[Redcarmoose]

Chinese manufacturers have already caused many international manufacturers to “give-up”. At first (China manufacturing) had problems due to quality control. Especially if a outside manufacturer (building in China) wanted a certain quality the Chinese manufacturers would always do anything to keep cost at the designated place. So you can see where that would go if there was ever going to be an issue. In Chinese manufacturing concepts as well as international manufacturing, there will always be a balance of cost and quality. But now you can gain a pretty good margin of better quality for the cost of Chinese built IEM. It’s just a thing they do well. So you can see the advantages of actually buying from a real China manufacturer.

Starting as a consumer and professional IEM OEM supplier in 1994; DUNU became a recognized brand name all it’s own starting in 2006.

TopSound is the parent company of DUNU and a company incorporated in Taiwan. DUNU is a brand and company in China. Got that?

http://www.dunu-topsound.com/about.html

I would humbly suggest the DUNU SA6.

Maybe the EST 112?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I do think there are good Chifi IEMs out there too.

Most of the non-chifi tend to be a bit more pricey for their quality, while Chifi stuff tends to have the strongest price / performance ratio

What kind of sound are you looking for?

B3 won't be W and won't have strong bass and mids, it is traidtional V-Shaped

If you want a stronger bass and fwd mids but leaner treble, I'd recommend FiiO FA9.

Do not go FH7, they are bright and colder sounding, and my understandting is that you want something warmer.

TheCustomArt IEMs tend to have the kind of sound you're looking for. Also Percusion P3 from Jomo Audio.

Your knowledge seemed a bit outdated, it's what @Redcarmoose mentioned happening right now.

 

[speedfiend]

Chinese manufacturers have already caused many international manufacturers to “give-up”. At first (China manufacturing) had problems due to quality control. Especially if a outside manufacturer (building in China) wanted a certain quality the Chinese manufacturers would always do anything to keep cost at the designated place. So you can see where that would go if there was ever going to be an issue. In Chinese manufacturing concepts as well as international manufacturing, there will always be a balance of cost and quality. But now you can gain a pretty good margin of better quality for the cost of Chinese built IEM. It’s just a thing they do well. So you can see the advantages of actually buying from a real China manufacturer.

Starting as a consumer and professional IEM OEM supplier in 1994; DUNU became a recognized brand name all it’s own starting in 2006.

TopSound is the parent company of DUNU and a company incorporated in Taiwan. DUNU is a brand and company in China. Got that?

http://www.dunu-topsound.com/about.html

I would humbly suggest the DUNU SA6.

+1 for the Dunu SA6, nothing really comes close to how well it's tuned in the $500 price range, it has completely put me off my ER4XR....

 

[Dobrescu George]

Your knowledge seemed a bit outdated, it's what @Redcarmoose mentioned happening right now.

Oh, I was aware about that too actually, but lately there appeared more and more companies who refused to do that too.

In the entry level and up to midrange, Chifi is usually better value, but most flagships are not made in China when it comes to IEMs.

Headphones it varies widely. HIFIMAN headphones are great, but some other ones are great too.

For DAPs, I never seen a DAP NOT made in China lol

 

[Redcarmoose]

Oh, I was aware about that too actually, but lately there appeared more and more companies who refused to do that too.

In the entry level and up to midrange, Chifi is usually better value, but most flagships are not made in China when it comes to IEMs.

Headphones it varies widely. HIFIMAN headphones are great, but some other ones are great too.

For DAPs, I never seen a DAP NOT made in China lol

Sony is designed in Japan and made in Malaysia?

And......

Astell & Kern is South Korean.

So?

 

[wulunzun]

First off, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I will try to see if I can find those suggested IEMs in local shops for a tryout.

Next, Wow, didn't expect the mention of Chinese manufacturers to bring in so much debate.

From my POV:
I see this Chifi trend disturbing. At this moment, Chifi can still provide good price/performance ratio products because there are still many competitors out there. Like some of you mentioned, their low prices will drive out competiton and once 90% of the competiton is gone, what's going to happen next?

Just look at the Android market for the best example. Most of the competiton has been driven out and only a few dominant ones are surviving. Flagship phone prices have been going up and up. Very soon, we will have to pay upwards of $1,500/phone. This will happen to the IEM market as well if we only go for Chifi products. Your favourite Chifi IEM brands will start having worse and worse price/performance ratios and when you can't tolerate it anymore, there will be no more choices out there for you to choose from. The barriers to entry for new companies will also be very high by then.

Hence, I don't mind spending a little more now to get products from other companies even though their price/performance is not as good as Chifi just to give them some support. This is so that I will not have to pay exorbitant amounts next time due to monopolies in the market.

I'm have miniscule impact on the market by myself but if majority of the consumers change their mindset and band in together, we can make the IEM market much more vibrant and exciting than now. We will see much more new innovations from all parts of the world.

Edit: I want to give a concrete example to show the harsh reality of having monopolies.

I love LG phones because of their Quad DAC which saves me money from buying a DAP to enjoy good sound from a mobile device. I recently bought their V50S with dual screen and loving it. Their integration with Whale browser is so functional and makes full use of the dual screen for browsing.

However, there are news that LG may be closing down their mobile phone business and this is bad news for consumers like me. The only alternatives now are either Sony Xperia 1, 5 or Asus ROG phone 5. These companies are also in the danger zone, especially Sony who had already shrunk their mobile phone business once, as they do not tie in with telcos and their brand recognition is not high. If they suffer more losses, they will decide to wind up the mobile phone business. And that will be a great loss to us.

Do you think the Chinese phone manufacturers will put Quad DACs in their phones? I seriously don't think so. If they want to do that, they would have done it long ago with so many Chifi companies in China. Also, there is no incentive as mobile phone consumers mostly look at cameras, screens, processors and ram. All the companies who go down the audiophile route have failed like HTC, LG and Sony. And why did they fail? Not enough sales.

I sincerely hope this scenerio will not happen in the audiophile market as it will severly limit choices and innovation.

Back to the topic:
I'm now also exploring headphones and after some research, Shure SRH1540 seems to match the sound signature I like. Will research further before I take the plunge.

 

[wulunzun]

@surfgeorge I read a lot of compliments about the Sony IER-Z1R while researching on headphones. I may go down to a Sony shop to listen to it even if it's way out my budget.

@silent-circuit will the custom IEMs fit my ears since they were made for the original owners? This is an interesting suggestion that I will need to explore further.

@Dobrescu George

TheCustomArt IEMs tend to have the kind of sound you're looking for. Also Percusion P3 from Jomo Audio.

Why is it that Custom IEMs will have the sound I'm looking for instead of universal IEMs? Is it because they can custom the sound signature as well? Pardon my noob question as I'm still very new to this and have not explored custom IEMs yet.
Edit: Just read your review on Percussion P3. Beautiful IEM.

 

[silent-circuit]

I understand the confusion; The Custom Art is a company that makes IEMs. They also make custom IEMs (shell shape based on impression or scan) but they have universal models as well.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Everyone will just have to up their game to stay competitive.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

@surfgeorge I read a lot of compliments about the Sony IER-Z1R while researching on headphones. I may go down to a Sony shop to listen to it even if it's way out my budget.

@silent-circuit will the custom IEMs fit my ears since they were made for the original owners? This is an interesting suggestion that I will need to explore further.

@Dobrescu George

Why is it that Custom IEMs will have the sound I'm looking for instead of universal IEMs? Is it because they can custom the sound signature as well? Pardon my noob question as I'm still very new to this and have not explored custom IEMs yet.
Edit: Just read your review on Percussion P3. Beautiful IEM.

Check out UM MEST Mkii, it’s IER-Z1R competitor, as the owner of Z1R referred. Not a typical chifi, something that’s driving the market with new quadbrid.

 

[speedfiend]

Check out UM MEST Mkii, it’s IER-Z1R competitor, as the owner of Z1R referred. Not a typical chifi, something that’s driving the market with new quadbrid.

Except the UM MEST II is 3x the OP's budget, perhaps the mini MEST would be an easier buy for the OP.

 

[davidcotton]

I understand the confusion; The Custom Art is a company that makes IEMs. They also make custom IEMs (shell shape based on impression or scan) but they have universal models as well.

Another vote for custom art. They also have their own second hand section. Just shoot them a mail

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...OnlocRrQ9yTQnE5Kv_JYRllKc5j7cFqhMFlSWhA#gid=0

 

[Dobrescu George]

@surfgeorge I read a lot of compliments about the Sony IER-Z1R while researching on headphones. I may go down to a Sony shop to listen to it even if it's way out my budget.

@silent-circuit will the custom IEMs fit my ears since they were made for the original owners? This is an interesting suggestion that I will need to explore further.

@Dobrescu George

Why is it that Custom IEMs will have the sound I'm looking for instead of universal IEMs? Is it because they can custom the sound signature as well? Pardon my noob question as I'm still very new to this and have not explored custom IEMs yet.
Edit: Just read your review on Percussion P3. Beautiful IEM.

Happy to help!

Indeed I was talking about TheCustomART, they just have the signatyure you're looking for. Or acoustune HS1650CU.

Sony is designed in Japan and made in Malaysia?

And......

Astell & Kern is South Korean.

So?

About Sony, I actually did not know where they are made. Since most of their actual products are made in China nowadays, so I would have assumed their DAPs are too. I wish A&K were more present anywehre at all so I remembered them when talking about DAPs

 

[wulunzun]

To bring a closure to this thread, I am happy to say that I have found the IEM that suits my listening preferences. Actual listening to the products makes a world of difference from just reading reviews online. For those who are on the fence about certain products, try to locate a shop that carries them and try them out. The products may not be what you expect and you may find surprises in other products.

My experience:
I went down to a local shop to try out the Shure SRH 1540. "Neutral" tuning is totally out of my expectations. I really like the mids and treble but the bass is simply too lacking for me. I did not realize how much bass I liked until now. No wonder someone on this thread called me a basshead. I did not realize I was until I heard the 1540. Sadly, they do not carry CustomArt, Final Audio A & B series and Oriveti OH300. So I have to depend on the staff to recommend gear that they carry.

After that I tried 1 Sony closed-back headphone which I forgot to ask the model. It has a single entry. The sound is what I like: impactful bass and forward mids. But the treble is not that good. I can hear hissing sounds when the singer pronounces "ch, sh" at high notes. Not sure if this is due to headphone defect or it is tuned like this.

I went on to try the Sony MDR-Z1R and oh boy is that heaven! Everything is in perfect balance. I listened to song after song, not wanting to put it down. It is totally out of my league and I'm not knowledgeable enough in technical terms to describe the sound signature. Finally, I reluctantly put it down and the shop recommended the Sony N3AP to me. I'm quite surprised they did not recommend the Fiio FA7 to me. I also tried the Sony M7 but it is too warm and mids are too recessed for me. Typical V-shape signature.

The Sony N3AP's bass is powerful and clean. The exact bass impact and amount that I like. Now, I finally acknowledge to myself I'm a basshead. My current KXXS is nothing compared to N3AP. When listening to EXGF's "We are the hearts", my heart was thumping together with the song and each bass beat in the song is so, so satisfying. The mids however are slightly recessed compared to the Sony headphone I tried earlier. The treble is so sweet and it does not have the hissing sound. For people familiar with Chinese audiophile singers, the one I like is 童丽 who is a soprano (I will link a video below). When her voice reaches the highest notes, it does not hurt my ears yet the N3AP is bright enough to bring out the best in her voice. So, another discovery about myself is that my tolerance for bright trebles is quite high, just that KXXS' treble is not as good. My only gripe about the N3AP is the recessed mids. I like my mids to be more forward.

Then the shop recommended the Queen of Audio Adonis. I must say the sound signature is totally what I like: powerful bass, forward mids and bright treble, and the design is very nice. Here comes my dilemma: Good price/performance ratio (it is cheaper than the N3AP by $75) and my sound signature preference vs N3AP which is more expensive and not my ideal sound signature. I listened to both IEMs over and over and was having a battle inside whether to buy another Chinese IEM. Then, the staff recommended a change of cable for N3AP from stock to Smoky Litz (Silver plated version) by Alo audio. The sound signature for N3AP totally changed after the cable switch. The bass and treble remain as they are but the mids are pushed forward and with such clarity! I have found my ideal IEM! N3AP + Smoky Litz cable. I tried to switch to Spinfit C100 tips but don't like it at all. The bass is all gone and it sounds too airy. It also did not fit my ears properly. The stock tips gave a much better seal.

So here I am with my Sony N3AP and Smoky Litz cable burning in. It cost me a total of $415 (N3AP = $296, Cable = $119). Like I said in the beginning of the post, if I did not go down to a shop to try out the products, I would never have found the N3AP. It was after buying the IEM that I read about it on the Head-fi forum how good this IEM is. The post is hidden among a flood of Chinese IEM posts so I doubt I will ever find it by myself. Also, it is an old IEM which Sony started selling at 2016. And for those who don't know, Sony products are made in Thailand. Here are the pics to show my Precious:

Edits because I uploaded the wrong pics and forgot to add in the link for 董丽 and EXGF.

 

[surfgeorge]

The Sony XBA N3 is a really nice IEM, good choice!
I listened to it in 2019 and really liked the combination of clean and powerful bass with a smooth and resolving midrange.
Interesting that you could hear the cable differences so clearly. You might want to try different DACs in the future. I think you'd like the improvements!

But for now: Enjoy!