Penon Fan 3 Series

Same here, although I really should not. Too many sets already. But Penon/ISN/TSMR are very underrated. Most people do not even know of their existence. And I’ve have/had Penon Fan OG, Fan3, ISN H60, ISN EBC80. All great iems. I would point people to a dac/amp Cayin RU9 with tooobz. I ordered ine even pre 11.11 with codes and coupons for 370$ Should be here today/tomorrow. Gets raving reviews. My most recent purchase is Letshuoer Cadenza 4, a great, super comfy set with great technicalities, can be a bit bright. But I slap ziigaat liquid silicone tips and occ gold plated cable paired with either shanling UA3 or ONIX XM10 Waltz for some warmth and this is a magical combo. A set that’s slept on.

Same here, although I really should not. Too many sets already. But Penon/ISN/TSMR are very underrated. Most people do not even know of their existence. And I’ve have/had Penon Fan OG, Fan3, ISN H60, ISN EBC80. All great iems. I would point people to a dac/amp Cayin RU9 with tooobz. I ordered ine even pre 11.11 with codes and coupons for 370$ Should be here today/tomorrow. Gets raving reviews. My most recent purchase is Letshuoer Cadenza 4, a great, super comfy set with great technicalities, can be a bit bright. But I slap ziigaat liquid silicone tips and occ gold plated cable paired with either shanling UA3 or ONIX XM10 Waltz for some warmth and this is a magical combo. A set that’s slept on.

I like my headphones more than my IEMs. But that's just me. I eq all of them. My Edition XS and Focal Hadenys have just as much detail as my IEMs, but sound way more spacious because they are bigger and open back. For IEMs I use Flipears Aegis, Hidizs mk12 and previously had Hype 4 and Penon Fan 3's.

Yeah, thought as much. Its a shame though, as others may not even be aware that these brands exist.  ISN H60, EBC80, EST80.  Penon Archangel, Voltage, Fan 3 Sound Rhyme DTE900, DTE264, SR10.  Earacoustic vsa pm crown.  All the above are fantastic iems from those brands, it's a shame that a of people aren't aware of them - as Penon and its sister companies probably give the best bang for buck out of most iem manufacturers (as a whole) excluding the likes of bgvp perhaps.  I used to follow Jay a lot, until I saw one Facebook post where he said thst the Unique Melody Maven II wasn't an alrounder... I've personally owned the Maven II in the past, and couldn't understand this at all - every other single review regarding those iems also praised them for their versatility. You got one person saying they're not an alrounder vs at least 30 who say they are 😅 it's going to raise some doubts..  The other was his take on the Annihilator, where he talked down to someone for being a "serious audiophile" basically just wasting their money. Funnily though, I also own the anni 23, and have yet to become across an iem that can deliver treble in such a smooth way as the anni can 😅 I'd love a cheaper iem, but no one to this day has recommended me a cheaper iem that can do what the anni does (yet it being ancient in the iem world)  Anyways, enough ranting - I hope people stumble across those brands that aren't talked about as much big the big reviewers. 

Many of the sub-$100 recommendations in this sub-Reddit are older models that have been superseded by newer stuff. Still plenty of Harman-tuned models being recommended, and that tuning -- while OK -- is as old as grandpa's buckskin rubber. As for improvements being minute over $500, I sort of believed in that line of thinking until I bought the BGVP Astrum, which costs $679 new. It is SIGNIFICANTLY better than my three $350ish benchmarks, the Softears Volume S, Penon Fan 3 and ISN H60.

I've been avidly in the audiophile headphone and IEM game -- not Beats and Sony wireless shit -- for a decade. I know what sounds good and doesn't, and I can tell you the Astrum is SIGNIFICANTLY better than most of my $150-200 sets. I have patiently climbed all the price rungs of the audio ladder with both headphones and IEMs so I can discern the differences in sonic quality at each step. I climb because I want better sound, not so I can show off. Nobody in my family and friends circle gives a fuck about audio, anyways. And if you think the sound quality of an elite set at $679 isn't significantly better than an average set at $200, then you're just practicing reverse placebo psychology to justify your choice not to spend more or mollify your sadness that you can't afford better. That's not a blanket statement. There are some kilobuck sets that sound like ass, especially in a hobby as subjective as this. But I have not found diminishing returns yet with IEMs at $650ish. I'm sure that threshold will come soon. But not yet.

$400 budget for EACH: Softears Volume S: Fantastic meta-tuned all-arounder hybrid. $329. Hisenior Cano Cristales: Excellent bass tone and texture without it killing the mids. $399. Kiwi Ears Aether: Best planar under $200. $169. Penon Fan 3: Everyone needs some of that bone conduction special sauce and smooth Penon mids. $349. $400 budget TOTAL: AFUL Explorer: Great mid-bass and mids. Not enough treble extension but a killer chill listen. $99. Artti T10: Best IEM I’ve heard at sub-$100, regardless of driver type. $51. AFUL MagicOne: A single-BA with bass! Yes, it’s possible. Sublime mids. Treble can be a bit metallic. $89. DITA Prelude: Insanely good budget single DD that punches well above its price. Comes with a cool dongle, too. $159.

My opinions and experience with various budget "bone conduction" iems. CVJ konoka = Tuned for gaming, not good for gaming or music. KB02 = Trash can water. Needs volume, but it sounds like shit to me. But there are so many people that like it so it may work for you. Penon Fan3 = Good iem with subtle texture to sound and stage. Negligible vibration or extremely tip dependant. Kiwi Ears Etude = Another good and fun iem with vibration you can feel. It would be my choice for a starting point. BGVP DMA = Amazing iem with the best overall implementation of bone conduction imo. It has helped convince me to get the ISN Audio EBC80. If the BGVP Astrum had the sonion bcd included, I would get that instead. Once again, these are my opinions, and I would have went after the Anvil if I didn't get the DMA instead. The KB03 has gotten panned from most reviews I've seen. They say to stick with the 02.