[greg788]

What IEMs under $200 street price (or even under $100) work well driven by portables (Ipod Classic Gen. 5.5 in this case)? And are comfortable? Leaning towards earbuds like Dunu Alpha 3 or Fiio FF5 for comfort reasons but I can do in ears no problem

Been away from headphones for a long time and finally scratched the Ipod Classic Gen. 5.5 itch thanks to Ebay (fully refurbished with SSD)

I listen to all genres but mostly rock (classic, grunge, space/stoner, etc.)

Tried my HD650, kinda boring sounding, like they need more juice. What do you recommend? Don't want to waste a ton of $$$ exploring options again this time

If you have something you'd like to sell me, drop me an email, too.

 

[dunring]

Apple USB to 3.5mm adapter for $9
7hz Salnotes Zero:2 $24
Cannot go wrong with either, you'll be really surprised how good things have gotten with IEMs.

 

[greg788]

Apple USB to 3.5mm adapter for $9
7hz Salnotes Zero:2 $24
Cannot go wrong with either, you'll be really surprised how good things have gotten with IEMs.

You only listed one IEM?

 

[KinGensai]

QKZ x HBB is very bang for buck as well, HBB's tuning plays back acoustic genres like rock better by compensating for how light bass is on classic masters.

Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite, if you want some mid-range bang for buck. It's a bit over your budget, but this is very well priced for what you are getting IMO, these probably belong in the 350+ range given the competition that can match these technically. Less V-shaped tuning than HBB's target curve, but IMO 4 BAs hits a magic number for clean reproduction of mids.

For reference

Both the Zero 2 and the QKZ are super cheap starting points, you would probably benefit the most from starting with either of them if you haven't gotten anything recently.