Hello, so I haven’t been in the IEM game for about a year and it seems like things have changed a bit. (Zero just came out and I got that but returned it but I forgot why LMAO）
So basically I guess I’m curious on how the market is like because I do want to purchase a new IEM.
The number one thing I guess is comfort. I want something for my desk that I can have on all day. So for comfort I haven’t done too much with tips but here is my experience:
I have spinfit 145 large because I bought them for my KZ ZSX. They fit good in my left ear but in my right ear it feels a bit smaller. Though overall I would say the ZSX fit really small in my ear. Like it doesn’t feel like I can get a seal. I can push them deep in. Would just getting a bigger IEM help with that. The other main experience is the airpods pro which i use for work and those feel really great in my ear and I wear the large on those.
With sound, I am open to hear options at all the price ranges. My main headphone I use right now is the HD 6XX and it’s been my daily for 4 years so I would love to hear things that have that similar tuning or what would be completely different in that.
I mostly listen to all genres of music. Mainly jpop, kpop, hip hop, punk rock, hardcore, folk, honestly just a bit of everything. So the ones that can handle the most genres would be best. Probably something more neutral tuned? But yeah, sorry about the long request. I just want to really enjoy IEMs but have had bad luck so far with comfort and things not feeling big enough for my ears.
This is my personal preference, so YMMV. I do listen to a lot of J-pop and jazz, with some orchestral pieces thrown into the mix.
Under $50: Simgot EW200 (neutral, harman-ish)
Under $100: QoA Vesper 2 (warm, laid-back)
Under $150: 7Hz Legato (bassy)
Under $200: Tangzu x HBB Wu Zetian Heyday (neutral-bright)
I tried to cover different tuning styles as well in my list. Of course there are other recommendations within the price range, but remember that it’s a rapidly diminishing return. It won’t be an informative list if I put EW200 for all range.
Okay, I’m going to give 2 options at each price point: one safe choice, one more risky choice.
Under $50:
Safe choice: BLON x HBB Z300 - I haven’t heard it yet, but absolutely nobody I’ve seen give an impression have said it’s not properly bassy (maybe too much if that’s not the style you like but still…), it’s not too bright or harsh. It’s an easy enough blind pick without hearing it
Riskier choice: Tripowin Piccolo - Less sub-bass emphasis, a little more midbass emphasis, still not too energetic but might have some more emphasis or bite than Z300. I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker but I did find the shell to be a little heavy in the ear. Not as bad as Ikko OH10 where my ears physically got tired, but it’s notable
Under $100:
Safe choice: TinHifi P1 Max - Most neutral, mid centric planar IEM that isn’t done by a DIYer. Plays everything you throw at it and sounds great doing it
Riskier choice: Fiio JD7 - I say riskier choice relatively. Has easy good fit (though if you’re unsure about smaller IEMs this might be worrisome for you), safe good tuning, doesn’t play any particular genre amazingly but it is a trusted all-around option for me. Downside may be it’s an MMCX connection, which is a type many people don’t like that much these days
*Under $150 and $200:
Don’t have a full impression for this price bracket yet. I have a few sets to try around this price so I’ll wait before suggesting anything at this price point
Neutral - HeartMirror Zero: great bass quality, neutral smooth, small shell and great cable.
Neutral with bass boost - Z300: great amount of bass that’s not too warm and doesn’t bleed. Confort is so so for me. Cable is amazing for the price.
Mild V shape - Kiwi Cadenza: confort is top notch (I wear this on long flights), cable is average, sound is good with clean bass, elevated upper mid range giving bright-ish sounding vocals.
Under $100:
I haven’t found anything I like in the price range yet but I just order HBB Kailua.
At $250:
If you can find a used Dunu Vulkan I wouldn’t hesitate. @GooberBM and I fell in love with this IEM recently. It might be the closest to your Senn headphones with added sub-bass. It’s addicting. For sure not the most detailed and impressive set for MSRP but it’s very versatile.
There is also Blessing3 but I haven’t heard it and B3 Dusk is coming out soon anyway, might as well wait.
Okay, I’m going to try to reply to all of these because yeah I’ve been really lazy to reply the past few days LMAO.
Yeah, I figured its diminishing returns and such. It seems like the QoA Vesper is nice and the Heyday seems really interesting. My main concern is long term use since I would be having them on for hours at a time.
Seeing the z300 a lot tbh and its something that is on my radar for sure but if the comfort is not that good then its kinda eh. The vulkan seems great but finding a used one might be a bit before I can find one. I don’t mind finding used stuff for the most part. The B3 Dusk will for sure be something to look out for especially if it’s as good as the 2 Dusk.
The p1 max seems like a really good suggestion. Going to look more into that and the z300.
This guide helps out a lot. Honestly it seems like stuff like the Olina, hola, truthear red, and maybe the wan’er seem like good starting points.
I guess my big thing with all of this is going to be fit. Right now with the CP145 in large it seems like they really dont fit me at all. Like its too small, they dont fall out but I dont get a good seal. So what would be a good alternative in terms of tips?
I ended up going with the Azla lights in their largest size. Going to test with my KZs when they come in tomorrow then I think I might make a deeper dive into what to buy. Because I feel like there is so much lmao.
Thank you everyone for the help btw. I really appreciate it.
I have some options now but time to narrow it down if I want to spend some money or be okay with budget fi for my daily driver lmao.
Size and comfort would be your next priority then for long term use. Also a good set of eartips. Personally I prefer resin build for comfort. I only use metal build in air-conditioned room.
It’s not bad tbh but it depends on your ears. Some sharp corner of the shell sometimes bothers me but I just used for a 5 hour flight and it was fine. It depends on the tips too.
Spent some time with HBB Kailua, Hidizs MS3, and Raptgo Bridge. Raptgo Bridge is the one I’d pick to listen to more and see how I feel about it with further investment
Got the Azlas today and put them on my KZ ZS10 and man I think the ZS10 are just hella small. But they do fit great overall. I think I just need a bit bigger of an IEM to put in my ear. I’ve tried the S12 and that was a bit small too for my ear as well so maybe something a bit bigger than that would be needed? How big is stuff like the Olina, the Heyday, Vulkan, and I guess all the other recs.
calling 
