im looking at the moondrop aria, e1000, tin t2, shure se215, and maybe blon bl03 (ive heard they have substancial mid-bass bleed). also, i would be interested in hearing about some earbuds like venture electronics ve monk. thanks so much for the responses!!!
Avoid the SE215, just cant compete anymore.
Blon 03 is a bassy iem, not flat so skip as well.
Aria is a more balanced iem, but not considered neutral.
E1000 is warm-neutral so that could be an option.
T2 is considered bright-neutral so that could be an option.
If you are in the US, the Etymotic ER2SE is another highly regarded iem.
KBEAR Neon can be an alternative to it otherwise.
If you can go up to 200 usd, the Aiderlot M5 is my recommendation.
https://www.amazon.com/AIDERLOT-Professional-Audiophiles-Resolutionle-Cable（Black）/dp/B08MDYNRQS
(coupon makes it 180 usd)
VE Monk plus/lite are garbage, avoid like the plague. If you want earbuds you should check out these:
Yincrow X6
Smabat M2S Pro
K´s LBBS
The K´s LBBS is highly recommended.
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Welcome to HFGF 
What source and you using?
The ER2 is nice, it is fast and detailed. But the cable is very microphonic (picks up wind and touch noises), expensive to replace and hard to get a 3rd party one (uses an angled locking MMCX connector), and the fit is unique which either you will be fine with or hate… I love my ER2, but I also don’t generally recommend it for the above reasons. If you are fine with that it is an amazing IEM for the money.
The KBEar Neon is good with less of the downsides, but is also not quite as technically good. For value it is amazing, but also there have been QC issues I think @Rikudou_Goku was unfortunately one of the ones that had a pretty bad channel imbalance.
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Yes, I did have some channel imbalance. But they did say that they were going to step up on their QC, which I hope is true.
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That is good, and mine seems fine or at the very least if it is imbalanced then it wasn’t enough for me to hear it in a frequency sweep or when listening to music on it.
Yeah, I couldnt really hear it either.
Wouldn’t the Starfield be a good option? Relatively flat, or so I read.
I would choose the Moondrop Starfield if you are looking for some IEMs with a flat sound signature that sounds actually good for $110. It is still my main daily use and my favorite IEM along with the BL-03 and Aria.
Flat according to what? Diffuse field or Harman? Seeaudio Yume is just over 150 but very well tuned
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If you looking into Aria/Starfields, strech to 180, get Hana 2021 
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I’m interested in that one too.
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Or wait for Mele, tuned similar to Hana 2021 
Yeah… Time will tell. If Mele really trades blows with Hana or surpasses it in some fields, the whole bracket will have a shakedown. 50 usd vs 180 usd is a big difference.
There is no way it matches Hana 2021 in details. It won’t even match the Aria
How are you so sure? I can easly see Aria being eaten by a 50usd iem half year later, the same way it equaled starfields at 120 usd…
Plus Aria and Mele are really close in price range, I’m curious how it will perform against Aria.
Only time will tell, 3 days to go!
(If the Aria is very similar or identical to the KXXS, it really isnt hard to beat it…)
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Yeah, my toughts, but I try not to be biased. I think the Aria’s praise is deserved for its price, but people keep putting Aria as an 500usd iem >_>
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It is not a $500 IEM, but it does easily compete in the above $100 range and has a pleasing musical quality to it’s sound.
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