ThieAudio - Oracle MKII

Bruh I've tried foam tips myself on various IEMs. The second I use them no matter how strong or weak the seal is my bass just completely dies off and all I get is peaky treble. Unless my ears just hate foam or something else is wrong. I've tried them on the Arias, the Dusk, the Monarch Mk 3s, and the Oracle Mk 2s.

Tested nearly over 250+ iem, Impressed me positively or negatively recently, sorted by price Positive: KZ EDC Pro - for less than 10USD you get something easily rival up to $40\~$50 bracket KZ PR2 - first version with the mesh, toe to toe against my Z12 (S12 bass-boost variant) for less than half of its price EW300 - easily sounding like a $150 set for this, a must get for V-shape/treblehead around the budget Truthear Hexa - best in class neutral, imaging and technically for the price, extremely capable and non offensive but might sound "boring" to some Aful Explorer - best warm/relaxing sounding IEM at its price bracket, uniquely tune sound i would say its a rare find EPZ P50 - easily the best natural slight U shape signature at its price point Mega5EST (first version) - neutral, musical with good technically and resolution, one of the closer pre-end game set Negative (mostly are pricier sets disappoint me the most): Moondrop Chu - died after a month, replacement came then died after 2 months Kiwi Ears Quartet - its all bass, muddy, too warm. (Quintet is a lot better, i know its different) Softears RSV - tonality is wonky and the treble is a mess Softears Volume - combination of warm + popping midrange + peaky treble is not really what i prefer at all (i like the volume S by a lot more) Campfire Andromeda - never really get the hype for this back then. it just sounds awful, hollow, bassless, lifeless to me. Thieuadio Oracle Mk2 - identity crisis of the OG Oracle, sounds like a straight downgrade for me Thieaudio Monarch Mk 3 - weird tonality (its like W-shape sound), too technical and extremely fatiguing lastly of course its price tag (bass is SLAMMING in a good way though) These are what i can remember so far

I've been maining the TangZu Yu Xuan Ji for like 6 months now. They sound like trash without eq but with eq they sound better than the thieaudio oracle I borrowed. I have 1 of each color now, unfortunately a bit too late to the gold one. I'm currently going down the audio source and cable rabbit hole now that I have my end game iem.

I still haven’t heard anything I like more than my Thieaudio Oracle.

Thieaudio oracle, GREATTTTT IEM for your budget, and has a very comfortable fit, for many different ears. Or softears volumeS are also apparently very good. The io volare may also be another option, and thieaudio hype 4 mk2s, are suppose to have some of the best tech at the price range.

Yeah, I'm with you on the audition – at that price point, it's all about the tuning, not the technical performance. Most IEMs in that range are really really good. But price-wise, I'd bump it up to 1k. IEMs from $500-$850 are a bit lacking compared to the higher-end ones, based on comparing the Oracle and Origin to the MK2-3 and LTD. Consider the Grand Maestro. IMO the GM is the benchmark, is that IEM the others compare too and it doesn't lose too much value like some other.

Grand maestro is goated. I’d pick that over the Z1r considering both as benchmarks. The fit, the modules, the rumble feeling just hits special on the GM. I recently bought the FatfreqxHBB Deuce and in that price range ($220) it eats up almost any IEM even some of the $400 ones. The bass is absolute sensational. You could also look into the Hisenior - Mega5EST Bass+ and Thieaudio MK2. I have tried these and can def vouch for it. But for bass I can’t suggest any other than Fatfreq since they specialize in bass. Their lineup from Scarlett mini to Maestro mini are spot on !!