What's the Best IEM for me in 2024?

Between a number of great new options coming out of Asia, and a recommitment to innovation from older American and European brands, there are more high quality IEM options now than ever. But, if you’re shopping for new IEMs, with so many options it can be really hard to narrow down the right one for you. While you may not be able to keep up with all the new releases, our team does our best to hear just about everything that we can, and hopefully we can use that information to offer some helpful guidance to you.

For this guide, we’re primarily focused on IEMs that came out in 2024 or near the end of 2023, but in some cases, there might be some that are older, but that we just got our hands on for the first time in the last year. We’ll also divide them up by price point and tuning styles to help you better make your decision, and we’ve included some personal staff picks

Best IEMs under $500

Great sound and performance doesn’t always need to come with a massive price tag. Brands like Moondrop and DITA have done some of their best work under $500, and if you’re not looking to spend a massive amount of money on your portable audio setup, $500 might represent your IEM endgame.

For simplicity and all around excellence for the price, it’s hard to beat DITA Project M. Project M delivers a natural tonality and impressive speed and technical performance from a single dynamic driver (DD). The design and materials are excellent for the price point, and the whole experience will make you feel like you’re getting a flagship IEM for $325.

One of our biggest surprises of the year was the $169 Celest Relentless. Celest is a sub brand of Kinera Audio which specializes in bringing high-end design and technology – like high driver counts or planar IEMs – down to more accessible price points. Celest Relentless is a 7-driver hybrid IEM, with 6 balanced armatures (BA) and 1 DD, and delivers a tuning and performance that evokes popular IEMs like the Thieaudio Monarch MK3 or Moondrop Dark Saber for a fraction of the price.

Another surprise from this year was the Rose Technics Star City 5 Pro. Rose Technics has yet to find a huge market in the US, but their highly refined, detailed tunings provide excellent value, and their IEMs are very well built, with unique looks that help them stand out. Star City 5 Pro offers a clean, transparent tuning, and highly detailed delivery, with resolution that’s absolutely mind blowing for $72.99.

Best IEMs under $1000

The price range where we’ve seen the most growth in the IEM market in the last year or so is the space from $500 to $1000. Whether it’s lower priced models from brands that regularly produce $3000-$4000 IEMs, or new flagships from smaller budget brands there’s a lot to love in this space.

While the brand may be best known for its high-end custom IEMs that find their way into the ears of artists like Beyonce and John Mayer, and second best known for their high-end audiophile IEMs, the $899 64 Audio Aspire4 is something a little different. Aspire4 is the brand’s least expensive universal IEM, and it’s priced and aimed more towards burgeoning music creators than arena stages or audiophiles. Regardless, the technical performance and balance of detail of musicality fits perfectly in with 64 Audio’s legacy of incredible IEMs.

Considering that the brands lineup tops out at $1500, Thieaudio has a lot of IEMs in the under $1000 category, and their latest, Thieaudio Origin is one of their best. When I opened the package and listened to them for the first time, I didn’t know what the price is, and just assumed they’d be around $1300 – everything about the IEMs, from the design, to the packaging, to the sound is flagship caliber – and the $849 price point means that a top tier experience just got a little more affordable.

Speaking of top-tier experiences, Ice Lab Prismatica is another IEM that might have you guessing that it’s 2-3x the price. It offers an incredible unboxing experience with a unique look, and excellent build, with lots of little bespoke touches that are surprising $799. The internal design may also come as a surprise, as it uses 5 BA drivers to achieve a rich natural sound that will make you swear there’s a dynamic driver in there.

7th Acoustics Supernova is another IEM that uses an all BA driver configuration to create impressive tonality and timbre. For $849 Supernova has been an international smash hit simply for its mind-blowingly natural, balanced sound. 7th Acoustics also strives to provide a high-class experience with their myriad color options and great build.

Best IEMs under $2000

Just a few years ago, $1500-2000 would have been considered flagship range, and while many brands have their flagship IEMs in this range or below, for others $2000 is reserved for a high-end, but more experiential design, or for their “mid-tier” offering. Our list has a little bit of each.

DUNU Glacier boasts a big, powerful sound befitting its name, landing as DUNU’s flagship at $1349. Glacier is a 9-driver tribrid, with 1 DD, 4 BAs, and 4 EST drivers. Glacier delivers a massive soundstage, and deep, powerful subbass. The all-around technical performance is very strong with excellent detail and accurate imaging, but the tuning is a little more balanced towards fun.

Empire Ears Triton takes the fun to the next level with an unabashedly colorful basshead tuning. Like Glacier, Triton is a tribrid, but this time you get 2 Bone Conduction Drivers, 1 DD, and 1 BA. The result is a fast, snappy top end, and clean mids, with a mountain of bass towering over it. If you’re looking for peak performance for EDM, pop, hip hop, and alternative rock, for $1799, Triton delivers it.

For something that leans more towards a balanced, neutral sound, 64 Audio Solo uses a single planar magnetic driver to produce a clean, accurate sound. Solo demonstrates great technical capabilities while remaining very natural sounding. The IEMs’ build and cable are also a shift from 64 Audio’s more practical designs of past IEMs to something a little flashier.

Best Flagship IEMs of 2024

With no price limit, our flagship category is for the IEMs that manufacturers designed to represent their ultimate vision of sound for their brand. Whether they’re crammed full of the best technology available, or just immaculately tuned version of a simple, classic driver loadout, these are the best of the best.

When it comes to IEMs, 2024 started off strong, with January bringing the release of one of the best IEMs of the year: the Vision Ears VE10. VE10 is the perfect example of simple, elegant, excellence in an IEM. With 10 BA drivers, VE10 delivers a classic, balanced tuning, with strong detail and clarity, excellent imaging, and a versatile sound that’s great for just about any sort of music.

While it’s not their most expensive IEM, Campfire Audio Astrolith takes a position at the top of Campfire Audio’s standard lineup (not including the various limited options for the Trifecta.) Astrolith uses two planar magnetic drivers to deliver a fast, technical sound that’s also quite musical. Along with the technical performance, Astrolith is the most natural sounding IEM that we’ve heard, combining the best aspects of planar magnetic design, while overcoming the one real weakness of many other planar models.

Vision Ears struck gold twice this year, first with the VE10, and then again with EXT MK2. EXT MK2 uses 2 DD and 4 EST to deliver some of the best tonality and timbre on the market. While the soundstage isn’t quite as impressive as VE10, the realism that’s felt in voices and instruments combines with a tactile, lifelike presentation for absolutely incredible sound.

Staff Picks

While we’ve still left you with a lot of options here, we wanted to call out the specific IEMs that some of our staff have connected with most this year. It still might not be the best IEM for you, but these were some of the best for us.

Matt: Ice Lab Prismatica

Prismatica goes against the grain of anything I've heard on the market and offers bombastic bass backed by vocals that sound incredibly rich and slightly more forward in the mix. While Prismatica may not resonate with everyones tonal preferences, Ice Tung combined elements that, to my ears, can't be topped by anything else that hit the market in 2024.

Caleb: 7th Acoustics Supernova

Mine is the Supernova- It's probably some of the best tonality I've heard, and has great detail in the upper mids and treble. I think for its price it competes and even beats IEMs above its price.

Marty: Vision Ears EXT MK2

Vision Ears EXT MK2is my pick of the year because I am a big fan of how hard the dynamics hit, in a soft manner. The treble is clear and detailed, but not sharp, it remains smooth which allows me to use the EXT MK2 all day without any fatigue. Another small detail I liked is the sound stage, it’s nothing too intense, but not too small. It feels just right. This IEM pairs extremely well with the music that I like. Everything has its own pocket and just creates for a very enjoyable listening session.