[vector84]

This is interesting, because I would not agree because I know the expensive ones better, because it's more recognizable and logically my brain would have said cheap=worse.

I feel the need to point out that that bias can just as easily swing the other way. (ie better value = better overall)

Not saying you're wrong or anything, just that it's healthy to continually question our own biases imo.
Believing one can inextricably rule out one's own biases is a sure path to the dark side of audiophiledom.

 

[RomStar]

I feel the need to point out that that bias can just as easily swing the other way. (ie better value = better overall)

Not saying you're wrong or anything, just that it's healthy to continually question our own biases imo.
Believing one can inextricably rule out one's own biases is a sure path to the dark side of audiophiledom.

Can't agree more with you ^^

I must admit, I did give into Zircon hype in the past, but now I realize I'm not even close to a bass head or ever truly believed myself. I remember thinking Zircons are comparable to $300 iems... Which is laughable to me now. God knows where my Zircons are, but may they be in a better place

Likewise, I bashed the Zs5 hard, because my expectations were sky high. I easily touted my momentums to be better in every single category (after 10 minutes of zs5 listening lol)... Now look at me. Been a while since I even used my Sennheisers during a commute (not saying they are bad)

That's why this forum is amazing, it's a consortium of rational conversations. I remember other forums just praising chifi iems and comparing them to $500 pairs... Just laughable at times

 

[VinceHill24]

That's why this forum is amazing, it's a consortium of rational conversations. I remember other forums just praising chifi iems and comparing them to $500 pairs... Just laughable at times

A reason why i still lurk in head-fi thread. I think over here we learn to appreciate differences and contributed to the overall community with insightful and informative inputs. From reading those seemingly sponsored budget audio sites (you know what i'm referring to) during my early audiophile days, i'm glad i ended up on head-fi eventually.

 

[kokakolia]

I personally believe that brands like Shure, Sennheiser, Koss and even Westone are hyped up to the high heavens. They built their reputation on older, top-performing (at the time, this was forever ago) and reliable models. There's nothing wrong with that. They sell something people want. But it's a recipe for stagnant prices and stagnant innovation. I personally think that the Shure SE215 is poor value. It's well built, but the fit is annoying and they sound pretty boring. And this is why KZ looks so good in comparison.

And then you have another problem where KZ is overhyped because it "does better than the popular brand Shure for less $".

Meanwhile, the consumer that I am suffers from buying Shure and KZ products alike and being disappointed. Because the hype is inflated between the well-known brands like Shure and the budget "giant killers" like KZ.

I'm so happy that I found out about the Marshall Mode and later about the KEF M100. These earphones are definitely under appreciated and can be a bought at a bargain as a result.

 

[RomStar]

Meanwhile, the consumer that I am suffers from buying Shure and KZ products alike and being disappointed. Because the hype is inflated between the well-known brands like Shure and the budget "giant killers" like KZ.

That's a very strong point and I actually agree. As mentioned before, I never till this day liked the ATE. It was a hype magnet and I first saw this on YouTube. One of the Pocket Now reviewers named Juan Bagnell (I think) even made a video on it.

Now having owned chifi iems like Zircons, Remax D610 (way too boring with no sub bass), Swings, older kz I totally see you're point. To me, they are good but not comparable to say Momentums which I used as a benchmark (cuz that's how ppl hype these buds). I honestly almost just gave up and the Zs5 was going to be my last purchase... And then it all changed. And that's how I made this HeadFi account (I lost trust on Budget Audio sites at this point)

Not sure if you own the Zs5 or not, but they are the best chifi iem I have alongside soon to be Tin2. Tbh I wasn't a fan out of the box but just trust me and let it burn in on pink noise for 20 hrs and put them back on. Now I don't think burn in helps all headphones, but for me I think it was very noticeable with the Zs5. I'm now very happy with chifi but I try and avoid hype.

Basically I trust @HiFiChris and @B9Scrambler. Their reviews are amazing work and I enjoy reading them. Their sites are top notch as well (content wise) and I visit both of these quite frequently now

Also, @B9Scrambler, I didn't forget that tin2 recommendation you have me like 40 pages back lol. Ordered them, and I was lucky enough to listen to them via friend. It's actually very good and suites me (sub bass is kinda meh, but amazing over all)

And @HiFiChris I think I might just snag a pair of brainwavz b100 and not b200. I think I'd rather get 2 iems than 1, gonna split money between Tin2 and brainwavz (unless u have a better option for me ). Also you single handedly changed me from mindlessly hating apple earpods so that's that lol

 

[kokakolia]

I strongly agree that there are some really well written reviews out there. The problem I have is that they all seem to review the same products! And they all seem to agree as well. I find this troubling because my tastes are different than others.

I gotta say I was really nervous buying the KEF M100. There are no detailed reviews out there. And the few reviews from Tech Advisor, Alphr and Digital Trends are completely off saying that there's a lack of bass and highs. It's like they spent 10 minutes with the headphones and wrote a review on the toilet before going to work.

It's so ironic that an earphone from an iconic brand like KEF, and now Paradigm and Focal get way fewer reviews than some of these "generic" Chi-Fi IEMs.

 

[nxnje]

I strongly agree that there are some really well written reviews out there. The problem I have is that they all seem to review the same products! And they all seem to agree as well. I find this troubling because my tastes are different than others.

I gotta say I was really nervous buying the KEF M100. There are no detailed reviews out there. And the few reviews from Tech Advisor, Alphr and Digital Trends are completely off saying that there's a lack of bass and highs. It's like they spent 10 minutes with the headphones and wrote a review on the toilet before going to work.

It's so ironic that an earphone from an iconic brand like KEF, and now Paradigm and Focal get way fewer reviews than some of these "generic" Chi-Fi IEMs.

I just wanted to let u think about which kind of headphones u're talkin about.
There are more reviews about KZ just because their cost is freakin' low.
Not everyone has like €100+ for IEMs and no one spends so much unless it is his passion.
I understand what you say, i even have other sennheiser On ear & over ear headphones and i always hear people talking about cheap and low cost headphones.
World is not just formed by people like us that always search for the best quality products, so we have to fight on the web to find good reviews for good products.

 

[kokakolia]

World is not just formed by people like us that always search for the best quality products, so we have to fight on the web to find good reviews for good products.

That's an overstatement! I just don't like sharp squeaky treble, muddy bass and recessed vocals...Apparently that's asking a lot.

 

[Daniel Gur]

hey, not something serious, just wanted to drop a photo I did with my ZST earbuds.

 

[randomnin]

Another point I'd like to make is that with the atmosphere here and the reliability problems, your Chi-Fi bargains are likely to accumulate quickly and might be more expensive than used or cheapest options Western makers provide. I mean, most people come here to get good sound on the cheap, not develop a passion and a collection, nevertheless the unwilled latter is what seems to happen often. And, again, if the measurements here are correct, then I'm inclined to think that very few to none cheap Chi-Fi makers employ engineers that understand audiology and how to actually make drivers. Meaning that they get drivers that sound somewhat okay from who knows where and put them in various casings, play with vents, tuning foam, maybe with how much power the drivers get. While acclaimed makers know every piece and detail of even the oldest or cheapest thing they make.
I still plan to get ZST and maybe even ZS5 (and extra cables if they're cheap), but cheapest Western IEMs vs Chi-Fi is still a fair fight. And the former might still be winning, I think - contrary to the general consensus here.

 

[Selenium]

I strongly agree that there are some really well written reviews out there. The problem I have is that they all seem to review the same products! And they all seem to agree as well. I find this troubling because my tastes are different than others.

I gotta say I was really nervous buying the KEF M100. There are no detailed reviews out there. And the few reviews from Tech Advisor, Alphr and Digital Trends are completely off saying that there's a lack of bass and highs. It's like they spent 10 minutes with the headphones and wrote a review on the toilet before going to work.

It's so ironic that an earphone from an iconic brand like KEF, and now Paradigm and Focal get way fewer reviews than some of these "generic" Chi-Fi IEMs.

If they sound anything like the M200 then they must sound pretty rad! Unfortunately KEF seems to come up with their ergonomics by looking into the toilet at product of their latest bowel movement.

 

[eaglesgift]

Another point I'd like to make is that with the atmosphere here and the reliability problems, your Chi-Fi bargains are likely to accumulate quickly and might be more expensive than used or cheapest options Western makers provide. I mean, most people come here to get good sound on the cheap, not develop a passion and a collection, nevertheless the unwilled latter is what seems to happen often. And, again, if the measurements here are correct, then I'm inclined to think that very few to none cheap Chi-Fi makers employ engineers that understand audiology and how to actually make drivers. Meaning that they get drivers that sound somewhat okay from who knows where and put them in various casings, play with vents, tuning foam, maybe with how much power the drivers get. While acclaimed makers know every piece and detail of even the oldest or cheapest thing they make.
I still plan to get ZST and maybe even ZS5 (and extra cables if they're cheap), but cheapest Western IEMs vs Chi-Fi is still a fair fight. And the former might still be winning, I think - contrary to the general consensus here.

I don't own any 'Western' IEMs but I do have some cheap JVC IEMs that are clearly outclassed by most of the $10-30 Chi-Fi IEMs I've bought. I don't think anybody honestly believes that their next $5-$50 KZ IEm will be a world beater but it's fun to imagine they might be and, in my experience, most of them have some good qualities. The fun is in finding value for money; I'm under no illusion that I'm actually saving money by buying dozens of Chi-Fi IEMs but if I spent $300 on a single pair from a well-known, established brand from Japan or the West I would expect them to be excellent - I wouldn't be excited if they were but I would be disappointed if they had even the tiniest of flaws.

 

[Selenium]

Most of these "Western" IEMs are made in China just like Chi-fi stuff anyway so...

 

[Superluc]

 

[khighly]

I'm going to pick up a ZS6 this coming week. What's the best place to pick up potentially the newest version (i.e stock moves quickly)?