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need some recommendations for really good wired earbuds / IEM's. (self.headphones)

submitted 1 year ago by UnusMundus to c/[email protected]

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I've been contemplating this for almost half a year now. I recently moved back to Android from Apple and first I thought I'll just get another wireless set of earbuds. The more I thought about it though my mind has gone more towards maybe doing a portable DAC + a pair of really nice sounding wired buds.

The absolute max I think I can spend on the buds themselves are around $300. I can be flexible but I am not looking in the Sennheiser 600 ballpark haha.

So if you have any recommendations, experiences or just have some tips to what to look out for please share them with me!

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Crinacle's list is a great place to start. https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/ If you're in the US Amazon has the Moondrop Blessing 2 on sale for $279. That would probably be what I'd try in the $300 range.

[–] UnusMundus 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks for the suggestion! Crinacle completely slipped my mind haha, yeah the Moondrops look mighty inviting that's for sure!

[–] SoggyPigeon 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've had the blessing 2 dusk for about 2 years now and nothing has really seemed like a worthwhile upgrade to me. I'm sure you'll find a lot of praise for them on the internet so I'll give you what I dislike about them.

My pair have spinfit cp155 tips, they stay on snug for about a month or two before they start to feel loose or slip off on their own. I just wipe off the iem and the tip on my shirt every now and then and they go back to being snug.
I listen to a lot of EDM, Orchestral, Pop, and a little bit of Rock. For my tastes they still lack some Bass and have a tad bit too much treble. For reference I increased bass at 125hz by 2.0db and and lowered the 6-8k range by 1.5db
They're pretty big, I don't have issues with the nozzle size but the body of them butt up against the top of my ear creating a hotspot after a while.

[–] UnusMundus 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wow thanks for this resource! Would you say they are still a bit lacking after the EQ or do you like them where they are now? I decided to go for a pair of Blessings so will definitely make up my mind on them with my library as well but it's nice to hear others experiences!

I did order some Spinfit W1 hoping they will be a good fit for my ears!

[–] SoggyPigeon 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm pretty happy with where they're at now, they're not perfect for every song but they are pretty dang close.

Only reason I would want to upgrade would be for something with better technical qualities like separation or clarity. That's not to say that they are bad at that, it's more just me wondering what's out there.

[–] UnusMundus 1 points 1 year ago

Got it! So many good headphones nowadays it's really exciting!

[–] damienallbran 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

On top of that I would also recommend the Abigail/Pro dongle from VE as it sounds really good for 10 bucks

[–] UnusMundus 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ooh, thanks for that one! Do you use that dongle with the Blessing2's?

[–] damienallbran 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't since I don't own a Blessing2, but I do use them with my Aria SE. It's a nice, clean DAC/amp that has plenty of power for 99% of IEMs

[–] UnusMundus 1 points 1 year ago

Sounds like just the thing I need then :D

[–] ARNiM 1 points 1 year ago

Moondrop IEMs are really good. They’re tuned very well. I have the Moondrop Chu and they sounds great especially for casual listen, though they cheap out on the cables and they’re non detachable. I think it’s intentional to differentiate their product lineup, otherwise people wouldn’t have any reason to buy their more expensive models.