Thruthear Hexa for me.
I started with three IEMs bought from Amazon. Returned two later.
Thruthear Hexa
Tin HiFi T3+
Moondrop Starfield 2
I ended up with the Tin HiFi‘s. I hated the Hexas, liked the Starfield 2 sound best, but the Tin‘s had by far the best fit and also a good sound.
Those I own or have owned: Tangzu Nezha, Tangzu Tianpeng, IO Sogno, QoA Aviation, Hisenior Cano Cristales, Intuaura Plume, Leteciel Magiris, Reecho Spring 2, Moondrop Starfield 2, Tangzu Yu Xuan Ji (both standard & Year of Snake editions), Kiwi Ears Forteza, Celest Wyvern (Abyss and Remaster), Vzonis VD-01.
Those I don't own but have seen in person: Artpical Michael, Palavox Akasha, Forte Ears Mephisto, Nostalgia Audio Durandal, Thieaudio Prestige LTD, Xenns Top Pro, Elysian Pilgrim, Moondrop Psyche, Kinera Imperial Verdandi.
Those I have only seen online photos of: SeeAudio Bravery 24, Rossi&Wing LUA series (all 3 of them), Aful Cantor (Starry Night ver), Kinera Nott, Ice Lab Spectrumica, Leteciel Encore, Tangzu Xuanwu Gate, probably missing quite a few that I can't recall right now.
Yeah I also rate KZ Gale higher than Kunten. Kunten is still really good but I dont think that iem is better than nicely tuned 50$ iem. Sure it can sound better than some more expensive iems but thats more because that expensive iems are poorly tuned or not matched to my taste.. Like, I would prefer Kunten over Starfield 2.
The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite, Starfield IIs were pretty ok.
Yea HRTF is such a strange thing, I'm a huge fan of the Speaker Harman Curve but finding IEMs that work for me has been a challenge.
I cannot comment on the gaming and 3D positioning aspect since I rarely game. But as someone who's also quite treble-sensitive, I would recommend you try out all IEMs in person before buying, especially those with "exciting sound signature" which usually means treble peaks. Both the Blues were pretty bad for me even with the foam tips. So if that's also the case for you, I'd recommend those IEMs with more neutral and warm sound. I have tried and really like these in ascending price order:
- Tanchjim Bunny DSP
- Truthear Zero Red
- Simgot EW300
- Truthear Pure
- Moondrop Starfield II
- Crinear Daybreak
- Aful Explorer
Btw, warmer sound sometimes mean muddier sound and less separation, so there's tradeoff to be made there too. I value long and comfy listening session more than soundstage/separation/excitement, so I pick the IEMs above. Your mileage may vary.
Hambuli
