Check out some of my other IEM reviews... kzfaq.info/sun/PLdEM6elDvizN_6K9xraxgkdaauVcFWlpy

What I learned from this vid: -IEMs are great. -IEM means In-Ear Monitor -This guy has been in the radio for 20 years

This guy just destroyed beats, skull candies and airpods reputation. Thanks for the heads up and great content hobart! Keep it up

Now this is a genuine, authentically useful way to explain this without being a snob, a twat, in other words, without alienating people. It’s kind of lame when artists/experts use their knowledge to make others feel inadequate, when it’s so easy to do it this way. Thanks

7:24 bruh that is so accurate. I have bought a KZ ZSN Pro X in-ear monitor last month, and this was my legit first reaction when I put it to play some David Guetta and some other EDM music that I love. I was like "wait a minute, *are there more instruments in this song?* " Then I fell in love with this thing. Maybe it's not the best model of IEM, but I am sure loving it. Imagine feeling like you've been living under a cave and suddenly seeing the sunlight for the first time; that's how I felt

Beats: Dang it! This guy is educating people about IEMs. I guess we can't rely a name to sell our basic headphones at a premium price. Looks like we need to buy KZ to actually have a high quality product to sell...

Just like smartphones, cheap IEMs are getting better.

I am a music looooover and I feel like I have been living under a fricking rock 😐 Thank you for educating us, you're amazing

Two month's ago, I HATED IEM's! I had bought a set of Shuoer Tape's, crammed 'em in my head, listened to them for about 10 minutes and threw them into a junk drawer. A month ago, I was bored so I retrieved the Tape's from the drawer and spent some time finding tips that actually fit and learned how to properly seat them. The sound was (is) unbelievably GREAT!!! Thick, full slamming bass, beautifully presented mids and crisp high's with no hint of sibilance...just amazing! And the Tape's, while good, are pretty far from the best IEM's. I have since bought 6 more set's because they are very affordable and each set has it's own unique characteristics. I would be hard-pressed to name another "hobby" that offers as much bang for the buck as the Chi-Fi IEM's that are being cranked out every week! Thank you for the great breakdown! Your enthusiasm is part of the reason for my new obsession!

It's pretty amazing how much Chi-Fi has sharply increased IEM affordability since the last 4 years or so. Back in the day, IEMs with balanced armatures and detachable cable were exclusive to high end products. Nowadays, you can find 20$ Chi-Fi IEMs with BAs and MMCX or two pin connectors.

The main problem with IEM's are that when someone asks me for a pair of headset and i give them my IEM with the hook cable they give up on trying to wear it and borrow someone elses.

I am glad you took the time and made the video. It contains so much information in a very "understanable package". 10/10

I just bought IEMs for the first time and got recommended this video

I was planning to get some earphones for myself and ended up getting to know about these IEMs. I was interested but not quite sure how actually they would be. Now I can make a final decision of getting one of these and enjoy pure music. Thank you for saving time and for such a great detailed tutorial!

first time watching this guy and IEMs and i am sold already. I love this guy !

Thank you I’ve been asking for this explanation and nobody knew what I was asking so this video is 👌🏼

and the joke being that Apple earbuds are made in China too - the cost is just pure profit for Apple corp.

Hello Hobart! I just wanted to thank you for such a crystal clear explanation for the simple Joe out there. I have some knowledge about this things but it is sometimes difficult to get other people oriented without boring them or loose them. Keep the good work. We are watching!!!

Man your explanations are so clear and I do appreciate your recommendations for KZ!!

IEMs have come such a long way, specially in the last 2 years. Currently rocking the Truthear Hexa. I can't believe this level of quality is available under 100$ these days

3:26 There's nothing wrong with one-driver IEMs, actually, a major advantage of a well designed single-driver IEM is low distortion. If you don't need a very loud pair of IEMs, single-drive is the way to go.

This is literally the most informative video about sound I’ve seen in a while- I think I’m going to have to get a pair of IEMs…..seeya beats

just ordered the ZST from the IEM store as a starter (because the ones you recommended were $50+ shipping and importing fees) while watching your video, I've always been enamored with the look and it's perfect because im a drummer so I'm glad I found a good review to help me see why I should choose IEM's.

Great explanation man! You really helped me get a gist of what IEMs are all about. Just ordered my KZ zsn pro x, can't wait to hear music in a completely new way.

You also have the Tin T2 for TinHifi at this pricepoint. It's a single dynamic driver but what they did to the tune is incredible. They also come with foams tips. Btw for those who wants the 'bluetooth adapter', there is the Fiio UTWS1 which are available for mmcx and .78

Very in-depth guide imo. Thanks for the explanation. I heard/read of IEMs earlier today in a manhwa (no joke). I had no idea that those "earbuds" that musicians wear aren't actually earbuds, but IEMs. I'm looking for a new head/earphone the last couple of weeks and I'd say IEMs are what I should be looking for.

Thank you for opening my eyes to IEMs. :) I've been mixing with cheap earphones and I just can't afford good headphones so thank you for this!

OMG I just received my ZS10 PRO (03-20-21) and I never knew!! I been buying ear buds for years and I never knew about IEM's until your video! GREAT SOUND QUALITY! Thanks Again!!

Been enjoying these for a couple years now, and indeed they made me discover instruments I was missing before in song's I've listened for years!! Good quality stuff, affordable too.

Thanks so much for this. I've been looking for earbuds with the best sound but so expensive! This sounds great, just what I've been looking for, just in time.

Old earbuds broke, so I wanted to get some new ones, but I remembered someone telling me about IEMs. Found this video and decided on the KZ ZST. Can definitely say that was the right choice. I am blown away how good they are for only $20.

Amazing explanation, you sold me into trying some of these, bought a bunch of kz's to test those babies out

Exactly nailed to the point. Well explained and clearly elaborated! Hats off Man! Great video and good delivery ❤😁

Man, thanks a lot for the explanation. I am new to IEM and I’m interested to knowing the difference between them and the usual earbuds, this video will be the default video I send to people who wants to know as well. Bravo!

Got myself an KZ ES4.. then purchased a KZ ZSN Pro X.. I'm loving them.. wearing them while playing games and listening to music.. best experience ever..

bought myself one of those IEMs a month ago. and man everything just opens up. not to mention its crispy clear audio as well

Thank you for this video. Finally decided to educate myself about this after having been introduced into the iem world by my friends years ago.

I literally just discovered this about two weeks ago when I was like hmm I wonder what my IEMs would sound like. I would say that for pure listening experience I am going to ALWAYS wear IEMs. But when it comes to working out and walking around AirPods are just convenient for it. Wireless IEMS tho???👀

My favorite quote "China got into the mix" also I thought you were in the Australian city of Hobart

Great video and better explanation than any article I've come across trying to understand what IEMs are about.

You are indeed correct, I never expect adding a little bit more driver can create such differences when I upgrade from Plextone DX6 (1BA+2DD) to KZ ZSX (5BA+1DD). The differences is noticeable especially if you listen to anime sort of music that has a lot of sound coming at once.

I've been a live sound engineer for 33 years (much of that time spent as a monitor engineer). I started in 1989. When I first started IEMs were a rarity. Stage Monitors and side fills were still the norm. As IEMs began to populate the market...musicians began showing up with them. Future Sonics was the big dog in the early days of IEMs. Here are some reasons not to use IEMs.... 1 - Musicians often pull one ear out, so they have an ear mix in one ear, and hear the room/stage monitors with the other ear. That can be very very damaging to the ear with the IEM. If you do it continuously, for years, you can really cause damage. And its an inbalanced damage. 2 - A majority of musicians who use IEMs, still want stage monitors as a back up. So while IEMs are sold as a convenience... We are still putting all the same old speakers and amps on the truck. Often they want the stage clear of stage monitors. So we have to fly huge PA speakers on the sides of the stage, and spray the stage with sound. 3 - Custom molded ears, seal the IEM so well, that there is no air movement in your ear. I've seen more than one sweaty musician walk off stage after performing, with sweat adding to the seal of the mold...and when the IEM is being removed, it acts as a plunger, and pulls the ear drum. I've seen this rip ear drums. 4 - Multi driver IEMs tend to run at lower volume. They run at higher ohm ratings, as a way to protect all those drivers. That high ohm rating pulls less power from the wireless ear pack or headphone amp. I see many musicians go through all the latest greatest multi driver IEMs, only to switch back to single drivers for the increased volume. 5 - In the age of technology.... Mucisians generally have tablets, to mix their own mix, connected to the digital monitor console via a router. By and large, they build terrible mixes for themselves, because they are not audio engineers. So you have a band on stage playing, each musician with a weird ass mix...which ends up isolating them from the rest of the players. So the chances of a band locking in as a band, is diminished. They all have no idea whats really happening in the space that they are playing in, often creating a very unnatural sounding performance. 5 - Today, most bands use backing tracks. This requires playing to click track (a metronome), and a slate track (a voice instructing you whats happening next "bridge", "chorus", etc..). IEMs allow this, because no one in the audience can hear it. Its another factor that generates very sterile performances. So IEMs are not turning out to be the great savior that they were marketed as.

Thanks for this vid fam, now i get the difference between iems and normal earphones. Im getting the kz zsb pro x next week. I cant wait to try them out on my favorite tracks.

this might be one of the most important videos on YT, it should get pinned by YT, so everyone can educate themselves over something that should be trivial, but it's been made sure by big companies that not many would find out. Props Brother.

10 for commentary. 10 for well spoken. 10 for Excellent info.

Oh! and btw, I have a contact allergy to metal so I was so happy when I found out that the one you recommended (KZ ZS10 Pro) has a plastic inner ear part as opposed to the TRN BA5 which is all metal and would've given me a bad skin rash ^__^''. Thank you so much for showing us multiple IEMs at different price points!!

Just ordered a zsn pro x today. Thanks for this informative video man!

I'm a bassist and pianist and I can safely say that IEMs allow you to hear things you haven't heard before. I own the Shure SE215 and KZ zs10 pro and my God, it truly sounds amazing, even for your average joe... The way you look at music will be changed 👍 👍

haha I laugh when people try to praise the Airpods and beats sht as the greatest earbuds ever

OMG thanks for this video because I was dying to find one that’s affordable and good quality. Thank u 🙏🏻

Appreciate how you put everything in such layman's terms and nothing technical. I went for kz zst x because of you and it opened up whole new world of music for me. Keep it up brother. Have a great life.

Thanks for this video! I am now waiting for my KZ ZSN PRO X. Excited!

One of the best reviews I have ever watched thanks !

I've had my entry level IEM for over a month. Never regretted buying them. Will buy a more expensive one some other time.

Good explanation of IEMs, it’ll be my reference when I’m trying to recommend a pair to any of my friends. I am using many at the moment, but my favorites are the TINHIFI T2 Plus and the 7Hz Timeless, usually behind any DAC with a Sirrus Logic CS43131 chip; sound is just mind blowing.

Man, you really saved me from months of research You have a very fluent speech and you make good points Thanks for video

Nice job!!! You response about what i search... over 3 days... you conviced me 🤜🤛

You're not only educational. You're very entertaining too! Thank you Hobart!

I just got my first pair of IEMs (Thieaudio Legacy 3) and paired it with my Hi-Res audio player (Pioneer XDP-300R) and i heard little details and sounds i never heard before in a song. very clean, deep and punchy bass with incredibly crisp and detailed mids and highs. it really changed the way i listen to music absolutely insane!

this was an amazingly detailed video. thank you~ Ordered a pair of ZSX's after doing some research as well.

I am so glad I came across this video. I was about to purchase the Sony bluetooth earbuds but then bought the KZ ZS10 Pro instead, based on this video. I have been using the KZ for a week now and it is awesome. I had no idea things like Chinese IEMs existed. Thank you, Hobart, for making this video.

i just ordered the KZ pros, I can't wait. They were insanely affordable too

What an amazing video buddy! You just showed the real face of all the high end brands in sound industry, glad that you open your knowledge up for us! Thank you sooooooooooo much for it! Buddy I just ordered a kz zs10 pro today, I was wondering is this best under 50bucks or any upgraded versions were released in 2020s? Is it worth buying zs10 pros in 2020? Or is there any better options? Sir

Your video has convinced me to finally buy IEMs. Just ordered some KZ ZSN Pros. I am ready for my mind to be blown!

Dude, your content is so informative and underrated! Just watched this video and I've already decided to sub!

Received the Z10 Pro today and I must say that I am blown away by the sound quality. How on earth I never heard of KZ before? I am also really impressed with the build quality. I like that you can just change the cables if they go bad. Really impressive stuff. Gonna be hard for me to use anything else going forward.

I heard it from an audiophile that you don’t need dual drivers from an iem to necessarily give good sound. A single tuned driver from normal earphones is good enough to create great imaging and soundstage too. Good to hear different opinions.

Just found out about IEMs thanks to your video and ordered a pair immediately. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Really hyped to try them out.

This video really helped me out. I'm getting my IEM's right now, thank you so much!

Just ordered the KZ ZS10 Pros from Amazon while listening to your vid.

I love how accurate and exact the explanation was ♥️💯

Hands down THE best IEM's explained video on KZfaq! Thank you!

Thank you for this video. I really liked how you explained all the little details.

Well explained video! Good to know that I can replace the cable too. Too many dead earphones where the cables just broke because I had my phone in my pocket. I think comfort though still just is with the manufacturer. The shape isn't that much different so there could be comfortable earbuds, right? Or am I getting something wrong there? Please correct me if so.

I had no idea these things existed until a co-worker explained them to me and showed me hers with an anime girl on it I gave them a try and nearly creamed my pants hearing Pink Floyd on the run through those

Great video! I had no idea there were more speakers in IEMs compared to earbuds. Thanks so much for sharing!

True! I've been using my KZ ZS10 Pro for nearly 4 years now and I just bought a BLON BL-03 IEM. All I can say is that these Chi-Fi IEMs are very affordable, have great sound quality, a have good build quality. These things are far more better than the expensive and mainstream ones. No regrets and no turning back since I learned about these things and I really love it. Great explanation, brother. Much love from the Philippines! 🙌💯✌

I was about to buy shure se215, I didn’t knew KZ’s, but after this video I end up buying a pair. Thanks man!!!

Thank you for this video, been looking for so long.. you got my sub. I'll go with Blon 03 for a start.

I might just buy an IEM after this. I discovered about IEM before, but the name sounded too professional, that I thought a non-professional like me shouldn't own one. I've seen KZ's IEMs, and the price is shockingly low. I know how earbuds with multiple drivers works, but hearing you explaining it makes it even more convincing. Thanks for the explanation!

I was sold on the idea of getting high quality (not always high fidelity bc some masters just suck) when I plugged in some proper speakers into my phone and listened to it and I noticed things I hadn't noticed before. Thanks for the info on the IEM scene really useful

I've been looking for this. I just wanted to say "Thank You"

Good introduction of IEMs. I got a pair of KZ ZS10 PRO last April. They sound amazing

great video - these are actually the IEMs i've been considering for a few weeks; this no nonsense video has convinced me!

I did not know there is an audiologist. Damn thank you for this insight!

Thank you.Excellent presentation.Very informative..

Thank you thanks to you I found two shops in Switzerland who do custom ones starting at less then 500.- They even have the option of letting certain frequency sound's in do you can use them for motorcycle riding. I'm mad I didn't find out about this earlier. Great video and information

You win bro !!!! I just bought IEM from KZ after watching your explanation and I have to say that it change my life! Before that I have few sets of buds and I never know which one was better and I fill like everyone missing something. Now I know they all missing some sound haha. How its that possible so people didn't know about IEM's and using normal buds, for me no way back , and better, I will start new journey here. Thanks for great explanation!!!

You can say what you want, but i took this from a guy who's been in radio for 20 years

I just got the KZ ZSN Pro and I can’t get my head around how good they sound and they cost only C$35. I have indeed heard sounds I could not identify before, mind you I have a High Res Digital Audio Player with a bunch of FLAC files. Those IEMs sounds damn good for the price

Fantastic Video Mate. Cheers!

good review,you make wanna get these iems ... thanks for the review

originally got myself a pair of KZ zsn pro, which were great for 20€, nothing came close to the quality at the same price range, but after a few months i decided i wanted to take the next step, and bought the KZ zsx "terminator" which are the BEST you can get for around 60€ with a more balanced tuning for a good reproduction accros the whole specter, and extremely clean audio. happy to see them gain some popuarity as iem's are really a good option for anybody!

Damn you nailed all the earphones companies 😅

Thanks a ton for this great video...subscribed!!!

First of all, Thanks a ton Hobard for this informative explanation on IEMs. I surely wanna try one of these (especially KZ series), thus, my wait for that precious clear music ends because of this effort from ur side.😇 Cheers fam🙌

since you're new to the iem world, I'd suggest you to get the Blon bl-03, these are around $25, have single carbon nanotube dynamic drivers but still sound even better than KZ's, strengthening the notion that more drivers doesn't equal better sound... Also if you want better detail and much better bass response with less sibilance, try the TRN BA5, these have 5 (around $45) balanced armatures on each side but doesn't suffer from anemic bass.

Lovely Video Mate. Subscribed. Can you help me decide between Tin T4, Blon 03 and KZ ST10 Pro?

This was a great and informative video, I'll definitely be taking a look at some IEM's to produce music with so I don't have to wear my cans all day before final mixes.

Really helpful. Appreciate it!