[jlemaster1957]

Thanks for sharing your story!

I'm really glad to read about your positive experience! Hopefully these last longer than my other hifiman iems, given their previous flagship status! It would be great if they'd invest a little of the audio R&D into making much more stable and durable engineering and manufacturing decisions. I'd find their more expensive gear much more appealing if I could trust the build-quality. No way I'm blowing real money on hifiman products, given my experience though. Lol

I've owned 8-10 hifiman iems over the last 15+ years and none of them lasted anywhere near that long. Sure, I was in the lowest-cost tier because I didn't feel I could trust that the extra cash wouldn't be wasted, but still - *not one set made it a year*.

I will just say this “Susvaras though…” They may be outside your budget (though nowadays one can get a pair for about 50% of MSRP). Some critique build quality even at that level. For me they have been perfect even so and a revelation. One must be willing to drive them properly (there is a thread nearly 2000 pages long dedicated to that topic). There really is nothing else like them.

If you are an ‘IEMer’ and not interested in headphones, though, the RE-800s are a real steal right now. However, my daily drivers are the Final A-4000s (with Azla Sedna Earfit tips - fit is everything for that set). The head stage on them is to die for - $145 USD. I’ve had them since 2020 and they are still going strong. Comparison wise the bass is equally good but stage and imaging is much more expansive especially depth.