ZAR

As IEM I use the LD Systems MEI 1000 G2. Very solid and never had any issues. For wireless, I use a Line6 G50 Paid around 300€ for the LD and 100€ for the used (pretty beaten up) G50. Using IEM for the first time is tricky, specially because you are probably expecting to have definition and dynamics in volume and it’s not quite perfect. Huge stages tend to give you better conditions for a nice EQ than small ones since you have much more space and the drums can be far. But overall is amazing to get home after a gig and not be deaf. Oh, and I use KZ in-ears. Z10 Pro S and Zar. Amazing value for the money.

I purchased a pair of KZ ZAR 1DD+7BA Hybrids and they sound amazing. I have swapped the tips for SpinFit W1s and a QKZ Q1 MAX modular cable. The cable that came with the IEM was lacking in bass and the original tip sizes didn't fit my ears.

I totally disagree with you. I do agree that some upgrade cables are snake oil/ smoke and mirrors however any audio output can only be as good as the weakest link in the audio chain allows. If everything else is dialed in and something's wrong, then it's either cables, environment or hearing. I'm confident that my ears work well enough and the environment is not an issue with IEM's, ergo cable! Shit cables are always going to be shit cables and good cables are good cables. I did try an upgrade banana first, and before changing the cable however, I think there was an impedance mismatch between the left and right bananas! 🍌🍌🤣 I was a radio studio engineer for 20 years and if you said out loud in our office, that cables don't change sound, my colleagues would have laughed you out of the building! That being said anyone paying over the odds for an upgrade cable of any type, is a fool; some of the best IEM cables are available in the £20 to £50 ($27 to $67) price range and often much less, assuming you can find them on AliExpress! I managed to purchase my cables for a measly £15 ($20), in the recent sale, using a loyalty discount code and coins! The cables definitely improved the overall mid to low end presentation and the ear tips sorted out the mid to high level signals, including to an extent, a small amount of perceived sibilance; the tips did make a difference in this regard. I did need to replace the tips, as small was too small and medium was too large. SpinFit does an SM size, so perfect for my needs, as I could then get a good comfortable seal! The tips cost me £22 ($30) so as far as I'm concerned, the tips had been a bigger risk than the cable! Anyway as always with anything audiophile related, there are opinions and then there are opinions! I'll stick with my own and I'm happy for you to have yours. It's all subjective at the end of the day! 😊

I wonder what it is about your environment that causes the interference! Crackling is sometimes caused by the cable "microphoning" however this sounds more like environmental interference. If you're placing it on a table, that would imply that it's horizontally polarised, so probably mains based! The first thing I would try, is to hold your phone and cable horizontally, then walk near all of your electrical appliances, to see if anything shows up as the culprit. Refrigerators, microwaves and other inductive loads are prime candidates, also WiFi hubs can cause chaos! If you find that it's a fridge, microwave or similar appliance, you can fit toroidal mains interference suppressors, to mains cables. They're usually available in two parts, so that no rewiring is required. Toroidal mains suppressors are also referred to as ferrite toroids, toroidal chokes and they're passive components used to filter high-frequency noise and electromagnetic interference (EMI) from electrical power lines and they're reasonably cheap to buy. If it's your WiFi, then it's probably best to move the location of the hub or repeater away from the point of interference. Sometimes just turning the hub or antennas can stop unwanted interference as well. Unfortunately if it's within the mains wiring, then there is very little you can do, unless you can locate the mains cable coming in. If you can, then you could put a large enough toroidal choke on the incoming cable to reduce any transient waves in the mains supply! If you live in an apartment, it may be worth asking close neighbours, if you could trace any interference and you could offer the put suppressors on the offending appliance, if you find one! This is what one looks like https://preview.redd.it/n3a2wcp6e7wg1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4416802f5694c609d8fe3cb067cf96119e1dfa2 :

KZ ZAR - the seal and the snug fit it provides is way better than any iem in the price range and the bass is just enough for me to get a smile on my face. KZ Castor - is my everyday beater and gaming earphones, can't get any better than that.

I see so many differing opinions on the KZ ZAR, I also have Kefine Klean, QKZ x HBB and Tangzu Waner 2. No matter how much testing I do the ZAR beats them all for me. Any recommendations of what I should try next?

Kz Duonic bass, but if you don’t want to be moving check out Kz Zar, they’re a conford zone for you fr. But they’re 37-45dls on Ali