Punch

Going to disagree hard with this take. Astrals are awful in the upper treble (that insane spike is real and sounds horrible on cymbals). I literally had to apply like a 10db cut to to make it through tracks that weren't already mastered to cut those upper air frequencies. Punch on the other hand is dead neutral outside the bass region. And the ESTs being subtly used vs. overemphasized is one of the most natural implementations I've heard. Martilo's treble has major issues too. HBB just said those were the better value because he's trying to play good guy greg and not piss off his audience (or linsoul), he did the same thing when linsoul dropped odyssey right after his Arcadia collab and said it was better.

I actually agree with the punch not being a crazy basshead set, which is why I dig the punch so much. I'm not a basshead but just like a strong boost and care about mids and treble being accurate. To me they're the only IEM I've ever wanted to listen to without EQ due to being dead-neutral (in JM-1 terms) outside of that bass boost.

He only did that because he doesn't want to look biased. His audience and the affiliate revenue is more valuable than any money made on collabs. He said the same thing about arcadia when linsoul dropped odyssey at the same time ('buy odyssey instead'). Have had all 4. Kiwi Punch is the best and by far the best value in the entire hobby. Martilo can't hang in the treble. The ESTs on the Punch are legit and it's the cheapest set with a proper EST implementation.

Have had both. Aful explorer: more comfortable but need EQ in the midrange to not sound off, lack any air and have a more narrow soundstage. Nicer cable/case. Ziigaat x HBB Arcadia: objectively better tuning, detail and soundstage. Makes sense given the Knowles 29689 + Knowles 33518 combo vs. knockoff BAs in the Aful. Comparing both, it's no contest audio-wise but unfortunately Ziigaat shells just don't work for me (and they all have that shell). Upgraded to the Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch though and they are even a big step up from the Arcadia for not a huge jump in price, you can get them for $350 on sale. Endgame for me after trying 20+ sets in the $100-500 range. I say skip Arcadia and go for the Kiwi Punch, sonion ESTs are the real deal.

I ordered mine from Linsoul to Hungary couple weeks ago, I had to pay taxes on them, but they dispatched it within a week of me ordering (I ordered other items too). I asked Linsoul support if they have the Punch in their inventory, they said they had it on stock and they can dispatch it within a week. Worth asking them, you might not need to wait 3-4 weeks, just 1 or 2.

I got the Kiwi Ears Punch last year and I have been loving them since! Great bass, both mid and sub bass, also great separation! I listen to mostly metal so they get the job done!  I had the ISN Neo 5s, I liked them alot especially vocals but they really only shined for music like rap/hip hop which i dont really listen to. Couldn't handle faster music like metal.  Also had the Deuces but the lack of midbass was a big flaw for me! They kicked ass for drum and bass and tech house though which are genres I also dabble in every now and then

Try the Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch if you really like bass. Personally I like the Punch more then the Deuce tbf for bass, feels like it's more organized. But if you can, demo them at a local audio store or go to a local audio hangout event and try them out.

whaaaaatttt? kiwi ears punch in D and Deuce in S???

apart from the bass, isn't everything else just better on the Punch?

The Deuce has massive sub-bass but pretty meh in mid-bass, so you're gonna get rumble but not too much thump. I believe endgame for most bassheads is the Kiwi x HBB Punch, it's awesome but may be out of your budget. It actually is pretty well balanced, even though you're getting large amounts of mid-bass and sub-bass. There's good vocal clarity due to branded Knowles BAs, along with shimmery highs due to branded Sonion ESTs. It's actually good value considering its driver configuration, despite being a bit pricey.

Much talk of the Deuce which can offer massive sub-bass but only modest amounts of mid-bass, less than the Rosefinch. What you really want is the Kiwi x HBB Punch, but it's double your budget so just keep it in mind for endgame. Sneaky good for EDM are the Ziigaat Odyssey, though you have to crank them. But lotsa mid-bass thump and sub-bass rumble, while maintaining balance and clarity. They have immersive special sauce as well.

I'm very impressed with the CCA Hydro iem's. I've bought 3 sets of iems during the summer sales. Whereas the hydro is the cheapest of the 3 sets I've bought (others are juzear 61t and kiwi ears punch). Still the hydro sounds like a very good competitor against sets wich are around the 200$ segment.

I've paired them to my Fiio utws5 Bluetooth ear hooks for daily use. They come very close to the Kiwi ears punch, wich I also have. I mainly use the martilo and punch for listening to techno and trance. They fit and sound best with the Devinus Velvet small eartips. If you don't mind using PEQ, ask @ducbloke on YouTube for his preset.

Hi there fellow Belgian. From all the above you mensioned, i have the HBB Punch. Its not neutral at all but its a "Fun" set. It lacks mids and i mainly use this set for Trance & Techno Music. (Also do like Rock and other instrumental music) I've also have : Punch Audio Martilo, Myer Audio CKLVX CK2V, Juzear 61t Butterfly, and the Hidisz Turres MK12. I'm mainly a Basshead but from having so much bass in the Punch and Martilo, i got curious to other IEM's. I wouldn't mind getting more expensive ones too, but its a pitty i can't try them beforehand, as i don't know any shops in Belgium to try them out. So so far didn't take the plunge into more expensive ones. The punch was my first IEM and was able to get it from linsoul for 290€ (Didn't have to pay extra taxes) . The Martilo i found 2nd hand for 240€ on marktplaats. I've been looking at the Mega7 aswell, but will have to wait a bit. Recently got a Fiio M21 DAP and the Hidizs MK12 Iems. The Hidizs MK12 Is a surprise and is ranked inbetween 700$ Iem's . Perhaps have a look at these aswell and save some €€€ to spend on others. The Punch & Martilo are very big IEMs and i have 2 friends wich are not able to fit them in their ears. FYI I use the Divinus Velvet Small eartips on the Punch and Martilo.

My first impressions of the Punch: It feels like i'm standing close to a stage at Tomorrowland (wich i attended alot of times), Deep rumbeling bass, just like i'm there , exept without the feeling in my stomach from the air moving around out of the speakers. But its not my go to iem for music like the Foo fighters. For instrumental music, i like details and the Punch doesn't really have that sparkle. I'm glad i tried different IEM's so i can mix up or pick and chose regarding to the music i want to listen at that moment. My plan was only buying 1 IEM and not looking back. But afterwards i got curious into others, glad i didn't spend my whole budget on 1 IEM. And more expensive doesn't always mean better. Like now, on black friday i bought the Hidizs MK12 turris, and now going back and forth with the Punch. And i have to say this Hidizs is something else, costed me around 135€ and for trance i would prefer this over the Punch. It has a more neutral sound with some bass boost. (Also check ducbloke is video about these (the first video, as he did a collab later-on) Looking back i think its more fun to be able to swap between cheaper IEM's vs having only one for all your music tastes. But the Punch is a nice looking IEM, like jewlery. Definitly an eyecatcher. Glad i could help.