Andromeda

For me it was the 2019 CA Andromedas. They were extremely hyped up at the time on reddit and I bought into it hard. I got them and was pretty disappointed with the sound. I wish I could listen to them again now to get a better idea of why I didn't like them. I remember the treble extension being great, but I couldn't get a comfortable fit and liked my speakers and headphones better so ended up selling the Andromedas as I didn't use them enough. I ended up going through a couple pairs of headphones and then bought Focal Clears. I recently bought a set of Zero 2 IEMs which I actually really like. Need to go to a canjam or something and try a bunch of different IEMs to figure out what I want to get next. I'm really interested in the Valhallas right now but don't want to blind buy again lol

I'm going to be honest man, if you genuinely like something then save up for it. I liked the signature of a 2019 Andro and bought one. Zero regrets. If a more expensive set hits what you want it to do perfectly or near perfect then it is worth it. But do also take time to appreciate what you have. If you want a step up directly from the EW200 at some stage then the EW300 is quite good for the price, it will be a step up in timbre and tech. If you want something almost similarly meta but a touch cheaper then see if you can demo the Crinear Daybreak. It's my daily to work.

I've got 2019 Campfire Andros and Xenns Top Pros. Want U12T. Realistically I can afford Meteor. Got any suggestions of which sets were best for you?

Look I own about 10 or so pairs of iem's and it still remains the pair that impressed me the most but I highly doubt that it's the best in its price range to this day. It's just the best I own in this regard.

3-8 months, depending on frequency-of-use, compression rate, ear climate (wax, moisture, etc). IMO, if you find them comfortable, it's well worth the cost of re-buying new ones. I recommend Comply. If you want a similar level of seal that lasts a little longer, check out the Plussound Hybrid eartips. Pricey, but worth it. That's what I use on my Andromeda 2019s.

I think around 300$ is the sweet spot. I have tea pros (349$), a noble k10u (1600$) and a campfire andromeda S (1059$) and the difference is just around 20-30%

Cheapest endgame to me would be tea pros (349$) they sound so good and that bass is 👌 I also have kilobucks from before like the Andromeda S (1049$) and noble k10ua (1600$) they are better in resolution and soundstage but not that big of a difference compared to the tea pros.

Got a tea pro and a noble k10ua then bought a used campfire Andromeda S. I don't know why but it's my preferred sound signature (intimate and clear mids) didn't buy anything after.

Don't underestimate the Andromeda. They’re an older set and have been surpassed by many newer IEMs in terms of sheer detail. But it’s the sound signature that deserves its legendary status. It’s still one of the most spacious and smooth-sounding IEMs, and I would love to listen to it again just for that.

I’d say the first break point is somewhere around $300ish, then the next break point is “entry” kilobucks around $1k. So for the first break point IEMs like Dusk, anything Xenns, Thieaudio, Softears, so on and so forth, and for the second break point you have a lot of solid options like Monarchs, Dunu Glacier, CFA Andromedas, 64 Audio U4S, etc. Edit: to clarify, those are the points where I think you get the biggest jumps in quality relative to price points around them. So I don’t think it’s as worth it to move beyond that $300-$400 price point unless you’re jumping up to $1k.

For the most part yes, although entry kilobucks start to get pretty unique. Good example could be something like the Andromedas, I’m not aware of anything else that really gets similar to the tuning of the Andromedas (not even the later versions of Andromedas themselves lol)

I would almost flip those honestly, at least in my experience - from $20 to $300 you get better/more controlled upper treble and the like, while with kilobucks you get more unique tunings (think things like Andromedas or the IER-Z1R or something)

Neat idea: **1) USA** Campfire Trifecta 🥇 Noble Chronicle 🥈 Volk Etoille🥉. **Runners up:** Campfire Clara, Viking Ragnar, Fir Xe6, Rn6, Andromeda, Fourte Blanc, u12t **2) Germany** Vision Ears Erlkonig 🥇 VE Elysium 🥈 VE 10 🥉 **Runners Up:** VE 10, Senny IE900, VE8 **3) Japan** Sony IER Z1R 🥇 Brise Fugaku 🥈 Oriolus Traillii 🥉 **Runners Up:** Victor HA-FW10000 Edit: I know Fitear and Acoustune should really be in here but I've never heard any of their IEMs and I'm only including IEMs I've heard somewhat in here. **4) Singapore** Subtonic STORM 🥇 Forte Ears Macbeth 🥈 Dita Ventura🥉. **Runners Up**: Nighhtjar Duality, Dita Perpetua, **5) Malaysia** Mysticraft HEX 🥇 Mysticraft TET 🥈 Elysian Annihilator 2023🥉 **Runners Up:** Alpha&Omega Fulgrim, Omega **6) China** Aroma Fei Wan 🥇 Penon Rival 🥈 UM Amber Pearl🥉 **Runners Up**: UM Mentorl, Maven 2, Pentara, Hercules Moses, **7) Korea** AK/EE Novus 🥇 AME Mousa 🥈 AME Igris 🥉 **8) Netherlands** Canpur CP752b 🥇 Canpur CP622b 🥈 **9) Poland** PMG APX SE 🥇 Custom Art Fibae 5 🥈 **10) Indonesia** 7th Acoustics Asteria 🥇