The SHE3800 I got from AE was atrocious and a driver started rattling after minutes of use. Yet, others swear by them. "Fake" or not, there are clearly multiple different variants of the 3800 floating around, and it's practically impossible to tell which one you're ordering.

Can anyone comment on the ME80's volume level compared to any other popular buds? Also, any descriptions of sound signature differences between ME80 and Fengru Silver?

Appreciate this type of description a ton, and wish it were a bit more prevalent in this thread when people talk about receiving new buds. Based on "recessed and not airy" highs, I feel comfortable passing on the B40!

As resident n00b, I'm unfamiliar with this luckybag business... do those buds usually become more widely available at a higher price later on, or will they just disappear after this run? If it's bright and forward, I'm willing to try it at $7.99, but more as a sampler to buy more pairs later if...

Yeah, white cable but transparent shells... good to know. It's decent, but conspicuously lacking in bass (even just compared to most of the other popular buds I ordered from AE) and kind of thin sounding overall. If the UE or Plus versions have a truly noticeable boost in bass quantity that...

I'll be curious to hear your impressions of the difference between the RY4S variants. I got the standard ($3) pair and found them a little underwhelming. I'm skeptical that the MMCX/Plus version would be drastically different, but might bite on a pair if someone doing a side-by-side comparison...

This is a dumb question, but where does everyone recommend getting donuts from? I've ordered 10+ pairs of buds on AE, but all have come with only full foams. I also ordered a sub-$1 bag of spare foams that turned out to be incredibly low quality (consistently ripping when putting on), so I'd...

Unfortunately I threw the packaging away right after receiving them, but here's the connector. It actually looks more like the first pic in your post that you identify as genuine than the second pic of your pair. But man, I can't overstate how bad these are (or were, before the rattling started...

I ordered a pair of SHE3800s from AE for about $4, but I think they may be fake. The sound was unbelievably boxy (as if sound was coming through a literal wall), and one of the drivers started rattling badly about 10 minutes into my first listening session. Certainly sounded nothing like H180s...

Received the Fengru TC300 earlier and just updated my main review post. Will also paste my first impressions here, since I haven't found much else on HF about them. ------------- Relatively flat and balanced EQ. Moderately wide soundstage. Good clarity. I bought these after receiving my first...

I'm guessing you already have, but just in case, try with full/thick foams. I thought the same thing out of the box without any foams on, and adding them made a world of difference. Definitely still on the harsh side, but far bassier and not tinny IMO with foams.

What's the difference in signature like between the 1.0 and 1.0+CE?

Any recs for cheap MMCX cables? I'm probably going to try the RY4S Plus, but can't be bothered to spend $10-20 on a cable to go with it, which is about all I'm seeing on AE. There have to be decent options under $5, no?

That's for sure. I have little doubt that someone listening almost exclusively to acoustic or classical could have radically different opinions about virtually all these buds than I do. Hopefully, my description of the sound signatures is at least useful, even if I throw in some shade for some...

Intro and Biases I just started looking at this forum, and cheap buds in general, within the last couple months. I’ve used Sennheiser MX365s for years without really knowing of any decent, affordable alternatives. So needless to say, I’ve jumped into amassing these ChiFi buds pretty quickly, and...