you didn’t actually throw them in the trash tho, right? 
That is saying something. I picked up several IEMs this year, but the most disappointing to my ears were the Zero2 and Simgot EW200. When those are the bad ones, it was a very good year.
I think the three that really popped for me this year were the Kailua, Tanchjim One DSP, and Castor black. I like the latter two enough that I ordered the Tanchjim Tanya DSP this week, since I have heard good things.
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“Stashed” would have been a more appropriate term lol.
Need to list them in the near future.
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Yeah Meteor was a letdown… traded them for U4s tho, so all good in the end. They sounded nothing like T4 for me btw. T4 is good🥰
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Didn’t get any lemons, but the one that I THOUGHT I would like better were the Conch.
It’s a good IEM, but stock a bit too thin for me and my preferences. But I put some foam in the red nozzle and now I like them.
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Worst iem of 2023 Tangsu Fudu just what the he’ll are those mids and treble about sounds like they’re in a huge empty vessel Hollow AF. The bass is alright though which makes the rest a big???
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Fudu is what “sticking TWO BAs in the nozzle” sounds like
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Dang got a Fudu incoming, last minute BF buy.
Let’s see if it arrives before X-mas, I might have to revise my entry lol.
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Nothing that was a 2023 release has come to mind to me yet besides one - the Kiwiears Quartet.
Couldn’t stand the bass, or the treble, and I can’t remember what the mids were like but at that point it doesn’t matter. It wasn’t an issue of quantity, but just how they sounded for timbre and cohesion.
I had high hopes from the setup and the beautiful shells, but dang. Would have been a great value set too if it sounded ok.
The 2019 Andromeda is disqualified due to release year…
TBH the build of the Cinna was 
but while the tuning wasn’t for me it wasn’t a disaster especially for the price. Keeping Quartet as my option.
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Oof, I’m sorry for your loss. But honestly it may work for you - while I didn’t like them personally, others seem to enjoy them. Don’t lose hope!
Alright, so as some of you may know, I’m not a big fan of planars. The timbre and bass feels too light, and a lot of them are just very spicy - I don’t hate them, but I won’t actively go out of my way to buy one… So with that in mind, I would actually buy the new S15 from Letshuoer.
It’s the most refined planar that I’ve heard so far, and basically the supernova of planars, neutral and very smooth. It fixes the main issue I have with planars which are in their upper mid and treble that always feels peaky, uneven, jittery, and just not very natural - they’re a bit jarring at times and too sharp which takes you right out of the musical immersion. The S15 on the other hand tames those regions without creating lots of tiny dip and scoops, or jitters, while still maintaining that air past 10K which gives you that open feeling in the stage. Treble isn’t the most sizzly or energetic, but again there’s plenty of air to cymbal crashes, and enough sharpness to not sound smoothed out and soft sounding.
If you’re sensitive in the upper mid regions then you’ll love the S15 as it basically deletes a few dbs off the whole 3-8K frequency, and transitions subtly and smoothly into the treble. Now, this does affect vocals a bit as the gain region and the overall sharpness is turned down, so the S15 isn’t going to sound powerful and extended like the RSV, or sparkly like the OG Oracles. Or in other words, back to the singing analogy it’s good a solid chest voice and falsetto, but not enough head voice and power - which is why there’s a boost in the 1.5K region in order to try and push the vocals a bit more forward, and it does help with vocal clarity as they aren’t buried or disappear into a track, but if you’re looking for lots of vocal detail and sparkliness, then try something like the EA1000 instead as the S15 is very neutral when it comes to its vocal presentation.
Likewise, the bass is also very “safe” is the word I would use. It’s not pillowy and light like most planars, so that’s good, and there’s a decent amount of punch and impact, very tight and well-controlled, fast in its attack and decay, and the texture is actually very DD like, and overall just a good quality low-end… But if you’re looking for more slam and thickness in the mid-bass, and just more reverb to the bass notes in general, then something like the Hype 2 would be fuller and more engaging. Although in-terms of overall quality in the low-end, to the mids, to the highs, the S15 is very good, neutral and laid back with an open and airy stage, as well as great technical performance as details and separation are effortlessly laid out in front of you.
It’s also geat that the S15 scales very well at higher volumes, no fatigue or sharpness, again very smooth and refined, kinda like a mini supernova. Now, this does mean that just like the Supernova the S15 also doesn’t specialise in any area in particular, and just plays back every genre I threw at it very evenly and safely, doesn’t highlight any regions but instead just lets the music flow and play itself naturally. Versus the Timeless and S12 the S15 is much smoother and more refined, more even in its dynamics and laid back while maintaining the same technical performance. No light or sharp timbre, more natural, although it’s not as exciting in the low-end or as lively in the treble, so if you want something more fun then any of the S12s would be better in that scenario, but the S15 is much better as a neutral IEM.
Likewise compared to the OG Wu Zetian and HeyDay, the S15 is cleaner, and again smoother, more refined, not as sizzly and energetic in the treble and uppermids, and the low-end isn’t as emphasized like the OG Wu Ze tian, so if you more bass try those instead. Basically, versus all 4 of those planars the S15 maintains the same technicality and even more air actually all while without sounding sharp, and floaty, so, for those who are turned off by planar timbre I would recommend giving the S15 a try as the playback is much more natural and the layering and separation is great.
Compared to some other hybrids around its price like the Blessing 3 the S15 actually sounds more weighted, fuller, and not as peaky in the uppermids and treble, but still airy. Both are around the same and very capable when it comes to technical performance, whereas the B3 has sharper and more detailed vocals, however, even though the vocals are more audible I would still take the S15 over the B3 because they’re less shouty, fuller, and ironically more natural and less thin sounding.
Versus the Performer 8 both are actually similar in that they follow a straighter/neutral tuning with very similar technical performance. The P8 is sharper in its notes whereas the S15 is airy and smoother, less peaks and dips in the treble, and overall fuller sounding as well without sounding warm or coloured. I would also take the S15 here because the P8 has even less vocal gain than the S15, and just not as refined overall in the air region.
Versus the Tea 2 the S15 is slightly better when it comes to layering and separation, more air and the stage feels more open, whereas the Tea 2 has a more holographic staging, fuller and more powerful in the vocals, and better bass texture and weight to the notes. So, it really depends on what you like - for me as a vocal lover who likes to listen loud and prefer darker IEMs, I’d still take the Tea 2, but as an neutral all-rounder the S15 is better as it’s basically the direct upgrade to the P1 Max, and all the other neutral sets like the Hexa, Sonus, and Cinno - Same neutral sound but just smoother and more refined with a bump in tech and air over the cheaper ones.
Now as for the Cinno I’ll just review it real quick here: it’s a neutral set like the Hexa, but with better sub-bass and less sharp sounding, however, it is darker leaning and not as airy as the Hexa. The Cinno’s mid-bass is actually fairly light like the Hexa even though mine graphs a lot more in the low-end; I wouldn’t recommend the Cinno for rock tracks because kick drums are just too light similar to the Hexa - the sub-bass is fine, but it’s just that the mid-bass is lacking.
There’s also some dark spots in the stage because of the dip, but overall stage’s still got a good depth, and layering and resolution is competitive at $100, and because of the flatter sound, the Cinno lays out the music as it is without interrupting or altering and focusing on a particular region. Basically, if you want a neutral set with good layering that you can crank up, then these are for you.
But ya, great release from Letshuoer. The S15 IMHO is the new Planar benchmark with its more refined tuning. Thanks for reading 
Final Rankings:
Tonality: A+
Tech: A+
OVerall: A+
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Good review, but I plan to skip this time too. Thie are simply perfection and I plan on trying a TOTL amount of them! 
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Now that’s a good bass glide!
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I picked up: Hola’s, Quintets, S12 Pro, Variations, OH10’s, Meteors, MMK3 this year
S12 was my least favourite. It felt like listening to music that has been cleaned and processed. Lacked a lot of the warmth and low end that I get from MMK3 / Meteor.
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Meteor for me is a great all rounder in the sense of getting a massively warm signature with killer extension. It’s my favourite chilling set cuz I can crank the volume without worrying about any sharpness whatsoever - it scales so well.
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The tuning has not been finalized yet on the EA500LM I asked yesterday - - something the take note of , but the driver is definitely a step up from OG
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Very nice so far 
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100% The new driver might be better than the EA1000 what I found interesting is that it sounds warmer and definitely smoother than the OG and EA1000 but still having more energy up top.
Probably because the low end came up.
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Ya it’s really weird because it graphs more, but it feels smoother for some reason lol - probably the boosted low-end, but ya I think the LMs makes the EA1000s low-key obsolete if priced at around $100. EA1000s still sounds sparklier and higher res, but the LMs are much easier on the ears while still holding up its tech. Mesh is another story, but stock wise LMs are not as bright. A decent bump over the OG EA500s for sure, simgot about to release another banger sheesh 
Edit: Nvm found some harshness in the cymbals on the LM whereas the EA1000’s decay is airier and less jarring. So I guess the LMs are still warmer, but just not as refined in the treble.
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