[Wyntika]

Hey there!

As someone fairly 'new' to the audiophile world, and only having two really 'good' headphones/earbuds in my past, I was hoping to reach out and see what recommendations I might get in the $100ish-$200ish price range for a new wired earbud/iem.

My past history with 'decent' audio gear has been two Focal Sphear S's (used primarily on an android), and a Sennheiser 598 (with a DAC on pc).

I have listened to my Focal Sphear's for about 3-5 hours a day, 5-6 days a week and each pair lasted quite a few years. Thousands of hours out of each pair is definitely, definitely worth it. But instead of picking up a third pair from Ebay, since they are no longer in production, I thought I might look at what similar alternatives are out there, seeing as they came out ~seven years ago.

While I am not a very critical audiophile, nor have the experience for such, accuracy or a ‘realistic’ sound are preferable, leaning more towards the higher end of tonality, if possible. The sound stage on both the Sennheiser 598’s and Focal Sphear S’s is considerable (in my opinion). My general listening interests vary from vocals and instrumental/classical, to some bass here and there. I often go for a range of vocals from Pentatonix to Nightwish, classical/instrumental such as Ludovico Einaudi, and some random metal in there such as Disturbed. Quite varied, overall. Hence a decent soundstage as a whole is sought after.

Essentially something with a balanced 'audiophile'ish sound to them, covering the mids and highs well, but not leaving out bass.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[dunring]

The Moondrop Kato are my favorite, fun with air in the treble and bass hits when a song calls for it. For less the 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 are the value for money winners though. A $9 Apple USB to 3.5mm adapter has more than enough power for any IEM.
Those and the 7hz Timeless original, not the AE version (lame bass driver, original is the good one) I'd recommend to anyone.

 

[Smirk 24]

Truthear Nova is a great set in that price range. Very technical with good bass, mids, and highs. Just a solid iem overall.

 

[Hypops]

You might be shocked by the quality you can get these days from IEMs under $100. Honestly, I’d either look at IEMs under $100 or over $250. That in-between price range just isn’t much better than lower cost models. Alternatively, you can get a substantial bump in quality by spending a bit more. But the $100-$250 range isn’t really worth it IMO.

In terms of specific recs, something like the Kefine Delci, Truthear Hexa, or Simgot EM6L could likely be all you want or need.

 

[Wyntika]

Thank you three very much for your replies and assistance Your recommendations sent me down a rabbit hole, in the right direction, and it seems like the Timeless 7hz, Truthear Nova, Moondrop Kato, and a test of something cheaper like the 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 were definitely in the right ballpark of what I was looking for.

Yesterday I did order the Tangzu Wan'er S.G. and the Kefine Delci, to see if something on the cheaper end (the Wan'er for $25 and Delci for $60) like the Wan'er will do a good job with its vocals and if the Delci, with its tuning, will do the job. Perhaps in conjunction with investing in a portable DAC/AMP (like Dunring recommended), as well as some different tips or cord. Or, if like Hypops recommends, I need to push the $250 point to get a noticeable difference. It does seem like that pricepoint range, of sub-$200, looks fairly similar in the end. And the Moondrop Kato, Timeless 7hz, Sennheiser IE200 (with different tips), Truthear Nova, or the Aful Performer 5 would be the other possibly good picks before moving into the Moondrop Dusk/Blessing territory, from what I could find.

Am very glad that Kefine's Delci showed up in the recommendations though, as there are not THAT many reviews of it!

Will follow-up with how things turn out, and what I end up doing/going with~

 

[Hypops]

Good luck, and happy hunting!