Help with first $100+ IEM purchase

[qiip]

I think I've decided on the FLC 8S Hybrid Dual Balanced Armature Dynamic Earphones over the Sony MDR7550 Professional In-Ear Headphones, unless that's a bad choice. My question is, if I'm going to be using these with my (Android) cell phone mostly, should I buy a DAC as well? If so, I've found this: NextDrive Spectra Portable USB DAC - The World’s Smallest 32-bit DAC Headphone Amp for Truly Mastering Your Sound On-The-Go (Micro USB - Black). Also willing to change my choices completely if better suggestions are advised, as long as the total is >$450. Thanks in advance.

 

[serman005]

Personally, I would put all the budget into the IEM. It will give the biggest bang for your buck, IMO.---)

 

[qiip]

Personally, I would put all the budget into the IEM. It will give the biggest bang for your buck, IMO.---)

Any recommendations? FLC 8S or something else?

 

[yong_shun]

What is the current recording you have? My advice would be get a good IEM first then upgrade your recording quality, finally play with amp and dac

 

[serman005]

Check out a Campfire Orion. It might work for you.

 

[bungles]

You can get open box Monoprice Monolith M300 planar IEM's for $99 that sound utterly fantastic. I can't think of anything at $100 that will come close to the M300's

 

[qiip]

You can get open box Monoprice Monolith M300 planar IEM's for $99 that sound utterly fantastic. I can't think of anything at $100 that will come close to the M300's

I looked at those, and They're very similar to the Audeze iSINE10, which I had already ruled out due to how open they are. If i'm in a vehicle or a quiet room with other people, I don't want leakage. Also, I wanted some degree of sound isolation, and those provide none. Thanks for the suggestion though!