[GrandNagus50]

Hi,
Like a bad penny, I turn up every several years in these forums to consider new headphone gear. I buy a few things, go off the grid and listen to music, and then eventually the itch returns and here I am again. I am an inveterate basshead, and last time around I ended up buying the Sony IER-Z1R and the Unique Melody Mest (version one). The latter is not really a basshead IEM, but it has great sound quality overall and I did not regret the purchase.

Now I want to go even further up the basshead quality hierarchy. I did some preliminary research and I decided that the Fatfreq Maestro Mini would be a good, fun investment. I ordered some from Fatfreq, but this has proven a frustrating experience, as nothing has happened and my communications to them seem to disappear into a black hole. Maybe they are in between batches, who knows? My patience with them has worn thin.

I am in search of the ultimate IEM basshead experience, or at least the best that can be had for maybe $3000+. I am not impoverished, but that sure seems like a LOT of money, so my expectations are pretty high. Last time around I had discerned that the Empire Ears Legend X was the endgame for bassheads. Now, it seems that there are even better alternatives, albeit for more $$$. Is there anything better than say, the Empire Ears Legend Evo for pure basshead bliss? I tend to listen to a lot of minimal techno these days (weird for a guy as old as I am, but what can I say?) My favorite artists are Mor Elian, Sister Zo, Beatrice Dillon, and Upsammy. All female techno wizards for some reason. I also am an old Deadhead from way back (wayyy back) and I still listen to Grateful Dead live performance recordings sometimes. For the times that I want to listen to classical or general vocal/rock music I have the Mest and also the Lime Eers Aether R essential (a Drop special a few years ago), which does not get a lot of love from the headphone community but which for some reason sound great to me.

But I digress. The basic question here is, what are the best basshead IEM's for roughly $3000 at this moment?

Thanks for any replies,
Doug Greenberg

 

[IkSak]

I suscribed to this thread because I find it interesting.

May I ask two questions: 1) many people consider the Z1R as having a great bass, so what does it need for you to be you endgame bass IEM? and 2) have you consider an open back?

 

[silent-circuit]

Fat Freq Maestro SE, Empire Ears Odin or Legend Evo.

 

[GrandNagus50]

I suscribed to this thread because I find it interesting.

May I ask two questions: 1) many people consider the Z1R as having a great bass, so what does it need for you to be you endgame bass IEM? and 2) have you consider an open back?

What do you mean by open back? An open back IEM?

I guess I don't want sound leakage, as my wife would not be happy.

I am fine in terms of full size headphones at the moment: I have the Fostex TH-900 and the kind of ridiculous JVC ha-sz2000 (I say ridiculous because the "bass experience" with these headphones does not include great audio reproduction overall).

As for the Sony Z1R, sure, it's a great IEM, but I guess I am curious about what makes say, the Legend Evo (supposedly) even better. I love subbass particularly, and I have long since learned that bass quantity and quality are two different things. I own the old Hippo vb IEM's that can blast a huge quantity of bass but aren't all that great at reproducing actual music and the bass is kind of flabby.

I guess bottom line: I am curious about whether it's "worth it" to go from a really good $1700 IEM to a really good $3100 IEM. I confess that the Sony set is not the most comfortable, either. As all bassheads know, there is something viscerally satisfying about really good, clean, powerful subbass (and midbass) sound reproduction. It's MOST satisfying in a live concert setting or even with a great home speaker setup that produces a physical sensation when you "feel" the bass. This physicality cannot be reproduced via IEM's or even headphones, but I always wonder about how close an IEM experience can get to this.