Table of Contents
So, I know things have been a little slow recently with regards to article postings and such.
But I thought you were doing reviewing full-time? Why has the posting frequency dropped like a rock?
Yeah… not quite yet. Those of you who are more active in my Discord would know that I have certain… commitments… that I have to fulfill before I well and truly dive into reviewing in a full-time, professional capacity. But for now I’m basically out-of-commission from 6am to 7pm every weekday, and after dinner and a shower I’m basically too tired to keep up with my review backlog.
But mark your calendars for the 8th of September, because that’s when the shackles finally come loose and I can post in my preferred schedule, which is an article every other day.
Today, here’s the long-delayed update of the 470-entry long IEM Ranking List. For both the old reviewed entries, as well as some extra entries that I see no point in hoarding anymore.
Formatting changes
First, just a brief clarification on a new (though not obvious) way that the ranking list will be presented from here on out.
Following the update that split the ranking system into tonality and technicalities, a new (albeit minor) problem arises. While two different IEMs may have the same overall rank, there are arguments to be made that certain grade splits would be “valued” higher than others. For instance, one could argue an A/B split would be worth higher than a B+/B+ split despite both being calculated at the same overall rank, or perhaps an A+/B split being valued higher than a A/B split (again, despite the same calculated overall rank).
A hidden score value has been implemented for all entries that takes all this into account, so entries in each tier are no longer sorted alphabetically. Sorting by overall rank (the current default) will now sort by “calculated performance” based on the two tonal/technical grades first, and then alphabetically. This ensures that the “highest possible score” within the tier itself will be pushed up to the top (e.g. A/S- being the best possible split for an A-tier).
TL;DR: the ranking list now sorts by “performance” more accurately.
Old Entry Updates
The stuff I’m supposed to update on-the-fly but didn’t
| Model | Tone Grade | Technical Grade | Overall Rank |
| AKG N400 | A+ | B | B+ |
| Audiosense AQ3 | B | C | C+ |
| BLON BL05 | C | C+ | C+ |
| Campfire Andromeda (2020) | A+ | S- | A+ |
| Campfire Ara | C+ | S | B |
| Campfire Solaris (2020) | B- | A | B |
| Faudio Major | C | B+ | C+ |
| Faudio Minor | A | B | B+ |
| Gaudio Clariden | B | B- | B- |
| Gaudio Nair | A+ | B | B+ |
| IMR RAH | C- | B | C |
| Moondrop Blessing 2 | S | A | A+ |
| Moondrop SSR | C- | B | C |
| NiceHCK NX7 Pro | C+ | B- | C+ |
| Tansio Mirai TSMR-12 “Zodiac” | A+ | A | A |
| ThieAudio L9 | B+ | B | B |
| ThieAudio Legacy 3 | B | C+ | C+ |
| ThieAudio V14 | A | A | A |
| ThieAudio V3 | C+ | B- | C+ |
| Tin HiFi T2000 | C | C | C |
New Entry Additions
Ranks I’ve hoarded too long on Patreon
| Model | Tone Grade | Technical Grade | Overall Rank |
| AAW Halycon | C | C+ | C |
| Audiosense DT200 | A+ | C | B- |
| Campfire Solstice | C- | C | C- |
| CCA C16 | C- | C+ | C- |
| DUNU Luna | C+ | S- | B |
| Fearless S8Z | A+ | A | A |
| Final Audio A8000 | B- | A | B |
| Gold Planar GL20 | D- | A+ | C- |
| Hidizs Mermaids MS4 | D+ | C | D+ |
| HUM TT | C+ | C- | C- |
| iBasso IT00 | C | C | C |
| ikko OH7 | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Jade Audio EA3 | D | C+ | D+ |
| JQ Hua Jiang | A- | B+ | B+ |
| JVC FW10000 | B+ | S- | A- |
| KBEar TRI I3 | C+ | C+ | C+ |
| Kinera Nanna | A- | B | B |
| KZ ZS10 Pro/KSX | C+ | C | C |
| Mangird Tea | C | B- | C |
| MMR Homunculus | C | B | C+ |
| MMR Thummim | C | B | C+ |
| Origami Audio Silver | D+ | D | D |
| PEARS SH2 | B | B+ | B |
| qdc Dmagic | A- | A- | A- |
| QoA Mojito | C | C | C |
| Tansio Mirai TSMR-5 | B | C+ | C+ |
| Vision EVE 20 | B- | A- | B |
| Yinyoo Ash | D+ | C+ | C- |
Changes
| Model | Changes | Old Rank | New Rank |
| Campfire Andromeda (Pre-2020) | Tone grade: A+ to A | A+ | A |
| Empire Ears Zeus | Tone grade: C+ to D | B | C |
| Unique Melody Legacy | Deleted | S- | – |
| Vision Ears Elysium | Tone grade: A+ to A- Technical grade: A+ to S- | A+ | A |
Crowdfunding campaign update: Thank you to all who have contributed to the headphones measurement rig campaign last month.
After further testing, it seems that my current IEC coupler (when attached to the KB5000/1 pinna) does not generate the “correct” results. As such, I’d have to get the full GRAS 43AG-7 setup anyways for the RA0402 coupler (in order to keep my measurements comparable to other existing GRAS databases). The setup has already been purchased and so the project will still be continuing as scheduled regardless of funding status, but if you’d like to contribute further the campaign will be up till the database is finalised.
The donation goal has been shifted from $5,000 to $9,000 to reflect this added cost.
(The whole set will arrive later this month, so no headphone measurements till September.)
Support me on Patreon to get access to tentative ranks, the exclusive “Clubhouse” Discord server and/or access to the Premium Graph Comparison Tool! My usual thanks to all my current supporters and shoutouts to my big money boys:
“McMadface”
Man Ho
Will
Denis
Alexander
2 thoughts on “The Procrastination Update (Ranking List)”
Has crinacle a EZAudio D4 review or rating hidden somewhere in his Patreon exclusive content?
And why does the tone rating have such a weight? It generally isn’t hard to change the tonal characteristics with an equalizer, but almost impossible to do anything with the technicalities. For example, Audiosense AQ3 has C technical grade and a B tone grade, resulting in a C+ average, while Moondrop SSR has a C- tone and a B technical, resulting in C average, which doesn’t make much sense if EQ is factored in. Or am I missing some downside to equalizing?
Hi crinacle, will you test InEar ProMission X (PMX)? Being curious about its performance under your grading system, thx!