I’m currently looking for a pair of IEMs that aren’t from China–reason being, most recommendations I see are of those from China and I want to try something new. Plus, I’ve had frequent quality control issues from Linsoul and Shenzenaudio (2/4, I’ve had to send back). I was probably just very unlucky, but even so it’s left a bad taste in my mouth, and I’d like to take this opportunity to try other countries’ brands.
Below, you can see some IEMs and Headphones I’ve tried in the past with subjective notes.
Thanks!
Edit: budget I’d say would preferably be around $300-500, but if you can really sell me on a pair that’s $1000, I will strongly consider it hahah. Music I enjoy: female vocals, soft rock, Jason Mraz, Jazz, “Black Everything” is a good song I like to listen for an upbeat mood, sometimes classical. Acoustic/Classical guitars. I’d say I enjoy a bit of everything except metal and country. A big J-pop fan–I really do enjoy anime songs.
Big emphasis on J-pop and soft music–violin, piano, soft rock
Mangird Tea: loved the detail and soundstage, especially with stringed instruments. However, I constantly feel like there’s something missing when I listen them–something in the bass perhaps… Also, the soundstage seems to have an oval shape; definitely hard to play FPS games on these since majority of the sound is to the front or back. Aside from these drawbacks, these are by far one of the best pairs I’ve come across.
Tin T2: treble seems to dominate these pairs. They’re nice for the price, but I’d much rather pay a bit more for the Moondrop Aria since the Tin T2 does everything a bit worse (detail, clarity, balance, etc.)
Aria: amazing. The sound is very nice and pleasant, and the added base is to my liking. I’ve used Sony MDRXB50AP for 5 years before getting into IEMs, and the Aria feels like a much cleaner, polished version of them.
Sony MDRXB50AP: quite the name. Love the bass and treble. Vocals are hard to listen to on these though, but it’s nonetheless a pleasant listen. Also, amazing for FPS games; locations are so easy to differentiate with these.
Thieaudio Legacy 5: These felt way too in-your-head. I disliked them the moment I put them on despite liking the Mangird Tea (weird since they have very similar sound sigantures). They’re also a bit too on the big side.
Blessing 2 Dusk: very enjoyable set. It was bright, but enjoyably so. Detail was nice as well. Did not quite get to experience the soundstage and imaging because I had to return them due to quality control issue (one earpiece buzzed during certain vocals and piano notes).
Headphones -
58x Jubilee: absolutely love these. Always an enjoyable listen, and the soundstage isn’t wide but very present. Nothing about these headphones offends me.
Beyerdynamic 770 Pro 80Ohm: too V-shaped for me. The highs were too scratchy, and the bass was a bit too much. I really wish I had tried them with a dac/amp, but I fear it still would’ve been too V-shaped.
Edited to say if you’re US based maybe try to get to a CanJam as I believe they’re going ahead again this year?..that would give you a chance to demo the sets I mentioned above so you can decided if it’s worth spending the extra $ and buying only once?
Thanks for the reply. I didn’t think of this hahah
Updated my post:
“budget I’d say would preferably be around $300-500, but if you can really sell me on a pair that’s $1000, I will strongly consider it hahah. Music I enjoy: female vocals, soft rock, Jason Mraz, Jazz, “Black Everything” is a good song I like to listen for an upbeat mood, sometimes classical. Acoustic/Classical guitars. I’d say I enjoy a bit of everything except metal and country. A big J-pop fan–I really do enjoy anime songs.”
Big emphasis on J-pop and soft music–violin, piano, soft rock
I’ve had QC issues from US companies just as well as from Chinese companies—-the big difference for me is mostly if there’s a local point of contact for customer service/returns/exchanges. If I’m buying from, say, headphones.com or whatever seller is local to you where shipping is fast and returns are easy, buying a Dunu or Thieaudio product is kinda the same as buying a non-Chifi product.
Anyway, answering the initial question, I know Sennheiser recently released the IE300 and IE900 and they both have gotten very positive reviews.
I see, yeah I’m new to the audio scene so that tip helps out a lot, thanks!
I find it a bit off-putting that Linsoul has a restocking fee of 35% even if the product is defective (free repairs, but that takes over a month and I need to ship it all the way back…) and Shenzenaudio also made me pay the shipping fee despite the defective product.
