Rhapsody

Is it a legit set?? Do you reckon I can go ahead and pull the trigger? :D And, how are you liking them? I already have the Rhapsody, which I really dig, since the AM16 have the same shell shape which works great for my ears, I'm really curious about an all BA set. I've read it's nicely implemented!

In all honesty, yes: I have the og Castor Harman, the Zvx pro, the Prx, the (CCA) Rhapsody, amd the AM16 Balanced, and they're all banger, banger sets. I've been lucky and haven't faced breaking QC issues, but then again, what brand doesn't have QC issues?

I can suggest the Tinhifi C3 mk2, really comfy semicustom shell. Or the og Celest Wyvern black, semicustom as well, and can be had for cheapo nowadays! If not, the EPZ Q1 Pro or the EPZ G20 (same shell as the Q1 Pro, but gaming oriented, also comes with a 2m usb cable that supports a boom mic, and its inbuilt dac can be PEQ'd with the Walkplay app). To me personally the shape of the CCA Rhapsody and KZ Am16 is super comfy, but i kinda have bigger ears!

Honestly maybe I need to try more iems but I feel like it is easier to play with a headset than iems. I have a DT770, I bought a Austrian Audio Hi-X20 I have a Epos H6Pro closed as a secondary headset and in the iems world I just have a pair of CCA rhapsody. They were supposed to be neutral but I don't know if we don't have the same definition of neutral: I have drop around 5 or 6 DBs in the 2-4khz range to make them bearable. Any gunfight is awful without it, the gun of my character is louder than anything else and they are louder than any headset I have so I need to drop 5DBs on the preamp at least (that part makes sense I guess they are in my ears instead of "on" my ears) With any headphones I tried the sound is different of course but they all have their sonar characteristics without being that overwhelming that I need to EQ them.

too much treble on zax. am16 is better. prx, zenith and rhapsody are their best under $50. zenith/prx more balanced, rhapsody more v shaped.

edc pro, zenith, cca rhapsody/trio, zs10 pro 2 and cca hydro are all competitive.

KZ EDC Pro (not the EDX pro nor the EDC not pro). The 6USD wonder. Can easily compete in the 20-25USD category. Otherwise, from the sister company, you can get the CCA Rhapsody, try to get it at around 35USD.

Non of the mentioned, besides Z300, particularly bassy as Castor bass, the closer is Zero 2 but probably youll want to use the impedance adapter, that said, comfort on the Truthear zero line-up is not the best, tho, the Blue 2 has the smaller nozzle from the bunch, still, is a thick nozzle so bear in mind. Not sure how much money you are playing with, but ill say Kefine Delci or specially Letshouer S08 are better actually bassy alternatives to all you listed. Z300 is not bad but is barely an upgrade and bass is not as engaging as on Castor anyway. If you outright want something with the same tuning style as Castor, consider maybe CCA Rhapsody though is a bit old at this point, is almost as old as castor anyway, but even bulkier onto the ear. Really the tuning style of castor is not much used at around $100 bucks, i think youll be fine with Delci instead. There is Dunu X Koto ITO which is a literal direct upgrade in sound style but thats $200usd MSRP.