Under 100 Dollar IEM Comparison - CRA, Heart Mirror, Mele, Aria and T3 Plus

Here is my take on my current under 100 dollar IEM recommendations.
The video features the CCA CRA, HZSOUND Heart Mirror, Tripowin x HBB Mele, Moondrop Aria and TinHifi T3 Plus.

All of the featured IEMs are dynamic driver only.

Timecodes :
0:00 Introduction
1:08 Cheapest one here
1:30 Bass
3:38 Bass decay
4:00 Bass continued
4:18 Mids
6:07 Treble
8:23 Tonality
8:49 Resolution
9:22 Technicalities
9:49 Power and sensitivity
10:12 Micro details
10:30 Comfort and fitment
10:52 Summary
11:33 Pricing
11:58 Least to most preferred
13:12 Mele condensation issues
13:34 Preferred three cons and thoughts
14:38 Surprise contender under 100 dollars
14:50 No losers in this comparison :)

[sasharudyy]

I think the CRA are the easiest to recommend to anyone. Most people have never paid more than 20$ for an earphone (me included), so they would never buy stuff like the T3 or the Aria since they're 70$-80$, but the CRA are just under 20, so they're perfect for both beginners who have never had good earphones (again, like me), but also for seasoned audiophiles since they're only 15$ but still nicely tuned

[yourforeignlocal]

Happy owner of the Aria here! :D Just wanted to highlight a weakness, it does have paint bubbling and peeling issues (I don't really care because I only use them at my personal desk at home though). For the T3+, some people have measured and complained about channel imbalance issues. Personally I will not get the Mele coz of reasons, but yeah I felt that the above weaknesses of the other 2 ought to be mentioned as well to make things fair. Thanks for the review, it did address some of the things I was curious about, especially regarding the T3+

[daryldraws]

The filter mod on the heart mirror increases bass presence in the balance while still having detailed sound, but still not for fun, more on vocals, acoustic, classical, jazz type of library.

[SouEuIAm]

I just did a listening comparison yesterday before I came across this video between MELE, T3+ and Aria. I wanted to determine my preferences. After doing a lot of A-B comparisons with a variety of tracks, I decided my preferences were:

1) Aria
2) T3+
3) MELE

[Kenan_Guney]

Hey, firstly thanks a lot for this comparison and your thoughts on them! I wanted to share my experiences too. I had Fiio FH3 but sold them. Tried a lot but never liked the timbre / tuning of it because it has that usual BA timbre and laid back presentation whereas the subbass area was just too much and overwhelming. I love the single dynamic driver iems because of that. Blon BL03s still my top pick under $100 without a doubt. If you don't have one, you should get them first before you buy anything else (of course it's a bit subjective recommendation but the timbre/tonality of the blons are just phenomenal) I have Tin T2 too but to be honest, they don't deserve to talk long about them... They are just ok for the given price, weird fit and comfort but usable somehow... Just ok sound, nothing special for the price, nothing better compared to blons as technicalities on t2s. Maybe a bit wider soundstage but definitely narrower and smaller by depth and height compared to blons. I have the Aria, i like them and will keep them but they lacking in some aspects and just for that, i will buy the T3 Plus as an upgrade to the Aria. And they will probably be my end-game for a long time till i can afford for an Monarch MK2s :) If any of you guys have aria right now and happy with it, just stick with them and don't break your wallet more :) Aria is still very good iem and it doesn't have any issues like shoutiness or sibilance whatsoever (to my ears of course) like some of the people complain about and they sound really balanced and pleasing. So don't have to worry in that regard. But in the end, T3+ is way more natural and even more balanced sounding iems compared to aria imho. For example arias have some unique timbre but it's not as good and natural as on t3 plus for sure. T3+ is just have way better and natural tonality/timbre on it. Frequency graph is also more balanced on the t3 plus because it has a bit more juice in the presence area for lovely vocals (it's my preference to have a bit energy in between 1-3khz for getting the HD600 like vocal presentation) and a bit less bass than aria for a clearer and more open presentation. Also the treble extension is looks better on t3 plus because i can definitely hear the dip on the arias in the 10 khz region and it's audible for me... You can clearly hear the differences between aria and t3+ in the sound demos (i really like the Dan's sound demo from Dan's Audio Reviews channel) And about the soundstage and imaging, i used and returned the hd800s because of the unnatural brightness and a bit thin vocals of it (again, because of the lower 1-3khz area on the hd800s compared to legenderay neutral reference hd600s). Got the HD600s and i couldn't be happier. So you don't have to have a headphone/iem that has big and 3d soundstage and really good technicalities for enjoy to your music. The presentation and timbre of the iem/headphone matters the most from my experiences with hi-end stuff. Like i said, my endgame headphone is hd600, so i hope you guys can understand me in this aspects :) T3+ looks like has this natural and clear presentation the hd600s have, i will be able to share my thoughts if i get them soon, cheers.

[Shraavaan]

As per your showcase of these IEMs and detailed comparison, I chose Moondrop Aria over these sets of IEMs.

Thanks a lot.

As per the details you've provided, I will the Moondrop Aria.
Probably the best IEM under 100 dollars.

[allanclerigo]

Love you video man, glad you talk about which one is hard to drive!

[Elia]

got the cra and the t3+, the t3+ definitely sounds better but they don't sound 4x the price better. Also not having to worry about your headphones as much is definitely a nice bonus

[mamad]

great content. which one has better soundstage/imaging/seperation between aria and t3+ ?

[atooyt]

CRA being there in itself is impressive lol

[PotatoFarmer]

Been reading some reviews on forums comparing T3+ and Aria. Most of them are conflicting, so either there are unit variances or people used different tips with varying bore sizes. Especially on technical performance i.e. soundstage & imaging; some say Aria is better, some say it’s T3+. But in comparing frequency graphs, they’re VERY similar. Both sounded Harman-tuned; both companies are established in the ChiFi community as well. So I guess either one will be a safe purchase anyways for the sub-100 dollars 👍 Personally choosing the Aria because I’ve seen reviewers compare the sizes, and I think my tiny ears are going to be more comfortable in them 😅

[MR.ROBOTVOLTRON]

My personal take is KZ DQ6s blows away the CRA but two different price points and CRA makes it close because it's technical abilities.

[chrisstroud]

I'd get the aria or mele. The mele fits super comfortable and had good bass. Also very light aluminum shell helps with fit too. Aria is probably the best tuning for everyone though. Mele just gives me more fun for a budget so sound. For 100 dollars get the olina it's way better than everything out at that price point right now

[ifebigold]

My dream in ear, blon bo3 tuning and cca driver

[mokisan]

Hi, sorry for the comment again.

Does this set still hold good now ? I wanted a warm sounding set.

[jbjmx]

To me the T3+ is the best of the group, but for the price the easiest recomendation is cra, very close to the Mele in sound but 3 times cheaper

[matusjurcik]

Hi Vortex :), dont u think that the aria sounds a little bit dry and veiled in the mids? Like almost every moondrop? Cause thats my experience so far. No one points that out and iam a little bit curious why is that... :)

[everaldofrancisco]

There is a lot of difference between CCA CRA and Open Heart Resin that justifies having both, which one has better sound and technicality?

[wanaboed]

Can you compare Hidizs MS2, Thieaudio L2, Whizzer HE01, Tin T3 Plus and Moondrop Aria next?

[OldTerrible]

Excellent nice to hear another perspective on this lot. Catch the rest after work.