- Beyerdynamic MMX-300 600Ohm
- AudioTechnica ATH-ADX5000 (demoed in store, super impressive headphones!)
- ?
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That was some year bro 
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Indeed. I didn’t even realize it until this question came up and I got to thinking about it! Time goes by so fast…
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The amazing part is that there was amazing gear at every price point. There are probably more good budget sets than any year I can think of, and the mid-fi stuff was very competitive too.
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The LTA MZ3 headphone amp.
The clarity end detail comming from this amp is above anything I have heard from any amp. I got a good price from LTA, so I had to get it. End game kind of amp. -
JuzEar 41T
A $200 steal of an IEM. The treble is making this a very spakling IEM and it has been my go-to IEM in 2023. It makes even way more expensive IEMs sound muffled. -
Dunu SA6 MkII
My OTG IEM (great cable with both 3.5mm and 4.4mm so I can switch from my phone to my DAP) that has made me more interested in Dunu. I find it very versatile and for my library it is playing most very well.
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No particular order here as they are all great:
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Kinera Imperial Loki Emerald
Colored yet balanced sound, there’s just something about it that grabs you on certain cues in tracks.
Great for just getting lost in the music and tapping your toes. I feel like the coherency is pretty great for
a quadbrid, too. -
Thieaudio Prestige LTD
Wonderful across the whole range, gorgeous design with immaculate fit for my ears. Almost like a
baby Storm with a DD, could easily be one-and-done for anyone that enjoys the tuning IMO. -
Plunge Audio Unity
Completely unexpected, this is probably the best monitor I have ever had in my ears (besides the
Storm, but Unity is more neutral without the subbass boost). Fit and weight is all-day comfy and the
passive isolation is fantastic. Easy to drive but likes a little juice, too.
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DCA Expanse: I had these on my head for all of about 30 seconds at CanJam SoCal before I knew I had to have them. Hands down my favorite headphones that I have heard. They basically sound exactly as if I had tuned them to my preferences in both sound signature and technical performance/presentation.
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MMR Thummim: These IEMs are unique in every sense of the word. They’re powerful, dynamic, and very addicting. Most importantly, once I put them in and start listening, I don’t want to take them out.
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Ferrum Oor/Hypsos stack: Absolutely the most versatile amplification setup I have come across. Initially I was hoping that the Hypsos wouldn’t make a difference in the sound and I could save myself some cheddar, but unfortunately the Hypsos is actually a big part of what makes this duo elite in sonic performance and flexibility. Definitely not cheap, but oh so worth it.
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- iBasso DX170
- Simgot EA1000
- Still waiting for more planar IEM to emerge, to possibly replace my favorite Tin HiFi P2 Plus…
Aurorus Borealis
TH900 in red - steroid induced music
Gjallarhorn GH50 JM Mk2 - better than all other closed backs
Honorable mentions:
Final D8k Pro
Verite Open
Hedd v2 (heard under less than ideal conditions, but still worth a mention)
Source gear:
Mojo 2
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- Shanling M7
- SA6 MK2
- IE600, HYPE2
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You just heard these, or you nabbed them?
I’ve got them, nabbed from Elise Audio.
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Nice!!! Sneaky little grab there. I don’t remember your impressions on them
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I remember posting the unboxing and I think I updated impressions, but I don’t remember where lol. I’ll link to it if I can find it.
Found it: IEM discussion thread (Part 1) - #9160 by Sonofholhorse
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1). Dunu Vulkan - It was an IEM that was on my mind for over a year, and thanks to my friends I finally got to scratch that itch. It was definitely worth it because while most of them have issues with it, I think it’s freaking amazing. It is going to be a set I baby so that I can keep it for as long as possible. It’s easily one of my favorite sets and it’s not going anywhere.
2). NiceHCK SnowCat and FirstTouch cables - I’m not doing a sound comparison. Simply one feel, aesthetics, and comfort these two cables jumped right up to the top of my list. I got a SnowCat in 2-pin and mmcx, and a FirstTouch in 2-pin (4.4mm) for 11/11, and I liked them so much that I got each in 2-pin (3.5mm) for Black Friday. And combined, paid less than $20 more than I did for their FourMix cable. I’m super good on cables for a good long while now.
3). Reserving space for a source purchase that I will see how much my socks are knocked off by…As someone who has resisted buying a full sized dac/amp until now, this is a big purchase…
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Based on gear I bought in 2023:
1 - Softears Twilight - fantastic for me/my library, they just let me enjoy my music, I can (and should !!) stop right here
2 - FiiO Q11 - great wee device, bang for buck, sounds good, does all I need for work at home listening on laptop or V30
3 - Simgot EA500 (foam mod) - gathered deserved traction thanks to @GooberBM , snagged a good deal on AE, money well spent but needed a mod to tame treble for me, my go to grab for on-the-go music
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I’ll throw my hand in the hat here. 2023 was a wild year. I attended CanJam at the beginning of the year (Which freaks me out btw, has it been nearly a year already?! Jeez…) and that threw off my passion for the hobby a bit. I focused on Music mostly.
- Gear-related must be a 3-way tie between the 41T, SR5, and the T4. All of them captured my heart, and my wallet, with the exception being the SR5 (Thank you @VIVIDICI_111
) I didn’t pay for those. The T4 is the most recent and has completely taken me over with its warm and powerful bass, laid-back pinna, and well-extended treble. I love them, quite frankly, I haven’t been able to put them down for the last 3 days. I just want to keep listening.
- 2 bands called Goon and Just Mustard. I don’t know what it is with these indie bands and their silly names, but their music definitely doesn’t reflect it. The music ranges from dark and haunting, to hard-hitting and invigorating - I’ve had these 2 on repeat for most of the year. (Specifically Fruiting Body by Goon… jeeeez, that sub-bass is nice ).
- Just my buddies in the Audio space. Y’all are the best and 2023 has been all the better because of our tour group. Thanks, dudes
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This has ended up not being at all what I expected it to be. I set out at the beginning of the year with some specific audio goals. Some of them I met, and others have been pushed back by my getting pulled into directions I hadn’t intended going. But some of those have been so very worth it.
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Sonore UltraRendu/Intel NUC running Roon ROCK - Moving away from my PC and to a dedicated streamer made such a ridiculous difference that there’s no way it could be anything else. You do not realize just how noisy a regular PC is until it’s no longer in the signal chain.
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Eddie Current Lunchbox II - An amp that’s no longer in production, I spotted it on Head-Fi back in July and bought it on a whim for $275. Dollar for dollar, this little amp has impressed me more than anything else I’ve bought since I got into the hobby. It has its limitations, it can’t really be used with low impedance, high-sensitivity cans (forget IEMs). But it is warm, lush, musical and just so much fun to listen to. If you see one come up, I highly encourage you to give this thing a shot.
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Riviera AIC-10 - My most recent, and most expensive digression. I’m putting this here as much for the fact that I was able to acquire one as for what it does. It just got to me yesterday, so I’ve only had a few hours with it so far, but it is easily the most competent amplifier I’ve ever heard.
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I don’t buy much these days not because I can’t but I’m just busy listening to 
on what I have…Seeing as I’ve been really enjoying buds lately TGXear etc @Rikudou_Goku’s S3 has to be my standout 2023 set…Tuning 
Timbre if you listen to vocal centric both male and female genres, also want a bass 
and a non fatiguing but detailed treble this set’s a 
…an all day listen 
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I’m going to squeeze this in at the very end and swap out the EA500 (still an honorary mention alongside the Zero 2) for the potential that Creative’s Aurvana Ace/2 brings as the first TWS implementation of XMEMs drivers. That IEM tweeter will inevitably render all other tweeters (and maybe full-range) obsolete and will flip the personal audio market upside-down. For the treble, I’ve NEVER heard that kind of detail in IEMs, you’re effectively in summit-tier headphone territory (high-end planars and estats.) The rest of the package was a bit disappointing, but only because the bar was set so high with the new driver-type.
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