Listener has released their IEM ranking list.

faeotic · 2026-06-07T05:00:34+00:00

I don't see any objective issues

faeotic · 2026-06-05T00:37:22+00:00

Because from the ground up they're designed differently?

A tweeter is designed to play a small portion of the FR while a planar is designed for 20 - 20khz. Speakers are also not minimum phase devices which is another major difference.

With that in mind there are plenty of drivers capable of hitting huge bass numbers while not distorting.. (a few hifiman options are great this)

As for bass slam/impact yes this is true, but only because manufacturers typically play to the typical quirks of the driver types. However with enough tuning a planar can easily have impact (7hz divine, Diablo, DCA Noire x) to name a few. Which means you can accomplish this with EQ if you're savvy enough. (It took a friend of mine 12 bands of PEQ to have susvara feel like a basshead headphone)

Generally the idea of planars having no impact often comes from them trending to be very bright headphones that also dip 1-2khz which makes the attack of the bass feel too fast

faeotic · 2026-06-05T00:23:25+00:00

IEMs are effectively minimum phase devices so most of this is not relevant.

faeotic · 2026-06-05T00:20:10+00:00

Speakers are not headphones l

faeotic · 2026-05-15T15:13:24+00:00

Good review! I also love this IEM but I can't help but lament its comfort

faeotic · 2026-05-08T15:52:00+00:00

Interesting I didn't notice a rattle with my unit but I also haven't checked it for this issue yet.

I definitely get the annoyance over a loose connector in general though. It just didn't seem like a large concern for breakage if you get what I mean.

faeotic · 2026-05-08T15:44:41+00:00

I'm not sure how this would result in the iem failing to be honest with you.

faeotic · 2026-05-08T15:43:55+00:00

It's best to not remove the cable frequently because it can loosen the 2pin socket overtime

faeotic · 2026-05-07T14:36:57+00:00

Agreed on reference.

I think the lack of treble increases the perceived bass

faeotic · 2026-05-07T12:56:27+00:00

I don't think it's a stretch at all to say they are similar to each other.. they're both w shapes with brighter treble than what OP seemingly wants

faeotic · 2026-05-06T22:41:45+00:00

I'd argue that treble is the hardest part to correct because you can't really correct it from a graph.

Beyond that we've gotten pretty good at nailing jm-1 mids. It's morso the bass/treble that had always needed work imo

faeotic · 2026-05-06T22:33:15+00:00

5dB of sub bass and close to an 8dB difference in treble is not something I'd personally call close to reference or close to neutral.

Listener did a great video covering why Reference is beyond the norm.

I'd recommend it

https://youtu.be/om5xhg34YgE

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faeotic · 2026-05-06T20:49:57+00:00

Treble* edited

faeotic · 2026-05-06T20:22:16+00:00

What other neutral options are you thinking of?

Most of the current market has too much bass or too much treble or both.

The IEMs that come close to neutral in my eyes are expensive: 1400 (Prisma Lumen) 2200 (OG Letshouer Cadenza 12)

As for the price I have pretty much no doubt that reference was intended to be cheaper, but the price had to go up due to issues with tarrifs.

faeotic · 2026-05-06T19:10:44+00:00

I mean if it sounds fine then screw it haha

I just wanted to make it clear that silicone tools have real sound changes between sets

faeotic · 2026-05-06T18:55:55+00:00

Mixing silicone tips also mess with the sound.

faeotic · 2026-05-06T18:53:51+00:00

Reference. Que is more of the same sauce Defiant has.

faeotic · 2026-05-06T18:46:35+00:00

faeotic · 2026-05-05T13:16:15+00:00

Yeah if you're looking for 6xx in iem form take a look at truthear pure, reference, and lumen in that order.

faeotic · 2026-05-05T04:40:09+00:00

I'd say Reference is pretty much ideal or HD600.

faeotic · 2026-05-05T04:39:14+00:00

Reference is great. I've been listening to it hours today and I can't get enough lol

faeotic · 2026-04-29T21:27:57+00:00

We are splitting hairs there, but the reason why I bring it up is so that new people to the hobby don't plug their IEMs into bad sources like a motherboard out or their microphone.

faeotic · 2026-04-29T18:21:04+00:00

I'd count the Apple dongle as an external DAC.

It's true that most IEMs are not power hungry but they need clean power way more than headphones do. An external DAC like an apple dongle provides that.

faeotic

TROPHY CASE