
Crinacle’s Headphone Ranking List: Public Release
The IEM boi dips his toes into the world of headphones.
S: Must try. Experience what the best has to offer.
A: While not at the top of the summit, Grade-A IEMs are still very respectable performers that would still be considered as some of the best by many.
B: Can essentially be described as “very good”, or excellent performers in their own right.
C: Average in the grand scheme of things, anywhere from “passable” to “good”.
D: The threshold for “bad” starts here.
E: The truly horrible.
F: The failures. One needs to literally sound broken to reach the depths of F-tier.
★: “Worth the price” (MSRP)
– Only those with a grade of “C” or above are considered for their first star.
– Discontinued models are not eligible.
★★: “Redefines the price bracket”
★★★: “Worth the Blind”
– Needs to be eligible for at least a ★ rating before ★★★ can be considered.
– Discontinued models may still be considered.
“You’re the measurements guy! You measure more than you listen! I’m not going to listen to you!“
Great, I’m not telling you to. My work on measurements is separate from my reviewing work. It takes me 2 minutes to measure an IEM, you honestly think I don’t have time to listen to it as well?
To aid searching, ranks without the + or – symbol will be marked with a “=”. That also includes the E & F ranks.
The IEM boi dips his toes into the world of headphones.
Rank | Value Rating | Model | Price (MSRP) | Signature | Comments | Tone Grade | Technical Grade | Setup | Based on | Note weight | Ranksort | Tonesort | Techsort | Pricesort |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S | ★ | qdc 8SL/Gemini/Anole VX | 1410 (8SL) 2180 (Gemini) 2560 (Anole VX) | Neutral | Reference tuning with good tonality and top-level resolution. Similar tunings across top tier models. | S | S+ | 8/10BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | -2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1410 |
S | ★ | Vision Ears VE8 | 2700 | Warm neutral | Extremely coherent signature with a pleasing tuning and high technicalities. | S+ | S | 8BA | E1 demo unit | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2700 |
S | ★ | 64 Audio A/U12t | 2000 | Mild U-shape | Amazing bass (for a BA), top-tier resolution and detail-oriented signature. | S | S | 12BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2000 |
S | ★★★ | Sony IER-Z1R | 1700 | Mild V-shape | Highly defined sound, realistic sub-bass focus and spacious imaging capabilities. | S | S | 1BA 2DD | Personal unit | -3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1700 |
S- | ★ | 64 Audio Tia Trio | 2300 | Neutral with bass boost | A more correct sounding version of the Fourte with slight cutbacks in staging and sheer resolution. | S | S- | 2BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 1 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2300 |
S- | ★ | InEar Prophile-8 | 1600 | Neutral | Very "studio" like sound, heavy priority on technicalities | S | S- | 8BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | -1 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1600 |
S- | Vision Ears Erlkonig | 4800 | Variable | Good tonality, high resolution and an overall decent all-rounder. | S- | S | 13BA | Third party unit | 2 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 4800 | |
S- | ★★ | ThieAudio Monarch | 730 | Neutral with bass boost | A clean-sounding monitor with a bass boost near-exclusively in the sub-frequencies. | S- | S | 2EST 6BA 1DD | Review unit | 10 | 7 | 3 | 730 | |
S- | ★ | Hidition Viento | 950 | Variable | Best-in-class tuning and tonal balance with near-perfect coherency. | S+ | A+ | 4BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -3 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 950 |
S- | ★ | Sony IER-M9 | 1000 | Warm neutral | Neutral tonality, highly coherent and decent detail pickup. | S- | S- | 5BA | Showfloor demo unit | 2 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 1000 |
A+ | Jomo Samba | Discontinued | V-shaped | Lively and engaging with big clarity and detail, perhaps too much for some | A+ | S | 8BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | -4 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 99999 | |
A+ | ★★ | ThieAudio Clairvoyance | 700 | Neutral with bass boost | Inoffensive, pleasant tuning specialising in extremely balanced tonality and bass control. | S | A+ | 2EST 5BA 1DD | Review unit | 16 | 3 | 13 | 700 | |
A+ | 64 Audio A/U18 Tzar | 3000 | Warm neutral | A rather simple and "mainstream" tuning refined to an extremely high level. | A+ | S- | 18BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 1 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 3000 | |
A+ | Audeze iSine 20 (Cipher V1) | Discontinued | Harman-neutral | DSP corrects the glaring tonality issues and brings out the iSine driver's full potential. | A+ | S- | Planar | Stereo SG demo unit | 0 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 99999 | |
A+ | Jomo Flamenco | 2200 | Warm neutral | Tuned to be more pleasing and tonally accurate compared to the old Flamenco at the cost of sheer detail. | A+ | S- | 11BA | Showfloor demo unit | -4 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 2200 | |
A+ | ★ | Kumitate KL-Sirius | 815 | Neutral | Excellent technical ability, well tuned with a dash of Japanese flavour. | S- | A+ | 4BA | Third party custom | -4 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 815 |
A+ | ★★ | Moondrop S8 | 700 | Harman-neutral | More faithful to the Harman target compared to the A8, with a smoother bass response. | S- | A+ | 8BA | Oardio demo unit | 20 | 7 | 13 | 700 | |
A+ | ★ | Campfire Andromeda (2020) | 1100 | Warm neutral | Basically an Andromeda without the treble spike and slightly boosted midrange. | A+ | S- | 5BA | Third party unit | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1100 | |
A+ | Ultimate Ears UE18+ Pro Gen 2 | Discontinued | Warm neutral | Somewhat reference tuning with emphasis on tonal accuracy and naturalness | S | A | 6BA | Personal unit | 3 | 24 | 3 | 21 | 99999 | |
A+ | ★★★ | Moondrop Blessing 2 | 320 | DF-neutral | Very well tuned from bass to treble, perhaps lacking in the last octaves of extension. | S | A | 4BA 1DD | Review unit | 24 | 3 | 21 | 320 | |
A+ | Empire Ears Legend X | 2300 | V-shaped | High resolution hybrid flawed only by lack of control in the bass regions. | A+ | A+ | 5BA 2DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 2300 | |
A+ | ★ | Hidition NT6 | 1050 | DF-neutral | If Etymotic made a multi-BA IEM, this would be the closest to that dream | A+ | A+ | 6BA | Null Audio demo unit | -1 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 1050 |
A+ | Jomo Trinity SS | 2800 | V-shaped | Highly detailed, well separated imaging though severely lacking in treble extension. | A+ | A+ | 2EST 4BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | -3 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 2800 | |
A+ | ★ | PEARS SH3 | 1100 | Neutral | Great detail pickup and solid all-rounder, perhaps a little strident. | A+ | A+ | 3BA | Third party unit | -4 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 1100 |
A+ | Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor (UERM) | Discontinued | Neutral | The benchmark of an era, dead-flat with an upper treble boost | A+ | A+ | 3BA | Personal custom | -3 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 99999 | |
A | ★ | Campfire Andromeda (S) | 1100 | Warm U-shape | Highly coherent, easy-to-love tuning and spacious headstage | A | S- | 5BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 2 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 1100 |
A | Elysian Hades V2 | 1550 | Variable | Upper-mid forward signature with intense upper treble response. | A | A+ | 6BA | Showfloor demo unit | 34 | 21 | 13 | 1550 | ||
A | Elysian Terminator V2 | 2500 | V-shaped | A more intense, upper-mid forward Terminator V1 with the same level of technical ability. | A | A+ | 8BA | Showfloor demo unit | 34 | 21 | 13 | 2500 | ||
A | Hidition NT8 | 1850 | Neutral | Coloured neutral kind of sound that works better with Asian genres. | A | A+ | 8BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 0 | 34 | 21 | 13 | 1850 | |
A | Hidition Waltz | Harman-neutral | Neutral-fun signature that works both as a reference monitor and a rock-out IEM. | A+ | A | 3BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 0 | 34 | 13 | 21 | 99999 | ||
A | ★ | qdc 4SS | 700 | Neutral | High clarity, high resolution reference-type monitor with spot-on tone. | A+ | A | 4BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 0 | 34 | 13 | 21 | 700 |
A | StereoPravada SB7 | 2500 | Bright DF-neutral | Technically proficient but marred by a sharp timbre. Interesting concept. | A- | S | 7BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -5 | 34 | 31 | 3 | 2500 | |
A | Tansio Mirai TSMR-12 "Zodiac" | 1330 | Neutral | Very clean, monitor/reference-style sound. | A+ | A | 12BA | Review unit | 34 | 13 | 21 | 1330 | ||
A | ★★ | Fearless S8Z | 590 | Warm neutral | Solid all-rounder with a safe, pleasing tuning. | A+ | A | 8BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 34 | 13 | 21 | 590 | |
A | Vision Ears Elysium | 3200 | Mild V-shape | First decent implementation of Sonion's EST tweeters. | A- | S- | 2EST 1BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 38 | 31 | 7 | 3200 | ||
A | Sony MDR-EX1000 | Discontinued | Bright DF-neutral | Outstanding imaging and detail retrieval though can be intense to listen to. | A- | S- | DD | Third party unit | -3 | 38 | 31 | 7 | 99999 | |
A | ★★ | Sony IER-M7 | 500 | Warm neutral | Balanced across the board, though doesn't seem to excel in any particular area. | S- | A- | 4BA | Showfloor demo unit | 2 | 38 | 7 | 31 | 500 |
A | ★★ | Fearless S8F/S8Pro | 490 | V-shaped | Tonally pleasing V-shaped signature on a solid technical foundation. | A | A | 8BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | -3 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 490 |
A | FitEar MH334SR | 2000 | Warm neutral | A MH334 with more treble extension and more opened imaging. | A | A | 4BA | Third party unit | 3 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 2000 | |
A | FiR M3 | 1200 | Warm neutral | Interesting tubeless technology, though the imaging improvements are minimal. | A | A | 2BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1200 | ||
A | FiR M4 | 1900 | Warm neutral | Too similar to the M3 to be worth the price markup. | A | A | 3BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1900 | ||
A | JH Roxanne | 1745 | Warm | Rich and smooth, perfect for male vocals | A | A | 12BA | A2A Melbourne demo unit | 4 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1745 | |
A | Jomo Trinity Brass | 2800 | Warm | The warmer of the Trinity models, sacrificing technical ability for a more pleasing and smoother tone. | A | A | 2EST 4BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 2 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 2800 | |
A | ★ | Lime Ears Model X | 1000 | Variable | Technically capable IEM that goes from decently neutral to warm and smooth in a pinch. | A | A | 4BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 0 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1000 |
A | Lime Ears Aether | 1350 | Neutral with bass boost | Excellent clarity and tone but marred slightly by slightly lackluster resolution | A | A | 5BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 1 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1350 | |
A | ★ | Moondrop A8 | 667 | Harman-neutral | An odd but surprisingly decent take on the Harman signature, with added midbass compared to the S8. | A | A | 8BA | Oardio demo unit | 42 | 21 | 21 | 667 | |
A | Moondrop Solis | 1100 | Warm DF-neutral | A good implementation of the EST drivers with Moondrop's signature tuning specialties. | A | A | 4BA 2EST | Review unit | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1100 | ||
A | ★ | Massdrop x Noble K10 | 700 | Neutral with bass boost | Very safe tuning, almost to the point of boredom. Does nothing wrong but nothing right either | A | A | 10BA | Stereo SG demo unit | 0 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 700 |
A | Noble K10 Encore | 1850 | Neutral | Reference oriented sound focused on technicalities | A | A | 10BA | Stereo SG demo unit | -1 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1850 | |
A | Noble Katana | 1850 | Neutral with laid-back treble | Like the K10, except with less bass | A | A | 9BA | Stereo SG demo unit | -1 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1850 | |
A | Oriolus MK2 | 1100 | Warm | Lively yet non-fatiguing hybrid experience | A | A | 3BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -2 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1100 | |
A | ★ | qdc 5SH | 900 | V-shaped | Fun, lively signature that retains high levels of performance. | A | A | 5BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 0 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 900 |
A | Stealthsonics U9 JDM | 1100 | Neutral with bass boost | Does away with the timbre issues of the standard U9. | A | A | 8BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 0 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1100 | |
A | ★ | Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered (UERR) | 1000 | Neutral with laid-back treble | Warm with good tonality. Good all-rounder albeit definitely not a reference signature. | A | A | 3BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 1 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1000 |
A | Westone ES60 | 1300 | Neutral with laid-back treble | Great timbre and well-tuned, held back by its resolution | A | A | 6BA | A2A Melbourne demo unit | 2 | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1300 | |
A | ★ | ThieAudio Voyager 14 (V14) | 1000 | Neutral | Evokes a qdc-ish house sound, though stumbles in both tuning refinement and technicalities. | A | A | 14BA | Third party unit | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1000 | |
A- | Sony MDR-EX800ST/MDR7550 | 350 | Bright neutral | A more forgiving, warmer version of the EX1000. | A- | A+ | DD | Third party unit | -2 | 44 | 31 | 13 | 350 | |
A- | JVC HA-FW10000 | 2200 | DF-neutral | Intense and shouty DF-style signature with solid resolution. | B+ | S- | DD | Stereo SG demo unit | 50 | 43 | 7 | 2200 | ||
A- | ★★ | Drop + JVC HA-FDX1 | 280 | Neutral | Highly technical sound with a clean, well-tuned neutral signature. | A | A- | DD | Review unit | 52 | 21 | 31 | 280 | |
A- | Elysian Poseidon | 1940 | Neutral with bass boost | Good, inoffensive midrange tone and bass tuning, marred by the lack of low-level detailing. | A | A- | 6BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 52 | 21 | 31 | 1940 | ||
A- | ★ | Etymotic ER4XR | 350 | DF-neutral | A more mainstream tuning of the ER4S/SR with slightly boosted bass. | A | A- | BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -4 | 52 | 21 | 31 | 350 |
A- | FiR M5 | 2800 | Warm | Warmer than the M3 and M4 with lower resolution. | A | A- | 1EST 3BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 52 | 21 | 31 | 2800 | ||
A- | Hidition NT6 Pro | 1100 | Neutral with bass boost | A V-shaped version of the NT6. The change in tuning kills the technical ability slightly | A- | A | 6BA | Null Audio demo unit | 1 | 52 | 31 | 21 | 1100 | |
A- | InEar SD5 | 1100 | Warm V-shape | Excels in timbre reproduction and has an overall pleasant signature. | A | A- | 5BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 2 | 52 | 21 | 31 | 1100 | |
A- | ★ | Moondrop Blessing | 400 | Harman-neutral | All rounder that comes the closest to the Harman Target. | A | A- | 4BA 1DD | Review unit | -4 | 52 | 21 | 31 | 400 |
A- | ★ | NocturnaL Atlantis | 600 | Neutral | Reference signature with immense clarity and energy. | A | A- | 4BA | Treoo demo unit | -3 | 52 | 21 | 31 | 600 |
A- | Sony Justear XJE-MH2 "Club" | 2150 | Warm DF-neutral | Nice, pleasant signature that is reminiscent of a more textured HS1551. | A | A- | 1BA 1DD | Third party custom | 1 | 52 | 21 | 31 | 2150 | |
A- | Unique Melody Mason V3+ | 3200 | Bright neutral | Decent resolution, nothing really special otherwise. | A- | A | 16BA | Munkong Gadget demo unit | 52 | 31 | 21 | 3200 | ||
A- | ★ | HYLA CE-5 | 915 | V-shaped | Probably the best bass response I've ever heard. Thin-ish midrange that sounds unnatural on certain instruments. | B+ | A+ | 1Piezo 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -4 | 56 | 43 | 13 | 915 |
A- | HYLA TE-5B | 1300 | V-shaped | Similar to the CE-5 though ever-so-slightly thinner in the midrange. | B+ | A+ | 1Piezo 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -4 | 56 | 43 | 13 | 1300 | |
A- | Shure KSE1200 | 2000 | Bright U-shape | Easily at the top in terms of resolution and definition, but comes with a big treble spike and slightly odd mids. | B | S+ | Electrostatic | A2A Melbourne demo unit | -5 | 58 | 57 | 1 | 2000 | |
A- | Dita Dream | 1800 | V-shaped | Excellent resolution and detail let down by its metallic tonality and thin midrange | B | S | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -3 | 60 | 57 | 3 | 1800 | |
A- | ★ | Acoustune HS1650 | 650 | V-shaped | Well textured and energetic with a sub-bass focus. | A- | A- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -2 | 62 | 31 | 31 | 650 |
A- | qdc Dmagic | 1900 | Neutral | Probably the best triple-DD IEM out there by virtue of not being a hot mess tonally. | A- | A- | 3DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 62 | 31 | 31 | 1900 | ||
B+ | 64 Audio N8 | 1700 | Bassy | Sub-bass focus, rich and smooth yet relatively neutral in tone. | B+ | A | 8BA 1DD | Personal custom | 4 | 64 | 43 | 21 | 1700 | |
B+ | Elysian Terminator | Discontinued | Warm V-shape | Well rounded smooth signature that doesn't offend. | B+ | A | 8BA | Showfloor demo unit | 3 | 64 | 43 | 21 | 99999 | |
B+ | ★★★ | Etymotic ER2SE/ER2XR | 160 | DF-neutral | Slightly less detailed than the ER4, but without the usual BA timbre. | A | B+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 64 | 21 | 43 | 160 | |
B+ | ★ | Fearless S6Pro | 390 | DF-neutral | Technical tuning with very forward detailing. | A | B+ | 6BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | -3 | 64 | 21 | 43 | 390 |
B+ | FitEar MH334 | 1900 | Warm | Perfect for female vocals, but otherwise quite coloured | A | B+ | 4BA | Third party custom | 3 | 64 | 21 | 43 | 1900 | |
B+ | ★ | Massdrop Plus | 300 | DF-neutral with bass boost | Reference-targeted sound with excellent clarity and detail, with a slightly more fun tuning. | A | B+ | 3BA | Review unit | 3 | 64 | 21 | 43 | 300 |
B+ | Oriolus Mellianus | 2400 | Mild V-shape | Thin and sterile signature that isn't the most natural, but still technically proficient. | B+ | A | 10BA | Third party unit | -4 | 64 | 43 | 21 | 2400 | |
B+ | Soranik Ion | 1100 | Warm | Clearly inspired by the 334, follows the same strengths in female vocals | A | B+ | 5BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 3 | 64 | 21 | 43 | 1100 | |
B+ | ★ | Tanchjim Oxygen | 270 | Harman-neutral | One of the best-tuned DDs tuned somewhat to Harman. Defined and detailed. | A | B+ | DD | Review unit | 64 | 21 | 43 | 270 | |
B+ | Unique Melody Maestro V2 | 2000 | "Balanced" | It's... there. Hard to find words for this one | B+ | A | 12BA | Stereo SG demo unit | -3 | 64 | 43 | 21 | 2000 | |
B+ | Gaudio Nair | 862 | Neutral | Well-tuned neutral monitor bottlenecked by timbre and resolution. | A+ | B | 3BA | Review unit | 70 | 13 | 57 | 862 | ||
B+ | A&K T8iE | Discontinued | Neutral with bass boost | Hard-to-dislike tuning with excellent clarity and resolution | B | A+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 0 | 70 | 57 | 13 | 99999 | |
B+ | Beyerdynamic Xelento | 1000 | V-shaped | Like the T8iE, with a little more treble | B | A+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 0 | 70 | 57 | 13 | 1000 | |
B+ | Noble Khan | 2300 | U-shaped | Clean yet lean, solid low-end rumble but treble get splashy. Technical but lacking naturalness for top performance. | B | A+ | 1Piezo 4BA 1DD | Third party unit | -5 | 70 | 57 | 13 | 2300 | |
B+ | ★★ | AKG N400 | 155 | Harman-neutral | Does away with the timbral issues of the Buds+ and sets itself as a superior. | A+ | B | DD | Personal unit | 70 | 13 | 57 | 155 | |
B+ | ★ | Acoustune HS1551 | 500 | Warm V-shape | Warm and smooth tonality with a pleasing tuning not many would hate. | A- | B+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 3 | 74 | 31 | 43 | 500 |
B+ | Custom Art Harmony 8.2 | 1300 | Warm | Smooth and easy signature. No fatigue whatsoever. The definition of a lounging IEM. | A- | B+ | 8BA | Personal unit | 5 | 74 | 31 | 43 | 1300 | |
B+ | ★ | DUNU DK-3001 Pro | 470 | Warm neutral | Well-tuned and coherent. Does little wrong and very easy to like. | A- | B+ | 3BA 1DD | Review unit | 74 | 31 | 43 | 470 | |
B+ | ★ | Etymotic ER4PT | 300 | Warm neutral | Slightly rolled off treble with good detail and resolution, though imaging is too two-dimensional. | A- | B+ | BA | Personal unit | -3 | 74 | 31 | 43 | 300 |
B+ | Elysian Artemis V2 | 700 | Neutral | A detailed, somewhat neutral-sounding IEM that should fit most people's tastes. | B+ | A- | 3BA | Showfloor demo unit | 74 | 43 | 31 | 700 | ||
B+ | FitEar TG334 | 1400 | Dark | Like the MH334 with quite a bit less treble | A- | B+ | 4BA | Personal unit | 4 | 74 | 31 | 43 | 1400 | |
B+ | HUM Reference | 1300 | DF-neutral | Basically sounds like a shallow-fit ER4S. | A- | B+ | BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -4 | 74 | 31 | 43 | 1300 | |
B+ | Jomo Quatre | 1500 | V-shaped | Nicely tuned hybrid that serves as a good all-rounder. | A- | B+ | 3BA 1DD | Euphoria Audio demo unit | 1 | 74 | 31 | 43 | 1500 | |
B+ | Unique Melody Martian | 700 | Neutral with bass boost | Well-tuned hybrid with excellent bass response and smooth midrange. | A- | B+ | 2BA 2DD | Stereo SG demo unit | 2 | 74 | 31 | 43 | 700 | |
B+ | JQ Hua Jiang | 750 | Neutral with bass boost | Somewhat subdued and "safe" tuning with decent resolving ability. | A- | B+ | 2EST 6BA 1DD | Third party unit | 74 | 31 | 43 | 750 | ||
B+ | 64 Audio tia Fourte | 3600 | W-shaped | Unique sound; high clarity and bass response with immensely wide staging, held back by a wonky tonality. | B- | S | 3BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | -3 | 76 | 73 | 3 | 3600 | |
B+ | Campfire Solaris (SE) | 1500 | "Balanced" | Coherent and well balanced hybrid though with slight midrange hollowness. | B | A | 3BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 0 | 78 | 57 | 21 | 1500 | |
B+ | ★ | Sony XBA-N3 | 300 | Neutral with bass boost | Exceptional tonal balance only limited by its slightly smoothed over definition | A | B | 1BA 1DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 3 | 78 | 21 | 57 | 300 |
B+ | NCM Bella | 1050 | U-shaped | Powerful bass combined with clean sounding mids, though perhaps a tad aggressive at times. | B | A | 8BA 1DD | Review unit | -1 | 78 | 57 | 21 | 1050 | |
B+ | Vision Ears VE3.2 | 1200 | Warm neutral | Almost VE8-like in tonality, but lacks its technical abilities. | A | B | 3BA | E1 demo unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 1200 | ||
B+ | ★ | FAudio Minor | 520 | Mild V-shape | Well-balanced tonality and tuning, held back by middling technicalities. | A | B | DD | Third party unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 520 | |
B+ | AAW ASH | 800 | Warm neutral | Smooth tonal balance with decent technicalities. | B+ | B+ | 6BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 3 | 86 | 43 | 43 | 800 | |
B+ | Empire Ears EVR | 800 | Neutral | A nicely tuned flat-ish signature with good technical ability all around. | B+ | B+ | 3BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -4 | 86 | 43 | 43 | 800 | |
B+ | Empire Ears Vantage | 1400 | V-shaped | A Legend-X-mini, essentially. Nice alternative on a "budget". | B+ | B+ | 1BA 2DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 3 | 86 | 43 | 43 | 1400 | |
B+ | ★ | iBasso IT04 | 500 | U-shaped | A nice improvement over the IT03 though midrange hollowness still exists. | B+ | B+ | 3BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | -1 | 86 | 43 | 43 | 500 |
B+ | Sennheiser IE800 | 800 | Mild V-shape | Good bass with shimmery treble. Decent tonality. | B+ | B+ | DD | Jaben SG demo unit | 1 | 86 | 43 | 43 | 800 | |
B+ | HYLA TE-5T | 1300 | Upper mid focused | Very Japanese-sounding with a massive upper harmonic focus, too much for many genres. | B- | A+ | 1Piezo 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -5 | 86 | 73 | 13 | 1300 | |
B | AAW Canary | 2170 | V-shaped | Poor implementation of the EST driver. Decent in tonality and timbre, but that's about it. | B | A- | 2EST 4BA 2DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 88 | 57 | 31 | 2170 | ||
B | Acoustune HS1670 | 800 | V-shaped | Metallic and shrill timbre makes this hard to enjoy. | B | A- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 88 | 57 | 31 | 800 | ||
B | Dita Fidelity | 1300 | V-shaped | The more technical and less natural sounding of the Dita twins. | B | A- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -4 | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1300 | |
B | Dita Fealty | 1300 | Mild V-shape | The more natural sounding and less technical of the Dita twins. | A- | B | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 1300 | ||
B | Empire Ears Phantom | 1800 | Warm | Heavy, rich and decadent, great for male vocals and bassy instruments. | B | A- | 5BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 5 | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1800 | |
B | Empire Ears Valkyrie | 1600 | Extreme V-shape | Lots of sub-bass with extremely thin mids. Adequate technicalities. | B | A- | 1EST 1BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1600 | ||
B | ★★ | Moondrop KXXS | 190 | Harman-neutral | Well-tuned single DD with proper timbre and decent technicalities. | A- | B | DD | Review unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 190 | |
B | ★★ | Moondrop Starfield | 110 | Harman-neutral | A cheaper KXXS. | A- | B | DD | Review unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 110 | |
B | ★★ | Samsung Galaxy Buds | 130 | Harman-neutral | A surprisingly well-tuned TWS with the technical chops to boot. | A- | B | DD | Personal unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 130 | |
B | ★ | Sony WF-1000XM3 | 230 | Neutral with bass boost | Proper tonality, solid technicalities yet with a consumer-friendly signature. | A- | B | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 230 | |
B | Ultimate Ears UE18+ Pro Gen 3 | 1500 | "Balanced" | Perceived more neutrally compared to the Gen 2; less emotional, more boring. | B | A- | 6BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 0 | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1500 | |
B | Kinera Nanna | 900 | Mild V-shape | Surprisingly well-extended for an EST implementation; somewhat blunted notes overall. | A- | B | 2EST 1BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 900 | ||
B | 64 Audio tia Fourte Noir | 3800 | W-shaped | A bassier and warmer Fourte though also strangely sharper and less technical. | B- | A | 3BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 0 | 94 | 73 | 21 | 3800 | |
B | Campfire Solaris (2020) | 1500 | Bright V-shape | Similar (but not identical) upper midrange problems to the original, with added sibilance. | B- | A | 4BA 1DD | Third party unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 1500 | ||
B | Campfire Ara | 1300 | Bright neutral | Very resolving set of IEMs, triggers the "uncanny valley" effect with its tuning. | C+ | S | 7BA | Third party unit | 94 | 91 | 3 | 1300 | ||
B | Final Audio A8000 | 2000 | Bright V-shape | Technically strong but going too far with the treble emphasis. | B- | A | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 2000 | ||
B | DUNU Luna | 1700 | Mid-centric | Needs more work on the tuning front. | C+ | S- | DD | Review unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 1700 | ||
B | AAW AXH (2019) | 430 | Bright neutral | Sharp treble though not to the point of being piercing. Decent rendition of the bright-neutral signature. | B | B+ | 4BA 1DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | -3 | 100 | 57 | 43 | 430 | |
B | Acoustune HS1501 | 500 | Warm V-shape | A more textured, bassier and more energetic version of the HS1551. | B | B+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 500 | ||
B | AKG N5005 | 1000 | Neutral with bass boost | Amazing bass control only let down by plastic timbre. | B+ | B | 4BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 1000 | ||
B | Campfire Atlas | 1300 | Bassy | Gobs of bass with added treble sparkle that prevents complete congestion and muddiness. | B | B+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 4 | 100 | 57 | 43 | 1300 | |
B | Dita Truth Brass | Discontinued | Warm V-shape | Very nice tonal characteristics with good bass, though nothing special technically. | B+ | B | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 99999 | ||
B | Dita Dream XLS | 1850 | Neutral | Standard Dita house sound with a non-standard bass roll-off. Decent, not amazing. | B | B+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 1850 | ||
B | DUNU DK-4001 | 900 | U-shaped | A little shrill with slight cutbacks in tone compared to the DK-3001 Pro. | B | B+ | 4BA 1DD | Review unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 900 | ||
B | ★ | Fearless S4 | 290 | V-shaped | Tonally accurate though can be a little heavy with its upper midrange. | B+ | B | 4BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 290 | |
B | ★ | Fearless S5H | 330 | V-shaped | Similar if not identical to the S4, though with a little less upper mids. | B+ | B | 5BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 330 | |
B | ★ | Fearless S6Rui | 390 | V-shaped | Similar to the S4/S5H though with smoother upper mids and treble response. | B+ | B | 6BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 390 | |
B | ★ | FiiO FH5 | 260 | Neutral with bass boost | Stellar bass response and decent technical ability, not much to fault. | B+ | B | 3BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 260 | |
B | Noble Tux 5 | 1300 | U-shaped | Deep, sub-bass focus with potentially sibilant treble. Scooped midrange. | B+ | B | 4BA 1DD | Stereo SG demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 1300 | ||
B | qdc Anole V3 | 600 | Variable | The bassier of the Anole brothers. Better timbre but worse technicalities. | B+ | B | 3BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 600 | ||
B | qdc Anole V6 | 1100 | Variable | The more mid-centric of the Anole brothers. Better technicalities but worse timbre. | B | B+ | 6BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 1100 | ||
B | ★★ | Samsung Galaxy Buds+ | 150 | Harman-neutral | Tuned even closer to the Harman IE target compared to the original. | B+ | B | 2DD | Personal unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 150 | |
B | ★ | Sony XBA-A3 | 480 | Neutral with bass boost | Coherent hybrid with a warm-ish tilt to its tone. | B+ | B | 2BA 1DD | Third party unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 480 | |
B | Sony XBA-Z5 | 700 | "Balanced" | All-rounder. Somewhat neutral both in FR and tonality. | B+ | B | 2BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 700 | ||
B | VSonic GR07X | Discontinued | Neutral | Jack of all trades. Has all the fundamentals down to a T. | B+ | B | DD | Personal unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 99999 | ||
B | ThieAudio Legacy 9 (L9) | 550 | Bassy | Bass a little too slow and sluggish with minor quirks in the midrange-treble transition. | B+ | B | 8BA 1DD | Third party unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 550 | ||
B | PEARS SH2 | 860 | Neutral | An odd take on neutrality but not the worst. | B | B+ | 2BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 860 | ||
B | ★ | Bose SoundSport Free | 200 | Neutral | Solid tonal balance with wide soundstage, though not the best in detailing. | A- | B- | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 104 | 31 | 73 | 200 | |
B | Moondrop Kanas Pro | Discontinued | Warm V-shape | Somewhat Harman-esque in tuning, not the best in terms of resolution. | A- | B- | DD | Review unit | 104 | 31 | 73 | 99999 | ||
B | Vision Ears EVE 20 | 1550 | V-shaped | Solid technicalities in tandem with an uninspired tuning. | B- | A- | 6BA | E1 demo unit | 104 | 73 | 31 | 1550 | ||
B | ★★★ | Lypertek Tevi | 90 | DF-neutral with bass boost | Probably the closest thing to an ER2XR in TWS form. | A | C+ | DD | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 112 | 21 | 91 | 90 | |
B | AAW Mockingbird | 1450 | Neutral | A "nothing special" kind of sound that is neither wrong nor exciting, even on a technical level. | B | B | 8BA 1DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 1450 | ||
B | ACS Encore | 1130 | Neutral | Good all-rounder. No slouch in the technicalities. | B | B | 3BA | Jaben SG demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 1130 | ||
B | ★ | ARC Mira | 410 | Neutral | A well-tuned basic setup with strengths in versatility. | B | B | 2BA | Showfloor demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 410 | |
B | ★ | Audio Technica ATH-E70 | 400 | Neutral with bass boost | Clean and clear sound with a slight warm tilt without losing treble sparkle. | B | B | 3BA | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 400 | |
B | Empire Ears Bravado | 700 | V-shaped | A basic hybrid sound with big bass and energetic treble. | B | B | 1BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 700 | ||
B | Empire Ears Nemesis | 1600 | V-shaped | A lot more treble compared to the Vantage. | B | B | 3BA 2DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1 | 114 | 57 | 57 | 1600 | |
B | Fearless La Hire | 610 | Neutral | Well-tuned neutral-style monitor with subpar treble extension. | B | B | 2EST 2BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 610 | ||
B | Fidue A91 "Sirius" | 900 | Mid-centric | Uniquely tuned hybrid. Not very powerful DD bass with Diffuse-Field midrange. | B | B | 4BA 1DD | LMUE demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 900 | ||
B | FitEar F/A111 | 780 | Warm neutral | A laid-back take on reference with Suyama's FitEar colouration mixed in | B | B | BA | Jaben SG demo unit | 3 | 114 | 57 | 57 | 780 | |
B | FitEar Parterre | 1200 | Warm | Intimate, smooth and laidback sound | B | B | 2BA? | Jaben SG demo unit | 2 | 114 | 57 | 57 | 1200 | |
B | FLC8S | Discontinued | Variable | Very good technicalities with a well-tuned signature. Filters change the sound a lot. | B | B | 2BA 1DD | Personal unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 99999 | ||
B | HUM Pristine Reference | 1400 | Warm | Good detail pickup and generally inoffensive. Much better than the universal. | B | B | 2BA | Third party custom | 2 | 114 | 57 | 57 | 1400 | |
B | JH Audio JH13v2 Performance Series | 1000 | V-shaped | Good all rounder, slightly warmer and more coherent than the custom version | B | B | 8BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 1000 | ||
B | ★ | Periodic Audio Be | 300 | Mild V-shape | Meaty with decent sparkle in the treble, whilst remaining clear and clean. | B | B | DD | Review unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 300 | |
B | Rhapsodio Galaxy | Discontinued | V-shaped | Lively and engaging but avoiding fatigue still. Rare combo | B | B | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1 | 114 | 57 | 57 | 99999 | |
B | ★ | Sennheiser IE400 Pro | 350 | V-shaped | Heavy bass boost balanced out by good treble energy along with decent midrange tonality. | B | B | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 350 | |
B | ★ | Shozy & Neo BG | 280 | Bright neutral | Well balanced tuning with decent resolution, though suffers from slight timbral issues. | B | B | 5BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 280 | |
B | Shure SE846 | 1000 | Neutral with bass boost | Deep reaching bass but with an odd tonality in the rest of the spectrum. | B | B | 4BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 1000 | ||
B- | ARC Oculus | 570 | Warm | Relaxing, warm signature with sub-par resolving ability. | B+ | B- | 3BA | Showfloor demo unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 570 | ||
B- | Audio Technica ATH-IM02 | Warm neutral | Well-balanced, excellent tuning and good technical ability. | B+ | B- | 2BA | Third party unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 99999 | |||
B- | ★ | Audio Technica ATH-LS200 | 250 | Neutral | Somewhat Diffuse-Field neutral with its own quirks. Good technical ability. | B+ | B- | 2BA | Stereo SG demo unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 250 | |
B- | Custom Art FIBAE Black | 500 | Warm neutral | Smooth, neutral-ish signature that serves as an all rounder. | B+ | B- | 1BA | Third party custom | 116 | 43 | 73 | 500 | ||
B- | Fearless Lancelot | 1300 | Warm | Rather generic tuning with no redeeming qualities for its price and status. | B- | B+ | 2EST 6BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 116 | 73 | 43 | 1300 | ||
B- | FitEar Private 333 | 1500 | Bright | Very exciting and sharp signature. Almost seems like it's made for higher-pitched vocals. | B- | B+ | 3BA | Jaben SG demo unit | -5 | 116 | 73 | 43 | 1500 | |
B- | Hifiman RE2000 | 2000 | Mild V-shape | Lively sound with great technicalities and substandard tonality. | B- | B+ | DD | A2A Melbourne demo unit | 116 | 73 | 43 | 2000 | ||
B- | InEar Stagediver SD2 | 450 | Warm neutral | Well-balanced, excellent tuning and good technical ability. Similar to IM02. | B+ | B- | 2BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 450 | ||
B- | Itsfit R3 | 305 | Neutral | Similar to the lauded UERM, but without its resolution nor sparkle. | B+ | B- | 3BA | Review unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 305 | ||
B- | ★ | Jabra Elite Active 65t | 190 | Neutral | Excellent tonal balance and timbre, though technical ability isn't the best. | B+ | B- | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 190 | |
B- | ★★★ | Sony MH755 | 8 | Harman-neutral | Clean notes, proper sub-bass extension and a tonal balance beyond expectations. | B+ | B- | DD | Personal unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 8 | |
B- | ★ | Unique Melody MacBeth | 600 | U-shaped | Extremely clear but may be too thin for some. | B- | B+ | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 116 | 73 | 43 | 600 | |
B- | ★ | Audiosense DT200 | 150 | Neutral | Excellent tonality. Just excellent tuning overall. | A+ | C | 2BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 124 | 13 | 111 | 150 | |
B- | Empire Ears ESR | 1000 | Bright V-shape | Has the technical chops but is sharp and fatiguing. | B- | B | 3BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 1000 | ||
B- | FitEar EST | 1300 | Warm | Smooth and relaxing listen, though definition is not its strong suit. | B | B- | 1EST 1BA | Jaben SG demo unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 1300 | ||
B- | ★ | Apple AirPods Pro | 250 | Neutral | Somewhat Diffuse-Field tuning with a smooth and natural midrange tonality. | B | B- | DD | Third party unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 250 | |
B- | ARC Pollux | 285 | Neutral | Well-tuned neutral single-BA IEM. | B | B- | BA | Showfloor demo unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 285 | ||
B- | Elysian Cora (2019) | 1230 | Neutral with bass boost | A decent hybrid weird slightly odd midrange tonality. | B- | B | 4BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 1230 | ||
B- | Fearless S10 Genie | 700 | DF-neutral | Sounds like an attempt at DF-neutral gone wrong. Tonally evokes a sense of "uncanny valley". | B- | B | 10BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 700 | ||
B- | Fearless HyperS 12BA | 900 | DF-neutral | Similar if not identical to the S10 Genie. | B- | B | 12BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 900 | ||
B- | Meze Rai Penta | 1100 | Warm V-shape | Pleasing tonality with subpar technical ability. | B | B- | 4BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 1100 | ||
B- | Oriolus Forsteni | 375 | U-shaped | Great sparkle, deep-reaching DD bass and high clarity. Spacious staging. | B- | B | 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 375 | ||
B- | ★★ | Tin HiFi T4 | 110 | Bright neutral | A worthy successor to the legendary GR07. | B | B- | DD | Review unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 110 | |
B- | VSonic GR07 Classic | Discontinued | Mild V-shape | Well-balanced, well-tuned, good technicalities. The $100 benchmark since ever. | B- | B | DD | LMUE demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 99999 | ||
B- | Vision Ears VE4.2 | 1440 | V-shaped | Decently tuned monitor with adequate resolution, but nothing that hasn't been done before for cheap. | B- | B | 4BA | E1 demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 1440 | ||
B- | Gaudio Clariden | 862 | V-shaped | Somewhat reminiscent of a more mid-y Andromeda, though with extra wonkiness. | B | B- | 3BA | Review unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 862 | ||
B- | Earsonics EM10 | 2300 | Warm | Oddly low dynamics makes this sound rather dead and lifeless. | C+ | B+ | 10BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 2 | 134 | 91 | 43 | 2300 | |
B- | Stealthsonics U9 | 1100 | Neutral | An otherwise capable hybrid caught out by nasally and odd midrange. | C+ | B+ | 8BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 134 | 91 | 43 | 1100 | ||
B- | Westone W80 | 1500 | Warm neutral | Nicely balanced, intimate and slightly dry. Perhaps the least Westone-sounding Westone. | C+ | B+ | 8BA | A2A Melbourne demo unit | 3 | 134 | 91 | 43 | 1500 | |
B- | Hyla Nerva X | 2730 | Dark | Low dynamics, rolled off and nothing that it really excels in. | B- | B- | 10BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 146 | 73 | 73 | 2730 | ||
B- | ★ | ikko OH1 | 140 | Upper mid focused | Well controlled sub-bass focus, high clarity and has an inherent "Asian" signature. | B- | B- | 1BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 146 | 73 | 73 | 140 | |
B- | qdc Fusion | 920 | Warm | Dulled transients and lacks detailing. Tonality is merely okay. | B- | B- | 4BA 1DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 146 | 73 | 73 | 920 | ||
B- | Rhapsodio Solar | 1550 | Mild V-shape | An all-rounder to a fault. Truly a master of none. | B- | B- | 10BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | -1 | 146 | 73 | 73 | 1550 | |
B- | Ultimate Ears UE6 Pro | 700 | "Balanced" | A capable hybrid with little weaknesses. | B- | B- | 1BA 2DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 146 | 73 | 73 | 700 | ||
B- | Ultimate Ears UE7 Pro | 850 | Warm neutral | Good clarity and detail with boosted, warm bass and controlled treble. | B- | B- | 3BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 146 | 73 | 73 | 850 | ||
C+ | ★★ | BLON BL03 | 38 | Warm V-shape | Very pleasing and safe tuning with subpar technical detailing. | B | C+ | DD | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 38 | |
C+ | Campfire Polaris V1 | 600 | V-shaped | Pseudo-Japanese tuning focusing on female vocals and a very lively signature. | C+ | B | 1BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 600 | ||
C+ | Campfire Jupiter | 800 | "Balanced" | Great clarity and staging though with odd upper midrange. | C+ | B | 4BA | ConnectIT demo unit | 1 | 148 | 91 | 57 | 800 | |
C+ | Custom Art FIBAE3 | 625 | Mid-centric | A clarity-focused IEM. Weak in staging, perhaps too thin on the note weight but ultimately does its kind of sound without hiccups. | C+ | B | 3BA | Review unit | -4 | 148 | 91 | 57 | 625 | |
C+ | Empire Ears Wraith | 3500 | Dark neutral | A Zeus with almost nonexistent treble and clarity. | C+ | B | 4EST 7BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 3500 | ||
C+ | FiiO FH7 | 450 | V-shaped | What is otherwise a pretty good hybrid marred by a strange tonality. | C+ | B | 4BA 1DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 450 | ||
C+ | Itsfit Fusion | 950 | "Balanced" | Hard to pinpoint its exact signature, but the result is an odd tonality. | C+ | B | 1MS 2BA 1DD | Review unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 950 | ||
C+ | JH Audio Layla | 2725 | Variable | Suppressed upper mids and odd treble tuning. Decent technicalities. | C+ | B | 12BA | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 2725 | ||
C+ | KZ E10 | 60 | DF-neutral | A little bright, almost edging on shoutiness, but overall a decent attempt at neutrality. | B | C+ | 4BA 1DD | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 60 | ||
C+ | Lime Ears Aether R | 1350 | Variable | A downgrade from the original with weirder midrange tonality. | C+ | B | 6BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 1350 | ||
C+ | ★★ | QCY T5 | 35 | Neutral | An odd take on a reference-style signature, but definitely not the worst attempt out there. | B | C+ | DD | Third party unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 35 | |
C+ | Shozy Form 1.1 | 75 | Warm neutral | Relaxing, non-fatiguing listen with minor cutbacks in detailing. | B | C+ | 1BA 1DD | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 75 | ||
C+ | Shozy Form 1.4 | 200 | Warm neutral | Very similar to the Form 1.1 in both tone and technicalities. | B | C+ | 4BA 1DD | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 200 | ||
C+ | Urbanfun YBF-ISS014 | 60 | V-shaped | Clear detailing marred slightly by an almost generic and sharp tuning. | C+ | B | DD | Review unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 60 | ||
C+ | ★ | ThieAudio Legacy 3 | 130 | Neutral | Balanced tonality with a laid-back signature, nothing much to fault nor to praise. | B | C+ | 2BA 1DD | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 130 | |
C+ | Tansio Mirai TSMR-5 | 430 | Warm V-shape | Alright tonality, decent detailing but nothing that makes it stand out. | B | C+ | 5BA | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 430 | ||
C+ | Kumitate KL-REF Type-S | 1350 | Variable | Well tuned but unfortunately suffers from very odd timbre. | C | B+ | 3BA 2DD | Third party unit | 154 | 111 | 43 | 1350 | ||
C+ | FAudio Major | 1400 | V-shaped | Piercing sharp treble and overwhelming bass makes this hard to listen to. | C | B+ | DD | Third party unit | 154 | 111 | 43 | 1400 | ||
C+ | AAW A3H Pro V2 | 370 | Warm | Decent technicalities with well controlled bass and treble rolloff. | B- | C+ | 2BA 1DD | Personal custom | 164 | 73 | 91 | 370 | ||
C+ | ★ | Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro | 150 | V-shaped | Impressive sub-focused bass response, limited by its shouty and sharp midrange and treble. | B- | C+ | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 150 | |
C+ | Campfire Dorado | 1000 | Warm | Extremely coherent albeit slightly congested. Great for intimacy lovers. | B- | C+ | 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 1000 | ||
C+ | Campfire Vega | 1300 | V-shaped | Powerful bass, sharp treble and muffled midrange. | C+ | B- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 1300 | ||
C+ | ★ | Edifier TWS5 | 80 | V-shaped | Good tone and bass response, but unfortunately lacking detail retrieval. | B- | C+ | DD | Third party unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 80 | |
C+ | Elysian Artemis | 600 | Warm | Thick, warm and smooth signature without complete sacrifice in technicalities. | B- | C+ | 3BA | Review unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 600 | ||
C+ | ★★ | Final Audio E1000 | 30 | Neutral | Balanced tuning with good clarity and acceptable resolution. Surprising pick. | B- | C+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 30 | |
C+ | ★ | Final Audio E2000 | 45 | V-shaped | Not too dissimiliar to a GR07, though lacking in that last octave of bass extension. | B- | C+ | DD | E1 demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 45 | |
C+ | ★ | Final Audio E3000 | 55 | Warm | A warmer, bassier E2000. | B- | C+ | DD | E1 demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 55 | |
C+ | Final Audio E4000 | 180 | V-shaped | Rather standard sounding, non-offensive and neutral in tone. | B- | C+ | DD | E1 demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 180 | ||
C+ | Final Audio E5000 | 280 | Warm | Less treble than the E4000 for a slightly different flavour. | B- | C+ | DD | E1 demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 280 | ||
C+ | ★ | Final Audio Heaven II | 90 | Bright neutral | Solid technical ability though might be a little too sterile at times. | B- | C+ | BA | A2A Melbourne demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 90 | |
C+ | Fostex TM2 | 300 | V-shaped | A little thin, a little bright and a little shouty, but not bad overall. | C+ | B- | DD | Third party unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 300 | ||
C+ | iBasso IT01S | 200 | V-shaped | Balanced tuning, slight lean towards brightness. Should be pleasing for most ears. | C+ | B- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 200 | ||
C+ | ★ | Intime Sora | 45 | U-shaped | Well controlled bass boost with slightly skewed tonality. Potential is there. | B- | C+ | DD | Third party unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 45 | |
C+ | ★ | Periodic Audio Mg | 100 | Warm | Not the most clear or detailed but a very clean sound with good timbre. | B- | C+ | DD | Review unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 100 | |
C+ | ★ | Shuoer Tape | 130 | V-shaped | Decent technicalities but it basically screams in your face. | C+ | B- | MS | Oardio demo unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 130 | |
C+ | ★ | Tanchjim Cora | 50 | V-shaped | Well-controlled bass boost, though coupled with a slightly odd midrange tonality. | B- | C+ | DD | Oardio demo unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 50 | |
C+ | ★ | TFZ King Pro | 170 | V-shaped | Powerful yet controlled bass response, good snap in the treble, doesn't sacrifice too much in the midrange. | C+ | B- | DD | Third party unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 170 | |
C+ | ★ | Tin HiFi T2 | 50 | Neutral | Well-balanced tuning and an all-rounder signature that works for most. | B- | C+ | 2DD | Review unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 50 | |
C+ | ★ | Tin HiFi T3 | 80 | Mild V-shape | Somewhat generic hybrid signature, tuned well with good transient ability. | B- | C+ | 1BA 1DD | Review unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 80 | |
C+ | Vive XE800 | Discontinued | Mild V-shape | A mini GR07. Need I say more? | B- | C+ | DD | Third party unit | 164 | 73 | 91 | 99999 | ||
C+ | ThieAudio Voyager 3 (V3) | 160 | Warm V-shape | Slightly esoteric signature that somewhat works. | C+ | B- | 3BA | Review unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 160 | ||
C+ | ★ | NiceHCK NX7 Pro | 132 | Bright V-shaped | Superb midrange tonality marred by a painfully piercing treble response. | C+ | B- | 1Piezo 4BA 2DD | Review unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 132 | |
C+ | Tanchjim Hana | 160 | Mild V-shape | Somewhat strange upper-midrange tonality. Not a "mini-Oxygen". | C+ | B- | DD | Review unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 160 | ||
C+ | Audiosense AQ3 | 180 | Bassy | Well-controlled bass despite the emphasis, limited by overall resolving ability. | B | C | 2BA 1DD | Review unit | 168 | 57 | 111 | 180 | ||
C+ | MMR Homunculus | 1700 | Warm neutral | Not the worst thing out there, but also nothing special about it. | C | B | 2EST 1BA 1DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 168 | 111 | 57 | 1700 | ||
C+ | MMR Thummim | 4500 | V-shaped | More resolving than the Homunculus, but also comes with bass bloat. | C | B | 4EST 4BA 1DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 168 | 111 | 57 | 4500 | ||
C+ | Audio Technica ATH-SPORT7TW | 200 | U-shaped | Clean bass and decent midrange tonality, though comes with strident treble. | C+ | C+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 200 | ||
C+ | BGVP DM6 | 200 | Warm V-shape | Warm tilt in tone, decent detail retrieval though definition is a little too smoothed over. | C+ | C+ | 5BA | Third party unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 200 | ||
C+ | ★★ | CCA C10 | 40 | V-shaped | Surprisingly well-tuned hybrid from a KZ-style company. Definitely the best in its lineup. | C+ | C+ | 4BA 1DD | Oardio demo unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 40 | |
C+ | ★ | FiiO F9 | 100 | V-shaped | Good technicalities, average timbre, perhaps a little excessive on the highs. | C+ | C+ | 2BA 1DD | Review unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 100 | |
C+ | iBasso IT03 | 260 | U-shaped | Excellent bass and clarity. Hollow midrange and somewhat metallic treble. | C+ | C+ | 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 260 | ||
C+ | IMR R2 Aten | 500 | Variable | Decent sounding mids with bass that ranges from bleeding to non-existent. | C+ | C+ | 1Piezo 1DD | Third party unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 500 | ||
C+ | ★ | Shozy & Neo CP | 165 | Warm | Reference-style tuning, decent tonal balance, solid technical ability. | C+ | C+ | 3BA | LMUE demo unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 165 | |
C+ | TFZ Secret Garden | 200 | V-shaped | Decent bass response and peaky treble, not much to say. | C+ | C+ | 2DD | LMUE demo unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 200 | ||
C+ | Ultimate Ears UE11 Pro | 1150 | Bassy | Quite a bit of low-end emphasis. Overly-congested and smeared transients. | C+ | C+ | 4BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 1150 | ||
C+ | ★★ | Zero Audio Carbo Tenore ZH-DX200-CT | 40 | V-shaped | A well-tuned V-shaped signature that maintains solid midrange and excellent clarity. | C+ | C+ | DD | Personal unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 40 | |
C+ | KBEar TRI I3 | 200 | V-shaped | Surprisingly decent tonality, though somewhat average in the grand scheme of things. | C+ | C+ | 1BA 1DD 1Planar | Third party unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 200 | ||
C+ | ikko OH7 | 950 | V-shaped | Well-controlled bass response, though the rest leaves a lot to be desired. | C+ | C+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 950 | ||
C | ★ | Advanced Evo X | 60 | Neutral | A well-balanced Bluetooth IEM. A very nice surprise. | B- | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 60 | |
C | AKG N40 | 400 | Variable | A rather typical hybrid tuned to the Harman Target. Nothing special especially for the asking price. | B- | C | 1BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 400 | ||
C | Audeze LCDi4 (No Cipher) | 2500 | "Balanced" | Low distortion, high resolution and excellent clarity marred by poor tuning which destroys timbre. | D | S+ | Planar | Stereo SG demo unit | 2 | 184 | 183 | 1 | 2500 | |
C | BGVP ES12 | 1500 | Variable | Slightly honky midrange tonality with the usual EST tweeter roll-off. | C | B- | 4EST 8BA | Oardio demo unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 1500 | ||
C | ★★ | FiiO F3 | 25 | U-shaped | Well-balanced U-shaped sound that's rather atypical of a chifi dynamic IEM. | B- | C | DD | E1 demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 25 | |
C | ★ | FiiO F5 | 65 | V-shaped | Typical chifi V-shaped sound, nothing much to report on. | B- | C | DD | E1 demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 65 | |
C | Future Sonics MG5HX | 875 | V-shaped | Typical V-shaped DD signature with minimal focus on technicalities. | C | B- | DD | Third party custom | 184 | 111 | 73 | 875 | ||
C | ★ | Massdrop x NuForce EDC3 | 100 | Neutral | Well tuned, though not the most technical nor the most natural sounding. | B- | C | 3BA | Review unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 100 | |
C | Noble Savant 2 | 500 | Warm | Decent tonal balance with subpar detail retrieval. | B- | C | 2BA | Stereo SG demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 500 | ||
C | Oriolus Finschi | 180 | Bright | Energetic and bright, overall a well built hybrid that can be strident for some ears. | B- | C | 2BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 180 | ||
C | Stax SR-001 Mk1 w/ CES-A1 | Discontinued | Neutral | Sounds surprisingly dull and undetailed for a "true" electrostatic. | B- | C | Electrostatic | Third party unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C | Mangird Tea | 300 | "Balanced" | In a weird place, tonally. Not quite wrong enough to be "wonky", but certainly not right either. | C | B- | 6BA 1DD | Review unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 300 | ||
C | Empire Ears Zeus-XIV | 2730 | Bright neutral | Top tier detail and resolution with poor tone and timbre reproduction. | D | S | 14BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | -4 | 186 | 183 | 3 | 2730 | |
C | Acoustune HS1503 | 400 | V-shaped | Shrill, odd timbre and way too intense for normal listening. | C- | B | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 400 | ||
C | Audeze iSine 10/20 (No Cipher) | 400 | Unique | Low distortion, high resolution and excellent clarity marred by poor tuning which destroys timbre. | D | S- | Planar | Stereo SG demo unit | 190 | 183 | 7 | 400 | ||
C | IMR RAH | Discontinued | Variable | Not much point to the filter system when it's just varying degrees of mediocre. | C- | B | 1Piezo 1Planar 1DD | Third party unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 99999 | ||
C | ★ | Moondrop SSR | 40 | DF-neutral | Probably as close as one can get to "true DF", though it's extremely shouty as a result. | C- | B | DD | Review unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 40 | |
C | 1Custom SA02 | "Balanced" | Odd take on neutral with a coloured tonality. | C | C+ | 2BA | Jaben SG demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 99999 | |||
C | Alpha&Delta D6 | 95 | Bright | Well balanced bright response. Good detail and doesn't sound odd in any place. | C+ | C | DD | Review unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 95 | ||
C | BGVP DMG | 140 | Bassy | Decent tonal balance though bass response is not up to par. | C+ | C | 4BA 1DD | Review unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 140 | ||
C | ★ | FiiO FA1 | 100 | Neutral | A pretty standard reference-style tuning that just works. | C+ | C | BA | ConnectIT demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 100 | |
C | Final Audio LAB 1 | Discontinued | Warm | Pretty standard tuning that doesn't live up to its build, pricing or prestige. | C | C+ | 2BA | Third party unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 99999 | ||
C | Focal Sphear | 150 | Mild V-shape | Good timbre, good bass and well-balanced tuning. | C+ | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 150 | ||
C | Kinera Odin | 800 | Neutral | Sounds like a rather basic tuning and a resolution not fitting of its driver count. | C+ | C | 8BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 800 | ||
C | Symphonium Audio Aurora | 220 | Warm neutral | Solid tuning, though average in technicalities. | C+ | C | 2BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 220 | ||
C | ★ | Tin Audio T2 Pro | 50 | Bright neutral | A T2 tuned with less sub-bass and more treble. High clarity but may not be for everyone. | C | C+ | 2DD | Review unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 50 | |
C | ★ | Venture Electronics BIE | 20 | V-shaped | Generic V-shaped DD with alright midrange tonality and technicalities. | C+ | C | DD | Third party unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 20 | |
C | VSonic VS7 | 120 | Warm | A less fatiguing, less technical version of its predecessor. | C+ | C | DD | Review unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 120 | ||
C | BLON BL05 | 43 | Bright V-shape | A more technical but far less pleasing BL03. | C | C+ | DD | Review unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 43 | ||
C | ★ | KZ ZS10 Pro/ZSX | 50 | V-shaped | Typical chifi V-shaped sound, nothing much to report on. | C+ | C | 5BA 1DD | Third party unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 50 | |
C | AAW Halycon | 1450 | Variable | A little too sluggish in the bass with fatiguing treble. | C | C+ | 4EST 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 1450 | ||
C | Fearless Roland | 1010 | Dark | An almost total lack of treble results in a muffled, dark presentation. | D+ | B | 2EST 2BA 1DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 1010 | ||
C | Audiosense AQ7 | 500 | Unique | Sub-bass boost, odd midrange and rolled-off treble. Not for everyone. | D+ | B | 6BA 1DD | Review unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 500 | ||
C | AAW A3H (2019) | 290 | V-shaped | Emphasised midbass and upper mids. Generic hybrid. | C | C | 2BA 1DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 290 | ||
C | AAW W100 | Discontinued | V-shaped | Bassy and has that typical "chifi DD" sound. | C | C | DD | Jaben SG demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C | Audiosense T800 | 300 | V-shaped | Generic tuning that's nothing special in terms of tonal accuracy nor technicalities. | C | C | 8BA | Treoo demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 300 | ||
C | AVIOT TE-D01b/TE-D01d | 177 | V-shaped | Standard V-shaped siganture with passable transients. | C | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 177 | ||
C | Campfire Comet | 200 | Warm | Rolled-off at the top end, warm and bassy single-BA sound reminiscent of Final's offerings. | C | C | BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 200 | ||
C | Campfire Lyra II | 700 | V-shaped | Campfire's take on a V-shaped dynamic sound. Wouldn't call it exceptional. | C | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 700 | ||
C | CCA C12 | 50 | V-shaped | Nothing much to say; typical KZ-style tuning with shouty midrange and subpar technicalities. | C | C | 5BA 1DD | Oardio demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 50 | ||
C | Creative Aurvana Trio | 250 | Warm | Surprising lack of BA timbre, but still rather average in technicalities. | C | C | 3BA | ConnectIT demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | Dynamic Motion DM200H | 180 | V-shaped | Generic V-shaped hybrid without any special traits. | C | C | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 180 | ||
C | Earsonics SM3 | Discontinued | Warm | Non-fatiguing, relaxing listen. "Normal". | C | C | 3BA | AV One demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C | ★ | Edifier TWS1 | 50 | V-shaped | Decent bass response, subpar treble, overall passable. | C | C | DD | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 50 | |
C | Elysian Eros | 400 | Warm | Typical "dual driver" sound. Not very impressive. | C | C | 2BA | Showfloor demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 400 | ||
C | Fearless Start | 180 | V-shaped | Typical chifi V-shaped sound, nothing much to report on. | C | C | DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 180 | ||
C | FitEar Air 2/Titan | 1700 | Warm V-shape | Generic hybrid sound. Doesn't really perform up to par either. | C | C | 1BA 1DD | Jaben SG demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 1700 | ||
C | Fostex TE100 | 1800 | Warm neutral | A little boring and dead in dynamics. Not fun but not really reference either. Average. | C | C | 1BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 1800 | ||
C | iBasso IT01 | 110 | V-shaped | Nothing really stands out as "excellent" to me, but it does a lot of things well and little wrong. | C | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 110 | ||
C | iBasso IT03w | 260 | Bright V-shape | Its sibilant and sharp treble is a tough trait to endure. | C | C | 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 260 | ||
C | IMR R1 Zenith | Discontinued | Variable | Not very detailed with a persistently odd tonal balance regardless of filters used. | C | C | 1Piezo 1DD | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C | JH Billie Jean | 350 | V-shaped | Follows the JH house sound but otherwise nothing special. | C | C | 2BA | AV One demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 350 | ||
C | JH Michelle | 500 | Warm | Still sounds typically "JH" with a slightly V tuning, with slower transients and a non-fatiguing signature. | C | C | 3BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 500 | ||
C | JVC HA-FW01 | 380 | Dark | Very heavy and very dark sounding IEM whose signature marrs technical ability slightly. | C | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 380 | ||
C | ★★ | KZ ZSN Pro | 20 | V-shaped | Nothing much to say; typical KZ-style tuning with shouty midrange and subpar technicalities. | C | C | 1BA 1DD | Oardio demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 20 | |
C | KZ S2 | 50 | V-shaped | Nothing much to say; typical KZ-style tuning with shouty midrange and subpar technicalities. | C | C | 1BA 1DD | Review unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 50 | ||
C | MEE Pinnacle P1 | 200 | Warm V-shape | Upper midrange emphasis with soft, warm bass. Nice for mainstream listening. | C | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 200 | ||
C | Nuarl NT01 | 150 | Warm V-shape | Generic V-shaped tuning with not much clarity or detailing capability. | C | C | DD | Oardio demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 150 | ||
C | Nuarl NT100 | 100 | V-shaped | Generic V-shaped tuning that doesn't stand out technically from other similar IEMs. | C | C | DD | Oardio demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 100 | ||
C | NuForce HEM1 | 150 | Neutral | Reference tuning with tonal balance. Unfortunately limited by its technicalities. | C | C | BA | E1 demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 150 | ||
C | Oriveti New Primacy | 300 | Warm neutral | Rather balanced, almost neutral hybrid. All rounder. | C | C | 2BA 1DD | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 300 | ||
C | Rose BR5 Mk2 | 305 | Neutral | Not a bad IEM, though BA timbre comes in strong with this one. Not the most technical but it does the job when called for it. | C | C | 5BA | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 305 | ||
C | Shure SE535 | 500 | Mid-centric | Tonally dead. One-note bass. No treble worth mentioning. | C | C | 3BA | Stereo SG demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 500 | ||
C | ★ | Simgot EN700 | 100 | Mid-centric | Good clarity and energetic signature. | C | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 100 | |
C | Stealthsonics U2 | 250 | V-shaped | Sharp, emphasised treble and boosted bass, sounds more mainstream than audiophile. | C | C | 1BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | ★ | TFZ 5S | 80 | V-shaped | Warm and somewhat slow in transients. Good timbre, average tuning. | C | C | DD | LMUE demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 80 | |
C | ★ | TFZ King | 100 | V-shaped | Better tuned than the 5S with a little extra treble which improves clarity and overall staging. | C | C | DD | LMUE demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 100 | |
C | ★ | Tiandirenhe TD1 | 25 | V-shaped | Generic V-shaped DD with alright midrange tonality and technicalities. | C | C | DD | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 25 | |
C | Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 "TF10" | Discontinued | Warm | Decent tonality and timbre. Not as detailed as the new kids on the block but has the fundamentals down. | C | C | 3BA | Personal unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C | Unknown Custom UCD-2 | 220 | Warm V-shape | A common 2-driver signature with passable resolution. | C | C | 2BA | E1 demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 220 | ||
C | Tin HiFi T2000 | 110 | V-shaped | Pretty standard chifi V-shaped sound, nothing special. | C | C | 2DD | Review unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 110 | ||
C | iBasso IT00 | 90 | V-shaped | Basically a IT01. | C | C | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 90 | ||
C | QoA Mojito | 400 | Neutral | Average tuning, average technicalities. | C | C | 6BA | Review unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 400 | ||
C- | FiiO FA7 | 300 | Warm | Boring, overly warm tuning that lacks detailing. | C- | C+ | 4BA | ConnectIT demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 300 | ||
C- | Jabra Elite 75t | 180 | U-shaped | Overdone sub-bass response, sharp treble, thin midrange. | C- | C+ | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 180 | ||
C- | Tin HiFi P1 | 170 | Warm neutral | One of the rare few IEM-style planars with proper tonal balance without EQ, but lacking detail retrieval. | C+ | C- | Planar | Review unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 170 | ||
C- | Tin HiFI T1 | 36 | Warm | Could use some more high frequency response. Seems like squandered potential. | C+ | C- | DD | Oardio demo unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 36 | ||
C- | Ultimate Ears UE5 Pro | 600 | Warm | Dead dynamics, overly warm and congested. | C+ | C- | 2BA | Jaben SG demo unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 600 | ||
C- | Gold Planar GL20 | 150 | Warm | The usual "open-backed planar IEM" sound of "wonk". | D- | A+ | Planar | Third party unit | 224 | 211 | 13 | 150 | ||
C- | HUM TT | 500 | Neutral | A misguided attempt at neutrality with virtually no treble extension. | C+ | C- | 2BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 500 | ||
C- | CCA C16 | 100 | V-shaped | Shouty and bassy at the same time. Not a great combo. | C- | C+ | 8BA | Third party unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 100 | ||
C- | AAW Nightingale | 1000 | "Balanced" | Horribly tuned midrange that sounds wrong and lacks energy. | D | B | Planar | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 240 | 183 | 57 | 1000 | ||
C- | FiR M2 | 800 | V-shaped | Shrill, unnatural tone in an otherwise acceptable technical package. | D | B | 1BA 1DD | Showfloor demo unit | 240 | 183 | 57 | 800 | ||
C- | Spiral Ears SE5U | 2000 | "Balanced" | Weird phasing, horrible tonal balance with near zero regard for treble. | D | B | 5BA | Third party custom | 240 | 183 | 57 | 2000 | ||
C- | 1More Quad Driver | 200 | "Balanced" | Okay-ish technical ability in a mainstream tuning. Can get congested. | C | C- | 3BA 1DD | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 200 | ||
C- | AAW Nebula Two | 150 | U-shaped | Excellent clarity and wide staging due to semi-open design. DD bass manages to shine through. | C | C- | 1BA 1DD | Null Audio demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 150 | ||
C- | Anthem Five E2 | 150 | Bassy | Lots of bass and not a lot of treble to balance it out. Alright midrange tone but resolution is poor. | C | C- | 1BA 1DD | Review unit (custom) | 244 | 111 | 133 | 150 | ||
C- | Brainwavz B400 | 150 | Neutral | Dulled transients and dynamics makes this a boring listen. | C | C- | 4BA | Third party unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 150 | ||
C- | Campfire Nova | 500 | Neutral with laid-back treble | Somewhat dead-sounding with no shimmer or sparkle in the upper registers. | C- | C | 2BA | ConnectIT demo unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 500 | ||
C- | Cayin YB04 | 500 | "Balanced" | An odd take on neutrality that sounds weird and uneven. | C- | C | 4BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 500 | ||
C- | Fatfreq Eden | 220 | "Balanced" | A strange sounding monitor with no clear direction in its tuning. | C- | C | 2BA | Third party unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 220 | ||
C- | Fostex TE-02WP | Discontinued | Neutral-bright | Balanced and clear. Very good value. | C | C- | DD | A2A Melbourne demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 99999 | ||
C- | Heir Audio Tzar 350 | Discontinued | Bright | Its detail would be appreciated if it didn't come with ear-splitting treble. | C- | C | 2BA | Third party unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C- | Heygears Anora | 80 | Neutral with laid-back treble | Very good tuning, well-balanced signature. | C | C- | BA | LMUE demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 80 | ||
C- | Shanling ME100 | 120 | V-shaped | An odd take on the typical "chifi DD" sound, rolling off the bass for extra clarity at the expense of tonality. | C- | C | DD | Review unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 120 | ||
C- | Sennheiser IE40 Pro | 100 | Neutral | An odd take on a balanced signature that sounds dead and lifeless. | C | C- | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 100 | ||
C- | Stealthsonics U4 | 500 | Warm | An odd character, simultaneously bassy and thin at the same time. | C- | C | 4BA | Showfloor demo unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 500 | ||
C- | Super Audio "Supermeme" 2BA+2DD | 150 | V-shaped | A decently tuned V-shaped hybrid with energetic upper midrange. May be intense for some. | C- | C | 2BA 2DD | Personal unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 150 | ||
C- | TRN BA5 | 70 | V-shaped | Low resolution, passable tonality. | C | C- | 5BA | Third party unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 70 | ||
C- | Ultimate Ears Live | 2200 | Warm | Soft, muddy, low resolution and lacks any sort of definition. | C | C- | 6BA 1DD | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 2200 | ||
C- | Campfire Solstice | 1500 | Warm | Doesn't sound like an Andromeda at all. A muddy, husky mess. | C- | C | 5BA | E1 demo unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 1500 | ||
C- | Yinyoo Ash | 20 | V-shaped | Wonky tone and sharp treble is not a great combo. | D+ | C+ | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 248 | 157 | 91 | 20 | ||
C- | Lear LCM-BD4.2 | 1030 | Bright V-shape | Harsh, overly-textured and extremely fatiguing. Excellent technical ability completely shut down by tuning and timbre mismatch. | D | B- | 4BA 2DD | Treoo demo unit | 256 | 183 | 73 | 1030 | ||
C- | Rhapsodio Zombie | 1800 | Bassy | Not the cleanest bass and with coherency issues that shouldn't exist for an IEM of its asking price. | D | B- | 8BA 1DD | Review unit | 256 | 183 | 73 | 1800 | ||
C- | Advanced Elise | 30 | Bassy | Boomy and heavy sounding. Smoothed over details but not the worst out there. | C- | C- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 30 | ||
C- | BGVP Q2 | 100 | Bright neutral | Poor bass, thin notes, shouty midrange and sharp treble. | C- | C- | 2BA | Review unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 100 | ||
C- | Campfire Polaris V2 | 500 | Bassy | Overwhelming amounts of bass only slightly balanced out by a midtreble emphasis. | C- | C- | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 500 | ||
C- | Elysian Minerva | 900 | Warm V-shape | Wonky tone with blunted notes, not very revealing. | C- | C- | 4BA | Showfloor demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 900 | ||
C- | Fearless Crystal Pearl | 200 | Warm | Veiled, weird sounding and lacking details. | C- | C- | 2BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 200 | ||
C- | I-INTO i8 | 25 | "Balanced" | Somewhat downsloping signature. It's an IEM that exists. | C- | C- | 3DD | Third party unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 25 | ||
C- | Kinera Idun (Deluxe) | 140 | V-shaped | Not a bad hybrid, considering Kinera's track record. | C- | C- | 2BA 1DD | Third party unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 140 | ||
C- | KZ ZS3 | 10 | V-shaped | Simple DD tuning. It's an IEM that exists. | C- | C- | DD | Oardio demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 10 | ||
C- | Meccaudio ME-04 | Neutral | A not-quite-neutral "neutral" monitor. | C- | C- | 4BA | E1 demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 99999 | |||
C- | Noble Falcon | 156 | V-shaped | Harsh midrange with strong bass and treble. Very mainstream sound. | C- | C- | DD | Stereo SG demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 156 | ||
C- | Oriveti Basic | 100 | Bassy | Lots of sub-bass rumble with an energetic midrange. Roll-off for non-fatigue. | C- | C- | DD | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 100 | ||
C- | Pai Audio DM2A | 140 | V-shaped | Weird midrange. Oddly similar to the Kinera IDUN. | C- | C- | 2BA 1DD | Third party unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 140 | ||
C- | Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear | 100 | V-shaped | Fuzzy, typical V-shaped sound but nothing too egregious. | C- | C- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 100 | ||
C- | Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless | 300 | V-shaped | Similar but not identical to its wired counterpart. A weirdly tuned V-shaped response. | C- | C- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 300 | ||
C- | Stax SR-001 Mk1 | Discontinued | Warm | Sounds like an old-school on-ear headphone from the 80s. | C- | C- | Electrostatic | Third party unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 99999 | ||
C- | Venture Electronics Duke | Discontinued | Warm | Oddly tuned dynamic, but at least it's not the Monk IEs. | C- | C- | DD | Third party custom | 266 | 133 | 133 | 99999 | ||
C- | Whizzer A-HE03 "Kylin" | 160 | Warm V-shape | Odd tonality and lacklustre technical ability overall. | C- | C- | 2BA 1DD | Review unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 160 | ||
C- | Westone 4R | Discontinued | Dark | Low resolution, extremely blunted and narrow imaging. | C- | C- | 4BA | Third party unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 99999 | ||
D+ | Advanced M5-5D | 650 | Bright neutral | An otherwise capable hybrid unfortunately let down by its ridiculous treble spike. | D+ | C | 4BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 650 | ||
D+ | fineEars TSH-HR1000K | 70 | V-shaped | Pretty decent tonality but is severely lacking details. | C | D+ | DD | Third party unit | 268 | 111 | 157 | 70 | ||
D+ | Noble M3 | 600 | V-shaped | Strident and harsh midrange only saved by its somewhat competent bass presentation. | D+ | C | 1MS 1DD | Munkong Gadget demo unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 600 | ||
D+ | Rose Mini2 | 110 | Warm | It's somewhat natural in timbre but lacks a lot of technical proficiency. | C | D+ | 2BA | Third party unit | 268 | 111 | 157 | 110 | ||
D+ | Unique Melody ME1 | 760 | Warm | Soft transients, low definition and odd timbre makes this the worst planar I've listened to. | D- | B | Planar | Stereo SG demo unit | 268 | 211 | 57 | 760 | ||
D+ | Warbler Prelude | 1100 | Dark | Rolled off on both ends with a very typical single-BA sound. | D+ | C | BA | Third party custom | 268 | 157 | 111 | 1100 | ||
D+ | Hidizs Mermaids MS4 | 270 | V-shaped | Somewhat weird tonality, nothing much to say beyond that. | D+ | C | 3BA 1DD | Third party unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 270 | ||
D+ | Audio Technica ATH-IEX1 | 1200 | V-shaped | Sounds weird, sounds wrong, needs a complete overhaul. | D | C+ | 2BA 2DD | Stereo SG demo unit | 274 | 183 | 91 | 1200 | ||
D+ | Hifiman RE1000 | 1000 | V-shaped | A strange take on a V response. Intense yet with no upper treble to speak of. | D | C+ | DD | A2A Melbourne demo unit | 274 | 183 | 91 | 1000 | ||
D+ | Jade Audio EA3 | 50 | Bright V-shape | Painful treble. Very painful. | D | C+ | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 274 | 183 | 91 | 50 | ||
D+ | Advanced GT3 Superbass | 200 | "Balanced" | Acceptable resolution though the tone is off in many ways. Filters don't seem to address that issue. | C- | D+ | DD | Personal unit | 290 | 133 | 157 | 200 | ||
D+ | Cozoy Trio | 450 | Unique | Odd tuning, doesn't sound too bad but it's overall not very impressive at all. | C- | D+ | 3BA | E1 demo unit | 290 | 133 | 157 | 450 | ||
D+ | KZ AS16 | 125 | V-shaped | Nothing much to say; typical KZ-style tuning with shouty midrange and subpar technicalities. | C- | D+ | 8BA | Oardio demo unit | 290 | 133 | 157 | 125 | ||
D+ | Master & Dynamic MW07 | 300 | V-shaped | Extremely boosted treble and bass. Prioritises wow factor over fidelity. | D+ | C- | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 290 | 157 | 133 | 300 | ||
D+ | Shure SE215 | 100 | V-shaped | Sounds like a typical dynamic IEM. Slightly bloated bass and narrow staging. | C- | D+ | DD | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 290 | 133 | 157 | 100 | ||
D+ | Symphonium Audio Mirage | 150 | Dark | Typical single-BA sound that doesn't offer anything special. | C- | D+ | BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 290 | 133 | 157 | 150 | ||
D+ | Advanced Model X | Discontinued | V-shaped | Extreme treble and bass response to a fault. | D+ | D+ | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 314 | 157 | 157 | 99999 | ||
D+ | Fearless S5T | 330 | Warm | Tonally off and lacking details. Not enough bite or energy either. | D+ | D+ | 5BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 314 | 157 | 157 | 330 | ||
D+ | Jaybirds Vista | 180 | V-shaped | Extremely scooped out midrange with piercing treble. | D+ | D+ | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 314 | 157 | 157 | 180 | ||
D+ | Kinera SEED | 50 | "Balanced" | Lacking in bass extension and tonally skewed too much to the higher frequencies. | D+ | D+ | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 314 | 157 | 157 | 50 | ||
D+ | Unknown Custom Quad 2.0 | 390 | V-shaped | Low-resolution, low-detail, passable tonality. | D+ | D+ | 4BA | E1 demo unit | 314 | 157 | 157 | 390 | ||
D+ | Unknown Custom Juno | 640 | Variable | Something odd going on in the midrange. Same issues in resolution. | D+ | D+ | 6BA | E1 demo unit | 314 | 157 | 157 | 640 | ||
D | 1More Triple Driver | 100 | V-shaped | Subpar tuning with unfortunately thin midrange. Flat bass, not in a good way. | C- | D | 2BA 1DD | Stereo SG demo unit | 316 | 133 | 183 | 100 | ||
D | Advanced GT3 | 200 | V-shaped | Sharp, shrill and overall unpleasant. | C- | D | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 133 | 183 | 200 | ||
D | Advanced M5-1D | 400 | V-shaped | Typical chifi DD sound. Nothing special. | C- | D | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 133 | 183 | 400 | ||
D | Earsonics Blade | 610 | Warm | Typical Earsonics house sound of "screwed up midrange", now with DD bass. | D | C- | 2BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 610 | ||
D | Earsonics Stark | 1540 | Warm | Typical Earsonics house sound of "screwed up midrange", now with DD bass. | D | C- | 4BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 1540 | ||
D | Eternal Melody EM-2 | 290 | V-shaped | It just sounds "meh" to be. Nothing much to say. | C- | D | 2BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 133 | 183 | 290 | ||
D | Sennheiser IE80S | 350 | V-shaped | Warm, bassy, congested and lacking in dynamics. Oddly sharp yet lacking in sparkle | C- | D | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 133 | 183 | 350 | ||
D | Astrotec Delphinus 5 | 500 | "Balanced" | Sounds plain wrong. Instruments are nowhere close to how they should on proper gear. | D- | C | 5BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 322 | 211 | 111 | 500 | ||
D | 1More Stylish | 100 | Bassy | Pretty standard "consumer signature" that panders to those who want bass and nothing else. | D+ | D | 2DD | E1 demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 100 | ||
D | AAW ACH/Kingfisher | 190 | Warm | Persasive warmth just puts a blanket on all the transients. Lacks definition. | D+ | D | 1Piezo 1BA 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 190 | ||
D | Ambient Acoustics AM7 | 1750 | Variable | Unreliable switches, mediocre technical ability and the tone is slightly off. | D+ | D | 7BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 1750 | ||
D | Audiofly AF160 | 430 | Dark | Not just dead but almost completely devoid of treble. Double whammy. | D | D+ | 3BA | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 340 | 183 | 157 | 430 | ||
D | B&O Beoplay E8 | 350 | "Balanced" | An extremely odd take on a neutral sound signature that simply doesn't work. | D+ | D | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 350 | ||
D | CCA A10 | 60 | Bright V-shape | Typical KZ-style tuning with even shoutier midrange. | D+ | D | 5BA | Oardio demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 60 | ||
D | Effect Audio Symphony | 890 | Warm | A muddy, overly warm sound with that struggles with surface-level detailing. | D | D+ | 3BA | Third party unit | 340 | 183 | 157 | 890 | ||
D | Fidue A71 | 80 | Bassy | Boomy and bleeds into the mids. Not a lot of definition. | D+ | D | 2DD | E1 demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 80 | ||
D | Jomo PLB | 510 | Dark | Bloated, congested and oh-so-slow. | D+ | D | 3BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 510 | ||
D | Jomo Haka | 365 | Dark | Mushy, blobby and low resolution. | D+ | D | BA | Euphoria Audio demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 365 | ||
D | Sennheiser IE500 Pro | 600 | Dark | Heavy, undefined sound with bloated bass and little energy. | D+ | D | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 600 | ||
D | Origami Audio Silver | 900 | Warm | A slow, plodding mess without the courtesy of having a decent tuning. | D+ | D | DD | E1 demo unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 900 | ||
D | AAW A2H-Pro V2 | 220 | Dark | Good coherency but sub-par tuning and sluggishy slow. | C- | D- | 1BA 1DD | Jaben SG demo unit | 344 | 133 | 211 | 220 | ||
D | KZ ZST | 30 | V-shaped | Decent bass. Odd timbre. Odd tuning. | C- | D- | 1BA 1DD | Third party unit | 344 | 133 | 211 | 30 | ||
D | Ambient Acoustics AM16 | "Balanced" | Sounds weird and is completely average in pure technicalities. Disappointing. | D | D | 16BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 99999 | |||
D | Ambient Acoustics AM24 | "Balanced" | See above. Perhaps even slightly worse. | D | D | 24BA | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 99999 | |||
D | Audio Technica ATH-CK3TW | 100 | V-shaped | Loose and uncontrolled bass in combination with a sharp and piercing treble. | D | D | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 100 | ||
D | Campfire Equinox | 1500 | Bassy | Extremely different from the Atlas. It's a lot worse. | D | D | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 1500 | ||
D | Earsonics SM64v2 | 500 | Warm | Weirdly incoherent and disjointed. Good warmth, though. | D | D | 3BA | AV One demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 500 | ||
D | Fearless ACME8 | 1100 | Bassy | Weird and bloaty bass in conjunction with tonally weird midrange. | D | D | 8BA | Music Sanctuary demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 1100 | ||
D | NuForce Primo 8 | 500 | Dark | Tone is off, detailing is low, things sound wrong. Lies on a spectrum of "average" to "no". | D | D | 4BA | E1 demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 500 | ||
D | Sound Linear Fitz 10 Flat | 2200 | "Balanced" | It sounds dead and boring. Nothing about it stands out at all and it doesn't even achieve the passing mark for technicalities. | D | D | 10BA | E1 demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 2200 | ||
D | TFZ 3S | 65 | V-shaped | It's okay. It's a Chinese dynamic IEM, nothing special. | D | D | DD | LMUE demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 65 | ||
D | Unknown Custom UCD-3 | 270 | Warm | Mushy, blunted transients with a warm yet strangely sibilant tuning. | D | D | 3BA | E1 demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 270 | ||
D- | Nuforce HEM4 | 330 | Warm | Dead as a doornail. Missing bits and pieces in its tuning. | D+ | D- | 2BA | Jaben SG demo unit | 368 | 157 | 211 | 330 | ||
D- | Nuforce HEM6 | 450 | Warm | Refer to the above. | D+ | D- | 3BA | Jaben SG demo unit | 368 | 157 | 211 | 450 | ||
D- | Audio Technica ATH-CKS5TW | 150 | Dark | Muddy bass with virtually nonexistent treble. | D | D- | DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 394 | 183 | 211 | 150 | ||
D- | RHA CL750 | 100 | Bright | Ear-piercing treble makes it hard to listen to. | D- | D | DD | AV One demo unit | 394 | 211 | 183 | 100 | ||
D- | Rhapsodio Clipper | 55 | Extreme Bass | Lots and lots of bass. Slams you in the face with bass. | D | D- | 394 | 183 | 211 | 55 | ||||
D- | Seahf AWK-009 | 15 | Bright | Phasing issues, weirdly incoherent and yet a strangely compelling listen. | D | D- | DD | Third party unit | 394 | 183 | 211 | 15 | ||
D- | Shozy x AAW Hibiki | 60 | Bright | Sharp, shrill tonality. Average everything else. | D | D- | DD | Personal unit | 394 | 183 | 211 | 60 | ||
D- | Audio Technica ATH-CKR7TW | 250 | Bright | Shrill, sharp and screams in your face. | D- | D- | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 422 | 211 | 211 | 250 | ||
D- | Effect Audio King Arthur | 7000 | Dark | A joke, both in price and sound. Nobody's laughing. | D- | D- | 16BA | Third party unit | 422 | 211 | 211 | 7000 | ||
D- | Kinera YH263 | 70 | Bassy | Almost nothing but bass. Zero semblance of any sort of balance. | D- | D- | DD | Review unit | 422 | 211 | 211 | 70 | ||
D- | TFZ 1S | 40 | V-shaped | A little bloated at times and definitely congested. | D- | D- | DD | LMUE demo unit | 422 | 211 | 211 | 40 | ||
E | RHA CL1 | 280 | Bright | So much treble to the point where nothing sounds correct. Like raining metal balls on a tin roof. | E | B | DD | AV One demo unit | 1056 | 999 | 57 | 280 | ||
E | Unique Melody 3DD-Ti | 700 | Bright | It's not the quantity of the treble, but the quality. Reserved only for the most esoteric of tastes. | E | C+ | 3DD | Stereo SG demo unit | 1090 | 999 | 91 | 700 | ||
E | Hifiman TWS600 | 200 | Mid-centric | Telephonic mess. The worst TWS IEM I have ever heard. | E | C- | DD | ConnectIT demo unit | 1132 | 999 | 133 | 200 | ||
E | Kinera H3 | 100 | Extreme V-shape | Completely off timbre, extremely recessed midrange and sharp, painful treble. | E | C- | 2BA 1DD | Personal unit | 1132 | 999 | 133 | 100 | ||
E | AAW A2H Pro V1 | Discontinued | Dark | Dead, bloated, congested. Feels like I have to strain to hear even surface-level detailing. | D | E | 1BA 1DD | Jaben SG demo unit | 1182 | 183 | 999 | 99999 | ||
E | Campfire IO | 300 | "Balanced" | Tonality and timbre is all sorts of wrong. Lacks the technicalities to redeem it. | E | D | 2BA | Third party unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 300 | ||
E | Fender Thirteen 6 | 1800 | Dark | Instruments sound wrong. Everything is underwater. Help. | E | D | 6BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 1800 | ||
E | JH Audio Diana | 700 | Dark | Mushy transients and the detailing capability of free phone earbuds. | E | D | 3BA | ConnectIT demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 700 | ||
E | oBravo Ra C-Cu | 10000 | "Balanced" | An indescribable affront to God and humanity both in sound and pricing. | E | D | 1AMT 1DD | Third party unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 10000 | ||
E | Sensaphonics 2MAX | 850 | Bright neutral | Odd timbre. Technical ability isn't even that great. | E | D | 2BA | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 850 | ||
E | Sensaphonics 2X-S | 750 | Bright neutral | Sharp and shrill yet surprisingly dead. Like shoving blunted icepicks into your ears. | E | D | 2BA | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 750 | ||
E | Sensaphonics 3MAX | 1050 | Warm | It's a slight improvement over the 2MAX but not by much. | E | D | 3BA | Jaben Melbourne demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 1050 | ||
E | Geek Wold GK3 | 20 | Dark | Incoherent, imaging is all over the place and sounds like a mess. | E | D- | 3DD | Third party unit | 1210 | 999 | 211 | 20 | ||
E | Shozy x AAW Pola | 800 | Dark | Dark, muffled, veiled, muddy, congested etc. etc. basically every permutation of similar descriptors. | E | D- | 2EST 1DD | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1210 | 999 | 211 | 800 | ||
E | Fischer Omega Spark | 60 | Bright | Someone should harvest their drivers for tweeters since I hear nothing below the upper mids. | E | E | DD | E1 demo unit | 1998 | 999 | 999 | 60 | ||
E | Sendiy M1221 | 200 | V-shaped | It literally sounds out of phase. It's an accomplishment in itself. | E | E | 1BA 1DD | E1 demo unit | 1998 | 999 | 999 | 200 | ||
E | VE Monk IE Smalls | Discontinued | Dark | Sounds exactly like what would happen if you shoved an earbud driver into an IEM housing. | E | E | DD | Third party unit | 1998 | 999 | 999 | 99999 | ||
F | VE Monk IE Biggie | Discontinued | Dark | Absolute mud and congestion. Could work as a subwoofer since it barely plays anything above 500Hz anyways. | F | E | DD | Third party unit | 10998 | 9999 | 999 | 99999 | ||
F | Delta Air complimentary earphones | 0 | Complete failure | It's a telephone in IEM form. It is physically unable to play bass or treble. | F | F | DD | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 0 | ||
F | Oppo MH130 | 14 | Complete failure | The horribleness of this can only be experienced in real life. | F | F | DD | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 14 | ||
F | SIA complimentary earphones | 0 | Dark | Its full potential can only be unleashed by an Airbus A380. | F | F | DD | Personal unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 0 |