That’s what I was going to reply to say - the shells are smaller than average, while having the usual UIEM form factor. So scale will be off. I probably look like I have massive fingers too!
The connectors can help to gauge.
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Charts and graphs? I know… hoo, mama! But even without any, the Moondrop Aria SEs I just got sound very good… I’m listening to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit" now, and it does!
I think I should just quit the forum… it’s too expensive 
Ordered the LBBS… got to know what all the earbud hype is all about. I expect to dislike it, but I love being wrong about these kind of things… let’s wait and see (once the package arrives from china)
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So thanks to a very generous user I’ve been able to test out the Raptgo Hook and Thieaudio Excalibur for the past 2 weeks and it’s honestly made me gain some appreciation for my Starfields.
I’ve come to realize I actually prefer them over the other two so now i’m stuck on where to to go from here 
What’s an IEM that’s sounds like the Starfield with way better technicalities? The Starfields are a bit muddy sounding and turn messy when there’s a lot going on in the track but they are way better at detail retrieval than I initially thought, in fact after some extensive listening I’d say better than the other two mentioned above and I didn’t realize how much that mattered to to me until now.
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I’d say the obvious choice for you would be staying in the moondrop house: Kato for 200.
I’m not sure the difference will be sad obvious as you’d like, though.
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What about Blessing 2/Variations?
Maybe even S8?
I’ve heard Blessing 2 sounds “like plastic” from a few people and idk how I feel about that and wasn’t sure if that’s something that carried over into the higher end models as well
@Erokh
Blessing 2 Dusk lines up pretty well with the Starfield, and (while I didn’t have them at the same time) was a better technical set IMO. You may also want to see if you can check out the Olina or SeekReal Airship, depending on whether you want slightly less or more bass, if you want to stay with a single DD set.
BA sets presenting with a “plastic” timbre or tonality varies from person to person, in my experience; even if you hear it, it may not be enough to detract from the sound you want.
I thought about b2 and variation, but they haven’t the same sound Sig than the other moondrop lineup.
B2 disk would be nearer that target but as it has been tuned by crinacle and not moondrop themselves, I want sure how close it is from the rest of their line up.
I’ve been listening to the Vortex at conservative volumes (35 on my Hiby R3 Pro, balanced) because they sound great that way. For fun I bumped them up about 4 ticks. I was hesitant because there’s already plenty of treble energy, but amazingly it remains unsibilant, the same way the Serial volume-scales without issue.
The result was a bit more bassy of a feel, and further improved dynamics. Very engaging though, definitely a tuning that demands your attention vs. something more laid back. I’m adding noteworthy tracks to a playlist to help me write something up at a later date hopefully. Just listened to “…” by Ewigheim, and it was one heck of an experience. I could write up a lot just about how this track was handled vs some other sets. It retains the strengths of the NM2+ and to dive extent the ISN D02 its appearance seems modeled after… but without the pitfalls. No lack of noteweight, certainly no hollowing out that threatens male vocals and guitar barrages, and no grainy/noisy over-concentration on upper mids in order to bring about details.
Writing in an iPhone, typos guaranteed for now.
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Thanks - they look 
like them more than the lighter colour scheme.
Enjoy Edinburgh - small world, I’m in the office to work today in Edinburgh.
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You’re not the only ones, my office is also in Edinburgh although I moved out over the bridge and work from home most of the time
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Are those the stock tips on your vortex or did you swap them out for one of the horn tips?
I’d been trying W01 (I think that’s what BGVP’s wide bores are called?) and just switched back to ePro horn. No clear thoughts on the differences I’m afraid.
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I think there is a better alternative but it’s a bit out of my price range, the ThieAudio Elixir, some consider it as the Kato upgrade and I want a better version of the Kato. Hana 2021 seems to be good as well to get if I want an alternative to the Kato as well.
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Hana 2021 is different from Kato. Elixir I never heard.
I know the graphs does not tell the whole story of an IEM, but according to this, those 2 seem pretty close to the Kato’s sounds. Correct me if I am wrong though, the Olinas are pretty much similar as well it seems after seeing Hi-Fri’s video about the Olina.
Kato is very thin sounding, analytical. They come out as soft with a soft bass impact. Hana is more V-shaped, warmer and bodied.
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Today I went to demo potential endgame©, again.
Variations-Oracle-MonarchMK2-Diva.
Reaffirmed that I don’t like Variations. Midbass scoop is real.
Oracle is nice but I feel like I’d rather buy Zeus for a warm-ish/smooth sound.
So it’s a toss up between Monarch MK2 vs Diva.
In the end I chose Diva solely for its wow factor - the magical vocals which unsurprisingly it beats the Variations (try Stand by Me the FFXV ver). Another stand out moment is at the chorus of Touch off - Uverworld. I don’t know how to describe it but this set stood out the most. Its not perfect tho. The treble doesn’t sound that bad anymore but can be a bit much sometimes. The bass doesn’t have the slam that a DD has.
I think Monarch MK2 doesn’t do enough to peel me away from my Timeless. Plus, reckon I can get Monarch MK2 from the used market sometime later. Still, this is a good set. I don’t anyone will regret buying it.
Now the waiting game begins, shopkeeper told me it’ll take 1 month plus so maybe I’ll have bought Monarch by then or maybe get stuck in another sinkhole of a hobby 
Still haven’t found the perfect one but this’ll keep me from buying at least for a year🙏
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I guess the biggest difference I can hear in “expensive” vs cheap IEMs are dynamics & resolution. Sometimes details - those Easter eggs are always a joy to stumble on.