7Hz - Salnotes Dioko

Well it depends of course on your music preferences, finances and source of music. May I suggest you disclose a couple of tracks you absolutely adore and would want to sound brilliant with the new IEM. Based on the genres you're into, the recommendations will change. Also mention your budget. Second, unless you are monitoring recorded/ live studio music, analysing technicals, you are not going to enjoy flat tuned iems that people generally recomend. Most people prefer iems with overall good textured thumping bass and sub bass rumble, clean strong vocals and airy crispy treble with a wide soundstage. If you have the option to physically try out IEMs before buying them, you might be able to first time right on purchase. Else, start small and go for starter iems and accessories. Once you are sure about what you like, you'll be able to research and find your endgame iem. I am listing some starter iems based on my listening preferences: Single Drivers. 1. Truthear GATe - Good single 10mm Dynamic Driver, fun sound tuning. Nice bass and vocals , smooth treble. Can be Equlised to make it amazing. Cons. Cheap cable, plasticy, needs 8 core upgrade cable to improve music quality and eq above 4 db boost. 2. Kiwi Ears Cadenza - Good single 10mm DD , fun sound, nice bass , smooth vocals, smooth treble. Can handle EQ well. Looks great. EQ can boost bass and treble and vocals . Cons. Bass is good you will love iems with more thump. 3. 7Hz Crinacle Salnotes Dioko - Single planar driver 14.5 mm. Clean tuning , focus on mids and vocals. Great for vocals and classical music. Can EQ will to boost bass and treble to sound amazing. Good looking set and kit Cons. Can sound muddy with EDMs with out EQ. 4. ARTTI T10 . Good single planar driver 14.2 mm. Great tuning , good bass texture , mids and lows. Sounds amazing on female vocals and instrumental tracks. Good kit, ok looks . Cons. Looks, needs EQ to boost lower mids for male vocals . Tambre is very planar and may sound different to sensitive ears. I recommend Truthear GATe with a better cable or the Kiwi Ears Cadenza as is. Multiple drivers. 1. Kz Vader. 3, 8mm dd drivers. Good bass, mids and treble. Nice soundstage, can handle eq boosts well. Good sound stage. Cons. Need cable upgrade to 8 core (qkz t1 cheap will do) . 2. Kz AM16 bass edition- 8 driver all BA. Good bass, good vocals and treble. Great musicality and comparable to expensive DD iems. Cons. Need better cable 8 to 16 cores. EQ is tricky as the low frequency BA driver is easy to boost , mids not so much. 3. Kz Castor Pro. 2 10mm DD driver. Good bass , good mids and treble.. Can be Equalised to boost bass and treble to sound like endgame bass iems like Punch audio Martillo . Cheap and dynamic. Cons. Need a 8 or 16 core cable (qkz t1) . With EQ this can amaze people . 4. Letshuoer DZ4- three 6mm DDs with a passive radiator. Great sound, good bass and treble. Sounds nice without EQ. Mid focused and perfect for vocals . Good kit and cable. Cons. Looks. 6mm dds do not handle much EQ. Sound is not the best for EDM. I recommend the KZ Castor Pro bass version or the Letshuer DZ4. With EQ and new cable the KZ Castor Pro or Vader will sound better than others.

I have the Salnotes Zero:2 and Simgot EM6L, the EM6L are ok for EDM (my main music I listen to as well) but separate really well and have tons of detail, so you can hear each synth and sound super well. However they are light on bass. The Zero:2 have more bass but can be a little muddy, I wouldn’t say they are overpowering bassy though. I recently had a chance to listen to the Kiwi Ears Cadenza and the QKZ X HBB. The HBB have crazy amounts of bass that never felt overpowering to me, I really enjoyed them for heavier bass EDM. However, for overall I really really really enjoyed the Cadenza for basically anything and everything. Solid bass for EDM with a surprising amount of detail for a single dynamic driver, good separation, decent soundstage, and it handled every other genre well (I also listen to classical, country, rap/hip-hop, rock, and R&B). I am highly considering selling my Zero:2 and getting Cadenza because it sounds super similar but technicalities are way better on the Cadenza. 7hz Dioko is pretty solid as well if you want to try planar, they sound BIG! It’s the only way I can think to describe them.

Same boat as you. Glasses, etc. still like my HD650. I’ve had various cheaper iems. Salnotes Zero, blon bl05, kz zsn, truthear zero red, salnotes dioko. Favourite for gaming/every day is the zero red, followed by the zero. But it’s mainly a fit thing, I use them with a modmic kimura.

Me too. I have been using the 7hz Dioko over my Logitech headphones mainly due to comfort.

Salnotes Dioko and Moondrop May for sure

7hz Dioko. Lots of detail and comfortable to use it for hours

My pool from which to draw planar (IEM) experiences is somewhat more limited than a lot of people in this subreddit, but I currently own the following planars, listed in order of preference: Simgot EW300 Letshuoer S08 7Hz x Crinacle Salnotes Dioko The EW300s are great. Love em lots. They're "fun" sounding. The S08s are a little more reserved, and are generally the ones I go with laying in bed at night. They're also more comfortable for a side-sleeper. The Diokos are just.. not great in any way. They're not BAD, really, just boring.

Dioko are not very v-shaped, neither are the Hexa. Both lean very neutral. You probably find them either too harsh in the upper frequencies, lacking bass or generally not exciting enough. You can still go for the Aria 2 which have a nice V shape but the Kefine Klean are half the price and come with a thumpier bass response compared to the much more tame bass on the Aria 2. Not much reason to go any more expensive for V shape under $100 because they're that good, save the money for something else, maybe your next IEM.

I have the diokos. The build quality is amazing, but the fit is ass and the tuning is a bit offensive to my ears.

The Diokos are quite resolving for their price and imo are more detailed than the Hexa and much more detailed than the T2, but depending on how sensitive to treble you are, you may not like them. I enjoy elevated top end but it's quite divisive because of that.

The in ear that made me fala in love with headphones in general was the Philips SHE 9000. I had an Xperia Phone back then and I had a blast with those. First pair of proper iems were the KZ ZSN pro with the meizu HiFi Dac, mindblowing for the time. A While later I got the Moondrop Aria that made the KZ sound like trash and Just a bit after I got the 7hz Dioko that made the Aria sound like a muffled boomy mess too. And that went on for a While until I got to the Tangzu Heyday and 7hz Timeless AE. Now I have my endgame but I still collect cheaper iems.