[DaveLT]

  GearBest has been legit so far. Ordered four P3s in total from them. However for the 4th order, delivery took a month this time (Arrived last week) because they ship by China post (if you select free shipping). Maybe because it's Christmas season & all I guess.

China Post is absolute garbage. My HDS1 is taking > one month to get here and I don't live too far away from China. Wat ...
 

  The P3 has been wonderful but I want to replace my P3 with something better sounding and similarly priced. When I read through the last few posts I see Rock Zircon and KZ ED4 come up. How does the sound quality, sound signature and build quality of either compare with each other? Or is there something better?
 

Read this : 

  Okay, so received ED4 (two pairs, for some reason, only ordered one..) and HDS1. 
 
OOTB: ED4 - meh, HDS1 - oh yeah
 
I'll give some more impressions when I've had some more time with them
 

The Good KZs are the microdriver ones. ED3 and variants like the S3 (which is superior to the ED3), HDS1 (but not HDS2), even the ED2/EDR1/EDSE is quite good but you can buy a ED3 for 6USD so

 

[Snuffelkees]

  China Post is absolute garbage. My HDS1 is taking > one month to get here and I don't live too far away from China. Wat ...
 
Read this : 
The Good KZs are the microdriver ones. ED3 and variants like the S3 (which is superior to the ED3), HDS1 (but not HDS2), even the ED2/EDR1/EDSE is quite good but you can buy a ED3 for 6USD so

 
Considering they need to process, check in, document etc 1 month isn't "absolute garbage". Also it's 'free shipping', so sometimes the package has to wait for available space on board, it's not priority. If you want it faster you might want to choose DHL or Fedex. 
1 month isn't that bad. 

 

[DaveLT]

Considering they need to process, check in, document etc 1 month isn't "absolute garbage". Also it's 'free shipping', so sometimes the package has to wait for available space on board, it's not priority. If you want it faster you might want to choose DHL or Fedex. 
1 month isn't that bad. 

Direct shipping from China to my place doesn't cost much and takes less than a week.

And in case nobody knows, when they say free the fee is really added into the item price. they usually group shipments together

 

[Rpg2]

Went for a pair at Gearbest for $13 on their flash sale and picked their america direct express shipping for $1.60. Apparently that takes 3-7 business days compared to everything else which is either 20-40 days or costs an extra $20 for shipping.

 

[Chaoscillator]

  Went for a pair at Gearbest for $13 on their flash sale and picked their america direct express shipping for $1.60. Apparently that takes 3-7 business days compared to everything else which is either 20-40 days or costs an extra $20 for shipping.

Same here. Took a total of 10 days to arrive, so not too bad.

For the $15 overall i paid for these, I'm satisfied. They're certainly not perfect, but they check all the right boxes reasonably well, mainly being versatility, build quality, practicality, comfort, and price.

Now I'm curious about the KZ ED3 S3 and ZS1, however, but I'm not sure where to get the S3.

 

[Yesin]

  China Post is absolute garbage. My HDS1 is taking > one month to get here and I don't live too far away from China. Wat ...
 
Read this : 
The Good KZs are the microdriver ones. ED3 and variants like the S3 (which is superior to the ED3), HDS1 (but not HDS2), even the ED2/EDR1/EDSE is quite good but you can buy a ED3 for 6USD so

I did a bit of Googling and going through HeadFi threads and there seem to be a confusing number of KZ models lol;  HDS1, ED4, ED9, ED3 and its variants. So I take it that the ED3 S3 is the best all rounder? 

 

[DaveLT]

  I did a bit of Googling and going through HeadFi threads and there seem to be a confusing number of KZ models lol;  HDS1, ED4, ED9, ED3 and its variants. So I take it that the ED3 S3 is the best all rounder? 

They're not confusing at all. The ED4 is pretty meh at best (It's significantly different) and the HDS1 is simply not as good as the ED3/S3.
 
So the best all rounder is the S3. There is absolute clarity and massive soundspace along with forward mids.

 

[Yesin]

  They're not confusing at all. The ED4 is pretty meh at best (It's significantly different) and the HDS1 is simply not as good as the ED3/S3.
 
So the best all rounder is the S3. There is absolute clarity and massive soundspace along with forward mids.

Thanks, Dave. I'm looking forward to getting a set. Where did you order your S3 from If you don't mind me asking?

 

[DaveLT]

  Thanks, Dave. I'm looking forward to getting a set. Where did you order your S3 from If you don't mind me asking?

I ordered it from taobao

 

[Yesin]

  I ordered it from taobao

Thanks, Dave

 

[Chaoscillator]

Does anyone know if there's still a place to get the Piston 2.1? I'm interested in trying them out.

 

[CADCAM]

  Does anyone know if there's still a place to get the Piston 2.1? I'm interested in trying them out.

This seller looks promising ~
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Xiaomi-MI-Piston-2-in-ear-Earphone-Headset-For-Android-or-iPhone-/201216602242?var=&hash=item2ed971b082mCQ9Bd1Kasx8bLlL4UKjtaw

 

[Jazzkammer]

So I have been out of the budget-fi IEM game for some time, which is regrettable given how fun it can be.
 
But my 1964 Ears CIEMs are broken and it is going to take at least a month for them to get sent away and fixed.
 
In the meantime I am looking for the best bang-for-the-buck IEM I can buy under $60 CAD, preferably with mic.   This seems to be the consensus choice?   Can anyone compare these to the Meelectronics M-Duo, dual dynamic driver IEMs?  I had those for awhile, they were very good for 60 dollars, but eventually the cord broke (I am hard on my portable gear given my work).
 
I have heard so much buzz and hype over Xiaomi Pistons, so perhaps it is time to try these things out while my customs get fixed?   
Wow I didn't realize the Pistons are already succeeded by the Hybrids...never mind I will post this in that thread

 

[DaveLT]

  So I have been out of the budget-fi IEM game for some time, which is regrettable given how fun it can be.
 
But my 1964 Ears CIEMs are broken and it is going to take at least a month for them to get sent away and fixed.
 
In the meantime I am looking for the best bang-for-the-buck IEM I can buy under $60 CAD, preferably with mic.   This seems to be the consensus choice?   Can anyone compare these to the Meelectronics M-Duo, dual dynamic driver IEMs?  I had those for awhile, they were very good for 60 dollars, but eventually the cord broke (I am hard on my portable gear given my work).
 
I have heard so much buzz and hype over Xiaomi Pistons, so perhaps it is time to try these things out while my customs get fixed?   
Wow I didn't realize the Pistons are already succeeded by the Hybrids...never mind I will post this in that thread

Don't bother with either if you're coming from CIEMs. You'll just be left disappointed at the mediocrity (It really is still pretty V shaped) and the hybrid is just dark.
 
Try out a **** UE.

 

[Habitat]

I got 4 of these over xmas not sure if they are Legit since the volume buttons don't work.
I tried them on a iPhone 6, Ipad Air gen 2 and MotoG gen 3.
I opened 2 of them and neither volume controls work on all 3 devices.
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01823BC58/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They have a tag on the phones with a QR code and MI on the other side.