10 character
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I didnāt know the Lava was a limited run. 
But all great things must come to a end!
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Yup. It was always a 200 unit commit. 
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All thoughts are stockWell, the top set does say Transparency. 
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Well thatās a flying start for QC aināt it.!!
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Bottom filter is for the Lmmersion 
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i thought this is how the FD5 tuning filters worked?
smaller diameter for less upper mids/treble
Arghā¦ Couldnāt resist after that commentā¦ 
Got it at ~482 due to 10% off on sale and 20% couponā¦ 
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Is it worth it going from $300 iems to above $600?
I hear a lot of hype about the Xenns Up and I really want to try them but I just want to know if the sound quality is that big of a jump in that price range. I see the Serial is sitting at A+ tier on your list and was wondering is the Up that much better? Also what are some more iems you would recommend in the price range mentioned above? Iām looking to move up in tiers as far as sound goes from what Iāve heard so far. I have Starfields(too muddy but love everything else about them) Hook-X(great but have them lended to me from a user so wonāt be keeping them) and Excalibur(too laid back for my taste)
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UP is the warmest tri brid. Best for R&B Rock and Hip hop. Itās my guilty pleasure and it isnāt EE LX or the like in cost but plays same part of my library well.
Generally Iād say no.
I think the UM MEST is a clear audible upgrade worth itās price but most stuff is less clear cut and is like gilding the lilly as they say.
My list is filled with non redundant sets. I do NOT want everything to be a cousin of each other following 1 almighty curve. I want good SQ and am a fan of different specialty sets.
SERIAL is kinda dark but as a 3/DD set is is unique and great with R&R.
So no, UP is not that big a jump but is is a tribrid with some good but controlled low end with good extension and not fatiguing treb.
It is worth it to me though
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Well, I guess you are assuming that the performance (for a specific reviewer/person) for the 300 USD fits exactly 300 USD, vice versa for the 600 USD set. If, however, you start to factor in how some IEMs under or over-perform their price brackets, then the question is more complex. I would say, based on my research, that the Yanyin Moonlight (RRP 650 USD) is a clear upgrade from say Mangird Tea OG, Tea MK2, Yanyin Canon, etc, which are all 300-350 USD hybrids that are generally well-reviewed. Now, itās not really a fair comparison, because Moonlight has upgraded hardware and is a tribrid, but it fits the price brackets you mentioned. Do bear in mind that it is a āclear upgradeā for the learned ear, as in people with a lot of experience in A/Bing IEMs. If you have sufficient experience (based on Starfield, Hook-X, Excalibur), and you got the Moonlight, Iād be really surprised if you didnāt notice a significant improvement. But you will probably also recognise an improvement with the Tea/Tea MK2/Canon over the Starfield & Excalibur, but perhaps not a universal improvement over the Hook-X (planar magic).
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The Up is at the top for me right along with Moonlight. Both sitting as King and Queen. For me theyāre both well all arounders just with different flavors. In agreement with HBB the Up is the warmest IEM Iāve heard. Iād also say it excels at the genres he mentioned for my preference. Adding that I feel its still be okay at others for others if you like the tuning.
Moonlight takes the sound and tunes it more neutral. Itās neither to analytical or to warm. Probably leaning a touch towards more warm. Just the right amount to be really good at everything but, never really excelling at anything or only being okay at others. Or to say it never really gives anything some extra special sauce. Surprisingly I donāt consider that a weakness but, a huge strength.
I can literally play my whole library through and everything sounds really good and my library listening habits are all over the place. Metal, Rock, Punk, EDM, Hip-Hop, Country and all the sub genres. A listening session will normally consist of all those. Very rarely to I listen to genre specific playlist.
Up though is a hard rec. As Iāve mentioned in other comments itās tuning is to unique. Youāll probably be in the boat of simply loving it, even if for specific genres, or not liking it and feeling it was wasted money. Moonlight has a tuning that is a safer rec. Of course people may not like it but, itās safer to bet they probably would.
Are they worth it only you can answer. Are you willing to shell out an extra $300 and possibly be disappointed. I think it really comes down to a combo of how excited you are about the better technicalities, your understanding that you pay more for better newer tech and your budget. If you really want to give it a try Iād avoid the Up. Go for the Moonlight. Itās still so new and thereās more talk on it that if you end up disappointed it will most likely be an easier sale with less of a markdown for what you paid.
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Spoken like a pro in the game. Sage advice
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Some form of this is always the big question. I tend to think of it in terms of what does the next X dollars get me, but same basic idea.
I agree with Chrisās answer of āgenerally noā. I am also looking for sets that do things that compliment the IEMs I already have. I spent a bit of time finding out what my ideal curve was, and then figuring out I was wrong about parts of that.
I think the reality is that there are a couple price points that the return on investment changes, and you have probably already seen it. There are some big improvements moving toward the $100 price point, and it sounds like you have something around $300. But if I were there strictly for value, Mangird Tea isnāt 3x what Olina is. Those are two of my favorite IEMs and I canāt see parting with either. I am listening to Frampton Comes Alive on Tea as I type this, and really enjoying it.
My library is very close to @hawaiibadboy 's, just swap prog rock in for his hip-hop and you have the right idea. I find that my preference on IEM tonality match very closely to @MMag05 so I tend to read his posts closely.
If there a sound quality that you want, that a more expensive IEM produces, then it can be worth spending the extra money, and clearly is for lots of people. Always take your own budget into account, after nearly 18 months into this hobby, I still only have three IEMs over $120 ( S12, Timeless, Tea ).
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@John_W_Clark I actually had the Tea at one point, totally forgot about that lol. I loved the sound but I couldnāt ever get the right fit, ended up ordering the Final E tips today and I kinda wanted to take the dive on Mangird Tea 2 as I see some things were improved and maybe those were the tips I needed, but I read some great things in reviews for the Yanyin Moonlight including what someone else had said about it being in their top tier, ended up grabbing them.
Weāll see how it goes! It sounds lovely from what Iāve read
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Sorry to hear that, and I can relate to fit issues. That was my experience with the T3+, which is too big for me to wear for longer than a couple hours.
I have small ears and struggle with fit on a lot of IEMs, and the Teas are nearly the perfect fit for me, and I went MKI over MKII, because it was smaller, plus I could get the OG for $260 on Drop, vs $350 for the MKII.
Good luck on the Moonlight, the reviews have been awesome.
I have both. Tea MKII is good but, the OG Tea is way more special in every way with its tuning. And I agree with Precogās assessment on the Vulcan that the Tea MKII goes a little more full tilt with its tuning. Sometimes a little to much in my opinion. I think Xenns tried to go with a safer wider audience appeal with it and for me it took away the OG Teas pizzazz. I also donāt find it to be as great an all arounder because it goes to far in one direction sometimes.
Currently listening to the Vulcan with some Type E tips. Just as Precog said it sort of takes a step back and doesnāt go full tilt. Iād rec the Vulcan anyday before I did the Tea MKII. Itās got some type of pizzazz or combo of going for it that I canāt quite put on finger on yet. Itās seriously making me contemplate selling the Tea MKII. In some weird way despite the tuning being different itās more what I was expecting the MKII should have been like.
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