Earbuds Round-Up
Aug 25, 2016 at 4:21 AM Post #9,016 of 74,456
 

But doesn't it defeat the purpose of the earbud format if you need special amps to make a pair of earbuds reach their potential? I used my Caying C5 and Fiio E11 portable headphone amps with Zen 2.0 and found them to be unbalanced. What I mean by unbalanced is that there was like a blanket over the highs. It's not like highs were rolled off but more like they were severely muffled. I had to EQ treble up on my DAPs with between 5 and 10 Db to get them to sound balanced. Traded the Zen 2.0 for a pair of Zen 1.0 and those gave me exactly what I wanted from the Zen 2.0.

I prefer earbuds that do not need amping at all. I have not heard all earbuds made, but from those I have heard, Blox TM7 are the best ones with great detail and imaging and an incredible smoothness like honey.
I just received a pair of Edimun V3 and those are amazing for the price. To me they are close to the level of Zen 1.0 or Sennheiser MX980/985 (very natural sound that might not be for everyone) with almost the same bass impact as Zen 1.0.

But then again, people hear differently because of different preferences...

Perhaps the amp in question has a lot to do with it. I was thoroughly unimpressed with the Zen 2 with Cayin C5, but love them with the Project Starlight tube amp.
 
I wish I could find TM7 for sale somewhere. 
 
I am still waiting for Edimun V3 to come in the mail.
 
And yes, I suppose earbuds should do well without being amped. But I don't mind too much because I have a good desktop setup going on, where I study for long hours (and hence listen to music at the same time).
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 4:38 AM Post #9,017 of 74,456
I think you will be impressed by Edimun V3. They have taken a simple and good sounding cheap earbud and made it sound like a $100-150 earbud. Not the best ones around but definitely in the top line of earbuds. However, I agree with others who complain about the stiffness of the cable.

BTW, I ordered a pair of Mojito. Mostly because I am curious to see if it can beat Aiwa HP D9 when it comes to size of the soundstage. Also, I do not mind cold sounding earbuds. I love Tomahawk which is cold and "metallic" sounding. I like Ting as well, which is better technically than Tomahawk and has got the same sort of cold sound. 
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 4:43 AM Post #9,018 of 74,456
Also, I am curious about VE Nirvana and if that one can beat all other earbuds around. And I'm hoping for Blox to finally finish their new flagship earbud. Those two might come in at the very top of earbud lists...
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 4:58 AM Post #9,019 of 74,456
  But doesn't it defeat the purpose of the earbud format if you need special amps to make a pair of earbuds reach their potential?

 
I think this is how it used to be in the past. In 2016 earbuds reached the level when they can be considered as equivalent to over-ear headphones and earbuds can be choosen also for stationary listening sessions over headphones - even just for better comfort or special earbuds sound qualities that headphones are missing.
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 5:20 AM Post #9,020 of 74,456
  I think you will be impressed by Edimun V3. They have taken a simple and good sounding cheap earbud and made it sound like a $100-150 earbud. Not the best ones around but definitely in the top line of earbuds. However, I agree with others who complain about the stiffness of the cable.

BTW, I ordered a pair of Mojito. Mostly because I am curious to see if it can beat Aiwa HP D9 when it comes to size of the soundstage. Also, I do not mind cold sounding earbuds. I love Tomahawk which is cold and "metallic" sounding. I like Ting as well, which is better technically than Tomahawk and has got the same sort of cold sound. 

Can you kindly provide some info regarding how well will the Mojito stack up against the legendary Aiwa?

Thank-you
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 5:20 AM Post #9,021 of 74,456
This makes me wonder as I have tried already earbuds from some different countries.

Can we say in general that:
Chinese designed earbuds - "fun", warmer, bassier sound signature
Indonesian and Thai designed earbuds - analitical, colder and trebler sound signature.
 
Of course this is just general idea - there will be exeptions, specially in Chinese part.
 
And now, is it becouse:
A)  there are some sound signature preferences on national level?
 
or
 
B) Chinese eabuds are more mass produced products (in general) aimed at customers seeking just "fun" sounding earbuds and Indonesian and Thai earbuds are short series or even individual order products aimed at connoisseur customers that look for more sofisticated experience?
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 5:21 AM Post #9,022 of 74,456
   
I think this is how it used to be in the past. In 2016 earbuds reached the level when they can be considered as equivalent to over-ear headphones and earbuds can be choosen also for stationary listening sessions over headphones - even just for better comfort or special earbuds sound qualities that headphones are missing.



Well, you've got a point there. But that should be made clear for potential buyers. I am not at all interested in any head- or earphones that can not be driven properly by "standard" portable amps such as Cayin C5 or "basic" FiiO amps. Many buds with high impedance such as Zen 1 or Yuin PK1 sound good with that stuff. Of course those as well can be made to sound even better with tube amps or what have you. I mainly listen to music on the move (taking a walk outside, going to and from work etc), so that is my focus. 
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 5:23 AM Post #9,023 of 74,456
  This makes me wonder as I have tried already earbuds from some different countries.

Can we say in general that:
Chinese designed earbuds - "fun", warmer, bassier sound signature
Indonesian and Thai designed earbuds - analitical, colder and trebler sound signature.
 
Of course this is just general idea - there will be exeptions, specially in Chinese part.
 
And now, is it becouse:
A)  there are some sound signature preferences on national level?
 
or
 
B) Chinese eabuds are more mass produced products (in general) aimed at customers seeking just "fun" sounding earbuds and Indonesian and Thai earbuds are short series or even individual order products aimed at connoisseur customers that look for more sofisticated experience?



Edimun V3 is very bassy and warm - Indonesian.

Rose Mojito is described as cold and analytical - Chinese (right?)

Musicmaker Ting and Tomahawk are also Chinese, right? To me, they are both quite cold sounding.

Of course there are always exceptions to any rule...
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 5:38 AM Post #9,024 of 74,456
  Edimun V3 is very bassy and warm - Indonesian.

 
By the way, as you got your Edimun. As one member mentioned here already Edimun is bassier than Red De'mun so there must be differences between these two but I had some problems when deciding on Red De'mun sound siganture.
 
I was like... I play first album, ok - RD is warm, I play another one - now RD is cold, play another one - cold again, play another one - this time it is warm. What? OK - simply it is mostly neutral but with some strong incline towards cold side.
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 6:12 AM Post #9,025 of 74,456
You NEED to try the Zen 2 amped. As long as its a powerful enough amp, you will noticably hear the difference. I tried Zen 2 without amp today and it sounded dull and unimpressive. I tried it with amp and I now consider it the best earbud period. Better than Mojito.
It was known that Zen 2 needed an amp to shine and it is also very picky with amps to sound best.
Glad for you now, better late than never :D
:beerchug:
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 6:45 AM Post #9,026 of 74,456
  Also, I am curious about VE Nirvana and if that one can beat all other earbuds around. And I'm hoping for Blox to finally finish their new flagship earbud. Those two might come in at the very top of earbud lists...

Ohk, now i started saving money.
No more earbud till Nirvana and Blox X comes out.
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 8:27 AM Post #9,028 of 74,456
Ok guys, here is my effort of trying to provide my experience with the Zen 2.
 
The Zen 2 is an efficient 320 ohm ear bud. That means you don't need much power to get sound out of it. Heck my iPhone 6s drives the Zen 2 to a loud enough volume without any trouble.
Many head phone enthusiasts, mainly at forums like r/headphones are blindly calculating the efficiency of head gear to determine whether something needs amping or not.
Then they complain about that the gear does not sound impressive, given that it should work due to their calculations. My take on this is that: yes they get sound out of the gear, and at loud enough volume. It's just that they are not feeding the gear with enough power to make it shine.
 
The Zen 2 needs a lot of power to shine. Period. Don't buy the Zen 2 if you are not willing to pair it with a powerful enough source.
 
VE are currently offering two portable desk top amps to use with the VE head gear (mainly the Zen 2): RA+ and RA 2.0. VE are about to release a balanced RA in the future as well.
 
I have no experience with the RA+, but it is their budget amp. Designed to be used with a single 9.6V battery on the go with an output swing of 3V RMS to provide the Zen 2 with enough power to use the full potential. The RA+ can also be used with a power brick (I don't know the voltage of this, but I guess ~14V).
 
The RA 2.0 on the other hand is the monster. It's designed to be used with two 9.6V batteries on the go or with a power brick of between 18V to 24V in desk top mode. This is silly powerful.
When I listen to music with the Zen 2, the RA 2.0 stacked with the FiioX3ii is the only source I use, and I rarely pull the volume knob to more than 9 o'clock RA 2.0. I know that the RA+ ought be enough paired with my other gear, but I went full in to be prepared for future upgrades on other gear.
 
I sometimes use the Zen 2 with a FiioK5/X3ii combo connected to my HTPC when watching TV, but even on high gain the K5/X3ii combo cannot come close of showing the full potential of the Zen 2 when listening to music. It works fine with talk telly though.
 
So why am I writing this?
This is a thread where many people write great and helpful impressions of ear buds. But it is easy to be fooled by ones impression without knowing what source they use or even what foams they are using with a certain bud. I for one never use earbuds without foams. Some will say you distort the sound of the Zen 2 as soon as you put any kind of foam on them. I on the other hand use the MP+ thin foams on almost all of my buds. That is just what rocks my boat.
 
Some additional about the VE amps. You cannot charge the battery via the power brick. You need to take the battery out and use a charger. Lee suggests that you use the Soshine 9.6V black 260mAh to get the best experience out of the VE amps. Also that you should rather use it with battery instead of the Power brick, since the power brick is not a clean source. These recommendations above are probably over my head since I can't hear a noticeable difference in sound between my Soshine 9.6V/260mAh and my Noname 9V/250mAh batteries. But then it is quite difficult to A/B the batteries because the process of opening the RA 2.0 and change the batteries takes at least a minute for me. Also I have not experienced any uncelan sound using a 24V/500mAh power brick.
 
Aug 25, 2016 at 8:37 AM Post #9,029 of 74,456
For RA+ :sunglasses:
14068522_1132196110208200_6874161157257335937_o.jpg
 

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