[GrammyDickles]

Bought the Dunu Alpha 3 about a month ago, absolutely love them. I use them primarily for work since I need to be able to hear my environment and respond quickly, so they live in my work coat pocket.

I drive them primarily out of a Zenfone 9 but I will be transitioning to a TempoTec V3 soon so that I can have my FLACs with me instead of using streaming services.

I listen to a wide genre of music, but my current focus at this time is lofi experimental and alternative(ie. Stomach Book & Car Seat Headrest), I would prefer either a neutral tuning but I do also enjoy V or U shaped tuning(OG Moondrop Arias were my daily driver for 3 years)

I'm not looking to replace my pair of DA3, I just want more options to pick from in the same style, currently looking at the Fiio FF5 and RY4S off of AliExpress, I have some KBear Stellars in my bag as backup in case I forget my DA3 at home.

 

[GrammyDickles]

I've been looking at the dedicated forum for this specific type of earbuds, and there's just a lot there so it's very overwhelming and I tend to be asleep during times it's more active so I haven't really been able to get a conversation going. Though there's a lot of DIY stuff in there I definitely want to check out in the future

 

[dunring]

Here's ones I have or had and would recommend to anyone:
Neutral - Moondrop Blessing 3 which is like the Sennheiser HD600 of IEMs.
7hz Salnotes Zero:2 for $24 everyone should have these as a baseline of how great something can sound for so little money.
Moondrop Kato - versatile and light and airy treble, just fun.
7hz Timeless - Original, not the AE version with a dynamic driver for bass that makes them sound dull. Original is the fun one.
An Apple 3.5mm to USB adapter will power any of these well for $9.

 

[GrammyDickles]

Here's ones I have or had and would recommend to anyone:
Neutral - Moondrop Blessing 3 which is like the Sennheiser HD600 of IEMs.
7hz Salnotes Zero:2 for $24 everyone should have these as a baseline of how great something can sound for so little money.
Moondrop Kato - versatile and light and airy treble, just fun.
7hz Timeless - Original, not the AE version with a dynamic driver for bass that makes them sound dull. Original is the fun one.
An Apple 3.5mm to USB adapter will power any of these well for $9.

I actually already have the Zero 2's, but I think you misunderstood my post. I'm looking for flathead earbuds, not in ear monitors. I primarily use these at work and I need to be able to tell when people are trying to get my attention or somebody is walking up to my post. I also don't require a dongle DAC at all since I have an audio jack on my smartphone and will be getting a digital audio player soon since I have a large FLAC collection.

 

[wskl]

I don't actually have the Dunu Alpha 3 but I can list some of the recommended earbuds from recent months.

- Yincrow RW-2000 and RW-3000 (this retails for $300 on Aliexpress but during a big sale like 11.11 it can be bought for ~$180)
- Fiio FF3 and FF5 (Fiio actually sells these on Amazon so you could buy and return if not satisfied)
- Yinman 600 (requires strong amplification to reach full potential)
- TGXear Red Serratus (top end of your $200 budget, shipped from Canada)
- Random ones on a lower budget - Aeolian Bells, Temperament X6

There's probably some others that I've forgotton.

My simplistic ranking of the earbuds I have owned (including your picks)
Serratus > FF5 > RW-2000 > RY4S

 

[GrammyDickles]

I don't actually have the Dunu Alpha 3 but I can list some of the recommended earbuds from recent months.

- Yincrow RW-2000 and RW-3000 (this retails for $300 on Aliexpress but during a big sale like 11.11 it can be bought for ~$180)
- Fiio FF3 and FF5 (Fiio actually sells these on Amazon so you could buy and return if not satisfied)
- Yinman 600 (requires strong amplification to reach full potential)
- TGXear Red Serratus (top end of your $200 budget, shipped from Canada)
- Random ones on a lower budget - Aeolian Bells, Temperament X6

There's probably some others that I've forgotton.

My simplistic ranking of the earbuds I have owned (including your picks)
Serratus > FF5 > RW-2000 > RY4S

Thank you so much! I will probably end up ordering all of these, I want to build a bit of collection and since this is the style I would be using most I really appreciate the information!