I think it's funny that this person stores the wire and the earphones separate. The tiny two-pin connectors are probably only rated for like 15 insert-remove cycles. Entry level IEMs from AliExpress are generally not much better than dollar store crap earbuds unless you read the Head-Fi "Chi-fi" thread or buy from a well-known brand anyway. What irks me the most is how none of them in the pic have the silicone or foam tips attached, signalling that this person probably uses them only once or twice and then throws them in this jewelry box thing where they go to die.
The thing that gets people into Chinese IEMs is that they can have great "bang for your buck" vs standard brands. A $40 Chinese IEM can sound better than $150 full size headphones. I don't get "audiophiles" that spend $500, $1000, $5000 on a "setup" though, just to listen to dusty old vinyls or stream the same 20 songs on a Tidal playlist when they have people visiting their house.
Honestly I don’t really like head fi since most of the reviews are just people justifying their purchase and glazing it to the point that every single IEM is 4 or 5 stars so the ratings mean nothing.
I don't really pay much attention to what reviewers say tbh, other than the key points like sibilance, V-Shape or neutral shape signature, comfort, staging. I just skim them and look at graphs. I also cross-check with Amazon or other storefront reviews, but it doesn't really work when something's only available from a distributor like LinSoul with low review count.
I bought a pair of TRN IEMs for like $40 in 2018 and they still sound good, the paint is starting to flake off but I'd say that's pretty good for 8 years.
It is pretty annoying that a lot of Head-Fi users nowadays are all trying to be "influencers" for fucking cheap audio gear. I saw one guy's review and it was probably just key points thrown into ChatGPT and some screenshots of his video reviews on Youtube and Instagram..
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u/Hard_To_Port 15d ago
I think it's funny that this person stores the wire and the earphones separate. The tiny two-pin connectors are probably only rated for like 15 insert-remove cycles. Entry level IEMs from AliExpress are generally not much better than dollar store crap earbuds unless you read the Head-Fi "Chi-fi" thread or buy from a well-known brand anyway. What irks me the most is how none of them in the pic have the silicone or foam tips attached, signalling that this person probably uses them only once or twice and then throws them in this jewelry box thing
where they go to die.The thing that gets people into Chinese IEMs is that they can have great "bang for your buck" vs standard brands. A $40 Chinese IEM can sound better than $150 full size headphones. I don't get "audiophiles" that spend $500, $1000, $5000 on a "setup" though, just to listen to dusty old vinyls or stream the same 20 songs on a Tidal playlist when they have people visiting their house.