Iris

Just got the Que in yesterday. kept seeing too many reviews and my fomo was immense and had to pull the trigger (from DMZ). Shipping was incredibly fast. Here is my non audiophile shorts review/comparison. I like reading opinions and takes from normal folk as I just don't have an audiophile ear (can't hear any difference between desktop DAC/AMP and Mac Studio aux port). Normal peoples takes feel more raw and slightly objective (to me) as they have no technical ability to discern timbre, treble, etc. Pretty sure any person can hear a difference between a $100 IEM and a $500 one. **Sound:** This was fairly close to Astrals. They both sound superb and very clear. Good instrument seperation. but after AB testing them i could semi confidently hear a bit more clarity and presence with Que. Astrals just felt a bit further back **Bass:** I didn't realize how much bass was missing in the Astrals til i tried the Que. It felt great to get back some force and power behind the music. even when hearing instrumentals. i can hear the force the instruments are being played with, not just techno/house classic bass. This to me is the main winning point to me over the Astrals. It's hard to go back to them after FEELING the bass and power **Comfort/Weight:** Astrals weigh 5.2g each have nice contours. def more comfortable in the ear and nozzle is about 6mm wide Que weigh 7.7g each, much less contours. Nozzle is about 5.95mm. I was surprised weighing them as i couldn't feel the weight difference when wearing. I'm still tip rolling to find best pair but they don't feel uncomfortable just slightly meh, but i'm willing to live with it for the sound. I don't usually even get the opportunity to wear IEMs for hours and hours as I have a 1 year old and need to listen for him while he takes naps. but I don't forsee any long term annoyance with fit (they do look chunky when i see them in a mirror vs Astrals. but that faceplate is so fucking nice and clean so yolo) **Unboxing:** Astral unboxing was so lame it felt just like "hey here you go". Que unboxing you could tell the company cares about every little detail. I'm a huge sucker for stuff like this. It just shows me care and pride in your work. As a woodworking hobbyist i take great pride in my work and love to see small companies do the same. Que had this cool little 3d printed totem at the bottom. completely unnecessary but a nice touch. Attention to detail was on point **Cable:** Astral cable is great, feels premium. Que cable i like the lightweight feeling but it's lack of snug ear hooks was just an auto no. I'm using Moondrop C2 with them and really like it. (Looking for other cable recs for Que. so if you like one let me know! no cheap tripowin stuff please) **Eartips:** Astral tips = dogshit Que tips = pleasantly surprised by their liquid silicone tips. I'm still tip rolling but they're pretty good and nice size dif. So i may end up using those Other tips i'm trying, HE Sonic (black + galaxy (coming soon)), Penon Liquer, Spinfit W1, stock Que **Conclusion:** Even though Astrals are $300 and Que are $400. I definitely think the Que are better value buy. Before the Que came in i thought i was going to keep both, but after like 10min listening to Que i can't go back to Astals lol. So they're getting returned. I am a gearhead so not sure if I plan to buy more iems, i want to try Hisenior Megas, Top Pro, or IE600 MAYBE. but next step up will def try to be in kilobuck range. Hoping to hold out til CanJam Dallas in Nov to get and try more cool stuff. I'd really like to find an end end game iem that's physically smaller and fits even better/more comfortable. Looking forward to see if I can even hear a difference on iems north of $500/1000 as i feel the Que and the \~$500 range represents 90%+ of limit of sound, that I can hear/appreciate

Get the tangzu waner or moondrops chu (not the unnecessarily cobranded one from headphone zone), costs 2k And get a good dac if you dont have the headphone port , audiocular d7 is a good one which can cost you about 1k

For context I have several headphones for different things but after my DT 990s broke I don’t have a daily driver for comp FPS. Open/Closed back or even iems it doesn’t matter however I do live on a busy street. The most important part is comfort. Below I will list the headphones I’ve used for FPS and my experience with them. Beyerdynamic DT990(250 ohm)- Best directional headphone I’ve ever had. After long gaming sessions my ears are touching the driver. Beyerdynamic DT770(80ohm)- An overall muddy sound and worse clarity than the 990s. Decent imaging but the clamp force on these are unbearable making me not wear them for more than a couple hours. Audeze Maxwell- Good all around headphone but too heavy for long sessions. ATH-M50x- The overall sound is better than the 770s but worse imaging. The ear cups are too small so my ears rub on them and the headband sucks. Hifiman Edition XS- Best sound quality and sound stage for music but the directional audio is terrible. Had to buy a 3rd party head strap because the weight of this headset centers on one spot of your head. Moondrop Aria(IEM)- My first IEM. The sound is very neutral and the directional audio is subpar. I do not like the preformed ear hook style of IEMS. Should I just buy another DT990 headset or are there better options at this price point?

UK based, Max 300 quid (around $400 usd converted). Will be buying the headphones used probably on eBay or CeX for example. I bought Edifier STAX Spirit S3's like 3 years ago and I despised them. They have a tonal balance I hate with weird peaks and overwhelming hissy sibilant highs, and a muffly undetailed mix. The wired input isnt even actually passive. I since put the headphones away in storage and did not touch them again. I have used IEMS since. Here is some information about how I will use my next **closed back over ear** headphones: ***Audio source***: I plan on using them dual purpose, as **bluetooth** from my phone to casually watch youtube videos and also as a passive **wired input** taking my lossless audio files from my DAP (NW-A306) where audio tonal balance is very important. ***Tonal Balance***: I really like my Letshuoer S08. I like them even more with bass boost. **I do not like highs** at all, I am very sensitive to them so like them to be heavily reduced. This is more important to me than an emphasized bass. ***Music genres***: A bit of everything but predominantly busy songs with unique instrumentation - so **detail is important**. I like metal, IDM, twee, punk, emo, post hc, pop, crunk, funk etc ***Past gear***: Already said I HATE the S3s! However within IEMs, I have liked Moondrop Chu IIs and their bassy quality but felt they lacked the clarity that I enjoy in the Letshuoer S08. I also had the Tangzu Wan'er, which I felt lacked a full bass. **Other things I would like**: Better passive noise cancellation and have the band fit my relatively small head (The S3's would fall off on the lowest setting). I would like its highs to be reduced without EQ so when I watch youtube videos I am not overwhelmed. ***What I don't care about***: I do not care if it is planar, electrostatic, dynamic. I do not care about travelling size (i.e. doesnt need to fold). I do not care about battery life, appearance or mic quality or if it does or doesnt have ANC. I do not care about the quality of the bluetooth connection codec as when I want high quality audio, I would just use it wired. Please help me!!!