pstrib OP t1_j90qpto wrote on February 18, 2023 at 9:59 AM

Reply to comment by [deleted] in How much better does sound get than what I'm currently using? by pstrib

I know that but like, these are obviously leagues better than £2 headphones from the grocery store that I used to get.

Would the world's best headphones (subjective, I know), with the best amp, sound leagues better than my current setup, or am I basically 90% there and would need to spend £1000s more to get to only get marginal improvements?

toastyhoodie t1_j9142fu wrote on February 18, 2023 at 12:53 PM

Would a $50 IEM be 90% there?

No. Not even close.

There are different styles, like open back vs closed back. Different tunings. Different materials. Etc.

Do you need to spend 1000’s more? No. But you have a very V shaped tuned IEM that doesn’t have much in the way of technicalities. Other headphones will be tuned differently and will sound different.

A Sennheiser HE-1 which is considered the “worlds best headphone”, is going to be miles better. (It’s $50,000 though). You don’t need that though.

You’ll notice significant differences with something as simple as an open back. You can get into one of those for less than $100.

Ultimately you have a starting point. But yes, it does improve from there.

Milolo2 t1_j913106 wrote on February 18, 2023 at 12:42 PM

you are not even close lol. a $200 iem upgrade will probably be night and day from the kz zs10 pro, maybe even with the $80 hexa, or a $20 waner, let alone an end game iem or headphone.

for example, crinacle rates the zs10 pro as a C tier iem, whilst rating the Moondrop Chu as a B tier iem and the Letshuoer S12 as a B+. the difference between the Chu and S12 makes the Chu sound low fidelity, granted however, i believe the chu is overrated and should probably be closer to C+ in the current market. The Variations is another iem i have spent quite some time with, and with crinacle rating it an A+, it is again night and day compared to the s12 in sound quality. the disparity between the chu - s12 - variations is pretty sizeable imo, with each sounding leagues better than the other, ie chu is 4/10, s12 is 7/10 and variations is 9/10, and i know you cant really quantify audio but variations certainly sounds more than twice as good as chu. so, with you on the zs10 pro, an end game level iem or headphone will definitely be quite the sizeable upgrade, probably the same level if difference between a $2 supermarket earbud and ur zs10 pros in the first place. i think diminishing returns only truly begin after like the variations, where id be surprised if you can squeeze much of a difference, though i havent tried anything more pricey than it.

if i were you, id really recommend getting a budget fi option like the tangzu waner, it is probably a sizeable upgrade from the zs10 pro, if crins ratings are to be referenced.