[hi-fi amateur]

The moondrop b2/dusk is a very popular iem under $500 atm. I would also add the fiio fd5 as a top contender as well.

 

[Dobrescu George]

The problem with FLC is that it has no support from any company. You can't find them easily, which is why it is a high-risk product. I personally love it, and consider it to be amazing, but since it is rare, those who heard it loved it, but there aren't enough to make more posts / keep threads going.

 

[1TrickPony]

The problem with FLC is that it has no support from any company. You can't find them easily, which is why it is a high-risk product. I personally love it, and consider it to be amazing, but since it is rare, those who heard it loved it, but there aren't enough to make more posts / keep threads going.

There's not much report of it failing either, so I'm not sure about your statement of that being high risk.

 

[kadinh]

I haven't tried many IEMs, but the ones that have been above the rest:

- LZ A7 - sound great out of the box, can customize sound to how you like it​

​

- Fiio FH7 - originally I sent these back because they were painful to use and I wanted to try other IEMs. after I found some tips that made them comfortable, they were probably the best sounding IEM to date that i've heard. when i heard them out of the box, they have been the only IEMs that i have said "whoa" out loud. they are even wife approved lol​

​

- IKKO OH10 - I haven't heard another IEM that sounds this good for $200. they also look really nice and fit my ears perfectly​

- BLON-BL01 - sounds good for $25​

​

Ones I have sent back:

​

- Moondrop S8 - they sounded pretty good and fit great, but I liked other ones better, plus they have a high cost that doesn't feel like they are "worth the price" IMO​

​

- Tin P1 - These sounded really good too, but they needed to be amped quite a bit to sound good. Sent them back too so I could get other IEMs​

​

- Fiio FH5 - didn't like these as soon as I heard them, sounded muddy IIRC​

​

- Thieaudio Legacy 3 - good sounding, but they definitely weren't TOTL.​

​

- BLON-BL03, KZ ZSX, Tin T2 Plus - wasn't impressed with the sound​

​

I'm interested in hearing UM MEST (on the way ), DUNU SA8 (also on the way) Fearless Audio S8Z (on the way too, was backordered for the longest time), Thieaudio Monarch <3, Legacy 14, Legacy 4, Sony Z1R, Shuoer EJ07, KBear Believe, Kinera Nanna, Andromedas, and maybe the Tansio Mirai Zodiac....and of course the almighty Odin.

 

[Dobrescu George]

There's not much report of it failing either, so I'm not sure about your statement of that being high risk.

Oh, they don't fail at all, they surely survive well.

the high risk is whether one will like them or not. This is what people kept asking me about - how can they know if it is the right one for them.

To the defense of FLC, since most of their models are highgly configurable in terms of sound, I do think they are a fairly easy choice for the one who likes to tweak

 

[originalsnuffy]

I can safely send somebody who might be interested in the FLC to the LZ A7. To me the sound is definitely similar.

The FLC 8D became almost invisible. Its really the 8N but perhaps better bass as it is "hard wired" as opposed to configurable. There were not many reviews of this unit but one compared the 8D bass to the 8N and liked it more. Anyway I love it for its comfort. A shame that it really never took off even though it deserved more attention. Unfortunately, Forrest (Mr. FLC) is not much of a marketer and never really built up much of a reviewer following. His early supporters are no longer hanging out much on Head-Fi and he did not replace them. Anyway its a shame because the now discontinued 8D, like the 8S, really is / was something special.

I think there is a reduced cost version of the 8D made out of plastic vs. metal; but I really like the solid feeling of the 8D. I felt pretty sad when I sold my 8S; but I just did not need two units with almost the same sound signature from the same brand.

 

[originalsnuffy]

I haven't tried many IEMs, but the ones that have been above the rest:

- LZ A7 - sound great out of the box, can customize sound to how you like it​

​

- Fiio FH7 - originally I sent these back because they were painful to use and I wanted to try other IEMs. after I found some tips that made them comfortable, they were probably the best sounding IEM to date that i've heard. when i heard them out of the box, they have been the only IEMs that i have said "whoa" out loud. they are even wife approved lol​

​

- IKKO OH10 - I haven't heard another IEM that sounds this good for $200. they also look really nice and fit my ears perfectly​

- BLON-BL01 - sounds good for $25​

​

Ones I have sent back:

​

- Moondrop S8 - they sounded pretty good and fit great, but I liked other ones better, plus they have a high cost that doesn't feel like they are "worth the price" IMO​

​

- Tin P1 - These sounded really good too, but they needed to be amped quite a bit to sound good. Sent them back too so I could get other IEMs​

​

- Fiio FH5 - didn't like these as soon as I heard them, sounded muddy IIRC​

​

- Thieaudio Legacy 3 - good sounding, but they definitely weren't TOTL.​

​

- BLON-BL03, KZ ZSX, Tin T2 Plus - wasn't impressed with the sound​

​

I'm interested in hearing UM MEST (on the way ), DUNU SA8 (also on the way) Fearless Audio S8Z (on the way too, was backordered for the longest time), Thieaudio Monarch <3, Legacy 14, Legacy 4, Sony Z1R, Shuoer EJ07, KBear Believe, Kinera Nanna, Andromedas, and maybe the Tansio Mirai Zodiac....and of course the almighty Odin.

That was a super helpful post, thanks. Guess I need to look into some of the units you mentioned. Except right now I am pretty happy with the LZ A7.

I liked the ThieAudio Legacy L3 but had some comfort issues. I know that loving and modding the BLON BL03 is a "thing" around here, but I just thought they were a pretty good cheap unit. I also had the planar Tri audio (think it was the TRI 3?) but sent it back. At first I was really revved up by the bass but then I realized it was just a bit too much. And they were not all that comfortable.

Some day I may look at some FIIO units. Funny, at one time I was a huge FIIO DAP fan but then I kind of fell into the next tier of Chi Fi in terms of sales volume (HiBy, Shanling, Cayin). I have great memories of my first FIIO DAP because Joe Bloggs was super cool and ran polls of desired features by users and basically let us vote on next enhancements.

I used to get ideas for units to look into from Crinnacle. But the fact that he has not even mentioned the LZ A7 weirds me out. Probably the unit of the year or at least in the top 5 and it doesn't show up on his website (unless something changed very recently). Kind of hurt his credibility with me.

 

[Deolum]

So far my favourite sub 500 is the IE400 Pro but i don't use it very much. Have a Blessing 2 Dusk on my way and think it'll replace it.

 

[thejoker13]

Update: I swapped out my FLC8S in favor of the FLC8D. Basically a hardwired FLC8N with the low end tuned red - grey. Loving it and less parts to lose.

My new favorite toy is the LZ-A7. Not as comfortable as the FLC8 range; but easily tuned and sounds great. It doesn't kill the 8D but is a slight step up.

Surprised how often the FLC8S shows up in this poll. At least considering that the brand barely exists on Head-Fi anymore except for this thread.

I have an A7 arriving on Wednesday, and you have made me even more excited to try them. My main pairs I use now are the A6 and FLC8N, and can agree that the FLC8N are an amazing pair that should be talked about even more.

 

[kadinh]

I definitely love my A7, but I reordered the Fiio FH7 to compare them again. I remember thinking “this is nice” with the A7, but “wow.....” with the FH7. FH7 should be arriving today and I’m going to make a decision on if I’m going to keep the A7 or FH7. It’s not that the A7 sounds bad (far from it) but i dont remember being blown away when i first heard them. They have been my EDC pair for a few weeks.

 

[Punkyyy]

I am heavily considering the lz a7 right now. I started my search for the next purchase with a much lower budget in mind, but seeing how much some of you here liked it and the fact that the music I listen to is usually complicated and fast, I don't even think it's worth considering more budget options when these exist. I'm still unsure whether I can find something that is technically as capable as you say this thing is in the same price range. Only thing worrying me is that my ears are dumb and can't stand any sort of harshness, either mids or highs

 

[originalsnuffy]

I definitely love my A7, but I reordered the Fiio FH7 to compare them again. I remember thinking “this is nice” with the A7, but “wow.....” with the FH7. FH7 should be arriving today and I’m going to make a decision on if I’m going to keep the A7 or FH7. It’s not that the A7 sounds bad (far from it) but i dont remember being blown away when i first heard them. They have been my EDC pair for a few weeks.

My observation is that the unit that immediately blows you away can often be annoying after a period of time. Not saying that would be true of the FH7; I have no experience with that. And it may be the best thing since sliced bread. So these comments should be regarded as a generic observation. And in fact I will be looking into the FH7 the next time I look into IEMs, which may be quite a while from now.

When you buy a TV, the store has brightness cranked up to max to get your attention. For stereos, bass is often cranked up. Remember Definitive Technology speakers? Super hyped up bass; sounds great in the caverns of a store but muddy and bloated at home.

So the pair that that does nothing wrong may in fact be the best pair.

Another analogy would be in music. One of the most loved Grateful Dead concerts is Cornell 1977. My thought is not that anything in the show was particularly amazing. It was that somehow that the Dead performed a concert where nearly every song came out well. The sum of the parts exceeded any individual portion. Well....I am very fond of the transition from Scarlet Begonias into Fire on the Mountain but you can find other great versions of that. But one concert with a lot of top five renditions of songs....now you have something.

The A7 does a lot of things well. Some people don't like its tonality with violin heavy pieces (something to do with its piezo super tweeter). But you can tone it down with your choice of filters, and the filters are well tuned and actually do something. By the way, ignore frequency response charts for the filters. You need to listen to the filters and choose what you like.

 

[zepmaj]

I am heavily considering the lz a7 right now. I started my search for the next purchase with a much lower budget in mind, but seeing how much some of you here liked it and the fact that the music I listen to is usually complicated and fast, I don't even think it's worth considering more budget options when these exist. I'm still unsure whether I can find something that is technically as capable as you say this thing is in the same price range. Only thing worrying me is that my ears are dumb and can't stand any sort of harshness, either mids or highs

LZ A7 handles fast and complicated music really well. I don't find them harsh with black-monitor setting but you can always use filters, switch, eartips, so many possibilities.

 

[tgx78]

1.Tansio Mirai TSMR-5: all BA IEM that plays classical music without timbre issue which is first for me. I rate it higher than my Andro.

2. Audiosense DT100: I call it a mini Volt. Sublime vocal performance for under $100 (at introductory price).

3. LZ A7: no introduction required by now.

 

[kadinh]

Right side of my A7 died last night. Well I shouldn’t say died because if I bend the cable a certain way it will work. I’m guessing something went wrong with the MMCX connector on the IEM.