOS too?

 

So I lost my right side Drop + Nuforce Wireless IEM and I don't know how, semi-pissed about it. It is also out of stock at the moment.

What are some other good wireless IEMS for basic music/calls I should be getting?

 

Crinacle has put a lot of research into True Wireless Earphones.

https://crinacle.com/guide/tws/

 

After quick reviews, including which design I liked best, I went for the Sony WF-1000XM3. So far so good with the extra Sony tech, but I do have to give the slight edge to the NuForce Move IEM with having good EQ out of the gate. Too bad they can be small to the point that you forgot about them. :/

 

I have the Sony’s too. Freaking boring sounding. A little better with EQ but never great. I mainly got them for the noise canceling as I’m often out in a loud city.

 

So far ATM I don't think they are boring sounding. In matter of fact out of the box I think they are slightly hot in the highs. What I do is do a slightly downward EQ by slightly raising the bass and lightly go below 0 in the highs area. I also don't use the default tips that came in the box, I actually put a small size CA Compy on these and it helped a bit. There's more tech on these than the NuForce IEM. Still, I give the edge to the NuForce IEM with good sound sig out of the box. Lets see if these being bigger than the NuForce will make me not lose these. We'll see....

 

Hahahahahahahahaha. So I found my right side NuForce Move IEM just right now. I don't know how that happened. I kind of like the Sony's if I EQ them.

I'll try them both for a week and see how it goes!!!! I can always return the Sony's to Worst Buy in 14 days.

 

Ooooo, someone got the THX. You might perhaps think that might be the only amp you need for IEMs. I haven't found one IEM yet that didn't have weird output z issues.

So Penon is in HK I presume?

 

Good to know. I'm curious on why you are using 2.5 > 4-Pin XLR? I tried both SE and Balanced input to the THX, and all headphone inputs. Except for more power on the Balanced Input, I honestly haven't found a difference in any of the inputs. To be fair, it isn't a true Balanced amp.