7Hz - Aurora

To the first part of your post, that price range will vary greatly with your musical experience/exposure, expectations about what you identify as mind-blowing, and your personal exposure to listening gear. Currently, IEM tech is changing at an accelerating pace- you can find mind-blowing products at several price ranges from the $100s to the $1000s. There is no potential endgame with IEMs in my experience. Specific designs will excel with certain genres of music and certain models are designed for very specific types of listening, including studio production- in my case, the Thieaudio Oracle is one of the only iems I can use for recording. For listening pleasure and study, I currently keep a handful of IEMs that can rival my headphones. In particular, I love my ISN EBC 80s for their astounding depth, immersion and dynamic breadth during active listening. I enjoy my Soundrhyme Sr7s during the day for their enveloping richness and soundstage experience. When I take the dog for a walk, I use my audiosense T800s and often take the 7Hz Auroras in my pocket. The warmer bass tuning make these a fun combo on the move. When I listen to live orchestra and chamber music I reach for the BGVP-DMA and the new NiceHCK Himalayas- they are astounding IEMs for the price. All these IEMs are in the $190 to $800 range, if you shop wisely. For professional work, I edit in a sound-treated room using Genelec and KEF monitors- they are both outstanding. I’ll move to HD 800 and Arya Organics at night to keep my neighbors happy. I have worked with far more expensive gear for years now, and cannot tell you that I’ve been blown away by more expensive hardware, specifically IEMs. I think this will change going forward, and we will probably hear breakthroughs that will indeed rival the likes of HD 800s and HE1000se. Lastly, IEMs cannot really compete with Supra-aural headphones imo. The physical design and anatomical challenges are pretty complex. There are other variables that will definitely affect your experience- your health, your ears and physiology, your eartips/fit solutions, your audio chain from power source-pre amp, to DAC and amp choice. The question remains, at what price point do you personally find the mind-blowing threshold ? IMO, the more you spend, the less you will experience that threshold. Late in life, I continue to have mind-blowing moments with my IEMs when I listen to new music every single night. Fundamentally, it’s bout the music in your head and heart. We live in an awesome tech moment that can afford us superlative listening for a relatively small investment.

7hz, Truthear, Mangird, Dunu. Lots of different options at different price points, and every year the tech gets cheaper/better implemented so an $80 IEM at this point is pretty close to a $300 IEM from 5 years ago. Truthear Hexa is my go-to recommendation, has a really natural presentation and good bass.

bunny dsp/7hz salnotes zero/tangzu waner sg2. Personal recommendation - tangzu

ZSN Pro X has same build quality as zsn pro, so go for the 7hz. i owned a zsn pro x in humid climate and it died after only 6 months of use

I do. 7hz got less distortions and are easier to EQ. Moondrop is notorious for their bad quality, can't expect anything from $20 iem though. Overall 7hz are a bit better and more reliable.

I love the sound of the Blue 2’s, but I tried the Tangzu Fudu, Kiwis and 7hz - the only reason I’m considering others is because they feel so much better in my ears. But the sound signature has been better on the Truths by far

Hey, same setup here! The 7Hz really sounds great on 'em even without EQ.

While I found 7hz mindblowing years ago, nothing in twice or 3 times the cost of the 10 options ive tried has presented significant improvement. The Zero Reds, on the other hand, caught me completely by surprise, outstanding sound. We all know this is just my opinion.