IEM: N/A

Headphones: N/A

Wireless: N/A

Dac: N/A

Amp: N/A

Cables: A new USB cable be my other one kept causing a spike that would lock up my DAC. (3 months so far without the issue returning)

… have I reached the end of the bell curve? Is this enlightenment? In all seriousness, I’m currently just very happy with my current collection. I truly adore the Sundara, and the Edition XS is also great. The DT 770 Pro is an excellent daily driver due to its comfort over long sessions, and the ATH-AD500X is a fun headphone for just laid back listening.

A volume increase (which is what a bass boost is) at any frequency range will increase the sound pressure which in turn increases the potential for hearing damage.

iPhone SE, because I prefer iOS and it isn’t as expensive as the rest of their phones. That’s really it.

iPhone SE, because I prefer iOS and it isn’t as expensive as the rest of their phones. That’s really it.

They can, but it really depends in what you are driving. Most solid state amps today aim for a true flat response and are capable of achieving it when driving most headphones and, probably, all IEMs. You usually will not notice an amp deviating from that flat response unless you are making it work hard. Whether that be via power or gain. Additionally, you probably wont notice the deviation as much on a solid state amp as you would on a tube amp.

Assuming it’s indestructible, the Hifiman Sundara. I love them. They do everything well enough with a tonality that I love.

Noise cancelling isn’t really bullshit, though? It lowers ambient noise so that you don’t need to turn your music up to drown it out.

There are two kinds of noise cancelling, active and passive.

Active uses built in processing and microphones to analyze the noise around you and then drown it out. (Think Apple Airpods Pros, or Samsung Galaxy Buds)

Passive noise cancelling, which is exactly what earplugs are. They plug your ears and then don’t let outside sound in.

In my experience, I have yet to have any IEM that passively cancels more noise than any active IEM, but my experience is limited. Personally, I’d recommend something like the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 or Pro

Almost zero. There are fringe cases where they matter (like a headphone with incredibly low impedance), but those cases are so rare that it’s basically zero in 99% of cases.