Why it's worth it, and why you shouldn'tWhy it's worth it, and why you shouldn't

A great time to startA great time to start

In today’s IEM scene it’s rather easy to buy a good sounding IEM. There are loads of options, and I would argue most of them are rather decent. There are a few bad ones and possibly a lot that won’t fit your preference, but overall we are at a great place now. If you haven’t heard modern IEMs yet, you love music and want to enjoy it a bit more — the bar to start has never been so low.

At any price you can find amazing sounding stuff. There are a few standouts and benchmarks here and there, but it largely depends on personal preference and ear anatomy. Preferred tonality matters much more than technical performance, adherence to a target or frequency extension. You can own the most impressive and detailed IEM and still not like how it sounds, because your tonal preference is different. And that’s okay.

There is no perfect soundThere is no perfect sound

While I’ve found a lot of IEMs that I like and enjoy, the more I hear, the more obvious it becomes: the perfect sound signature does not exist.

It’s a game of trade-offs, biases and the never-ending chase of the perfect sound. And the more you hear, the higher the bar sets.

It’s not about some elusive $1000 IEM that just sounds like heaven, after which nothing sounds the same.

It’s about that $80 IEM that renders vocals in a very flawed but warm and pleasant way. It’s about the $400 hype-train IEM that’s hard to even buy, but renders soundstage and instrumentation so impressively clean and separated you thought it was impossible in an IEM. It’s about the moment you hear how articulate and fast good bass in an IEM can sound.

It all sounds lovely. But the $80 IEM isn’t extended in the treble and sometimes sounds mushed, the $400 legend sounds uncohesive and disjointed, and the bass you heard keeps hurting your eardrums after 30 minutes of listening.

Pushes and pullsPushes and pulls

All of those experiences are the pushes and pulls of the audio chase. Often the things you enjoy sit on opposite sides of the spectrum. For most positive aspects of sound you can find a negative.

Clean sound is a good example. Clean sounding gear is like food without sauce. You can taste the individual ingredients more clearly and judge their taste, texture and strength better. The moment you add the sauce and mix it a bit, you might lose some texture, and the ingredients get harder to tell apart — but if they fit well together, you get a fuller tasting dish.

After a while the chase is about finding the right balance of the things you enjoy, but the deeper you’re in, the more combinations seem enticing. It’s a chase that doesn’t end. If someone says they found the perfect one, it’s a honeymoon period, and it will end. It might last longer, but it will likely end.

So is it worth it?So is it worth it?

Definitely not. It’s a time and money sink that possibly will never end. And that’s why I love it.

If there is no end, you can keep chasing the dopamine high of anticipation, of the new flashy thing, of the ever so sparse wow moments. That’s the beauty of the chase. It doesn’t end, and it lets you learn, discover and experience. That’s why I do it — it’s a platform for experience that keeps the excitement sky high.

And why you shouldn’tAnd why you shouldn’t

But there is a small part of me that wishes I’d stumbled upon something like the Xenns Tea Pro and just stopped right there.

For most people, I would say getting one IEM from any price bracket and never giving it a second thought is the best way to enjoy audio. You won’t know what you’re missing, and you’ll genuinely enjoy your purchase more.