An audio recording should be easy enough, as I can simply throw a tablet down next to the PA.  The audio recording app I've got even does on-the-spot level calibration so I'll simply set it to record when the sound check starts.

I would love to hear what everybody has to say, as further improvements could eventually turn planar magnetic headphones into a more affordable alternative to top of the line electrostats. At least, I feel like this may be the case. I also look forward to the announcements of the products that warren has alluded to.

Yup, that's one of the things I am looking forward to in the immediate future.  Just by pairing driver improvements and competent tuning, I think we could be further along than we are now.  And when you factor in new drivers, the resulting elevation in performance is a welcome thing.  At the same time, maturation and better production yields should lower costs.  So I expect to be seeing both better units and cheaper units (though perhaps not better and cheaper units) in the very near future.

But the other thing that really excites me is varying application.  The new Audezes have been shown to be very efficient - so much so that I get very passable performance driving them straight out of my AK120 with no supplemental amp.  Now if you one were to stop and think about that level of efficiency for a second... and imagine applications other than ginormous cans... well, just let your imagination run wild for a bit.

This might be a good time to ask: Is there a particular design or engineering reason that would make planar iems impossible?

Also: Best wishes to LFF!

Planar no. Stax has them.  Orthodynamic yes, I think the scale at which a complex array of magnets would have to be designed.  The question is whether the cost would be worth the benefit.  I think a lot of dynamic driver IEMs are not far off from that level of performance already due to their small size.  I'd imagine it would have to be some type of larger discus design that might not play well with a lot of ears so you could loose a good chunk of the potential customer base right off the bat.  Someone like FAD who can charge a grand or two on a whim and still sell could probably get away with something.

There was that Yamaha ortho IEM back in the day - http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Yamaha_YH-5M

Quite a sexy little thing.

forgot about that.  Some reason reminds me a bit of this:

http://cusumanovision.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/eye_machine_small-300x200.jpg

So they just punched some holes in the magnets it seems.  What was the signature like?  If I had to guess maybe warm or dark and a bit closed in?  Perhaps rich or lush too.

I've thought about trying to DIY a set before, I don't think it'd be that hard to do.  There are dirt cheap donut shaped magnets that are small enough for that.  I bet they'd be really uncomfortable though since they'd be kinda heavy in the ears.