KZ - DQ6S

The boycott is irrational. I bought the kz dq6s and it sounds great.

I have the KZ caster Pro, KZ x Angel ears, KZ × HBB DQ6S, TRN Conch and the TRN V10 Pro ♥

I got a set of each and I could still not fit them, sadly and they were not the smallest I had found either. I got a random cheapo pair off AliExpress and they're about half a millimetre smaller, but still not small enough :(

The kz dq6s is very very loud and I think has the pin you are looking for. The pr2 or prx are the worst option for the Bluetooth ear hooks because they need more power than most standard headphone jacks put out to really open up and sound the best they can. The Bluetooth ear hooks in my experience with my azo9 that I have are a little weaker than most things I have with a normal headphone jack.

KZ DQ6S ... sorry but hated it, gifted it to a friend. My real first IEM is the Truthears Hexa

Not all of them. I also have KZ Gale and DQ6. Both of their nozzles are smaller (about 5mm wide) while Castor Pro's is 0.5mm wider. It doesn't seem much, but the difference is huge.

I got DQ6 to replace castor pro since it has smaller nozzles. When I looked at graphs, they have similar tuning especially in when it comes to bass.

I tried KZ AS10 and DQ6, Blon BL-Mini and A8 Prometheus, Moondrop Kato, B2, B2 Dusk and S8, Softears Studio 4 and TinHiFi T2 Plus. Tin were trash. KZ AS10 was okayish but not really. DQ6 super comfortable, lightweight decent SQ for the price and comfort but nothing crazy. From Kato to B2/Dusk there's a significant step up in SQ. From B2/Dusk to S8 there's an improvement but it's not something crazy. The Blons sound OK, BL-Mini is quite decent in terms of price to performance, A8 are overpriced in terms of SQ but they look amazing. Both are lower in SQ than the Kato. Studio 4 sounds amazing to me, it's a more mid centric sound signature. The S8 has a more spacious sound and has more perceived space between instruments but the S4 is just godly in terms of it's timbre, everything's sounds just right, notes are weighty of I had to describe it somehow, and vocals are on another level altogether. I'll soon hear the RSV MKI. Thus far from this lineup I'd say diminishing returns start at the Blessings, now... The S4 I think is a justifiable step up, the S8 if you have the disposable income yeah, otherwise you spend more and you get more but not that much more. The S4 is cheaper than the S8 and I'd surely recommend the former. I guess it boils down to how much you are willing to spend. There is an improvement in SQ but it's definitely not a linear function, it's evidently logarithmic, just like horsepower in cars. I'm sure though there's plenty of snake oil sets out there. I'm sure if you bought the Hexa or the Nova and compare them with the Kato the latter would feel like a scam. That being said SQ is not the only factor, I have the Blons almost exclusively for how they look. I've met people that were like meh they all sound the same. I think I trust myself as I found the S8 underwhelming compared to the cheaper S4, and I really wanted to like the S8 as they look gorgeous, but I truly believe the S4 are the better pair. And bro, damn... those TinHiFi T2 Plus, 60 bucks? I wouldn't take them for free... Everything sounds like an out of tune banjo with only two strings left played by a crackhead that lost half his fingers.

Good call. I play bass and the Sure single driver couldn’t cut it. A friend in Nashville recommended the KZ. I got the dual driver for $20 and the difference is night and day. The triple driver work well too I just didn’t find them as comfortable.

Funny you should say that, because I’ve found them to be the most tip sensitive IEMs I’ve had. With the stock tips there was NO bass and the rest of the range sounded harsh and shrieky. With the next set of tips (Tri Clarion, I think? I can’t remember now) I could hear the bass but it just sounded so soft and poofy, like cotton balls being thrown at my ears. Finally, with the 3rd and 4th set of tips I’ve tried there was quite a turnaround and I’m seeing why people like these. I’m really enjoying them now. With all my other IEMs, tips have just made tiny differences in the sound and I’ve changed them around more to find the best comfort than anything else. But these - oh, man, was there a difference!

Is this an upgrade from qkz hbb. The hbb to me sounds dark muffled with treble roll off and with a bloated slow bass. The bass shelf in the graph seems similar. Are they similar sounding? 

How long have you had the HBB? I didn't like them at first but they're now one of my favourite IEMs. They really need some brain burn-in. It's possible that just doesn't work for everyone, but I hope you give them a proper chance before giving up on them. I don't find them particularly tip-sensitive, so how they sound is just how they sound. But I do think you get used to how bassy they are after about a week, and then they start to sound a lot more natural. It's like you're always *aware* that they have more bass than they should, but it stops sounding wrong and any sense of muddiness goes away. I haven't heard the Hades though, so if you mean that one... yeah from what I've heard one has no redeeming features at all. I'd like to try it at some point just for a laugh, but not if they insist on keeping the price at $50.

Those are bullshit and probably mostly fake reviews by a competitor. Find some reputable reviewer(s) you can trust and whose opinions align with your own, as everyone hears IEMs a bit differently. This is the one that made me consider trying the HBB. Wasn't convinced at first, but they're now one of my favourite IEMs at any price (and I have about 60 IEMs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swejkFpZfBM The HBB has a very particular style of presentation though. It's warm and relaxing, although it also volume-scales very well and can be fun if you turn it up a bit. If you want a really hard-hitting style of bass, the KZ Castor Bass+ is better, but it's overall tuning isn't as good as the HBB & it especially has some issues in the treble (though you may not notice at first). Also the Castor doesn't have much sub-bass so it's probably not what you're looking for. The KBear Rosefinch has *tons* of sub-bass, but it has much bigger problems with treble tuning and can sound quite harsh if you try to turn it up at all.

The HBB is one of my favourite IEMs at any price. It's just really well-tuned, so the driver isn't being pushed beyond its capabilities. It's still a cheap driver though, and you notice it in terms of resolution. If you want to compare something that's similar-but-better (in a way) see if you can listen to the Aful Explorer and notice how much more textured the mids and treble are. I suggest that one because the tuning isn't a million miles away from the HBB. But I actually prefer the tuning of the HBB (vocals sound a lot better on it), so I'm not recommending you go and buy one as an "upgrade". Just see if you can listen to one to satisfy your curiosity. And if those differences aren't something you care about, there's no point in chasing them - just stick to an IEM like the HBB with a tuning that you like. On the one hand, there *are* differences as you go up in price (to a point) especially when you get different driver architectures. On the other hand, diminishing returns are very much a thing, and more expensive does not automatically equal "tuned better". Also, if you like the HBB and fancy something a tiny bit different, give the Ikko OH300 a try. It basically sounds the same as the HBB, except that instead of having vocals pushed back, it's more vocal-forward. That's pretty much the only difference. It's not some subtle nebulous thing like "more texture" or "resolution". It just actually presents music in a slightly different way. It's only about $40 as well and also one my absolute favourite IEMs. There are other things it does slightly better than the HBB and some places where they "trade blows" depending on the mood you're in - but whether or not you'd notice those I don't know, so I won't list them, they're all quite subtle.