[LaughMoreDaily]

  I don't know if you guys consider $17 budget anymore. I picked up TY Hi Z Hp150 and i think it might be my top bud (compared to qian39, k 64, monk plus, ty hi z 32, fareal 32, **** pt15). Anyways, I do like it though if I didn't pick i tup used it would be just out of what I ideally want to pay. It has a very clear sound over all, excellent lower end, pleasing sound. It works straight out of my iphone even though it is 150 ohms, which is a surprise to me.

I wonder sometimes if I'm wasting my money buying all these budget ear buds... since I only plan on using them with Benjie S5, Colorfly C3, and Walnut v2, I once thought it was the best thing to do. But, maybe I'm wrong?
 
I find more value buying four $20 ear buds, then one $80 ear bud. Maybe someone can let me know if I'm right or have been wrong all along and should buy the best (whatever that is). I think the problem is spending the money 'finding the best'.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

When you start at the bottom you will always stay and be at the bottom always climbing up. Buy once (something decent) cry once and be done.

 

[tinkertailor]

When you start at the bottom you will always stay and be at the bottom always climbing up. Buy once (something decent) cry once and be done.

It doesn't look like people ever achieve the endgame, so I'm not sure how good the logic of blowing $100+ on earbuds is. Also, then you will want to hear all the different $100+ earbuds to make sure you have the right one.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

The endgame will be when you decide what you get is satisfactory to the price. Eventually you get to the point of deminishing returns.

 

[tinkertailor]

I like to set myself limits. Not using an amp is good limit and keeping my price to less than $15, is another limit. The difference between buds is so minute that I am not too worried anymore. The difference between a monk plus and a Hp150, in the grand scheme, is so small. If i had to use a monk plus for a while i would be perfectly content even though amongst all my buds they sit at opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

The endgame will be when you decide what you get is satisfactory to the price. Eventually you get to the point of deminishing returns.

After I get all my buds I will write up a nice article about all the money I spent and if it was worth it... I am assuming my end result will be telling people to buy a couple of the buds I bought instead of all the $200+ dollars worth (25) of low priced ones.

 

[Jupiterknight]

  After I get all my buds I will write up a nice article about all the money I spent and if it was worth it... I am assuming my end result will be telling people to buy a couple of the buds I bought instead of all the $200+ dollars worth (25) of low priced ones.

 
Excellent, very enlightning and have fun doing so,  but take into consideration that you had a great time ( I strongly assume and not just a painful experience?) trying all of these earbuds out and that does account for some sort of value to you and not just a sacrifice for a all of us? ) 

 

[fairx]

Well call me cheap but I'm a sucker for value. But ultimately it's about preference. Trying a lot of cheap before committing to TOTL is fun. I have a friend who save up to buy TOTL Sennheiser iem only to spend his day listening to the same sound everyday. But to each his own. IMO.

 

[Danneq]

When I started out here on Head fi as a lurker around 2008, the $35 Yuin PK3 was the only good sounding "budget" earbud. Today $5-10 earbuds can sound as good. I personally think that Monk+ beats most earbuds up to around $35-40 today. Because of the great budget earbuds I have decided to mostly skip the mid tier of earbuds (from around $20-100) and only get budget and TOTL earbuds. The only exception might be from my favorite makers such as Blox or Cypherus.

Having said that, there is a big difference once you get to $150+. You don't get as much bang for the buck with a $150 earbud, but the good TOTL earbuds can compete with headphones. Honestly, my $280 CAX black blows my $350 ATH ES10 and $200 Sennheiser HD25 II away when it comes to soundstage depth, instrument placement and layering and detail. It's difficult to believe that CAX black is a pair of earbuds considering the full and mature sound.
CampFred can compete with my portable hearphones and sounds just about as much as headphones as the ATH and Senns do.

My wife, who daily uses a pair of darth Monk+, used to borrow my ATH ES10 when she wanted to use something better to listen to music on her Sony A856. After I got my Cypherus earbuds she says that both CampFred and CAX black is better than the ATH ES10, but that she prefers CampFred which is more fun sounding. For her daily use she is happy with her Monk+, though.

I do not think that I would spend 300+ on a pair of headphones when a pair of $200+ earbuds can reach 95% or more of the headphone sound. Plus I love the earbud design.

 

[flamesofarctica]

I wonder sometimes if I'm wasting my money buying all these budget ear buds... since I only plan on using them with Benjie S5, Colorfly C3, and Walnut v2, I once thought it was the best thing to do. But, maybe I'm wrong?

I find more value buying four $20 ear buds, then one $80 ear bud. Maybe someone can let me know if I'm right or have been wrong all along and should buy the best (whatever that is). I think the problem is spending the money 'finding the best'.

Thing is there may be a couple that become your go-to's, some that you'll use for certain music styles or just every once in a while, and probably only a couple that you actively dislike. So, they should last you a long while! Whilst giving you plenty of variety.

Also, a combination of trying these all out has for me led to a few nice surprises (eg the RY4S) and quite a few gifts (for the few people who don't turn their noses up at 'old fashioned' style earbuds)

I have 4 earbuds outside of the sub-£30 price range, the TY-HP320, VE Asura 2, TY-HP650 and VE Zen 2.

I use them all and consider each a sound purchase for me. Others may not like any given one of them and they'd be terrible choices for them.

I'm confident this is because I picked them to suit my sound preferences, despite not hearing any others of the more expensive earbuds. It's helped rule out for me a lot of other higher priced gear.

These choices were informed by a combination of exploring what I liked - by trying out way too many budget earbuds, in conjunction with reading the earbud threads here and reviews.

For example..It's helped me know I hate any harshness in the mids & treble, that I like capable bass but not too bassy, that I like an MX500 type fit as it suits my ears.

So it's win-win really, other than to my bank balance. Which would be equally depleted if I'd tried out just a tiny number of more expensive earbuds.

 

[Saoshyant]

@LaughMoreDaily What you're doing is a great way to allow yourself to truly understand what you like in an earbud.  What I would take away from your experience is deciding which ones suit you best, and in a bit try out a higher end one that matches the characteristics you enjoy.  Once you finish writing your article, ask yourself again if what you did was right or wrong, because until then you can't really tell for sure.  Nobody else can either, as it all depends on yourself.  Also, with a large variety of budget earbuds you can pick and choose which ones best suit the music you're about to listen to.  There are some earbuds that work well as a jack of all trades, but the old adage holds true.
 
Also, don't fool yourself into believing that the high end earbuds are going to be immensely better.  At least with earbuds, there's some amazing value in the budget range to be had, which can't be ignored.
 
All in all, as long as you are happy with your journey, that's all that matters.  People can give you advice and opinions, but all of it will be colored by their own preferences and experiences.

 

[Hi-Fi'er]

When I started out here on Head fi as a lurker around 2008, the $35 Yuin PK3 was the only good sounding "budget" earbud. Today $5-10 earbuds can sound as good. I personally think that Monk+ beats most earbuds up to around $35-40 today. Because of the great budget earbuds I have decided to mostly skip the mid tier of earbuds (from around $20-100) and only get budget and TOTL earbuds. The only exception might be from my favorite makers such as Blox or Cypherus.


Having said that, there is a big difference once you get to $150+. You don't get as much bang for the buck with a $150 earbud, but the good TOTL earbuds can compete with headphones. Honestly, my $280 CAX black blows my $350 ATH ES10 and $200 Sennheiser HD25 II away when it comes to soundstage depth, instrument placement and layering and detail. It's difficult to believe that CAX black is a pair of earbuds considering the full and mature sound.

CampFred can compete with my portable hearphones and sounds just about as much as headphones as the ATH and Senns do.


My wife, who daily uses a pair of darth Monk+, used to borrow my ATH ES10 when she wanted to use something better to listen to music on her Sony A856. After I got my Cypherus earbuds she says that both CampFred and CAX black is better than the ATH ES10, but that she prefers CampFred which is more fun sounding. For her daily use she is happy with her Monk+, though.


I do not think that I would spend 300+ on a pair of headphones when a pair of $200+ earbuds can reach 95% or more of the headphone sound. Plus I love the earbud design.

That is the principle of diminishing returns.

 

[vapman]

That is the principle of diminishing returns.

I think the point was very few earbuds offer a truly full headphone like experience

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

  Also, don't fool yourself into believing that the high end earbuds are going to be immensely better.  At least with earbuds, there's some amazing value in the budget range to be had, which can't be ignored.

I wonder the same thing about the budget ear buds and the high-end ear buds, are people buying the expensive ones because they can? I've been listening to budget ear buds my whole life and I've been fine, however, HeadFI has opened up a whole world of new options, including portable digital music players that actually sound good for low prices that anyone can afford. 
 
The problem with this website is it breeds excess curiosity... I think I'm going to buy a few more pairs of headphones and call it a day. But those BLOX ones people talk about... make me more curious.

 

[MisterMudd]

The problem with this website is it breeds excess curiosity... I think I'm going to buy a few more pairs of headphones and call it a day. But those BLOX ones people talk about... make me more curious.

Lol