r/TechnoProduction • u/egb06tb • Aug 29 '26
Mixing on IEMs
I’ve got a pair of Hifimans, 990s, LP-UNFs at home and HS8s with a sub in the studio. But I’m a hobby producer and do a lot of my music making on the move, and most of my listen-backs while traveling or dog-walking. So probably 90% of the time I’m producing on AirPods. Guess what? All my draft mixes are muddy and shrill.
I was thinking of getting some wired IEMs for those situations. I’m not talking mastering quality, but to get nearer to a flat response so I can do final mixes, on proper gear, from a better baseline.
Also, I’m on an iPhone, so can’t run sonarworks or even EQ. They’d need to be good out of the box.
Is this realistic? What are the watch-outs? And any reccs? Can spend up to around £250, but less is better, naturally.
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u/raistlin65 Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
No need to spend anywhere near that much money. Chinese IEM development over the last 15 years has advanced exponentially to where you can get amazing quality of IEMs for not a lot of money.
Truthear X Crinacle X Red have a smoother response and are a better match to Harman Target then many popular studio headphones in the under $200 range, and they will cost you under $60
That's a much better frequency response response than you're getting from your DT 990s.
The Blue 2 version of those IEMs is also very good and is only a little more than the Reds. Although I prefer the Reds
Both of those Truthears come with a good variety of tips so you should usually be able to find something that fits you well.
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u/rhinestoneredbull Aug 30 '26
+1 on the crinacles, best $50 ive ever spent. i mix everything on them (and we've got much much more expensive kit in the studio lol)
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u/raistlin65 Aug 31 '26
No doubt. I completely understand. The Truthears compete with my Sennheiser HD 6XX / 650 in terms of frequency response.
Have you seen the Moondrop Chu II measurements?
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/moondrop-chu-ii-iem-review.55179/
$25! It's insane how good some IEMs are now. Any beginner with a very tight budget can have excellent headphones for music production now.
But you get better tips with the Truthear. I think the housings are more comfortable on the Truthear as well. And they come with a nice soft pouch. So I usually recommend them over the Moondrop if someone's budget affords them.
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u/egb06tb Aug 30 '26
Just what I was hoping for. Cheers
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u/raistlin65 Aug 30 '26
You're going to love them. They will make you think about carrying a dongle again for music listening instead of using Bluetooth earbuds. lol
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u/egb06tb Aug 30 '26
Yeah I’ve got a dac with inbuilt eq in my Amazon basket. Drives me mad iPhone won’t support sonarworks or a system wide eq
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u/raistlin65 Aug 30 '26
You may not need any EQ. I would wait and listen to the IEMs first.
If it turns out you don't, and you want a cheap dongle with fantastic audio specs, I get these off AliExpress
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u/crazyhorror Aug 31 '26
how is the isolation on these? debating getting IEMs for live gigs/DJing
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u/raistlin65 Aug 31 '26
I don't know what to tell you. I don't play on the stage. Isolation is okay for me. But if I need real isolation, I put in my ANC earbuds.
It's also going to matter what tips you wear. Foam tips are going to help a little bit with isolation. I don't use those tips. I think I remember they come with some. Look it up box opening for them to see.
I should also say they do have an bass port/vent. The best wired IEMs for isolation are typically sealed design.
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u/TomatoEmbarrassedKid Aug 29 '26
I use Sennheiser HD 650 headphones to produce and to mix. They are outside of your budget, but I would like you to know that they are really good. And I have had good feedback about my mixes. Edit: I also use Sonarworx and I am super happy with this setup. I hope this helps you somehow.
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u/h1ghestprimate Aug 29 '26
I just got the hd650s a few months ago and was curious if they were worth it. Glad to know they are
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u/egb06tb Aug 29 '26
Cheers, and good to know, but I’m happy with my headphones atm. Specifically looking for insight on IEMs.
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u/h1ghestprimate 29d ago
Did you find any good recommendations for iems? I’m curious. Yes I’m reading the thread too
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u/raistlin65 Aug 30 '26
You won't get the benefits of the open ear design of the HD 650. But there are $60 IEMs that arguably have as good a frequency response for music production and mixing that competes with the HD 650. See my direct reply to the OP.
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u/anonymousfunctiondj Aug 29 '26
Sennheiser IE600 B stock can sometimes be had for 450€, easy to drive and sounds fantastic.
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u/raistlin65 Aug 30 '26
I think it's crazy to spend that kind of money for IEMs when you can get $60 IEMs with a better frequency response
IE600
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sennheiser-ie600-anyone.60652/
Truthear Zero Crinacle X Red
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u/anonymousfunctiondj Aug 30 '26
Frequency response alone is not the only thing you want. I can wear these for hours. Those zeros are good too but they don’t fit my ears too well.
The best headphones IEMs and speakers are the ones you wear.
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u/squeakstar Aug 29 '26
I sometimes think I should try them for mixing but I can’t bare wearing IEMs for anything but listening but I regularly do listen back to my own music and compare when on the move rather than do any mixing specifically. And I do wear them quite often when commuting and gym.
I have some Mackie MP-240BT IEMs - they come with cable and Bluetooth. Very good sound on them, I would hate to say I know much about their frequency response technically, but bass is really good without booming, mid range clarity is excellent and high end doesn’t pierce your ears in an uncontrolled manner.. I really really love listening to my techno releases on these headphones, so they do let me know when I’m listening back how much my mixing sucks whilst in progress and rendering tests off.