KZ - Vader Balanced Version

Personally I like the Trio and the Vader Balanced over any of the Truthear Zeros. You can get the Trio or Vader Balanced for under $30, and with a good cable from KBEar, you will still be under the price of the Zeros, and have better overall tonality, without the oddball shortcomings of the Zeros. I still feel, personally, that the Zero Blue is better than the Blue2. But I am in a minority for this opinion.

Kz is undervalued, but as you said, it is the best budget iem brand. Castor's successor- castor pro bass, and Vader normal are the best budget iem i think right now. (I've tried more than 40 iem under 25 dollars.)

If soundstage is the most important thing, then og castor harmman is also a very good choice. But vader also has a wider soundstage than castor bass, and is more technical and instrumental. I would recommend vader more.

Vader is less concerned about the problem of getting broken than castor. The build is better, and there are fewer qc issues. No wonder it's a little bit more expensive. If well managed, it can be used for more than five years..as you care

Castor pro harman/bass, zvx pro..and both versions of vader.

Kz vader balanced would recommend its an upgrade from the castor released recently and is three dynamic drivers instead of two. The soundstage is more placed on vader vs castor, punchy while clear, and imaging apparent. It’s musically immersive and can be tuned with the switches as well. If it’s too out of range Kz libra balanced, another well tuned single iem. Best of luck.

Wow more than me! My favs are ZS12 Pro X, Zenith, PR2 (black mesh), and Vader. How do you like the ZA12 and Hydro? I tried to get a ZA12 but it was a scam listing so I got a ZSN Pro X instead lol, at least it was free. Oh, and original CCA CRA, one of my favorite DDs to this day.

From that list Castor or Castor Pro but honestly I prefer Vader Balanced, Zenith, AM16, and ZS12 Pro X as my favorite KZ IEMs.

Oh man, for the price: the CCA trio, Kefine Klean, KZ Vader Balanced and HighRes, TRN V90 pro,Tripowin Vivace, Artti T10, KZ Zenith, gaming and audiophile beasts. (personally I'm more inclined to the Klean, the Zenith and the T10) The CCA trio and the Vader Balanced are similarly tuned, but both are one of the best iems under 30 usd. The Klean have a hidden trick who is you can do a subtle mod on it for improving the bass and tuning overall (stock is still so good), is one of my go to sets in the market, excellent tuning and a soundstage and imaging, and macro and microdetails retrieval delight. KZ Vader HighRes, this is 90% the CCA Hydro, but is a hungry boy who craves good sources. Tripowin Vivace, this is an excellent tuned iem, well priced and a gaming powerhouse. TRN V90 pro, they put all the effort in the iem itself but TRN don't disappoint: Nice stock cable, good included eartips (the trn t eartips are one of my favorite eartips ever, period. Lol), and the tuning is an upgrade to the ST7 because is a fix of the flaws of the other iem. Artti T10, is the best planar iem for 50 usd or less, is bassy, balanced, an all-rounder set to enjoy music and a gaming beast. KZ Zenith, is the best DD iem of KZ, with high praise from various reviewers, HBB and Paul Wasabii included.

then, definitely check the Tripowin Vivace, and as a second option, CCA Trio or KZ Vader Balanced.

Check KZ Vader (Non-pro). The balanced version gave me slightly better spatial awareness compared to Castor Harman - have to EQ down some lower frequencies though. Consider if massively discounted and similarly priced to Castors For FPS I can recommend KZ PR2 v3. Superior to Castors, both 7hz and Truthear zeroes and many other budget sets imo when it comes to fps. 15 USD or less, but you can not be 100% sure which version between v2 and v3 you're getting. Honestly great for music too KZ Gale are copying Kefine Klean to a certain extent, so check them out as well.

The Zenith is the best one by a large margin for me, the Gale would be my second choice (EDX Pro 2 has the same tuning and about 2-3dB more bass, I prefer the balance of the Gale though, both are an incredible value for the price (+/-$8-9)). I have or had at some point the Hydro, PRX, Saga (both), Castor (both), Libra (hi-res and balanced), ZVX, ZVX Pro, Vader Balanced/Trio, ZS12 Pro X, EDC Pro, D-Fi and Polaris, of this sets I like the Saga Balanced the most.

KZ Vader has been my favorite in the under $50 bunch. Gate looks so frail. Though the anime girl on the box almost always makes me buy it…

KZ Vader is also a good one here. Whatever you buy, you should pair it with a DAC like the Audiocular D07 for proper output.