[vshapeisthebest]

I'm a fan of V-shaped sound. One of my first expensive buys was the DUNU DN-1000 after reading reviews saying it was the king of V-shaped. It definitely was, but sadly it broke a few years ago and don't want to dish out $200+. I bought it almost a decade ago. I wish I can describe it more to you, but only remember that it had clean bass and beautiful treble.

During this time I tried the Philips SHE3595 and BLON 03. Both are great, however there are some issues I have with them.

The Philips is hard to find as it's discontinued, so it is now on the expensive side (costs $40 CAD). It's also quite old and I'm sure there are other IEMs that are better at this range.

When I got the BLON BL-03 and heard it for the first time, it was quite good. However, I do not like the over the ear design that Chifis usually have. Also the tip doesn't go deep. Once adjusted with EQ, it was only a bit better than the Philips with EQ.

I've had suggestions before, such as the Sennheiser Momentum In Ear, but it has a terrible cord that's easy to break, and sounds like the BLON 03 for 3x the price. The 1MORE has similar issues. The KZ ZS3 was recommended here, but it's the around the ear type. I may have to get used to it if this will become the standard.

And here is a checklist:

• Prefer it to have a microphone as I will listen on my phone
• Wired for now
• Deep, hard and punchy sub bass, but not overpowering. The DUNU 1000 were great at it
• Clear, clean treble, but not tinny sounding
• Prefer simple earbud style, not around the ear
• Something that is on the lighter side, but wouldn't mind heavy if it's comfortable on the ears
• I don't mind if it needs a little EQ to sound good as I usually bump up a bit of the treble and sub bass on my previous V-shaped IEMs
• Good sound stage, able to hear all notes

My genres include EDM, house, pop and classical. Listen to then on Spotify and YouTube Music.

Thank you guys!

 

[pbui44]

This one is slightly over your budget, but it has a detachable cable, which is better in the long-run:

https://audio46.com/products/final-audio-e4000-hi-res-earphones

If you don't mind having a fixed cable:

https://audio46.com/products/final-audio-e2000-hi-res-earphones

 

[earmonger]

Believe it or not, the Sony MH755. $9.50 shipped in the US.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304069747002

They may not be the best under $100 but they fit your description and are worth the experiment.

Strong but clear bass, V-shaped, tiny. Downsides: hardwired and thin cable that is not likely to withstand much abuse, and it's a Japanese-style J-cable (short left, long right to go behind your neck). But if you like them, you could buy a couple of spares.

They are widely counterfeited -- don't waste your money on the AliExpress sellers -- but multiple Head-Fi-ers have said the seller linked above is genuine.

Meanwhile, I got mine from Spassear on Ebay, who sells them for around $15 when available.

Look these up on Head-Fi--they've got a dedicated thread.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/son...ion-thread-mh750-mh755-mh1c-ex300-etc.900005/

Another one you may want to research: Geek Wold (not world, wold) GK10.

And check out the budget Chi-Fi thread. Pro Tip: check the opening ranking, then hop to some recent pages, and ignore whatever the very most recent hype is until a number of people have tried it.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bes...l-ranking-list.805930/page-1835#post-16280804

 

[vshapeisthebest]

This one is slightly over your budget, but it has a detachable cable, which is better in the long-run:

https://audio46.com/products/final-audio-e4000-hi-res-earphones

If you don't mind having a fixed cable:

https://audio46.com/products/final-audio-e2000-hi-res-earphones

Haven't heard of this in any recommendations. On the pricey side. I'll check it out.

Believe it or not, the Sony MH755. $9.50 shipped in the US.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304069747002

They may not be the best under $100 but they fit your description and are worth the experiment.

Strong but clear bass, V-shaped, tiny. Downsides: hardwired and thin cable that is not likely to withstand much abuse, and it's a Japanese-style J-cable (short left, long right to go behind your neck). But if you like them, you could buy a couple of spares.

They are widely counterfeited -- don't waste your money on the AliExpress sellers -- but multiple Head-Fi-ers have said the seller linked above is genuine.

Meanwhile, I got mine from Spassear on Ebay, who sells them for around $15 when available.

Look these up on Head-Fi--they've got a dedicated thread.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/son...ion-thread-mh750-mh755-mh1c-ex300-etc.900005/

Another one you may want to research: Geek Wold (not world, wold) GK10.

And check out the budget Chi-Fi thread. Pro Tip: check the opening ranking, then hop to some recent pages, and ignore whatever the very most recent hype is until a number of people have tried it.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bes...l-ranking-list.805930/page-1835#post-16280804

Yeah I've heard about the Sony ones. I clicked on the eBay link and sadly: Does not ship to Canada. I wouldn't mind this as a beater/backup, so I'll look around. But how do they compare to the Philips SHE3590 or the BLON 03?

I also want to mention the Popclik String, a V-shaped IEM that I had awhile ago. For the price ($10) they were decent, strong hitting bass and clear highs. For those in America you can get them on Amazon.com for that price (https://www.amazon.com/Popclik-Earphones-Lightweight-Microphone-Control/dp/B0115N6EQ4?th=1).

 

[Skev]

Creative Aurvana Trio (3.5mm 1DD) around £35. Could also buy the SXFI amp for about £45 (on sale at the moment)

Or

Creative SXFI Trio (2BA/1DD) with built in SXFI amp (USB-C with EQ) around £80

Not saying they're the best but they have inline mics, wire hangs down, good bass and EQ if going SXFI route. They fit a lot of your criteria.

The SXFI trio would be the most practical EDC set.

The Aurvana Trio will probably have better timbre being a 1DD set, but looking at your genres it might not matter as much. The separate SXFI amp would also be handy down the line if you changed earphones (good little amp, I have 3).

 

[earmonger]

Yeah I've heard about the Sony ones. I clicked on the eBay link and sadly: Does not ship to Canada. I wouldn't mind this as a beater/backup, so I'll look around. But how do they compare to the Philips SHE3590 or the BLON 03?

Haven't heard either Philips or Blon; have read reports that Blon bass is mushy, which the Sony isn't. Try to find a reputable Sony seller in Canada, or see if Spassear on Ebay has them at the moment and will ship. A lot of junky counterfeits around, unfortunately.