2 new prototype earphones spotted at Jaben

[tristram]

Hi all, I want to share info about some new earphones I spotted.

I visited Jaben 2 days ago and Wilson let me try on the 2 earphones and an amp which allows for bass control, just after I demo-ed the nice sound from a Pico. (I do prefer the Predator for being just that slightly more natural sounding though both to me are excellent, be it for SQ or power.)

About the amp, I have started a thread in the headphone amp page instead.

Back about the earphones, they certainly sound good to me ears. One is 16 ohms while the other is 150ohms. But both can be driven well enough direct from my Zen Vision M's headphone out (unamped) no problem. With the new mystery amp with bass control, the 16ohms will sound too sharp for my liking, even at low gain.

I think they are a step up from mylarones, be it for the SQ or build quality. Perhaps the earphone end can have choice of earplug or In-Ear/Canalphone. I really like them so much that I would buy the prototype if Wilson had quoted me a friendly price for it yesterday. Well, the only thing is that even the left and right markings are not marked yet.

Wilson said the earphones and amp will be available sometime soon and I told him I will want to reserve one of the earphones since he said it will not be too costly. I wonder if they are to be the next mylars to be though not In-Ears, or maybe a new series with another name.

Great that permission has been granted to me from Jaben from my request to show the photos I took. Instead of posting it here, I would give the link for those interested to visit this thread for the 4 photos I took of the amp and the earphones (do pardon me for the poor quality of the pictures taken with my basic nokia mobile phone):

Picasa Web Albums - Tristram - Bass-control ...

With all the continuous new offerings of earphones and amps these days, we are really spoilt for choice. "Ouch" goes my wallet, as always.

Cheers to all.

[nc8000]

Wonder if these are the RE1 and RE2 iem's that others are talking about. The impedance matches those 2.

[tristram]

Originally Posted by nc8000

Wonder if these are the RE1 and RE2 iem's that others are talking about. The impedance matches those 2.

But they look so different being earphones and not in ears, and the cable looks different too. But you do have a point about the impedance.

I was really surprised when the Zen V M can drive the 150 ohms one without problems. The sensitivity must be very high I guess.

[FeedMeTrance]

interesting, would love to hear more from anyone else who has tried em

[squall343]

Got these image from the forum



Mystery earbud?



Mystery IEM and headphone?

Sure look interesting

[ClieOS]

I know those in second and the third picture. They are Teac.

That Teac IEM is two-ways (I have a thread reporting it here). The last headphone is utilizing bone conduction (I remember some member in Japan already wrote something about it).

[direcow]

yeah... the Teacs have been mentioned here before - especially the one with 5( FIVE!) flanges, hopefully for better isolation.


but the normal earbuds with braided wires - i think those are something entirely new.

[Solan]

Originally Posted by ClieOS

The last headphone is utilizing bone conduction (I remember some member in Japan already wrote something about it).

AudioCubes.com - TEAC HP-F200 Filltune HiFi Bone Conducting Headphones

That concept is so weird and wondrous that I almost hope it's just great! I heard rumors, back in the 80ies when Russians were Soviets and the Soviets were Evil, that they had measured how high frequencies a human could perceive if the source was in direct contact with the skull. Supposedly 200kHz. I really don't know if there's any substance to this old rumor, but it could explain why we feel (or think we can feel) the presence of frequencies beyond 20kHz in the form of "harmonics", "space feeling" an whatnot - and it would justify spending money on gear with frequency specs well above 20kHz.

[FeedMeTrance]

ahh those 4 flange earphones - i read about them on engadget

[ClieOS]

Originally Posted by FeedMeTrance

ahh those 4 flange earphones - i read about them on engadget

It is 5, not 4

[tristram]

Oh, so the ear buds are called hi-buds? I saw an update from Jaben's forum about them and others opinions of the phones to share with y'all who's interested:

"Hi" Buds

I sure am looking forward to one of these as my upgrade from my mylars, I just felt they will be more durable for my daily outdoor use.

[blippster]

Originally Posted by tristram

Oh, so the ear buds are called hi-buds? I saw an update from Jaben's forum about them and others opinions of the phones to share with y'all who's interested:

"Hi" Buds

I sure am looking forward to one of these as my upgrade from my mylars, I just felt they will be more durable for my daily outdoor use.

Actually that's my post you're referring too

To clarify matters, they're not officially called 'hi' buds, I just used the term from Uncle Wilson's announcement to avoid having to retype 'unmarked-yuin-look-a-like-as-yet-unreleased phones', or anything along those lines throughout the post.

squall343's second & third pictures are from a different announcement, while the first picture is of the buds in question.

[tristram]

Originally Posted by blippster

Actually that's my post you're referring too

To clarify matters, they're not officially called 'hi' buds, I just used the term from Uncle Wilson's announcement to avoid having to retype 'unmarked-yuin-look-a-like-as-yet-unreleased phones', or anything along those lines throughout the post.

squall343's second & third pictures are from a different announcement, while the first picture is of the buds in question.

Hi blippster,

Thanks for clarifying. Guess Hi-buds will be easier to pronounce with less syllabus than mystery-buds, and hey IMO it sounds so much more friendly! It says hi like a Japanese fortune cat waving at potential customers, some imagination. Furthermore, if products sold well without the "H", having the "H" this round might just be the new popular flavour that's "IN" this round.

Anyway, being prototype, we will only know what it is when it's finally out.
An active link to the pictures has been updated in the first post for those interested.

Cheers.