Ok, then, here are my other favorites (so far): TGXear Serratus $199 and Venture Electronics Zen 3.0 $299 - the Serratus has a bit more treble and sub-bass to me compared to the FF3, while the Zen is the warmer of the three. On the other end of the price spectrum: Yincrow X6 $13, Qian39 $11, and Faaeal Iris 2.0 $9 - this is where I started with my toe-dipping, all enjoyable. I guess I started from the sound profile I prefer in over-ear headphones and I've been expanding out from there.
Just received the much touted Yinman 600s, and they sound marvelous, even driven from my Megatron (everyone recommends more power than that to open them up fully). Full, rich, sweet, satisfying, easy to listen to. Reasonably priced on AE for about $120.
Sorry, I just spotted your message/question. I missed it before because it is included in the quote. And yeah, the forum is annoying AF right now.
As for an FF5 vs RW-3000 comparison, I'll do my best to keep it brief:
Basically, the RW-3000 is probably what the FF5s would be if Fiio hadn't tried to keep them affordable. Side note: I applaud Fiio for releasing two very good buds on the affordable end of the spectrum when many companies are going with higher and higher priced flagship releases. Getting back to the topic at hand, both have a balanced tuning where they departed from neutral enough to make it fun, but not so much as to overly color the music/presentation and make them unfit for critical and incisive listening. The RW-3000s are, however, several steps ahead in refinement of the tuning, timbral/tonal accuracy, and technical chops.
When it comes to tuning, although they both present a similar (though not identical) balanced profile, the RW-3000 has none of the lower treble glare or grain of the FF5s, keeping the top end exceptionally smooth and still very well extended. The mids on the RW-3000s are quite linear, while the FF5s favor the upper mids in the female vocal range but only very slightly. The bass on the RW-3000s is tighter and more agile/articulate as well as being more dynamic and less "one notey." I find the FF5s to have a bit more bass quanitity though not by very much.
Detail retrieval on the RW-3000s is a good step up from the FF5s, picking up more low level detail and nuance. Rendering of spatial cues/atmosphere is also significantly better on the RW-3000s, though it's already quite good on the FF5s. The RW-3000s do a good job rendering the space the recording is taking place in when the info is in the recording.
That brings me to staging, imaging, and separation. The center image on the FF5s can sometimes come across a bit indistinct or blurred to my ears, while the RW-3000s excel at imaging, keeping everything crisp and well defined. When it comes to stage size, the FF5s throw a stage that has good width, a bit less depth, and average height at best, IMO. The RW-3000's staging has a touch less width, but greater depth and significantly more height. Combine that good 3D staging (especially height) with sharp imaging and you get a pair of buds that layers exceptionally well even on the most complex and busiest tracks while also maintaining great instrument separation and placement within the stage. The FF5's layering abilities suffer a bit from the lack of height in their staging and instrument placement can sometimes suffer a bit as well. However, the FF5s are still quite capable at all of this overall so I don't want this to come off as me saying they have bad technical chops. IMO, the FF5s are well above average, it's just that they're being compared in this instance to one of the most complete and technically proficient buds out there (IMO/IME) in the RW-3000s.
Given all that I just mentioned, the RW-3000s come off sounding significantly more detailed with a refined, smooth, effortless, and non-fatiguing presentation that makes them a consummate TOTL all-rounder. The FF5s offer very good performance in their price range and Fiio has a lot to be proud of there, but they aren't in the same class with Yincrow's RW-3000s, nor should they be given the hefty price difference.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer. I hope this helps though!
Edit: I just realized that you said EM5 not FF5... I haven't owned the EM5s since I got rid of them this summer so I will let others help you there. I don't want to compare from memory and be inaccurate. Also, I'm gonna leave my FF5 vs RW-3000 rundown up and hope it is useful for someone in the future. My bad on jumping the gun.
I really like all of my pairs; Rider 1, Grand Rider 2, Grand Alter Saber 2. I think GAS2 is most fitting to most people's libraries, a sort of bass boosted neutral. Or Rider 1 if you want to save a little, and know you like warm-neutral. But if you know your desired tuning, I haven't heard of anyone getting a pair and disliking them, so really any with a fitting description should do you just fine.
Anyone here got any recs for sub 50 USD buds with a more "neutral" or "balanced" approach to the tuning? Am gonna dip my toes into buds, and have Vidos on the way currently. I'm still not sure about fitting yet, so maybe a sub 20 recc might be better if I'm testing out for fit only, however, I'm still curious about what buds fit my tuning preferences
Sorry, I just spotted your message/question. I missed it before because it is included in the quote. And yeah, the forum is annoying AF right now.
As for an FF5 vs RW-3000 comparison, I'll do my best to keep it brief:
Basically, the RW-3000 is probably what the FF5s would be if Fiio hadn't tried to keep them affordable. Side note: I applaud Fiio for releasing two very good buds on the affordable end of the spectrum when many companies are going with higher and higher priced flagship releases. Getting back to the topic at hand, both have a balanced tuning where they departed from neutral enough to make it fun, but not so much as to overly color the music/presentation and make them unfit for critical and incisive listening. The RW-3000s are, however, several steps ahead in refinement of the tuning, timbral/tonal accuracy, and technical chops.
When it comes to tuning, although they both present a similar (though not identical) balanced profile, the RW-3000 has none of the lower treble glare or grain of the FF5s, keeping the top end exceptionally smooth and still very well extended. The mids on the RW-3000s are quite linear, while the FF5s favor the upper mids in the female vocal range but only very slightly. The bass on the RW-3000s is tighter and more agile/articulate as well as being more dynamic and less "one notey." I find the FF5s to have a bit more bass quanitity though not by very much.
Detail retrieval on the RW-3000s is a good step up from the FF5s, picking up more low level detail and nuance. Rendering of spatial cues/atmosphere is also significantly better on the RW-3000s, though it's already quite good on the FF5s. The RW-3000s do a good job rendering the space the recording is taking place in when the info is in the recording.
That brings me to staging, imaging, and separation. The center image on the FF5s can sometimes come across a bit indistinct or blurred to my ears, while the RW-3000s excel at imaging, keeping everything crisp and well defined. When it comes to stage size, the FF5s throw a stage that has good width, a bit less depth, and average height at best, IMO. The RW-3000's staging has a touch less width, but greater depth and significantly more height. Combine that good 3D staging (especially height) with sharp imaging and you get a pair of buds that layers exceptionally well even on the most complex and busiest tracks while also maintaining great instrument separation and placement within the stage. The FF5's layering abilities suffer a bit from the lack of height in their staging and instrument placement can sometimes suffer a bit as well. However, the FF5s are still quite capable at all of this overall so I don't want this to come off as me saying they have bad technical chops. IMO, the FF5s are well above average, it's just that they're being compared in this instance to one of the most complete and technically proficient buds out there (IMO/IME) in the RW-3000s.
Given all that I just mentioned, the RW-3000s come off sounding significantly more detailed with a refined, smooth, effortless, and non-fatiguing presentation that makes them a consummate TOTL all-rounder. The FF5s offer very good performance in their price range and Fiio has a lot to be proud of there, but they aren't in the same class with Yincrow's RW-3000s, nor should they be given the hefty price difference.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer. I hope this helps though!
Edit: I just realized that you said EM5 not FF5... I haven't owned the EM5s since I got rid of them this summer so I will let others help you there. I don't want to compare from memory and be inaccurate. Also, I'm gonna leave my FF5 vs RW-3000 rundown up and hope it is useful for someone in the future. My bad on jumping the gun.
New times new buds.
From my good friend FranQL.
Listening his last earbuds the hole last night.
I only have to say, you are a MASTER.
Far better than 95% earbuds I have listened so far.
Just received the much touted Yinman 600s, and they sound marvelous, even driven from my Megatron (everyone recommends more power than that to open them up fully). Full, rich, sweet, satisfying, easy to listen to.
Can anyone suggest for me which bud to choose for airy/sparkle mid/treb with some bass(need to be punchy and not bleed into mid) for under $100,Thanks.
Can anyone suggest for me which bud to choose for airy/sparkle mid/treb with some bass(need to be punchy and not bleed into mid) for under $100,Thanks.
The Yincrow Calf is a good choice. Usually selling for less than $100 on AE, and fits your description for sound profile. I have a set and I use full foams to tame the high end a little bit, so there is some flexibility by using different foams for tuning. If you could manage to spend a bit more, then I think the FiiO FF5 is a good choice.
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Getting back to the topic at hand, both have a balanced tuning where they departed from neutral enough to make it fun, but not so much as to overly color the music/presentation and make them unfit for critical and incisive listening. The RW-3000s are, however, several steps ahead in refinement of the tuning, timbral/tonal accuracy, and technical chops.
I haven't owned the EM5s since I got rid of them this summer so I will let others help you there. I don't want to compare from memory and be inaccurate. Also, I'm gonna leave my FF5 vs RW-3000 rundown up and hope it is useful for someone in the future. 
My bad on jumping the gun. 
