Peace be with you, KBear Rosefinch. Good job holding down the fort, for Dom to find true love, like a true Hood Rat holding it down till you find your Dime Piece
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Hmm, what would my top five be these days? Do I even have 5 IEMs Iām listening to?
- Penon Fan 2
- Fiio JD7
- KBear Storm
- KBear Rosefinch
- ā¦
Yeah, no I have an open slot right now. I donāt really listen to Olina, Kai, or Aurora much outside of A/Bing and testing. So yeah, besides the earbuds (Grand Rider and soon to be Ripples) and headphones (Harmonicdyne Poseidon), I donāt have a five.
But I greatly enjoy the four I do have. I think I do need to be talked into whether to hang around the $100-300 mark or go deep for $500+.
What say the peanut gallery? 
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Yeah, thereās no doubt about it. Iāve listened to them for a total of about 10 hours now, between yesterday and today. Theyāre top for me at the moment. But hey, things change. In 6 months, I donāt doubt itāll be different.
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Iāve built something of a connection with the Rosefinch, no doubt - they represent in the best possible way the journey and relationship of Goober and Dom Q 
Rest well, rosefinch. Youāre work here is done.
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Whatās the differences here? I tried Fan. Guessing Fan2 has LESS bass than Fan? Looks like JD7 also has less bass than FD3 Pro.
Between the Fan 1 and Fan 2:
- OG has more sub-bass but F2 has more impactful mid-bass, and the mid-bass is more important to me so I find the F2 bass better.
- OG is V-shaped, F2 has forward mids presentation.
- F2 is more balanced in the upper-mids because itās pretty flat after the pinna-gain.
- OG is more pronounced in the mid-treble, F2 has a cut there but has better early and deep treble.
- F2 is just better in all technicalities, the multiple drivers are utilized very well and itās classes above OG.
FD3 Pro looks like it has more sub-bass, but JD7 is way smoother in the upper-mids and treble, it doesnāt have peaks or dips the way FD3 does. Itās a cleaner tuning. And the JD7 has great technicalities in the under-$100 bracket, which I canāt speak to FD3ās abilities
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JD7 review soon?
Yup, soon 
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Ok let me do a quick list based on what I am using right now most of the time.
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Seek Real Audio Airship - I am still using thatās for sure but I have to admit bit-by-bit, the magic of it is slowly going away, like the honeymoon phase is long gone. Still very great to listen to, but I think itās time for a better set.
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Moondrop Kato - Same as the Airships, still a great set but I need to switch up and recently I have been using it again, just to hear how it sounded when I first got it back then, and luckily it still sounds great, but yeah at some point I need an upgrade from these.
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Kiwi Ears Cadenza - Just simply one of the best in the budget range and in my own preference, I prefer these over the Arias, for the improvement on the budget range is just mind boggling nowadays. Itās more spectacular with the widebore tips for I admit the stock tips it has, does not work for me.
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7Hz Salnotes Zero - Now I have 2 of these for I was able to find the set that I have lost back then, and I have found it in the corner of my damn bed, just hanging. In my opinion better than the Chu due to its cable being detachable and just having a better fit in my ears despite its toblerone shape. Sounds similar to the Chu as well, and it is pretty insane for its given price.
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Moondrop Starfield - Yeah I still use it from time to time, despite some of the budget options I have are just better in terms of the value you get from it, but there was a time when these were the bang for your buck at just 109USD. Today though, itās clearly showing its age a bit and that magic I had for these were long gone, still pretty good but I have moved on from it clearly.
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I got a recommendation coming with your name on it then
1. Unique Melody Mest. They blow my head off everyday. I donāt understand people saying their timbre is off, for me it is beeeautiful, it makes my music even more engaging than anything else.
I believe Danās Audio Review once said it best in on of his latest videos about the treble that it is very precise, present, but not sharp. If I would to best describe what does that mean I would draw those two wave shapes:
This is normal detail representation of very resolving set (e.g S12)
This is MESTās treble. Everything is there but very smooth and it is very organic and pleasant.
The best thing about them is that I still believe that I have not found the best matching tips for them and the journey is ongoing. From May 2022 when I heard them for the first time till October when I heard Serratus and got budpilled they were the only thing I listened to. Then there was a month or so that I did not take them MEST out of the case. Erasmus came later and they also played my library very well for fraction of cost. So I thought - well, I donāt need MEST anymore especially given itās price and even listed them on classified.
But there must be God somewhere so that I luckily did not manage to get them sold. Since December they came back to my daily rotation stronger than ever and those are the ones I like to get back to the most. I would like to have them until they die.
2. TGXear Bell Serratus - no introductory needed. A little bit less clear in vocals and resolving than MEST in my opinion. Other than that great timbre, stage, noteweight. Good for places I need to take them out of ear and put them back like work. Even possible to work as sleebuds.
3. TGXear PET Qian39 - sleepbuds
4. Rikubuds Saber 1 - secondary for evening listening when my ear canals are tired of MEST
5. Xinhs X Akros Erasmus - on the go IEMs with Q5k.
ā¦
6. KZ CRN - version with mic for meetings at work. Still waiting for upgrade - most likely Erasmus would take the crown once I buy Kinera Gramr 
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I donāt think I have 5ā¦
Z1R
Serratus
Timeless
OG Vega
Tin P1
Oh and Fostex Purplehearts 
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Ikko OH10 - had them a fortnight, not out of my ears.
Timeless - just love the tone!
Cadenza - again the tonal quality for my library for Ā£32.
Legacy 3 - oldie but goldie!
QKZxHBB - because I do like a bit of EDM.
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hmm L3 sounded outdated to me but the rest of that list are still golden, wish more things had the comfort level of the L3 though
These are my current home favorites. I think the EA500 shook up a few folks lists, but I also got the P1 Max in the last week.
- Mangrid Xenns Tea ( both OG and Mk2 )
- Simgot EA500
- Tin P1 Max
- Tripowin Olina SE ( plus the OG with double stock filters )
- Letshuoer S12
I have these in my desk at the office, along with a 7HZ SEVENHERTZ 71 dongle.
- Tri x HBB Kai
- QKZ x HBB
- Truthear Hola
While I love the Mangird Tea, the P1 Max does most of the things I like about the Tea. If I were making recommendations today, I would say EA500, P1 Max, Olina SE, and stop ( OK get a modest amp, like a BTR5 ). For less than the cost of Teas, you can get all three of those.
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You just fundamentally get me! This is it (or trade out Olina for Hexa if you want a cheap, good hybrid).
But yeah, in and out for $300 or so
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Penon Fan2 - jack of all trades, best all-rounder. Whatever I throw at it makes it sound beautiful and crisp. I found the imaging even better than my more expensive EJ and Meteor. How I wish EJ07M would have the same nozzle size of Fan2, that would be my dream set.
Symphonium Meteor - best bass + treble extension combo, best listened with Kendric Lamar songs.
EJ07M KL - my most detailed set. Love the smooth bass and vocals.
P1 Max - my outdoor set and when I do not want to focus on vocals and just with the music overall. Really nice treble.
Tea2 w/ BGVP A8 / B2Dusk w/ Dunu S&S - found the perfect eartips for them. Tea 2 has meatier midbass response, B2Dusk has better seal.
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The Galileo might be my pick as the affordable hybrid, but they are pretty similar.
I cracked out my S12 today ( doing some A/B with the P1 Max ) and I always forget how deep the bass on that goes. I saw the OG is only $120 right now ( both Linsoul and HifiGo ).
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I havenāt heard Galileo so I wouldnāt have used that as my example, but sure. Thatād work too
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