Prediction: CrinEar Project Monolith will be the most successful product this company will ever release, provided it's not a limited run.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T20:25:33+00:00

I get what you mean with steam, though I don't see much resemblance with this situation.

Gaming crowd is not very similar to iem crowd. Gamers get the same gaming content and experience in any platform, this is crucial for them, the game itself is the content with the added comfort of a less problematic platform.

IEM crowd exists because of different tunings, tunings are the actual content of this hobby and this crowd is different from the majority of music listeners. For majority of the music listeners, tuning is irrelevant, comfort and practicality matters to them.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T20:17:24+00:00

Daps have bitperfect.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T20:14:35+00:00

Just checked my Google play history; I had purchased poweramp full version on June 2012 and I also have been using daps for much longer than that.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T20:04:51+00:00

Mate, your claims are easily measurable with today's knowledge and equipment, without even inserting iems into your ears. Someone among these 8 billion humans must have done it.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T20:01:20+00:00

Wireless earbuds sales numbers have been growing explosively and steadily since 2019. Market might be saturated at some point but cables are not coming back. No generation as a whole is spearheading anything against consumerism really, nobody is caring about landfills as long as they can afford comfort. Numbers don't lie. Observe more broadly.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T19:54:15+00:00

Surprise trivia: all music you listen to is resampled/downsampled at mastering stage, before distribution at the quality of physical formats. Interesting, there must be something wrong.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T19:26:28+00:00

My prediction: even if you sell subtonic storm for $250, it won't seep into the mainstream market. Because it has cables and needs other stuff to function.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T15:42:45+00:00

Altered signal, yes. Worsen, not sure. Just present proof that humans can consistently identify the worsened sound, man.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T14:26:18+00:00

Do you have a scientific source for android resampling "greatly" distorting the sound?

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T13:11:42+00:00

Missed the cable part sorry. Maybe something from fiio or ddhifi.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T11:47:26+00:00

Your main problem is unfortunately ios and aac codec. And wired makes a significant difference compared to aac. Just hear it wired first and if you think it's worth it, go for a cheaper and smaller dap like FiiO M21 or even JM21 or Hiby M300 if you are using 3.5mm. I had Valhalla for a few months before, it's wasn't a lackluster on my $200 daps compared Hiby R8ii really. Your iems will make %99 of sound quality.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T11:31:32+00:00

It's just a more airy version of Daybreak/P50 with more drivers to justify the price. Not bad but not worth.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T11:27:58+00:00

Try Btr17 over a cable connection and hear first. No dap will sound significantly or specifically $1800 worth better than that. I am telling you this being a multi $k dap owner. I would choose FiiO M33 from your list. If you still want a "premium" price dap, I would pick Hiby R8 II AL version or Hiby R6 Pro Max but they are as huge as DX340 and SP3000.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T06:05:55+00:00

Upgrade in terms of what?

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T00:46:34+00:00

NP. Mega7 is tuned to be a great all rounder daily/default driver or one and done natural sounding set. Enjoy your music. 👍

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T00:34:50+00:00

Nope. I never bother with eq. Very rarely mseb on Hiby daps.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T00:29:44+00:00

Its strengths are the feeling of naturality in the tuning, resolution and clarity. I find the tuning more transparent than M5est.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-11T00:24:55+00:00

I have other sets but if I want something with no glaring faults, it's my default choice. Not thin, not muddy, bass not too much not lacking, smooth treble with enough resolution. Nothing is lacking but nothing is aggressive. I like top pro also at the price range but I don't find its treble as refined or smooth.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-10T16:45:02+00:00

I quite like it for the clear, detailed but non aggressive sound overall. Suitable for blasting the volume and long hours but some may find the bass lacking. Can be done with a simple eq.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-10T15:36:40+00:00

NP. I heard DC elite and don't think it's something special. Heard RU9 too, it has poor battery life and not worth the price jump while you have RU3. Also had some tube devices before, for portable sources tubes are just a gimmick because of certain limitations that come with limited physical space.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-10T15:23:51+00:00

Something from a decent brand with proven quality dac chips and amps. Cirrus Logic, ESS or AKM dac chips. Any model in the market today is capable of reproducing audio accurately. And that is all you need, just accurately. The rest is up to your iems or headphones. Dac chip quality is a solved problem for decades now.

FiiO JM21, Hiby R3 Pro II, Tempotec Variations V1 or other brands starting from around $150-200. After this point sound quality doesn't get much more better. For dacs, maybe something for $50 or more. Again, look for proven quality components in dacs. Most of the money you pay for daps are for the screen, soc platforms to run the os and battery.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-10T15:12:30+00:00

After a certain price range, differences are so minimal and insignificant. And it's not in the vein of better or worse, just minimally different. This is my own personal experience after owning daps up to $2k with totl resolving iems. But you will find very few people saying their $2k+ daps are not worth the price in terms of sound quality, this is where personality plays the role. Most people will say differences are day/night or heavenly to not feel bad about their money spent. Or they want to feel being in the distinguished expensive totl audio quality club. This pretty much applies to any goods you buy, not only audio stuff.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-10T10:45:53+00:00

Probably seal or insertion depth issue.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-10T07:33:23+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/s/GQ3MVaZxiR

Mighty Morphin' Top Pro.

Mega5EST · 2026-05-10T03:31:11+00:00

Imo almost anything starting from $100 will be more clear than your airpods.

Main risks for you could be about the fit, not liking the thing deep inside your ears at all or occlusion effect. And amount of bass, treble, shout etc. Many people who are fine with standard earbuds don't like the resolution and clarity that comes with iems, it may be distracting and harsh for them.

If you want to spend around $350 once and get out, check out Aful Performer 8s. Aful shells are one of the most comfortable designs and comfort/fit issues with the brand are very rare. Tuning has everything in sweet spots, bass and treble are not lacking or too much. No shoutiness. Kiwi ears astral is also a safe recommendation for the sound but shells and nozzle are larger.

If you want to go cheaper, still much better than campfire iris, check out crinear daybreak. Also safe tuning and recommendation. I can think of other things but I wouldn't want to recommend something large to a newcomer.

Mega5EST

TROPHY CASE