tstarn06
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- May 9, 2006
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I had to jump in here, because the rhetoric on the Yuin v. Gumy got the best of me. I've owned PK1, PK2 and PK3 (twice, sold them both times). I am a Yuin fan, but not unrealistically so. I also bought a pair of blue Gumys ($5.99) after reading that they were on par with the PK2s, so I just tried the Gumys and the OK3s (which I got to review) and listened to 5-6 tracks on the Clip.
My conclusion is that for $6, the Gumys are a very good buy, a little too harsh for my ears (can be somewhat fixed with EQ) to use with any regularity. I agree with Frederick in that the OK3s are a much more refined sound, and more pleasurable. I would not say they are far apart in SQ, however. Again, for $10, I don't find the Gumys atrocious (like I did the Maximos, for example), and if I had to use them short-term under ear bud conditions, it could be worse. But I do think the Yuins offer a more refined sound, and I don't think it's any placebo effect. Of course, they OK3s will probably cost at least $50 when they become available.
As a result, I will use the OK3s (sans canalphone tubes, with donut pads) as my ear buds, not the Gumys. And if the OK3s break or whatever, I would not be content listening to the Gumys on a regular basis.
Granted, I use ear buds in limited situations (poker, walking on busy city streets). Most of the time, I use either the Sleek SA6s or Head-Direct RE2s.
Anyway, I don't think the Gumys are the same as the Yuins. As for build quality, I have never had any of the Yuins I own go bad, but I use them very carefully.
Quote:
My conclusion is that for $6, the Gumys are a very good buy, a little too harsh for my ears (can be somewhat fixed with EQ) to use with any regularity. I agree with Frederick in that the OK3s are a much more refined sound, and more pleasurable. I would not say they are far apart in SQ, however. Again, for $10, I don't find the Gumys atrocious (like I did the Maximos, for example), and if I had to use them short-term under ear bud conditions, it could be worse. But I do think the Yuins offer a more refined sound, and I don't think it's any placebo effect. Of course, they OK3s will probably cost at least $50 when they become available.
As a result, I will use the OK3s (sans canalphone tubes, with donut pads) as my ear buds, not the Gumys. And if the OK3s break or whatever, I would not be content listening to the Gumys on a regular basis.
Granted, I use ear buds in limited situations (poker, walking on busy city streets). Most of the time, I use either the Sleek SA6s or Head-Direct RE2s.
Anyway, I don't think the Gumys are the same as the Yuins. As for build quality, I have never had any of the Yuins I own go bad, but I use them very carefully.
Quote:
| Originally Posted by channum /img/forum/go_quote.gif The more I read reactions like yours, I can only assume there is a lot of placebo effect going on with Yuins. I was quite happy with my Yuin PK2, they still have great sound, I'm not disputing that, but the JVC HAF130 sounds nearly identical to them. So when I read someone declaring something that, if not for the slightly different shape of the earbuds, I doubt could be ABX'd from one another so bad, I can only discard your opinions as too biased as to be useful. I spent more than a year listening to Yuins every single day, and I am firmly of the opinion that they are simply decent earphones with a lot of willing suspension of disbelief magically improving their quality in the minds of their customers. Their build quality is the poorest I've had from any earbud - mine needed three replacements in one year. They are overpriced for what you get. People will get good sound by buying them, no question. But they can get similar quality sound from plenty of sub $30 products. If you *really* want truly good sound from an earbud, I'd save my money for something that is built better than a $5 pair of Koss bottom line buds at Wal-Mart. |
