Best IEMs for Mixing & Editing? Is It Possible?

Over the past few months, I’ve been testing a bunch of IEMs and headphones to see if you can actually mix and edit audio on them. Everyone says you can’t, but I wanted to find out for myself. I went through everything from the ER2xr and Truthear Pure to the Blessing 2, Hexa, and Studio4, plus classic headphones like the 7506, M50x, and HD6xx.

There’s a key difference between voiceover editing and mixing.

Voiceover editing is all about catching every little detail in a single vocal track. You’re fixing mistakes, breaths, pops, and clicks so the voice sounds clean and consistent. Tiny issues matter, and tools like EQ, de-essing, and subtle compression help get it perfect.

Mixing is different. Here, you’re combining multiple tracks — vocals, music, and effects — and making them sound good together. It’s more about balance and the bigger picture than spotting tiny flaws. Levels, panning, EQ, compression, and reverb all come into play to get everything sitting right in the mix.

The big difference: Editing = precision, one track at a time. Mixing = cohesion, the whole picture. That also affects gear choice: editing favors super accurate, flat monitors (like ER2xr IEMs or 7506s), while mixing benefits from gear with width and spatial clarity (HD600, Sundara, Studio4).

By the end, I had a much clearer picture of which gear actually works for both. I finally feel ready to answer the question that’s been floating around forever: Can you really mix with IEMs?

00:00 Introduction
00:36 Voiceover editing is not the same as mixing
1:24 The Iloud Micro
1:55 The Sony MDR 7506
2:30 The Audio Technica M50x
3:09 Sennheiser HD6xx and Sennheiser HD600
3:55 AKG K371
4:25 Sundaras
4:34 Let's talk IEMs
4:47 Etymotic ER2XR
5:38 Truthear Pure
6:01 Moondrop Blessing 2 and Crinacle Dusk
7:23 Tip rolling
8:08 Truthear Hexa
9:44 Softears Studio4