iem Moondrop Kato or Moondrop Variations or thieaudio oracle (80s and J-pop) (and some noob questions)

[Incognito47]

So, I'm still new to the audiophile world, I usually listen to 80s bands like queen, GnR, ABBA, Nena, Simple minds, cranberries with a few 70s, 90s, 2000s mixed in there like heart, and paramore. Although currently I am listening to a bunch of J-pop though really mostly anime ops with emphasis on female vocals. I currently own the schiit magni modi, a pair of DT990s, HD6xxs, and Soundcore Liberty pro 3 and I want to expand to the world of IEMs since I can't enjoy my HD6xxs as much because of work. I managed to narrow my choices down to the Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Variations, and Thieaudio oracles. In terms of sound signature, I think I prefer the HD6xxs since its more natural, but honestly as heretical as it sounds, the soundcore pro 3s are really growing on me and I think I prefer them over the HD6xxs? I don't know if this is because I listen to my soundcores more because I am mostly at work or if the soundcores just feels more fun or their HearID eq just works for me. Or maybe its just the  convenience honestly....

 

With that being said, I want to come here and ask the experts here which IEMs should I get? I think I am gonna mostly listen to J-pop since it's something new for me and I prefer female vocalists. I think I want to focus on vocals and sound resolution more. I don't mind trying out new sound signatures, especially the Harman Curve I have been hearing a lot about, although if someone could explain to me that could be great. Always want to learn more and expand this new hobby of mine. Pricing wise, honestly I don't mind spending the 500 dollars if the sound quality is much better or even generally better than the 200 dollar ones. Other recommendations for me, it's always welcomed and I would love to hear your thoughts. I think the most I am willing to spend is around the 500 550 dollars mark, although again if something else is much better for 600 I wouldn't mind considering it. Also do I need to buy anything to maximize the audio quality for my phone? I own a Galaxy s10+ and I heard that it downsamples all songs to 16/48.

 

So yeah basically, which one should I get? Would love to hear your logic in choosing as well and to understand the tech behind these IEMS. Other recommendations are always welcomed as well.

 

P.S: I attached my custom hearID EQ if it can help. Again I am really new to this hobby, I honestly am still trying to understand the lingo and tech that goes behind these audiophile gears. That and English is like my 3rd language so I am sorry if I make some grammatical errors and patience is always appreciated. Thank you in advanced!

Oh and if you guys and gals have some song recommendations for me, would love to listen to them and add them to my playlist. Current favorite songs are: Only My Railgun, My pleasure, Vivy's Fluorties Eye's song, Sun Sun days, Connect, Joint, Dreamrheser, Cagayake Girls, I'm a dreamer, DejaVu, Happy Encount, Plastic Love, Catch you catch me, Burn, and really just a bunch of 80s and synth-wave/pop.

[Incognito47]

 

Tldr version: So yeah basically, which one should I get? Would love to hear your logic in choosing as well. Other recommendations are always welcomed too. I emphasize female vocals and high resolution/clairty as well as instrument separation. This would be my first IEMs, max budget would be around 550, though it's kinda flexible. Preferred genre, J-Pop/rock, 80s rock and synth wave/pop.

[OfficialTechSpace]

On 3/28/2022 at 11:50 AM, Incognito47 said:

Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Variations, and Thieaudio oracles.

Very mixed pricing on these  (Kato $190, Variations $520, Oracle $540) none are an outstanding value.

 

Kato is a B-tier IEM, and at $190 a 7Hz Timeless is the better recommendation. The rest are just overpriced, the Blessing 2/Dusk is on-par in terms of technical performance and tuning while also being $200 cheaper.

On 3/28/2022 at 11:50 AM, Incognito47 said:

Pricing wise, honestly I don't mind spending the 500 dollars if the sound quality is much better or even generally better than the 200 dollar ones.

$500 isn't a very competitive space right now, a majority of the market is covered in the $200-$350 range. You hit diminishing returns at that point, where the next step up from a Blessing 2/Dusk ($320) would be something like the ThieAudio Monarch ($730).

[port2galaxy]

On 3/28/2022 at 2:50 PM, Incognito47 said:

So, I'm still new to the audiophile world, I usually listen to 80s bands like queen, GnR, ABBA, Nena, Simple minds, cranberries with a few 70s, 90s, 2000s mixed in there like heart, and paramore. Although currently I am listening to a bunch of J-pop though really mostly anime ops with emphasis on female vocals. I currently own the schiit magni modi, a pair of DT990s, HD6xxs, and Soundcore Liberty pro 3 and I want to expand to the world of IEMs since I can't enjoy my HD6xxs as much because of work. I managed to narrow my choices down to the Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Variations, and Thieaudio oracles. In terms of sound signature, I think I prefer the HD6xxs since its more natural, but honestly as heretical as it sounds, the soundcore pro 3s are really growing on me and I think I prefer them over the HD6xxs? I don't know if this is because I listen to my soundcores more because I am mostly at work or if the soundcores just feels more fun or their HearID eq just works for me. Or maybe its just the  convenience honestly....

 

With that being said, I want to come here and ask the experts here which IEMs should I get? I think I am gonna mostly listen to J-pop since it's something new for me and I prefer female vocalists. I think I want to focus on vocals and sound resolution more. I don't mind trying out new sound signatures, especially the Harman Curve I have been hearing a lot about, although if someone could explain to me that could be great. Always want to learn more and expand this new hobby of mine. Pricing wise, honestly I don't mind spending the 500 dollars if the sound quality is much better or even generally better than the 200 dollar ones. Other recommendations for me, it's always welcomed and I would love to hear your thoughts. I think the most I am willing to spend is around the 500 550 dollars mark, although again if something else is much better for 600 I wouldn't mind considering it. Also do I need to buy anything to maximize the audio quality for my phone? I own a Galaxy s10+ and I heard that it downsamples all songs to 16/48.

 

So yeah basically, which one should I get? Would love to hear your logic in choosing as well and to understand the tech behind these IEMS. Other recommendations are always welcomed as well.

 

P.S: I attached my custom hearID EQ if it can help. Again I am really new to this hobby, I honestly am still trying to understand the lingo and tech that goes behind these audiophile gears. That and English is like my 3rd language so I am sorry if I make some grammatical errors and patience is always appreciated. Thank you in advanced!

Oh and if you guys and gals have some song recommendations for me, would love to listen to them and add them to my playlist. Current favorite songs are: Only My Railgun, My pleasure, Vivy's Fluorties Eye's song, Sun Sun days, Connect, Joint, Dreamrheser, Cagayake Girls, I'm a dreamer, DejaVu, Happy Encount, Plastic Love, Catch you catch me, Burn, and really just a bunch of 80s and synth-wave/pop.

You will be happy with the Kato.