IEM to go with/compare to my arriving Olina SE?

IEMs / Other In-Ear Monitors (IEM)
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Hey there, I ordered the Olina SEs after looking for a good Warm Neutral (HD 6XX vibes) IEM around the $100 range. They won’t be arriving until later on in October. And because I hate having money, I am thinking of ordering another IEM in the $100 range. Something that either would be good to compare to the Olina SE, or something with a different sound signature to explore and see if I’ll like it more.

I’m not a big fan of Bright or Dark signatures, I don’t want something fatiguing, I prefer a more pleasing signature. I enjoy listening to Heavy Metal, Metalcore, Piano, and Videogame OSTs.

My first IEM I was thinking of trying out was the Moondrop Starfields. I know the Aria exist but I’m just a huge sucker for how nice the Starfields look. They have a Harman Neutral sound signature which I don’t know how well that will go with my music tastes, but it just seems like an interesting IEM to try out. Moondrop seems to be everywhere right now so I’m very curious about them.

Or maybe some kind of Planar IEM? I do know stuff like the 7hz Timeless and Raptgo Hook-X are beloved ones, but they are over $200 so I’ll have to pass for now. But if Planar IEMs are not worth it around the $100 range, then I’ll just skip then for the time being.

As for Etymotic, I don’t want my ears violated.

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Avoid the Aria and Starfields. They were good, but better sets for much cheaper prices have come out since. I had both, and Salnotes Zero is a better tuned version of them at $20 (1DD). Then grab the Truthears Zero for sub-bass focused Harman tuning (2DD $50). Then grab the QKZ X HBB (1DD $20) for warm tuning :+1:

Or you can grab the Dioko (planar) at $100, but I personally don’t vibe with planar timbre, plus you’ll be getting 3 differently tuned IEMs vs 1 :stuck_out_tongue:

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Pass on the Truthear Zero, because that set plays very bright, which you don’t want. I can’t say because I haven’t heard it but Dioko likely will be bright too (that’s kinda Crinacle’s thing).

T2 DLC is in the Aria/Titan S tuning family, is more energetic in the upper mids than Aria but the treble is understated, and is $20 cheaper.

Other than that, you’re already in the HBB rabbit hole so….

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