In-Ear Monitor Headphone Reviews
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Tyll Hertsens May 16, 2013 6 comments

You know what's funny about this job? You travel half way around the world and then talk to people you know well. Fang is one of those people. I'm thinking I should go to China one of these days and talk to him again.

Anyway, HiFiMAN had a couple of cool dynamic IEMs that were a good listen. Check it out.

Ed. Note: I've posted my show impressions for Stereophile, you can read them here.

John Grandberg, Tyll Hertsens, ljokerl, Steve Guttenberg, Dinny FitzPatrick May 04, 2013 37 comments

It's extremely hard to compare custom IEMs. Few users have more than one pair, so direct personal comparisons are rare. They can't be measured by InnerFidelity because they don't fit in the measurement head's ears. What to do?

Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead! In this review 5 InnerFidelity writers, blessed with the generosity of manufacturers willing to put their ToTL CIEMs through the ringer do a massive comparative review of 24 of the worlds best custom in-ear monitors.

Epic!

ljokerl Apr 10, 2013 36 comments

In a recent reddit AMA Tyll mentioned that Philips offerings have surprised him the most in recent years. Listening to the new Fidelio earphones, I have to agree---Philips did a spectacularly good job with these two earphones.

ljokerl Mar 01, 2013 29 comments

A few months ago we tested Logitech UE's new in-ear flagship, the UE 900---a top-tier, quad-driver earphone with very impressive sound quality. Continuing the budget theme of my recent reviews, I thought the company's cheapest armature-based model was worth taking a look at as well.

ljokerl Dec 30, 2012 18 comments

With 20-some years of experience in audio and the venerable ZEN mp3 player line under their belt, the folks at Creative are well-qualified to inject some serious fidelity into an earphone.

ljokerl Nov 19, 2012 23 comments

At the heart of the Ultimate Ears 900 are four balanced armature drivers with a three-way passive crossover. The design utilizes dual bass transducers and single drivers for the midrange and treble--a setup similar to that of the Westone 4 and many custom-fit earphones. Impressive as that may be, the UE 900 will need to provide a very compelling case for its performance in order to justify the $400 price tag.

ljokerl Oct 08, 2012 8 comments

MEElectronics and Fischer Audio are two relatively young audio brands from opposite corners of the globe. Headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Fischer Audio has been in the headphone business since 2006 but wasn't known to audio enthusiasts in the US until this 2009 Head-Fi review. MEElectronics caught the community's attention a bit earlier with their value-priced but surprisingly decent-sounding earphones and headsets. Chances are neither brand is familiar to the average consumer but SoCal-based MEElectronics differs from Fischer on one key point---availability.

Steve Guttenberg Sep 25, 2012 5 comments

The Logitech Ultimate Ears Personal Reference Monitors are truly bespoke audio, hand crafted just for you. They'll fit your ears only, the sound is your sound, with a tonal balance tweaked by you, for you. Accuracy isn't part of the PRMs raison d'etre, not in the slightest, it's pure audio self-indulgence. That level of customization doesn't come cheap, the PRM is $1,999!

ljokerl Sep 10, 2012 14 comments

Phonak PFE 232 ($599)
Swiss hearing aid manufacturer, Phonak, entered the earphone game in 2008 with the single driver Perfect Fit Earphone (PFE). The PFE became a hit with the enthusiast crowd for its balanced and accurate sound as well as its lightweight, ergonomic form factor. The single balanced armature driver was well-tuned and the PFE remains competitive today. Phonak even raised the price in 2010 to slot in a cheaper, more consumer-friendly model, dubbed the "Perfect Bass." It comes as no surprise, then, that although Phonak's new PFE 232 model is a "mere" dual BA, it is aimed square at the top of the universal IEM market with an ambitious $599 price tag.

ljokerl Jul 26, 2012 22 comments

If there is any one product to be credited with catalyzing my love of in-ear earphones, the HiFiMan RE0 is it. Over the years Dr. Fang Bian & co expanded the lineup to much more than just earphones, but the latest-gen RE-262 and RE-272 in-ears, like their progenitor, are audiophile fantasy through and through.

Tyll Hertsens Apr 12, 2012 37 comments

I've seen numerous comments about tip selection affecting the frequency response of in-ear monitors. I've seen lavish words of praise for Comply tips ... and rants about how they muffled the sound.

I figured we should get to the bottom of this, eh?

Tai Ming Sow Nov 29, 2011 20 comments
Editors Note - I had a good laugh reading well known headphone enthusiast ClieOS' (Tai Ming Sow) article as some of his recommendations are very familiar to me and have already been reviewed favorably at InnerFidelity, and some I had never even heard of the company before. The number and variety of IEMs Tai has heard is spectacular.

I should mention Tai lives in Malaysia, and a couple of the headphones he recommends are not available in the U.S. Thanks for the recommendations Tai.

Tyll Hertsens Aug 29, 2011 3 comments

When I saw these pop up on the internet, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. I have a pair of the B&W P5 headsets and I like them very much. They're somewhat colored but they're fun sounding, and a sexier piece of audio kit you'll hardly ever see. I was expecting a similar experience with the C5.

Didn't get it though.

Tyll Hertsens Aug 25, 2011 17 comments

I've spent a lot of time with good balanced armature monitors stuck in my ears. Mostly it's a pleasure --- there are some darn good headphones out there of this type: Jerry Harvey Audio JH13, Shure SE530, Etymotic ER4P, and Audéo PFE come to mind. I've also spent a good bit of time with in-ear monitors that use dynamic drivers. That hasn't been nearly as pleasurable.

Lately, that's begun to change, and with the Sony MDR-EX600 and MDR-EX1000 I'm thinking we've got a real horse race on our hands.

Tyll Hertsens Jul 18, 2011 6 comments

The rash of in-ear headphones over the past few years has produced an enormous amount of style over substance. All too often the bling on the outside is accompanied by horrifically bloated or screechy sound on the inside. Likewise, some makers are able to deliver great sound, but fall down in the looks and comfort department. Rare indeed is the in-ear headphone that is stylish, comfortable, and good sounding.

The Audéo PFE seems to have beaten the odds.