I tried the E2000 and E3000 yesterday. While I've tried a small handful of other FAD earphones and didn't find the sound to my preference, I thought I'll give the budget models a demo just to see what they're like.
I demoed both for about 10 minutes each using my laptop with Foobar > Fiio Q1 (v1). Primary test tracks were "What Do I Know" by Ed Sheeran, and "Friend of Mine" by Avicii. Not the pinnacle of choice for test tracks but that's what I was playing on repeat at the time. Particular attention was paid to vocals and bass response, since that's what usually makes or breaks a budget-oriented IEM for me.
Reading this thread and observing other reviewers online, there seems to be a split in opinion whether the E2000 or E3000 has more treble. What I think might be helpful is to point out that, based on what I hear, I have a suspicion that it comes down to a difference in treble emphasis, not necessarily in treble quantity.
The E2000 seems to have a treble emphasis that is higher in the treble response. For me, this was made very clear by the sibilant 'S' notes I heard right away. I should point out that I'm also personally very sensitive to this region.
On the E3000, the highs/mid-range emphasis was lower, producing more of a 'ch' and 'sh' emphasis. The frequencies above that point seem to be smoother on the E3000, though they are less emphasised and therefore make the E3000 seem darker in comparison.
Bass, for me, was a bit too much on both of the earphones. That said, I think people who are willing/able to EQ might find the earphones much tighter sounding by lopping off some of the mid and upper-bass between 200 to 400 hertz. Also, the E3000 definitely has more bass, which does make it distracting on bass-heavy tracks, but by dialing back the volume I did fine the E3000's strong low-end made it really engaging despite being played back at lower volumes. This, I feel, is often an under-rated consideration for people who are looking to protect their hearing as much as possible.
Imaging on both also seemed to be on the poor side, though at the price I wouldn't complain. At the very least, I'll confidently say it didn't smear or muddy up instrument positioning, which is a good thing.
Overall, I wouldn't buy the E2000 or the E3000. The E2000's sibilance makes it a deal-breaker for me, and the E3000, priced at SGD $70, is a bit too expensive considering the build. That said, if I had to pick between the two, I'd immediately go with the E3000. It's generally smoother, and I'll say it's an improvement over the E2000's sound, though some others might disagree.
If I were looking at IEMs at this price point, I'll still go with the Zero Audio Carbo Tenore, which I own, though sadly my pair's internal connection within the wire seems to have come loose and the right channel is now dead. If my current IEMs, the Fender FXA2 were to suddenly die as well, I'd go with the Audio-Technica ATH-E40, which is only roughly SGD $40 more than the FAD E3000 here in Singapore, and I feel is well worth the increase in cost.
These budget FADs still aren't my thing, but I think they're pretty good and will make quite a lot of people happy. Glad to finally find some FAD IEMs that I feel more positively about, and these have made me more optimistic to try more of their products, though I can't say I'll be buying one for myself any time soon.
