Scoring Rational
I score on a subjective scale from 1 to 10 with the latter being the best sound I’ve ever heard. I am taking into account tonality, technicalities, and mainly, my subjective preferences. Please see the following for reference:
- 3/10 = Average
- 5/10 = Good
- 7/10 = Excellent
This is a metric devoid of any other factors including price. Of course, it stands that there are inherent biases from knowing the price alone, but one of my main issues with any grading scale that factors in price is that it subsequently fails to take into account time. So something that is good at one point in time will eventually fall behind the curve thus becoming obsolete. Unless a reviewer is constantly updating said score, it’s not a very useful measure. The only event in which my scale “breaks” is if there’s something that wholly blows past what I’ve heard before or is absurdly bad.
Testing Methodology
- Most of my critical listening for reviews is done over a period of 10+ hours. I rarely – if ever – hear audible differences after my first couple hours with an IEM. If I really like an IEM, or it’s mine to keep, then I’ll often throw on upwards of 50+ hours.
- All listening is done using the stock cable and stock ear tips (if provided). If not, I default to silicon tips.
- All listening is done off of an iBasso DX160, and unless specified otherwise, all tracks used are lossless FLAC or higher.
- I rarely listen louder than 75dB, so take that for what you will if you’re a head-banger.
Disclaimers
- What I hear is not what you hear. There’s a myriad factors that can influence how one hears an IEM.
- If you don’t hear the flaws that I hear, well, that can only be for the better! I don’t necessarily encourage seeking out said flaws or trying to find an issue with something you’re happy with.
- Take it with a grain of salt. I have high standards, and I rarely shy away from critiquing stuff. Why should you let me – or anybody else, for that matter – detract from what makes you happy?
Change-log [11/27/20]
MMR Thummim – 2/10, MMR Homunculus – 1/10, Fearless Audio S8z – 6/10, Fearless Audio Tequila – 1.5/10, Noble Audio Sultan – 3/10, Vision Ears Erlkonig – 7/10, Moondrop Starfield/KXXX – 5/10, KZ ZS10 Pro – 2.5/10, DUNU SA3 – 1.5/10, Shure SE215 – 2/10
| Score | IEM | Driver Setup | MSRP | Based On | Signature | Notes |
| 9 | 64 Audio U12t | 12BA | $2000 | Personal unit | U-shape | Slick, resolving sound signature. Excellent macro-dynamics and the gold standard for BA bass. |
| 9 | Sony IER-Z1R | 1BA/2DD | $1700 | TSAV demo unit | Mild V-shape | Stunning coherence for a hybrid, and an excellent bass response that plays best with female vocals. |
| 8.5 | Empire Ears Odin | 2DD/5BA/4EST | $3400 | Headphones.com loaner unit | Neutral-Bright | Top-notch detail retrieval and positional cues with an upper-midrange emphasis that will be fatiguing for some. |
| 8 | 64 Audio Trio | 1DD/2BA | $2300 | Headphones.com loaner unit | Neutral | Rich, controlled bass and holographic imaging. Held back by a noticeable disjointness. |
| 8 | qdc Anole VX | 10BA | $2300 | Loaner unit | Neutral | Top-tier resolving capability. Held by lack of engagement factor and imaging quirks. |
| 7.5 | Campfire Andromeda 2020 | 5BA | $1100 | Headphones.com loaner unit | U-shape | Out-of-head imaging, spacious headstage, and a safe, laidback tuning. Bottlenecked in dynamics (macro-dynamics and bass slam). |
| 7.5 | Sony IER-M9 | 5BA | $1000 | Loaner unit | Neutral-warm | Good timbre, coherency, and bass response for BA. Warm, hard to fault all-rounder. A better VE8 at half the cost. |
| 7 | 64 Audio Nio | 1DD/8BA | $1700 | Personal unit | L-shape (M15) | Spot-on decay and timbral coloration at the expense of mid-bass bloat and loss of resolution. |
| 7 | Audeze LCDi4 (w/ Cipher) | Planar Magnetic | $2500 | Headphones.com loaner unit | Neutral | Top-tier technicalities, particularly in imaging and speed, held back by a slight upper midrange suckout. |
| 7 | Vision Ears Erlkonig | 13BA | $4500 | Head-Fi tour unit | Neutral reference | Settings 3 and 4 recommended. Excellent detail retrieval but microdynamics are dubious in the midrange. |
| 7 | Vision Ears VE8 | 8BA | $2700 | Head-Fi tour unit | Neutral-warm | All-rounder that leaves something to be desired in the excessively warm timbre and rolled-off treble. |
| 6.5 | Moondrop Blessing 2 | 4BA/1DD | $320 | Personal unit | Harman | Excellent tonal balance, solid technical chops, and punches well beyond its price point. |
| 6 | Empire Ears Valkyrie | 1BA/1DD/1EST | $1600 | Head-Fi tour unit | Extreme V-shape | Gobs of bass, a paper-thin midrange, and yet the technical chops to keep everything together. |
| 6 | Fearless Audio S8 Pro | 8BA | $490 | Personal unit | V-shape | Aggressive with good speed and technical chops. Perhaps a bit too fatiguing in the treble. |
| 6 | Fearless Audio S8z | 8BA | $589 | Linsoul review unit | Neutral | Solid all-rounder that doesn’t merit the extra $100 over S8P. |
| 6 | Jomo Audio Trinity Brass | 1DD/4BA/2EST | $2800 | Loaner unit | Warm V-shape | Extremely warm, inoffensive tuning that neuters technical performance. Strong bass emphasis that lacks control. |
| 5.5 | Campfire Audio Solaris 2020 | 1DD/4BA | $1500 | Headphones.com loaner unit | V-shape | Fun set that lacks coherency – textureless bass, gritty midrange, and sparkly treble – and borders on bloat due to excessive timbral coloration. |
| 5.5 | Etymotic ER2XR | 1DD | $170 | Loaner unit | Etymotic Diffuse Field | Excellent tonal balance and coherence for the price that lags slightly in tech. A terrific value proposition SQ-wise. |
| 5.5 | Thieaudio Legacy 9 | 9BA | $550 | Loaner unit | V-shape | Fun set that lacks the technical proficiency to play with the big boys. |
| 5 | DUNU DK-2001 | 3BA/1DD | $299 | Manufacturer demo unit | V-shape | Surprisingly technical set held back by its fatiguing tonality. |
| 5 | DUNU DK-3001 Pro | 4BA/1DD | $470 | Manufacturer demo unit | Neutral | Highly inoffensive set that plays it too safe in the treble. Severely lacking in treble extension and air. |
| 5 | Empire Ears Hero | 1DD/3BA | $1350 | Headphones.com loaner unit | V-shape | A surprisingly dynamic IEM marred by its excessively bright treble. |
| 5 | Etymotic ER4XR | 1BA | $310 | Loaner unit | Etymotic Diffuse Field | Resolving, but suffers intangibly: One-note dynamic slam, BA timbre, and compressed staging. |
| 5 | Moondrop KXXS (plus Starfield, KXXX) | 1DD | $190 | Personal unit | Harman | Not the most technical set, but great tonality and cohesiveness that plays well with most anything. |
| 5 | Sony MH755 | 1DD | $10 | Personal unit | Harman w/ bass boost | Terrific tonal balance, bass quality, and even technical performance that belies its price point and janky build. |
| 5 | Vision Ears EVE | 6BA | $1300 | Head-fi demo unit | Warm | Exceedingly warm w/ treble roll-off which begets lack of technical ability. Dead boring. |
| 4.5 | Campfire Audio Ara | 7BA | $1300 | Headphones.com demo unit | Neutral | Downwards-compressed dynamics, fails to be anything more than resolving. |
| 4.5 | DUNU Luna | 1DD | $1600 | Manufacturer demo unit | Bright | Technically competent, but with major midrange quirks and fatiguing treble peaks. |
| 4.5 | Noble Kaiser Encore | 10BA | $1800 | Headphones.com demo unit | Bright | The epitome of BA timbre and a treble peak that goes too far. |
| 4.5 | Etymotic ER3XR | 1BA | $200 | Loaner unit | Etymotic Diffuse Field | A darker ER2XR with cutbacks in staging, timbre, and dynamic slam. |
| 4.5 | Moondrop Blessing | 4BA/1DD | $400 | Personal unit | Harman | Good technical chops but has an overtly analytical tone that kills any life. |
| 4.5 | Samsung Galaxy Buds | 1DD | $130 | Loaner unit | Harman | Great bass response and a very agreeable tonality. |
| 4.5 | Tanchjim Hana | 1DD | $160 | Loaner unit | V-shape | Tanchjim’s answer to the Starfield. Decent technical performance hampered by an overly forward upper-midrange. |
| 4 | AirPods Pro | 1DD | $250 | Personal unit | Diffuse-Field | Poor dynamics and a hollow treble response, but a solid tuning overall. |
| 4 | BLON BL-03 | 1DD | $40 | Loaner unit | Warm | Bassy, warm, and well-tuned but lacking in any notion of technical ability. |
| 4 | Bose QuietComfort Earbuds | 1DD | $279 | Personal unit | Warm-neutral | Strong sub-bass emphasis with unremarkable midrange and rolled-off treble. Easy listen that lacks technical ability. |
| 4 | Final Audio A8000 | 1DD | $2000 | Headphones.com loaner unit | Screechy | Far too peaky in the upper-midrange and treble to be considered safe. |
| 4 | Samsung Galaxy Buds+ | 2DD | $150 | Loaner unit | Harman | Great bass response marred by an unnaturally bright treble response and midrange. |
| 3.5 | Thieaudio Legacy 3 | 2BA/1DD | $120 | Loaner unit | U-shape | Fairly safe tuning that leaves something to be desired in the treble and dark timbre. |
| 3 | Moondrop SSR | 1DD | $40 | Personal unit | Diffuse-Field | Overtly pronounced mid-range and highs with rather good imaging and resolution as a result. |
| 3 | Noble Audio Sultan | 1DD/4BA/2EST | $2900 | AudioTiers tour unit | Warm | Uninspired tuning that manages to be fatiguing thanks to lower-mid treble emphasis. Average technicalities. |
| 3 | Periodic Audio Be | 1DD | $299 | Loaner unit | L-shape | Excessively warm and bassy without the technical ability to redeem itself. |
| 3 | Tin Hifi T2 | 1DD | $50 | Loaner unit | Neutral | “Dead-neutral” with emphasis on the former. |
| 3 | Thieaudio Voyager 3 | 3BA | $160 | Loaner unit | V-shape | Unabashedly in-your-face set that’s severely lacking in technical performance. One viable setting, 01. |
| 2.5 | KZ ZS10 Pro | 1DD/4BA | $50 | Loaner unit | V-shape | Near-textureless bass and a treble response that is nothing short of fatiguing. |
| 2 | Audeze LCDi4 (no Cipher) | Planar Magnetic | $2500 | Headphones.com loaner unit | Telephonic | Top-tier technical performance that collapses due to an extreme midrange suckout. |
| 2 | Massdrop Noble X | 2BA | $250 | Personal unit | Dark | Dark, muddy mess with few redeeming qualities sans being fatigue-free. |
| 2 | MMR Thummim | 1DD/4BA/4EST | $4500 | AudioTiers tour unit | Dark n’ Bloated | Poor staging, layering, and subpar transient speed, not to mention horrible tonality. |
| 2 | Shure SE215 | 1DD | $99 | Loaner unit | V-shaped | Non-existent technicalities, a front-runner for the slowest IEM there is. |
| 1.5 | DUNU SA3 | 3BA | $130 | Loaner unit | ?? | As difficult to describe as it is hearing what went wrong here. |
| 1.5 | Empire Ears Wraith | 7BA/4EST | $3500 | Head-Fi tour unit | Dark | Spectacular treble roll-off, muffled midrange, and one-note bass. Truly lives up to its namesake. |
| 1.5 | Fearless Audio Tequila | 1DD/6BA | $400 | Linsoul demo unit | ?? | As difficult to describe as it is hearing what went wrong here. |
| 1.5 | Jaybird Vista | 1DD | $180 | Personal unit | V-shape | Tuning is EQ-able but technical performance is in the dirt. Good thing its earth-proof. |
| 1 | MMR Homunculus | 1DD/2BA/2EST | $1700 | AudioTiers tour unit | Sucked-out | Dipped upper-midrange and zero treble. Wrong, wrong, wrong. |
| 1 | Periodic Audio Ti | 1DD | $199 | Loaner unit | Sucked-out | The definition of a midrange suckout. |