2024 has come and gone, and honestly it’s been an absolutely overloaded year for audio—especially IEMs, sources, and everything in between. In this video I do a full “Best of 2024” recap based on what actually defined my listening this year, plus a few personal highlights like going to China, touring the HiBy office (video coming soon), and visiting SIAS where I got to hear a ton of gear and meet a lot of amazing people. This isn’t a scripted tier list video—I’m just giving you my real standouts and why they stuck with me. For transducers, my favorite IEM of the year is the DUNU DK3001 BD (Brain Dance): bright, trebly, and technically capable—basically the best I heard in 2024. My “budget goated” pick is the TANGZU Yu Xuan Ji, which reminds me of my all-time favorite HZSound Heart Mirror but in a more mature, modern way, and it’s stupid good for around $40. For convenience, the DUNU Vivaldi OWS is the most effortless daily piece of gear I’ve used—wear it all day, stay aware of your surroundings, take calls, and just keep moving. On sources, my DAP of the year is the HiBy R8 II—specifically because the R8 II’s “R1” functionality/value combo is insane for the price: small, powerful, feature-rich, and it kept me listening even during my hiatus. I also shout out my desktop and dongle favorites, then I wrap it up with the albums that defined my year—Flu’s Time and Pace, Magdalena Bay’s Imaginal Disc, and Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia—because the music is the whole point of the hobby.