Yeah, it is very surprising how many good earphones there are these days. A couple years ago it really was cut and dry. You had top tier, and then you had most everything else. Now, pssssh, half the new stuff popping up is actually very decent at the least. it was kind of funny when I was running through piles of earphones myself. I started off cheap like everyone else and then worked up to just a couple mid level products. Then it was straight to top tier and top tier was absolutely top tier. There wasn't really any comparison to what mid level was back then. Now mid level is also pretty much top tier. You can spend $150 to $200 and get the near the same level of product as the best universal you can buy. The differences are more so put into build quality and manufacturing refinement than sound. Something like the IE8 or SE530/535 is not only good sounding but also refined and elegant physically and not just the earphone but the case, wiring, everything. The extra cost seems to transition into craftsmanship rather than sound simply because everyone can now just buy the same drivers and make a very similar earphone. Every manufacturer has their own gearing and most of what you're doing by the time you get to $200 is not trying to find a better sounding product but rather finding a different sounding product that fits your personal taste. It doesn't really get better. It just gets different. Outside of manufacturing quality, fit and finish, accessories, etc. you're really not getting better sound, just different sound. Now the build quality, accessories, etc. do play important roles for certain people. For some physical quality is as important as sound quality, and you do have to pay that little extra for that.
