CrinEar Reference In-Ear Headphones

These sound great out of the box, but I actually bought them for a somewhat obscure reason. I actually don’t care about having a neutral/reference sound. I just wanted an IEM that matched that profile so that it would act as a blank canvas for flexible EQ. The Reference performs that job well. Using these with my Quedelix-5K (see picture) allows me to add a bass shelf along with a little bit of a treble spike. I’m actually a bit of a basshead. Some people might be wondering why I didn’t just buy an IEM tuned out of the box like that. What if I wanted something a little bit different than what the manufacturer tuned the IEM to be? What if my EQ preferences change over time or simply as I change the genre of music I’m listening to? I can bend the sound with EQ to get what I want in a few minutes without having to buy a new IEM. Do these blow away the $2k IEMs? Probably not, but they trade blows with some ~$1k IEMs I’ve heard. Get some proper EQ in and they punch above their price.

(For reference, some IEMs I like are the Hexa, Blessing 3, and Pure. I do tend to prefer a cleaner, bright-tilted sound.) Comfortable fit using the medium standard tips, and I usually wear medium with other tips. One of my ear canals is a bit smaller, but the medium tips still fit comfortably. The cable is just on the cusp of what I can tolerate for stiffness. It's a great quality cable, but I just prefer something lighter and more flexible (for example, I like Truthear's black cable and the one used for the Pure). The chin slider falls a lot though. Probably my biggest complaint. Sound is superb. I'd probably want a bit more mid to upper treble, but the treble here is super versatile and tolerable. Cymbals have a nice "splash" and aren't piercing. The midrange is honestly my favorite part of the Reference. A lot of vocals and instruments sound just right, how my brain expects them to. Notes have body and fullness to them, without being stuffy or too warm. In fact, the Reference is brighter than I anticipated (similar to the Hexa, but with less treble and no annoying peaks to my ears). The bass is nice too. It's enough to be felt, but not drown out the midrange. Most people are definitely going to want more though. Overall the Reference is satisfying and pleasing. It has hit many marks of what I've been looking for in an IEM for the past four years. Also, Headphone got the product to me quick. It arrived way sooner than the original estimated date, in just a few days versus a week (USA customer here). I appreciate it.

Balanced sound, but not the revelation that I thought it might be from one of the reviews. I own a number of IEMS in this price category and have been debating whether I need to stop buying them and bit the bullet for a ThieAudio Monarch MK IV or similar. I think I should have done that instead.