@@VSN-wb2lyIts not really a replacement like other industries though. My Aria Snow Edition still plays music exactly as it did when I bought it in 2022. In contrast a phone from 2021 performs objectively worse the longer it lives.
@@kellycny65Dont really see the problem with a great headphone being respected as a great headphone for 5-10 years, then it getting a price cut and still being great. Leads to just people enjoying what's out there for its quality, not for the FOMO If IEMs justified the constant "upgrades", then sure its more exciting. But as the other person said, much of the market is just the same or similar stuff done in a different color way under a new brand with a similar price point the past couple years (sometimes its the same exact people making similar IEMs across several brands)
I still remember when companies like Shure, Westone, and Etymotics dominated the universal iem market. I still have my old Westone 4s stashed away somewhere, crazy to see how much the industry has grown since
@@Rezzzn0rYeah to get very natural timbre on planars, you definitely have to step up to the next tier bracket. Planar drivers in general are a lot more expensive to make vs DDs
The timbre of the SA6 sounds better than the Ultra to me, less upper treble spiciness while also have more mids in general. Also the Blessing 2/B2Dusk on sale still rocks right now, S8 treble is still one of the best, and Thieaudio Oracle is old (you get my point)
not a fan of the mindless consumerism many people in this hobby promote. bought the timeless like 2 years ago and still using them daily, still an amazing IEM.
The first 4 iem’s I got were the Blon03, shozy 1.1, KBear Diamonds, then Urbanfun YBF-ISS014. would love to know your thoughts about these and maybe the original shouer tapes (have the pros). Has been fun over the years going on the iem journey. From my old stack of iem’s I still listen to my YBF’s (something about them I still love even with elevated mid bass), my shozy 1.4 (upgraded from 1.1) and the shouer tape pros. Great segment and would love to see more of them.
I have the main IEMs under $20 and none come close to the quality of the T3 plus in resolution and instrument separation, they can come close to timbre, but nothing else. Timmy may be right in genres like K-pop, but not in rock and roll and music with real instruments.
I still return to my Aria almost every week. Not sure if it's a "first love" scenario, but there's just something about how it sounds that is so impressive to me, even to this day.
As someone new to the IEM scene I found this video incredibly helpful and informative. Perhaps something like this every couple of months covering different price brackets?
It’s wild to me that Variations is still so viable and there hasn’t been an update/sequel to it. That $480-$520 price range doesn’t even seem that competitive. Give us Variations 2!
So happy I just bought the Variations on AliExpress anniversary sale for about 380 USD. What a deal on a legendary IEM that won't disappoint for a long time.
I'm sorry Gizaudio but i can't agree with your logic for T2. You said "the tuning is weird now"... How come? Has music changed so much that 2 years old IEM got weird? Nowadays 90% of new IEMs are Harman tuned and it made this hobby BORING and somewhat broken. I don't agree with "weird tuning" IEM at all but of course you can have your own opinion. Peace
What I have come to realize is that you are much less treble sensitive than I am. Much of what you prefer I find to be too treble forward. I have to be really careful in filtering your opinions.
I got hooked when 7Hz Timeless was trending and decided to try it out. Since then I also bought 7Hz x Crin Zero and Zero 2 and they were as good as the hype predicted! But I haven't convinced myself (yet) to go for an upgrade. Thank you Timmy for the video, it was engaging (as always), but also it gave me the idea of the progress that's been made since Timeless
Hello there, Ranadip here. I am new to this hobby. I want to buy an IEM and a DAC combined under 150 dollars. I have Iphone 13. So dac with lightning port will be helpful. And the IEM should be tuned for Indian Music. My preference would be an IEM with crystal clear sound where I can listen the instrument and vocals very clearly. Bass is not a priority. Only fuller, wider and bright sound signature should be there. Like if I close my eyes I should feel I am listening a concert live. Please recommend an iem and a dac according to my need.
MDR 7506 is looking at this with a smile.... in production since 1991 and still selling. Would be interesting to see if any iem at any price range could repeat something like this.
I liked so much the ultras but hated as much the limited move so not begging, not when the time they were unique is gone. now there are sliivos, pulas, ziigaats and a lot more doing same stuff for less money. So dunu may keep their ultras for the few.
There may be budget sets out there with better tuning than the BL03 (at least based on "objective" reasons / measurements), but there is something magical about that iem.. I still listen to it even though I have much better and more expensive sets nowadays... it is not nostalgia.. there is something very soothing about that sound.. at least to me..
Great throwback video from 18 months ago…. Yeah crazy seems like the starfield came out decades ago…. Agree with everything you said except Dunu Sa6 I own all three sa6 ultra is fav followed by og sa6 then mkii… love the og sa6 such great all rounder….and the look cables, fit and faceplates will never let them go out of style …. My original sa6 still looks better than any iem I have ever seen! How about the oxygen? Still relevant?
Buddy. Forget about the tuning for a while. Most of this iem that you mentioned for 20 to 30 dollars can't handle volumes. That's how you see if a driver can handle. Not at medium volumes with the tuning that suits you. Decay and image and volume is what diferentes driver from one to other.
Regarding the S12, LETSHUOER kind of overshadows itself with their sub brand ARTTI T10. It's a similar driver, just in a plastic shell that looks different on the outside. I was kind of tempted to buy one since they're pretty cheap but I don't really need another planar IEM, but I heard good things about it basically just being an S12 Pro in a plastic shell.
I have both Aria, I prefer Aria 2, for technicals. I'm still thinking about Titan S and consider to buy. SA6... I prefer MKII 😂😂 I love It, vocals sound so smooth with a largue soundstage
Most obsolete tho I think some like the JVC FDX1 have a niche and the IE600 is still good. Aria? Hasnt been competitve for over a year.. Titan S: Niche but somewhat viable. BLON 03: The Shure SE215 of chi-fi, this set has not been competitve for years. Timeless: Took off the Planar war, now overpriced.
Is there any cable 4.4mm that is good enough for these IEMs ? I have Moondrop Aria Snow Edition IEMs but they are 3.5mm jack but I have an AMP that I need to connect them with 4.4mm and they sound better ofcs. any recommendations ? Thx
Hey Want balanced sound. 7hz Zero 2 vs simgot ew100p or Should i increase my budget and get this is it worth any one help me Simgot ew200 vs kz - zs 10 pro
Moondrop S8 went from being incredible and the near pinnacle of what most people wanted from an IEM... to not even being mentioned in any comparisons with newer stuff whatsoever As someone who owns one, makes no sense to me as its still awesome. Much prefer my S8 to things like Monarch MK2, SA6 Mk2.
Shhhhh, don't tell people this. Buying used is a great value . I am still Happy with my Timeless, speakers IEMs and headphones don't go bad because they aren't new, clean em up with alcohol buy new tips and they are new again.
i have both T3+ and project red. (and other headphones) but I can say i am more of a v shape person after having all the IEMs and headphones, so I prefer T3+ than the red......maybe I prefer fake stuff more than natural.
You should do a prediction version, maybe with other RUclipsrs. Guess which ones won't and will stand the test of time and check back in a couple years
well yeah, the yume sucked on technical performance, but i still love it just because the shell design is very comfortable, just flush fit for my ears, the other iem falls off easily
Please let me know which IEMs I missed so I can do a follow up episode to this.
sony MH series (MH 755 & MH1C) and final audio E-series (even though, they still reproduced it into the new name scheme)
What is an upgrade for the Kato at a similar budget level?
@@voidpunkprincesscheckout aful performer 5/8. They might be cheaper than kato rn
OG Oracle
Moondrop S8?
Crazy how "old" and "legendary" are applied to IEMs around 2 or 3 years old. What an evolving market.
Not really evolving, repeating.
@@ahmadhusaini8420 Still a hell of a lot more vibrant and exciting than the moribund over-ear market.
@@VSN-wb2lyI mean this only applies to lower tier IEMs, if you bought a TOTL IEM 10 years ago, its still good today =D
@@VSN-wb2lyIts not really a replacement like other industries though. My Aria Snow Edition still plays music exactly as it did when I bought it in 2022. In contrast a phone from 2021 performs objectively worse the longer it lives.
@@kellycny65Dont really see the problem with a great headphone being respected as a great headphone for 5-10 years, then it getting a price cut and still being great. Leads to just people enjoying what's out there for its quality, not for the FOMO
If IEMs justified the constant "upgrades", then sure its more exciting. But as the other person said, much of the market is just the same or similar stuff done in a different color way under a new brand with a similar price point the past couple years (sometimes its the same exact people making similar IEMs across several brands)
Good headphones stays good.
~Dankpods
Blon03 was my first IEM, good times were had with those..
One thing I hate about them were gaming. it messed up and all over the place but it was legendary for me back in the day. KZ were just not it
I still remember when companies like Shure, Westone, and Etymotics dominated the universal iem market. I still have my old Westone 4s stashed away somewhere, crazy to see how much the industry has grown since
From westone and shure I used to look down on chifi. My very first chifi exposure was with a brand called Soundmagic
For me, the T3+ still rocks!
Oh I haven't heard of some of these in over a Chifi decade.
chifi decade = 6 months :P
Real
I still love the timeless, very fun iem and super comfy for my ears.
Timeless gang.. let’s go
I liked their sound, but the comfort was horrible for me. Hurted my ears after 10 minutes of usage
Small note: Zeos did not decide the SA6 ultra be limited, it was Dunu.
the Raptgo Hook-X appeared, apparently won the planar war and disappeared.. they should reissue it because it's fantastic!
For real the Hook-X was incredible.
Still rocking mine. Upgraded the cable to a Linsoul Euphrosyne and the tips to Azla.
Amazing iem, one of my favs. If only they could fix metallic timbre in the upper mids...
@@Rezzzn0rYeah to get very natural timbre on planars, you definitely have to step up to the next tier bracket. Planar drivers in general are a lot more expensive to make vs DDs
@@JtwasLuck that's true. Any high end iem planar without metallic timbre?
The timbre of the SA6 sounds better than the Ultra to me, less upper treble spiciness while also have more mids in general. Also the Blessing 2/B2Dusk on sale still rocks right now, S8 treble is still one of the best, and Thieaudio Oracle is old (you get my point)
I liked sa6 over monarch mk 2
I don't wear anything but Etys when working around loud equipment! I've talked a couple co-workers into them for suppressing noise.
You know what amazing about this 2-3 year old IEMs is the fact that some of them are cheaper now and still sound amazing
Blon BL03 is amazing! Forget Wan'er, Chu 2
Yes I love my Dunu Titan S and they are amazing.
not a fan of the mindless consumerism many people in this hobby promote. bought the timeless like 2 years ago and still using them daily, still an amazing IEM.
Reviewers of products are recommending products 🤯
Keyword: "Hobby" 🤯
Got the timeless and Kato at the same time, have rolled tips a few times, but haven't really gotten anything else since 😅
I got CCA-CRA and Kato at the same time. The CRA is perfect for me for taking places, the Katos I love at home getting all fancy with it.
I did the same thing. I have gotten better iem’s since but what I will say is that those two delineate the point of diminishing returns for me.
That feeling man, when your Variations considered old........ *listening this on Variations
I love my Titan S, and will keep it until it breaks before replacing it. Great content by the way.
Coming up on my channel:
ZHz Timeless and Letshuoer S12 Pro vs
NiceHCK F1Pro & Artti T10.
Planar wars part 743. lol. Peace ☮️
ER2XR holds up for sure… the isolation alone…
Oh I'm sure haha
The first 4 iem’s I got were the Blon03, shozy 1.1, KBear Diamonds, then Urbanfun YBF-ISS014. would love to know your thoughts about these and maybe the original shouer tapes (have the pros). Has been fun over the years going on the iem journey. From my old stack of iem’s I still listen to my YBF’s (something about them I still love even with elevated mid bass), my shozy 1.4 (upgraded from 1.1) and the shouer tape pros. Great segment and would love to see more of them.
hearing these iems called " OLD legendary" nowadays makes me feel old in the hobby
My Starfield's are my "at the office" iems that I can leave in for like 4-5 hours a day
Love them to this day haha
I think the hidition viento would have been an important mention
Speaking of old IEMs, I still have my UE triple fi 10 in working condition, you may call them ancient 😂
Variations.
I have the main IEMs under $20 and none come close to the quality of the T3 plus in resolution and instrument separation, they can come close to timbre, but nothing else. Timmy may be right in genres like K-pop, but not in rock and roll and music with real instruments.
Some kpop songs i'd suggest are triples rolex and nmixx my gosh. Rolex has 3 violins playing at the same time, and my gosh has 3 guitars
@@radiofreealbemuth Good for Kpop!
I still return to my Aria almost every week. Not sure if it's a "first love" scenario, but there's just something about how it sounds that is so impressive to me, even to this day.
The existence of the simgot ea500lm & artti t10 has pretty much rendered anything under $100 irrelevant nowadays.
I miss the old cca cra, before revision :(
me too!
That's what I have or thought I had. I love them whatever they are.
I still listen to my Tin T2+. But I replaced my Blon BL-03 (liked the sound but never fully happy with the fit) with 7Hz Zero.
hey timmy
under 100 dollars is the zero red still one of the best ?
Tinhifi T3 Plus is definitely a great iem i still use them regularly even after getting 13 more pairs
Mangird Tea OG!
TinHiFi P1 Max, a hidden gem imo with a different tuning to most, if not all other planer IEMs on the market, very good timbre.
As someone new to the IEM scene I found this video incredibly helpful and informative. Perhaps something like this every couple of months covering different price brackets?
It looks like there is a lot of alternatives for the variations nowadays, Hype4, ziigot cincotres, Zenns Top.. their price are just outrageous.
im happy with my aria 1 and have no reason to upgrade. Am i normal?
It’s wild to me that Variations is still so viable and there hasn’t been an update/sequel to it. That $480-$520 price range doesn’t even seem that competitive. Give us Variations 2!
So happy I just bought the Variations on AliExpress anniversary sale for about 380 USD. What a deal on a legendary IEM that won't disappoint for a long time.
MP145 took timeless place for me
I'm sorry Gizaudio but i can't agree with your logic for T2. You said "the tuning is weird now"... How come? Has music changed so much that 2 years old IEM got weird? Nowadays 90% of new IEMs are Harman tuned and it made this hobby BORING and somewhat broken. I don't agree with "weird tuning" IEM at all but of course you can have your own opinion. Peace
I own my s12 even after 2 years, it still remains my main brightest in-ears 🌟
Recently gave my old unused T3+ to my mum and shes been enjoying it for her personal listening habits haha
I prefer good tuning over technicalities. That’s when I enjoy music more.
I heard the hisenior mega 5 est is an upgrade to Variations
What I have come to realize is that you are much less treble sensitive than I am. Much of what you prefer I find to be too treble forward. I have to be really careful in filtering your opinions.
part 2 pleasee!! co-begging for the SA6 ultra. How about B2 dusk?
I got hooked when 7Hz Timeless was trending and decided to try it out. Since then I also bought 7Hz x Crin Zero and Zero 2 and they were as good as the hype predicted! But I haven't convinced myself (yet) to go for an upgrade. Thank you Timmy for the video, it was engaging (as always), but also it gave me the idea of the progress that's been made since Timeless
Great video concept Timmy
Still have arias with chipped paint, not the best but, most comfortable for long use😂
Hello there, Ranadip here. I am new to this hobby. I want to buy an IEM and a DAC combined under 150 dollars. I have Iphone 13. So dac with lightning port will be helpful. And the IEM should be tuned for Indian Music. My preference would be an IEM with crystal clear sound where I can listen the instrument and vocals very clearly. Bass is not a priority. Only fuller, wider and bright sound signature should be there. Like if I close my eyes I should feel I am listening a concert live.
Please recommend an iem and a dac according to my need.
Tenho o 7Zh Timeless e embora seja um excelente fone outro dia tive a sensação de que o KZ Vader está no mesmo nível
MDR 7506 is looking at this with a smile.... in production since 1991 and still selling. Would be interesting to see if any iem at any price range could repeat something like this.
Thieaudio Oracle OG
Hope you can get the Hisenior Mega5-EST in for a review. Seems to be a great alternative to the Variations.
Please bring back the SA6 Ultra
Damn, bring me back in 2017 where everyone almost have a VE Monk and KZ ZST LMFAO
BLON and CCA 💵❤️ most purchase in iem market for the last past 5 years Dunu and 7hz meh
Why Tangzu Wan'Er is straight up better than Blon bl-03? Can you please tell more?
Now that you say Wan'er I don't remeber where I left mineee D:
Perhaps.... The monarch Mk2?
Oracle Og? 😢
It's crazy how cheap the titan s has gotten. Now is a real budget vocal king.
Really like these kinds of videos. Would like to see more on chifi legends and how do they stack up now and their substitutes/ upgrades right now.
Another legendary one is Blessing 2 :Dusk, which aged like a wine to me.
I m listening with tangu warner because of ur recommendation
I bought the titan s for just $26 on sale, and really no brainer for the price
Still rocking the Timeless
you missed timeless AE (angel ears) - this should have been your pick over the timeless og
Nah. It's more expensive for very small improvement
I liked so much the ultras but hated as much the limited move so not begging, not when the time they were unique is gone. now there are sliivos, pulas, ziigaats and a lot more doing same stuff for less money. So dunu may keep their ultras for the few.
Super informative and relevant to me now. Thanks
There may be budget sets out there with better tuning than the BL03 (at least based on "objective" reasons / measurements), but there is something magical about that iem.. I still listen to it even though I have much better and more expensive sets nowadays... it is not nostalgia.. there is something very soothing about that sound.. at least to me..
where the Kato on this
I guess Kato is old too. I'll talk about it in the next addition of this video.
Yes,agree, I beg dunu … let sa6 ultra come back!
okay i guess its time for me to buy aria 2 next month 👍
the tuning meta you could say...
The past?? Geez... This feels like when a five year old told me he "used to skateboard"
How about some Ultimate Ears?
Freaking Titan S is the best for games
Great throwback video from 18 months ago…. Yeah crazy seems like the starfield came out decades ago…. Agree with everything you said except Dunu Sa6 I own all three sa6 ultra is fav followed by og sa6 then mkii… love the og sa6 such great all rounder….and the look cables, fit and faceplates will never let them go out of style …. My original sa6 still looks better than any iem I have ever seen! How about the oxygen? Still relevant?
so no 500lm , or any simgot huh
Buddy. Forget about the tuning for a while. Most of this iem that you mentioned for 20 to 30 dollars can't handle volumes. That's how you see if a driver can handle. Not at medium volumes with the tuning that suits you. Decay and image and volume is what diferentes driver from one to other.
hi guys i wonder if buying dunu titan S now is still worth it? i wanna know if it can complement my hexa's weakness?
blon bl03 is better than cra
Regarding the S12, LETSHUOER kind of overshadows itself with their sub brand ARTTI T10. It's a similar driver, just in a plastic shell that looks different on the outside. I was kind of tempted to buy one since they're pretty cheap but I don't really need another planar IEM, but I heard good things about it basically just being an S12 Pro in a plastic shell.
I have both Aria, I prefer Aria 2, for technicals.
I'm still thinking about Titan S and consider to buy.
SA6... I prefer MKII 😂😂 I love It, vocals sound so smooth with a largue soundstage
Most obsolete tho I think some like the JVC FDX1 have a niche and the IE600 is still good.
Aria? Hasnt been competitve for over a year..
Titan S: Niche but somewhat viable.
BLON 03: The Shure SE215 of chi-fi, this set has not been competitve for years.
Timeless: Took off the Planar war, now overpriced.
very overpriced. still lives on its iconic status i guess.
Is there any cable 4.4mm that is good enough for these IEMs ? I have Moondrop Aria Snow Edition IEMs but they are 3.5mm jack but I have an AMP that I need to connect them with 4.4mm and they sound better ofcs. any recommendations ? Thx
Yep - a drawer full of forgotten FOTM earphones. Even fullsize headphones have a certain amount of thrash but it's nothing compared to IEMs.
Hey
Want balanced sound.
7hz Zero 2 vs simgot ew100p or
Should i increase my budget and get this is it worth any one help me
Simgot ew200 vs kz - zs 10 pro
Moondrop S8 went from being incredible and the near pinnacle of what most people wanted from an IEM... to not even being mentioned in any comparisons with newer stuff whatsoever
As someone who owns one, makes no sense to me as its still awesome. Much prefer my S8 to things like Monarch MK2, SA6 Mk2.
Shhhhh, don't tell people this. Buying used is a great value . I am still Happy with my Timeless, speakers IEMs and headphones don't go bad because they aren't new, clean em up with alcohol buy new tips and they are new again.
i have both T3+ and project red. (and other headphones) but I can say i am more of a v shape person after having all the IEMs and headphones, so I prefer T3+ than the red......maybe I prefer fake stuff more than natural.
You should do a prediction version, maybe with other RUclipsrs. Guess which ones won't and will stand the test of time and check back in a couple years
I can’t find moondrop chu 2 on your iem ranking list. I wonder between chu 2 and waner which one is better for listening to J-pop and J-rock?
Those are considered old? I'm still using Noble K10 from 2016 and OG Andros from 2018 💀
i dont like the fkin s12 pro sucks also planner driver sucks i sold my s12 pro after listing for only week i like balanced and dynamic driver
well yeah, the yume sucked on technical performance, but i still love it just because the shell design is very comfortable, just flush fit for my ears, the other iem falls off easily
It's nice to hear that my wan'ers are still relevant