[Krasny]

Hello! I am currently using a pair of KZ ED9's that I swap between my phone, PC, and tablet and their pretty good. However the gold standard for me right now remains the MEMT X5. Unfortunately the left headphone with the mic died and so ended their 13 month life (and so back to the ED9's). I am currently trying to look for something similar in sound to them. In the 70 USD or less area.

From what I can find the curve of the TRN V90's are very similar however I have found through use of the KZ ZSN and KZ ZS10pro I really don't like the over ear with the wires so I am looking for straight wires like the above. Other options that seem right are:
**** ****
Final Audio E2000
KZ HDS3
possibly the TIN Audio T2

The sound experience I had with the ZSN and ZS10 pro wasn't great and is probably because I don't have a USB-c to 3.5mm Amp. Any reccomendations for a straight cable IEM like the MEMT X5's preferably from amazon. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[pbui44]

Check out the Moondrop Starfield, which costs a little more than your asking price, but sounds as good as other IEMs up to 7.5x it’s price range:

https://www.amazon.com/Moondrop-Starfield-Nanotube-Diaphragm-Earphone/dp/B082NQFW16

 

[baskingshark]

Hello! I am currently using a pair of KZ ED9's that I swap between my phone, PC, and tablet and their pretty good. However the gold standard for me right now remains the MEMT X5. Unfortunately the left headphone with the mic died and so ended their 13 month life (and so back to the ED9's). I am currently trying to look for something similar in sound to them. In the 70 USD or less area.

From what I can find the curve of the TRN V90's are very similar however I have found through use of the KZ ZSN and KZ ZS10pro I really don't like the over ear with the wires so I am looking for straight wires like the above. Other options that seem right are:
**** ****
Final Audio E2000
KZ HDS3
possibly the TIN Audio T2

The sound experience I had with the ZSN and ZS10 pro wasn't great and is probably because I don't have a USB-c to 3.5mm Amp. Any reccomendations for a straight cable IEM like the MEMT X5's preferably from amazon. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

**** is quite bang for buck for the price around $16 - 17 USD on Aliexpress. Triple driver hybrid. Poor isolation but good soundstage and spatiality. Rather balanced in tuning, good instrument separation, clarity, details. Timbre a bit artificial but it is only apparent for genres that use acoustic instruments. If it's mostly EDM, rock, pop genres, it is a very cheap and good set. It can be driven from a smartphone based on specs, but does better with amping, with the treble being brighter and more detailed/dynamic with amping (the piezo drivers used for the treble frequency do appreciate more juice).

U can also try the Sony MH755, superb bang for buck, $5 USD ish. Harmanish tuned. A lot of fakes, especially the black coloured ones, but white ones should be safe. Just ask the others or read reviews. Only thing is the cable is fixed, short and super microphonic.

Also worth checking out the BLON BL-03. It can be worn cable down if u cut the plastic ear hooks of the stock cable. Around $25 USD. Single DD, not exactly a hybrid. Great timbre/tonality, good for acoustic instrument predominant genres. Also a big hypetrain on CHIFI headfi thread now. It isn't that good in technicals, so not the best for complex instrumentation/multiple competing instruments or those wanting a more analytical sound. But the tuning is excellent, harmanish with midbass boost. Isolation lacking and it has poor stock tips +/- cables, so will need some aftermarket tips for most westerners due to the too short nozzle. As such, it may not be the best recommendation for new IEM users who don't know how to tiproll. But if u can switch tips/cables, the sound can compete with some $100 USD IEMs IMHO.

Final Audio E3000 is also highly rated, I don't have it unlike the above recommendations, but I'm reading more reviews about it.

All these above (other than BLON BL-03 which can be modded) are worn cable down as per your request.

Good luck in your search!

 

[Krasny]

Thank you for the advice! I went ahead and ordered the Blon BL-03. The Moondrop Starfield are definitely on my list to checkout now as well.

 

[baskingshark]

Thank you for the advice! I went ahead and ordered the Blon BL-03. The Moondrop Starfield are definitely on my list to checkout now as well.

As the BLON's nozzle may be too short for most average sized westerners, most headfiers invest in longer nozzle eartips eg spinfit CP145 if u want less bass or spinfit CP100 if u want more bass.

A few headfiers also reported a successful fit on the BLON BL-03 with a spacer mod or some variant of the sort (pics included):
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/page-1745#post-15176790
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/page-1841#post-15260691
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/page-1774#post-15201197

If u intend to wear it cable down, check out this post: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blon-in-ear-monitors-impressions-thread.916702/page-40#post-15283193

I think u will just need to connect the L cable to the R earpiece. The default BLON cable is angled so it will look a bit weird to wear it cable down, so u can buy a cheap sub $10 USD cable that has a straight connector. That's what I did, something like a NiceHCK 8 core copper cable, it can be $6 - 8 USD on aliexpress.