Need help finding something that might suit me.

[ProjectZero778]

Hello, I have so far bought two iems, one pair of headphones, and one dac/amp in addition to one portable dac/amp for my phone. The IEMS were the Moondrop Kato and Moondrop Blessing 3. My headphones are the Sennheiser HD600 and they are paired with a FiiO K5Pro. The issue I have been having is that none of these three options have really given me any real WOW factor. One thing I will say is that they definitely sound good, but they sound too generic and not really as exciting as I hoped. My biggest issue is that they don't really sound 'full' for me. I think what I am looking for is something with better soundstage and more bass without being too bassy. As for iems, I have had a issue with the fit on my Moondrop Katos. My Blessing 3s had decent fit but I had returned them to Amazon since they did not sound different enough to warrant owning both. I am not sure of the issue with the fit, but they keep falling out my ears, it might be because of the nozzle length being too small. As for sound quality, I like the DD bass on the Katos, but did not find the same results on the Blessing 3. They had good sound quality, arguably better than the Katos and a wider stage, but the bass was lacking and did not leave me feeling impressed for spending an additional $300 on them. To sum up my thoughts, I am looking for something that has the same sound quality of a HD600, but sounds more 'full' and maybe a bigger soundstage with more sub-bass. In addition to that, I am also looking for something that may have better fit than the Moondrop Katos, basically just a longer nozzle and a more fitting shape. I know its hard to give broad suggestions like this, but if anyone has had fit issues with the Katos and had found something better I would love to know what worked for you. That is about all for now, thanks for reading and if anyone can share some info I would appreciate it. Lastly my budget for Headphones and iems are around $500 New, so that I can hopefully find one for cheaper used. I don't mind recommendations of things more expensive, (Around 700-800), just nothing above that. Thanks in advance to whoever reads this and replies.

 

[ricksome]

Welcome to the forums. I do not have any information or answers for you, Just WELCOME

 

[ProjectZero778]

Thank you

 

[michael2v]

Hello, I have so far bought two iems, one pair of headphones, and one dac/amp in addition to one portable dac/amp for my phone. The IEMS were the Moondrop Kato and Moondrop Blessing 3. My headphones are the Sennheiser HD600 and they are paired with a FiiO K5Pro. The issue I have been having is that none of these three options have really given me any real WOW factor. One thing I will say is that they definitely sound good, but they sound too generic and not really as exciting as I hoped. My biggest issue is that they don't really sound 'full' for me. I think what I am looking for is something with better soundstage and more bass without being too bassy. As for iems, I have had a issue with the fit on my Moondrop Katos. My Blessing 3s had decent fit but I had returned them to Amazon since they did not sound different enough to warrant owning both. I am not sure of the issue with the fit, but they keep falling out my ears, it might be because of the nozzle length being too small. As for sound quality, I like the DD bass on the Katos, but did not find the same results on the Blessing 3. They had good sound quality, arguably better than the Katos and a wider stage, but the bass was lacking and did not leave me feeling impressed for spending an additional $300 on them. To sum up my thoughts, I am looking for something that has the same sound quality of a HD600, but sounds more 'full' and maybe a bigger soundstage with more sub-bass. In addition to that, I am also looking for something that may have better fit than the Moondrop Katos, basically just a longer nozzle and a more fitting shape. I know its hard to give broad suggestions like this, but if anyone has had fit issues with the Katos and had found something better I would love to know what worked for you. That is about all for now, thanks for reading and if anyone can share some info I would appreciate it. Lastly my budget for Headphones and iems are around $500 New, so that I can hopefully find one for cheaper used. I don't mind recommendations of things more expensive, (Around 700-800), just nothing above that. Thanks in advance to whoever reads this and replies.

It's ever-so-slightly above the top of your budget ($899), but reviews suggest the Auribus Sierra is finally the HD600 with sub-bass that the audio world has been waiting for...the 6XX/650 has a bit more low-end than the HD600, but it's probably not going to be enough of a night-and-day difference to really wow you.

A ZMF Atticus might also have a lot more of the engagement factor you're looking for, they can often be found for less than $800 here on the Head-Fi classifieds.

 

[ProjectZero778]

Thanks I will check it out.

 

[dunring]

The Blessing 3 is the IEM tuning of the HD600 so yep, it's not going to wow you between them. My recommendation is the Hifiman Arya Stealth which you can get refurbished from Hifiman for $519. For less I use a pair of Hifiman Deva Pro wired with an Autoeq profile and they're the value for money winner and really fun.
For IEMs the 7hz Timeless are fun, and the 7hz Zero:2 are the value for money winners. I use the Moondrop Chu 2 and Sennheiser Momentum 3 wireless for travel and really happy with them..

 

[ProjectZero778]

Thanks for the recommendation! I just bought a used pair of kiwi orchestra lites off someone on this site and I will see how the tuning suits me and go from there for now on terms of iems. Also I may eventually check out the hifimans you mentioned eventually when I'm ready to make another purchase. Thanks for the advice

 

[ProjectZero778]

It's ever-so-slightly above the top of your budget ($899), but reviews suggest the Auribus Sierra is finally the HD600 with sub-bass that the audio world has been waiting for...the 6XX/650 has a bit more low-end than the HD600, but it's probably not going to be enough of a night-and-day difference to really wow you.

A ZMF Atticus might also have a lot more of the engagement factor you're looking for, they can often be found for less than $800 here on the Head-Fi classifieds.

From what I saw last night while researching the ZMF line of headphones is that they certainly do have a cult following . I think I might go for your suggestion when I'm ready to make a purchase of that magnitude. Thanks for the suggestion