How in-ears are OBJECTIVELY worse than over ear headphones
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- Опубліковано 27 тра 2024
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00:00 - Intro
01:26 - IEM preference variation
02:50 - Your ears are why IEMs sound bad
08:15 - Fit & resonances
11:29 - Distortion & other factors
12:58 - How IEMs are BETTER than headphones
14:09 - Elephants
16:30 - Conclusion
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![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](/img/n.gif)
So basically the best way to know if you will like the sound of an IEM or headphone is to actually try it and hear how it sounds to you?
yes
If I have to count the amount of times I have actually heard this (Albeit in many other wordings); This guy just made it so better relatable than everyone's else.
The way it is usually worded sort of gets you into a "Challenge accepted" mode. Whilst; ironically, it is all about adapting to what your anatomy pretty much is all about.
There is a very thick line between "enjoying" your music and "looking good" like a pro "Acidophilic wannabe".... But it is all too often crossed for the stupidest reasons.
Fortunately; we are at times, the options are too overwhelming. Though unfortunately, the options are too overwhelming.
This helped me understand why I sometimes feel like my left ear sounds different from my right. I initially thought it was hearing loss, but after checking frequency sweeps over a few days I ruled that out. I suspect it's due to having different ear canal volumes.
It's likely that it is wax causing that.
I had this problem where my right ear would sound plugged if i put it at the same depth of my left. I then washed out my ears with hydrogen peroxide. A large clump came out, i then rinsed my ears out with hot water, lightly scrub the outer ear and shallow canal entrance. Now it sounds better. The issue is lessened.
@@BlackthorneSoundandCinema Its definitely ear wax. My left ear hears less bass than my right ear, which makes my hearing slightly unbalanced. I remember years ago I would pan my left side more than my right side without knowing or realizing why when panning different instruments in a beat. I only noticed the imbalance when I got some IEM's and panned the same kick 100% to the left and 100% to the right.
@@Sir_Corgerus bleach!?
Or it’s years of going to gigs and standing off centre from the P.A. And having one ear get rinsed while the other is more protected. That’s what I’m think has went on with me, standing off centre in loud venues means hearing loss occurs at different rates in each ear I reckon.
Great video! Good job putting this together. Was very informative.
The convenience of having high quality sound without having to commit to headphone hair for the day is invaluable to me. The good thing is plenty of stores offer 30 day return periods if you can’t get the sound you want from an iem.
not in my country, sadly
I wonder how do they recover the loss, I don't see them selling used IEMs. I hope they're not reselling them to us as new
This is why I love the DCA Aeon 2s. Light enough where you don't get headphone hair.
I just shaved my head to be honest. Solved this among other issues
@@residentzero Most collector like to keep their IEM I guess based on a lot of audio forum that I've surf. And beginner/casual listener are going to be happy with their purchase. This is based on thread like head fi and reddit and mostly focus on IEM store like Linsoul and Hifigo though.
In other words, IEMs bypass your built-in EQ.
So if you hate EQ, you *must* use IEMs.
With your line of reasoning, we should all poop outdoors
@@itsabodh See they made a joke, pooping outdoors is very inconvenient and therefore not a good joke
I do hate EQ..........
@@ImAWSMDanny Then you're the perfect target audience for the ridiculous prices people charge for specific tunings.
That is incorrect since when it comes to money, I have none
Bravo! So many variables makes for complex measurements and solutions. Love how you showed the difference between 711 and 5128 between DD's and BA's. You can't trust a graph to tell you how it's going to sound. It's only a guide!
Clicked to be angry, stayed to learn something 🫡
W video fr
I love HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite over any IEMs ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Title is clickbait but the content is so good!
🤬
Excellent video. Love the coverage of the pure physics and psycho-acoustics at play. Well done!!
More technical content please :)
Thanks for this great video!
This was an amazing video. Thank you!
I’ve always preferred IEMs for their detail retrieval and sub bass performance compared to their headphones counterpart. I need a Susvara to match the resolution of a 64Audio U12t.
me too
Electrostatics would do detail much easier and cheaper, usually it's their tuning that is jank in comparison, eq could do wonders.
curious if pressure relieving tech like our Apex would solve that variance in LF measurements. Also something to consider with regards to the potential fit/resonance issues is custom IEMs which typically get right up to the second bend. It eliminates quite a bit of that variance, and thankfully so, because in live music consistency is very important when one monitor engineer is mixing for up to dozens of people on stage using the same model; he needs to trust that they're hearing roughly the same thing.
This is quite refreshing just coming from ASR reading a thread where someone was highly motivated to change to a $100-200 IEM that was maybe 1dB closer to Harman than his current IEM and that presumably sounds identical to Monarch Mk2 which measured the same😅
Foolishness. Audio is not a hobby for all I guess....
@@corrrect I think TruthEar Nova was a big part of the thread. No link I'm afraid.
Eq'ing to the super review target does significantly improve most IEM's. But I've yet to hear an iem that sounds natural. No, actually, the blon 03 did pretty well, but that bass.. L shaped tuning.
@@mikafoxx2717 Same until the Dusk that arrived a week ago. Categorically more natural sounding than anything I've heard before except for Oluv's personalized EQ's that are quite similar.
@@hartyewh1 Awesome. I use etymotic because of the deep fit but they could use a do-over with tuning, they're so close and bypass most iem troubles by doing deeper insertion. The er2sr seem to be the best tuned one yet, apart from their Evo multidriver.. oh well.
Can we get a confirmation that no elephants were hurt in the making of this video?
The point about the brain expecting the sound to be channelled to the ear drum via a pinna and its acoustic effects is an interesting one.
Like others I find iems slightly more resolving but over ears seem to provide a more realitsic impression of space and superior lateral imaging.
Both are great in their own way. Wouldn't necessarily say one is better than the other, just different.
In ideal circumstances IEMs have nearly perfectly linear treble response compared to the best headphones which translates to high levels of clarity, but it usually takes a lot of fiddling around with tips to get there (if you can get there).
@@DEALUX Yes, my in-ear beat my Stax when it came to the treble.
@@DEALUXTip rolling is better and less expensive than buying an expensive headphone that you end up EQing.
Man, this was a surprising video in a good way. I really appreciate educational videos like this because it spares me so much googling and misinformation. ty
Do you have any advice for an audiophile soon to acquire hearing aids? I have two listening venues: one wearing Focal Utopia headphones connected to iTunes on my Mac, the other my open air rig with Klipsch La Scala's 10 ft away. Is it advised to remove hearing aids in either or both of these environments? Is there any consensus on which hearing aids produce the best fidelity? Thanks.
Great video. Very informative. I do use iems (u12t, ie900 and many others) but they never sound as good as a headphone to me. Hd650, stellia and Arya stealth in my case
It would be really helpful to have a video on how to understand our own anatomy and how it affects our expertise of sound, e.g. guide to using the sweeps etc
great video. appreciate the knowledge. can face id measure the outer ear? if they get any better with volume level EQ id have to switch to iphone and let go of wavelet.
so what is the pinna effect on the frequency response typically? and is there a particular region of the iem graphs i can see this assumed pinna effect for a particular iem?
Very important question: The IEM Harman Curve doesn't consider the lack of the pinna and therefore make some sort of compensation?
Thanks
My left and right ears' canals are different shaped . I had to use 2 different types of ear tips then only I could fit the Symphonium Meteor , most people universally praised Dunu's IEMS being very comfortable fits . On the other hand, I had extreme difficulty getting comfortable fit with them ( SA6 and Talos )
Yeah, both the SA6 and Talos fit me horribly hahahha
Had to sell them both
@hikarimiracle I am listening to meteor right now and I also have the same issue. I use one size larger in my right ear. B2D was also not a good fit for me. I like the isn audio EST50's fit though.
I feel a constant pressure un my right ear. It has been there since 2017. Only one time, the pressure was gone. And with my right ear, I could hear more.
The earcanals are also connected to the nose cavity. People aren't symmetrical.
How much of this equation do CIEM’s solve by chance? Or would the variation end up just now being in the drivers since they’re molded to varying shapes?
Dear Andrew, I got the point. I'm glad someone informed me of such detail.
I'm a regular music listener who just came to understand flac, dsd or mqa. Dac/amp, lossless, hi-res audio, etc.
I use regular 30ohm open back headphones.
I have not experienced IEMs before.
But I can differentiate between average and good pieces of sound gear.
Learning and studying for the last 3 months.
I have come up with the following:
Truthear zero red.
Truthear Hexa.
To be experienced with ibasso dc03 pro.
In your expert opinion, which IEM is better. Or if you suggest something to me, application; only music listening. I can't stretch my pocket that much.
Finally, e.g, $100 headphones vs. $100 IEM, which sounds better, detailed, and is true value for money. Again, before giving your verdict, keep in mind I'm a poor guy.
Will wait for your reply. Appreciate!
Most would recommend the reds. I recommend kiwi ears cadenza ($35k). I'm a normie tho, who can't tell the difference between different audio devices. I prioritize comfort. Because if my ears hurt the sound doesn't matter.
This video helps me understand why I have always had a huge preference for listening to music over loudspeakers...
Hi guys i was wondering what IEM's people who like the signature of chord dave + susvara + amp would like?
That was awesome. Is anyone working on taking 3D ear canal scans and mapping them to hrtf etc?
Earcanals left vs right are different, i've got a real problem fitting in ears, I went back to aurical earbuds, from jbl, good sound, bass and weight in the sound, cheap! I'm happy. 🤗
I've had excellent success mixing with IEMs using Realphones speaker emulation on top of it. Using just the IEMs for mixing is a catastrophe, but the combination of IEMs blasting the sound straight into your brain together with room emulation creates a VERY believable illusion of a room. Much better than anything I experience with Shure HD650 or high end AKG headphones. My biggest problem with IEMs is that they are very sensitive to how they are inserted in the ear and that can cause an unbalance.
another great video, thank you andrew
I have always been a headphone guy. I recently got the kiwi ears orchestra lites and it changed my perspective rather drastically. For 250 dollars, the detail retrieval is ridiculous. I don’t think there is a 250 dollar equivalent in headphones . However, my 660s, nighthawks, and sr225 certainly are more natural and expansive, but the kiwi ears destroy them on detail. I doubt I would switch solely to iems, but if I had to suggest audio equipment solely on value I’m suggesting iems. You don’t need an external amp or dac for the vast majority of them and an Apple dongle measures exceptionally well
Dude me too! I got the clear ones for FPS, and they’re amazing. I bought a DAC/ AMP and it also stepped it up a notch
@@Tyson-luvs-nuggets you have to get the tangzu sancai eartips. It’s a night and day difference. Honestly, I probably would have returned them if it wasn’t for those eartips. The sound quality and comfort is exponentially increased
The Blessing 2 Dusk is widely regarded as a very warm, calm sounding IEM, but the resonance peak sounded extremely sharp and sibilant to my ear canals.
The only way to attenuate it was to use Spring Tips, which are quite short and made the nozzle go deeper which probably shifted the resonance peak to an acceptable place to me. This also happened to dms, but it's not a common thing reported for this IEM.
I can't use any Moondrop IEMs (tested Variations, Blessing 2, Chu 2) without decreasing volumes at ~ 3k-5k. I was too lazy to try to fix it with tip-rolling. Maybe my long european male earcanals are not compatible with the ones Moondrops were calibrated too?
Andrew, help me decide, Focal Bathys or MoonDrop Variations?
I think it would be beneficial to make a video on how to use cursor based sweeps to EQ. I.e, how to EQ by ear.
I prefer to listen to my Kato because of the comfort of IEMs in that it doesn't feel heavy like headphones. But yes, it's not perfect. I use Spinfit CP100 size S for the left and size XS for the right. Also, it seems the shape of my left and right ear is different too. At some point, if I push in too deep, I have no sound in my right ear as if the ear canal has a blockage or something so it's never perfectly/fully sealed, just enough. But my left ear has no issues. I'm thinking of buying another pair of IEM though in the 500USD range next year (third world country so I don't have much money to spare, otherwise I'd go for endgame with the 1000 USD IEMs.) I know it has its weaknesses but I don't think I can go back to headphones. So, I'll be checking out next year's product. I think it's immersion for me. IEM is more immersive be it for music or movies as oppose to headphones. But then again, I have never bought expensive headphones so I wouldn't really know. The most expensive headphones I bought was 30 USD and a KZ IEM cheaper than that has better sound so I just take it as IEM> headphones.
I love my Kato but I think I need more details, separation, and better technicality. The tuning is almost perfect for me. But yeah, I'm a bit weary because I think my right ear has a very different ear canal shape (I havetrouble with the right ear producing more ear wax than the left since I was a child too, it's weird).
As for graphs, I honestly don't really care. I see "harman neutral" and I think it'll work just fine. I rely more on how people rate it I guess. In the end, it does feel like a gamble.
The day I open an audiophile bar&cafe the first signature drink we'll have will be called "Andrew's 6K". A refreshing lemon and lime flavoured liqour with just a bit too much acidity on the first sip.
👌
Do it!
Man... 😂😂 I thought about open an "audiophile cafe" too... I thought I was crazy...
@@imjustherefortheks It's the ideal thing for this hobby. Just need to consider monetization well. Few cups of joe won't pay for $50k worth of audio gear.
What my ears tell me and the listening experience is the only thing that matters. In my experience there is no over-ear headphone made that can match the performance of the best IEMs; not even close. And it isn't as though I was buying cheap over-ear cans. I was auditioning or buying a lot of flagship headphones: Focal Utopia (auditioned), Focal Stellia (owned), Meze Elite (owned), Audeze LCD 5 (owned), Dan Clark Audio Expanse (auditioned). My Empire Ear Ravens and Noble Audio Kublai Khan make them all pathetically bad and I ended up selling all of the over-ear headphones and I have zero regrets. I still have a pair of Sony MDR7506 over-ear headphones that I use in the recording studio, but for listening enjoyment for me it is IEMs all the way.
I think the take away you mentioned is spot on. Graphs are one thing and ear sound is another
_you guys are the chosen one_
I like my iems, but tonality wise I've always prefered speakers and over ear headphones. But you can definitely improve IEMs with some tweaking on EQ
Nice video as always
I like items for the detail in the midst and treble.but I also like over ears because they have a wider soundstage and they sound more natural
A friend who has many headphones said he haven’t had IEM because they sound small but my bassy Sony IER Z1R to me at least doesn’t sound small
Should also include flathead buds like TGXear and Riku..best of both worlds 👍
If this video included the flaws with earbuds it would be 3 hours long 😂
@@listener-reviews "If this video included the flaws with earbuds it would be 3 hours long “..that’s how long it would take graph them 😴apart from that listen to them and learn chump
It wouldn’t fix the impedance issue but if we all had the same reference IEM or one of a small set to serve as a reference, it would make the measured data more meaningful
Not sure how. The fit between IEMs isn't consistent, on rigs or humans.
Also QC
@@DEALUXthat's why etymotic went for.. deep insertion. It works, but their neutral tuning really isn't neutral, the 2xr is probably the best tuned version of theirs, same with the others, eXtended response is the more neutral and regular one is closer to diffuse
AGREED!
lol for real tho, I never reach for my IEMs at home. Portability is primarily where IEMs excel over all else.
Mostly same, but sometimes I get tired of overears and I just want to listen to headphones without having anything on my head.
I never reach for headphones in general beside comfort but even that sometimes i would just use a more suitable IEM. I just don’t felt the same excitement in headphones.
I never reach for on ears, why would i when iems are almost invisible for wearing long sessions@@koresawa519
@@koresawa519Well, if we could, we'd all use high-end speakers/monitors, right? :)
And yeah, it's always interesting to see just how much variance there is in this hobby. My ear canals have always been more sensitive to the pressure and get tired/sore after an hour using various tips. _BUT,_ it is nice to not have to deal with headphone-hair for the rest of the day...
Can someone explain to me like I'm five because I'm not sure I understand. An IEM bypasses the pinna so corrections only need to be made about the canal, while a headphone needs to consider pinna and canal effects. Wouldn't this mean IEMs need to make fewer assumptions about the user and can be easier made to be more objectively correct (whatever that means)? Yes I know insertion depth is another factor but let's put that aside for now.
The brain is accustomed to processing sounds that have been naturally modified by the ear's outer structures. When IEMs bypass the pinna, the sound reaches the eardrum without these natural modifications, which can lead to a different perception of sound quality or frequency balance. This difference in perception is why some people might find an IEM like the IE 900 to have adequate energy in the mids, while others perceive it as recessed.
@@asplmn erm...babies do not come out of the "canal" with headphones on, do they?
outer ear is designed for sound coming naturally, the headphone sound is already way off.
some headphones do angled or multiple drivers to account for this, but its still not the same.
i do actually prefer iem's for imaging, but even this sometimes is fake due to better resolution and depending on the production etc
so yes, marcius is partially right, its somewhat bad "EQ" vs skipping it entirely
What about ear wax? How does it affect the Head-Related Transfer Function?
I had to give up on iems because my ears require different fits, which usually led to one side not seating properly and channel imbalance. I also don't find any iems comfortable past 30 minutes. It's a shame because I love how portable they are and the cost to get a good one is comparatively lower than over ears.
Have you tried the Etymotic ER2SE or ER2XR?
They are a different shape compared to "regular" Chi-Fi IEMs and maybe could fit you better.
Bonus point: they sound awesome 😎
I love my dt770 a lot. But i use my IEMs more (ea500 lm currently) as they produce an incredibly holographic detail in my head. Both are good, depending on the mood
UA-cam guru's guided me to the Moondrop Variations, but they sound tinny and not natural to my old ears. So, they are relegated to the simple sounds and they are perfect for highly compressed music and movie sound tracks.
What IEM ( < 1K$ ) would you recommend for well recorded accoustic music?
My story is almost the same, though I kind of knew what I was getting and I thought that I had a preference for that kind of sound at the time.
At first I liked it, but disappointed came rather quickly.
BUT...
It still has merits and those are not to be underestimated, imo. The most significant one is smooth and well extended treble response. And not just that, it also aligns with the B&K 5128 DF target remarkably. Better than any other IEM I'm aware of.
And that, iny opinion, is much more important than anything else with regards to FR, since it can be so easily corrected/adjusted to taste in the bass and mids via EQ (in contrast to treble, which is most of the time a HUGE pain to correct, if at all possible).
Since I'm yet to be perfectly satisfied with stock tuning of any IEM or headphone I tried and there's always room for improvement, I always EQ anyway. Hence I've come to realize that Variations, in fact, would have been perfect for me (and arguably anyone using EQ), if not for some frustratingly persistent fit issues.
Though it needs to be mentioned that there's a number of more reasonably priced IEMs now that achieve that smooth and even treble extension, like Simgot EM6L and Truthear Nova. They don't have such DF target compliance in the highs and have a bit less extension, but it's forgivable at those price points and they can still be worked with to great results.
Have you tried EQ-ing your Variations?
Variations are not that good.
Monarch Mk2
Sony ier M9
Softears studio 4
Is my recommendation for you
@@unclethathurts If they have a problem with Variations sounding tiny, I would definitely caution against the Studio 4, it is even thinner sounding than the Blessing 3 which a lot of people think sounds thin.
I have always had bad luck using eq, until today, so the Variations are way better with eq. I am using -1db@3000, -2db@8000, -2db high shelf@10000.
Live and learn.
Kiwi Ears Orchestra...not the lite.
Wait! You can manually tune them!? Please make a tutorial one please! Thank you!
Interesting. I became more of an iem guy in the past 3 years. As an electronic musician, I need headphones/iems that sound good and can be used to mix well on. The LCD X 2021s are a wonderful and luxurious over ear set of headphones that can be used to mix professionally. Expensive (but worth it imo) at over $1100. At half it’s price, though, the 4 BA Symphonium Meteors sound most like the LCDs out of all the iems I have heard. Dare I say that the the Meteors sound more pleasing. Similar full bass impact (idk how they did it with such a small shell but it’s genius) and beautifully and smoothly tuned with some treble extension hardly seen in any other iem that has smooth treble 5-10k. Also has better instrument separation and just sounds more engaging. Iems are more subjective however as you point out - because our ears are all different. These are just my observations and my love affair with the Meteors gets stronger as I hear more and more sets. Still love my LCD X 2021s. But I can’t see purchasing another over ear headphone for a long time. Meanwhile, I can’t stop buying iems though that may slow. We’ll see how the Ziigaat Doscincos are when they arrive soon and if I’ll keep them. Seem similarly tuned to the Meteors - Love that the they had a cameo in the vid! My name is moons and I’m an addicted basshead. Love your well thought out content.
This video might long and complicated but it is really necessary.
the Sub bass on moondrop variation is so good and I love it, but the problem I have with that IEM is the vocals always feel too thine for me
Just EQ it
I just can't get over the amount of cable dragging sounds I get from IEM's. I haven't tried many cables but I rarely if ever have experience with headphones. That and it makes me so much more prone to get an ear infection.
your ears are simply not designed to have sound injected directly which is what iems do.
Its not how we have evolved. The fact they work as well as they do is quite amazing really.
My left ear has a much sharper curve in before going towards the ear drum than my right. Iems are a nightmare and other than timeless I haven't found any comfy ones. Love my aur neon pros tho even though i can only do 2 hours or so
Yes, the only definitive solution is one where the IEM is top custom for each ear. I personally do notice a significant difference between my ears that becomes harder to notice the further away the sound source is (IEMs, evident; speakers or actual instrument, non noticeable at all)
I hope to see you at CanJam next week Resolve!
Would the same pinna argument apply to on-ear headphones?
On-ears have a slightly different yet related problem in that they tend to crush the pinna, and the way it crushes the pinna can vary. So in a sense yes, it is also more difficult to predict their sound.
Living in a noisy country in the tropics, IEMs are absolutely essential for any listening outside of my home: the isolation and lack of any uncomfortably hot contraption on my head....
Love all this nerdy sh!t, btw; thanks so much!
So.. iems are not objectively worse.. it just may be harder to find the best match for you even with available measurements
Even at 57, it's a delight to be educated on something new. Back in the early 80's school was boring because we were taught by teachers that didn't want to be there. My parents told me that real education starts when we enter the workplace, very true although something else also eventually came along..... UA-cam.
we need budget chi fi headphones, there's no sub 50$ market like iem do
IMHO, reviewers are trying to help with eq graphs etc. The biggest elephant in the room, the tools to measure sound produced are inaccurate, regardless for headphones or IEMs. The only solution is to live test what ever it is are planning to buy.
Regarding the overeat headphone argument, I must point of that until today, there's no technology to mimic ear canals. Because biological skin , flesh and skull response very unique to incoming sound.
Last point, considering IEM send sound nearly direct to ear drum without sound chamber effect, IEM should be closer between chart vs sound.
IEMs are ruled out for me simply because at my PC playing games and talking on a mic I hate having a head voice. ANC fixes that but wired IEMs with ANC aren't really a thing so I stick with open back headphones for stationary usage and airpods pros for on the go.
Super fun video
nah I'll still look for graphs.
ı know that they are not perfect. but I know that I like a bass that starts from 250hz in 5128 measurments. my ear anatomy might be different but this is not an issue in here: if you can measure a 14 minutes 34 seconds in an unsynchronized clock would that make a difference ? no. this is the same with graphs.
its a nice way to quantify our preferences. and we should use it.
I wonder if what Apple did with the AirPods Pro 2 has gotten us closer to solving the issue of IEMs having to make assumptions of your ear anatomy. I imagine an IEM with sensors or microphones that "measure" each individual ear and can adjust its sound accordingly to account for anatomical differences with active DSP is probably the future. I think I even remember you and Crin talking a little about this in a livestream a few years ago, though I think this was before the APP2 released.
both the airpods pro and especially airpods pro 2 sound way better than they have any real right of sounding, the detail is kinda lacking in comparison to traditional iems, but the soundstage and lack of any real tonal problems is unheard of for an iem, ESPECIALLY one that doesn't fit deep into your ear canal at all.
I just wish I could get a wired set of them lol
Fire content
I love HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite over any IEMs ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
My personal opinion on this...
There are 2 reasons for one to use IEM:
1) When one is an artist;
2) They are (way) cheaper.
Higher end iems allow greater detail retrieval and make subtle details easier to hear. Plus with a proper seal iems have a greater sense of immersion imo
Wouldn’t Iems have less variation than headphones because IEMs are much more directly closer to the ear canal. Vs headphones where headphone pad quality, hair, strength of the headband, head and ear shape all affect the seal and how the sound travels from the headphones to the ear canal. Also all things being equal, IEMs are easier to tune and have less variability in quality control because headphones have more components that are much larger than IEMs such as the huge speakers in headphones
Blue Headphones are all top notch even though they mostly do microphones. Blue has never sold a bad headphone :)
Should do a video discussing the opposite, too. Love my Kiwi-Ears Melody Planers
With certain headphones I actually have a channel imbalance biologically. As mentioned at 10:20. Though mine isn’t natural but from a surgery that extended into my sinus cavity.
I refuse to use any IEM without some kind of EQ. IEMs tuned to Harman in ear (like Moondrop) or even the new B&K target still sound WAY too forward from 3 kHz - 6 kHz for me compared to the rest of the frequency range. Using sine sweeps confirms just how forward those frequencies are for my personal ears and HRTF. Even compared to the HD600 it's too forward for me.
This is why you should use population average for EQ
Great breakdown of all this! Simple enough that it’s easy to grasp, but still in depth enough that those who are already a bit in the weeds have something to take away
Can't see how any iem are worth many thousands of dollars.
Why doesn’t open back iems angle their drivers like some headphones manufacturers so they hit the pinna just a thought 🤔
Because IEMs bypass the pinna all together. They go straight into the ear canal.
You mean flat head earbuds?
I don't like the IEM cables or fit tbh. Not very comfy or nice to handle. If my old Sony MX650 earphones hadn't broken after a week I'd have kept them forever. Is it also normal to have horrible harsh treble with IEMs?
Yes but "horrible" is subjective, you can get used to it. I find it hard to listen to the excessive bass of most over ears. I still love my dt770. But also my IEM. When to get used to the high treble and find a better IEM and tips that tame the highs, it gets highly enjoyable for the amount and level of details you get.
i have no natural pinna gain (i have no idea how) so every iem that boosts 3k (almost all of them) sound incredibly shouty to me. makes it impossible looking for a good pair for me.
What about binaural recordings? How would they affect IEM vs headphones? Would you get a double effect with headphones or is the pinna effect removed post recording?
Most binaural recordings compensate for the HRTF (including the pinna effects)
Whoa is this why I agree with others about their opinions on headphones but when it comes to Iems I always think they are too trebly and too sharp even when it's the same person saying I would like them that knows me well? Crazy
speakers > iems > headphones. wrt detail retrieval and value. given that room acoustics and speaker placement are handled.
headphones > iems for a desk person without ambient noise problems and ear pressure sensitivity. viceversa for those that have ambient noise, move around, not sensitive to ear pressure.
Good thing I'm watching this after buying IEMs. Undisputed king of timing.
Make a video about "cursor-based sweeps"?
Andrew's twitter post suddenly makes a lot more sense now
"objectively" is a missnomer but i accept it as it works as an introductory concept. However there's no "objectively" better or worse headphone/earphones, there is however, "consensually" better or worse ones, which means a majority have reached to an agreement and usually that works to help deciding into buying one. Obviously a majority didn't determine everyone individually.
Headphone bass also acts as bone conduction in IEMs. It vibrates a lot of air that moves vibrates your bones from around th ear. That's why Iems have bass shelves and headphones don't. That's why speakers have 10x more bass that headphones when they measure the same. This is just my theory.
I love me some elevated 3rd harmonics 😋
If you're into iem's then EQ becomes a must. That's been my experience anyway.
agree, thats i choose Bluetooth dongles like BTR15 which can eq very well
Yea if your IEM’s tuning is bad sure.
@@koresawa519 even if the tuning is good that doesn't mean it's going to be good in your ear. It's likely to be okay but it's not a guarantee. If you buy a lot of iem's eventually you will buy something that looks great on a graph but the way you hear it is surprisingly different.
@@liammadridista2395 just get something you preferred, it's the same thing for headphone, it's only because all the "good" headphones are flat and easier to tuned to your preferred FR. But I've yet to hear a headphone that has the same technicality performance as a good IEM. But it's still subjective because IEM isnt as spacious as headphones.
What an interesting thumbnail to click on while my Variations are in my ears.
From the video's thumbnail, I'll assume that IEM's sound worse to you because you didn't know that you need to attach a cable before putting them in your ears 🤣
Wow I look away from the Audio community for a few years and now there's actual rigor and analysis
Hello, congratulations and thanks. You said very correct and sacrosanct things. At this point, even more than before, what audiophilia actually consists of. If it is something objectifiable, it is evident that, at least in IEM, it clashes with the inevitable subjectivity given by anatomy and physiology. Not only are the ears different from person to person, but even in the same individual the two ears are different. But then, can IEMs that are created with a monitor function really perform the function of a monitor? ... it would seem not ... could supra-aural headphones really perform the function of monitors or are the considerations made for IEMs also valid for them? ... after all, for listening with environmental speakers, as we know, a lot depends on their position and the materials of which the environment is made ... oh no.. I would say that audiophilia is becoming more and more an abstract concept. .. beautiful, but abstract ...
Have to agree with the start, Stax have never made a bad headphone....
Those 4 dots tell a story...
They do....@@enjoshi-godrez8775
I mean, for 64 years of headphones they've done pretty well. The old ones still aren't turds these days, compared to a lot of old headphones. They're just.. different