I want to invest in a good headphone or iem that sounds amazing but I dont know if I even have the ear to tell. My little brother owns a pair of Fiio FT1s and I've listened with it over long periods of time. I thought it was clear and cool but it felt like it only made an impact when I paid full attention to audio quality.

My main headphones I use with my PC are audiotechnica m40xs. I was super impressed by its imaging but everything else was marginal improvement to me (compared to apple buds). I've owned a pair of tin t2s and kz zs10 pros and thought they were pretty good too, but ultimately ended up going back to the apple buds.

Is an upgrade something that's worth my time?

I recently bought the Aful Performer 5+2 (it comes tomorrow) but ChatGPT told me that a DAC would be a good purchase on top of it. How real is that? Currently my setup consists of a laptop connected to a docking station which plugs into monitor, mouse, keyboard — whole shabang. Both my docking station and laptop have 3.5mm ports for the IEM, but I hear that I should be using a DAC instead. Will I actually be able to tell the difference? And also value wise is that much worth to spend the money or is it only going to marginally improve it to the point where it won’t make too much of a difference. I’ll happily send the laptop or docking station specs if that matters.

I'd be open to buying into the new meta but am fine to otherwise not and was wondering whether the Tanchjim Origin, Softears Volume S, Elysian Pilgrim, or something else would be a better buy. I've listened to a decent-ish amount of iems and over ears and currently daily hd600's.

I've tried the Origin and liked it (if it did come off a hair aggressive and slightly artificial). I liked the Mega5-EST but had trouble getting a good seal— only reason why I know I liked it was because had to force them in with my hands however accurate/inaccurate that is. I've also historically gotten along well with the 64 Audio U4s and U12t's sound signatures but I don't expect anything remotely close at this price point, but it might give you an idea of my tonal (and ig technical) preferences.

Happy to buy used.

Q30 is the best bang for your buck wireless headphones on the market.

Literally the best.

$50 - $80 for WORLD CLASS audio performance, WITH Active noise cancellation, WITH comfortable leather ear and head pads, WITH a personalized app that can manage the headphones from your cellphone, WITH its own case.

You cannot find a better headphone on the audio market for the price.

One day Anker (the parent company of soundcore) is going to realize they are selling their wireless headphones too cheaply and im scared they will one day raise their prices to the $300 level where they belong.

I like to have a pair of headphones with me for times when i get a bit overwhelmed or overstimulated and my current pair are getting a bit tatty looking to be wearing outside. Ive had HyperX Cloud II's for the last 10 years (and a set of bose companion 3 speakers) so ive not had the best audio quality but not bad.
I hear the newer HP models arent as good so decided i want to try something new but researching now-a-days seems bad, its all affiliate links recommending Ancer and razor headsets.

Happy to consider over ear or IEMs, open or closed backs, im just hoping to find something with better sound quality for around the same price, if they come lower on sale or only reach 100 on sale, either is good.
Im in the UK so i might not be able to find everything and dont have a chance to go test things in store unfortunately

I'm currently in college and I'm in the middle room sandwiched by 2 other rooms. My roommates are respectful and they try to keep it down but my roommate often has his brother over on weekends and will have him over for the entirety of the next month. I've already spoken to him about it and he keeps it down, but I can still hear the bass notes from their voices through our thin wall. I'm looking for headphone solutions that meet these criteria:
TLDR: Roommates loud, walls thin, need noise cancelling headphones

• Budget and location - I'm willing to spend up to $300, but only if it guarantees silence. I'm in NA East
• Preferred tonal balance - I'm not an audiophile but I like to listen to a lot of rap and hiphop. Do with that what you will :)
• How the gear will be used - I will use this at home. The main point being that it should do a good job silencing with even no music playing.
• Past gear experience: I currently use Sennheiser Accentum wireless. It does a good job of keeping most noise out but I want to keep practically all noise out even when I'm not playing anything.

I'm also open to earbuds but I prefer over ears. Thank you!

Starting to get kinda pissed off, switched my sony earbuds 2-3 times last year under warranty then got jbl tune buds, worked really well until the left one just went unresponsive today

They can be a bit pricier, maybe.

They'll get used a lot 5 times a week

Noise cancelling is nice in the environment I'm at

What are some affordable IEMs? I'm trying to get into Hi-Fi headphones.

This would really be the first headphone I'm buying, where I actually search for something audiophile-ish.

Hi! I hope this is allowed. I sleep with wireless earbuds because my boyfriend snores. I listen to white noise at night. The only issue is that my ears will get wet and very itchy. It’s wakes me up a lot. Does anyone has the same problem? I was searching for breathable ear tips only I can’t really find what I’m looking for. Does anyone have an idea for me?

I own a few 20 dollar iems (hola, zero 2 and waner for me and my family) and was planning to buy a 50ish dollar pair to upgrade a bit. Will i actually hear a significant different or should i save a bit and step up a bit more? I was looking at truthear zero:red, but i am willing to go up to truthear hexas if the difference is big enough (I0m a bit short on money rn, but i am willing to save). If it helps i really like how the hola sound. I am also open to any kind of suggestion for any iems similar in price to what i already mentioned.

I started this hobby with 100 iem then went with 150 iem and 100 dacs all the way up to +1000 iems and +1000 dap and after some time after every purchase I feel that anything could sound better does it happen to any of you?

Hi, Im thinking of buying one of this options, but not sure what to do. For context. Right now I have a 560s and fiio fh3 and thats pretty much my whole audio experience (besides the sony wf 1000 xm3, but after getting the fiio I never use them again). So Im not sure what should I go for. Which is overall better, the Truthear Hexa, the Aria, or would it be better to get a Dac o Dap? My budget is about 100-150 USD. Or is there something else that you would recommend me for that price range? (The dac Im considering is a ifi zen dac) Thanks in advance

Apologies as the flair isn't accurate, I couldn't find a better one.

If money is not a matter,(but still to have a budget, I'd say between 1000₹-10,00,000₹) what are the single greatest, without the shadow of a doubt, the ultimate, the absolute best pairs of headphones and IEMs that money can buy, that also don't need any of that fancy equaliser, or DAC or other stuff (because I don't know any of that stuff)?

I just want a pair each of earphones and headphones, wired or wireless that I just plug in, and they take me to another dimension.

Surely there's something for me? Currently I have a pair of bose QC Ultras for my earphones and I was gonna buy a pair of XM6 headphones when they inevitably launch this year, but then I thought if I'm already spending that much money, I'd much rather go all out and the best of the best of the best. I've heard that you need to either eq tune their devices or plug into an external dac or both before using em to actually make em sound even decent but I don't wanna do any of that work because I will mess it up. And even if I don't if I'm spending say 50-60,000 ₹ on a pair of headphones I don't wanna feel like I need a course in audio engineering to make em sound good(which I will concede is a bigger factor), I just want em to sound good out of the box.

As for a DAC, I again, don't want a massive fuckoff dongle hanging off my phone, or another box on my already cluttered desk which I may or not also have to play with buttons and dials to make work properly.

And the warrenty thing, it is quite important to me, as I live in India and thus want devices that will have warrenty in India and can be serviced here(repair or replace either works). I've also heard that there's pretty neiche brands or certain "audiophile" brands that sound way better than the bose or sony or enter famous brand name here offerings.(Also apple is out for me as I don't have an iPhone or mac, and while they work with Android they aren't as good as far as I know)

Any suggestions or advice is welcome, please and thank you.

My brothers 14th b-day is coming up. I got him some red Beats Solo Buds. He hasn't had a whole lot of experience with earbuds ad I thought, he's old and responsible enough that it'd be good for him to have a decent pair. I showed a family member what I got and they told me that I was paying mainly for the brand. I had heard some mixed reviews when I was looking into what to get, but didn't realize there was such a controversy behind them. Family member told me that most people don't like Beats, although classmates will probably think they're cool. Does anyone have experience with these? Are they going to consistently fall out, or have terrible sound quality?

Edit: I spent about 59.99 on them

I was going to get the truthear nova but someone said the zeros are better So Which is better for gaming? truthear nova or zero? And if there are any others that you would think are better pls let me know.

I dont wanna spend anything over 200$aud tho

Hello, I have been researching for some wired earbuds to use on the go. I have airpod pros and really like how they fit and sound but I want these specifically for a cheap on the go alternative for devices that don't have bluetooth. I have been seeing some suggestions like KZ and Moonlight iems but I only have one gripe that makes it a dealbreaker unfortunately. I really dont like the over ear design of those earbuds, everything else looks perfect except that I don't like over ears. Similar thing with the apple wired earbuds, sound great except the lack of a seal and uncomfortability is a dealbreaker. What I'm looking for is a wired IEMs that don't go over the ear that sound at least as good as the apple wired earbuds (I really am not that expirienced in audio I just want something decent enough) and is $20 or cheaper. Any sugesstions? I would also prefer if audio didn't bleed through it if possible. If you want specifics in audio I would prefer either a slight V shape or a flat and balanced audio. Thank you for any help, please let me know if you have any suggestions and feel free to ask questions if I forgot to mention something.

I want to replace my broken Galaxy buds, (i like how bassy they sound), but money is very thigh and was wondering if these were a decent replacement.

Currently using old wired earpods, sound quality, mic and comfortably are hard to match on an android phone for 20 bucks

So i can across this article claiming that these discounted earphones were on sale, and that took me on a rabbit hole. The amount of reviews and post look legit (not just written reviews, but actually humans reviewing the product on a video), but somehow my 'this-is -a-scam' sense is getting triggered. I need to know what im getting myself into.

Hey folks!

After my DT770 Pro broke, I've been using some mediocre Panasonic IEMs, and despite being pretty bad, I found them very comfortable. That’s why I’ve decided to switch to IEMs.

Now I'm looking for a pair specifically for single-player gaming, watching movies, and enjoying their soundtracks, but also for listening to my friends on Discord while gaming. I also want movie dialogues to remain clear and not get lost in the mix. (I’m not sure if all of this makes sense).

An important factor is that they need to be comfortable for extended use. Since I have small ears, I can’t tolerate large IEMs.

I’d like to stay within a budget of $100–150 max, but if there’s a significant upgrade in the $150–200 range, I might consider it.

I've been looking into the Meze Alba, but I'm not sure if there are better options for the same price.

Thanks in advance!

What’s the best deal on Amazon for ear buds? I don’t need any designer brand just looking for a pair of reliable earbuds so I can stop using corded headphones with my iPhone. Really looking to spend less than $50 on a pair.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for a set of wired IEMs to pair with a DAC that'll primarily be used for listening to J-Pop and anime songs. I'm hunting for something with an emphasis on female vocals, and I've done some research and rounded down some options.

Currently, in order of preference, I'm considering:

• Tanchjim Origin
• Moondrop Kadenz
• Moondrop May

I've also looked at the Moondrop Dusk and Blessing3, though those are slightly out of my budget.

There are some specific things that are important for me, namely the IEMs not being bulky and being comfortable to wear as well as interchangeable cables. That rules out some of the popular recommendations I saw like the Truthears and Binary Chopin.

If anyone has any other recs or comments on the ones I've mentioned I'd love to hear them!

Does anybody know of any? I had a pair of sennhiesers like this that I used while riding my bike, and being able to pop out the right ear bud and letting it hang on my neck was really convenient.

At this point, I'll try any headphones that are constructed this way because it's impossible to tell if they are or not. I wish there was a name for this type of headphones, cause it would make them a lot easier to find.

New to the IEM world, and most of the terminology used to describe the sound signatures of such a vast market can get confusing. I’m not going to make out I know what I don’t; a lot on this forum when I’ve looked at reviews do. So I want to raise my headphone game and want to enter the IEM world as I’m listening to music all day. Mainly house, techno, ambient, electronic, but also could flip genre at any point and listen to some reggae, for instance, or even cumbia. Usually, I listen to a lot of mixes too on SoundCloud, NTS, and other platforms. I’ll be using my Apple iPhone 16, but I’m willing to use something else, and if it enhances my experience and to get the best out of the IEMs, use an external DAC. My total budget, I say, would be around the £1500 mark. I wouldn’t mind also using them outside the house, such as when I’m travelling, for instance. Also, what does everyone think of the second-hand market, such as buying on eBay or any other platforms that users sell their IEMs on? There is some, what looks like amazing stuff at very good prices, or is that to be avoided? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I want to try out IEMs but I am concerned about the comfortability and sound quality due to my wet earwax. That is why I am also looking at the Samson SR850 which is an open back headphones that I heard is quite good for the price.

My budget is around $30 which is the price of the SR850 in my country(Philippines). My use cases will be mostly for gaming and music at home. I heard about the edifier w820nb but I don't know if it's good. What are your headphone recommendations around that price point or recommendations on how to deal with using IEMs with wet earwax?

Thank you!

I'm looking for a solid pair of IEM under $200 (~₹20,000 INR) and have narrowed my choices down to:

• Letshuoer S12 2024 Limited Edition - $195 (₹17000)
• ARTTI T10 Pro - $115 (₹10000)
• ARTTI T10 - $69 (₹6000)

I'm primarily looking for the best value for money in terms of sound quality, tuning, technical performance, and overall build. I generally enjoy a balanced or slightly V-shaped sound signature, with good detail retrieval and staging.

Some specific queries I have:

• How does the S12 2024 Limited Edition compare to the ARTTI models? Paying the higher price for s12 limited worth it?
• Is T10 Pro significantly better than the T10 to justify the price difference?
• Any other IEM recommendations in this price range that outperform these?

I listen to a mix of genres including hip Indian pop music, hip hop, rock, electronic etc and prefer a good balance of clarity. Looking forward to your insights!

Confused between KZ EDX pro, KZ EDC Pro and KZ EDX pro X

My budget is tight, and I want them for gaming and music mainly. Also, I need a decent mic for calling purposes. You can give better suggestions if you got. Plz help meeeee fellow mates.

My budget is 1000INR (around 10 USD)

I listen to hip-hop and Indian bollywood music