Moondrop - Moondrop SSR (Super Spaceship Reference)

Out of the stuff you can buy new, Etymotics ER2 would be the best sound-wise. And if you prefer the over-ear style, I don't think I've seen something smaller than Moondrop SSR. I even sleep wearing these

The biggest difference between my Shure/Klipsch IEMs and Moondrop/7hz (I own Chu2 and SSR and demoed Aria, Starfield and 7hz Eternal) is how bright the modern ones are. Shure (along with Westone) has a reputation for dark signatures and many people don't like them, however in their defense, the filters can be replaced (Knowles BA filters affect the sound) and they respond to EQ extremely well. Klipsch X7i is like a more "fun" Etymotic ER4 to me, it recesses the treble just about right to make it non-fatiguing while keeping the detail and relative neutrality, and does similarly with bass. Aria and Starfield sounded extremely similar (in being V-leaning) but Aria had a wider soundstage. They're basically all-rounders in my opinion, though Aria's soundstage was really outstanding, out of everything I heard it's only second to XBA-A3/Z5 (but these are hard to beat). Treble makes them sound more lively than old BA sets. 7Hz Eternal actually reminded me of Klipsch because it also seems to try and balance between neutrality and the more popular V-shape. SSR tries to achieve "true" diffuse field signature and can get fatiguing but ends up sounding very detailed, and it's impressively "fast" for a single DD. Overall they have different strengths (Shure has insane isolation and build quality and I love how drums sound on them thank to their "speed" and impact, Klipsch is a great all-rounder and smallest of them all, Moondrop SSR has amazing technicalities for how cheap it is) and I can't pick a favorite, though I mostly use Klipsch right now.

What is the humidity issue on Chu2? And staying on topic, "accurate/balanced" is quite subjective. Etymotic is widely regarded as accurate/neutral and they have the DF target. Under 50$, Moondrop SSR is the closest to DF target (arguably closer than actual Etymotic IEMs) and I find them quite neutral though I like to turn the upper mids down just a little.

I really like my moondrop ssr's for mixing. Does not break the bank, great (flat) sound. My next upgrade will be truthear hexa. It might take some time to get used to mixing with inears but for me i never looked back... Unless playing b2b.

I have a pair of Moondrop SSR iems and they are about as good as I need an iem to be and they're only $40. Maybe I have a different usecase than some, but if I want super high quality audio I'm reaching for headphones. I like iems for their convenience and sound isolation which the SSRs do really well! I'd never sit down at my desk and pop in some iems for a nice listening session so "really good" is good enough for me.

7Hz Salnotes Zero is only usable one in that price range, but $40 Moondrop SSR is so much better, try getting that on some sale or something if you can

The Quarks 2 are a lot better in terms of timbre and tonal accuracy, and they also have better note weight. The SSR still win when it comes to imaging and soundstage though, but they are hotter in the upper mids and thinner overall. I prefer the SSR for gaming.