KZ AS10

Probably an unpopular opinion, but the hideous KZ AS10 are still in my rotation armed with dunu SS tips and the 4.4 cable from my letshuoer ej07m kinda lava. Even with many other iems worth over 500, these little $37 crappers have a lot of fun and detail to them. Are they my favorite iem? No.. But they're the only thing in that price point I still listen to regularly.

I started with the S10 Pro but ended up getting a pair of AS10 since they are more bass pronounced and I gig with them. The S10 sound better overall, I just was able to hear my bass better in the mix during gigs on the AS10. Maybe it’s out wireless packs? Oh well.

I started with the ZS10 Pro but ended up switching to the AS10 after a gig or two, they had a little more distinguished bass that helped in our old setup before we could each control our own mix. Another cheap option to check out.

Same, did 2 gigs with them, even with faom ear tips, and still had a hard time hearing the bass. Bought a pair of the AS10's and have been using them since, got a little more bass response (esp mid-bass) out of those. If listening to music for enjoyment, the ZS10 Pros have more clarity especially at the low and high ends, but the AS10's just cut through better for bass with my bands' wireless packs. We've since got a new setup with a digital mixer, so I can set my own monitor's levels for each person and eq it, so that definitely helps more too and I bring my ZS10 Pros as backups since I can dial it in better.

These KZ’s are super standard for entry level in-ears. I know some pros who use them and actually prefer them to $$ custom molded ones, just because they don’t have to worry about babying them compared to the super high dollar stuff. I’ve used them a little and i think they’re great; it’s a great stepping stone until you can afford some real nice custom stuff from a company like 64 Audio. My daily drivers for in-ear gigs is the 64 audio A6t, and I love them - and man oh man do they sound good plugged straight in to synths too. Just be careful with that gain 😬

Two unfortunate truths for you on this sub: 1. There aren't many musicians about. 2. The audiophiles and gamers that are here hate KZ. But I'm in a similar position to you. I haven't had customs or anything but I've got "better" IEMs according to these forums in the Chi-Fi market but rarely do I find any better for performing than KZ. I use the AS10 and ZS12 for different instruments. Both are cheap but give me clarity where I need it and the ZS12 are metal, so they travel around the most. Even the "crappy" cables they come with are far more comfortable to play in than any of the "better" cables from other brands. They seem more concerned with IEMs that work for the original purpose than pandering to the casual listening market. And they'd be far less worrisome to lose or break!

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.

I don't have many 30 buck IEMs, but I have the Blon Bl-Mini, had the KZ DQ6 fo a while, the KZ AS10, Tin T2 Plus(trash) and then on the more expensive side the Blon A8 Prometheus and the Moondrop Kato, also tried a few Fiio under 200. The difference between these and let's say the Blessing 2, S8, the Studio 4 and the RSV are definitely noticeable. Worth the price? I'd say that'll greatly depend on how much it hurts your pocket and how much you appreciate the improvement. There is certainly a difference but value is highly subjective. In short, yes, sound improves. Whethet it's worth it or not will depend on who you ask. As far as the price increments that I've tried diminishing returns evidently kick at the 500 ballpark. That being said I've only tried the S8 and RSV as far as kilo or nearkilobuck goes. And I haven't tried Mega5EST or Variations which some might say are even better than the S8 and maybe even the RSV. Best thing is to live somewhere that has a shop to demo IEMs. Not my case tho. As some others have stated, tuning is a huge deal. The S8 truly excel at Polyphia, Ikigai, Plini or any instrumental rock music. The Studio 4 are great all rounders, excel at female vocal clarity and isolation with fair detail and bass. RSV also great all rounder as the Studio 4 but exchange some of the female vocal clarity and isolation for better tonality (richer, fuller more natural female vocals) and better male vocals than the Studio 4. Both the Studio 4 and RSV have narrower soundstage than the S8 and less extension in the treble but better tonality, mids and bass. I guess you get the gist of it. As Thomas Sowell would say: there are no solutions, only tradeoffs.