I want to preface this by saying clearly that I have Audio Technica ATH-M50X and Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro for closed and open back over the head headphones to use as my main listening pieces when at home or studio.

However, I travel a fair bit and have a small 13" laptop I take with me. On flights and such, headphones can be bulky if only taking hand luggage, do I am looking for something more compact and portable.

Are there any good in ears for music production, that is earphones or ear buds? They'll only be used when necessary for ease or transport etc, so the more affordable the better (sub £50-100 ideally), as I don't wanna drop hundreds on something that may be used sparingly.

NOTE: Would be good to have recommendations based on above use case rather than "buy closed backs" etc type of comments

Cheers in advance for any recommendations!

 

Last edited: Nov 4, 2023

Hey!

As a live musicician, I have owned in the past quite a few IEMs, mostly from well known brands, ranging from 50$ up to 2,000$ for custom molded ones.

In your price range, I don't think anything beats the KZ ZS10.
I know that chinese IEMs don't have the greatest reputation alltogether but this particular model is a standout for me.

It's a 5-Driver model, so you are going to have a pretty good freq. response. They lack a little bit of a shimmer in the high freq. department, but their rounded tone makes up for it without sounding harsh.

Of course that's my opinion and your experience might differ if you decide to go for it, but for their price, I think it's a good deal.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/kz-zs10/s?k=kz+zs10

 

Last edited: Nov 4, 2023

As the biggest IEM geek, I'd say that the best for music production are :

- Moondrop Variations
- Truthear Nova
- Binary Chopin
- Xenns Top

These are the four IEMs that get the closest to the ideal target for the most neutral sound (diffuse-field with room curve and Harman bass boost). Of course, there's a part of subjectivity in what defines the most neutral IEMs, but these are what should be the most ideal for the most people.

So if you want a more budget recommendation, I'd say that the Truthear Nova could be a great choice

 

Earbuds will destroy your ears , stay away from them

 

I have a set of Sennheiser IE 100s that I like a lot. They're better than other $100 range iems that I've tried (like Shures), although they are a bit shouty up around maybe 6khz. I'd love to know how they compare to the Truthears... I haven't tried recording with them.

 

Not used correctly they won't.

 

let's clarify something, for music production and editing, you don't really need anything too fancy,
assuming you're not doing mixing or mastering I'd ultimately choose depending on what will be comfortable for you,
and that is something nobody can tell, you'll have to try yourself,

for ex. I use casual Shure SE215 for years, but it did took some time to pick "correct" buds for my ears of all those sizes and materials, I ended up with medium silicone buds because from foam ones I got serious headache within minutes, regardless of their size/shape

 

I own a pair of KZ Z10s and to be honest, they are not good for mixing for me. They give me a blurry image of a mix, they lack transient response and the details get lost. They are inexpensive to try, but I wouldn't swear by them. I have enjoyed the Shure SE 215, but they are not accurate and it takes effort to use them properly. I recently bought a pair of iBasso Audio IT01X. They are audiophile ear buds that retail for about $120. They are very detailed, so much that I can hear a kick drum breathe. I'm still learning them, and I can't totally trust them yet, but boy, it is a great improvement.

 

And with with the option of applying eq?

 

As the link you gave is a search one, I can see 2 different brands for the same search:
Linsoul KZ ZS10 and Yinyoo KZ ZS10 . Which one did you had?

 

Any, I guess ? As long it is consistent from unit to unit, so that you can use someone else's measurements, and that the distortion is low enough

But the closer the IEMs are to the target, the easier it is to EQ.

 

Good. So how reliable is squig.link for chosing and eqing one and in how far do their measurements differ from the other ~100 sites?

 

Last edited: Nov 5, 2023

What I usually do is check for multiple measurements based on the IEC711 coupler (because they're the most common), to confirm that the frequency response of a specific model is consistent through different units. Then, I take a 711 based measurement from squiglink to do the EQ below 8kHz, and a B&K5128 based measurement (usually from Crinacle's database) for anything above. Then I use a tone generator to correct the one or two impedance peaks at my own ears.

I have a 711 based measurement rig, but sometimes I just take someone else's measurement when I'm lazy. It's more than enough for the IEMs that are consistent.

 

Okay. Then I rather stick with my eq'd Truthear red.

 

Yeah, sorry my bad! I have the Linsoul.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linsoul-KZ...sr_1_3?keywords=kz+zs10&qid=1699154116&sr=8-3

 

These are a bit expensive but I highly recommend them. They keep out extraneous noise like when on a flight and sound like a million bucks. I can wear them for hours on end with no discomfort. They have turned out to be well worth the price.

https://www.amazon.com/Final-Isolating-Headphones-Earphones-Balanced/dp/B07VC9XZBL

https://snext-final.com/en/products/detail/B1

 

I think they are the same. When you open the Linsoul one it says in the listing they are the official distributor for KZ products.

 

I think I am currently between the:

- Sennheiser IE200
- Shure Aonic 215
- KZ ZS10 Pro X

Probably leaning toward the IE200, but also have a nagging part of me wanting to try the cheap Chinese 4BA + 1DD pair too.

 

Last edited: Nov 5, 2023

If you give in to your inner voices and end up grabbing a pair of KZ10s, be sure to check out some replacement earbud tips. They will make a huge difference in sound isolation and quality, especially if you plan on using them outdoors.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?sw=Comply Isolation T-500
I got the Large, and I don't have relatively big ears. But you may need to experiment a little to find the best fit for you.

 

Just for giggles I made a couple rough mixes on those cheap Senns and... damn, they actually seem to be pretty good, they're translating to the cars and such. I'm surprised. I'm shooting for a vintage '71 Sabbath sound though, so that's not exactly asking a lot, but still. Interesting.