[seanwxw]

what's up everybody, I'm Sean.

just got into audiophile stuff lately, went through a lot of reviews and bought myself KZ ZS10 PRO, VE Oddessy HD dongle DAC, **** 8 core cable, and some spinfit eartips.

Probably will upgrade these after few months, any reccomendations for upgrading my setup? Preferably a bang for the buck IEM and a dongle DAC to take me onto the next level

hmmm... as for the budget I'll say about 100USD to 150USD for the IEM
Personally I listen to Lo Fi, Jazz, and Classical Orchestra music more (well Cornfield Chase from Interstellar is my favourite composition).

By the way, do you prefer Tidal or Apple Music? I still can't decide which one to get.

 

[silent-circuit]

I personally prefer Tidal, but mostly because I got a really good deal on a year subscription. May cancel when it runs out.

As for IEM and DAC recommendations, what are you hoping to improve on, what do you typically listen to, and what's your budget? Can't make meaningful suggestions without knowing these things.

 

[Sebasistan]

I would recommend the KBEar TRI-I3 and the FiiO BTR-5 DAC. I'm using it as a USB DAC fed from my PC and laptop, but you can also just use it with a BT connection to your iPhone.

When it comes to sources, I personally don't like streaming at all. It's a really awful business model for the artists, and I just get extremely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff you suddenly have access to. Instead I just spend uh... Too much money... On Bandcamp. Because there the artists actually get a really decent cut of the revenue, even when it's not Bandcamp Friday. Also the Bandcamp app now allows for direct downloads onto your phone. Granted, there are not as many artists there as there are on, say, Apple. But again, the artists that are there, get MUCH more of your money when you buy their stuff.

Anyway. I'm putting my soapbox away again. Also Silent Circuit is of course right, we need to know your budget. My recommendation is for my personal low-mid-fi tastes. I may be an audiophile, but I'm never going to spend TOTL money. Once you get out of even the low-ish or low-mid section of IEMs and headphones, you VERY quickly run into the law of diminishing returns. You spend more money for less and less (if any - more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better sound) improvement. Maybe you spend more for extra gimmicks and features. Personally my upper limit is about $200 for IEMS and $300 for headphones, and so far I don't feel like I'm missing anything there. I have a decent selection of stuff, and have reached a point where I'm actually happy with what I have... So uh. Yeah. Tread carefully in this hobby and be aware that it ABSOLUTELY is at the end of the day a glorified cargo cult.

 

[seanwxw]

I personally prefer Tidal, but mostly because I got a really good deal on a year subscription. May cancel when it runs out.

As for IEM and DAC recommendations, what are you hoping to improve on, what do you typically listen to, and what's your budget? Can't make meaningful suggestions without knowing these things.

hmmm... as for the budget I'll say about 100USD to 150USD for the IEM
Personally I listen to Jazz and Classical Orchestra music more (well Cornfield Chase from Interstellar is my favourite composition)

 

[seanwxw]

I would recommend the KBEar TRI-I3 and the FiiO BTR-5 DAC. I'm using it as a USB DAC fed from my PC and laptop, but you can also just use it with a BT connection to your iPhone.

When it comes to sources, I personally don't like streaming at all. It's a really awful business model for the artists, and I just get extremely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff you suddenly have access to. Instead I just spend uh... Too much money... On Bandcamp. Because there the artists actually get a really decent cut of the revenue, even when it's not Bandcamp Friday. Also the Bandcamp app now allows for direct downloads onto your phone. Granted, there are not as many artists there as there are on, say, Apple. But again, the artists that are there, get MUCH more of your money when you buy their stuff.

Anyway. I'm putting my soapbox away again. Also Silent Circuit is of course right, we need to know your budget. My recommendation is for my personal low-mid-fi tastes. I may be an audiophile, but I'm never going to spend TOTL money. Once you get out of even the low-ish or low-mid section of IEMs and headphones, you VERY quickly run into the law of diminishing returns. You spend more money for less and less (if any - more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better sound) improvement. Maybe you spend more for extra gimmicks and features. Personally my upper limit is about $200 for IEMS and $300 for headphones, and so far I don't feel like I'm missing anything there. I have a decent selection of stuff, and have reached a point where I'm actually happy with what I have... So uh. Yeah. Tread carefully in this hobby and be aware that it ABSOLUTELY is at the end of the day a glorified cargo cult.

I've been eyeing on Fiio BTR5 for quite some time too! Probably will get that when my local store has a discount. They might add on a Fiio FH3 as a bundle.

I'll try the Bandcamp thing tonight, really appreciate your reply!

 

[seanwxw]

what's up everybody, I'm Sean.

just got into audiophile stuff lately, went through a lot of reviews and bought myself KZ ZS10 PRO, VE Oddessy HD dongle DAC, **** 8 core cable, and some spinfit eartips.

Probably will upgrade these after few months, any reccomendations for upgrading my setup? Preferably a bang for the buck IEM and a dongle DAC to take me onto the next level

hmmm... as for the budget I'll say about 100USD to 150USD for the IEM
Personally I listen to Lo Fi, Jazz, and Classical Orchestra music more (well Cornfield Chase from Interstellar is my favourite composition).

By the way, do you prefer Tidal or Apple Music? I still can't decide which one to get.

My local Audio store reccomended the Fiio FH3, what do you guys think?

 

[PHD2020]

I'd recommend that you save up just a bit more for the Moondrop Blessing 2 (or 2 Dusk for a little more bass), as with just a wee bit more you'll get benchmark performance. I don't have them (I use DUNU SA6) but a general consensus is that they offer unbridled bang for buck with exceptionally good tuning. Don't take my word for it though maybe look around and see if it's something you'd be interested in. Happy hunting!

 

[seanwxw]

I'd recommend that you save up just a bit more for the Moondrop Blessing 2 (or 2 Dusk for a little more bass), as with just a wee bit more you'll get benchmark performance. I don't have them (I use DUNU SA6) but a general consensus is that they offer unbridled bang for buck with exceptionally good tuning. Don't take my word for it though maybe look around and see if it's something you'd be interested in. Happy hunting!

Thank you very much!

 

[silent-circuit]

Qobuz seems to be the popular streaming platform for classical and jazz.