[djmakemynight]

Hi guys!
Last time I bought an earphone I got help from here, so I'm trying again. My MEMT X5's left part seemed to have died today, so I'm looking for another budget option. Is there any other best buy under $20 or should I just order a new one?
I mainly listen to electronic music (house, trap, some dubstep) and hip-hop, r'n'b. So bass and low-ends are important to me.
Thanks in advance!

I would love to recommend the UiiSii CM5 but it will go above 20 if I am not wrong. They have really lush bass. I am using them for EDM and hip hop. The sound signature is very unique from what I own so far.

 

[Ducsidu]

I would love to recommend the UiiSii CM5 but it will go above 20 if I am not wrong. They have really lush bass. I am using them for EDM and hip hop. The sound signature is very unique from what I own so far.

The only thing to keep in mind with soundstage is that generally speaking, the IEMs with wide soundstage are also usually open or semi-open (which means they have poor isolation). That generally means others around you can hear your music and you can hear external sounds leaking in as well. Whether this is an issue for you only you will know.

With that said, a few great choices IMO would be (in no particular order):

1. EMI CI-880 Hybrid - Also known as the 'water drop' on some sites, it runs anywhere from $9.99 on sale to about $18 regular price. Excellent sound, decent soundstage, excellent build.
2. Einsear T2 - $10 and has a nice wide soundstage, easy to drive, and great sound for the price. Well worth $10.
3. KZ ZS5 - great soundstage, great bass, and it is within your price range. Some find the treble too sharp/bright however, but you can do a few easy things to address if it is a problem for you. It sounds fine to me though. Note some people hate/bash the ZS5, but the majority of people love it (myself included). It has a removable cable, so you can swap out the stock cable for an upgraded silver plated cable, or even a Bluetooth cable option. The price of the ZS5 ranges from $12ish on sale to $20ish regular price.
4. Xiaomi Piston "Fresh Version". I recently picked this up for $3.99 with a coupon code at Gearbest, and lemme tell you I was quite impressed for the measly $4 cost. However, for the best sound you'll need to lift up the mesh screens on the nozzle (using a sewing needle or thumb tack) and remove the foam plug they stuff down inside of the nozzle (then stick the mesh screens back onto the nozzle). It takes 30 seconds to modify, and can be done with literally zero skill level. Once modified, it sounds great with the genres you listed, and it's easy to drive with a cell phone as a music source. Soundstage is average, but certainly not bad. It's well constructed and comfortable to wear.

I think you'd be more than pleased with any of the ones in the above list, given your comments on sound signature, genres, budget, your overall goals, and your level of expertise.

I'm sure others will have some good suggestions as well - there's just tons and tons of great choices in ChiFi right now. Keep in mind that when it boils down to it, a lot of it is really splitting hairs between things 95% of non-audiophiles wouldn't even hear. In other words, if you walked up to 95% of the generic Joes on the street, and let them listen to any of the IEMs in the above list (as well as the dozen other IEM recommendations you're likely to get), their jaws would drop and all would say "wow that sounds really good". But ask the "enthusiastic" Head-Fiers/audiophiles and you'll get answers like "well this has more a bit more warmth in the vocals", "but that one has better instrument layering", "and this other one has slightly better extension". The choices are desire to "make the right choice" can get mind boggling, so don't get too caught up in the minuscule differences.

Another helpful, trustworthy, and honest resource is @Vidal's site: http://www.aproear.co.uk/review-list/

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks to you both, I'll read up on these decide on one soon.
Slater, I am sure I'm closer to the generic Joe, than to an audiophile, so most of these would be a good choice for me, I am just trying to get value for my money

 

[ivo001]

I have a few extra KZ tips, which were also recommended like half a year ago. They didn't fit the X5 well, but they improved the bass on my old (backup) Xiaomi Piston 3, so I guess they would be good for the DF-10 as well.
Thanks, I'll do some reading and consider these.



I got mine in May 2017, so it's probably the older version. I actually got a friend who I recommended it to, and he got it a month or so ago, so I can try the new one out. Would you consider it worse or better?
I would be okay with behind the ear style as well.
I am not a big audiophile, and I don't have a lot of other references in sound, but one thing I noticed the X5 was lacking is soundstage. Not sure if a better soundstage is available in this category, but that would be nice.
The TD08 does look promising, but it's a bit over my budget.

You could consider the Xiaomi Piston V3 maybe.
I always liked the packaging and remote on those, and from what I remember they have decent bass.
Altough with every Piston I had, 1 side of the cable broke anywhere between 5-15 months of usage.

 

[Ducsidu]

You could consider the Xiaomi Piston V3 maybe.
I always liked the packaging and remote on those, and from what I remember they have decent bass.
Altough with every Piston I had, 1 side of the cable broke anywhere between 5-15 months of usage.

I have a Piston 3 as a backup, so I'll be using it for a while now. They are not bad, but I liked the MEMT X5 much more, especially the fit.

 

[Slater]

I'd be careful about doing a general recommendation of the EMI CI-880 Hybrid because if someone values bass they are going to want no part of it.

True, I sometimes forget what they sounded like before putting on KZ Starline tips. With Starlines they are a different animal - plenty of hard hitting bass.

Thanks for mentioning that - I edited my post and clarified that.

 

[Slater]

I have a Piston 3 as a backup, so I'll be using it for a while now. They are not bad, but I liked the MEMT X5 much more, especially the fit.

Yeah, the X5 is an extremely comfortable IEM. It's going to be hard to beat in that respect.

 

[Slater]

Thanks to you both, I'll read up on these decide on one soon.
Slater, I am sure I'm closer to the generic Joe, than to an audiophile, so most of these would be a good choice for me, I am just trying to get value for my money

You got it friend.

Also, I'll second the UiiSii CM5. It's comfortable, looks great, and sounds great. For $20 (usually black is the cheapest), it's a lot of bang for the buck - definitely an upgrade to the 1st gen MEMT X5.

Here's a more in-depth summary of the CM5: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chi...phones-and-iems.820747/page-778#post-13737081

It's tip-dependent as well, and I got significantly better fit and upgraded sound with KZ Starline tips than the included stock tips. If you don't already have Starline tips, they can be bought for under $1 on Aliexpress.

Good luck, and let us know what you end up with!

 

[chi-fi mel]

True, I sometimes forget what they sounded like before putting on KZ Starline tips. With Starlines they are a different animal - plenty of hard hitting bass.

Thanks for mentioning that - I edited my post and clarified that.

I just removed the spinfits from my EMI CI-880 Hybrid and replaced them with Starlines, with poor results. I've tried a long list of tips on the EMI CI-880 Hybrid and none have resulted in satisfactory bass.

 

[loomisjohnson]

The only thing to keep in mind with soundstage is that generally speaking, the IEMs with wide soundstage are also usually open or semi-open (which means they have poor isolation). That generally means others around you can hear your music and you can hear external sounds leaking in as well. Whether this is an issue for you only you will know.

With that said, a few great choices IMO would be (in no particular order):

1. EMI CI-880 Hybrid - Also known as the 'water drop' on some sites, it runs anywhere from $9.99 on sale to about $18 regular price. Excellent sound, decent soundstage, excellent build. They are light on the bass with the included stock tips, but using KZ Starline tips totally solves that issue.
2. Einsear T2 - $10 and has a nice wide soundstage, easy to drive, and great sound for the price. Well worth $10.
3. KZ ZS5 - great soundstage, great bass, and it is within your price range. Some find the treble too sharp/bright however, but you can do a few easy things to address if it is a problem for you. It sounds fine to me though. Note some people hate/bash the ZS5, but the majority of people love it (myself included). It has a removable cable, so you can swap out the stock cable for an upgraded silver plated cable, or even a Bluetooth cable option. The price of the ZS5 ranges from $12ish on sale to $20ish regular price.
4. Xiaomi Piston "Fresh Version". I recently picked this up for $3.99 with a coupon code at Gearbest, and lemme tell you I was quite impressed for the measly $4 cost. However, for the best sound you'll need to lift up the mesh screens on the nozzle (using a sewing needle or thumb tack) and remove the foam plug they stuff down inside of the nozzle (then stick the mesh screens back onto the nozzle). It takes 30 seconds to modify, and can be done with literally zero skill level. Once modified, it sounds great with the genres you listed, and it's easy to drive with a cell phone as a music source. Soundstage is average, but certainly not bad. It's well constructed and comfortable to wear.

I think you'd be more than pleased with any of the ones in the above list, given your comments on sound signature, genres, budget, your overall goals, and your level of expertise.

I'm sure others will have some good suggestions as well - there's just tons and tons of great choices in ChiFi right now. Keep in mind that when it boils down to it, a lot of it is really splitting hairs between things 95% of non-audiophiles wouldn't even hear. In other words, if you walked up to 95% of the generic Joes on the street, and let them listen to any of the IEMs in the above list (as well as the dozen other IEM recommendations you're likely to get), their jaws would drop and all would say "wow that sounds really good". But ask the "enthusiastic" Head-Fiers/audiophiles and you'll get answers like "well this has more a bit more warmth in the vocals", "but that one has better instrument layering", "and this other one has slightly better extension". The choices are desire to "make the right choice" can get mind boggling, so don't get too caught up in the minuscule differences.

Another helpful, trustworthy, and honest resource is @Vidal's site: http://www.aproear.co.uk/review-list/

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

two other bargains i'd look at for a bassy phone would be the boarseman kr49 and the senzer h1 (which are a giveaway for $9.99 on amazon).

 

[Ducsidu]

You got it friend.

Also, I'll second the UiiSii CM5. It's comfortable, looks great, and sounds great. For $20 (usually black is the cheapest), it's a lot of bang for the buck - definitely an upgrade to the 1st gen MEMT X5.

Here's a more in-depth summary of the CM5: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chi...phones-and-iems.820747/page-778#post-13737081

It's tip-dependent as well, and I got significantly better fit and upgraded sound with KZ Starline tips than the included stock tips. If you don't already have Starline tips, they can be bought for under $1 on Aliexpress.

Good luck, and let us know what you end up with!

The CM5 looks good from your summary, yeah. I've got a lot of KZ Starline tips, I am using them with my Piston 3 as well.
Thanks again, I'll do my research on all these great recommendations.

two other bargains i'd look at for a bassy phone would be the boarseman kr49 and the senzer h1 (which are a giveaway for $9.99 on amazon).

Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't ship to my country, or it is very expensive, so the Senzer is out, but the KR49 seems good, thanks!

 

[toddy0191]

I just removed the spinfits from my EMI CI-880 Hybrid and replaced them with Starlines, with poor results. I've tried a long list of tips on the EMI CI-880 Hybrid and none have resulted in satisfactory bass.

I wear mine up inserted deep with the starlines and have to agree with @Slater that the bass is definitely there.

I also have them on my CM5s too which are amazing value.

I'm finding it hard to choose which of my recent earphone purchases to listen to out of the CM5s ZS6s or the B100s as they're all great in their own niche.

 

[Slater]

I wear mine up inserted deep with the starlines and have to agree with @Slater that the bass is definitely there.

I also have them on my CM5s too which are amazing value.

I'm finding it hard to choose which of my recent earphone purchases to listen to out of the CM5s ZS6s or the B100s as they're all great in their own niche.

Yup, deep insertion and proper seal is the key to unlocking the awesome bass of EMI CI-880 Hybrid.

That’s why I like the Starlines. They fit my ears perfectly, and grip tightly.

 

[Vin$ent]

What do you do when the nozzle is so big that it hits the opening of your ear canal and you simply can't get deep enough fit with regular tips? Small triple or dual flange or a spinfit twin blade? Regular spinfits help with the seal but for me they take away too much from mids, treble and reduce the size of the soundstage considerably.

My T2's are lacking almost all of the low end because of poor fit caused by the 5,5mm wide, straight, short nozzle. Also need to bump up the volume way higher than with any of my other iems. IT01 has the same 5,5mm width but thankfully the different angle allows me to get a proper seal with starlines, still need to fiddle with them from time to time if I'm moving around, though.

I wish all of them had the Tennmak Pro/Shure style fit

 

[HungryPanda]

I tend to use triple flanges in such cases

 

[SilverLodestar]

Your iPhone is already a good source and the Fidue isn't a critical load (quite linear impedance response, no very low impedance, good sensitivity), so using an external amp or DAC with your iPhone doesn't make much sense from an objective point of view.

That is very true, the Fidue are extremely easy to drive, but I’m looking for a DAC so I can possibly get either the Final Audio Heaven II or VI, which I’ve read are both very source dependent.