[General Accessories] vectron:
1. I never EQ a sound for review or general listening. Got too many headphones, constantly switch them around, and don't want to be bothered playing with EQ setting between different sources and headphones. I analyze sound as is. With EQ, boosting introduces artifacts and distortion because mastered recording often is already maximized to "red" level where sound engineer trying to squeeze every possible ounce of loudness. That's why on high quality DAPs, when you enter EQ mode the volume is reduced by 6dB down to give you headroom for boosting, but I would recommend reducing frequencies rather than boosting. (I also do music production, that's my #1 hobby, while reviews are #2 lol!!! I'm actually one of the remixers/producers for Bad Boys Blue, among others).

2. For these $1k IEMs, I read plenty of reviews/opinions on Head-fi where even experienced audiophile members describe their sound sig in a different way. Perception of sound will be relevant to your own taste, your source, your amp, types of files you use, etc. Perhaps if everyone would review it using $2.5k AK240 with hi-res DSD files - we might be able to get a true a/b comparison. SE846 is probably the most highly regarded out of that group, and I hope to be able to audition it one day.

3. Rules are only a theory. Poorly designed IEM with the best drivers and removable cables will still ruin the sound. This becomes especially apparent with some of the hybrid designs and tuning where manufacturer thinks they can combine dynamic driver for bass and single or double BA for mids/highs and everything will be intact. That a theory, but in practice designs like AX35 or DGS100 or Altone200 failed to create a good balance between lows and highs, with a sound skewed more toward lows or toward highs without balance. I also read a lot of impressions about XBA-H3 from people praising them highly when those were released, but in the last year slamming them hard with criticism where some $50-$60 Chinese IEMs beat them in sound quality and performance, or come very close at a fraction of the price. That's why there is so much talk about "giant killer" IEMs on Head-fi, people are amazed that you can have a sound quality from unknown manufacturers for a faction of the price that comes close to big brand names. Coincidentally, most of these small Chinese manufactures has been OEM manufacturers for many years making drivers for big brand names :) And now they are deciding to make their own IEMs in parallel. In my opinion DITA is also in this category because their tuning has been compared to a lot of $1k+ IEMs and full size headphones. Not sure about SE846, everybody is raving about it. Hopefully I will get a chance to receive a review sample (though Shure usually wants to sign loaner agreements in "blood" lol!!!)

4. Don't listen to rock, true. UE900 are good when you listen for awhile to get your brain settle in. Once you start comparing them to other IEMs, they loose their shine, especially in upper mids where timbre of high frequencies starting to sound unnatural to my ears. Again, this is just a matter of a personal taste. We all have different ear anatomy and our ear-canal is also a filter ;) I used to think UE900 and W40 were at the top of their game. They are great, but I highly prefer IM03 over them because of AT's natural delivery of vocals and balance with a low end. I'm also very curious since Westone is sending me UM Pro 30 for review which should be tuned similar to IM03.

Will be a very busy next month with review samples of UM Pro 30, ATH-CKR9 and CRK10, Fidue A83 and A71, Astrotec LYRA 6, DUNU Alpha 1, and some budget IEMs I'm waiting to receive.. Also, will have an opportunity to spend more time with DITA Answer to run more comparison. So, stay tuned for a lot more reviews!!!