Best IEMs from $400 - $600

Xenns Top Pro

• Very technical, amazing resolution and detail for the price, treble is slightly crispy and sparkly, clean but dynamic all-rounder. Mid-volume set for the most part as treble can get hot at higher...
• Early, might go up.
• Pros: New meta tuning with boosted bass and upper treble. Cons: BA timbre.

Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch

• Endgame "balanced-basshead" set. Amazing low-end texutre, rumble, reverb, slam, and more bass than Origin and Titan - goes harder than those. Vocals and treble also still well extended, not...
• It basically a cheaper Mega5est Bass. Great basshead set.

Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk

• Inoffensive safe tuning, less fatiguing uppermids good for jpop/kpop. Vocals lack the last bit of extension, detail, and power. DSP APP is a shit show. Heavy competition from Nova, Cincotres, Hype 4.
• Great bass quality, rich vocals, balanced tonality, sparkly treble, and excellent resolution. I prefer more bass. Excellent tuning and a highly detailed, all-around performer.
• Just so chill with certain music.
• Pros: Balanced tuning with world class timbre decay.
• Overall high engagement factor.

Moondrop Variations

• Very clear with lots of detail. Sub-bass has a nice rumble and texture. Amazing treble extension and stage air. Female vocals are vibrant and shines. Mid-bass cut is real, affecting some genres and...
• Great sub-bass, Harman tuning, and excellent detail. Can sound thin. A solid benchmark.
• Sub-bass-focused signature with Moondrop's clean tuning makes this one of the best $500 tribrids.
• The more I listen the more perfect I find it.
• A more refined B2 Dusk with better bass texture and treble extension.
• Pros: Great separation and details. Cons: Thin lower midrange.
• Great tuning, neutral timbre, and a satisfying bass with a sub-bass focus. Solid all-rounder.

Ziigaat Arcanis

• My favourite vocals under $500 (best imo). A more refined OG Mangird Tea with better resolution and tech. Recommend listening at higher volumes on slower vocal centric tracks. Don't rec hiphop or...
• Lots of good neutral energy here. Interesting set up.
• Not really stand out at the price range. Lack a bit of definition. Decent IEM

ThieAudio Hype 4

• One of the best all-rounders under $600 (v-shaped harman). Treble quality is smooth and well extended. Great low-end texture with lots of impact. Good vocals. Solid tech, and just solid in general.
• Fun, bass-boosted sound with powerful bass, great treble extension, and clear vocals. Treble can be overly crisp at times. A fun and exciting IEM.
• Upper trebble is odd on many tracks, but is a strong set.
• Bass sounds somewhat 'BA-ish' for being DD, but well-tuned, decently technical, and a very solid package overall.
• Great imaging and headstage. Width is outstanding. Even at 400 bucks it's outstanding in this pricerange.

ThieAudio Oracle mk3

• Great bass texture, much better than predecessors, smooth and slightly airy giving it a sizzly timbre, great layering/separation, vocals are slightly laid back but not gone, very balanced across...
• It's like a Pilgrim OG with EST. It's kinda cool.
• Pretty detailed but sounds incoherent, particularly in the treble, which also seems exaggerated in a bad way.
• A step in the right direction compared to mk2. I like this as much as the mk1. Solid all-rounder, good sense of separation.

ThieAudio Oracle

• Amazing airy and relaxing vocals. Sweet and gentle presentation. Clean, clear vocals - could be too balanced tho. Great separation, but stage size could be better.
• Functionally similar to the Clairvoyance with slight cutbacks in overall clarity and resolution.
• Great iem for what it is. Really impressive.
• Pleasant tonality, but low-level detailing and compression.
• Pros: Tuning so good it melts your soul (kinda). Cons: treble wispiness + slight incoherent.

NIGHT OBLIVION BUTASTUR

• Overpriced as hell - I don't get the hype. Vocals are way too shouty with masking. Treble peaks around 10K with a dip in the air afterwards. Low-end is "good", but nothing amazing for the price....
• I'd be careful buying it due to QC issues of others. But I enjoyed my time with it.

Softears Studio 4

• Best all rounder under $500. "Correct" and neutral tuning. Perfect vocals, not as forward like RSV but zero faults. Slight Improvement over RSV in-terms of seapration and stage size/treble is...
• Neutral, accurate sound with great bass, tonal accuracy, forward vocals, and natural timbre. Excellent isolation. Unvented design and BA bass may not suit everyone. A benchmark for tonality and...
• Something magical about this set, but it's not the Bass.
• Sounds plasticky and smoothed; inoffensive to the point of being offensive.
• Pros: Just great all around, balance with amazingly clean midrange.

LETSHUOER EJ07M

• Holographic staging with an amazing midrange. Great bass texture and impact. Incredibly immersive and endgame for most. Has more sub-bass and treble air than OG doesn't scale as well.
• Fit is an issue same as the Blessing 2 Dusk.
• Excellent tonality and dynamic bass held back only by a lack of intangible performance.

Moondrop Meteor

• Neutral, clean and clear vocals, vocals pop out, good tech. Next to no planar timbre - one of the least planar like planars. Treble isn't sizzly and bright, but vocals can get shouty on energetic...
• Forward vocals, super smooth treble. Bass lacks weight, impact, and slam. I need more bass!
• Bright leaning. But very nice when it hits.
• Objectvly great but unengaging. Not a set I reach for often. Maybe I am underrating it a bit.

DUNU EST 112

• Good tonality, though the treble extension is its big Achille's Heel.
• Has some great things. Nice technicalies. But lacks in tonality.

Elysian Pilgrim

• Clean, clear, all-rounder, similar tuning as the Dusk but with better vocals, bass quality is great as well, aethestically pleasing too. If you want a clean all-rounder, or sensitive in the 3-8K,...
• Elysian house sound with a balanced tuning, textured sub-bass, smooth mid-range, well extended treble, and excellent resolution. I prefer more bass. One of the most resolving IEMs under $1000.
• Great little set to consider for those after an Elysian Product.
• Pros: Most technical sounding IEM under $1000.
• Not a bad IEM. Very solid but in this price range it's really competetive. Very safe tuning.

Hisenior Mega5-EST +Bass

• The Mega5est 7th but with more sub-bass. That's it. Does sound better now, more "musical" and less vanilla and boring. A good comforting and smooth listen that scales well. Bass texture isn't as good...
• Hisenior Mega5est with added sub-bass. The bass might be too much for some people. Great for bassheads or sub-bass lovers.
• Smooth dark, and enjoyable.
• Good sounding IEM. Nice fitting. New Meta tuning with much more bass. But I didn't need that

Symphonium Audio Meteor

• Meaty textured mid-bass, but can be a bit much. VVery warm sound. Library dependent. Airy treble, but vocals are a bit pushed back and buried.
• I'm just not a fan of the tuning, but I can see how others might like it.
• A fun U-shape through and through, at the expense of some detail. Fantastic bass and upper-treble extension.

Simgot Em10

• A more immersive version of the Pilgrim with better mid-bass kick. More airy and slightly more detailed in the treble. Harman vocal gain might be too much for some. Bass might be boomy depending on...
• Bass-boosted Harman tuning, forward vocals. Overall detail, PZT timbre.
• Very Special set, but the Supermix might be the better value.

Dunu DK-3001 BD

• Technical, but thin, and bright tilt with LOTS of planar sizzle and timbre. Needs more low-end (small scoop), noteweight is very light, not peaky, but just artificial. Needs 10hm adapter to be...
• Excellent bass quality, deep sub-bass, transparent mids, and great resolution. Low mid-bass, slightly lean vocals, and bright treble. More mid-bass and less treble would be perfect
• I prefer this with the adapter, but is fine without.
• Not to my taste - treble sounds slightly brittle and harsh - but plenty of resolution and clean presentation.
• My second 5 star IEM in 2024. The Braindance is a very satisfying IEM to listen to.

DUNU SA6 MKII

• V-shaped SA6 Ultra with more recessed mids and vocals. Sharper and more bass than SA6U but mids are buried in busier tracks.
• QDC Anole VX tuning, excellent resolution, and great bass with a practical bass switch. Unvented design. Similar to the SA6 Ultra but with more bass, airier treble, and improved soundstage and fit.
• Technical, nice but upper mids not for me.
• A warmer rendition of the original SA6, best considered a side-grade than a true upgrade.
• Pros: Slightly more V-shape than the Ultra with small detail boost. Cons: Could use a little more upper mids.

DUNU SA6 Ultra

• An SA6 with improvement in treble extension, and stage air; better tuned Oracle2 with wider stage. Relaxing tonality but also very resolving. Airy stage with great depth and height. Smooth dynamics...
• QDC Anole VX tuning, excellent resolution, and great bass with a practical bass switch. Unvented design. Tuning style is a matter of preference.
• A slightly refined SA6 with better treble extension. Very coherent.
• Pros: Anole VX-ish tuning with less treble and details. Cons: Could use a little more upper mids.

Mangird Xenns Top

• What the Variations should've been. Fantastic tehcnincalities. Neutral-bright leaning. Nothing wrong with it at mid-volume, but I can see treble can be too much at highet volumes.
• Very inofffensive tonality with a soft treble response, sounds like lower and mid-treble are too recessed.
• Pros: Exceptionally tuned, full range and detailed. Cons: Treble might be too much for some.

I/O Volare

• Best Harman IEM under $600 (my unit is less harman), smooth and natural, great layering and tech, bass texture could be better/not as good as Oracle MK3, but overall very balanced and great...
• Nice overall quality.
• If you are looking for the most bang for your buck in terms of the costs of materials - this is it. But not the most interesting sound.

Dunu SA6

• Gorgeous mid range and great dynamics. Good timbre makes me forget it's a full BA set. Good bass texture, but wish it had more rumble. Wish stage and imaging was more 3D. Could use more treble air...
• Tonality reminiscent of the Anole VX, though not up to the same level of technicalities.
• Slightly "wet" characteristic that takes the edge off of the qdc-inspired tuning. Very pleasant on the ears.
• Pros: Engaging signature with great vocals.

Kiwi Ears Orchestra

• Great vocals. Clean and neutral signature. A bit vanilla and "boring" but scales great with volume.
• Very well-tuned reference-y signature with a mild bass and treble emphasis for added energy.
• Well-tuned with surprisingly good treble extension. Upwards compressed dynamics contrast poorly with tuning.
• Pros: Slightly warm neurail tuning, well done.

Sony IER-M7

• Balanced across the board, though doesn't seem to excel in any particular area.
• Pros: Very neutral tuning, great for audio work. Cons: Can be very boring.

Yanyin Canon Pro

• Clean, neutral, balanced. Airy treble but smooth, great tech. Recommend UP UP switch with bass boost. A smoother pilgrim basically.
• Not really stand out at the price range. Lack a bit of definition. Decent IEM

7hz Aurora

• Mini MEST, OCD treble detail, sharp imaging, great detail and tech for its price, immersive with the right song, but is too sharp with energetic tracks with lots of electronic elements, vocals also a...
• It's a fun iem, but not something that I would want.

MiM Dark Magician

• Weighted and airy vocals but with expansive staging. 3D/ball imaging. Coherency and dynamics are TOTL. Clear - details are "big"/forward, but can use better separation. Super immersive. Could use...
• Pleasant and smooth tonality; however, the DD being used does not seem very technical (for the price).

Fiio FH7S

• Warm and gooey with some sparkle. Relatively pleasant overall.

Flipears Aegis

• Slight v-shape, but with less bass and low-end texture than Legion, more "balanced" and less engaging, but my unit was shouty and a bit sharp in the uppermids, also costs alot for what you can get at...
• Shouty, bad, needs EQ, fully MID.

Tanchjim Darling

• A tad shouty but with excellent imaging performance.
• Excellent imaging, but with too much shout and an uneven treble response.

ThieAudio Oracle MKII

• CLEAR with LOTS of detail. Nice sub-bass rumble with no mid-bass bleed. Treble is super extended as well as high-mids. Female vocals sound lively and sings, but can be too much at high volume and...
• It's a little bright.
• A brighter Oracle. Shouty upper-midrange and artifical sounding treble response.
• Pros: Detailed, airy, mostly well tuned. Cons: dry timbre from treble amount.

FatFreq Maestro Mini

• A basshead set that's actually well-balanced for the most part. Extension on uppermids/highs are good but can get shouty, sub-bass texture and slam is impactful and satisfying - this is the set for...
• Extreme basshead's dream. Incredible sub-bass shelf while maintaining midrange and treble balance.
• Pros: Bass cannon with correct vocals and treble balance. Cons: Semi thin vocals.

Fiio FD7

I/O Sogno

• Literally Harman 2019. Inoffensive and good all-rounder. A little sharp in the timbre vs Volare (I'd just save up for the Volare if you want Harman), more low-end than Volare, better bass and timbre...
• It's a fine IEM if you look for something which is Harman compliant. It's a bit narrow sounding but pleasant.

Oriolus Isabellae

• Awesome shimmer, and cool unique sound.
• Midrange doesn't sound very DD-like; more along the lines of etched and gritty perhaps due to 11kHz peak in treble.

Moondrop Blessing

• All rounder that comes the closest to the Harman Target.
• Harman target hitter with surprisingly poor bass for a DD. Get the Blessing 2 instead.

Dunu DK-3001 Pro

• Well-tuned and coherent. Does little wrong and very easy to like.
• Solid tonal balance but excessively rolled-off in the treble.

Fearless S8Z

• Solid all-rounder with a safe, pleasing tuning.
• A more aggressive S8P with even more grit/BA artifacting in the treble.

Tanchjim Prism

• Somewhat tinny in the treble and generally anemic.

Fiio FH9

• Pretty alright overall. Warm and reasonably well-balanced in the upper-midrange and lower-treble unlike some of Fiio's other IEMs.

Final Audio B3

• Probably the best tuned of Final's B-series. Reminiscent of the E-series with BA characteristics.
• One of the better interpretations of Final Audio's house sound with some decent technicalities.

Etymotic EVO

• Slight improvements in staging over the ER series, but with setbacks in the treble response.

ThieAudio Legacy 9

• Bass a little too slow and sluggish with minor quirks in the midrange-treble transition.
• Solid bass and sparkly, well-extended treble. Could use more work in the detail and imaging department.

Dunu EST112

• Decent all-rounder, but poor EST implementation.
• Cons: Poor treble extension.

Tansio Mirai Land

• 123 setting. V-shaped and a bit harsh in the lower-treble.

Fiio FH7

• What is otherwise a pretty good hybrid marred by a strange tonality.
• Definitely one of Fiio's better releases. Warm and pleasing, would benefit from more air and bass also doesn't sound very DD.

Shanling ME700 Lite

• Rather radical change from the original ME700; far less warm with more upper-mid emphasis.
• Kind of a nothing IEM, especially at this price point.

Custom Art FIBAE Black

• Smooth, neutral-ish signature that serves as an all rounder.
• Easy on the ears, but too congested and too dark.

Kinera Norn

• Reasonably good extension on both ends with gritty decay in midrange and a very V-shaped tuning.

Audiosense AQ7

• Sub-bass boost, odd midrange and rolled-off treble. Not for everyone.
• Some of the wackiest tonal balance that I've heard. Decent detailing, though.

JVC FWX1

• Oh, how the FDX1 has fallen. Bloated bass and the treble sounds all sorts of wrong.

Westone W30

• Fairly balanced as far as Westones go, but still suffers from subpar definition.
• Very dark and smoothed over, lacking in basic detailing.

Hiby Crystal6

• Surprisingly thin and sharp-sounding thing. At least it's somewhat technical.
• Ear piercing mid-treble - to the point of which the midrange sounds distant - and generally horrible tuning.

Westone W40

• Overbearing lower mids, weird treble, odd tonality overall. Definitely a Westone.
• Very dark and smoothed over, lacking in basic detailing.

Shozy Black Hole Mini

• The bass roll-off issue of the original is somewhat fixed, though at the cost of everything else.
• Midrange, especially the upper-midrange, is literally a black hole alright.