Juzear - JUZEAR Clear

I wouldn't list the QKZ Hades, as it's pretty universally hated, unless you specifically mention that it's a *very* niche tuning most people don't like (even most bassheads). And even among people who like it at all, it's generally a one-genre set. I'd strike the Juzear Clear off the list because it appears to have [really bad unit variance](https://old.reddit.com/r/iems/comments/1insj4z/some_thoughts_on_the_juzear_clear_and_myer_audio/). I still recommend it for the cable if it's on sale for $20, but only if you really want that cable (it normally costs about $15-20 on its own). It's not a highly recommended IEM anyway, it just had a brief period of hype as a basshead IEM. Rarely gets mentioned nowadays. Neither of my two units are true basshead sets (and one is quite bright), so clearly some golden units went out to reviewers. The Blon BL03 ii hasn't got particularly good reviews. It seems to be that if you care about tuning, the original is better. The new one has 2-pin but it has all the ergonomic problems that plagued the original, so I don't think it should be recommended at all, with maybe a nod to the original as being a classic if people are able to pick one up cheaply. I don't think the KBear KB02 is worth recommending unless you specifically want to know what a BC driver does, in which case it's the cheapest way to get one. I got one for that reason. It sounds pretty bad. All the reviews point out the same issue - there's some weird "springy" resonances, especially noticeable with spoken word. It also makes everything sound like you're listening through a cardboard tube. It's just weird, not good. Audio Amigo and Paul Wasabii both have good reviews btw, I agree with pretty much everything they say about them. I don't see the Tin Hifi C2 mentioned on your original list or the new one. That's a 2025 version out recently. I have both and they are both excellent. Lots of reviews out there, but fewer for the 2025 version. I'm not sure if the old one is being discontinued, but it seems to be still for sale for about $20 while the new one is closer to $40. The difference between the two versions is quite subtle. The Moondrop Starfield 2 got pretty universally terrible reviews. The Juzear 41t and the Flame are the same IEM, so I'd put them on the same line - the flame just has a different faceplate. I have the 41t and it's good aside from the annoyingly bad venting, but I'm hesitant about recommending it for the reasons mentioned in my post about the Clear. Since it's a hybrid it really *should* be fully vented and I now consider this an engineering flaw rather than "just the way it is". Every other manufacturer seems to be able to vent their hybrid IEMs properly. The 7Hz Timeless probably shouldn't be on the list because it's very outdated nowadays. It's only a classic because it was the first reasonably-tuned planar, not because it's good by current standards. It was still an early and not-very-refined version of a formula that's been iterated on continually since then. The AE is better but less widely reviewed. The 2 seems to be getting good reviews but I believe it's closer to $300.

I'll take your word for that, just thought it would be worth double checking to make sure I'm not drawing any false conclusions about QC issues. I know Spiral Dot have a similar airflow design to Tanchjim T-APB T-300 and Divinus Velvet, both of which are vented, so I'm probably mis-remembering them as being the same more generally. Thanks for answering the questions thus far anyway. Since you're sure your unit is vented properly, and Bangs Audio definitely received one that isn't fully vented, that would indicate that unit variance is responsible for the difference, similar to the QC issues seen with the Clear. There doesn't seem to be a lot of variance in the graphs taken by different people on squig.link, so that suggests that unlike the Clear, the venting or lack thereof doesn't affect the tuning. Unfortunately Bangs Audio doesn't publish his measurements to squig yet, so can't easily compare his in case it's the outlier. Though based on the REW screen in his video, it looks about the same (bass peaks about 2-3dB above the eargain).

Well, with the Clear, my first thought (based on the discussion with the person who bought two units several months apart and the 2nd one had less bass) was that there had been a silent retune, like with KZ. However, I picked up my 2nd unit quite some time after that initial conversation (I think maybe 2 months IIRC) and it had *more* bass than my first one. So unless I coincidentally got hold of a very old stock unit, it doesn't seem to be an intentional retune, just a QC problem. Especially given that my bassier set still doesn't have as much bass as the graphs of the initial review units, so that's at least 3 different tunings all with varying amounts of bass. The cause being a random amount of venting, associated with more bass the less venting, fits the pattern perfectly. I.e., it's supposed to be sealed by design, but due to QC issues, sometimes it isn't. If you think about it it makes a lot of sense. It seems that they are intentionally designing their IEMs without a front vent to get more bass response ("cheating" as Bangs calls it). They are tuning everything with that in mind. What happens if that assumption is wrong is going to be unpredictable, similar to how different IEMs react differently to higher output impedance. I believe normally there is some airflow between the front and rear volume, resulting in the "slow vent" phenomena where they aren't quite as fully sealed as a true unvented all-BA set like the Orchestra Lite or MagicOne. Some of that leakage is directly through the drivers (and varies depending on the driver). The rest is going to depend on how they have sealed the drivers into the IEM, separating the front volume from the rear volume. I suspect that it's that internal sealing where QC issues are creeping in, resulting in quite different amounts of ventilation between different units of the same model. Where I think all this gets especially interesting is in whether the tuning is really consistent with the Defiant. I.e., is everyone going to get the same thing that's getting all the positive reviews? That fact that's not guaranteed with KZ is the reason why I'm normally hesitant to recommend anything from them, but ironically KZ don't really have a QC issue, they have a deception issue. Myer Audio OTOH do seem to have an engineering/QC issue. They use the same basic design on all their IEMs. But so far, it seems that the hybrids might not change tuning all that much based on the venting. So there's a bit of a dice roll as to whether you'll get a well-vented unit or not, but the tuning (hopefully) doesn't change. Which does raise the question of why don't they just add a proper front vent liker everyone else, and not have this problem in the first place! With the Clear though, the tuning varies *dramatically*. In some ways that's a surprise because BAs are much more sensitive to acoustic impedance, which is why all-BA sets are normally unvented. DDs don't have so much of a problem because they have much higher excursion & can move a lot more air.

Really good sound is subjective and on iems isn't solely based on price. Ive got really really cheap ones that sound amazing good at like 2 bucks a set. The zero 2 arent bad especially around $20 and even the red/blue sound good when paired with a good dac or dap. The $50 Juzear Clears sounds great too. Its not set in stone to be at that $200 range, but just more available at that price range that sound good.

Kinera Celest Wyvern (Abyss/ Black) - Cheap in price but punch well above their pricetag - Great All-rounder Kinera Celest IgniteX - Bright ish well done V shaped, technically capable lil Beast - Top under 50 SGOR Luna - Best Budget Magnetic Planar Juzear Clear - Great Bassy iem - In quantity and quality.

Energetic and bassy, shell might be a bit too big and shallow for smaller ears.