TANGZU - Wan'er Classic Edition

Castors are a good choice too. Castor Harman is good; gave it to my gf. Castor bass is a bit muddy, but not too muddy like kbear rosefinch; I use that personally. I personally love the edc pro more because it's smoother with just the right amount of bass, but the Harman is a bit thin for me. But I just re-read your genre of choice. I saw you like J-Pop. If that's the case, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Tangzu Waner (the original ones that came in black, white, jade, and blue colors; not the studio version or the waner 2). Tangzu waner is specialized for making vocals, specifically female vocals, pop. Wan'er is known to make Stay With Me and Plastic Love sound good. Great with YOASOBI too.

I too listen to YOASOBI and anime songs, so I still think waner is perfect.

7Hz Salnotes, Tangzu Waner first Gen. Not the new one. cadenza. moondrop chu2 dsp version

OG Wa'ner sounds like what you're chasing. For that entry price point you can't go wrong, really smooth nice vocals. It's warm neutral. It was my entry into IEM's and recently went back to try them and remembered how good they were for $30 (AUD).

Ig Tangzu waner 1st edition is better exactly for what it got famous for -The Music profile (tuning) and the aesthetics while it's 2nd has some changes in tuning that's not the signature music of tangzu waner(that may not be liked my mass especially beginners) and better quality cable and the eartips I would still go for 1st edition for the MUSIC quality I can compromise on cables and eartips

I wont call the Zero 2 neutral bright, is actually just balanced, and even a bit on the bassy side, if you want a balanced, kinda neutral iem, actually Tangzu waner is closer to that, also focusing on vocals, its a good middle groun, if you want to test bassy, you can either go for the KZ Castor Pro Bass (there is normal and Pro verions, both with bass and harman verions, you want to go for the bass version) to test a bassy V-shaped iem, more energetic, nice punch, and then you can check the Salnotes Zero original for something actually more neutral bright, leaning to vocals and treble. Also, you have alternatives like the Tanchjim Bunny to the Waner, the Kbear rosefinch for a "bass canon", or the QKZxHBB for a bassy relaxed very warm set, for better or for worse tho, there arent that many "bright" options on the budget bracket.

This would be for me a few options to consider, there are a lot more honestly, but these would be my essentials: * Original Tangzu Waner - since is quite comfortable, vocal focused and works great with EQ. * Arrti T10 - for the cheapest planar than sounds like a planar. * Dunu Titan S2 - for a well rounded single DD quite cheap and with great accessories (tho better to consider EQ if the stock tuning is a bit too intense). * Kbear Rosefinch - for a funny bassy iem to blast music to, this is more of a nostalgic bass heavy sound. * Moondrop Lan (OG or II) - for something bright balanced, to have a comfortable, nom-bassy reference. * Simgot EW300 - for a budget but well rounded hybrid balanced IEM with nice allrounder performance.

1. Pick dawn if you love bass especially sub bass 2. Pick waner if you want natural sound or if you are a vocal lover 3. You cannot swap the cable on dawn ( undetachable )

Wan’er OG is heaps better (sound-wise) than the 2. Bunny DSP is a total gem and lets you alter the tuning to your liking. Ignore the rest.

7hz zero 2 or tangzu wan er 2 if you can but tangzu wan er og is also good. I heard good things about the truthear gate as well.

For a cheap set, I'd say Wan'er either 1 or 2, but 1 imo has the better fit because of the nozzle and nozzle angle. For the in-between, KZ Zenith. A seriously good set, I was kinda done with budget IEMs after I got that. For a I just want something really really good and dont mind spending the money even though its my first purchase in this market, Ziigaat x Fresh Reviews Arete OR Ziigaat Odyssey.

Define "balance"? I assume you mean something that sounds flat/neutral/uncoloured. If so, Truthear Hexa or Pure, and if you wanna spend a bit more, Crinear Daybreak. Those are the first that comes to mind. For the budget realm, Tangzu Waner (1 or 2 doesnt matter) or 7hz Zero 2

Don't go spending money on tips unless you have to. The Wan'er comes with KB07 tips, which are at the top of [my recommendations list](https://old.reddit.com/r/iems/comments/1dw6c4l/what_are_your_top_recommendations_for_eartips/lbspp1t/). Part of the reason they're at the top is because they're cheap and come in 5 sizes, but they're also just a very good all-rounder tip. There's no need to go upgrading them unless you have problems with how they fit, or you really want to get into tip-rolling (in which case you need to buy several to experiment with). Something that is more worthwhile spending a bit of money on with the Wan'er 1 is the cable. I recommend the QKZ T1, because it's cheap and quite nice. It won't change the sound, but the stock cable is quite thin, poorly behaved and not the most comfortable. Not an essential upgrade, but it is a nice quality of life improvement for not a lot of money. The Wan'er 2 comes with a slightly nicer cable in the box, but it's not as nice as the QKZ T1. I slightly prefer the sound of the original too, though they are *almost* identical. The 2 does come with Tang Sancai tips, which are a bit more expensive to buy than KB07, but some people seem to have issues with the texture and KB07 are a pretty safe, smooth-feeling material.

Wan'er build quality isn't great. The tuning is OK if you mainly care about vocals since that's what they do best, but technical performance outside that isn't great. The Wan'er 2 has better accessories but they messed up the tuning a bit, the OG sounds better. The others are all good all-rounders (the Bunny is the only one I don't have, but based on the reviews it's fine, plus it has EQ).