Hi,
I've been lurking since October, 2018. I live in Canada, and sometimes things are a little more pricey.
So when I heard about Chi-Fi, I got curious. I used the Chi-Fi IEM threads to learn what to buy for the 11.11 AliExpress sale. I picked up a Tin Audio T2 (of course), an IEM that can't be mentioned here, a TRN V80, the EZ Audio D4, and some cheaper bargain-basement IEMs.
(I also have a TFZ T2 Galaxy from MassDrop, but I haven't really used it).
So far, the biggest winner from my Chi-Fi gamble is the TRN V80, which is amazing bass for the price. I'm not a basshead, but it's a really good transit IEM.
I didn't like the T2 so much - sure, it has great fidelity for the price, and is accurate. But it's neutrality bores me (I use a studio monitor when I need neutrality), and it lacks bass. I don't need a lot of bass, but I can't stand a headphone that basically erases what's in the source material. Turns out to be a good IEM for computer use, though.
The D4 just plain sucked, I gave them to relatives who needed earphones for their mobile devices. They came with nice cases, though.
Anyway, I've been following this forum because I didn't know what to buy after I lost / broke my Klipsch IEMs, which were amazing at the time. I've been hoping Chi-Fi could replicate what I was getting out of them. In general, some of the Chi-Fi IEMs give equivalent detail to the x7i, and exceed the price/performance point of the S4i. But many Chi-Fi IEMs either lack the detail, or have weird / unnatural tuning, harsh and piercing highs, too much brightness, and are not all-rounders.
Oh yeah, I also picked up a King Pro recently, which is great for jazz. And I have the VSonic Ares, but I can't figure out a use for it.
I'm still trying to figure out what I like. I like warm instead of neutral, fun instead of analytical, V and W-shaped profiles (but not exclusively), wide and deep soundstages, and directionality is very important. I'm not a big fan of brightness.
I'm reading Head-Fi threads because I want to learn more about how to optimize my Chi-Fi IEMs, since they often need work out-of-the-box.