• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Looking for IEM recommendations under €50

Winemaker

Winemaker

Active Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2022
Messages
202
Likes
228
Location
Sicily
As the title says, I'm looking for a pair of IEMs to pair with my phone (Samsung S23 Ultra). I've been doing some research, but the more I look, the more undecided I get.

I don't want to spend crazy money; I've set a strict budget of around €50 and would really like to stick as close to it as possible.

Here are a few options that have caught my eye so far:

  • Arisyn Huo Shu: It has overwhelmingly positive reviews. They also look pretty nice with the wooden faceplate, which is a welcome aesthetic bonus.
  • Moondrop Chu II: Also getting great reviews. Highly competitive price at around €27, and they come with a Type-C DSP cable, which is a big plus for convenience.
  • Truthear x Crinacle Zero:Red: Highly praised on here, but they stretch my budget by about €10, and I don't think they are available with a Type-C cable option out of the box.

Use Case & Music Taste​

I'll mainly be using them on public transit and while walking around town.

My music taste is completely across the board—I listen to pretty much everything: Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Pat Metheny, John Coltrane, Ornella Vanoni, Sergio Cammariere, Pino Daniele, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Paco De Lucía, Matteo Mancuso, Rush... and the list goes on.

I really want to avoid buying something subpar or poorly tuned, which is why I'm turning to the community for advice. What do you think would be the best fit for my setup and budget?
 
The tuning of the IEMs on your list is very similar, with some differences mostly in the bass region:

1000023773.png


All of them are Harman-like in their FR. Doesn't mean they will sound identical, mostly due to differences fit, insertion depth and interaction with your inner ear geometry. But I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

For the Chu II there are some reports of the pins breaking at the connector to the IEMs, so those might not be the most durable. I would also add the 7 Hz Crinacle Zero 2 to the list, but there are some reports of one side just dying after a couple of months. Haven't heard anything like that about the Zero:REDs, so those might be worth the 10 extra Euros.
 
Last edited:
I bought Truthear Gate as a backup set to use in my bedroom with a phone or tablet (I also have Crinacle Zero2). They were, IIRC, reviewed well on ASR a while back, but I just bought on price and lack of major dissing!

They are surisingly good with quite extended bass. They are importantly, very robust. I like IEMs and headphones that sound OK 'out of the box' - I'm way too lazy fuss about with EQ (I'd likely spend my life playing with filters instead of listening to music or watching videos!)

All I've found is that there's not much to be learned from reviews or measurements. Everyone's ear canals are surisingly varied and this affects what each individual will hear more than people think. This is a great reason to spend as little as possible - you may have to try several sets to find one you like, and you can give away ones you don't like (cleaned!) to friends who don't have a spare £20 for such things.
 
The Moondrop Chu II is very compact in size and has a metal shell, while the Truthear Zero Red is quite chunky with thick long nozzle. For me the Zero Red is not comfortable, but others like it, because fit is a personal thing.

The Tangzu Wan'er SG II is a nice set too with nice cable and good eartips. Different cable options are available (3.5mm, 4.4mm, USB-C).

The Truthear Gate and the 7Hz x Crinacle Zero 2 measures very well but eartips and cable of the 7Hz are quite simple.

The KZ PRX is a planar for about 30 Euros.
 
Last edited:
I should add that there is value in standard-sized swappable cables, so they can be easily replaced, as they break sooner or later!
 
I've heard about Soundmagic, are you familiar with them? Which models are worth checking out?
 
Red is the best among these.
 
If I want to pair a portable dongle DAC with my Reds—ideally the smallest possible for mobile use with a 3.5mm jack—what would you recommend? I've seen the Kiwi Ears AD1, but are there other options around this size that perform even better?
 
If you've got the Apple dongle, that's 100% fine to use. Otherwise, the JCally JM20 Max offers good value for the money:

www.audiosciencereview.com

JCALLY JM20 MAX Headphone Dongle Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the JCALLY JM20MAX DAC and portable headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by Crinacle. Cost is anywhere from US $22 to $65 :eek:. The dongle has a bit of style to it with that logo and such. Otherwise it is well, a dongle. :) Key thing is how it...
www.audiosciencereview.com www.audiosciencereview.com
 
I'd give this one a try:

JBL Endurance Run 3 Sports Earphones with Cable, FlipHook & TwistLock Technology, Dust and Water Resistance IP65, JBL Pure Bass Sound, Microphone and Cable Control, Grey/Black : Amazon.it: Electronics

JBL Endurance Run 3 Sports Earphones with Cable, FlipHook & TwistLock Technology, Dust and Water Resistance IP65, JBL Pure Bass Sound, Microphone and Cable Control, Grey/Black : Amazon.it: Electronics
www.amazon.it
A little EQ and it's probably really good
The previous model was tested by Amir:
www.audiosciencereview.com

JBL Endurance Run 2 Wired IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests, detailed measurements and EQ of JBL Endurance Run 2 Wired "sports" waterproof IEM. It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale for $9.95 on Amazon including Prime shipping (retail: $19.95). As you see, there are magnets at the end of each formed earphone...
www.audiosciencereview.com www.audiosciencereview.com
 
In the end, it seems the optimal pairing should be: Truthear x Crinacle Zero:Red + JCALLY JM20MAX

It's a bit over budget, but whatever, I'll bite the bullet and stretch the budget a bit.
 
Last edited:
It's hard to agree on "optimal". You could spend £500 on IEMs and find that in your own ears, they don't sound any better than £25 ones. You have to try a few until you find what suits you - this is clearly easier at the lower-priced end. On the other hand, if you spent £500, you will automatically claim they are the best thing since sliced bread, no matter the comparisons you may have tried or not.

Bottom line - all the Chinese brands you have heard of are likely to be good for the money.
 
My favorite budget set is the Tangzu Wan'Er II Red Lion. They have vocal clarity along with the strong bass response I crave. Prefer them over the Kunten, Zero 2, and Zero Red. They're all good but the Red Lion has some special sauce going on, along with nice cable and tips. I use them with aftermarket memory foam tips.
 
I've tried Truthear Gate, Zero:2 and right now I have Tangzu Wan'er 2 and Truthear Zero:Red. Before trying Zero:Red I was searching upgrades between one IEM or another, but when I bought Zero:Red was my endgame.
Technically there are almost perfect, so you can EQ them and have always a perfect sound. I have EQd mine to JM-1 curve with some bass and sounds perfectly neutral
 
I’m also looking into TANGZU—they pump out tons of models too, ranging from €18 to €300, all with reviews never dropping below 4.8 and averaging around 4.9.

I’m checking out way too many models at this point, and I honestly don't know what to consider anymore. One thing is for sure, though: I’m going to pair them with the JCALLY JM20 MAX, a DAC that was reviewed here on ASR as having incredible audio quality.

Right now, my wishlist looks like this:

  • KZ Creator PRO
  • ARISYN HUO SHU
  • MOONDROP CHU II
  • TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO
  • And now, the TANGZU Wan'er SG 2
More confused than ever.
 
hmmmm, reviews.....
Pick one at a sensible price and try it I'd say.
 
If you want to play around with different IEMs and EQ them, I would recommend a Qudelix 5k.

Users report the JCALLY JM20 Max is getting quite hot. I have no personal experience with it.

I would start with a Truthear Gate or 7Hz Crinacle Zero 2.
 
Last edited:
After all the research, I finally pulled the trigger on this combo. A bit over budget, but you know how it goes—you start at 10 and end up at 100.:facepalm:
JCALLY JM20MAX USB-C.jpg
SIMGOT EW 300 1DD.jpg
 
Both arrived! The JM20 Max works flawlessly paired with my work PC driving my Edifiers.

With headphones, though, the output is just too hot—even at 25% volume, it's way too loud for my ears, and if I push it any further, they start to distort (tested from my phone, obviously).

I think I’ll just run the headphones directly from the source and keep the JM20 at the office for low-level background listening on the monitors.

To be honest, the headphones sound great even without the JM20. I haven’t fully put them through their paces yet, but from what little I’ve heard, I'm really liking them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
7Hz x Crinacle: Diablo/Divine Discussion
Replies
19
Views
5K
Chromatischism
Chromatischism
Back
Top Bottom