u/dokkan_1234

I listen to J-Pop, Japanese ballad and anime soundtracks. I'm treble-sensitive and my preferred sound signature is neutral with bass boost. My top priority is non-fatiguing, clear vocals and instrument separation without any muddinesss. Till now, I've only tried several ultra-budget IEMs, out of which, the KZ EDX Pro 2 and Tripowin Vivace were my favourites, but the latter ended up causing severe pain in the tragus, anti-tragus and helicis crus of my ears. I'm also prone to ear infections and have autonomic dysfunction-induced heat intolerance. This time, I want to go for my first ever open-back headphones (under $150), and I have two options: Philips SHP9500 (with Oratory1990's EQ) or FiiO JT7. Which option would be better for me? Also, please recommend a dongle DAC/Amp (the cheaper the better) if it's the JT7.

I listen to J-Pop, Japanese ballads and anime soundtracks and my favourite IEM till date in terms of sound is KZ EDA Balanced. I tried the Tripowin Vivace a few months ago, but not only was I disappointed at how warm its tuning is, but it caused severe pain in the tragus and helicis crus of both of my ears (even after tip rolling), most likely because of the short nozzle length.

Considering that the EDA Balanced didn't cause any pain in my ears, I decided to buy an IEM from KZ again. I prefer a mild v-shaped / u-shaped / balanced sound signature with clear vocals and proper sub-bass without any muddiness . I wanted to try a low-budget one first, so I chose KZ Gale. But, even though it has amazing clarity when it comes to vocals, I found it to have pretty underwhelming instrument separation and almost zero sub-bass (with very mild mid-bass).

The ddHifi Skyfall and KZ Castor Bass caught my attention now since the former seems to be have a 3D-printed, medical-grade resin build, which should be quite durable, and the latter consists of dual dynamic drivers, which I've never experienced before. How are they in terms of sound? Would either of them suit my taste in music? I want to avoid the Castor Pro because it seems to have an even bigger shell than the OG one. Also, how are the Audiocular C03 and C18 cables when it comes to stiffness and holding kink memory, especially compared to the horrible stock KZ cables? I prefer a non-braided cable, by the way.

I listen to J-Pop, Japanese ballads and anime soundtracks and my favourite IEM till date in terms of sound is KZ EDA Balanced. I tried the Tripowin Vivace a few months ago, but not only was I disappointed at how warm its tuning is, but it caused severe pain in the tragus and helicis crus of both of my ears (even after tip rolling), most likely because of the short nozzle length.

Considering that the EDA Balanced didn't cause any pain in my ears, I decided to buy an IEM from KZ again. I prefer a mild v-shaped / u-shaped / balanced sound signature with clear vocals and proper sub-bass without any muddiness. For now, I chose KZ Gale, KZ Axas and KZ Vader Balanced. Which one would be the best for my taste in music?

I listen to J-Pop, Japanese ballads and anime soundtracks and my favourite IEM till date in terms of sound is KZ EDA Balanced. I tried the Tripowin Vivace a few months ago, but not only was I disappointed at how warm its tuning is, but it caused severe pain in the tragus and helicis crus of both of my ears (even after tip rolling), most likely because of the short nozzle length.

Considering that the EDA Balanced didn't cause any pain in my ears, I decided to buy an IEM from KZ again. I prefer a mild v-shaped / u-shaped / balanced sound signature with clear vocals and proper sub-bass without any muddiness. For now, I chose KZ Axas and KZ Vader Balanced. Which one would be better for my taste in music?

I listen to J-Pop, Japanese ballads and anime soundtracks. I need to clean/disinfect my audio device after every session because I'm very prone to ear and respiratory infections. However, it's getting more and more difficult to do so due to medical issues like a decline in fine-motor skills. I tried the Tripowin Vivace recently, but not only was I disappointed at how warm its tuning is, but it caused severe pain in the tragus and helicis crus of both of my ears (even after tip rolling).

From the description and FR graph, I felt like ddHiFi Iris would be perfect for my taste in music (I prefer a neutral and/or balanced sound signature without any muddiness, with my favourite IEMs till date being KZ EDA Balanced). How likely is it that they'd cause me pain as well? Also, can I disinfect them using 70% isopropyl alcohol swabs? They're made of 3D-printed medical-grade resin and, from what I noticed, have no seams that could break apart.