Help me find the perfect sub-$150 dynamic driver IEM

[dougms3]

Simgot EA500LM is also an option.

Second this, its the best all around, king of sub $200 iems.

 

[ScrofulousBinturong]

Idk if anyone cares but so far I've tried the KZ Castor Bass and Simgot EW200, and they're both very good. When you keep the price tag in mind, they become absurdly good. Someone could spend $35 on the EW200 and be set for life.

 

[553981]

Try the Kefine Delci. I bought it on a whim. The Delci is really impressing me with its strong yet tight bass and with the very nice details throughout.

 

[ScrofulousBinturong]

Try the Kefine Delci. I bought it on a whim. The Delci is really impressing me with its strong yet tight bass and with the very nice details throughout.

I have one now and it is indeed pretty great.

 

[ScrofulousBinturong]

Kefine Delci? Both tuning and technical preferences tend to get muddled in this price point, since both can have a massive impact on your listening experience, so it's hard to place a hard value on either when it comes to subjective enjoyment.

Try the Kefine Delci. I bought it on a whim. The Delci is really impressing me with its strong yet tight bass and with the very nice details throughout.

Xuan Nu is bassy warm and analoguish sounding. Quite lowFI in terms of technicalities

Delci is U-shaped with big bass, good soundstage and better technical chops than the Xuan Nu.

Y'all weren't kidding. I've spent all afternoon with the Kefine Delci listening to my IEM Test playlist and enjoying every minute it. Everything sounds great, nothing hurts, the sound stage is nice and wide, the imaging is clear, and you can hear the "fwap" of bandoneon and clarinet keys.

I think I'll keep these and the Simgot EW-200 and sell off all the other DDs I have. I'm done searching for DDs!

Thanks everyone for the recs.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Try the Kefine Delci. I bought it on a whim. The Delci is really impressing me with its strong yet tight bass and with the very nice details throughout.

I purchased the Kefine Delci and the Simgot EA500LM. I was expecting to like the Kefine a lot; but found them a bit muffled compared to the Simgot. YMMV.

Under $150 would also get one to the LetShoeur (spelling) S12. Those have a nice, fluid sound.

 

[PopZeus]

Fwiw, I EQ the Delci to clean up the mids to treble transition so it loses the muffle. It doesn't require much to get it sounding fairly natural. Really enjoy it once it's fixed because the treble is already pretty clean and extended for a 1DD before any tinkering. I think I like the Delci more than the Kefine Klanar.

 

[ScrofulousBinturong]

Fwiw, I EQ the Delci to clean up the mids to treble transition so it loses the muffle. It doesn't require much to get it sounding fairly natural. Really enjoy it once it's fixed because the treble is already pretty clean and extended for a 1DD before any tinkering. I think I like the Delci more than the Kefine Klanar.

I will try that!

 

[553981]

I purchased the Kefine Delci and the Simgot EA500LM. I was expecting to like the Kefine a lot; but found them a bit muffled compared to the Simgot. YMMV.

Try some wide bore eartips on the Delci. Tri Clarion and Azla SednaEarFitLight eartips work well for me to slightly dial down the bass and to open things up a bit in the upper midrange.

 

[553981]

Fwiw, I EQ the Delci to clean up the mids to treble transition so it loses the muffle. It doesn't require much to get it sounding fairly natural.

Or you can try using wide bore eartips. This worked for me.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Try some wide bore eartips on the Delci. Tri Clarion and Azla SednaEarFitLight eartips work well for me to slightly dial down the bass and to open things up a bit in the upper midrange.

I just returned the Delci. I was already trying tips along the lines of what was suggested.

The Simgot EA500LM was more my style. I am leaving some room in the budget for the upcoming $150 quad-brid coming from Simgot which looks amazing.

 

[PopZeus]

Been running it as my daily driver for a while now and I feel good saying the FD15 is a great value at $150. Maybe the IEM that this thread was waiting for, and my ideal pick at this price lol. Some folks have quibbled about the tuning of the mids but I think it's pretty natural without being too forward in the lower-treble region, and the IEM offers enough lows and highs to balance it all out with the default nozzles. Bass extension, speed, dynamics and detail are great without overwhelming the rest of the frequency like a basshead set might. Treble is above average for a 1DD at this price, extends in a relaxed way, with some upper roll-off (without being too peaky or unnnatural overall). To me, I prefer it to some of the planar IEM treble that I've heard around this cost.