I appreciate your response, however none of the 3 earphones you suggested are “the similar form-factor” to the ATH I mentioned. The shapes of the earbuds are drastically different, I have JBLs in a shape like those 3 suggestions, they hurt ears like hell when side-sleeping.
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My apologies, I have only seen the ATH in the photo through the link you shared, they looked similar.
So is the nozzle offset/angled on the ATH?
A point of awareness for your expectations about feedback from this community: quite a few of the members own headphones or IEMs that cost $1,000 to $5,000+. Many also own $200+ wireless IEMs. Per my observations they rarely pay attention to the $25 to $30 market, let alone the niche of inexpensive items suitable for side-sleeping.
@SenyorC pays a lot of attention to this price class, so whatever he says is likely the best guidance you’ll receive. He may offer the best guidance you’ll receive anywhere online.
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Fair points. Both your form factor and price range make it difficult. I understand that at night you will not (I expect!) listening loudly, so top quality sound is less important.
Comfort is key. Are you using the standard eartips? You might try some smaller foam tips instead. Also consider changing your pillow. I find traditional feather pillows to adjust better to objects in ear when side sleeping, although you break your budget getting one that provides decent support (goose down, filled well). Foam is the worst. And I like memory foam.
@generic is right regarding the forum. Yes, I have had $17 IEMs, but I usually don’t look below $50. And I’m a lot tighter than many here. @SenyorC is the master of the inexpensive.
The flat ones with ear loops worked best for me, but were still not ideal. Speakers keep me awake. Sometimes radio played quietly through a tablet close by is best, although that could drive others crazy.
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For sheer comfort laying on my side, I would pick the Sennheiser IE series, in fact, I would pick the IE600 for comfort period. However, even the IE40 is 3 times the stated budget.
I am trying to remember any models that have the offset nozzle like the ATH (I think that is what you are referring to) but I can only remember a really old TDK model and some other no name brands, and believe me, you don’t want those 
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Thanks for the kind words but I don’t think I can offer the best anything, especially not guidance 
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I also was going to suggest the Sennheiser IE40 Pro for the form factor. But I find that in addition to budget here, the cables can come out of the IEM a bit too easily for side-sleep use.
Maybe look to the used market.
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Closest thing to that form-factor (depth, angled nozzle) that I know of would be the Amazon Basics $6 wired earbuds. For music, though, they’ll sound like ass … and you’ll have to deal with the 4-wire connection and inline “remote” (which is going to be a common thing at this end of the market).
Otherwise there is the Sennheiser CX 80S, at <$25. No, it doesn’t have the same profile as the ATH, but if you can’t lie on it and not feel that you’re doing so then you’ve probably got unusually shallow ears as it’s about as shallow as you’ll get absent time-travel. Still a 4-wire connection but should work fine with standard TRS.
Can’t help beyond that.
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I have solved the battery issue on long flights with AirPods Pro 2 very simply: I carry two pairs and charge one pair while using the other. They are inexpensive enough, and small enough that this makes sense.
I use the Asla Sedna Xelastec tips made for the AirPods Pro, so they stay in my ears nicely AND they fit in the charging case. A win-win.
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Hadn’t realized they made any … and while I have no particular/obvious issue with the stock Apple tips, nothing stays in play or keeps a seal as well as the Asla tips (for me, that I’ve found).
Might be the fastest “found out about something to having them ordered” experience I’ve had.
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I always carry 3M disposable foam earplugs when traveling. They are good for sleeping and good for when you want 30 dB less of whatever. So, I take a quiet-time break while the AirPods charge.
Apple could surely make them a bit larger for 8 hours of playtime, but they can never be too rich or too thin. They used to put small and weak batteries in the iPhone too.
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Thank you @SenyorC @generic @pennstac and @Torq for the suggestions. I would have preferred a shorter cord on CX 80S but as my time travel device is broken, this is what I’ll have to live with.
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Hi all,
I am torn between the Spring 3 KTE or the Ferrum Wandla. Any other suggestions are welcome too; my budget is $3k.
Also @GoldenSound I would love your input on this too as you have reviewed both DACs extensively.
Thanks!
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Don’t know about ferrum, but spring is on the more relaxed and colored side. In other words, if you want something more neutral, accurate, energetic, and engaging spring ain’t it imo. It does have fairly good technical performance for the price.
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Not sure if this is totally helpful, as I have not heard either of those for myself, and I’m just adding a couple of potentially complicating suggestions, but here they are nevertheless. I love my Denfrips Ares 12th DAC + Iris 12th DDC combo. I was extremely surprised by the Iris, as I would have thought it was snake oil until seeing some measurements with it. I think GoldenSound may have done some of those actually. I was actually fairly disappointed with the Ares 12th until adding the Iris 12th, and this was reconfirmed recently when I blew a fuse in the Iris and used the Ares by itself for a few days. The two together are absolute magic to my ears, especially for PCM. I do also love my E70 Velvet, particularly for DSD, but in your budget, you might consider the Geshelli Dayzee with dual mono AKM 4499 chips and the ability to upgrade to Sparkos professional style op amps and some cool aesthetic options. Good luck in your quest for an amazing DAC!!
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An upper limit of $3k for a DAC includes about a gazillion devices. Folks might be able to narrow it down a bit if you could share more about your preferences, rest of the system(s) with which the DAC will be used, etc.
And welcome to the forum!
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I’ve been thinking about a DAC based on the AKM 4499, thought about a JNOG2 but never pulled the trigger. Has Geshelli announced pricing on the Dayzee yet?
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I love my E70 Velvet, and even sold my Matrix Audio X-Sabre Pro MQA because the E70 Velvet just blew it away to my ears, so I can’t say enough good things about the 4499EX. I actually have a Dayzee on order. There is a lot of customization in terms of appearance which can have a big effect on price, but with a small upgrade to the wood type (with no carving or dovetails) and a downgrade from aluminum to plexiglass front panel (downgrade in price, I think it looks cooler visually) and no upgraded op-amps, I was quoted $1,524. I ordered the professional op-amps from Sparkos directly and will plan to install myself - Geshelli are including the adapters for these, but they actually told me it’s cheaper to get them through Sparkos directly, and you get 15% off on the Sparkos website if you sign up for their email newsletter, so I got 8 of the SS2590 for $412.32 shipped. Just so you are aware, the design of the Dayzee is different from the JNOG in that you can’t just upgrade the op amps on individual outputs - it is all or nothing with this one, so if you plan to upgrade them, you need to budget for all 8.
I’m really excited to hear the Dayzee because of the upgraded op amps (should be a huge upgrade relative to the E70 Velvet in that regard) as well as the fact that it uses 2 of the 4499EX, one for each channel. I’m sure it’s deep into diminishing returns territory, but I suppose that goes without saying in the $1k+ DAC world 
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Another cable question: can a standard quality HDMI cable be 15-20 feet without degradation of signal? I want to run it from my laptop to my speakers. Tagging @Torq, because I remember him writing about USB cables.
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Neither - the transducer makes the most profound difference. After that, tube amps affect the sound the most in my experience.
As for your headphone question, headphone preferences are pretty subjective. Are you able to listen to any of the ones you listed? What’s your reference?
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