The Ultra Cheap IEM Thread

General IEM Discussion
462

Quick Impressions: Three $25 (or less) Products

An apple, an orange, and a rambutan

I acquired these recently:

KZ ZSN ($15 from AliExpress)
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Xiaomi (Mi) QTEJ02JY Pro HD ($25 from GearBest; now about $27)

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Anker Soundcore Spirit ($25 from Amazon)
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Impressions

ZSN

  • Ouch! That KZ treble is sharp! Ice or glass in the ears! Mid-high forward
  • Why no L/R markings on the cables? [I got it wrong and had to do a channel check]
  • Much more ergonomic than earlier KZ designs and less V shaped sound overall
  • Loose but well-rounded bass
  • More pleasant than the old ZS10 (still about $30), but probably not a favorite

The shiny silver “Mi” #$^&*1234678$$%&!

  • Seemingly targeted at Chinese Android phone buyers; only one button works with Apple devices
  • Cooperative design and marketing with 1More (carrying bag has both logos); 3 drivers
  • Amazing out of box experience and perceived quality (metal everything)
  • Includes extra small ear tips for petite Chinese females
  • Not a V profile, but a M with shallow, rubbery bass; drums and bass guitars sound about the same. For those with little bass experience the one-note pop pop boom boom probably sounds great. Good mid and high range.
  • Microphonic rubber coated cable (non-detachable)

Anker Soundcore Spirit

  • One of many waterproof Bluetooth sports in-ears, and pretty generic
  • Huge barrels house the drivers and may not fit in some ears
  • Magnetic tips hold the drivers together, but they clink like an industrial device
  • Has sharp locator pegs for the fins. I generally take off fins and just shove them in my ears, so the locator pegs are scratchy (I may sand them off)
  • Sound quality fully equal to $100-$150 Jaybirds and BeatsX
  • With larger silicone tips, they isolate EXTREMELY well
  • With larger silicone tips, the bass is bloated, flabby, and boomy
  • With medium (leaky) tips they are pretty balanced but still warm

Bonus photo of rambutan (basically lichi fruit with fur):
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Which of these would I rather put in my ears? The rambutan of course! It’s much smaller than an apple or orange, and it comes with natural fins.

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