So the $15 IEMs have arrived and... oh no... I can't hear much difference. The only things my layman ears can discern is that the $6 pair has got an extra bass, and that it potentially feels kinda fatiguing especially if I'm just listening to a podcast and not music.

Tbh, I guess I could live without either. I think I'm just gonna use the extra bass pair when going out while keeping the more balanced one for listening at home.

I mean, with a a difference of only 9 dollars, I wouldn't expect one to sound all that much better than the other.

to be honest, both $6 and $15 sound crazy cheap for audio equipment. if you've managed to find something that's acceptable while only spending ~20 bucks that's pretty surprising.