Two weeks ago I replaced my old Sundaras with the Ananda Stealth. They felt more comfortable and the imaging, soundstage and bass are improved noticeably, so I decided to keep them. Yesterday I listened for the first time to a IEM (EW200), which I bought for 25$ in the 11.11.
To be honest, there is not much difference in terms of detail, imaging and bass quality. Of course, the Ananda a feel fuller, airier and with more natural timber that is very noticeable when watching movies or listening to vocals, but the rest feel kinda comparable. Now I feel like I wasted 400$ with the Ananda. Did this happen to any of you when discovering IEM?
Also, now I wonder if I buy something like the Simgot EA1000 in the 200$ range if I will be blown out or if the improvement would be comparable to jumping from the Sundara to the Ananda.
I would also like to hear from you how you feel comparing IEM with open back headphones. Cheers!
I think I will keep them as I got them for 380€ and I have a 3 year guarantee. Now I think it is the time to explore more IEMs and test if the incremental price improves substantially the sound compared with headphones. For me for example the difference between the Sundara and the Ananda is noticeable, but maybe it is a 15% improvement for twice the price. I suppose this is common as the price increases at high-end products…