Falcon Pro

Theoretically current research says SQ is completely linked to frequency response from what I recall, so if you adhere to the theory most of it is placebo. I don't🤣, pretty much the only thing I agree with is that single DD is best. I no longer have any multidriver IEMs, but that's a personal preference thing. My personal answer, it depends on the individual. Everyone has different ears, different hearing ability due to hearing loss for example, and different preferences, or how "picky" you are about the sound. Some might not hear much of a difference between a $100 IEM and a $500 IEM. Some might hear a difference but don't really care for what they hear, especially if their favourite tuning is only available at lower price points. Then you have people who can't stand going back to budget sets once they've been poisoned by the kilobucks. So unfortunately the answer to your question is something you find for yourself. The Kunten is almost at the Mega5EST level after EQ for that person, but it can't even beat the Tanchjim Bunny to me when I EQ the Kunten to the 7A Supernova. It does have slightly better tech than the Bunny though, with or without EQ. Besides performance, I would also consider enjoyment factor. One of my "oh crap" moments in the hobby was when I realized I liked the Dunu Kima 2 more than my then endgame, the Xenns Tea Pro. And it is still one of my favourite sets right now. Despite owning or demoing similarly tuned IEMs many times it's price that offer much better performance, I like it just as much as those IEMs. So at the very least, enjoyment is not tied to price.

Mega5est, Monarch MKIV, Xenns Top Pro, Dunu SA6 Ultra, Ziigaat Jupiter, Grand Maestro with Black NOAHs, Pilgrim Noire, Thieaudio Hype 4 and Origin, Aful Performer8, original EJ07, S12 2024, and S08. Missing several; been in the hobby a very long time. The reality, is, however, that although I can listen to all of these without EQ and they're perfectly listenable as is, I still EQ every single one. I never assume a single engineer (or small team of engineers) is going to nail my preferences, along with tens of thousands of other listeners. Most of those EQ's are small corrections or adjustments for my specific preferences, instead of total retunes, or EQ'ing to a specific target. I could see moving away from AutoEQ or applying an EQ to match targets (like what Oratory does with his EQ work), but I'll never get away from using EQ to fix issues or improve an IEM where it has room to improve. The S12s are good examples of this; there's a hell of a lot of potential in those sets, if you've ever heard Michael Bruce's work with the Glamdring. No reason not to take advantage of that potential.

So after spending $166 on an IEM, you still have to use a 3rd party cable?, Nice....Glad I decided on getting Dunu x Koto Ito and Falcon Ultra instead. I paid $160 for each one during recent AE anniversary sale.

Dunu Falcon Ultra, Dunu Kima 2 is on a category below Aful performer 5, Kima 2 goes in line with Aful Explorer.

Probably depends what you listen to, but I have ea500lm which are interesting but not really natural. I then bought the Dunu Falcon ultra To, which at the opposite of the spectrum. A little bit warm, natural, not demanding of perfect sound source. Very nice, my final choice.