[jsmiller58]

Thanks! Any recs for sub $200 iems that would do well for moderate gym use?

My go to IEMs for the gym are some old SE215... they have never shown any issues with sweat and have held out for years of very heavy training (up to 3 hours per day in the gym where 2 hours are heavy cardio). Not the best sound quality, but very reliable.

 

[PhonoPhi]

hey, I really love that you really, really like your CCA C16s. Its great that you enjoy the AS10s as a casual pair of IEMs. but I own a pair of KZ AS10s. I couldn't stand the weird treble resonance happening inside the IEMs, so I pulled out the grills and voila, they were instantly singing far and wide. And so I switch back and forth between them as the KZs were a gift from my beloved wife. For the past three days, I couldn't seem to be bothered to locate the Moondrop Kanas Pros I so-dearly love but hate sometime. So I spend the 3 days with the AS10s. I run my audio out of an LG G7 One with UAPP's Bit Perfect and MQA decoder (Hence Tidal MQA unfolds are 4x. 44.1k tracks get output as 176.4k, lol) and I am kind of okay with the way AS10s sound, y'know? They're fine and the imaging is pretty sweet.

Today I decide to take the Kanas Pros to work and I JUST COULDN'T wait to listen to them when I had the chance. That's because the sound was improved from every single aspect. Maybe the soundstage wasn't as wide, but the depth combined with the imaging was very, very good. And then after paying a little bit of attention I start to notice the puny little details that got lost when I was listening to the AS10s. End result? I take back the Kanas Pro as my faithful servant, and I don't plan on looking back.

Okay, maybe I'll look forward to better IEMs!!! Maybe the FH5s or even Moondrop flagships. Don't look at me funny!!!

My point being, of course you'll find your ceiling. But here's the magic spell that will break your peace : "Your gears have a better counterpart hundreds of dollars away. " and that'll ruin everything.

Spoiler: Except...

If I say .. your earphones are imbalanced!!

But hey, if you decide to seek the ultimate nirvana, the only advice I could offer you is, don't buy into the snake-oil hype that targets people who don't know any better. Be the well aware consumer, and spend that money behind a proper TOTL. That's why I stay up nights, with my perfect earphones in my ears and keep researching awesome new tech for my next upgrade. I think this is one of the important parts of this hobby, as frustrating as it may be. But it keeps me happy, just like your listening experience keeps YOU happy, man.

Concentrating on happiness is the best advice that we can fully agree upon

Buying more things will only lead to buying even more things...

I do not believe in "TOTLs" at all.
The progress goes fast. For every TOTL of yesterday (that one bought yesterday after the months "of research", comparing the curves, opinion on curves, and opinions on opinions...), there is a TOTL TOTL of today.
So I am not researching at night, but may get few more IEMs down the road just for fun

I can also mention that AS10 is very source-dependent, with my phone (Samsung S9) it sounds.... it does not sound. With my DAP, its BAs shine (at least to my ears). AS10 is not TOTL by any means, but I just love how it plays string quartets, especially some graininess of its less dampened, compared to Knowles, BAs.
But then I do enjoy a good recording of Beethoven's ABC string quartets with about any reasonable IEM

 

[ozziecook]

Which model was that and what was wrong with it?

It was oBravo Erib1. It was c£1000. I'd tried a set in the store and it sounded great...but I just never felt it from the new set I bought. The bass was tame...and there was no weight behind any notes. It was fairly resolving but not enough to justify the price. It was just...unpleasurable. And ultimately, isn't that was this hobby is about? I think it put me off so called 'TotL' iems (not that it actually was for Obravo!!). But for me there's no way you can justify that kind of money unless you're getting a dishwasher and TV thrown in

Maybe it's the expectation that brings the disappointment...that you're expecting something special and it isn't. Maybe it's just my taste.
Oriolus II was good - but again, nothing special enough to justify £600-700. I have 7 iems now, having bought and sold too many to mention. Whether I keep all of them remains to be seen. But I'm happy with those at this moment.
(9Tails is excellent btw)

 

[ozziecook]

...and I love CCA C16 too...

 

[chickenmoon]

maybe it happened because HeadFi didn't give out any related results for a search (this is true). Now, when found - separate item and review is removed. Review was added to the existing item...

Sometimes it's easier to just use google to find something on here.

 

[chickenmoon]

It was oBravo Erib1. It was c£1000. I'd tried a set in the store and it sounded great...but I just never felt it from the new set I bought. The bass was tame...and there was no weight behind any notes. It was fairly resolving but not enough to justify the price. It was just...unpleasurable. And ultimately, isn't that was this hobby is about? I think it put me off so called 'TotL' iems (not that it actually was for Obravo!!). But for me there's no way you can justify that kind of money unless you're getting a dishwasher and TV thrown in

Maybe it's the expectation that brings the disappointment...that you're expecting something special and it isn't. Maybe it's just my taste.
Oriolus II was good - but again, nothing special enough to justify £600-700. I have 7 iems now, having bought and sold too many to mention. Whether I keep all of them remains to be seen. But I'm happy with those at this moment.
(9Tails is excellent btw)

Once upon a time high end stuff meant no coloration, flat sound, etc... this obviously coming with boring and lacking wow factor as a corollary. Nowadays TOTL can also mean any type of fun or pleasing sound signature. Maybe oBravo are just sticking to the old ways of doing high end.

Try getting the Oxygen.

 

[FastAndClean]

Once upon a time high end stuff meant no coloration, flat sound, etc... this obviously coming with boring and lacking wow factor as a corollary. Nowadays TOTL can also mean any type of fun or pleasing sound signature. Maybe oBravo are just sticking to the old ways of doing high end.

Try getting the Oxygen.

that is their 500$ model

 

[chickenmoon]

that is their 500$ model

LOL, OK, understood.

 

[mbwilson111]

Sometimes it's easier to just use google to find something on here.

This is true. I use that method often often.

 

[dondonut]

Others have said it and I'll say it again: the QCY QS1 / T1 is awesome guys.

Been using them a bit today and the sheer value and technology you get for the price is really insane imo: true wireless with BT5.0 (!), omnidirectional mic which is useable for calling as long as background noise is acceptable, works with google assistant. Great build quality, nice charging case which means more than enough battery life and a way to not lose them. They click in the case, using magnets, in a satisfying way. They are by design easy to take out of the case again. Ease of use is great as others mentioned, pairing was flawless so far.

The sound quality and signature are pleasing to me. I don't really like describing sound but would say it has a V-shaped sig on the warm side, meaty bass with a good seal and sufficient detail retrieval for its purpose (for me that would be transit / while doing other stuff).

This is actually my second QCY product. In march 2016 I bought the QCY QY8 which I haven't used in a very long time, monster units compared to these smoll boys. Charging the QC8 now to compare. I recall the QC8 sounding very good though, especially for what I paid for them ($19), as BT earphones back then were still somewhat of a novelty product.

 

[dondonut]

Sometimes it's easier to just use google to find something on here.

This is true. I use that method often often.

Very true. LPT for google, use search term and add 'site:head-fi.org' at the end, gives you results only for head-fi .

 

[ozziecook]

Once upon a time high end stuff meant no coloration, flat sound, etc... this obviously coming with boring and lacking wow factor as a corollary. Nowadays TOTL can also mean any type of fun or pleasing sound signature. Maybe oBravo are just sticking to the old ways of doing high end.

Try getting the Oxygen.

I'm done for now with new IEMs. Like I said, happy with what I have. Especially ****. (Maybe oBravo are just sticking to the old ways of marking up like there's no tomorrow, more like!)

 

[FastAndClean]

I'm done for now with new IEMs. Like I said, happy with what I have. Especially ****.

 

[ozziecook]

Nice cable. What is it?

 

[ozziecook]

that is their 500$ model

I'm an idiot when it comes to graphs and measurements...can you explain what this means? Am I right in saying it's a right old mess...It's the erib 5a, yes?