So after Tin t2 and hd599 I went ahead and bought Campfire Andromeda 2020 and Senheiser IE600 and sort of skipped the whole mid fi stage.
I really like both of these but it seems from crinacle and everyone who reviews them the Airpods pro 2 and Samsung buds pro 2 both come pretty close and even do better in some aspects than these 2 I have.
Now I’m not rich or anything but music meant a lot to me last few years so I just went ahead and bought a couple of near endgame stuff knowing id end there eventually. I still wonder if I wasted a whole lot money for no reason.
I really like both the iems I have but they’re obviously not without flaws, from thin bass on Andro to slightly sharp treble that needs to be eqd on ie600 and it’s terrible cable. Maybe by next generation of products tws would start outclassing flagship iems.
As an aside, what’s your favourite albums on Andros or ie600?
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I always feel more comfortable spending big bucks on wired than tws/wireless no matter how good they sound. I feel like wired can last longer provided if we take care of it. Tws no matter what the batteries are eventually gonna give out and that makes the purchase short lived. I use my airpods just for the convenience (gyms commuting etc) and use my iems for music listening elsewhere.
Andromeda IS midfi
Considering $10 Panasonic ErgoFit earbuds are budget I very much consider a hundredfold increase in price “high end”.
Andro 2020 kind of underperforms for its price imo…I don’t think it’s a great representation of some of the banger IEMs you can get around the 1k mark.
I do think IE600 is pretty good, especially for how cheap if often sales for.
Man what a fucking classic /r/headphones comment right there.
OK.
I got a bit cheaper at 700. Ier m9 is not available and that was really the only comparison without compromising the fit and comfort. Maybe dunu sa6 but people say it’s less resolving
Only if it’s treble and presentation compete at the high end that’s enough for me in a way because I have ie600 now for bassy music. What do you think?
I love the M9. Bonus is that it comes with the best cable you can get.
They do seem like they are different enough and complement each other pretty well(I have both as well). And sorry if it came across like I was bashing your Andromeda, I just kind of got the impression you were questioning the value of these expensive IEMs based on not being wowed, but re-reading your post it seems I was off-base. Sorry.
After chasing the hobby like an idiot, the Samsung EO-IA 500 felt like a FOMO killer to me. They actually fit the ear and stay securely. The sound is good enough! Not too bright, the mids are clear (V shaped earphones never fail to disappoint) and the bass is kicking. Yeah, the Samsungs are muddy at times. But that’s a small sacrifice I’m willing to take, considering that everything else is perfect.
For serious listening I have Closer Acoustics OGY speakers. It doesn’t get more transparent and clear than that.
consumer debt
I think the only time I’ve had this reverse-FOMO is by getting an HD600 with a Schiit stack. It’s so baseline with a sturdy reputation that it gives me peace of mind that I won’t really need anything else unless I want to stray further from neutral.
Topping L30 was definitely an improvement on the og Atom.
6xx was a clear improvement over anything in the 5 series and the fidelio x2
Focal Clear was a very interesting improvement over the 6xx and let me finally hear the ‘veil’
ThieAudio 3 and 5 were disappointing
Starfields were ok but the blessing 2 dusks are amazing once you finally get the small cp155s
Fiio FH3 got sent back
TruthEar Zeros are shockingly good for the price. Reds even better.
Sundaras are like just okay and have a strange soundstage for me.
Beyer 770 250ohm are astonishing for their imaging but that’s about it and so I only use em for comp gaming
All of the above have been hyped in various ways throughout the years and the only way was to find out myself.
I’ve never had FOMO, I can honestly say I could have been happy with my first setup with 598’s forever, but eventually when I had money I could use toward it I wanted to experience that next level. I’m glad I did. My next upgrade is endgame for me for at least 10 years, unless something happens to them during that time I won’t even think about or be tempted by any other equipment, I will just enjoy with no need to spend any money.
i had itchy ears and face. starting to use speaker lol
Get a low impedance source for the Andro and the bass will fill out a lot.
I carry it around with the apple usb c dongle in its case XD
I have little-to-no FOMO. I’m happy with my EQ’d 6XX. I know there are objectively better headphones, and I’m sure that there are headphones that would be subjectively better for me. But they sound fantastic. If I wanted to spend a grand auditioning similar headphones or springing for the next tier, I’d rather get a new fork for my mountain bike instead.
No fomo. My first nice headphone was the focal clear og. Then I used the B2Dusk for a while and went straight to the IER M9. Happy with my purchases. I also have the APP2 for conference calls.
How the hell does those 2 tws compare to totl iems???
I’m new to this hobby and i need an actual answer… I go to wire for the quality but if tws can sound better than MOST wire then why the tradeoff for me???
For me, AirPods Pro 2 + good full size headphones is the best combo. I have very very convenient and quite good sounding headphones when I’m out. And extremely good headphones at home.
Yes, I certainly have faced the opposite of FOMO recently.
After trying the Focal Utopia 2022 earlier this year on tour, and comparing it to a bunch of my other headphones, I finally realized just how steep the diminishing returns roll off is past a certain price point in headphones. I experienced the opposite of FOMO when I compared the Utopia for two weeks to all my other under $500 headphones, and actually not hearing the substantial difference I was expecting. Hell, I even compared the Utopia to my IEMs under $200. The Utopias are more detailed and resolving, sure, but was it $4000 better? Absolutely not. I was able to get a similar sound with the Focal Clear MG I already owned. Also even more with the (now on sale) $129 JVC HA-FD01 IEMs, which have given me a super enjoyable, punchy and dynamic experience similar to that of the Clear MG and Utopia, at least when using a custom EQ profile for my ears.
If I had an extra few thousand dollars lying around right now, I probably would still get the Utopia 2022, it sounds incredible and is one of my favorites. But I’m honestly getting 95% of that ultra high end experience with things that cost a tenth of the price, and sometimes they can sound even better. Granted I haven’t heard many headphones above $1k, I still need to hear stuff like the LCD-4, Abyss, Susvara, etc. But I feel like most of these summit fi headphones are ultra detailed specialists, and I would rather go back to the trusty Sennheiser HD600, Hifiman HE-500, and Focal Clear MG for all rounder open back headphones. Or, dare I say it, the Koss KPH40.