It’s an “endgame” set for most people who want warm/bassy, so I’d say ya especially if you like a warm tonality
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Did you try the Doscinco with different sources?
3.5mm as well as 4.4mm?
Maybe it benefits extra from balanced.
I’m going to try it through my Link2Bal Max and also Hiby FC6. Going to be very interesting.
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no difference sound wise, either work, balance maybe a bit easier to drive
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Thanks, just watched your Doscinco review 
! From the looks of it they seem larger than the EM6L, I mean the depth from the faceplate to the nozzle or the girth if I may 
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First post on this forum 
Hello.
Dr Sean Olive is a level 8 trained listener. It seems like a good idea for reviewers to do ear training.
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You hear that Jay…you gotta do some ear training 
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Just responding to Jay’s post above
I’m not the boss of Jay, or literally anyone else. People can do whatever they want 
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Men have conquered nations on less then level 9 harman band training + 3 plate bench pr’s
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Alright, so it’s spring sales season, and I thought I’d make a “guide”? Or at least share some mistakes I’ve made before when it came to purchase decision of audio stuff. Feel free to drop your own wisdom you learned on your audio journey 
What are you looking for in an earphone?
Really, ask yourself, what am I looking for?
Because it might not even be the sound that’s the most important… I know some people who use their IEMs for 8 hours a day and what they prioritise the most is the fit and comfort. Then there are people who just wanna try something different, maybe they don’t even like the sound but they just want to experience more variety, so they just buy whatever (guilty). And then the opposite to those would be people who only like or prefer one type of sound, like HARMAN for example, and maybe they just want a nicer design or packaging on top.
So, there are a lot of levels of priority that you should figure out first or else you’re just stuck mindlessly browsing on Linsoul, and you’ll get baited by every sale, been there, done that, not fun - And speaking of sales, guys, you don’t need an IEM just because it’s 50% off, that most likely wasn’t part of your original plan; I get it, when you see a good deal the curiosity kicks in and you start to justify, “oh it’s only $200 now, maybe I should get it”-no, no. Stick to the plan. What I like to do is figure out why I’m interested in an IEM first, and then look for that characteristic within my budget so I’m not doom scrolling just to realize the next day that I just bought like 12 $20 iems or something.
For example if you come in knowing you want a good gaming iem and don’t care too much for the tuning, then just grab the EM6L and be done with it, stop scrolling, and save that time on improving your skill, aka git gud. On the other hand if you’re looking for a specific type of sound (go check out the upgrade guide or rankings list first) don’t get caught up in the technicalities, “oh people say this one’s a little better in the tech so maybe I should get this”, “but it’s $50 more is the price hike worth it hmm?”… When it comes down to the differences between sets within a specific price range, let’s say around $200 for example, will not vary/matter that much when it comes to performance.
For example, the Chopin, Nova, and CKLVX are all similar tech wise, ya some are slightly better than the others, but the difference isn’t huge even if you A/B them which you won’t be doing since you’re most likely not going to buy all of them (right?), but instead the tuning difference is where it makes or breaks your decision. Unless you’re jumping from $20 to $200 or something, just go with the one with the better tonality that fits the sound you’re looking for. I remember when I first started I would try to find the IEM with the best tech in my price range, I would like look at all these reviews, buy it, and then later regret it because I just didn’t vibe with the sound.
IE, the Moondrop Variations, probably the best for your bang buck IEM tech wise when it first came out, I bought it, because you know amazing reviews and such, but then when I heard the mid-bass, or the lack of, that pretty much killed my enjoyment for them, and I ended having to return them. So imo always prioritize the tonality or tuning over the tech because most people are here to search for an IEM that matches their specific type of sound they have in mind, so if you buy something that doesn’t match that ideal or tuning then you’re going to be very disappointed.
Also, please don’t blind buy an IEM just because a reviewer says it’s good, even if it’s from me, go look at different reviews, look at the graph because there will always be some preference involved, and avoid the reviewers that only give positive reviews, always shilling something, or don’t even review other iems at all. You also need to take the marketing material of the products with a HUGE grain of salt (mistakes made), as the vast majority of the time it’s just hype and misleading flowery language, and be extra careful of the ones that have “revolutionary” or “legendary” in their product page because many of the brands use the same drivers and manufactures, or a previous “technology”. Now, I’m not saying there can’t be any new technological improvements, but just be very careful or else you’re going to end up wasting your money on the Singolo because some asian dude in glasses told you they’re “revolutionary”.
On the other hand maybe you’re new and don’t know what type of sound you prefer, which is fine - it’s very common, then in that case I recommend changing your strategy coming into this of instead buying a single expensive iem, to trying a bunch of cheaper IEMs with drastically different tonality, good and bad, and then invest in a more expensive one later, so you know, you’ll actually know for sure what you like and what you don’t before really buying a nice one.
I know some people like to wait for a steeper sale, or maybe they missed a big one and want to wait for it to come again, but imo unless the difference is like $100+ it’s usually not worth the wait, for example if it’s like $20 off from $260 like the Cincotres, and you missed the sale and you wanted to wait again, at that point I would just buy it retail because the time and enjoyment you miss waiting for it to go on sale when you could’ve been jamming out, easily out weighs the the $20 you save, Aka wasted opportunity cost in actually enjoying the IEM. Since most people are here for the music, waiting another few months to save less than $50 defeats the purpose and goes against why you wanted to buy a better earphone in the first place, which is to enjoy the music but you can’t because you’re wasting time waiting when you could be jamming out.
Now I understand if you’re tight on a budget then, sure, it’s justified to wait, but if you’re at the point of scraping by to get an IEM, then do yourself a favour and buy a slightly cheaper one, I promise the difference isn’t huge going down 1 or half a letter grade. Just enjoy the music, and don’t stress out about it and dig yourself even deeper into this hole. Now, for the collectors and big money bois, you guys can do whatever you want, but just make sure you know what type of sound you’re getting yourself into before dropping car money.
And lastly, buy used - because the diminishing returns on the bigger bois are astronomical, for many people it doesn’t make sense to buy new just to scratch that itch, also much better value. I can understand if a set is your endgame and you want to own it, then sure, but if you’re just trying things out even with cheaper sets, buying used is great in saving money and bringing more value for the price.
Just make sure to be careful of the seller - if you’re unlucky you might run into a few sketchy people on there, but personally for the vast majority of the time my experiences at least have been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve never been scammed before (and I plan not to get scammed), but make sure you’re doing the transaction through paypal business in case something happens so that you can still get your money back, and check the sellers overall reputation and feedback from other buyers. If the deal is too good to be true, and they’re asking to do it through friends and family, then it’s most likely a scam and you should probably avoid it.
And as for FOMO, you’re not missing out on anything, relax. But aside from that that’s all I can think of right now, I probably missed some so feel free to drop your tips or how you started your audio journey - I’d love to hear it, but ya, hope this was helpful, and thanks for reading
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Just buy an IEM that is expensive and suits your sound preferences. There is a big diminishing return after $700-$1000. Look in those $700-$1000 ranges and stop buying when you find “your IEM”. Don’t listen to what other audiophiles tell you if you like “your IEM” to be your “end game”. Don’t keep buying because it makes no sense! My end game is on my avatar and I don’t care what anyone says about this IEM! That is all. 
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My experience say that you get most for your money between $50-300 then there is a void where the next lowest priced product that represents a clear step up from $300 offerings hover around $650 and from there up to $1000 is where most should stop unless you really do have money to spare. I think if you are prepared to spend $800-900 on an IEM, it is better, as Jay recently said in a video, to save up a few extra hundred to each the kilobuck tier where there are more options and you kind of unlock a new tier of performance.
A good example is Hype 10 vs Monarch 2/3. You get EST magic at $1000 which to me definitely makes it worth it.
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one thing that is important but I dont see brought up is the hidden cost. In terms of value I personally think the sub $500 range can give you the same or even a better experience than some 1k+ sets but the ceiling for $1k+ IEMs is higher.
However no one hits bullseye on the first try and I would assume most people don’t have local access to try higher end sets (especially if you are far from a CanJam). so if it ends up costing someone $500 total between buying and selling sets to find that $250 gem its a hard pill to swallow to spend close to $2k+ in order to find the kilobuck set that works for you.
I have had the privilege of getting to try quite a few kilobuck sets and none have actually moved me enough to move out of the <700 price range
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I am with you on the over $700 range nothing really said wow yes I need to own this IEM because it was so much better than the enjoyment I get from my Twilight or OH700VB and when I listen to sub $200 sets and think wow thats pretty good.
My best surprise so far this year bang/$ was that 6BA from Myer-Audio
Just finishing my review of the ORIGIN and value /$ is non existent.
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I measured 5.1mm the other day, which is small. I think it might be the smallest nozzle on any IEM I own currently.
Doscinco are amazing, think Tea2 but with a little more air.
Mine is 3.5mm … I gave up on balanced a while back. It raises the cost of DACs, Amps, and cables, for almost no difference. Shopping for my desktop setup basically taught me that balanced setups start at $400, when a solid single ended DAC/Amp combo can be under $200.
My three most commonly used are the Topping DX1, xDuoo MT-602, and BTR5. All three were great with it.
For dongles I used the Apple USB-C dongle, and it sounded decent, just a little soft compared to the others. I also got out my Periodic Rhodium and it had plenty of power to drive them, but it always makes things a bit brighter. The 7Hz 71 sounded great with it, and had tons of extra power.
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Was hoping this 2nd unit would be different, oh well at least now we know Singolo’s got good QC lol:
Uppermids/air is still gimped, but plate looks nice tho:
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third times’ the charm…
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spot me bro and I’ll do it fr
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what tf we gonna do with 3 Singolo’s after we done
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no longer single
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