Hisenior - Mega5-EST 5-Drivers Hybrid IEM (Universal)

Tested nearly over 250+ iem, Impressed me positively or negatively recently, sorted by price Positive: KZ EDC Pro - for less than 10USD you get something easily rival up to $40\~$50 bracket KZ PR2 - first version with the mesh, toe to toe against my Z12 (S12 bass-boost variant) for less than half of its price EW300 - easily sounding like a $150 set for this, a must get for V-shape/treblehead around the budget Truthear Hexa - best in class neutral, imaging and technically for the price, extremely capable and non offensive but might sound "boring" to some Aful Explorer - best warm/relaxing sounding IEM at its price bracket, uniquely tune sound i would say its a rare find EPZ P50 - easily the best natural slight U shape signature at its price point Mega5EST (first version) - neutral, musical with good technically and resolution, one of the closer pre-end game set Negative (mostly are pricier sets disappoint me the most): Moondrop Chu - died after a month, replacement came then died after 2 months Kiwi Ears Quartet - its all bass, muddy, too warm. (Quintet is a lot better, i know its different) Softears RSV - tonality is wonky and the treble is a mess Softears Volume - combination of warm + popping midrange + peaky treble is not really what i prefer at all (i like the volume S by a lot more) Campfire Andromeda - never really get the hype for this back then. it just sounds awful, hollow, bassless, lifeless to me. Thieuadio Oracle Mk2 - identity crisis of the OG Oracle, sounds like a straight downgrade for me Thieaudio Monarch Mk 3 - weird tonality (its like W-shape sound), too technical and extremely fatiguing lastly of course its price tag (bass is SLAMMING in a good way though) These are what i can remember so far

Peeps here touched on it. A GREAT IEM now…will still be a GREAT IEM in 20 years (if the unit lasts that long) Koss and Sennheiser each have headphone models and designs that have been popular and even revered for over 40 years. That said…IEMs like Truthear Hexa and/or Mega5est will have staying power because of their reputation at their “hyped” peak. I think AFUL Explorer will be one of those IEMs that will be talked about for a long time. It has a very warm, smooth, relaxed tuning (treble) that is not common at that price point. Am sure there are fans of kilobuck or expensive mid-fi IEMs that have their favorites that they’ll swear will stand the test of time. The IEM space is quite young still. Yes, musicians and artists have been using IEMs for a long time…but for those of us using IEMs for music/gaming it is still a young development. Good luck with your collection journey. Consider using a watch box to store and display your IEMs (if you are into that)

Sound Rhyme DTE500 or if you are after more clarity in the mids and highs I recommend the HiSenior Mega5est 7th Anniversary Edition (an amazing IEM that punches well above its price.)

Yeah, the RSV MKII are definitely a fun set, they are too dark for me, but it is still a great set overall, this hobby is very hard because pretty niche, in France we don't have shops where we can try IEMs, so it is always kind of a blind buy at the end. The Odyssey 2 is very good, and would be a good all rounder for sure, the Mge5Est is also a very safe pick, nothing special but also nothing to hate on it.

My pleasure, yeah the formulation 'nothing special and nothing to hate on' is not great but means that it's a very good all rounder set, averything will sound good on it, probably a better all rounder than the RSV or the Odyssey 2, which is a bit more contrasty

I was just thinking that it was interesting that ASMR doesn't get brought up on r/iems much. My recommendation is the dunu Braindance or a used Mest series. I have the Mest mkIII and it's perfect for comfort when falling asleep to ASMR, but a little out of budget. The Braindance is a little less spacious but is still comfortable for me. IEMs I've also tried for ASMR include: * Empire Ears Raven (too big but very nice rumble feeling) * Mega5EST (comfortable but not as spacious) * Thieaudio Monarch MK2 (too big) * Galaxy buds 3 pro (not nearly loud enough)

Yes and no (mostly no) To preface this, I'm an audio engineer with significant recording studio experience. No gold records or anything, but I have worked with artists who have gold and platinum records before. Anything I say is coming from a recording/mixing professional standpoint, not necessarily an end-user or consumer standpoint: IEMs *can* be more detailed, just like headphones *can* be. What you hear through them doesn't become more detailed just because an IEM is an IEM. It's about driver selection, construction, and tuning. You buy a $20 IEM, you get a $20 product. (Tangzu Wan'er) Mostly, these sound better than some JLabs garbage at Target/Wal-Mart (due to tuning) but they aren't ever going to outperform a set of over-ears with a half-decent pedigree (ATH-M40x and the like) When we get into the $500 range (like the Mega5EST) then you can really start to see the benefits of the tuning and driver selection but also the benefits of simple physics. BeyerDynamics can put out the same kind of treble extension that the Mega5EST can, but the M5E doesn't have to work as hard doing it. Those ultra-high frequencies die off in open air very quickly. Not so much when forced through a mostly sealed tube (your ear canal) That's a lot of your "detail". One thing I have never heard a dynamic driver IEM do (but have heard it slightly with some BA units) is get the sound of the bow moving across the strings of a double bass or cello right. Those little "skips" you can hear as the bow kinda barely jumps along the string surface. I can only get *that* kind of detail out of properly powered over ears with great drivers. Detail isn't all treble extension. You will never hear a snare sound more like a snare than through Neumann NDH-30s. They just punch and are alive. Tuning will also play a HUGE part by attempting to make up for the what the outer structure of your ear does to sound before hitting your eardrum. I dislike these meta tuned IEMs, mostly, because they sound incredibly unnatural to me. Bassy, recessed mids, too much treble in weird ranges. My HRTF and these tunings usually *do not* get along. You might LOVE them, though. Headphones aren't perfect, but we all can get closer to agreeing on how a pair of headphones sound between us than we can IEMs due to at least having our entire ear involved in hearing them. Plus... I would NEVER mix or monitor tracking sessions with a pair of IEMs. Doesn't matter how well it matches my HRTF or how "neutral" they're touted to be (Ziigaat Cincotres and their marketing it as "studio reference tuning" was a flat-out *lie* ) I know what sound really sounds like having recorded strings, guitars, drums, woodwinds, etc...

\> Why would I put any stock into what DMS says if I have my own 2 ears? I can’t test as many products as an actual audio reviewer. It would be akin to the fact that I’ve seen paintings before, but I would trust an art history major to be able to more accurately identify what’s happening and provide historical context and insights on paintings. Audio gear reviewers are not useful, unless you understand their tastes and preferences, and understand how theirs line up with your own. The Headphone Show reviewers often do not agree on whether X is better than Y. You have to understanding their tastes and where they come from in their praise or criticism, to make sense of what the thing will sound like to you, and whether you might like it. I find DMS tends to like gear that does what studio monitors do, both in his tastes and in how he uses headphones. Listener is very treble sensitive. Resolve has a large head (as I've seen in person at CanJam), and talks a lot about clamping force. :-) A lot of other IEM reviewers online consistently favor V shaped tuning, which makes sense when you realize they mostly listen to K-Pop. Then it makes sense why they often praise IEMs for how they present female vocals and do loads of bass (electronic music production). I use studio monitors daily, and like what they do. So I put stock in DMS's opinions, because I think I get how his tastes and preferences line up with mine. I am not surprised DMS likes the Mega5est -- the same IEMs Crinacle described as "plain water" in his video on them. What makes no sense to me in DMS's review, though, is that he says he listened to Mega5east side by side with the $5K+ Subtonic Storm and claims, "I think the Mega5est is a much better version of the Subtonic Storm for a very small faction of the price." The Mega5est have been called the "baby Storm" for their similarity in tuning. I've heard the Storm, and cannot understand anyone saying the Mega5est is better in any way -- it's not even close -- except price.

I have the mega5est and the meteors, I love the meteors, they are a warmer set, with a mildly recessed eargain and low treble, leading into a non fatigued mid and upper treble. They sound good, they are a non vented set so the pressure in your ears can affect comfort. The mega5est, well its the megabest. With a shallow insertion depth they can be a hair bright in the treble region so be sure to get a deep fit in my opinion, the mid range into the upper bass is amazingly natural and leads into a pretty decent bass boost. To me they are exactly how most would describe them, a nearly perfect neutral tuning with bass boost if you consider a 10db tilted target neutral. I love them. There my favorite set of 11. I still buy others for different flavor. The set i just got that is like the mega5est with just even more bass, the punch audio martillo is a hair brighter in the ear gain lower treble area, same great mid range and the bass starts at the same point leading up m, but it has several db more boost over all. Its a basshead/edm lovers set with great mids instead of the common dip i see around 3 too 500 hz. I have yet to hear the dunu set.

Can you give some more detail on how it compares to the Mega5EST? I really like them but I found the sub-bass to be a bit much at times, and pinna gain / vocal energy is lacking for me a little, so I put on Pentaconn Coreir Brass tips on them and now they’re a lot closer to my signature preference. My endgame would be a similar sound sig but with slightly more vocal presence, midbass punch, and better dynamics.

the monarch mkiv can sound jarring if you’re coming from a warmer iem (i have the sa6 mk2 and it’s hard for me to categorize. sometimes it sounds warm, sometimes it sounds open and bright—not sure how you hear it). but, since it’s already in your hands, i’d give it some more time. just today, i put mine on and found them to be warmer than i remembered. sometimes it just depends on what you heard last, how tired you are, etc. otherwise, maybe the mega5est. it’s more vocal forward than the sa6 mk2 and more conventionally tuned, so it would complement your sa6 by giving you something that sounds a little more proper while being more laid back and natural than the monarch mkiv. you also don’t give up too much in terms of technicalities. coming from the monarch mkiv, the bass will definitely sound less defined, but i think it fits the overall sound signature well. some people call the mega5est boring, but musicality is subjective and hard to define. i’m a neutral head and the mega5est has a touch more warmth and bass than what i consider neutral, so in that sense, it’s musical to me. if you want to be risk-averse, the ziigaat arcanis has pretty much replaced the sa6 mk2 in my rotation. it’s what i expected the sa6 mk2 to sound like (and what i wanted the mega5est to sound like). a bit more sub bass and bit more satisfying bass overall. i find the upper mids and vocals of the sa6 mk2 to be too recessed and the arcanis addresses this by bringing them forward just a smidge (but not as much as the mega5est). vocals have a vibrant quality to them that you might consider musical. and there is just enough treble extension to give it air and sparkles. it doesn’t come across as technical as the sa6 mk2, but all of the details are still there. it’s unique and i actually like it more than the mega5est, but that comes down to how it fits in my collection penon/isn has been recommended a lot. i can vouch for the ebc80. its warm, has phenomenal sound stage, and is super fun. it isn’t fatiguing at all to me, but it doesn’t really fall under the category of laid back. their other iems might for the bill, though. these recommendations i think would be an “upgrade” to the sa6 mk2. however, my philosophy is that for a laid back sound, you don’t need to spend a lot of money. so personally, my warm, laid back iem is the ziigaat arcadia. it’s warm, punchy, has just enough treble, and with the right tips, can sound just as well-executed and beautiful as anything in the $200-$250 range. i prefer it to my penon serial and canon 2 for this purpose. i’ve also been going to the odyssey 2 a lot for a laid back listen, though it is not as warm. the punch audio martilo is also a good choice if you think you can tolerate a lot of sub bass. it sounds mostly normal and conventional, which, like the mega5est, could complement the sa6 mk2 well. when there isn’t a lot of sub bass in a song, it doesn’t sound like a bass head iem. but when there is, the bass sounds like you have a sealed subwoofer in front of your face.