24K is not "too much" if one considers the price of a few universals like PFE-232, CK100Pro, not to mention the ridiculously priced FAD IEMs (FI-BA-SS for $1000 all the way up-to $2000+ for Piano Forte X-CC) and AKG K3003 ($1200-1400). If I was super-rich, I'd have surely bought FI-BA-SS, PFE-232, CK100Pro and AKG K3003. That is not for "show off", but the curiosity to know why people think that these are "better". That curiosity has always been my undoing.
Personal "Value" is very relative. Value for money is mostly objective and "worth" to a person is subjective. If VFM is the sole criteria by which audio equipment is bought, only the Chinese sweat factories will remain in business. But then, audio is terribly subjective. So for someone,
this cable could be "value" where others would just faint at the price.
If all you want to find is bang for the buck, I'd say that $150 is where I draw the line. Beyond that, you need to make sure that it is absolutely what you need (and IF you need it). I own / owned / heard a few ~ $250+ IEMs (EX-1000, SM3v1, CK10, FX700, RE-272, e-Q5 and DDM2). I preferred the cheaper RE-262 and DBA-02MK1 over some of them. So, there's no absolute certainty that throwing good money will bring greater returns in terms of SQ at least in my experience. Aside, audio is not the only field where the law of diminishing returns kick in. It is in every field where money is involved. I feel that same concept applies - larger sum may or may not get the best quality out there, so be sure what you need.
But, stop to consider the other side too. I paid about $100 extra over DBA-02MK1 to get CK10. In terms of pure SQ, I would say it's a minor / trivial upgrade, but I certainly don't mind that last mile of performance. Over time, I loved CK10, but only 'liked' DBA-02 so much so that I ended up selling DBA-MK1. Is CK10
worth that $100 extra for the better build quality and a little enhancement in overall SQ (minus that huge treble spike)? For me, it was.
Same with EX-1000. I paid $400 for it (it has dropped to $300-ish later on). Is it "worth" it? absolutely. It's not because it performs 5-10% over the $200 IEM, but because it is one of the very few which does not make me think "Wish XYZ was better, wish ABC was different" (substitute audiophool lingo for ABC and XYZ) and just listen to music. But, if you ask me whether it's
value for money, I'd say I overpaid by about $100 even considering the brand value and all the exotics that went into it. For mukul, who paid less than $300 for it, I am guessing it's both
worth and
VFM.
I think why these factors are different is because our subjectivity clouds everything. I can say that EX-1000 is only about 10% better than a good IEM at $150. But what counts is what that 10% has. If that set and your preference set has more in common, you could say that it is 30% better or even 200% better than the other IEM. If on the other hand, your preferences and that 10% has nothing in common, you could say that it's ridiculous for people to buy EX-1000 at all. Same applies to every costlier IEM.
#aakashdave11
I've not heard them personally. But from what I read, IE8 has a larger sound stage than IE80 and these two indeed have the largest sound stage among IEMs. However, clarity is not one of it's strong suits.
