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[Great Hair]

The Almost-Thousand Update – In-Ear Fidelity

78 new IEMs enter the fray, bring the total number of IEMs ranked at 993.

crinacle.com

crinacle's IEM Ranking List – In-Ear Fidelity

If it's not on the list, it doesn't exist.

crinacle.com

earphones not headphones *

 

[M1chl]

Will watch thanks, need some in-ear for mastering, because now I am living somewhere where is pretty noisy.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Crinacle is a damn legend.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Been wanting a new IEM for a while, but there’s just too many to choose from.

I’d be content with something that sounds like a portable HD600 at a similar price. Over €350 is overkill for me.

 

[teezzy]

I just buy Sony and call it a day

 

[Dream-Knife]

I’d be content with something that sounds like a portable HD600 at a similar price. Over €350 is overkill for me.

Is it even possible with the smaller drivers?

 

[macfoshizzle]

The tech on iems are so good now especially coming from china, I just go the cca c12 and kz zsx for around $30 and both sound like $200+ iems

 

[Ionian]

Will watch thanks, need some in-ear for mastering, because now I am living somewhere where is pretty noisy.

You can't master with in-ear. That's crazy talk unless you're using some software that already compresses and hard-limiting does the hard work. Using a proper setup, that is not comparable, it won't translate across forms of media. Do you mean mixing?

Monitors are essential to get a mix right.

Also overhead headphones are fine for a rough take but have to be adjusted after. This is 101 shit unless you spend your time on Fruity Loops doing EDM. Impossible with live musicians.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

I would rank my music listening experience like this

speakers > monitors > headphones > IEM

IEM for me serve a different purpose then just listening to music and more about protecting my ears in a band setting.

When I got my custom inears made I thought I could combine the two aspects buts that’s just not happening. I have cIEM with 12 drivers per side and still … don’t like to use them over my other available HP or speakers.
I consider IEM more of a tool then a viable alternative to HP’s.

 

[M1chl]

You can't master with in-ear. That's crazy talk unless you're using some software that already compresses and hard-limiting does the hard work. Using a proper setup, that is not comparable, it won't translate across forms of media. Do you mean mixing?

Monitors are essential to get a mix right.

Also overhead headphones are fine for a rough take but have to be adjusted after. This is 101 shit unless you spend your time on Fruity Loops doing EDM. Impossible with live musicians.

I absolutely doing EDM, but with Ableton Live ; ) My skills definitely don't lie with live music, however for mastering, you need to make sure, that it sounds well in headphones as well on big speakers. Audio Engineering is important, so I wanted to point out, that part of mastering is done in with headphones and since open cans is due to noise, not really ideal, I need some in ear monitors. Obviously you can't skip the low end mastering by being somewhere in the studio with big speakers. This is live part of the high-end frequency cutlivation.

And hey maybe that experience goin to suck, I don't know, but I am searching for something which would help me, while I am still in home, because going alone to some music studio, is costly. So I am currently experimenting.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

I absolutely doing EDM, but with Ableton Live ; ) My skills definitely don't lie with live music, however for mastering, you need to make sure, that it sounds well in headphones as well on big speakers. Audio Engineering is important, so I wanted to point out, that part of mastering is done in with headphones and since open cans is due to noise, not really ideal, I need some in ear monitors. Obviously you can't skip the low end mastering by being somewhere in the studio with big speakers. This is live part of the high-end frequency cutlivation.

And hey maybe that experience goin to suck, I don't know, but I am searching for something which would help me, while I am still in home, because going alone to some music studio, is costly. So I am currently experimenting.

It's all a matter of how professional you want to be at the end.
A friend of mine owns a mastering Studio and had a Room build inside a room, acoustic treatment all around and two pairs of BW 801 Speakers. Headphones are used to check how it sounds, the same with evaluating the mix in a car etc, not while mastering. Headphones are just not neutral enough to master with them as you are mastering to their signature sound which could be completely different for someone else (using another pair of IEM, HP or speakers).

Don't believe the fairy tails of 60 year old mixing "legends" who say they mixed the last Red Hot Chilly Pepper record in the box using AirPods while being on an airplane.

 

[Ionian]

I absolutely doing EDM, but with Ableton Live ; ) My skills definitely don't lie with live music, however for mastering, you need to make sure, that it sounds well in headphones as well on big speakers. Audio Engineering is important, so I wanted to point out, that part of mastering is done in with headphones and since open cans is due to noise, not really ideal, I need some in ear monitors. Obviously you can't skip the low end mastering by being somewhere in the studio with big speakers. This is live part of the high-end frequency cutlivation.

And hey maybe that experience goin to suck, I don't know, but I am searching for something which would help me, while I am still in home, because going alone to some music studio, is costly. So I am currently experimenting.

Aha, getcha. Was close! For EDM it could be suitable enough If you test it across mediums like you said. With Ableton most synths are already compressed and the visual you get is easy to read. I'd prob go for overhead closed cans like a proper seinheiser pair but that's what I used to use when mastering and I needed to be quiet at night.

Best of luck buddy, nothing more rewarding than seeing other people bopping away to your own music.

 

[M1chl]

It's all a matter of how professional you want to be at the end.
A friend of mine owns a mastering Studio and had a Room build inside a room, acoustic treatment all around and two pairs of BW 801 Speakers. Headphones are used to check how it sounds, the same with evaluating the mix in a car etc, not while mastering. Headphones are just not neutral enough to master with them as you are mastering to their signature sound which could be completely different for someone else (using another pair of IEM, HP or speakers).

Don't believe the fairy tails of 60 year old mixing "legends" who say they mixed the last Red Hot Chilly Pepper record in the box using AirPods while being on an airplane.

i actually don't believe that, however in today's climate, the headphone mastering, is more important than ever, since the consumption of the music I am (trying) to produce, is most often consumed in headphone form and since aggressive high end, which isn't audible on normal speakers can leads to unpleasant experience, headphones should definitely be present within mastering procedure, not saying mastering just on the headphones, but incorporation them in the procedure.


Also your friend has really nice studio, but I am afraid that my production would never pay in my lifetime for such a nice equipment : )

Aha, getcha. Was close! For EDM it could be suitable enough If you test it across mediums like you said. With Ableton most synths are already compressed and the visual you get is easy to read. I'd prob go for overhead closed cans like a proper seinheiser pair but that's what I used to use when mastering and I needed to be quiet at night.

Best of luck buddy, nothing more rewarding than seeing other people bopping away to your own music.

Closed cans would definitely be preferable, but I don't have really good experience with them, because often time they boost mid-high end frequencies, which leads to underperforming low end on other means of reproduction. But all in all, it's what you are used to is the best tool, my tool of choice in quieter environment was pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro, sadly that's no longer applicable, when you have window next to very busy street.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

What do you mean with aggressive high end and it not being audible on a speaker. That is just wrong. A speaker can output higher freq then your ear can hear.

You have no authority over how the music you produce is listened to. Professional mastering is not catering solely to the lowest common denominator. A great mix/ master will sound great on hp too. A shoddy mix / master job may hide its shortcomings on cheap HP but is going to reveal itself to people with better equipment.