IEM VS OVEREAR HEADPHONES: Which are you choosing?

[@RangerX5]

Forgot third option...Direct to brain via Cochlear implant and direct streaming to the audio processors. A mere 100K involving a little surgery.

[@jbrucifer]

I'll start reviewing those next.

[@oakfig]

My kids have cochlear implants.

[@zachrowe6271]

My dad has Bluetooth cochlear implants he uses for music!

[@Alepap.]

So headphones aren't flat, and iems don't focus on specific frequencies. Flat is a general term of a frequency response that measures flat on a graph or from a free field mic measuring speakers, but there is usually no true flat headphone or iem since it can never measure flat, since it compensates for the head, or the ear/pinna in the case of iems. The dt990 are generally considered v shape(boosted bass and treble, especially treble) so not really flat. A better example would be HD600. That doesn't mean something brighter might not come in handy when doing mixes for example, since it can be revealing and problems in a recording are more apparent. Also, "reference" is not a well defined term, anything could be reference if you use it as a reference. Neutral is a bit better. But the point is that iems ,headphones and speakers, can have any sound signature. You can find warm sets dark sets, bright, v shape, u shape, "flat" and anything in between. People are looking for a certain type of sound in iems, headphones and speakers. Iems are basically limited in sound stage, when open back and ultimately speakers will provide a better sense of that, but it will really have to depend on your definition of soundstage. Because with the proper recording, you can get lifelike soundstage on cheap earbuds. Now on comfort, usually iems will be the least appealing, since they go inside your ear and earwax and all of that stuff. But it will depend on the specific iem, and tip/ cable combination as well as your ears. The examples you gave are all on the large side, like the Blessing 2 and will cause irritation and pain for prolonged use for some people due to the nozzle size. But there are iems with smaller shells, or thinner/longer nozzles where that is not an issue. In fact there can be the opposite issue that they slide out of your ears or loose seal. But if you find the right combination, there is no fatigue or issues. A lot of iems are vented too, so that you don't get pressure buildup like with true wireless or traditional in ears, with the tradeoff being a bit less isolation. I use iems exclusively and basically wear them all day. The only problems i have is sometimes moist/ sweaty ear canals. But compared to headphones' weight, headphone hair and again sweaty ears, i'd pick iems, since whatever money i spend i know will be used outside and inside the house. Headphones are really nice though, if you constantly remove them, and you can give them to anyone to listen on the fly.

[@jbrucifer]

Thank you so much for this comment. this is a lot of really good info that helps! I've had a couple comments just essentially shitting on my opinion without explaining why. I appreciate the very detailed explanation. I have a decent understanding of audio but not in a super detailed sense so alot of this is self taught kind of thing so having people with more knowledge than me give me better insight is a very welcome event ahah. I have been wanting to get a more neutral set of over ears for editing so bringing up the hd600 is a solid confirmation on what I've been looking at.

[@Alepap.]

@@jbrucifer Np, we've all been there and it is really hard to get into it since most of the time you gotta spend money to learn, or if you are lucky and live in an area where you can demo lots of stuff at stores or go to events like canjam. But a lot of personal preference plays a role so what i like, will most likely not be what you like and vice versa and that's ok. For better or worse, this hobby is about experimentation and personal experience , than objective hard facts, in contrast to most tech, like pcs phones and tv's.

[@jbrucifer]

I think the thing that really keeps drawing me in is the fact there is so much more than the hard facts. which is why I try to preference everything with an "in my experience" or "in my opinion" kind of statements. this hobby and the keyboard hobby are all about presence and my whole goal with all tech stuff is to share my experience with other so they can decide is something is right for them or teach something new to someone and I truthfully hope that is what my content is conveying.

[@kamikamieu]

I got my Truthear Zero: Red a month ago and it surprisingly replaced my DT770 32 ohm in sound quality. It is just SO CONVENIENT to not use any EQs just to sound acceptable to my ears.

[@jbrucifer]

Honestly I've been testing mine for the last month. I hope to get something out about it in the next couple weeks

[@aesthetic4829]

Headphones when I’m at home and wanting to really analyze albums (I review music as a hobby), but IEM’s for literally any other scenario.

[@jbrucifer]

that makes perfect sense I like it !

[@oakfig]

Iems all day everyday

[@jbrucifer]

Ohhh I'm IEM main user so I get it

[@anatol1204]

Iems are the future.The absence of weight and the multiple drivers are a great advantages.With the new measurement device they will be more capable for monitoring especially if they msnage to made custom made ones cheaper

[@MrCmdCool]

Like your video very much. It is very informative. I have the DT 990 Pro and a pair of Sennheiser HD598 (both over ear and open back). They are very different in sound comparison. The HD sound a bit warmer, but i like the sound clarity of the DT990Pro in some scenarios better. They are both very good Headphones. But i didn't find yet any iems that are equal- The Sennheiser TW4 Momentum Wireless In-ear are ok. But no comparison to the cabled over-ear-headphones. Are there any balanced, cabled IEM comparable to those over-ears? Thx in advance for any recommendations....

[@jbrucifer]

I really appreciate the kind words! So personally I use the truthear crin reds and they are like $55 bucks. But if you are wanting a little bit more then I really love my letshuer s12 pros which are about $120 and they are planar magnetic so the response is fast . I mean other than that it's kind of a toss up. Hope this helped!

[@MrCmdCool]

@@jbrucifer thx for your response... the letshuoer s12 seem very intriguing... hear only good about them. Is there any big difference between the S12 and S12 Pro? will have a closer look. .... never mind. just ordered the S12 pro.

[@jbrucifer]

@@MrCmdCool I was about to say haha. I hope you enjoy!

[@MrCmdCool]

@@jbrucifer 'I was about to say haha'. I'm a bit confused. Are the S12 (Pro) not a recommendation?

[@jbrucifer]

The pro are for sure the recommendation. I forgot the non pro were a thing . The s12 pro is what I have at home

[@dariobarahona6964]

Eustachian tube disfunction vs head dents mmm🤔🤔🤣🤣🤣

[@MobileDecay]

Meanwhile the cat is going to town on itself in the background. 🤔

[@jbrucifer]

@@MobileDecay you become numb to it at some point

[@voodoobilly]

And knowing is half the battle. The other half is violence. Thanks brucifer

[@jbrucifer]

Solid second choice . And as always you're welcome

[@laika25]

In grl iems are bright sibilant and shrill

[@SynisterFour]

A bit late to comment but i'm still confused as hell on what to get since this indeed is very subjective. Was already dead set on buying an audiotechnica m40x to replace my 5 year old broken mh751 (RIP, best headphones i've ever owned) but got told by my friend to replace'm with IEM's instead. On one hand IEM's are WAY cheaper and don't cause my ears to suffocate and sweat like the closed ear mh751's do. But then again, I've never worn an IEM so idk anything of how it feels like and the closest i've used are cheap earbuds that come free with phones and they're really hard to keep in your ear and get dirty very easily with earwax. Any advice or recommendations?

[@jbrucifer]

So I guess the real question is what are these for? Music and gaming? Content creation? The main reason your ears were suffocating was because you were probably using a closed back headphone, open back has a different sound but also breathability. But when it comes to the question of how it stays in your ears it's mainly because of how the cord comes out of your IEMs. It's essentially a little hook to keep it there. Also wax will happen. You just have to clean it (I have to often because my ear gets gross). Hope this helps but if you have any other questions just ask me .

[@SynisterFour]

@@jbrucifer ah ok so i guess the wax issue is pretty much part of owning an IEM. Are there any you would recommend for general music listening purposes (I'll use it to game too but i feel like that's less of a main concern). Preferably waaay cheaper than an m40x but not too cheap that i miss out on better units for a bit more money.

[@jbrucifer]

@@SynisterFour truth zero reds are actually my go tos, I think I have a video on them but also the moon drop chu 2s

[@SynisterFour]

@@jbrucifer appreciate the suggestions bro, i'll look into them 👍

[@jbrucifer]

@@SynisterFour happy to help!

[@sanjamjeetsingh7426]

AS SOMEONE WHO HAS USED NORMAL EARPHONES ALL MY LIFE, AND DISLIKE HEADPHONES, MY KZ EDX PROS HAVE BEEN BEST AUDIO DEVICE I HAVE EVER USED

[@jbrucifer]

I was the same way! And now IEMs are my go too in most cases

[@sanjamjeetsingh7426]

@@jbrucifer Mine are like 15 usd or 1000 inr, with such a good sounding mic, makes them the best gaming audio device under twice/thrice the budget(except better iems)

[@sandydennylives1392]

I've just got the L/shouer 12 pro's and the micro details are there. EQ is off the charts with the bass and mids at full and the treble at zero or it will atom bomb the whole sound, at least during burn in and probably beyond, fortunately planar's can take drastic EQ or I'd be flushing 'em down the toilet. They have, and then they lack, and have again sound body, which is odd, need a Dac/Amp to shine and are by and large a Jazz specialist which is fine by me. Good across most other genres except male vocal rock. And males in general unless their soft toned. Not for all seasons but their micro detail is the star and will keep me on board. You just need to crush the treble on EQ well and truly, and you need warm Daps and amps, the treble can not be killed but will be at an acceptable level once humanly squashed on EQ. Should scale nicely with a better Dap that can make flac shine. So they have a future.

[@jbrucifer]

Yooo thank you for the insight!!!!

[@sandydennylives1392]

@@jbrucifer L/shouer as a company, loooooooooooooooooove treble, it's their inner Chinese coming out. And perhaps modern and classical Chinese music benefits from a treble tilt, but they do, or did try to cater to the western ear with their Conductor iem for classical and Tape Pro iem for Rock. They well and truly shot themselves in the foot by only making 300 of the world class and leader in it's segment EJ07M X HBB iem, but perhaps public pressure will make 'em re open the lathe. March with a banner outside their factory on your next visit to China.

[@pshr2447]

Cute Kitty in the background ❤

[@jbrucifer]

I appreciate it!

[@imjustsomeguy]

I used to wear headphones all the time. Now, I mainly use IEMs. IEMs have gotten better this past year or so. Sometimes I would go back to my beyerdynamic DT770. Headphones can get gross (at least for me). It messes up my hair, my hair would stink after hours of use, and the earpads would absorb the oils on my skin. Yes, I do shower lol. One benefit of using IEMs is no sound leak but one downside is of course lack of soundstage

[@jbrucifer]

Yeah I've had to wash my ear pads for my DT990s a few times

[@STAYCBias]

Lack of sound stage? Come on! Nowadays it's different! IEMs sound stage can compete with over ears ❤

[@jbrucifer]

​@@STAYCBiasI'm gonna agree with that. Even on some the more budget stuff I've actually got some decent soundstage when playing fps stuff.

[@imjustsomeguy]

@@STAYCBias I’m still pretty new to the IEM world. I’m sure there are IEMs with great soundstage. There are so many different types of IEMs I still need to try and own. I just assume that good soundstage is uncommon in IEMs because of how tiny they are and how close they are to your ears compared to over ear headphones

[@SuperStig92]

IEMs. I have trouble getting any headphones to fit comfortably for more than an hour or two, that includes "gaming headsets"

[@jbrucifer]

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of gaming headsets

[@SuperStig92]

Agreed, right now i'm using the Truthear Hola's and my god the price to performance is superb for a sub 20 pair

[@jbrucifer]

I completely agree. They are my daily driver's for work . I have been testing out the zero: red so I'll have something on that soonish

[@audie-cashstack-uk4881]

There are some so lite so easy to wear it’s mind blowing they work Corsair hs65s litterally slide over your head no clamp force no weight amazing for gaming but not much else

[@duncanmacphee200]

I use IEMs if I'm cycling (safely, might I add!) or if it's thhe height of summer. Every other occasion, over-ear headphones are my go-to, without any hesitation. I've got a few B&O H9s and the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO for hooking up to my hi-fi. I've recently bought a pair of Skullcandy Crusher Evos, mostly out of curiosity, and they are insanely great for watching films on the TV, as well as enhancing certain genres of music.

[@jbrucifer]

Really the evos are decent? I might have to check them out! Which IEMs are you using when you're cycling?

[@chrisstroud60]

Headphones should be like a supreme pizza. You want everything from bass mids and a treble boost. Headphones that focus on specific frequencys are not tonaly balanced and can sound harsh. Dt990s are a almost perfect headphone and very affordable

[@jbrucifer]

This is a great Analogy

[@rjltrevisan]

I would agree with everything, except with the comfortable part, I think IEMs are much more comfortable, although not perfect, of course.

[@jbrucifer]

Honestly that is completely valid. I know one of my ear canals is a little bit bigger than the other so it always gets me feeling a little weird whenever I have them in for long periods of time. But I do love the sound

[@rjltrevisan]

@@jbrucifer Well, for me too, but I guess that after a few minutes I just forget about them, whereas with the over the ear ones I just can't forget about how my ears are sweaty and hot after a few minutes.

[@jbrucifer]

Truuuue

[@andylorimer1407]

bro the way you are talking makes you sound insanely nervous

[@jbrucifer]

To be fair I get that sometimes. But also it's improved since then so I sound less like someone that's been pulled over and has a record

[@davestevens4193]

I'll save you 13 minutes. Over ear.

[@jbrucifer]

I mean it's all preference

[@sogent56]

Musician use both

[@audie-cashstack-uk4881]

I’m not stuffing things in my ears to hear shit

[@BurningBushPedagogy]

Thank God you say what it even means

[@jbrucifer]

I try my best

[@ProjectFraz]

Subjective? Okay I'm out.

[@jbrucifer]

Can I ask an honest question? Not trying to start any type of argument. How is the way that one hears sound not subjective? I personally agree that it's also objective because yes it can be measured but also the way that people perceive sound is the subjective part because some people have different tolerances to sounds. Appreciate the comment tho and I'm hoping that I can understand your point of view

[@nonchalantd]

!

[@jbrucifer]

! (I don't know what it's for but I wanted to reply back to say thank you for watching)

[@sidethan]

IEMs are uncomfortable after a while, that's the only correct thing you said. Everything else is nonsense. Sound isn't "subjective" no matter how many times you repeat that sentence to yourself in front of a camera. Sound can be measured and represented on a graph, we call this frequency response. This video is the audio equivalent of a flat earther rambling for twelve minutes. The 990pro has a boosted treble and is the last thing you'd want to use for production, for production you want a flat, neutral device. So look for a headphone/speaker/IEM that measures flat. No need to ask "the internet" , that's not a profesional with credentials, just research the frequency response that you're after.

[@godofgrains]

You’re insane

[@stewieboo]

wtf lmao

[@Alepap.]

"IEMs are uncomfortable after a while," depends on the iem. Propper fit, without strain and comfortable cable i can wear 24/7. Headphones can be really fatiguing too. Sound is subjective, because everyone's ears are different, everyone will fit a headphone or iem differently, especially iems since ear canal resonance peak is a thing and a major factor and it depends on insertion depth, which will vary from person to person. tip usage as well as nozzle angle will all change the fr that is reaching your eardrum. Yes frequency response can be measured on non super precise equipment, that still struggle with treble and R.I.P. bone conduction drivers cause you can't measure those on current rigs. You can't really look at a graph and say this sounds good or this sounds bad. You can if it is an extreme example where you can obviously tell. Then there is just preferences. You can't say x is objectively better than y when there aren't any particular "offences" on the fr. It's like saying a film color grading filter like is objectively better than another one, when there are specific instances where both can work.

[@TopShelfRippin]

Chill out kid, damn