Sennheiser - IE 300

Its tricky. I would tend to agree sub 500 pounds. Love the sennheiser ie300 single DD. Id pick this over any hybrid below 500. However tri i3 MK3 is a tribrid with a lovely timbre (I listen to classical). Also the Katori Audio Vampire is a single BA without any ba timbre, but it achieves this I suspect at the expense of frequency extension - warm lush mids with rolled of treble.

These are my daily drivers. They are incredible for music and for gaming. Probably a little bit more than most people want to spend though lol I have the audeze Maxwell and some Sennheiser ie300s for times that I need more sound isolation. I'd recommend any of them

Hello fellow IEM-Gods with golden Ears of Reddit! Let me explain my status-quo first for context: I started spending money for IEMs ten years ago. I liked the early KZ ATE (10mm DD) as cheap entry point but the "magic" was missing, somehow. I owned some entry level Campfire Audio like the Comet (single BA) which unfortunately had a bad fit (no hook e. g. ) and was lacking base. I upgraded to a CA Honeydew which was nice for Indie Rock but was muddled somehow. I also tried several other KZE and a Moondrop, but always the cheap one up to 100 EUR or even below. THEN I bought a Sennheiser IE300 which was fine and upgraded it to a cheaper IE200. This is what I am using rn with a HIBY R4 EVA. I like the IEM a lot! Sonically and because of the form factor, I can even lay on my ears listening to music. I think I heave learned that the sound of complex IEM with lots of drivers seems artificial for me, can't explain. Maybe it's because I haven't bought expensive ones of this kind. Very critical listening is done by a Hifiman Sundara with a Mojo 2 or iDSD. **Now I wonder, what my next upgrade could be? If it's about fit, I would go with the Sennheiser IE600, which is sadly expensive.** But I guess "Chi-Fi" came a long way since my purchases back then. I see, that almost every suggestion in your sticky i either from Aliexpress or Lingsoul. **Is it the solely value proposition for these products? Is buying a Sennheiser for 600-800 Euros a bad decision? Would I get a much better product elsewhere? What is your opinion?** Speaking of preference in music and sound... I guess a Harman Curve should be allright for me. No harsh highs, fast and well-enough base which does not bleed into the muds that much. I am listening mostly to a mix of Metal, Voice, Indie and some EDM (wild mix, I know). EDM works perfectly with my Apple Airpods Pro 2 though, but I can't stand the Sound of the Airpods with the other genres, seems artificial to me. **To wrap it up: Is Chi-Fi the only reasonable way to go right now? Are the other offerings just way too expensive or even worst in sound?** Thanks for your input, have a wonderful Holiday!

I'd say the cheaper and more comfortable the better. There are some really good options in the $10-$30 range. I've personally enjoyed dozens of hours in PUBG with the KZ ZVX, Moondrop Chu 2, and Artti R6. My favorite ever were my IE300 from Sennheiser but those could be considered more "premium." Their successor, the IE200s are on sale for $100 right now.

The HD660s is/was premium enough for me. But sure, you can always find better and more expensive ones. I've tried the HD660s2 as well, which wasn't really an upgrade over the "old" version. In terms of IEM's I've had the IE300, Zero Blue, Zero Blue2, Gate and Nova, which I really enjoyed .. But the nozzle size was just too big for my ears. If it wasn't for the discomfort of wearing my headset. I would most likely still be using it .. But getting a headache after 30mins of use is just not worth it.

Summary because this is long: OP is treble-sensitive, prefers warm, bass-leaning sound, and listens on an unamped iPod Classic (usually at safe volumes). These impressions are based on EQing a set of Tangzu Wan’er to have tuning response similar to other more high end IEMs. Obviously, differences in housing, driver type, etc, are not accounted for. Seeking comfortable sub-$200 IEMs with relaxed treble and moderate or heavier bass Liked tunings similar to Aful Explorer and Ziigaat Odyssey, but seeking a bit more bass impact and punchiness Diablo style tuning was great albeit with excessive bass in certain tracks Ie300 had too much shimmer and harshness in the treble when volume was turned up enough for the mids to sound right, but bass was excellent. Made me curious to try the real thing, seemed surprising that it’d really sound like that. Side question: are there any over-ears that have a fit/shape comparable to beats but with a good sound signature? Sony or Bose headphones typically stuck out too much, and slide around on my head even when doing something as mild as walking on the bus, let alone lifting weights. Never tried higher end real headphones haha Mostly listen to classic rock, 70s/80s style metal (Dio, Castle Rat, etc), edm, along with a lot of more laidback music like Steely Dan, Warren Zevon, singer songwriter stuff. Long post below, basically just says what the above says but more verbose. ———————————————— Apparently, I have very strange ears, first of all. Seem to be wildly treble/upper mid sensitive compared to many of you, and prefer a bit or a lot more warmth/bass. Will likely be listening, at least in part, through an iPod classic without an amp. I'm trying to get away from bluetooth and streaming audio. In part this is because it lets me listen to music at \~75 or 80db while still maintaining some impact to the sound. I try to stay below 85 whenever possible, lower if the room around me is quiet. I've been doinking around with the squig link site and different EQs using the cheap Tangzu Wan'er I got a little while ago. Anyway, based on the JM-1, I'm at or 1db -ish above the upper bound of the preference range until about 500 hz, but in the treble I'm in the lower third of the typical range, with 2-3k actually below slightly. Obviously, this presents something of a challenge, seeing as how it's wrong. I'm also trying different eartips to see if I have a sealing issue of some sort. Anyway, looking for something plausibly similar to this, max budget $200 and I'd rather spend less if possible. I don't have strangely tiny ears, but they're definitely on the smaller side. I swear the Wan'er nozzles are making my ear canals sore, which is weird because going down a tip size makes the seal really dicey. How deeply are we supposed to be stuffing these things into our ears? I've been wearing over-ears for so long that I've forgotten haha, and I never used pro earbuds, just the usual basic stuff. Options considered: Aful Explorer - Simulation is honestly cooler and less rolled-off in the treble than I was expecting, based on how you guys talk about it. Frequency climbs early and stays high later than I would've guessed based on descriptions, but the pinna peak is flattened enough to not be stressful. Kinda sounds like a milder Wan'er, more audiophile-correct without being stressful. The signature is great for Springsteen, Boston, really any 80s records, a lot of which have more bass than you'd expect and don't play well with bass wallop tunings. On electronic music it feels a little mild, dubstep, hardstyle, etc, although for that type of stuff I'm so used to what it sounds like with an absolute bass cannon or a subwoofer haha Diablo - Nice in the upper registers, but realistically a bit too much bass for anything except for EDM and hip hop. Sounds solid, but definitely a gym sound signature, I like it but I can tell it's not what the music is supposed to sound like, if you know what I mean. Sennheiser ie300 simulation is a bit too recessed in the vocals even for me. Turning it up to get the vocals gives amazing bass at the cost of uncomfortable weird peaky treble. I almost want to buy a real set to check, the real thing can't possibly sound like this, it's gotta be some secret German magic Ziigaat Odyssey seems close as well, but I'm reluctant to spend that much money. Same milder bass as the Explorer, but a bit more juice in the low-mids and more laid back upper-midrange is right up my alley. Overall, also a more refined sound that's probably closer to what I should learn to like haha Anyway, does anyone else have thoughts here? The ideal would be something like the Odyssey/Explorer but splitting the difference in bass impact with the Diablo. I don't need to cave my skull in, but I spent so much time listening to Beats as a young guy that I just got used to it, I think. The trouble I have with the more correct audiophile tunings is that I have the instinct to turn up the volume until I get that more solid bass impact, and then everything else is too loud or peaky Maybe should just go back to over-ears, tbh. What's funny is that the speakers in my M1 mbp sound great and seemingly have less ear gain than most IEM eq settings do, even though I'm listening to them with my whole ear. I'm not sure why my actual ears don't have the gain that they're supposed to, but I'm curious if any of you have the same situation. I do have a truly huge noggin, if that makes a difference. Also, if anybody has a recommendation for headphones that have a comparable size/shape/clamping force to Beats Studios but better engineered sound, that'd be great. They've always felt weirdly comfortable to me, and they're the only over-ear with enough clamp force to stay on my head as I move around.

My first ones were the KZ ZS 10 Pro and I had a similar experience. The sound wasn’t pleasant at all. I went to a friend and tried his FiiO something’s. And in the End I got Sennheiser IE 300s. Those were so muffled that I decided to get the IE600 which are absolutely everything I hoped them to be. More recently I have also gotten the IE200 which are much cheaper and sound 90% as good as the IE600. I recommend the IE200 to everyone in a heartbeat.

I have been listening to my 300s all vacation. Didn’t bring the 900s in case they got lost or stolen. I had read a lot of reviews praising the 200 over the 300, and I really like my 300s so I say go for it!

Sennheiser momentum 4 & Sennheiser IE300

Connector is trash but my ie300 still worked after a car drove over them, twice. Ironically, they fell out of my ear on acident because the mmcx lost contact so i'd say avoid