Mega5EST Series

Peeps here touched on it. A GREAT IEM now…will still be a GREAT IEM in 20 years (if the unit lasts that long) Koss and Sennheiser each have headphone models and designs that have been popular and even revered for over 40 years. That said…IEMs like Truthear Hexa and/or Mega5est will have staying power because of their reputation at their “hyped” peak. I think AFUL Explorer will be one of those IEMs that will be talked about for a long time. It has a very warm, smooth, relaxed tuning (treble) that is not common at that price point. Am sure there are fans of kilobuck or expensive mid-fi IEMs that have their favorites that they’ll swear will stand the test of time. The IEM space is quite young still. Yes, musicians and artists have been using IEMs for a long time…but for those of us using IEMs for music/gaming it is still a young development. Good luck with your collection journey. Consider using a watch box to store and display your IEMs (if you are into that)

Sound Rhyme DTE500 or if you are after more clarity in the mids and highs I recommend the HiSenior Mega5est 7th Anniversary Edition (an amazing IEM that punches well above its price.)

Mega5est bass+ sounded a lot better to me than the OG, the 64audio U4S is pretty great as well.

Yeah, the RSV MKII are definitely a fun set, they are too dark for me, but it is still a great set overall, this hobby is very hard because pretty niche, in France we don't have shops where we can try IEMs, so it is always kind of a blind buy at the end. The Odyssey 2 is very good, and would be a good all rounder for sure, the Mge5Est is also a very safe pick, nothing special but also nothing to hate on it.

My pleasure, yeah the formulation 'nothing special and nothing to hate on' is not great but means that it's a very good all rounder set, averything will sound good on it, probably a better all rounder than the RSV or the Odyssey 2, which is a bit more contrasty

I was just thinking that it was interesting that ASMR doesn't get brought up on r/iems much. My recommendation is the dunu Braindance or a used Mest series. I have the Mest mkIII and it's perfect for comfort when falling asleep to ASMR, but a little out of budget. The Braindance is a little less spacious but is still comfortable for me. IEMs I've also tried for ASMR include: * Empire Ears Raven (too big but very nice rumble feeling) * Mega5EST (comfortable but not as spacious) * Thieaudio Monarch MK2 (too big) * Galaxy buds 3 pro (not nearly loud enough)

I have the mega5est and the meteors, I love the meteors, they are a warmer set, with a mildly recessed eargain and low treble, leading into a non fatigued mid and upper treble. They sound good, they are a non vented set so the pressure in your ears can affect comfort. The mega5est, well its the megabest. With a shallow insertion depth they can be a hair bright in the treble region so be sure to get a deep fit in my opinion, the mid range into the upper bass is amazingly natural and leads into a pretty decent bass boost. To me they are exactly how most would describe them, a nearly perfect neutral tuning with bass boost if you consider a 10db tilted target neutral. I love them. There my favorite set of 11. I still buy others for different flavor. The set i just got that is like the mega5est with just even more bass, the punch audio martillo is a hair brighter in the ear gain lower treble area, same great mid range and the bass starts at the same point leading up m, but it has several db more boost over all. Its a basshead/edm lovers set with great mids instead of the common dip i see around 3 too 500 hz. I have yet to hear the dunu set.

Can you give some more detail on how it compares to the Mega5EST? I really like them but I found the sub-bass to be a bit much at times, and pinna gain / vocal energy is lacking for me a little, so I put on Pentaconn Coreir Brass tips on them and now they’re a lot closer to my signature preference. My endgame would be a similar sound sig but with slightly more vocal presence, midbass punch, and better dynamics.

the monarch mkiv can sound jarring if you’re coming from a warmer iem (i have the sa6 mk2 and it’s hard for me to categorize. sometimes it sounds warm, sometimes it sounds open and bright—not sure how you hear it). but, since it’s already in your hands, i’d give it some more time. just today, i put mine on and found them to be warmer than i remembered. sometimes it just depends on what you heard last, how tired you are, etc. otherwise, maybe the mega5est. it’s more vocal forward than the sa6 mk2 and more conventionally tuned, so it would complement your sa6 by giving you something that sounds a little more proper while being more laid back and natural than the monarch mkiv. you also don’t give up too much in terms of technicalities. coming from the monarch mkiv, the bass will definitely sound less defined, but i think it fits the overall sound signature well. some people call the mega5est boring, but musicality is subjective and hard to define. i’m a neutral head and the mega5est has a touch more warmth and bass than what i consider neutral, so in that sense, it’s musical to me. if you want to be risk-averse, the ziigaat arcanis has pretty much replaced the sa6 mk2 in my rotation. it’s what i expected the sa6 mk2 to sound like (and what i wanted the mega5est to sound like). a bit more sub bass and bit more satisfying bass overall. i find the upper mids and vocals of the sa6 mk2 to be too recessed and the arcanis addresses this by bringing them forward just a smidge (but not as much as the mega5est). vocals have a vibrant quality to them that you might consider musical. and there is just enough treble extension to give it air and sparkles. it doesn’t come across as technical as the sa6 mk2, but all of the details are still there. it’s unique and i actually like it more than the mega5est, but that comes down to how it fits in my collection penon/isn has been recommended a lot. i can vouch for the ebc80. its warm, has phenomenal sound stage, and is super fun. it isn’t fatiguing at all to me, but it doesn’t really fall under the category of laid back. their other iems might for the bill, though. these recommendations i think would be an “upgrade” to the sa6 mk2. however, my philosophy is that for a laid back sound, you don’t need to spend a lot of money. so personally, my warm, laid back iem is the ziigaat arcadia. it’s warm, punchy, has just enough treble, and with the right tips, can sound just as well-executed and beautiful as anything in the $200-$250 range. i prefer it to my penon serial and canon 2 for this purpose. i’ve also been going to the odyssey 2 a lot for a laid back listen, though it is not as warm. the punch audio martilo is also a good choice if you think you can tolerate a lot of sub bass. it sounds mostly normal and conventional, which, like the mega5est, could complement the sa6 mk2 well. when there isn’t a lot of sub bass in a song, it doesn’t sound like a bass head iem. but when there is, the bass sounds like you have a sealed subwoofer in front of your face.

so, for me i have reached 500+ region and mainly use mega5est, so what direct upgrade from it at below kilobuck?

i want to keep the sound profile but wanted more micro detail retrieval and usually sit for a long time Also, want more punch and slam without veil all frequency

Try to find a used mega5est and call it a day. Could be had for 350 on used market. Been through maybe 10+ IEMS ranging from 300-2k and imo it’s the best all-rounder that’s 500-1k, possibly even higher. Might not be the most ‘fun’ IEM but it sounds good while playin back many genres well.