> Most Chinese factories and engineers are perfectly capable of producing high-end equipment... but their customers don't ask for it
You can also get cheap and really good Chinese gear now. I bought KZ-ZS10 Pro IEMs for $45 on Ali Express and they are fantastic. Very clear sound and isolation that beats my Sony XM4 around ears. Unfortunately the bluetooth adapter you can buy for them is static-y garbage.
I don't know if you are interested in this, but for anyone who wants the audio quality of wired headphones while also using bluetooth, I can highly recommend a bluetooth DAC, like the Qudelix 5k[1]. It has excellent audio quality and their app is quite nice and allows for some very in depth customization.
You can also get cheap and really good Chinese gear now. I bought KZ-ZS10 Pro IEMs for $45 on Ali Express and they are fantastic. Very clear sound and isolation that beats my Sony XM4 around ears. Unfortunately the bluetooth adapter you can buy for them is static-y garbage.