[sreelalsasidharan7]

I'm looking for suggestions for an iem under 150$. At this price point, which is the best chi-fi iem?
This will used during daily transit including public transport.
Ihave shortlisted kz as16 and cca c16.

All of your suggestions and opinions are appreciated and honoured.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Can't go wrong with Tin Audio T3.

One of the best reviewed & quality on par with IEM that cost hundreds more.

 

[buke9]

On the cheaper side a KZ ZSX is very good fairly neutral response with a little bass thrown in and if you want something more to the fun side a IBasso IT01 is also good and both under your budget heck you could probably get both for $150.

 

[baskingshark]

I'm looking for suggestions for an iem under 150$. At this price point, which is the best chi-fi iem?
This will used during daily transit including public transport.
Ihave shortlisted kz as16 and cca c16.

All of your suggestions and opinions are appreciated and honoured.

What are the music genres that you usually listen to? And what type of sound signature do you prefer? That will help us advise better.

The KZ AS16 and CCA C16 (8BA each) are quite neutrally tuned and are more suitable for stage monitoring and critical listening.
They may sound a bit boring for normal music listening IMHO. Maybe unless u like classical music.

The latest CHIFI with excellent reviews and are < $40 USD are the TRN V90, KZ ZSX, CCA C12 and BLON BL-03. You can ask or check out this dedicated CHIFI thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/

And since you are gonna use it for public transport, an IEM with good isolation is also important.
Personally, I use the TFZ No. 3 and KZ ZS10 Pro for public transportation daily, these 2 have good isolation. The TFZ No. 3 is a basshead IEM, so it has very heavy subbass and midbass. It is a single DD IEM, so it is good in timbre and bass, but may lose out in details/clarity to some IEMS with multi BA/hybrids.
The KZ ZS10 Pro is a hybrid with V shape sound (boosted treble and bass) and has good clarity/details/instrument separation for the price point of $35 USD. It's successor, the KZ ZSX as @buke9 advised above has many great reviews and is an improvement over the ZS10 Pro, also < $40 USD.

Yep hope u find the IEM u are looking for. With a budget of $150, you can even get some good midfi CHIFI IEMs, not to mention multiple budget ones.

 

[buke9]

What are the music genres that you usually listen to? And what type of sound signature do you prefer? That will help us advise better.

The KZ AS16 and CCA C16 (8BA each) are quite neutrally tuned and are more suitable for stage monitoring and critical listening.
They may sound a bit boring for normal music listening IMHO. Maybe unless u like classical music.

The latest CHIFI with excellent reviews and are < $40 USD are the TRN V90, KZ ZSX, CCA C12 and BLON BL-03. You can ask or check out this dedicated CHIFI thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/

And since you are gonna use it for public transport, an IEM with good isolation is also important.
Personally, I use the TFZ No. 3 and KZ ZS10 Pro for public transportation daily, these 2 have good isolation. The TFZ No. 3 is a basshead IEM, so it has very heavy subbass and midbass. It is a single DD IEM, so it is good in timbre and bass, but may lose out in details/clarity to some IEMS with multi BA/hybrids.
The KZ ZS10 Pro is a hybrid with V shaped and has good clarity/details/instrument separation for the price point of $35 USD. It's successor, the KZ ZSX as @buke9 advised above has many great reviews and is an improvement over the ZS10 Pro, also < $40 USD.

Yep hope u find the IEM u are looking for. With a budget of $150, you can even get some good midfi CHIFI IEMs, not to mention multiple budget ones.

I can’t say anything about the ZS10 Pro as I haven’t heard it but do have the ZS10 and the ZSX is definitely a upgrade without a doubt.

 

[sreelalsasidharan7]

What are the music genres that you usually listen to? And what type of sound signature do you prefer? That will help us advise better.

The KZ AS16 and CCA C16 (8BA each) are quite neutrally tuned and are more suitable for stage monitoring and critical listening.
They may sound a bit boring for normal music listening IMHO. Maybe unless u like classical music.

The latest CHIFI with excellent reviews and are < $40 USD are the TRN V90, KZ ZSX, CCA C12 and BLON BL-03. You can ask or check out this dedicated CHIFI thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/

And since you are gonna use it for public transport, an IEM with good isolation is also important.
Personally, I use the TFZ No. 3 and KZ ZS10 Pro for public transportation daily, these 2 have good isolation. The TFZ No. 3 is a basshead IEM, so it has very heavy subbass and midbass. It is a single DD IEM, so it is good in timbre and bass, but may lose out in details/clarity to some IEMS with multi BA/hybrids.
The KZ ZS10 Pro is a hybrid with V shape sound (boosted treble and bass) and has good clarity/details/instrument separation for the price point of $35 USD. It's successor, the KZ ZSX as @buke9 advised above has many great reviews and is an improvement over the ZS10 Pro, also < $40 USD.

Yep hope u find the IEM u are looking for. With a budget of $150, you can even get some good midfi CHIFI IEMs, not to mention multiple budget ones.

i listen to vocals mostly. i prefer a neutral sounding one so that i can eq it later. Actually my phone doesn't come with a headphone jack. so I want to add a usb dac and iem combo, strictly for travel.
For dac, dragonfly black/smsl idea/audirect beam.

can you name a few midfi iems.? i can extend the money spent to 300$

 

[sreelalsasidharan7]

Can't go wrong with Tin Audio T3.

One of the best reviewed & quality on par with IEM that cost hundreds more.

can you tell me how the tinhifi p1 fares with kz as16/cca c16

 

[baskingshark]

i listen to vocals mostly. i prefer a neutral sounding one so that i can eq it later. Actually my phone doesn't come with a headphone jack. so I want to add a usb dac and iem combo, strictly for travel.
For dac, dragonfly black/smsl idea/audirect beam.

can you name a few midfi iems.? i can extend the money spent to 300$

I don't have the tinhifi P1, but I read reviews it is very hard to drive, and will probably need an adequate amp to sound good. So do consider you may need to bring an amp on the go for it.

I would strongly suggest to get a cheap < $50 USD CHIFI IEM to see what tuning and sound signature u like, then upgrade from there. If u do enter into a midfi IEM ~ 300 bucks and don't like it, it will be money down the drain IMHO. But if u do want a few Midfi CHIFI stuff, these are what I own that I think would fit your bill:

1)
The best midfi CHIFI IEM I have is the $298 USD Audiosense T800 (8 BA knowles each side). It is a mild V shaped tuning, excels at details, clarity and instrument separation. I won't say it is the best for vocals though, but it is very suitable for all genres. And it is bright, so for those that are treble sensitive may need to change eartips or cables or even do a knowles filter mod (quite easy mod, see the Audiosense thread for more details).

2)
I have a midfi IEM that I use purely for vocals, it is the Hisenior B5+, 5 BA knowles each side. $85 USD now if u follow the seller on aliexpress. It is midcentric, so vocals are excellent on it. Bass and treble are not very elevated. Good isolation, quite good clarity, details, imaging. Quite easily drivable. If u listen to bass heavy music though, it won't sound good unless u EQ the bass.

Just a heads up, there's gonna be a big aliexpress sale on 11/11 if u can wait, usually there are big discounts then.

 

[sreelalsasidharan7]

I don't have the tinhifi P1, but I read reviews it is very hard to drive, and will probably need an adequate amp to sound good. So do consider you may need to bring an amp on the go for it.

I would strongly suggest to get a cheap < $50 USD CHIFI IEM to see what tuning and sound signature u like, then upgrade from there. If u do enter into a midfi IEM ~ 300 bucks and don't like it, it will be money down the drain IMHO. But if u do want a few Midfi CHIFI stuff, these are what I own that I think would fit your bill:

1)
The best midfi CHIFI IEM I have is the $298 USD Audiosense T800 (8 BA knowles each side). It is a mild V shaped tuning, excels at details, clarity and instrument separation. I won't say it is the best for vocals though, but it is very suitable for all genres. And it is bright, so for those that are treble sensitive may need to change eartips or cables or even do a knowles filter mod (quite easy mod, see the Audiosense thread for more details).

2)
I have a midfi IEM that I use purely for vocals, it is the Hisenior B5+, 5 BA knowles each side. $85 USD now if u follow the seller on aliexpress. It is midcentric, so vocals are excellent on it. Bass and treble are not very elevated. Good isolation, quite good clarity, details, imaging. Quite easily drivable. If u listen to bass heavy music though, it won't sound good unless u EQ the bass.

Just a heads up, there's gonna be a big aliexpress sale on 11/11 if u can wait, usually there are big discounts then.

I can wait, thats no issue. But I'm really confused man. There are a lot to choose from,been browsing aliexpress. Can you suggest a neutral iem+dac/amp combo under 300$

my songs are of atleast cd quality.

 

[baskingshark]

I can wait, thats no issue. But I'm really confused man. There are a lot to choose from,been browsing aliexpress. Can you suggest a neutral iem+dac/amp combo under 300$

my songs are of atleast cd quality.

I use a tempotec sonata HD USB DAC/AMP on the go with my smartphone but it is outdated tech. Maybe u can ask the others.

 

[sd1239]

see if u can still find a second hand UE TF10

 

[sreelalsasidharan7]

see if u can still find a second hand UE TF10

was thinking about dragonfly cobalt + bgvp dm7 {or} campfire audio io

 

[wyou0606]

Final E3000

 

[Mightygrey]

The Shuoer 'Tape' is pretty interesting.