They sure do. I recently got the Penon Fan3s (after lusting over the Fan3 for 2 years). While they are darn good, and the BCM is an experience, I have already gone back to the T10. Price notwithstanding, I think they are my favorite set ever and I’ve been in the hobby (mid-tier) for 20 years.
Penon Fan 3s is a good IEM, but especially when it’s on sale.
The BC driver really does its job – the bass becomes a bit fuller and more tactile. You need a tip rolling! Another nice feature is that it has a switch that allows you to turn it on and off. The vocals are slightly pushed forward.
Thieaudio origin - the best bass, but it is for basshead!
As the number one TSMR Armor fan/shill in the world, I obviously disagree... the Armor's mid-bass fixed the big flaw I had in the Martilo.
But it goes to show even something most people love can be disappointing when you get it in your own ears. It sucks, but reviews, opinions and research are meaningless if you put it in your ear and it doesn't put a smile on your face.
It doesn't mean they're wrong or you are wrong, we all hear things completely different.
And Metal just seems difficult for every IEM. Even my favourite IEMs that sound amazing for every other genre can fall apart with Metal. I honestly don't know one IEM I could recommend for a Metal head.
Btw... It's probably still worth returning if you're sure you hate it. I returned a Fan 3s and they were good to deal with. Yes I had to pay $20 postage or whatever it was, but still a lot better than throwing away €270.
Bone conduction is VOODOO that sometimes does nothing and sometimes does everything. Mini reviews-
1) Kb02 Most days- "This sounds pretty bad, and I hear no bone conduction". Random days "WTF why do I hear bone conduction really strong with Oasis, this is fun"
2) Kiwi Ears Etude - "This actually has really strong vibration, it's so fun... But... Why is it doing it only on snare drums and not the bass?"
3) Apevoix Grit - A great IEM, but the BC is usually fairly mild, but occasionally, wild.
4) Penon Fan 3s - "Why can I feel and hear it vibrate really strongly in my hand, butit changes nothing to the sound?" (I returned this one- it just wasn't very good. But may have been broken)
5) Bqeyz Wind- Didn't get very long with these but no obvious BC to me.
6) BGVP DMA- "Everything else used cheap BC. I bet if I buy one with Sonion BC, it will be great!" It was not great. It's a really great IEM, but it has the LEAST obvious bone conduction effect.
7) QoA Martini - Borrowed it... I loooove this IEM. BC is good, and always noticeable, huuuuuge soundstage and seperation.
Price is the *point* of the Kunten hype though. If it was $30 nobody would care!
You're entitled to think it's dog shit, that's fine! Not everyone liked it, especially now with rumours of a stealth revision that sounds a lot worse.
But I genuinely thought it easily beats the usual $20-30 picks, and the *very* often recommended Zero Red, and I'd personally much rather listen to the Kunten than a Hexa.
It's not the second coming of Christ, there was definitely overhyping (I remember a post about the Kunten beating his Mega5est!)
I listened to it for a few days, then went back to my collection of better, more expensive IEMs *Listening to an Archangel currently*
I'm lucky as hell to have this collection. But for less privileged people, something competitive with $20-$50 IEMs for less than $5 is a revelation. And for that, it deserved the hype imo.
Yeah, hype can definitely lead to disappointment!
When I first tried the Armor, I was actually expecting it to be bad. Before it, I bought a Fan 3s after wanting a Penon for ages... It sucked. It was a huge disappointment. I returned it.
A while after, I'd heard great things about the Armor and bought one. But I was convinced I'd be disappointed again. Nope! It's awesome, and I'm very glad I gave them another chance, but for the majority of my first impressions I'm like "is this it?" because of hype!
dap: fiio m21
dac/amp: dx5 ii
iem: top pros, isn audio h20, fan 3s
open-back: arya organics, hd600
for 2026, I'll be looking on adding a close-back to bring to work and probably extending my iem collection
I like my headphones more than my IEMs. But that's just me. I eq all of them. My Edition XS and Focal Hadenys have just as much detail as my IEMs, but sound way more spacious because they are bigger and open back. For IEMs I use Flipears Aegis, Hidizs mk12 and previously had Hype 4 and Penon Fan 3's.
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1
7Hz
7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2
76% positive of 493 users
Budget gaming pick, but poor cables and polarizing bass.
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