[Surf Monkey]

Dropping a couple hundred here and there can easily add up to one $1000 set that blows all the cheaper ones you were chasing out of the water. Sometimes it makes sense to save up and go big.

I’ve done both. My “expensive” IEM from nearly a decade ago now is the CA Andromeda. I’m still just as satisfied with it as the day it came out of the box. But I also have plenty of mid and lower tier IEMS. Each has its own sound. Each is strong in one way or another. There’s merit to saving up for a mid or upper tier set and there’s merit to trawling the entry and mid tier for phones that punch way above their weight. Because they are out there.

Advice wise, regardless of how much you want to spend, even if you’re in the sub $100 range I agree with everyone who has suggested resisting the hype cycle. It’s like a Ferris Wheel. It goes around and around without really going anywhere. You can jump on or off at any time with basically the same result. Instead it’s advisable to sit on the sidelines until people have reviewed a set, until a few trusted members own one and can comment on them, and if possible until you can personally audition them.

And of course it goes without saying that all of us achieve this goal to varying degrees of success and failure. No approach to this hobby is correct and none is incorrect.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I don't think they are improving that quickly honestly. They are iterating fast for sure, every month they are churning out new companies, new models and new hype trains, but I honestly haven't heard anything that gives me pleasant surprises in a few years. Reading reviews makes me feel like what I have is multiple generations behind the current best offerings, but going to shows and auditioning them I felt the improvements are incremental at best.

By "improving so fast nowadays" I'd imagine for every price point, the best in class will be dethroned/replaced/updated every few months, but I don't think that's the case today.

This exact same thing is going on amongst watch collectors. The Chinese micro brands are pumping out increasingly finely made product at lower and lower price points. Once Seiko exited the low end lots of companies rushed in to fill that gap and in the process have proven that entry level watches can carry many of the same features and much the same level of fit and finish as the upper tier… at about 1/10th of the price. Is it sustainable? Probably not. It’ll top out at some point and things will settle down with a new low end benchmark that redefines all the tiers above it. Same deal with IEMs. This period of rapid trickle down tech, tuning, fit and finish from higher priced sets is likely to stabilize eventually.

 

[Truthseekr]

This exact same thing is going on amongst watch collectors. The Chinese micro brands are pumping out increasingly finely made product at lower and lower price points. Once Seiko exited the low end lots of companies rushed in to fill that gap and in the process have proven that entry level watches can carry many of the same features and much the same level of fit and finish as the upper tier… at about 1/10th of the price. Is it sustainable? Probably not. It’ll top out at some point and things will settle down with a new low end benchmark that redefines all the tiers above it. Same deal with IEMs. This period of rapid trickle down tech, tuning, fit and finish from higher priced sets is likely to stabilize eventually.

Agreed. I’ve watched things level off in the LED light/flashlight world in the last year or two just as you are describing. Also agree there is merit to experimenting with the lower tier IEMs, to find a preferred sound and just for the fun of experimentation. I would be a hypocrite to say that it’s not valid at some level. I guess my main point was that you aren’t going to get the same level of replay for 1/10th the cost of both IEMs are near the top of the value ladder.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Agreed. I’ve watched things level off in the LED light/flashlight world in the last year or two just as you are describing. Also agree there is merit to experimenting with the lower tier IEMs, to find a preferred sound and just for the fun of experimentation. I would be a hypocrite to say that it’s not valid at some level. I guess my main point was that you aren’t going to get the same level of replay for 1/10th the cost of both IEMs are near the top of the value ladder.

Yes! Flashlights are a perfect example since they‘ve already gone through this whole cycle once.

 

[H T T]

Very interesting question!
I get the impression that in this world of head-fi, and especially here in the forums we simply get flooded with new releases, hype trains and marketing campaigns, and certainly there are a lot of products being pushed at us. But if you wait for a year, very few of the products turn out to be something special, and many of the real benchmark products are old designs, at least on the flagship level, think 64 Audio U12T and Sony IER-Z1R.
Even in the midrange products there are a few outstanding IEMs that seem to get less and less attention over time despite being continuously rated as exceptional achievements at their price point, like the Moondrop KXXS, Tanchijm Oxygen, DROP FDX1, Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk, Dunu SA6, Moondrop Variations, RSV, Moondrop S8, Thieaudio Monarch etc.

On the neverending hunt for the best sound and best value, I think it helps to stay away from the new, hyped products and let the hype play out, wait for the dust to settle and then make your move. You will still need to try different options to figure out which signature works for you, which design is comfortable for you, which reviewers opinions are closest to what you hear. But really, once the dust settles, the outstanding products become pretty clear and decisions are easier to make IMO.

Well said, but each of those “exceptional units” have their “issues”. Taste uber alles. I don’t have a single one of the listed “exceptional” products unless you count the Kato and 2021 Hana as approximations of the KXXS and Oxygen.

I have become more and more skeptical of the “expert” opinions and also the trendy sets. I notice that certain manufacturers get the hype and others are largely ignored.

 

[Hanesu]

I don't think they are improving that quickly honestly. They are iterating fast for sure, every month they are churning out new companies, new models and new hype trains, but I honestly haven't heard anything that gives me pleasant surprises in a few years. Reading reviews makes me feel like what I have is multiple generations behind the current best offerings, but going to shows and auditioning them I felt the improvements are incremental at best.

By "improving so fast nowadays" I'd imagine for every price point, the best in class will be dethroned/replaced/updated every few months, but I don't think that's the case today.

110% agree!

 

[cj3209]

Yes! Flashlights are a perfect example since they‘ve already gone through this whole cycle once.

Wow...flashlights.

I thought a good sturdy case with a nice LED beam is all you need. I guess I'm wrong... LOL.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Wow...flashlights.

I thought a good sturdy case with a nice LED beam is all you need. I guess I'm wrong... LOL.

There was a massive LED flashlight explosion a few years ago when very bright and very compact LED chips became available and lots of Chinese manufacturers began spinning out tons of new designs featuring them. Whole forums were and are devoted to LED lights. All of them were vastly more active and lively a couple years ago. But there’s been a leveling out of innovation and advancement in the segment and things have basically calmed back down to a rough status quo.

 

[cj3209]

There was a massive LED flashlight explosion a few years ago when very bright and very compact LED chips became available and lots of Chinese manufacturers began spinning out tons of new designs featuring them. Whole forums were and are devoted to LED lights. All of them were vastly more active and lively a couple years ago. But there’s been a leveling out of innovation and advancement in the segment and things have basically calmed back down to a rough status quo.

I guess I was in a cave a few years ago; busy trying to work, take care of kids, and my health!

 

[logiatype]

Are there really any major differences between upgrades? All the Moondrop IEMs sound very similar. Maybe when you A/B them back and forth you find some differences.
I only buy when I want to try new tech (like the new planar IEMS). Find a tuning you like and stick with it (unless you have Amazon Prime and can buy and return items within reason).