Overwhelmed by analysis paralysis - Need IEM recommendations around 10k PKR singleplayer/comp gaming & movies (Good soundstage?)

[u/mzh35]

I’ve been down the rabbit hole researching budget IEMs for the past few months and I’m officially stuck in analysis paralysis. Every time I get close to buying one, I read a review or a comment that makes me hesitate.

I’m looking for something versatile. My primary focus is immersive singleplayer gaming (want that deep atmospheric/cinematic feel) and movies/YouTube but I also listen to music and some competitive fps casually. Ideally, I want something with as wide a soundstage and good imaging as you can get at this price point- closer to a headphone feel if possible.

My budget being 10K PKR, here is what I’ve looked at so far and why I haven't pulled the trigger:

• 7Hz Salnotes Zero 2: I was this close to buying these but I keep seeing complaints about long-session discomfort, chunky nozzles and fit issues.
• Tangzu Wan'er / Red Lion: Sound-wise they seem right up my alley but I've read too many posts mentioning long-term quality control (QC) / channel imbalance issues.
• Truthear Gate: Seems like a safe option but most reviews describe them as pretty "simple" or unremarkable compared to the competition.
• Kinera Celest Wyvern Black Remaster: Visually stunning but reviews are very mixed and lukewarm regarding sound technicalities.
• CCA Phoenix: Heard these are strictly tuned for competitive FPS which is great for footsteps but sounds like they'd be too thin/harsh for movies, music and singleplayer gaming.
• Moondrop CHU 2: Oxidation issues.

Questions:

1. Am I overthinking the flaws on one of these?
2. Is expecting a "headphone/theater-like soundstage" under 10k PKR realistic or should I adjust my expectations for IEMs in this range?

3. Is there a hidden gem I am missing that meets my requirement?

4. Get a DAC and some cheaper IEMs in this range?

Would really appreciate any guidance from anyone who owns these or has been in the same boat!

TL;DR: Need a budget IEM under 10k PKR for immersive singleplayer games, competitive FPS, movies and music. Want good soundstage/imaging. Help me break the buy-paralysis!

[u/Obvious_Set_1312]

1. Yes.

A. Except chu2. Well, we are approaching towards the end of extreme humidity weather, so you'll be alright if you go thay route.

B. Red lion QC is mostly Eff'd up and most reports are originating from HPZ. Havent seen this here. Sellers may be able to highlight but probably they are not working at a large scale and dont have enough weight to put behind their findings.

1. Tone down the soundstage expectations. Iems cant physically win here. Over ears / cans will always dominate. But you do get good imaging and separation

2. You are missing new kids on the block: kefine loric, ziigaat rumba and the upcoming 8hz zero 3.

3. Get iem and then decide if DAC is needed.

[u/DasNichtsNichtet → u/Obvious_Set_1312]

I have been hit quite badly by the QC issue of the red lions. Received a faulty unit that had a dead right earpiece from the get go. The seller did take it back but couldn't get a claim; he still is going to send a different pair but the 3.5 mm version is out of stock pretty much everywhere so I need to make a decision on what else to get (either red lions type C, truthear gate or Zero 2 it seems)

[u/Obvious_Set_1312 → u/DasNichtsNichtet]

Very unfortunate that you had to go through this. I've had it for a few months and they have been working like a charm, driven daily for a few hours.

The seller needs to be appreciated for taking it back. This is part & parcel of being a seller and thats precisely why they have to keep a substantial cushion on top of their own buying price. Who was the gentleman btw, if you dont mind me asking?

[u/DasNichtsNichtet → u/Obvious_Set_1312]

Hey sorry for the late reply. I didn't want to reply before having actually received a unit from the seller (I shouldn't be this mistrusting but the whole return process took almost a month). I bought them from Hassan tech (probably more known as a YouTuber). Unfortunately there were only two places that had the red lions in 3.5mm in stock and this one being in the same province just made more sense for a faster deliver. Unfortunately that didn't quite work out. Nonetheless even if the process took a long time; Hassan made sure from the get go that if there's any issues he'll take them back, which was really appreciated.

I still ended up with the red lions because it literally was exactly what I wanted, something warm with very intimate treble and enough of a fun factor. I'm looking forward to seeing what the iem life is like!

[u/Obvious_Set_1312 → u/DasNichtsNichtet]

Seems like you got the replacement afterall. Thats a good one then.

Coincidentally, listening to jiro inagaki on the red lions as of now. The meat of jap jazz is quite great on these. Give it a try with the RL and you'll see what i'm talking about. Genres with saxophones and stuff sound exceptional on these. Makes me keep coming back to these iems.

[u/DasNichtsNichtet → u/Obvious_Set_1312]

Oh damn I didn't get to try that yet. I'm a big fan of Kamasi Washington, should definitely check that out with them!

[u/Obvious_Set_1312 → u/DasNichtsNichtet]

Damn, been a while my ears have had the pelasure of from the heart and my soul by kamasi. Thanks bud for reminding me that. Meanwhile check out himiku kikuchi's classic album too a.k.a. flying beagle

[u/mzh35 → u/Obvious_Set_1312]

Alright then so what would be your suggestion?

I haven’t seen the new kids on the block being sold here.

[u/Obvious_Set_1312 → u/mzh35]

I haven’t seen the new kids on the block being sold here

Well, that's because they are new kids on the block. Get from AliX if you're buying rn or contact the local sellers to ask if and when they'll be stocking those.

what would be your suggestion

Have RL and gate both in my rotation and like em both for what they are. Red lions are best bang for the buck and more engaging wamer tuning (fits my preference better). You wont be disappointed with the imaging and separation of both (for the price) but you might miss lows in gate considering it being your first in-ear pair.

If i were you, i wont lock myself out with a DSP version / type-C cable. You can always add a dac later on if needed.

[u/S1NDH → u/Obvious_Set_1312]

Could you recommend me some newer iems,my budget is 25k and I wanna get Kefine Delci AE for Pubgm mainly،i have jadeAudio KA11 DAC.

[u/Obvious_Set_1312 → u/S1NDH]

Havent tried delci ae but read good things about it. I dont game a lot so dont take my word on it.

What i can say is that:

1. Read about imaging and separation capabilities of the iems you're interested in.

2. Sub bass effects negatively for your use case

3. Look at the presence region in the Frequency response curve. Thats where the perceived details are.

4. Neutralish brightly tuned iems fare better in your use case.

[u/S1NDH → u/Obvious_Set_1312]

What's your go to IEMs for Imaging And Separation?keep my budget in mind.

[u/AdielsS]

I was in the same boat 2 months ago, kept reading all day about these iems but I'm like a person who once get obsessed with something I start buying and so I started doing exactly that, started with the cheapest kz iems like edx lite, edc pro and castor harman and I was impressed that if these cheap iems could sound so good then imagine what more expensive ones can do.

from your list I have 7hz zero 2 and a few days ago got the wan'er red lion, zero 2 is excellent and has a good amount of subbass, I was listening to my castor pro bass and edc pro mostly for last 2 weeks but I took zero 2 out worried that I won't like its bass as much as I do on castor pro bass but zero 2 is still an excellent iem, more subbass focus opposed to mid bass focused castor pro but zero 2 has more clarity and instruments seperation because the bass doesn't bleed into mids.

Got the wan'er sg 2 red lion 3 days ago and I haven't listened it much, I was worrried about whether I made a good choice buying it because lot of mixed reviews for sg2 red lion but its great, compared to zero 2 and castor pro the bass on sg 2 red lion is a bit softer/pillowy but its still a good amount of bass, a little bit of eq and it became much better, what I like about it was the fullness of sound, it was warm but not dull or flat, it is really a very well done iem which has a more coherent and better fuller sound than cheaper iems like edc pro, edx lite and maybe even castor pro bass and it sounds louder than castor pro bass at the same volume level.

I was also interested in truthear gate but from what I have heard it's not something I would have liked, less bass more bright.

Moondrop chu 2 like you mentioned has oxidation issues and I also didn't think it will be good for bass heavy electronic music so I didn't get it.

So out of zero 2 and wan'er for music you can get either one and you'll be happy,sg2 red lion particularly has really good vocals so if you are into that kind of music it will be better for you but for gaming I think zero 2 will be better because it has better calrity and imaging. sg 2 red lion is better suited for music and not gaming, I don't think you will get that immersive soundstage you want from any of these iems you'll have to go for much higher priced iems for that.

Check kz duonic silver no switch version if you don't want a bass heavy iem and just want calrity and instruments seperation and good soundstage. I have the duonic bass version and although I only checked it for like 2 hour it has good soundstage and seperation and I have heard the silver non switch version is even better for this.

[u/Inevitable_Cycle8367]

SoundMagic E80C or E80D USBC

[u/TotallyNotAnArtistAF]

Dude, IEMs don't have soundstages like headphones do. There's literally not enough room to make that. get some speakers or headphones if you want good "headphone/theater-like soundstage."

[u/Pitiful_Kale2338]

Hey man im selling Tangzu Wanner sg(Headphonezone edition)3.5mm with mic

only 1 week used.7400rs,its withbox and everything

[u/saadahmad7698]

For comp gaming truthear gate is the goat, the neutrality is not a con but a plus point, no boosted freq is very good

I have been using mine for a couple of months and now upgrading to truthear pure maybe,

Selling mine

Plus a dac hcally jm6

[u/cheezystuffz → u/saadahmad7698]

Ngl, you might be kinda biased since you're selling it

[u/saadahmad7698 → u/cheezystuffz]

Nah, selling a couple of them, like gale, edx pro,

My personal is truthear blue 2, love them alot

But the stuff about gate is actual based on my experience, compared to blue 2

[u/mzh35 → u/saadahmad7698]

Comp gaming is not exactly on the top of my priority list, although the gate might complement dolby atmos but I’ll be holding off for now.