This sub has been glazing the AZ100 to death so when I tried them, I was hoping for something revolutionary but instead I got something that sounds too warm & the bass was kinda muddy. The soundstage & imaging was decent but the timbre just felt off especially with vocals it just felt unnatural. It’s all based on my personal experience at the end of the day
I’ve seen more recently now that the new meze iem has released, some people are saying I’m not paying $899 for a single DD in 2026. But when you look at the reviews online people are glazing the iem talking about how good it sounds.
The Dunu Luna which is a Flagship iem from Dunu which released a couple years back is a single DD.
Final audio makes some of the most expensive iems & even then most of those are single Dynamic drivers, hell even my favourite iem of al time is the final audio a6000 which is a single 6mm Dynamic driver.
The Elysian Pilgrim which some say is one of the most technical IEMs under $1000 is 1DD / 3BA similar to the YU9 QUE which I also love.
What’s more important is the implementation, a poorly implemented 9 driver setup will sound worse than a dynamic driver that’s been implemented well.
Also you find that the less drivers that it has, it makes the IEM more comfortable as its smaller (although this isn’t always the case) which is why I find my a6000 is one of the most comfortable iems I own.
For reference I own the final audio a6000 & yu9 Que & tea pro SE which I’m planning to give the tea pro SE to my mate for free.
I was lucky enough to get a good discount on the hisensior mega7 so now I’m considering adding it to my collection. I do like a bright, airy, spacious sound with good separation & imaging, without it being sibilant or too shouty.
Final audio does make their drivers in house which is a bonus & they used to make turn tables way back in the 90s but to me it’s seems like they’re focusing on improving the hardware rather than relying on software to do majority of the work & it results in a sound that far surpasses most Bluetooth earbuds.
Of course sound isn’t everything but I like the direction final is choosing to go down. I’m tempted to buy their newest flagship earbuds the tonalite but my original ze3000 from 2022 are still going strong
I’m someone who cares about sound quality, I don’t care about noise cancelling or any app features. I do own the final audio ze3000 & I’m looking at switching. I need something that has ambient aware so I can hear my surroundings more. I was looking at the final audio tonalite but that looks quite bulky.
I use iems & open back headphones so sound quality to me is a must
Some say it’s V shaped but I don’t think the bass is emphasised enough to consider it truly v shaped. Some also say neutral bright which is more my assumption but I’ve heard some reviewers say it’s midrange focused but the lower mid range is quite recessed so…
to me it sounds correct. Almost lifelike in a way, it definitely sounds very transparent & of course bright but it never comes across as fatiguing.
I’ve noticed in regard to the term end game especially in the audio community is that people chase instead of coming to a level of acceptance.
I posted a while back about trying open back headphones & how I still preferred iems & that my open back headphones that I bought are collecting dust. I mentioned that I’ve tried the mainstream brands from sennheiser, hifiman, Fiio etc… & I got comments of people saying “wait until you try ____ or maybe you need to try this pair”
I don’t hate open backs because of the sound I don’t like them because it’s inconvenient to use, where as iems I can use anywhere & iems don’t ruin my hair as I’ve got an Afro & sometimes I get braids.
Instead of me saying oh these iems have slightly thin vocals I just say well if everything else is good, I don’t really mind the thinness. but most people will start thinking about buying a new pair which may help short term but then you end up finding another issue & it’s just an endless cycle.
End game is really just acceptance at the end of the day as nothing is perfect.
Final audio a6000 to me is like my neutral end game, it’s something I have as a palette cleanser. When I want to clear my ears with something neutral I use these, It’s my referencing set. If I had to sell my whole collection & keep one it would be this set. It’s not cheap at $479USD but definitely worth it.
Super mix 4 is an iem that is very good for the price & pretty technical. It’s not super expensive so I can use as a daily pair when I want something fun that I can just use without having to worry too much about it.
Xenns tea pro SE - this set has quietly become one of my favourites, I didn’t like it in the beginning but the more I listen the more I enjoy it. It’s musical, the sub bass has this bouncy like quality to it & the vocals on this set is top notch, it’s got this sort of midrange magic to it. Green is my favourite colour so that also made me enjoy it even more.
Yu9 Que - I own the final audio ze3000 Bluetooth earbuds & I wanted an iem that had a similar sound which was mid bass focused with technicalities & treble detail, because as much as I love the final audio ZE3000 it’s been discontinued by final so I needed a long term replacement incase mine dies as batteries do degrade over time. I landed on the Yu9 Que & couldn’t
Be happier, the bass is actually has more punch than the frequency graph shows & the detail retrieval is top tier, with fantastic technicalities.