The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread

[Woodinblack]

18 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Why so many models? Because they have figured out that places like head-fi.org are obsessive about such things. Price them cheap enough and they will sell loads (many models to an individual too) as people in that space are borderline obsessive about comparing and contrasting.

 

Yeh, i guess.. well I had some ZXs and they were great, but I am sure they were just ZX10s - I just want a set that work as well as those.

[Chienmortbb]

8 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Ooh - handy - I seem to have lost my KZs and the replacements I have are not good.

Why are there so many models? Which KZ models are better for IEMs than the others?

 

I forgot to mention, the sale starts tommorow.

[Woodinblack]

13 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

I forgot to mention, the sale starts tommorow.

 

They already have their discounts in ali express, but I kind of got overloaded with the number of products - which are the better ones, which are the junk? They seem to go from a fiver to £70, at what point are they worth it.

[AJ567]

On 21/11/2022 at 13:29, AJ567 said:

Point of interest for anyone looking at custom IEM options...

 

On a whim I recently picked up a pair of Fearless Audio S8Pro IEMs on ebay. I'm blown away by how good they are! Embarrassingly, they leave my expensive customs in the dust. 

 

The ones I bought are universal fit but they are available as full custom units. 

 

The S8Pro It's an eight driver IEM. Fearless is a Chinese brand which seems to be making waves in the "head-fi" world... because the quality is great and the price points are reasonable. 

 

Looks like you can get a custom pair for $549 USD. You defo won't get this quality for that price from a mainstream brand. Food for thought!

 

https://www.linsoul.com/products/fearlessaudio-s8freedon-s8pro?variant=42812671230169

 

 

 

Just spotted these have a 15% discount at the moment as well!

 

I'm not on commission, I promise, just enthusiastic...

[Chienmortbb]

21 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

They already have their discounts in ali express, but I kind of got overloaded with the number of products - which are the better ones, which are the junk? They seem to go from a fiver to £70, at what point are they worth it.

@Phil Starrtold me yesterday that he uses the KZ ZS10 Pro, that is the one I am ordering. https://kz-audio.com/kz-zs10-pro.html

 

[Woodinblack]

3 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

@Phil Starrtold me yesterday that he uses the KZ ZS10 Pro, that is the one I am ordering. https://kz-audio.com/kz-zs10-pro.html

 

 

Thanks - makes sense - I had a KZ ZS10 before and I liked those. In fact I only realise how much I like those having to go back to something else!

[Chienmortbb]

3 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Thanks - makes sense - I had a KZ ZS10 before and I liked those. In fact I only realise how much I like those having to go back to something else!

I will say that I expect to replace the silicon tips with Comply ones, as I found them to be the best.

[mcnach]

Hmmm, I tried to get a pair of ZS10 pro but the link takes me to an AliExpress shop and I get a "this vendor does not deliver to your address" kind of error. 

 

Anybody had success?

 

https://kz-audio.com/kz-zs10-pro.html

 

 

[Woodinblack]

Yes, I got them from another shop, several others had them at about the same price, so I just picked the quickest shipping one with the best feedback on the highest sales. aparently with me in a few weeks

[dave_bass5]

Amazon?

[EBS_freak]

Aye, Amazon and eBay are probably your goto to get them the quickest.

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, mcnach said:

Hmmm, I tried to get a pair of ZS10 pro but the link takes me to an AliExpress shop and I get a "this vendor does not deliver to your address" kind of error. 

 

Anybody had success?

 

https://kz-audio.com/kz-zs10-pro.html

 

 

Yes I had that but got this one to work. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002265655848.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.1a3b582ckpr7EJ&algo_pvid=ac1255cd-cbbb-49a4-b7c9-09ae09e9b5d9&aem_p4p_detail=202211240207109040276961833500009750871&algo_exp_id=ac1255cd-cbbb-49a4-b7c9-09ae09e9b5d9-4&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000024201443869"}&pdp_npi=2%40dis!GBP!44.63!22.31!!!!!%400b0a050b16692844303613349e3a97!12000024201443869!sea&curPageLogUid=gFhiuFJm1gl7&ad_pvid=202211240207109040276961833500009750871_5&ad_pvid=202211240207109040276961833500009750871_5

[mcnach]

2 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Aye, Amazon and eBay are probably your goto to get them the quickest.

 

Happy to wait a little, not in a hurry. It just happened I was looking into getting a pair of these and "oh, hello, do I want to save £20? yes please!" so I ordered from the link @Chienmortbb posted. Thank you!

 

 

[police squad]

got mine on amazon for about 45 quid iirc

[Jakester]

15 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

Happy to wait a little, not in a hurry. It just happened I was looking into getting a pair of these and "oh, hello, do I want to save £20? yes please!" so I ordered from the link @Chienmortbb posted. Thank you!

 

 

 

Likewise! I've been considering a pair of these for a while, but for £22 there's nothing to consider! Thanks @Chienmortbb and @mcnach!

[Minininjarob]

23 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

@Phil Starrtold me yesterday that he uses the KZ ZS10 Pro, that is the one I am ordering. https://kz-audio.com/kz-zs10-pro.html

 

I was recommend some of those by a pro audio engineer as comparable to his £400 custom ones. Ok they are custom fitted but he said the sound quality is excellent. 

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, Jakester said:

 

Likewise! I've been considering a pair of these for a while, but for £22 there's nothing to consider! Thanks @Chienmortbb and @mcnach!

 

It looks like these tips (SF1) fit the ZS10. I used these with another set of earphones and I quite like them, good isolation.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONICFOAM-Memory-Foam-Earbud-Tips-SF1-Black-5-8-6-5mm-See-chart/dp/B09L7CX9JD

[Al Krow]

19 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

 

Yes I had that but got this one to work. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002265655848.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.1a3b582ckpr7EJ&algo_pvid=ac1255cd-cbbb-49a4-b7c9-09ae09e9b5d9&aem_p4p_detail=202211240207109040276961833500009750871&algo_exp_id=ac1255cd-cbbb-49a4-b7c9-09ae09e9b5d9-4&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000024201443869"}&pdp_npi=2%40dis!GBP!44.63!22.31!!!!!%400b0a050b16692844303613349e3a97!12000024201443869!sea&curPageLogUid=gFhiuFJm1gl7&ad_pvid=202211240207109040276961833500009750871_5&ad_pvid=202211240207109040276961833500009750871_5

 

Thanks so much for this! Just put in my first AliExpress order - got a set of ZS10 Pro's for the band and total cost less than a single Shure SE 215.

 

PS @Chienmortbb as an AliExpress newbie, grateful if you could confirm if I should be expecting to pay import handling and VAT on top or is the price I've just paid an all-in price?

Edited November 25, 2022 by Al Krow

[Chienmortbb]

46 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

It looks like these tips (SF1) fit the ZS10. I used these with another set of earphones and I quite like them, good isolation.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONICFOAM-Memory-Foam-Earbud-Tips-SF1-Black-5-8-6-5mm-See-chart/dp/B09L7CX9JD

Good shout, they look a lot like the Comply ones but more reasonably priced and if you but the wrong size they will replace them. They are also UK based despite the .com domain name.  https://www.sonicfoam.com/

[dave_bass5]

I’ve only used Ali express twice, for camera accessories. Both took ages to arrive and were both fakes. 
Maybe I was just unlucky. 

[EBS_freak]

30 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’ve only used Ali express twice, for camera accessories. Both took ages to arrive and were both fakes. 
Maybe I was just unlucky. 

Ah they be the genuine copies.

[Chienmortbb]

46 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’ve only used Ali express twice, for camera accessories. Both took ages to arrive and were both fakes. 
Maybe I was just unlucky. 

We will see, I will compare mine to @Phil Starroriginal ones. Would it be ironic if Chinese companies were pirating the designs of other Chinese companies?

 

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Thanks so much for this! Just put in my first AliExpress order - got a set of ZS10 Pro's for the band and total cost less than a single Shure SE 215.

 

PS @Chienmortbb as an AliExpress newbie, grateful if you could confirm if I should be expecting to pay import handling and VAT on top or is the price I've just paid an all-in price?

 

Never paid import tax on aliexpress from a genuine shop. My original ZS10s replaced my SE215s which were left as a backup, and for some reason now I need a backup seem to have gone!

 

 

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’ve only used Ali express twice, for camera accessories. Both took ages to arrive and were both fakes.

 

never had any issue, but you have to be careful. Same as eBay or amazon buyers etc

[Chienmortbb]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

PS @Chienmortbb as an AliExpress newbie, grateful if you could confirm if I should be expecting to pay import handling and VAT on top or is the price I've just paid an all-in price?

Aliexpress are registered with HMRC and collect VAT for them, so nothing more to pay.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’ve only used Ali express twice, for camera accessories. Both took ages to arrive and were both fakes. 
Maybe I was just unlucky. 

 

36 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

We will see, I will compare mine to @Phil Starroriginal ones. Would it be ironic if Chinese companies were pirating the designs of other Chinese companies?

 

Will it be obvious if they are fakes?