nahmanidk t1_iu406ga wrote on October 28, 2022 at 11:54 AM

Reply to comment by dumbcollegekid in My Endgame by dumbcollegekid

> I can't imagine I'll be buying much else in the near future.

All these “budget endgame” posts include a line like this and it’s never true. I would be shocked if you browsed this sub or other headphone forums and didn’t pick up IEMs in the next 6 months.

TombstoneSoda t1_iu4i2hx wrote on October 28, 2022 at 2:19 PM

Blon-bl03 or Moondrop Chus for 20-35$ doesnt reaaaaally count though, does it?

dumbcollegekid OP t1_iu4uw9g wrote on October 28, 2022 at 3:47 PM

Tbh I would've by now, I just hate wearing soft-tip earbuds in general. But if Koss adds anything else to the Utility Series it'll be auto-deducted from my bank account.

For IEMs I would go for a hard plastic earbud like the Monks (which I have) but that form factor seems relatively rare in higher end gear.

nahmanidk t1_iu51wfa wrote on October 28, 2022 at 4:33 PM

There are a lot of eartip options so you may find you like a specific type of foam or silicone, like Etymotics. Otherwise, CIEMs are an option and they are worn without tips at all.

MediumElephant6 t1_iu50a1l wrote on October 28, 2022 at 4:22 PM

I agree but I think it’s also mostly true for people who buy mid-level and endgame-level shit. You can get used to a Meze Emperyan just like you can with the KSC75. In the last year the only headphone/iem related purchase I’ve made are ear tips. I got upper-mid-fi stuff that has been and will be endgame for a while. Still genuinely use KSC75s more than everything else combined and 95%+ of my music listening is KSC75 or Variation. But hey I’ll probably grab a couple cheaper iems for 11/11. So yea I just think saying that ^^ is naive just cuz minds change but it’s also totally normal.

nahmanidk t1_iu51jvu wrote on October 28, 2022 at 4:31 PM

Well in your case, you have Variations, Elex, HD600 and probably have had others that are well regarded. Without further context, I’m assuming OP hasn’t explored higher end options and simply is content with what they have…for now!

audiophile_lurker t1_iuarpqo wrote on October 29, 2022 at 10:01 PM

Probably best not to assume though? I am obviously not a budget user with HD650 here, but that comes after having experienced a bunch of higher end stuff. A key thing about “budget end game” is that people listen and realize “this is achieving levels of enjoyment that are comparable to more expensive stuff”. Everything after is often just FOMO / “well, I can afford fancier so why not”.