I get that IEMs are a great option under a 150 bucks and also convenient for traveling, I own two pairs myself and they are decent. But I’ve tried two open back headphones now and they both eclipse the IEMs in a way that can definitely not be replicated by IEMs. The sound is really “outside your head” and airy, whereas IEMs sound exactly like you’d expect them to sound. Often they can’t even get omnidirectional imaging right and have blobs, and soundstage is very constrained.
So, why are there people spending tons of money on ©hifi IEMs when they only listen to them at home anyways?
Only place I can use an open back headphone is at home, and I dont even like them there because my neighbors are noisy. IEMs I can use anywhere.
Plus, this post reads to me like you havent tried a TOTL IEM. I’ve tried a bunch of TOTL IEMS back to back with open and closed back TOTL headphones, and the IEMs were just as good. Better even in some aspects like detail.