Begginer here: and when I say expensive I mean 150$. I don’t know if it’s worth it to put it all in one iem (ie200) them I have +2 year warranty and maybe upgrade the accessories along the way
Or-
Just buying an ultracheap chifi (10-20$) and just switch them out when they break
Is the quality and sound of an expensive pair worth the money? Also what if for some reason I’ll just stop liking how they sound?
IE200 is well worth your time
If you wanna go cheap get Kiwi Ears Cadenza
Like all things in life, “worth” is very subjective and different for each person. What something is worth it to you may not be worth it to others, and vice versa.
Music and listening to music is one of my favorite hobbies and passion in life. I personally think expensive audio gear is worth it to me. I’ve spent thousands of dollars in the past decade on audio gear and think it’s worth it. Other rich people with a lot more disposable income than me have spent tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands on audio gear.
Bought the Thieaudio Monarch MKIII when it launched and it’s been one of my favorite purchases, even though it’s expensive for most folks. Spent $400+ on cables for it too. Worth it to me, but not to a lot of people on Reddit or in general.
Less and less these days, because true wireless have gotten so good. You can pickup Airpod Pro 2 (lightning) models for like 150ish on ebay used and they take the fight to most wired iems in that price range anyway
Consider a planar, while they have less impact they bass goes deeper and sounds much more separated, however, distorts easier with EQ, however, it’s harder to hear that distortion over a dynamic driver.
Is it worth it - yes, if they’re detailed. You’ll like the music either way but you’ll appreciate the separation and detail at $150.
The ms1 galaxy is only $16, I would buy that and a $100-$150 planar like an S12 pro.
I love my Salnotes Dioko. I upgraded from my KZ ZSN PRO X, and the difference is night and day. For $100 my experience was better than a mid $20 option. If you can be happy at $20-30 that’s great but I found a lot of technical improvements spending the extra money. So to spend an extra $50 for someone that you can keep and enjoy more.
It depends how much you like music. If you just need something on in the background for commutes or you enjoy music but don’t need to hear all the details then a cheap set is fine.
If you’re really into music and want to be immersed in it then it’s absolutely worth it to invest in more expensive iems. I own the 7hz Timeless which are a great set, but once I upgraded to the FiiO FH7 I stopped using them because the more expensive set was so much better.
When you jump up in price and get the right set you get enveloped in sound. You’ll hear details you’ve never heard before, you’ll experience the sound extend outside your head and instruments separate from the mix so you point them out individually, you’ll feel bass rumble in your body instead of just slam in your ears. It’s a totally different experience.
My advice would be to buy second-hand, then that $200 will get you something worth ~$350-400, then get a Qudelix or BTR5. That will bring you a long way instantly and give you a lot to play with for a while.
Looks down at my Monarch MKii’s Uuummmmmmm