Sony IER-M7 in-Ear Monitor Headphones Black

I recently got the Sony IER-M7 and they are my favorite IEM right now. For reference, I also own the MEE Pinnacle PX, Etymotic ER3SE, HD58x, and Focal Elegia. This is my first review and I am by no means an audiophile so take everything with a grain of salt.My most recent purchase was a focal Elegia but I found they were too bright and had an unnatural tonality. I wanted something that I could listen to for long periods of time and decided IEMs would be the best investment as I listen to music on the go and have noisy roommates at home. These were my first foray into high end earphones. I really wanted to try a multi-BA driver setup and the level of R&D that Sony put into their new BA drivers really peeked my interest.The M7 satisfies my needs by being dark, neutral making them easy to relax to. The frequency response smooths out a lot of the harshness in music and I never feel fatigued by the treble. These have the most base of any headphones I have bought, even being able to produce an adequate rumble while remaining tight and not muddying the mids. The bass resonates with a dynamic driver like quality that doesn't feel as flat/one-dimensional as most balanced armatures. I would describe the earphones as a base boosted neutral. The middle frequencies are forward and display a good amount of detail. Everything feels effortless, vocals are natural and more forward. The only exception would be female/high pitch vocals over distortion heavy rock or other dense genres where the vocals will tend to take a back seat. Highs add adequate shimmer and detail but coming from the the er3se, I sometimes wish for a little more brightness. This however is not noticable 99% of the time and it's refreshing to not have to turn down the music from fatigue.What I am most impressed about with the M7 is it's natural tonality. I have never tried headphones that reproduce vocals and instruments with such realism. The luscious mids really create a rich tone that is easy to enjoy. The soundstage of these earphones is above average and resembles a small orb around your head. They have excellent imaging with effortless instrument separation in dense passages. Rarely, the separation almost feels too much where instruments will sound like they're coming from a pinpoint location but this is only noticable sometimes in very simple passages. The technicalities of these earphones in my opinion make them a good value at the current $500 price tag.Overall, these are great IEMs for anything you throw at them. They reproduce music naturally and offer great technicalities. I look forward to spending more time with them and plan to hold off on the headphone search for the foreseeable future.

Warm sound that’s crispy clear. The bass is there but subtle. I like the fact that I can wear these with zero ear or sound fatigue. Yes, I’ve heard better/stronger bass but, that’s not always great for longer listening sessions. This Sony set is incredibly light weight and comfortable because they’re not huge. They can be worn for hours.I really really like the . Super quality, clean / warm sound and very comfortable. The bass is plenty for most.I listen to all genres.

Excellent tuning. Not offensive in any way. The bass is well controlled and doesn't overpower the rest of the frequency response range. The mids are similarly appealing. Instruments/vocals are luscious and smooth. The highs are very well done. Extended and detailed enough to make things detailed but not harsh enough to lead to sibilance. Overall, it's a well done iem which is engaging and fun to listen to while being detailed enough to expose parts of audio that you may have missed before.The packaging is beautifully done. The 3.5 and 4.4mm cables are simply the best cables I've used. The do not tangle and have a weightless feel. The iems are plastic but have the usual Sony polish, fit, and quality that's expected. You also get a ton of tips which makes it easy to find a comfortable fit.So with all this said, why am I returning them? Because these are BA armatures with BA bass! The bass quantity is perfectly done but it's quality is just maddening. Bass is felt as much as it's heard but the balanced armatures make bass notes feel uni-tonal; As if they were being played from an electric keyboard. These were my first full balanced armature set and it's unlikely that I'll go down this road again. Even the cheapest dynamic drivers will sound more lifelike as far as bass is concerned.So should you buy this? If you want a luxurious sounding pair that are amazingly comfortable (in my case), and easy to listen to all day, and aren't concerned about missing some visceral feel to the bass, these will most likely be the pair for you. I compared them with the older brother M9 and found those to be too harsh (treble) for me.If the texture of bass notes is something you crave, you will find this to be wanting and likely face the agony of having to return them despite enjoying them immensely.Sony please make a similar sounding pair that doesn't cost as much as the Z1R!