r/mobileaudiophile

Howdy there, in the market to get some new IEMs and a DAC, I think I know what I want but was genuinely curious the consensus on them.

For the IEMs I was thinking the Letshuoer Astralis

For the DAC I was thinking the FiiO Retro Nano

What is the general consensus on these? I've done research on them and they both seem pretty good. Specifically the DAC it's a dual mode DAC/LDAC. On the case of the Astralis, I was looking for an IEM with good cinematics for Open World games with a good soundstage and was looking for them to suit my genre agnostic needs from Chipstep/Chiphop all the way to really technical metal and everything in-between. I found them on a really good sale on Aliexpress due to the Halloween sale and coins.

The Astralis for $113

The Retro Nano for $56.19

I'm also open to different suggestions as well sub $200 for both but with the sale and coins I've been finding crazy good deals.

I currently own both the KZ Castor Bass Edition and TANGZU Wan’er S.G. 2 5th Anniversary edition, but I only want to keep one and sell the other.

I'm looking for opinions mainly based on technical performance and hardware, rather than personal preference.

Which one would you consider better in terms of:

Technicalities (detail retrieval, resolution, imaging, separation, layering)

Driver performance

Tuning quality

Tonal balance

Bass/mid/treble quality

Distortion/control

Overall technical capability

Build quality and long-term reliability

I previously owned the KZ EDX Pro and liked its tuning. I also find the Castor more impressive at first listen, but I'm trying to avoid making the decision purely based on initial "wow" factor.

If you had to keep only one of these two, which would you choose and why?

KZ Castor Bass Edition vs TANGZU Wan’er S.G. 2 5th Anniversary edition.

Thanks.