KATO

Moondrop kato, i had it, its V shape sound with a great bass sound. Kiwi, and KZ iems are great too However there’s many options at this price range,

Moondrop kato i buy for 50$, tanchjim origin for 120$. That’s my impressive

I also own the Kato. If they sound boring now, might be worth trying getting new set of nozzles and replace your current ones. In my case, although the old filters looked clean, they actually muffled the sound. I just figured it's really easy to clog this filter and it won't be obvious because the change in sound will be so gradual that you wouldn't realize it's not what they should sound like. Now I try to replace the filters once every three months and store it with silica bag that I also regularly replace  If you do replace the nozzles with some new ones, do let me know what you think. In my experience, it practically made my Kato brand new again; really textured bass, sparkly treble, and warm mids.

What's your budget? I don't listen to these artists much, but similar-ish artists like Sheena Ringo, Hikura Utada. My go to pair for late 90s-00s j-pop is Moondrop Kato (which is discontinued, and replaced by extremely similar Moondrop Kadenz). These are vocal forward with some bass, but not overpowering. On upcoming sale they should be available in the $150-170 range. Moondrop Aria 2 is much cheaper, but a bit more v-shaped, but should still be a good choice. Full price is around 99usd, and should be able to get a decent discount with 11.11 sale or black friday.

How people love to talk for the sake of talking, 3 - 4 years is a huge technological difference, 4 years ago a planar was a matter of hundreds or thousands of dollars, the same thing happened in their time with the BAs, and now they come out with their "they change the drivers" man, they are selling you the same iem much cheaper, with the same tuning and with a driver that is more budget-friendly, something that even large companies do. They throw shit at KZ over and over again but they lick Moondrop's shoes with all their quality problems even on hundreds of dollar products (I bought the Kato as soon as it came out, the cable rusted in 2 months and I ended up going back to my ZAXs anyway). You can't really expect your opinion to be valid when you haven't even tried the brand's progression... Minimo argues objectively, and not with "so and so complained on facebook".

I think you have gotten used to and just prefer the more direct way IEMs deliver sound. Especially compared to something like the HD800, which is very wide and diffuse and not in your face. It also rolls off in the sub bass, and most IEMs have a boosted extended bass under 100 Hz. I agree with you that IEMs can sound more detailed than even the best over ear headphones. The most detailed IEM I have ever heard was the Kinera Imperial Nanna 2.0, I personally think it is way more detailed than the Focal Utopia. I have the Dunu Zen Pro, and the way that thing delivers the bass response is more engaging and dynamic than even my Hifiman HE500 and Focal Clear MG. The issue for me with most IEMs is the treble, my personal ear anatomy always hears massive peaks at 6-7 kHz even if they do not measure that way on a rig, even something as smooth as the Moondrop Kato. I also use EQ, so it's not too much of a concern, but I really cannot use IEMs regularly without EQ. I can't really give you an exact "why" you prefer IEMs over headphones. It's your personal preference. But I wanted to ask, all the tips you have tried have given you an allergic reaction? I would look more into that, maybe there is some hypoallergenic solution you can use to help?

It's very well regarded. Some reviewers slightly prefer the Tanchjim Origin, but I skipped that one because some other reviewers say it's more of a downgrade or sidegrade from the Oxygen, which I already have. The EA1000 is definitely in another league technically when you compare it to 1DDs like the EA500LM, Kato, Oxygen, Dunu Falcon Ultra, etc. Even the reviewers who prefer the tuning of one of the other 1DDs acknowledge that the EA1000 is ahead on technicalities. The Origin is the only one out of that list I haven't been able to hear and compare myself. I also haven't heard the stupidly high end ones like the SoftEars Twilight, but that one interests me, to hopefully try in the future. Oh also I keep forgetting that technically the EA1000 isn't actually a 1DD, it's more like a 1.5DD because it has a passive radiator. Most people group it together with the rest though and it's unclear if the passive radiator actually contributes anything. I think it *might* because the bass on the EA1000 is pretty unique too. If I had to pick from the ones that are true 1DDs, in terms of enjoyment I'd rank them OH300 > Dunu Titan S > Kato > Oxygen, but in terms of "technically-the-best" it goes Oxygen -(tiny difference)-> Kato -(big difference)-> Dunu Titan S -(big difference)-> OH300. Also worth calling out the QKZ HBB for being stupidly good for what it costs (about $15). It's roughly my #3 favourite IEM at any price, but maybe drops down to #4 because of the OH300 (I haven't decided if the OH300 completely replaces the S08 or not). The HBB is just very unique for it's super laid back, warm tuning, so I can't see it ever leaving my collection.

The Kadenz, like the Kato before it, is anodised, not painted, so chipping isn't an issue. I have the matte grey Kato, which is the same finish as the Kadenz. It develops a wear pattern over time. IMO it looks better as it ages, because the angled edges tend to get slightly polished and stand out more from the rest of the overall matte finish. Tuning on the Kadenz is a bit different to the Kato. I haven't heard the Kadenz myself though. Apparently the Kadenz is more vocal-oriented and very good at what it does, but it's a bit of a specialist tuning whereas the Kato is one of the best all-rounder IEMs of all time. I feel like perhaps excessive talk about the Kato being outdated towards the end of its life has added to misconceptions about how good it actually was, and still is. 1DDs can be very good. A hybrid isn't automatically better. You're mostly paying for R&D and other factors with an IEM, not the raw cost of the drivers. Unless it's something crazy like the Fiio FX17 which is $1,500, but if you bought just the EST drivers separately they'd cost about $1,600. And IDK why people are saying the Kadenz is "outdated". That's ridiculous and is probably conflating what people were saying about the Kato, which is a different IEM. It's a relatively new release. Just because there's a new FotM release every month does not mean other IEMs go out of date that quickly. TBH, the Kadenz is probably a bit overpriced if you look at it in terms of absolute value for money, given how the driver compares to the Tanchjim Origin or the Simgot EA1000 (which are both a bit more expensive than it to be fair). But, if it's the tuning you want, it's probably worth it. The Kato was a bit overpriced by the time they discontinued it, in terms of pure value for money. But at the same time, there also wasn't anything else directly competing with it as a really good all-rounder, other than the Aria 2, which isn't quite as good and doesn't have the same build quality. The Kadenz fills a slightly different niche though. If you're just looking for a good all-rounder, the Aria 2 should be a pretty safe bet as long as you're not worried about the paint. There are some good hybrid options around $100 like the Truthear Pure and the Juzear Defiant, but they're not automatically going to sound better. 1DDs tend to be more coherent. The Pure is definitely one to listen to first or get from somewhere with a good returns policy like Amazon, as around 40% of reviewers described it as muddy, while the other 60% liked it a lot. The Defiant also needs a good returns policy because about 25% of them have a QC problem with venting. Don't let people's FotM-influenced opinions sway you away from potentially good IEMs like the Aria. Until very recently it was FotM and everyone was recommending it. It didn't suddenly become a terrible IEM because people forgot about it. I would stay away from the Starfield 2 though, as those did not get any good reviews at all. I can't say much about the Kadenz myself. Maybe someone will reply who actually owns it. Long-term though, the Kato is still one of my best IEMs. If I had to have only one IEM forever, I'd have a hard time choosing between the Kato and the EA1000 (which is another 1DD btw, although technically it's more like a 1.5DD). I have several hybrids as well. They're not better, just different.

Do you have the Oxygen for comparison? I haven't heard the Origin but I have the Oxygen and am curious about how all these new ones compare to them. Also the Oxygen is about 99% identical to the Kato, with the only real difference being the O2 has a bit more sub-bass and less mid-bass, so it sounds a bit cleaner. But it's barely noticeable - there's a bigger difference between tips than between these two IEMs.

If you like the Kato you'll probably like the Oxygen. I slightly prefer how the Oxygen sounds (but only by a tiny margin). But I prefer the Kato overall because it has much better fit stability.

The Simgot metal 1DDs are all very comfortable. You have the EA500LM for a balanced, but somewhat aggressive v-shape, the original EA500 that's very bright and gets fatiguing quickly, but it probably has the biggest wow factor for the price. And the EA1000 might be just in your budget depending on sales/offers and is sort of a more refined EA500 that isn't as bright or fatiguing. The EA1000 is my overall favourite IEM, but the EA500LM is possibly a safer option for more people as it's the bassiest one, and although it also has more treble than the OG EA500, it's more balanced out by the bass and it doesn't sound as bright. The other notably good 1DDs are the Tanchjim ones, but their ergonomics are terrible. They're small, but have very bad fit stability. Also the Moondrop Kato, if you can find one, is a great all-rounder 1DD and very comfortable. But it's discontinued. The Kefine Delci is really comfortable, but it's a warm, laid back sort of tuning that's not really competitive with the $100+ stuff when it comes to resolution etc. If detail is your top priority, you aren't going to beat the EA1000. Also while it doesn't have as much bass as the EA500LM, it has more "kick" to it than any other IEM I've heard, and it is very *realistic* sounding bass, especially for acoustic drums.

Depends what mood I'm in. Want warm, bassy & relaxed for mostly background listening? QKZ HBB. What warm, bassy & cosy but more focused on the music? Ikko OH300. Out for a walk? Ikko OH10. Out for a walk but want a more neutral sound? Moondrop Kato. Want less bass & lots of resolution? Stellaris. Want the most "realistic" sound possible? Simgot EA1000. And so on... I've got a lot of IEMs that I don't listen to that often. Some of those are just not very good but are too cheap to be worth selling. Some are good but not part of my core set, so I'll maybe listen to one of those now and then to mix things up a bit. I don't really do "genre-specific" IEMs because the mastering of individual albums can make a bigger difference than genres. But if I mainly want to listen to metal, I'll almost always get the EA1000 just because it's so much better than any other IEM for several things that come up a lot in rock, metal, prog, etc. If I'm in the mood for hip hop there's a very good chance I'll get the Dunu Titan S, but that's also more mood-specific and I might want something bassier. Even these "genre-specific" cases are more mood-specific anyway; just because I'm in the mood to listen to metal doesn't mean I'm exclusively only going to listen to metal, nor am I going to put Spotify on shuffle then change IEMs depending on what track comes on.

I don't go based on artist/genre so much as the overall presentation that I feel like at the time (which might also push me to listen to certain genres more than others, but not always). These days I listen to random playlists more often that specific albums, so I'm not a "this headphone for this album" sort of person. Generally if I'm going for a walk somewhere I'll pick up one, or if I want to just listen to music for a bit, I'll pick one. I won't normally change during a listening session unless I'm specifically A/B comparing them, or if I thought I was in the mood for a particular style and then realise I was wrong and swap over to something else. Occasionally I might hear something in a particular track and think "I wonder what that sounds like on such-and-such", but I keep a bunch of headphone-specific playlists so that I can just bookmark it for later. Although occasionally I will just want to hear how it sounds *right now*. The ones I'm listening to the most lately are: * QKZ HBB - these are mainly what I listen to when I'm doing something else; they have a similar warm, "wrapped in cotton wool" type of sound with recessed vocals that help to make them less distracting at lower volumes. * Ikko OH300^[1] - similar sort of warmth to the HBB, but also vocal-forward with incredible depth/layering - very relaxing but also engaging if I want to get fully absorbed into the music. * Aful MagicOne - another good one for relaxing, but more midrange focused without the bass of the HBB/OH300. I don't grab this one as often, but it's pretty unique. I'd probably listen to it a lot more if it was vented, but it doesn't bother me as much as my other unvented IEMs. * Moondrop Stellaris^[2] - Quite open and airy sounding with incredibly detailed treble and extremely linear bass, which just stays out of the way when it's not called for, and incredibly forceful when it needs to be. There is a bit of shout, but I don't really mind it and it's nowhere near as bad as they graph. Where the OH300 is for getting absorbed into the music, these are for getting absorbed into the overall soundscape, space and texture of the instruments, if that makes sense. You could call them analytical, but certainly not clinical. * Ikko OH10 - these are my main "walking around" IEM because the v-shape that combines deep, rounded bass with some good treble clarity makes them ideal for blocking outside noise. They're also incredibly comfortable. * Moondrop Kato - another mainly "out and about" IEM but they're slightly more neutral than the OH10, so I prefer these for longer trips on trains etc. They're probably the best "all rounder" IEM I have; can listen to them anytime, anywhere. I've also been listening to them more generally, since I started using my Shanling M0 Pro as my main DAC/amp instead of the Fiio BTR7. The BTR7 is a bit warm in a way that really completements the OH10, but the M0 Pro makes the Kato sound a lot cleaner. It's a really tiny difference, but it's enough to notice. Also the Simgot EA1000 remains my overall favourite IEM, but it's kind of similar to the Stellaris in a lot of ways with pretty different style of bass. There might be some recency bias that's making me grab the Stellaris more often lately. Both of them fall into the category of IEMs that can do certain things no other IEM/headphone can do (at least none that I've heard so far). ^[1] I'm not sure if the OH300 has been discontinued. I'd be recommending it to everyone if it wasn't sold out. Sounds incredible for ~$45 and it's mostly replaced the Letshuoer S08 for me (they have a lot of similarities, but the OH300 has better bass and the slight technical downgrades are barely noticeable). They dropped off Aliexpress a couple of months ago. I managed to grab a spare before all the stock disappeared from the Ikko website, but they're gone now. It now says "coming soon", so it might just be that they produce them in small batches and more will be available in the future. Not sure. ^[2] The Stellaris completely changed for me with Dunu Candy tips and quickly became one of my favourite IEMs. With most tips they are bright like a thousand suns and quite fatiguing. IDK if they'll work for everyone, so I don't recommend going out and buying a Stellaris (if you can find one: they're discontinued) but if you have one and have Candy tips lying around, I *highly* recommend giving them a try (and also let me know how it goes!)