where the hell do you buy these? only place I can find em is on eBay for like 80usd

I have fioo hs18s on my TWS, and for my normal IEMs I mostly use either xelastec or softears liquid silicon. Exception goes to my starfield which run spiraldot++'s.

In terms of favorite I think the softears liquid silicon's are my favorite. They are like xelastecs but don't seem to get as dirty, and are slightly firmer.

personally I've found that the flaws of any particular headphones add to their personality. I find that I'm not really seeking the "best" just different flavors essentially.

it can be a lot of things, it can be ear fatigue yes, but it can also just be your getting more familiar and noticing flaws as you listen.

The only time you realistically hear a difference with different cables is with sensitive IEMs. Otherwise it'll just look prettier/more comfortable/feels better. And anything that makes you feel better is a W in my book.

I mean I wasn't exactly given a budget 😂

Not an earbud but 64 Audio U12T is often considered fairly good, as for earbuds I heard Monks are pretty okay.

use it for a few days, your brain will be adjusting any time you get new headphones. Then try the two out again.

^, if you look at what pros use they all use pretty much garbage cause it doesnt really matter from a performance standpoint. So just use whatever brings the most joy to your gaming experience.

maybe it's just an IEmagni thing but I've never experienced the scratchiness or crackling everyone talks about.

3m worktunes might be up his alley, can't vouch for sound quality though, but it'll protect his ears at work for sure.

you can try something that forms to your ears like foam tips, just make sure to use em properly and replace them semi regularly. if you have budget to spare, I've also had good experiences with flexible tips like azla xelastecs or softear liquid silicon tips.

Comfort is always fairly undervalued but that's also something that is very user specific.

currently I mostly use Bandcamp with some flacs I rip from CDs. Frankly speaking though unless you are into collecting people are generally fine with Spotify.

Just try stuff out, start with something popular and explore from there. Don't worry too much about getting the "perfect" iem/headphone for the price and explore the different characteristics of whichever IEM/Headphone you decide to pick up. I think that's the best way to enjoy audio.

Amps, in general, do not affect sound other than allowing higher volume. The only times you really need an amp is if you either want higher volumes or if you are hearing noise/interference from your onboard audio.

you forgot the music 😭

maybe it falls under the drugs umbrella.

For the "built in speakers" thing, that is because the SHP9600 is a open back headphone. This means that it will leak noise to your room as it's not closed off. This is done with most high end headphones as it helps the feeling of sound coming from the room rather than the headphones. If you are in a situation where either you don't wanna hear the outside world or the people around you don't wanna hear you, you need closed back headphones.

I'm regards to the "no bass no treble", the SHP9600 is known to not be the most exciting headphones. It's regarded for it's neutrality in fact. Meaning it produces a sound that doesn't have more bass over mids more treble than bass, etc. however try using the headphones for a week or so. Your brain itself is likely just used to more bass. When getting any new headphones you pretty much always need to give your brain time to adjust to the new sound signature.

Given your post though, it seems you would be better off with a closed or semi-closed back headphone with a more energetic signature like a DT770 or a DT880.

Of course, they could also just be faulty. but your experience is a fairly common one amongst newbies.