First of all - thank you for replying to this thread. You're the only one who dropped a line here and I appreciate it greatly.
In all honesty, I don't really know how to answer your first question. I listen to a lot of blues and classic rock, but also acoustic folk, progressive rock, classical music, and a bit of jazz. I'm not a basshead but I hate it when the highs are so high that they are piercing though my ears... I have a Pioneer XDP300r but I don't know if it's the best player for the kinds of music I enjoy listening to. Sometimes I feel that some recordings come with a bit of strange distortion but maybe it's just my imagination...
As for the budget... I wouldn't want to spend more than 2500CNY (~350USD?)
I'm currently based in China. Not many chances here to find a place where you can actually listen to gear... At least as far as I know.
The problem is that I don't even know what's best for me, over ear headphones or IEMs... I don't know if the number of drivers really matters... and, perhaps most importantly, I don't know if my DAP is the right kind of player for the above-mentioned types of music.
if u listening to some rock, especially classic rock its not really suprising some of them don't have the highest quality of recording. some even design for speakers so they sounded weird in your iem.
china is actually great, u have taobao so tons of cheap stuff u can get and tons of option to get. IMO try to see if there is an audio store near you cuz demo-ing the unit in person should always be the first option of getting an iem.
others might like what u didn't like and what u thought of a piercing high others might not think its piercing or they think that your piercing high is way higher than what they think is piercing high. so they can suggest you the wrong thing.
next problem is dap pairing. not every iem gonma pair well with every dap. sometimes for a certain iem u want a neutral one sometimes u want a warmwr tone. and i never tried your dap so i can't really judge hows the tone is for that dap.
anyway enough rambling from me for 350usd u can get these:
USED:
Ex1k
ex800st
those 2 have piercing treple at 6k and 8k so be warned can get very ouchie. but they are IMO the best DD iem u can get.
NEW:
Tanchjim Oxygen
should be way cheaper in your place, this iem have great bass. not in quantity but in quality. they are not that boosted and perform really well.
vocals and instrument sound accurate but could be better in certain areas. male vocals sounds good and bodied but doesn't feel powerful while female vocals while accurate doesn' sound that sweet. lower treble is quite extended but the rest of the higher frequency is rolles off so it does't get fatiguing. but this resulted in a more dark sounding iem?
Kanas Pro
i think if u search in their thread, this is prolly the best value iem right now. they might be right. sub bass quantity is there altho the quality is average (some might disagree) mid, the lower mid feeld thin but the upper mid is nice and sweet can get a bit shouty at times. treble is ok for me but dunno if u think its acceptable or not. stage is average/above average, imaging is average. its just a good value iem.
TFZ No.3
have more bass than kanas u might not like it but pepple say its the better kanas pro. but i never tried it.
DM7
a better DM6 basically no more piercing treble more balance mid is more presented compared to DM6. but be sure to try it u might not like the quantity of the bass too.
EX2XR
a more fun sounding ety with similar technicalities with kanas pro
EX4XR
what can be said more about this? the best ety at the market right now probably.
Fiio FH5
these thing are good for rock music, at that price they have nothing at fault really just a very capable iem. but for me personally i would like the bass to be a bit lower. thats all
if u have more question please ask away since people in this forum are aiming to help
EDIT:
im sure u won't like billie jean they have really weird treble. but u can demo it first ofc cuz that just my experience with billie jean
