Most of the good audio gear is coming from niche channels direct from China. Moondrop and Fiio/Snowsky are probably the two biggest brands that you’d potentially find in your nearest city if there’s an audio shop with a chi-fi bent.
Getting iems with removable cables also helps. I resoldered my Porta Pros with MMCX jacks so that I could replace the cable. It is shit that you can’t get anything worth having unless you arguably know too much about the category, but it is out there.
Most of the good audio gear is coming from niche channels direct from China. Moondrop and Fiio/Snowsky are probably the two biggest brands that you’d potentially find in your nearest city if there’s an audio shop with a chi-fi bent.
Getting iems with removable cables also helps. I resoldered my Porta Pros with MMCX jacks so that I could replace the cable. It is shit that you can’t get anything worth having unless you arguably know too much about the category, but it is out there.