Intro

So one of the most popular videos on our YouTube channel is our comparison of the best earphones under rupees 2,000 and there are so many incredible earphones at this price point which is why we've got this video and it does very well but so often we get asked in the comment section or otherwise that hey if we were to increase our budget just a little bit what would you say are some of the best earphones that you can get then and so we thought we'd do this video with some of our favourite earphones compared but this time under a budget of rupees 5,000. Don't get me wrong I still believe that some of the IEMs under 2,000 rupees still give you some phenomenal value for money but by increasing your budget a little bit what we now have is a collection of IEMs which sound absolutely incredible and I do believe are more than worth the upgrade. So in this video we're going to be comparing them, we're going to be telling you what the nuances and differences between each of them are - how they're better than other products that you may have tried out and more importantly which is the right one for you based on your preferences. Ladies and gentlemen we present our best earphones under rupees 5000 in India.

FiiO - FD1

All right guys first up for under 5,000 rupees you have these beautiful IEMs from one of my favourite brand FiiO. For those of you unfamiliar with FiiO - they’re from China and they've got some beautiful products and multiple product categories. They make some of the best players DACs & Amps and their IEM lineup gives you phenomenal value for money. First up is the FiiO FD1. FD denotes that it's using a dynamic driver. They've got some different kinds of IEMs using different driver configurations but the FD series is basically all single Dynamic drivers. So the FD1 is the entry level offering using a single dynamic driver design and it's a beautiful Dynamic driver. It's a very high quality beryllium coated dynamic driver. Beryllium is known for super high rigidity but also super lightweight, so you know that you're talking about serious high quality at this price point when you have a driver like this in there. Now the attention to detail that FiiO puts into virtually every aspect of their IEM is super high grade. So when you ask yourself what are you getting for increasing your budget and going up to this 5000 rupee price point, it's all of these small things that start making a big difference. You're getting a super high quality four strand copper cable that FiiO has put with these IEMs. The shells themselves are 3D printed with plastic but they're super comfortable and they're super lightweight. They're very very well built and they come in some gorgeous colours like black and blue. You also find that FiiO has gone completely crazy with the accessories that they've included in the box. You'll find that they have a different set of ear tips, if you're someone who likes a slightly more bass driven sound signature. So it's got three sets of ear tips which are called the bass ear tips. You've got three sets of ear tips which is their balanced ear tip and they do change the sound signature just a little bit so it's important that you choose the right ear tip which you want to listen to. FiiO also have included a set of foam ear tips which I highly recommend because they give you an almost perfect fit. Now FiiO has also included a hard carry case which I don't think I've seen any other brand do in this price segment, so it's really really nice that you're getting a complete package and FiiO is known for giving a really high amount of importance to their accessories so I love the fact that they've done that. In terms of sound signature FD1 have got a fairly laid back but a well-balanced sound signature. The dynamic driver is catering to all frequencies so it's got the low end punch in there but you'll find that they've not made it very exciting. The treble is rolled off, so if you're someone who wants a slightly warm sounding earphone but also want a little bit of punch in low end to be there - the FiiO FD1 I think is absolutely perfect for you. I highly recommend these earphones for people who don't want harshness on the treble. This is quite smooth and you'll find for the price you're getting great value for money. 

Final - E3000

Alright guys next up is another one of my favourite earphone from a beautiful brand. I'm holding in my hand the Final Audio E3000. This is not very expensive - Rupees 3699 and what you get again is a beautiful demonstration of cutting edge Japanese design and engineering. These earphones are made out of stainless steel and I think that they're quite literally amongst the best built earphones in this price category. They're absolutely stunningly beautiful and they're so compact and lightweight that if you're someone who has small ears I would highly recommend these earphones, they're probably the only ones you will find will fit your ears comfortably. They are bullet shape so you don't have to wear them from over your ear, they go into your ear just straight up, something that people who want these conventional earphones will find really nice. Now I love the fact that these have a slightly perforated back so it's almost like an open back IEM, and what you get in terms of sound is a really nice wide and open sound signature with these earphones. So you'll find that a lot of people use these earphones so that they don't get a lot of pressure building up into their ears. These earphones do a beautiful job of making it very very natural but in terms of sound signature Final Audio is taking a little bit of a departure from the E1000, which is a very popular earphone under rupees 2,000. You'll find that with the E3000 they've gone for a very pronounced V-Shaped sound signature. What you get is a really nice elevated bass and a more sparkly but pronounced treble. Now it's balanced beautifully but you'll find that just boosting up that prevalent bass makes this a much more exciting earphone. The chances are that when you put these earphones on for the first time you're going to be very very impressed with how clean it sounds but at the same time how full bodied it sounds - how deep the Bass can go and how much impact it can have right off the bat, and the phenomenal build quality that these stainless steel earphones now give you I think makes this an absolute winner. Value for money, you just can't go wrong with these.  

KZ - ZS10 Pro X

All right one of the most popular brands that is making some incredible IEMs across all price points is KZ from China. It's no surprise that their offerings under rupees 2,000 are by far some of the most popular earphones that we sell here at headphone zone so we have to ask ourselves that what does KZ have for under 5 000 rupees and that's exactly what I'm holding in my hand - The KZ ZS10 Pro X. Now what you would find the ZS10 stands for is the fact that it's a hybrid driver featuring 10 drivers in total. That's right 5 drivers for your left, 5 drivers for your right and all of it for under rupees 5000. That's incredible and the only brand that can really make that happen is KZ. It's incredible what they offer for the price. Now for the sound of these you'll find that KZ almost has this very typical house sound which is just a little v-shaped but very very exciting. Now that's exactly what these balanced armature drivers that they have over here do and there are 4 balanced armature drivers per side, but the fun of these earphones is the bass, which is coming from the dynamic driver, which is 1 driver per side that they have. So that's a total of 5 - 4 balanced armatures for the mids and treble and 1 dynamic driver for the base. This is a super super exciting earphone - you will immediately hear details in the music that you wouldn't have heard otherwise, that you wouldn't have normally heard on a relatively cheaper earphone at under rupees 2,000. This IEM presents so much more resolution and detail that you will immediately stand up and take notice. That's exactly what these earphones are going for. You'll find that there's a lot of treble excitement, there's a lot of mid-range excitement. These are super super crisp, super detailed and the bass is full and tight and still they’re giving you that low end punch that is needed. It's a super fun IEM, but a lot of people will find that this hybrid configuration is something that a lot of brands use to give you a fun exciting sound which is what KZ is literally known for but sometimes can get just a little too much. If you're listening to music for a long time and you want something a little bit more laid back then these are not the IEMs for you. Personally I would say that if you're somebody who enjoys listening to the KZ ZSN Pro X, the ZSTX, the ZEX, this is all of that but just amplified to the next level. So an upgrade from two to five thousand rupees is definitely going to give you superb value for money, if you're someone who enjoys what KZ offers. 

QKZ x HBB - Khan

Alright guys next up on the list we've got some very very unique IEMs which are completely incomparable to anything that's under 2,000 rupees and the first up on that segment is the QKZ x HBB Khan. So QKZ is a brand that we've not really heard too much about, but from what I can tell they make some really really nice IEMs. I really don't know much about the brand because it's the first product from QKZ that I've heard and this is a collaboration between them and Hawaiian Bad Boy or HBB for short. HBB is a very famous YouTube reviewer who has an extensive amount of databases of different IEMs and he's collaborated with QKZ to create this very very unique IEM. This is a dual dynamic driver - there are two dynamic drivers per side. That's very very unique I've not heard of too many other IEMs that have this kind of driver configuration and I have to ask myself why do you need two dynamic drivers per side? What could it possibly do that one can’t, and what advantage does it have as compared to any of the other hybrids that we know of well. You got to listen to this and then you immediately have your answer because this is an unapologetic bass monster. It gives you a phenomenal low end thump that I haven't heard on any other IEM. I think if you measure these IEMs you'll find that there's an additional 3 DB of bass that's been added to the usual harman target curve and that's really saying something about the bass. Now your first instinct would be that okay does that mean that the bass now starts muddying up the mids and the treble taking away from the resolution and detail, and incredibly it does not. You'll find the sound still clean and clear, the treble is still absolutely sparkly and beautiful but the bass is just so powerful, the thump on it is just incredible and it somehow magically does not overpower anything else. So if you're someone who's a bass head, I have to say that I cannot recommend these IEMs enough for you. It's a lot of fun listening to EDM, Hip-Hop, Trance, Techno and literally anything that's got sub bass in abundance is gonna sound phenomenal on these iems and it's gotto completely change your perspective on how you listen to music. It's fun, it's unapologetic but I have to say it's phenomenally capable. 

Truthear x Crinacle - ZERO

All right guys next up is another IEM with a dual dynamic driver design. This is the Truthear Zero at rupees 4,499. This is another incredible earphone that I had no idea what to expect when I heard it the first time. A dual dynamic design is so unusual I haven't seen too many other IEMs that have done this is, only the second one but it's so different from the previous one that we just spoke about - the QKZ x HBB Khan and that this is a beautifully balanced IEM without the base or the treble or anything sticking out and so coherent and so easy to listen to that you have to say that the tuning is quite literally perfect and then I figured out that this is again a collaboration model that Truthear has done along with Crinacle, who's another very very famous YouTuber who makes some incredible graphs and charts measuring all the IEMs which are out there and then I immediately knew why these sounded the way they did because Crinacle has collaborated along with Truthear to have a tuning that he thinks is very very well balanced and applied it right here to the Truthear Zero. So if you're someone who likes that kind of a very neutral balanced sound signature, you've probably heard of the 7Hz Salnotes Zero, which also Crinalce has tuned, and that's exactly the kind of tuning you're gonna get on the Truthear Zero. Its beautifully balanced, coherent and nothing sticks out and how they've done it on a dual dynamic driver still is a mystery to me but what you get is so much more resolution, so much more detail, so much more depth in each instrument and layer, that you will not find at any of the IEMs at the rupees 2,000 segment. So for the price again I think that the Truthear Zero gives you phenomenal value for money. It's evident in the build, it's evident in the accessories, the unboxing experience, it's evident in the sound and from all the IEMs that we have discussed under the rupees 5,000 segment, I think Truthear Zero is probably one of the best sounding IEMs, if your sound signature preference is to go for a very neutral and balanced sound profile. It's just beautiful. 

CCA - PLA13

All right guys next up is another very very special IEM that I'm holding in my hand this is from a brand called CCA. It's a sister brand for KZ and you'll find that the IEM is the PLA13. Now if you've not been living under the rock one of the things that you would have noticed last year is one of the biggest trends in the IEM world is how planar magnetic drivers have now found their way into a form factor that fits into an IEM. So planar magnetic IEMs are some of the hottest selling IEMS from the last year and it's incredible what a planar magnetic driver can sound like in a super tiny form factor in an IEM. So they're all the rage. So we've had several planar magnetic IEMs released in the last year but none of them at an incredible price point of under rupees 5,000 that's exactly what CCA has managed with the PLA13. It's the only planar magnetic IEM that we have anywhere close to this price segment and I have to say priced at about 4,000 rupees it's just incredible value for money. You will not get anything that sounds anywhere close to this at the less than 2000 rupee price point so when you upgrade yourself to a PLA13, the difference that the planar magnetic drivers makes is just obvious in the first couple of seconds that you listen to these IEMs. You'll find that CCA PLA13 has gone for a little bit of that KZ House sound, so it's a little v-shaped so there's a lot of bass in there. It's nice and exciting and they've got a little bit of excitement happening in the mid-range and the treble so you'll find that while it's not going to be a neutral sounding IEM, none of the frequencies stand up and sound harsh. That's exactly what the planar magnetic driver does. There's no distortion, there is virtually no harshness and everything sounds beautifully coherent while still sounding fun and exciting. One of the things I love about these IEMs is that the resolution the detail, the width in the music that you listen to is unlike any other KZ or CCA IEM that I've heard until now and it's not that much more expensive at just 4,000 rupees. To give you an idea every other planar magnetic IEM that I know of is all upwards of 12 000 rupees so at one third the price the value for money is just phenomenal. One of the things though I would warn you though is that this needs a lot more power for it to sound loud. So I wouldn't normally recommend plugging this into your smartphone and if you do you'd have to listen to it at max out volume. So it's really really a good idea to use these if you have a USB DAC & Amp that you can use along with it. Nothing too fancy but it'll make all the difference giving these items a little bit of power. This and a lot more are discussed in quite a bit of detail in a dedicated video I have made about the PLA13. So be sure to go check that out if that's something you're interested in. 

Outro

All right with that ladies and gentlemen six of my favourite IEMs for under rupees 5000. Each of them unique and different in their own ways but what's common between all of them is that they all offer you phenomenal value for money as compared to every other IEM under rupees 2,000. When you up your budget, you get so much more than what you pay for and for that reason I absolutely love each of them. I hope you enjoyed this video and I hope that you get the chance to listen to all of these IEMs at out at our experience Studio here in Mumbai if you're in the neighbourhood. If not we're doing shows all across the country this year so make sure that you check out for headphone connect coming to a city near you where we'd love for you to come and listen to these. Thank you so much signing off.