There is a show us your headphones thread but IEMs and earbuds don’t seem to be getting much love from the Roon Community, so let’s change that.
Here is my current collection of IEMs (my earbuds will be featured in another post).
A few notes:
I mostly use IEMs (and earbuds) for my train trips into NYC and some late-night listening when I don’t want to wear full size headphones while lying in bed.
In the photos below I show each IEM along with the carrying case and the USB-C to 3.5 mm single ended connection dongle. These dongles are so inexpensive (from $10 for the Anker up to a massive $25 for the FiiO KA11) that I decided to get one from each IEM so they are all ready to go. All the dongles sound very good, handle even high resolution (24bit/192kHz) flac files and provide enough power to play really LOUD.
Shown from least to most costly.
Case: $5, dongle: $10 and the Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero: 2 IEMs, which were around $20. For around $30 the sound cannot be beat!
Case: included with the IEMs, dongle: around $13 and the Linsoul SIMGOT EW300 HBB IEMs around $70. These IEMs are a big step up for the Zero:2’s with a very full bass and nice highs.
Case: $7, dongle: $16 and the Linsoul Kiwi Ears x Crinacle Singolo IEMs: $80. Similar price and performance to the Simgot IEMs above. These under $100 IEMs are great for travel since if they get lost or stolen one is not out too much money. I now travel with a Chromebook for the same reason, less money than either a laptop or iPad so a lot worrying about loss or theft.
Case: $7, dongle: $10 and an old set of Westone IEMs that I purchased (and used) back around 2005. I believe that they cost around $300, which in 2025 dollars is around $300,000
still sound pretty good although the two IEMs above are a much better choice.
Case: the original case for the Westone IEMs above, dongle: $30 and the Westone Mach 80 IEMs. These are Westone’s flagship IEMs and they sound wonderful with silky smooth highs and deep, punchy bass. With a list price of $1,600 (often available at deep discounts) i tend to use these IEMs for critical listening while at home.
Well that’s my current IEM collection. How about yours?
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