Absolute best budget earbuds?

[chifihead]

Noob question time:

How do you guys compare (and tweak?) the sound quality of earbuds when the foam makes a world of difference? The Nameless has great (?) timbre and tonality with donut foam but muddy when using the default foam, for example. I even trimmed the donut shape by a few mm and it changed the sound noticeably.

I'm not bashing the buds but it just feels like a world where the sound quality is very varied. How do you navigate this?

 

[Tromick]

Noob question time:

How do you guys compare (and tweak?) the sound quality of earbuds when the foam makes a world of difference? The Nameless has great (?) timbre and tonality with donut foam but muddy when using the default foam, for example. I even trimmed the donut shape by a few mm and it changed the sound noticeably.

I'm not bashing the buds but it just feels like a world where the sound quality is very varied. How do you navigate this?

Using Sennheiser MX series for ten years right now. I think they all sounded very thin without foams and they don't stay on ear without them. It is like upgrading sound. I don't know which headphone are you talking about but it makes wonders on Sennheiser's MX series.

 

[Danny23]

Ive been looking into portable earphones for the first time in a while, started at sound magic e11, shure se215 type earphones, then moved looking at the budget options of Sony mh750s, Blon bl-03, etc but I wondered if there's any good quality earbuds which I could be pointed in the direction of incase I don't love the in ear feeling from the listed IEMs. I like anything leaning to the bass side or V shape. I loved my M50s. Anything available in the UK would be great also.

 

[coflaes]

Ive been looking into portable earphones for the first time in a while, started at sound magic e11, shure se215 type earphones, then moved looking at the budget options of Sony mh750s, Blon bl-03, etc but I wondered if there's any good quality earbuds which I could be pointed in the direction of incase I don't love the in ear feeling from the listed IEMs. I like anything leaning to the bass side or V shape. I loved my M50s. Anything available in the UK would be great also.

hi, I can make you a custom one based on your sound preferences, with deep and well defined bass. I am in Spain and I can send to the UK, send me an mp if you are interested

 

[Star Mastering]

Its me . Again.

After i got hooked on earbuds and "Philips" SHE3800 i saw that Yuriv made some posts abouth MH410c and i wanted to try them because his review on MH755 was on the point. I wasn't so surprised with MH410c .
After listening them for few min i just stopped. Lack of bass creates some feeling like the driver is struggling to produce a "real sound" which results in such distortion and makes this earbud sound like crap. Sound just sucks .
The microphone capsule on the other hand is pretty decent and could be used in some DIY headsets or similar.

I will try to correct the bass and distortion on MH410c, because it has potential, and its quality is not as bad as current earbuds which really suck.

 

[Green Apple]

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm a little confused by the DIY concept.

I have strange ears, LOL, and have trouble making normal in-ears fit - I usually have to turn them upside down to get any kind of seal, and IEMs are out of the question. Anyway, I would like to try some cheap buds to see if they work better for my peculiar anatomy. If they do, I have a whole new world opened up before me! I'm considering:

Fengru EMX500
Fengru TC200
Faael Snow Lotus
VE Monk Plus
Audio Technica ATH-C505
KBear Stellar
Moondrop ShiroYuki
Ty Hi-Z

Wow, sorry, that's quite a list -- and I know there's like a gazillion more out there. All of these are available and fairly cheap here in Thailand, but the Fengru product listings in particular always say something like DIY Fengru Tingo TC200 or DIY Fengru EMX500.

Does DIY mean that these are Fengru copies? Or can I probably assume they are made by Fengru? Is this even a sensical question? I'm interested because people around here seem to really love the EMX500 and the TC200, and I guess I would want the real article.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any information you can provide, and please feel free to offer opinions on my choices or any other suggestions.

PS: I posted almost the same questions on the >>Earbuds Round-Up<< thread - not sure if that's ok...

 

[cyh03176]

I just made a new purchase and it arrived two days ago. It is the Lumigon H2. It was the free buds that came with the Lumigon T2 HD. Both phone speakers and buds are claimed to be tuned by Bang & Olufsen. I think you guys who have access to taobao should absolutely try this because it is a total steal for USD4 (shipping cost excluded)!!! Just get it and let it burn-in for a few hours and it sings! Of course, there is no perfect buds in this world and there are only two cons for me: 1. the size is somewhat a little bigger than the usual Apple Earpod style earbuds, my ears hurt after sometime, putting a foam fixes that somehow but the sound signature is altered, 2. the sub-bass is none existent but which bud has sub-bass anyway, at least not the ones I own.

here is the link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.da312e8dqEA2Gg&id=643514198925&_u=820aemkbskfd7f

 

[povidlo]

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm a little confused by the DIY concept.

I have strange ears, LOL, and have trouble making normal in-ears fit - I usually have to turn them upside down to get any kind of seal, and IEMs are out of the question. Anyway, I would like to try some cheap buds to see if they work better for my peculiar anatomy. If they do, I have a whole new world opened up before me! I'm considering:

Fengru EMX500
Fengru TC200
Faael Snow Lotus
VE Monk Plus
Audio Technica ATH-C505
KBear Stellar
Moondrop ShiroYuki
Ty Hi-Z

Wow, sorry, that's quite a list -- and I know there's like a gazillion more out there. All of these are available and fairly cheap here in Thailand, but the Fengru product listings in particular always say something like DIY Fengru Tingo TC200 or DIY Fengru EMX500.

Does DIY mean that these are Fengru copies? Or can I probably assume they are made by Fengru? Is this even a sensical question? I'm interested because people around here seem to really love the EMX500 and the TC200, and I guess I would want the real article.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any information you can provide, and please feel free to offer opinions on my choices or any other suggestions.

PS: I posted almost the same questions on the >>Earbuds Round-Up<< thread - not sure if that's ok...

Might be completelly wrong, but from my understanding Fengru is not an actual brand- it's an over-arching term used for various DYI and replica products.

E.g. Fengru Tingo TC200 is not the real, original Tingo TC200 - it's a replica remade by a DYI-type suppler who doesn't have a brand/advertiser name so they just use Fengru.

For budget earbuds, even $5 ones have gems. Check out FAAEAL Iris Ancestor if you like bassy/warm or Headroom MS16 if you like mid-centric/bright.

I just made a new purchase and it arrived two days ago. It is the Lumigon H2. It was the free buds that came with the Lumigon T2 HD. Both phone speakers and buds are claimed to be tuned by Bang & Olufsen. I think you guys who have access to taobao should absolutely try this because it is a total steal for USD4 (shipping cost excluded)!!! Just get it and let it burn-in for a few hours and it sings! Of course, there is no perfect buds in this world and there are only two cons for me: 1. the size is somewhat a little bigger than the usual Apple Earpod style earbuds, my ears hurt after sometime, putting a foam fixes that somehow but the sound signature is altered, 2. the sub-bass is none existent but which bud has sub-bass anyway, at least not the ones I own.

here is the link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.da312e8dqEA2Gg&id=643514198925&_u=820aemkbskfd7f

With this type of pods-like earbuds, foam doesn't always work well. Have you tied silicone covers to improve fit? That works well on my Razer Hammerhead TWS earbuds that have the same profile.

There are earbuds with serious sub-bass, check out smabat ST-10s Gold or FAAEAL Rosemary.

 

[cdsa35000]

JCALLY EP05 and JC10.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/jcally-ep05-jc10-endgame-16-worth-1000.959655/

 

[Bloos]

Two questions as an earbud newb:

1. Does housing/shell plastic choice matter for sound quality on Faaeal's earbuds?
Ex. solid black vs. transparent grey versions of the Faaeal Iris 2.0

2. Does the 2022 nicehck traceless (purple/green) sound any different from the previous traceless red&blue version?

Iris 2.0: https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32672730349.html?
2022 traceless:
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004166701966.html?

 

[232tomas232]

hi guys) i have vido blue and white. I really like them, my hands itch, I want to experiment with them, can I somehow upgrade them, improve the sound, or is this a bad idea?)

 

[kmhaynes]

Noob question time:

How do you guys compare (and tweak?) the sound quality of earbuds when the foam makes a world of difference? The Nameless has great (?) timbre and tonality with donut foam but muddy when using the default foam, for example. I even trimmed the donut shape by a few mm and it changed the sound noticeably.

I'm not bashing the buds but it just feels like a world where the sound quality is very varied. How do you navigate this?

I've never felt guilty for using EQ a bit to help my iem / phones sound how I want them I refuse to force myself into the sound an iem naturally makes.

 

[esco64]

I spent months searching for earbuds for small ears. Every pair I've ever tried have been too big. On forums like this, people say they have small ears and such a brand will fit. Well, they don't. Wanna try something reviewed by https://www.head-fi.org/threads/absolute-best-budget-earbuds.812853/page-200 . Will keep you posted

Have you tried monk lite? They have a 13.49mm diameter.

 

[dpts]

My new pair of white vido ( Y cable ) has bass and treble distortion / crackling on higher volumes.
Traceless and monk plus, which sounds fine at that level. Is it common issue with the vido`s or maybe my pair has a problem ?

bought from here :
aliexpress greendio