I am in the market for iem’s. My budget is $200, but the cheaper the better. I love bass, but don’t want it to overpower. I also want them to be comfortable, I used to have AirPods Pro’s and they hurt my ears, so I needed to sell them. I use size small/medium tips so I have like medium/small ears. Last thing to note, I am thinking of getting and bluetooth amp ( like fiio btr5 or btr3) with it, but if I get an amp, I want iem + amp to be around $200. So far, I have been thinking of buying the tfz no. 3, oh10’s, or thieaudio legacy 3’s… But I don’t really know what to get. Thanks a lot for the suggestions:grin:
1.Used Fiio FH5(The best bass ive heard on iems ive tried,Very fragile mmcx connectors)
2.Fiio FH3(Possibly the best fiio iem to date,new release so waiting time is longer)
3.Moondrop Starfields(my personal choice all rounder iem)
4.Ikko OH10(kinda heavy,A liitle bit shouty for me BUT have amazing soundstage)
5.L3(is good too but they have some qc issues)
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Tingker TK200 ( quantity over quality) (this one is better in every way and does the same thing as the TFZ No.3)
Fiio FH3 ( quantity and quality)
LZ A6 (quality over quantity)
How is fiio fh3 compared to AirPods Pro?
And is the fh5 worth $100 more than the fh3
Here’s my opinion from what I’ve tried (from least to most expensive). This is also my first post so I’m sorry if I sound like I don’t know much haha.
BLON 03 ($26-$39) - Large in quantity, but bass bleeds in the mids. Really nice tuning as well. Easy to listen to, but you’ll need to switch tips/cable as the fit is atrocious.
Urbanfun YBF -ISS014 ($69) - A bit less quantity than the 03’s but still hits decently hard. Does not bleed into the mids though. Tuning is a bit V-shaped in my experience though. Decent choice but I prefer the 03’s.
ThieAudio Legacy 3 ($119) - Pretty safe tuning. Relatively neutral and not fatiguing. Bass is pretty solid but a lot less in quantity compared to the 03’s. Innofensive and has dip switches which affect the sound very little in my experience. Not my favorite basshead iem, but it’s a really good option in general.
FiiO FH3 ($129) - Quite nice! Bass is in between the Legacy 3’s and the 03’s. Bass impact is quite nice and relatively clean. Not overpowering but has a nice texture/dd slam. Mids and highs don’t seem excessive to me either and sounds good. Might be hard to come by now as it’s already sold out on Amazon. Possibly one of the best value on this list.
Ikko OH10 ($199) - Really nice bass impact. U-shaped version of the FH5 (IMO). Mids don’t get lost but are not like the FH5’s. Surprisingly heavy and I had fit issues with this one unfortunately. Awesome bass, decent mids, nice highs.
FiiO FH5 ($269) - Probably a mix between the 03’s and the FH3’s. Large in quantity but does not bleed in the mids. Really solid bass overall. Vocals are quite forward as well. Out of your budget, but like JEFF_JEFF mentioned, if you can get it used for cheap, it might be worth it. Bass is boosted, mids/vocals sound nice to me, and highs are not fatiguing.
*Edit: Sorry for the long post. Didn’t realize how long it was until I finished.
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Thanks for the reply. You helped a lot in my decision making? I am thinking I will stick with the fiio fh3, but if I find a deal on the fh5 I might consider. One more thing. Do you use a Bluetooth dap like the btr5 or do you plug straight int a phone or somthing?
Both (Shanling UP4 & LG V30). I mainly use my iems while traveling so I try to put the bulk of money into the iem themselves as I feel like that’s more efficient!
I’m looking for this answer as well. At the moment my daily driver is a Blon03 and I want to step up my game. I recently got an L3, but my set is crazyyyyy bad, it has less/same bass as a T2 Pro.
I need to decide between the FH3, FH5 (a little more expensive, around 230 euros), and the ISN H40. Suggestions?
When they’re back in stock the Thor Mjölnir is gonna be hard to beat sub $200 bass wise by all accounts.
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