[GravityEyelids]

Apologies if this is redundant but one of the most helpful threads I've ever read was one that asked people to rank their top 5 favorite headphones. It was extremely illuminating and lead me to find some of my favorite headphones ever. I would love to have a more modern, IEM thread that takes into account the countless options that have come out in the past few years.

I would ask that you post the ones that you simply get the most enjoyable listening experience out of. Your actual favorites and ones you use most, not simply what you view as the "top" or most clinical or technically proficient ones. Or what you want other people to think is your favorite for the clout or because you spent a lot on them. Can be ones you own or have owned.

 

[Ziadax]

In no particular order:

Beyer Xelento - While I think the Sony EXK sounds slightly better the fit is infinitely more comfortable on these. In fact I'd go as far to say as these have the best fit of any IEM I've ever used. Preferred these over the T8ie MKII simply to subbass emphasis and more emphasized treble.
CFA Polaris (v1) - Really fun V-shaped sound with decent technicalities. Also a big fan of their build quality in general. For some the dip in male vocals (and mids in general) would be a dealbreaker but I don't think I've heard a single hybrid that didn't have some weird thing going on with the mids due to driver type differences
Sony IER-Z1R - Probably my favorite to listen to and also happens to have the best technicalities of everything I've owned to date, only limited by the slightly obnoxious size of the shells. A refinement of my previous favorite the Z5 in general. Sound signature & fit isn't for everyone, and these are hella expensive (at least to me) if you buy them new.
CFA Andromeda - My 'neutralish' IEM of choice. I really liked these because they did so much right and so little wrong and actually had decent tonality for an all BA based set. At the end of the day I let these go simply because I missed the decay style of dynamic driver bass.
Airpods Pro - I use these the most often these days simply due to convenience and form factor, integration with iOS, and decently acceptable sound (for true wireless), & ANC

Honorable mention:
JVC FX-850- Oh boy the timbre and sound characteristics of these wooden bois were so unique and fun back in the day.Supposedly the FW10K is the best they've done to date with their wood dome design but I've never heard it.

 

[redrol]

Shuoer EJ07
Moondrop A8
Tanchjim Oxygen
Sony Z5
Sony 800ST

 

[genck]

Periodic Audio Be
Blon 03
Semkarch CNT1
TFZ T2
Sony MH755

DD all the way!

 

[FastAndClean]

i have small collection right now (sold a lot of it)
Blon BL03 - with sub bass boost and small reduction in the mid bass, it is just so wide and rumbly, very fun with electronic music
Etymotic ER4S - i love that with high quality recordings with real instruments, very resolving and great resolution on top
Etymotic ER4P - the vocal master in my humble collection, less treble than ER4S and the vocals stand out a bit more, a bit warmer with amazing mids

 

[GravityEyelids]

Periodic Audio Be
Blon 03
Semkarch CNT1
TFZ T2
Sony MH755

DD all the way!

The more I listen to, the more I find a prefer DD. Maybe I'm just really treble sensitive?

MH755 are my daily drivers. I have the Final E4000 coming in, but I still feel obligated to pick up the BLON and at least try them out.

 

[RikudouGoku]

LZ A6
Blon 03 (mesh mod)
Urbanfun ISS014
Final Audio E5000
Shuoer Tape (removed 3,5k peak with EQ)

 

[tgx78]

Tri i3 (slightly EQed)
KBEAR diamond (alcohol swab mod)
Blon BL-03 with (mesh + alcohol swab mod)
ISN H40 (slightly EQed)
Shouer Tape (heavily EQed with alcohol swab mod)

honorable mention:
Moondrop Blessing 2 (stock)

 

[soundstige]

TRI i3 (Graphene DD + Planar + BA)
Tinhifi P1 (Planar)
Hidizs Rainbow (Graphene DD)
Etymotic ER4S (BA)
Final E4000 (DD)

The top 5 always change slightly but there's always an Etymotic in there, and the advent of Graphene DDs and Planar drivers has basically made all my previous "top-tier" PET, aluminum, titanium, and berylium driver IEMs unlistenable. The adoption of graphene/DLC into this hobby has been the single biggest quantum leap in affordable single-driver quality IEMs since BAs were developed for use with music reproduction in the late 80s.

 

[GravityEyelids]

TRI i3 (Graphene DD + Planar + BA)
Tinhifi P1 (Planar)
Hidizs Rainbow (Graphene DD)
Etymotic ER4S (BA)
Final E4000 (DD)

Do you mind sharing a bit about your thoughts on the Final? Just ordered a pair and am excited to try them. Was planning on running them off an ES100, is this plenty of power? (Balanced if possible).

 

[baskingshark]

Oriveti New Primacy
TRI I3
KBEAR Diamond
Audiosense T800
Blon Cardinal

Honourable mentions:
DUNU DM-480 - preferred transit IEM due to excellent isolation and subbass
Toneking Ninetails - 2 tuning filter options for total of 9 potential sound signatures - from V shaped to basshead to neutralish
NiceHCK M6 with BGVP filter

 

[soundstige]

Do you mind sharing a bit about your thoughts on the Final? Just ordered a pair and am excited to try them. Was planning on running them off an ES100, is this plenty of power? (Balanced if possible).

From what I've read the ES100 should drive them easily, the E4000 are pretty easy to drive -- certainly more than any of my planar IEMs. The E4000 have a very detailed, wide, moderately midbass-forward sound. I try not to get wrapped up too much in using marketing terms to describe sound but they sound warm and "elegant" with how much detail they have despite being midbass-forward -- certainly no bloat, although the midbass presence might still not be everyone's favorite sound signature. Whereas for example the P1 sound just hyper detailed, razor sharp, bouncy, and ruler-flat except the subbass rolloff, but I wouldn't say "elegant".

 

[GravityEyelids]

From what I've read the ES100 should drive them easily, the E4000 are pretty easy to drive -- certainly more than any of my planar IEMs. The E4000 have a very detailed, wide, moderately midbass-forward sound. I try not to get wrapped up too much in using marketing terms to describe sound but they sound warm and "elegant" with how much detail they have despite being midbass-forward -- certainly no bloat, although the midbass presence might still not be everyone's favorite sound signature. Whereas for example the P1 sound just hyper detailed, razor sharp, bouncy, and ruler-flat except the subbass rolloff, but I wouldn't say "elegant".

Yep I got them in the post today. I like em so far! Seem to be driven fine by the ES100. I'm sleep deprived so can't give them an accurate listen but they're definitely inoffensive and not harsh at all, thank God. I really like more laid-back and warmer stuff. They give the impression of not being super exciting to me and having much of a "wow" factor, but it's just the first day. I'm inexperienced with IEMs and am not sure if I'm going to be able to get the same wow factor and chills and just fidelity as my 6XX or TH-X00 without spending like $500+ on some crazy IEMs.

 

[IEMusic]

1. Shure se846
2. ThieAudio Legacy 3 (actually my favorite for sound, but se846 is more versatile for me)
3. JVC FDX1
4. Audeze iSine 10 with Cipher cable
5. BLON BL03

 

[IEMusic]

1. Shure se846
2. ThieAudio Legacy 3 (actually my favorite for sound, but se846 is more versatile for me)
3. JVC FDX1
4. Audeze iSine 10 with Cipher cable
5. BLON BL03

My, how things have changed since the end of May 2020.

My top 5 now are:
UM MEST
LZ A7
NF Audio NM2+
Mangird Tea
Shure se846