Mega5EST Series

Since you’re not picky abt the signature good pick near the price of the u6t would be the monarch mk4 more bit more neutral and less warm you have the option of a bass switch if you want it to be warmer/ bassier. A cheaper option would be a mega5est or a xenns top pro and under those would be the astrals me personally I like monarch the best and astrals then mega5est the top pro. Only thing to note is that the monarch shells are big asf so I’d demo if you can.

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)

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)

Well, I found a few and my top contenders right now are: 1. Mega5est Bass+ 2. Thieaudio Hype 4 The Hype 4 is considerably cheaper than the Mega5 but also has a narrower soundstage and lesser bass (I never thought so before I tried the Mega5EST Bass+). It does have more emphasized treble though which makes it more exciting at times when listening to EDM and electronic music though where it exaggerates the treble a bit. It's also not as open sounding at the Mega5EST. I just recently got the Mega5EST Bass+ and I chose this over the Mega5EST because I know I like bass and because it was on sale for the same price as the original, non bass boosted version. The Mega5EST sounds A LOT CLOSER to headphones or speakers than any other IEMs I've tried so far. One difference between it and the Hype 4 is that the Hype 4 sound more 'in your head' than the Mega5. Listening to the Mega5EST sounds like you're not wearing IEMs at all, like your ears have windows and they're open. They also don't over emphasize the treble and you can't hear any sizzling sparkles at the top end. I think they are a lot easier to tolerate for long listening periods because they're super chill sounding and everything sounds more relaxed like you are in a room and listening to speakers instead of IEMs. No harsh treble even in the most treble rich music. Also, the bass quantity and quality on these are amazing! Not quite Hifiman Edition XS level but close. The bass can get too boomy at times though. Conclusion: I think the Mega5EST Bass+ along with the Qudelix T71 with 7.1 surround sound virtualization take the crown for me. I'm a bit sad because I just got the Hype 4s. Oh well, the Hype 4s are a close second and I will probably use them for electronic music more but honestly, the Mega5EST Bass+ do a splendid job with electronic as well because of the phenomenal bass and overall 'open' and natural feeling sound. You could check out this audio demo of the Hype 4 vs Mega5EST to get an idea about the difference: https://youtu.be/oxo_pR7D7MY. The Bass+ has significantly more bass though.