Zero Audio Carbo Tenore: They sound very good, although they do admittedly suffer somewhat from M50X syndrome (at least, that's what I'm going to call it at this point...) They are a little bit too forward everywhere. That being said, they cost $35, and they sound damn good doing it. I like them a lot, but I also have a soft spot for carbon fiber. I was a rower, so I've spent the last five years getting into shells made of the stuff.

Shure SE215: A great, highly durable IEM. Shure is a very reputable brand, and very well known. They tend to be very mid focused, as all of the Shure range is marketed at professionals, particularly vocalists. There is a special, blue edition, which has slightly more bass than the regular versions. Also note that the sleeve on the clear cable is not solid, so over time the cable will turn green from the oxidization of the copper. I personally think it looks pretty cool, but some people take issue with it. It does not appreciably change audio quality. Many aftermarket cables are available for cheap, or for a lot of money, depending on your preferences.

Sennheiser Momentum In-ear: Linus likes it. I've never listened to it, but I think it's probably fine. It's a more contemporary sound, e.g. it's tuned more for fun than accuracy, and all of those waffle words that somehow add up to something that makes sense.

Various Vsonic IEMs: The VSD3S has (according to Xtroria) better sound than either of the two listed above. I've never listened to it, but it seems to get universal acclaim for the relatively modest budget. Some models do have a removable cable that has the same connector as Shure models, but those only come in specific colors, and otherwise you're stuck with the stock, but pretty good, from what I've seen, cable. I'm sure that there are also many other Vsonic IEMs that are quite good, but for the price, the VSD3S is a very good choice.

Shure SE425: My favorite earphone of the entire Shure line. I haven't heard the 846, nor the 315, but by all reports, the 846 can't justify it's price when compared to the customs that fall into the same price range, and the 315 is supposed to be pointless. Just a checkbox in the line. Anyway, I really like it. From my listening, it has more bass than the SE535, and it's also a little bit less harsh. A great earphone and it definitely gets a +1 from me, even over the 535.

Westone W10: I've never listened to it, but it's worth a look. It's a single armature driver, which isn't very impressive, but I haven't heard anything bad about it. I also haven't looked into it a ton, but I like Westone, and I think it's at least acceptable for the price.

Sennheiser IE80: I've owned this. I didn't like it too much. There is a lot of bass, and the bass adjustment dial doesn't do anything. Anyone that tells you it does is lying and hasn't done a blind test with it. Also, the fit is bad, since the shells are an odd shape. I could never get a good, consistent seal with them. Oh, and one of them crapped itself on me. That happens, so it's not really marks off, but it is something to be aware of. Sennheiser does have excellent customer service though, so it was a painless fix for me. They paid shipping both ways, and all that...

Shure SE535: 'meh' unless you're a mid-head. I still think the 425 is better. SE535 has a linear bass response and it translates to extended bass. However, the IEM itself isn't bass heavy, so expect a good quality of bass but just a 'so-so' amount of it This IEM is simply superb for vocal, especially female vocal where the vocal sounds rich. Treble is the most problematic part of SE535. After the mids section, the frequency graph just rolls off on the treble. As a result, the IEM can give you this empty feeling from the lack of high frequency.

Westone W4/4R/40: I currently use the W4R and I love it. The bass is better, and extends more than the 535, plus it has one more driver in a shell that's the same size, if not smaller. Also, 2 pin cables are a huge plus for me, since they don't rotate around. And the Westone Epic cable is RIDICULOUSLY thin. The y split does end in a three conductor wire for the end of the cable, so you can't reterminate into a balanced connector, but if you care that much about something that doesn't even do anything, then that's up to you, but you should be buying an aftermarket wire anyway.

Final Audio Design FI-BA-SS: Supposed to be good, but it suffers from the same thing that all Final Audio Design products seem to suffer from: They sound kinda weird. Read up on your own if you're actually curious about any of these in the $1000+ range.

Shure SE846: A very fun IEM to listen and at the same time you could use it for monitoring purposes. One thing to bear in mind is that a DAP with output impedance of below 1 ohm is a MUST HAVE for this IEM, should you decide to drive this IEM properly. This IEM has a very low impedance with crazy impedance swing across as the frequency changes. If you have a device with high output impedance, SE846 will be a bass-heavy IEM.

Describing what SE846 sounds like is a hard thing to do because everything in the sound comes out but at the same time, I wouldn't describe them as neutral sounding. The bass extends extremely well and because it's raised above the mids and the highs. However, this doesn't mean the mids gets muddled by all these bass. As usual for shure, female vocal in general sounds better compared to the male vocal. The treble is well extended without being offensive towards your ears.

Westone W60: Supposed to sound a bit sharp. Haven't listened to these either.

CIEMS: I've owned a pair of 1964 Ears Adel A6. They were good, but incredibly inoffensive. They didn't make anything sound amazing or special. Everything was good, but nothing stood out. That's why I sold them. There are several brands to look into if you're curious about these kinds of products. The ones that I think have the best reputations are these:

• 1964 Ears
• JH Audio
• Noble Audio
• Heir Audio (particularly before the wizard, Jon Moulton left to start Noble Audio)
• Ultimate Ears
• Custom Art (especially if you want silicone CIEMs.)
• Westone
• There are others, but these are the most well known, at least in the US.

Noble audio also does silicone, but not with as many drivers, if that's your thing. Custom Art also has the lowest barrier for entry, starting at around $260 USD, excluding ear molds, or any other options you select.