so i got my first pair of iems back in may for my birthday and theyre ikko OH10's (the old version not the OH10S) which were like $200 so still a lot for me but way cheaper than a lot of other iems
but these are still the best things ive ever heard in my life by far and i dont understand how any pair of headphones can sound even better than this, like it actually feels like the music is inside my soul, i was listening to justin timberlake yesterday and was literally crying and getting goosebumps cause of how beautiful it sounded, and i dont even like justin timberlake 😭😭
anyways the reason im wondering is cause i kinda wanna save up for some even better ones that are a bit smaller cause these ones are kinda big for me and they start to hurt my ears after a little bit, but im kinda scared of spending a ton of money on headphones just for me to barely notice a difference, like do $1,000+ iems sound way better than $200 ones or do they just sound only slightly better?? and what actually makes one pair better than another?? like compared to my basic earbuds these ones are way louder, clearer, and a lot fuller and richer, so would more expensive iems just be even louder and clearer than these ones?
It really is subjective, the correct iem for you will always be what you need and can comfortably afford first. There are days that i really crave my focal clear headphones and rarely when i really want for certain songs either hifiman shangrila jr or focal utopia. But most of the time i pick my clear or senn hd650 since I can be more comfortable or laidback with them. Most times, i even choose to power them with just my chord mojo. So effectively speaking, you can get away with just the most pleasing and comfortable headphone you can get your hands on without breaking the bank which for me is ie600 iem or even just starfields, or hd650/focal clear with chord mojo. Good to note that i really like vocal-centric songs like pop and alternative rock that’s why i gravitate to those iem/headphone. Also i would have still rocked my starfields if i didn’t try ie600. Preferences will always change so no rush in moving from headphone to headphone unless you have money to burn budgeted for hobbies.