Top 5:
PENON FAN 2
KZ ASX
CCA CS16
KZ PR1 PRO
TINHIFI T3 PLUS
8 Likes
Night Oblivion Butastur
Xenns Mangird Top
(the two above steal 95% of my listening time for the past month)
7Hz Timeless OG
Sound Rhyme SR5
Penon Fan2
10 Likes
Revised list as of today:
MMR Thummim
Campfire Supermoon
JH Audio 16v2
Oriolus Szalayis
Tie for my affordable OEM slot between Dunu EST112 and Penon Serials
The Thummims are really just playing in a league by themselves because nothing else I have come across does what they do. Just too freakinâ amazing, if not the most versatile.
Just got the JH Audio 16v2s today, but can already tell that theyâll be in my rotation solidly for the next few weeks.
Supermoons and Szalayis I have praised enough before so Iâll just keep it short and sweet. Both are the kind of IEMs that I have a hard time putting down once their in my ears.
As for the EST112s and the Serials, theyâre both just IEMs with tunings that are versatile, perform well above their asking prices (especially since I got both used for sub $200 each). The Serials just have a tonal and timbral balance that nearly matches my favorite sindle DD (SoftEars Twilights) while having 3DDs that really give them a certain smooth yet authoritative presentation that I find addictive. The EST112s are really cool with that big 13.5mm very DD laying the foundation for the very life-like portrayal of percussion/drums as well as an incredible balance that gives you low end power and treble detail in a non-fatiguing way while still giving the mids plenty of body and presence. I love listening to both.
10 Likes
Has anyone has had opportunity to have listened to both the twilight and 634ears miroak 2, and compare them?
Think there is very few people who has Miroak-II, I am one of them. Its a warm sounding IEM, and Twilight would be more neutral when going off reviews and impressions from others.
2 Likes
Top 5 at the moment:
-
Dunu SA6 OG - I am at the finish of the honeymoon phase for sure, but it is already clear for me that even though this set has obvious flaws (not punchy bass, sometimes not very entertaining presentation of fun genres like hip hop (e.g Cheat Codes album)) it is by far the most often chosen IEM I have in various of scenarios. In subjective performance Unique Melody Mest wins in all but 3 separated categories: and it looses in naturalness of the timbre, comfort and the fact that treble in Mest sometimes crosses the line of sibilance.
And those 3 are enough to pick SA6 up most of the time, like 90% at the moment, it just plays most of my vocal heavy, slow pace library extremely smoothly. I would call them âearbudsâ of IEM world, because of how good the timbre is and how do they disappear in my ear. On one end I can listen to them casually in the background, but if I want to focus on some well recorded tracks - like Easy by Joanna Newsom it just tirelessly brings up details. Percussion for example is somehow in the background, but it causes it to never be âsplashyâ or âtinnyâ - but it feels like no detail is pushed forward artificially. -
Huawei Freebuds 2 Pro - second most chosen one, sometimes even at home (mostly while cooking). It is a bit more fun than SA6, it has more bass guitar rumble + on top of that it is such a good set on the go because of usability + noise cancelling that I never regret that I listen to instead of something wired with Q5k anymore
-
Unique Melody MEST - I was without that for approx. a month, I put them on, it reminded me why I love them so much (this bass tactility
), but then they ended up in case waiting for better times since that time. I guess personal life circumstances help to choose the more relaxed set as I am either dead tired in the evening or I am in the process of getting dead tired at work when I need to focus on some task for couple of hours straight. That obviously may change in the future. But well, I really believe now that SA6 is more of an endgame for me than MEST is -
Earbuds - all are dead for me for couple of weeks straight for some reason. Before that I was fully budpilled, so I guess I am right now on one extreme end of the sine wave of the hobby and it would swing back there sooner than later
10 Likes
High 5, I freaking love the sound sig. @Huawei, Wired version when?
1 Like
I donât use a lot of sets these days but here is my list:
1 - Thieaudio mmk3 - I use this 95% of the time.
2 - Truthear hola - Used for work and when I want to listen to something before sleeping. Only top 2 because work calls make me use it for many hours.
3 - UM Mest mk2 - Some spice when iâm in the mood.
4 - Truthear Zero blue - Fit problems. I donât really use it more than a few minutes when I get new tips⌠maybe one dayâŚ
3 Likes
200 euro, October 18 launch in Europe.
1 Like
Edit, Posted wrong thread. Well might end up being within top 5 used coming week. Going to pair it with BTR7 while working.
KZ Castor Bass, to be a KZ its not looking so bad.
5 Likes
Best KZ to date loved the bass version hated the standard
2 Likes
Currently-
- Supernova - Review upcoming
- Monarch MK3 - Just so pretty
- Butasurr - recommended cable and tips are very plush (AmericanSpirt)
- Hexa (work iem)
- 7hz Sonus (probably selling itâs not my fav)
4 Likes
My top 5 IEMs for actually live monitoring: (Iâm testing some models and brands so figured Iâd switch it up a bit for the thread)
-
64Audio A18t: this was a gift they sent me and it dethroned the A18s I was using before. They said they tweaked the low end from when I had originally chosen between the two and they were right. I have never heard an IEM give me better separation, relative volume sensation, dynamics, detail, and decay (cymbals mostly) that these A18ts. I mean, theyâre just a step or two above anything else I have tried.
-
64Audio A18s: For all the reasons Iâve gone into before.
-
JH Audio JH13V2: I demoed the V1 of these years ago and I absolutely HATED them. Couldnât hear the rhythm section at all, the guitar sounded like dying cats, and the vocalists was loud over everything. JH sent me these to try and boy are they different. Granted, they admitted that these was custom tuned with bassists and drummers in mind so these arenât what youâd get ordering them off the shelf, but they make the rhythm section very easy to make out while still keeping the rest of the band audible. The only problem is it can be a bit hard to pick out relative value making knowing how loud to play a bit difficult.
-
64Audio A12t: great for monitoring smaller groups or jazz/acoustic/etc, they just donât quite hang with drums and a bass guitarist rippin it up full force.
-
64Audio N8: This is an IEM that makes monitoring your drums a breeze, but getting the mix right on your channel to monitor anything else is a bitch. Itâs an amazing studio monitor though.
I hope this was somewhat interesting. Feel free to ask questions.
9 Likes
No matter the rank :
Simgot EA500
Tin HIFI P1 Max
KBear Believe
Shuoer S12
Simgot EW200
7 Likes
That is a solid list ( I own all of them except the KBear Believe ), and all pretty affordable too.
The Tripowin Kailua has been getting nearly all of my listening time over the last month. I think it might be the best warm IEM under $200 right now.
I have been experimenting with the Tanchjim One DSP a little too. For under $30 it is pretty solid, and the DSP is interesting to play with. I donât think it is going to be my long term pick, but I have EQ on both my phone and PC, so there is some redundancy. I do think a DSP cable, with PEQ, will be a great way to tweak some of IEMs that need a bit of help.
3 Likes
First entry, after my first summer of the true IEM madness:
Penon Serial
Dunu Talos
Penon Fan 2
EPZ Q5
(earbud ringer) TGXEAR Totem
âŚnot necessarily in that order (Totem would be way higher if it was all usable during my commute 
)
itâs all going to get scrambled, though, when my Butastur arrives 
7 Likes
Those Serials are truly gangster IEMs. I dig mine for sure!
4 Likes
Currently:
Simgot EA500 for a daily driver itâs my go-to pair.
Seeaudio Yume Ultra sounds very much like the Moondrop Kato if you know those.
Tinhifi P1 Plus fun for the money, and compact fit
KZ X HBB PR2 basically a Hifiman HE4xx in IEM form, just as hard to power also, need current.
THIEAUDIO Legacy 4 itâs a good all around pair, but like the Moondrop Starfield better, and Kato even more.
3 Likes
Hello to you from another P1 Plus owner 
3 Likes