Quintet

Kiwi ears Quintet with eq. That's said I feel like Hisenior mega5est is also a good option for my preferences 

No need: just boost the 45hz by 3db with a q factor of 0.6, 4500hz by 2db with a q factor of 2.7 This is pretty close but in hexa it's hard to properly show.  Eq is a useful tool but it has limits and in hexa it's hard to exactly simulate my preference; I had one so I know. 

Agreed, the Aether is this expressive and emotional sound. I would argue if money isn’t an issue try the Kiwi Ears septet as it’s my favourite out of the Kiwis I’ve tried (ranking in order from best to worst) Septet, Aether/Orchestra, Quintet, anything else, then the Etude as these were seriously muddy imo

Sound signature always makes up 90% of how good an IEM sounds. If the sound signature already isn't to your liking, chances are you wont like the rest of whatever the IEM has to offer. The quintet is an amazing IEM for the money, I owned one for a time, but it was a little too bright for me so I ended up not using it much. You probably just enjoy the heavier bass of the QKZ in this case, an IEM I also used to own but sold off to my friend because I didnt like how much bass it had. Notice the duality here? SInce you prefer more bassy sets, you may end up liking more expensive bass heavy IEMs like the kiwi ears x HBB punch, punch audio martillo or Thieaudio Origin. With that said, diminishing returns begin very early in this hobby. You may find any of the IEMs i mentioned above to be nicer than the QKZ but not by much. The chifi scene has been lowering the price barrier for high end audio and its only continue to get lower as time goes on

I've just picked up Kiwi Ears Quintets, I don't really have a reference to them other than some old as hell Mackie IEMs. As far as I know they're not a vocal powerhouse but they do have quite good clarity and separation. The mids aren't super bright but they're energetic. Individual of course but I find they're comfortable.

I've recently picked up Kiwi Ears Quintets and they've been great for games which need fidelity like Tarkov. No anime or cool designs on the box though

Unfortunately they don't protect against Chad's with kitted out vectors but at least you can hear them get closer in HD lol. Personally I find them comfortable for extended use but your ears may be different, I found they're more comfortable with foam tips also.

Recently I went to Singapore and ofc I took the chance to hang at the Hangout by Crinacle. Demo’d a BUNCH of iems like Kiwiears Quintet, Astral, Zigaat Odyssey 2, Crinear Daybreak, Letshour Cadenza 4, Yu9 Que, Xenns Top Pro, Crinear Divine / Diablo, Aful P5+2. Of all the iems I mentioned, the Astrals blew me away. Only competition was the Xenns Top Pros which were 200 USD more. The Astrals were just so holographic and resolving. I am a treblehead and a fellow treblehead at the store (Adam) kept recommending me bangers like the Astrals and Yu9 Que. I’ll be honest, the Astrals weren’t even on my list cause its sheer chonkiness intimidated me as even the KZ Castors were painful to my ears when I got into this hobby. BUT, to my surprise, the astrals fit like a GLOVE, super comfy, light and no pressure points that made it uncomfortable. Then boom, I played Une Vie A Rever by Lorien Testard and I felt like the choir was around me and I could tell where each voice was coming from with pinpoint accuracy. I fell in love right then and there. Anyway, they didnt have stock there at the moment so I purchased it elsewhere for slightly cheaper price and yeah here I am. I knew I loved it at the store when I was trying to listen to every single song in my library with the iem. I was like, “ooo what will this sound like on this iem…” So yeah, if youre a treble head with a knack for imaging, this is a no brainer (if your ears work with this chonkster). Oh btw, as I was listening to songs at the Hangout, Mr. Crinacle just walked in through the back door, fully catching me off guard, so ofc I had to grab a pic w him. I applaud the staffs there for not rushing me or forcing a purchase, they are solely there to provide a service and only consider a sale as a bonus. Super accommodating and knowledgable too. My review of the Kiwi Ears Astral, although I’m NOT a reviewer by any means! Very detailed and airy. You will certainly hear microdetails you didn’t know existed in tracks youve been listening to your whole life. Ample amounts of bass that somehow doesn’t sound muddy. Yeah and dont get me started on its imaging. Its stellar, no wonder alot of gamers reccomend this and no wonder ENVY Eggster uses this too. Either way, very technical and has an analytical sound signature while still remaining fairly musical. Works with any genre but shines in indie, classical, pop and vocal centric and busy tracks. \- Thanks Adam from the Hangout for the recc.

not under but only $50 over, kiwi ears quintet, imo one of the best bang for the buck in terms of audio quality if you’re looking for good and linear bass with good extension, with nice mids, slightly warm vocals, and clean treble with great sound staging

Ok, my bad. Try something like Kiwi Ears Quintet. They have a pretty good stock frequency response, good ergonomics, and can be improved with some EQ