Aful performance 8 were my favorites but too big for my ears so I went with supermix 4 through a steel series mixer. Started with moondrop starlight ii and those were okay for the price
I loved my aful P8 but if there’s something to critique it’s the nozzle. Some people love their nozzles I don’t since I can fit bigger ones and prefer them to have a lip.
Tea pro feel more premium because it is aluminium. My question to you - would like to show off you cnc IEM to friends or enjoy WEIGHTLESS feel of Top Pro, 0 ear tension and weight hanging out of your ear canals?
So yes top pro is hollow resin, and I’m happy about it. Tea pro feel so heavy after top pro that it is hard to go back to them.
I have dropped mine on a floor a few time, no issues. Top pro is not a tank like tea pro, they are fine acoustic instrument.
Tea pro only get an edge by a tiny amount over top pro in how coherent low end is, but you will not notice it unless you really listen to both back and forth for some time, ao don’t stress. Vocals, treble, air, technical abilities and even mids are all better on top pro than tea pro
DaVinci is just meh it sounds low res low quality compared to top pro - completely lacking in air and technicals (not worth the money at all there are so many better sets for same price, like Astrals and even Crescent would be better by a lot)
Performer 8 is not even in competition, lower mids / lows are bad. Bass is mediocre. Treble and technicals are good, but what’s the point if everything else is not on par.
—
Actually I would also disregard tea pros and get Astrals if this is $ limit! Otherwise top pro!
Astrals are better or at least equal to tea pro in every aspect, but they might sound peaky to you (due to your sensitivity - if it is in air region and not 6-7k region, most sibilance is not actually caused by peaks above 10k, but rather by peaks 3-7k region!)
So my final conclusion for you would be:
- got 450-500$ get top pro and never look at another IEM for long time, if you don’t step on your IEM…
- out of budget, than find some where / some one who may be sells and can let you listen Astrals (they are better than tea pro man, or equal depending on your ear, so over all more consistent high result = safer buy at great price tag!)
- if you REALLY can not get astral to listen to before buying than … buy Astrals I’m 99% sure your “sibilance sensitivity” comes from type of music you listen to + quality of recording + previously lower grade headphones most likely, so I don’t think Astrals will sound harsh at any point to you 👍🙂 (other wise save money and get top pro those do AMAZING on metal and hip hop or any genre because they never actually become harsh / sibilant while having good amount of bass and amazing mids and treble)
The P8 was my first big IEM purchase, and my thoughts are the same. I think we did our homework well, because I keep going back to it too. The tonality is soo pleasant.
Smaller ones, like what Final offers fit way better for example, or Sennheiser.
I also got the Performer 8 and i just couldnt use the stock tip at all, awful comfort, Spinfit W1/Neo did such a good job there and saved them for me.
Maybe the Organics are too heavy for you? Mhmhmhm
AFUL Performer 8. They were my entry into Chi-fi. I have had to replace them once due to the left unit losing most of its bass response (the company I bought the IEMs from replaced them under warranty).
I have since bought various other IEMs, such as the Hexa and the Zero Red. No matter how much I tip roll and experiment with EQ, nothing has sounded as good to me as the stock non-EQ'd Performer 8.
I paid around 370 euros for them in December 2023, and based on how much I've enjoyed them ever since, they have most definitely been worth it.
I don't like any of them more than my more expensive IEMs. The Performer 8 are my most expensive IEMs, and I like them the most. They were the one that kick-started this hobby for me, and they wow me to this day whenever I return to them. I got them almost exactly two years ago in December 2023. They were not my first IEMs, but they were the first that opened my ears to what IEMs are capable of.
That said, I like my Zero Reds, Hexas, and even my Zero 2s. That's my current order of preference between these three. They are all very capable. I don't think the Performer 8 is necessarily superior to the others, but the P8 has this additional subjective magic for me that's not in the other ones. They engage me in a way that the others don't.
Realistically, it's probably just the treble lift in the stock tuning that my ears very much agree with. They also have just the right amount of bass for me: relatively subdued, but capable enough of slamming and punching when called for. Overall, the tuning comes out to a richly textured, lush and airy sound that I find very satisfying. Oh, and they're extremely comfortable!
AntiSave-A-Chick
