[assassin10000]

IP 68 rating on the waterproof model XTrainerZ means it's good for 1M depth. Without BT, you can seal things out much easier and better. I don't know anyone offering such a device.

My experience with "sweatproof" has not been good. My Jaybirds lasted 2 weeks and my Shure's lasted 3 days. The trouble is that the ions in sweat (Na+ & Cl-) form galvanic cells and short out the bits and pieces of the BT technology and battery. The trick is to always wipe down the device after use and even then some residue is left behind.

I sweat too much so I've gone back to wired IEM's for workouts.

Ouch. Yeah.

My Air-XR's are ipx7 and have been submerged in running water (fell out of my ear during testing lol). They're the only BT TWS that I trust to survive like that, at the moment. I'm sure there are others as well, I just don't have them (or have tried them).

 

[baskingshark]

Looking for a neutral/flat sound signature iem (maybe slight mid and sub bass boost) under $50. Ideally I'd like to stay around $30. My head is spinning with the amount of chifi iems on the market. I remember the Tin T2 being the reference. I'm considering it along with the Blon BL03 and the CCA C12. Anything I'm missing anything? I know most, if not all, of the KZs are out.

My use case is mostly podcasts with the rest being classic rock and jazz.

Thank you.

BLON BL-03 is not flat or neutral. It is harmanish with a midbass boost, so u might need to look elsewhere. Haven't tried the CCA C12, but from graphs and reviews, it appears to be V shaped.

You might wanna consider BQEYZ KC2 and Tin HIFI T2. The latest Tin HIFI T2 Plus (not to be confused with Tin T2 Pro), has great reviews, haven't tried it, but it seems to have a bass boost over the Tin T2.

 

[seanwee]

BLON BL-03 is not flat or neutral. It is harmanish with a midbass boost, so u might need to look elsewhere. Haven't tried the CCA C12, but from graphs and reviews, it appears to be V shaped.

You might wanna consider BQEYZ KC2 and Tin HIFI T2. The latest Tin HIFI T2 Plus (not to be confused with Tin T2 Pro), has great reviews, haven't tried it, but it seems to have a bass boost over the Tin T2.

Would you consider harman neutral to be neutral? For me the stock harman curve is neutral with a bass boost while diffuse field neutral is anemic and slightly off sounding.

 

[baskingshark]

Would you consider harman neutral to be neutral? For me the stock harman curve is neutral with a bass boost while diffuse field neutral is anemic and slightly off sounding.

You are right friend, I agree with your interpretation of the diffuse field neutral especially. The word "neutral" has a lot of interpretations in this hobby. Some people take it to mean harman neutral, some take it to mean a "flat" response, some take it to mean diffuse field neutral.

 

[JEHL]

Would you consider harman neutral to be neutral? For me the stock harman curve is neutral with a bass boost while diffuse field neutral is anemic and slightly off sounding.

If I understand graphs correctly, from comparing the BL-03's FR and my own personal experience with them, to the ER2XR's FR. If I tried the ER2XR, looks like I'd be trading 4-6kHz shoutiness for 2-3kHz shoutiness (not sure which one is better), and much closer to my ideal bass response.

Does that line up with anyone who owns both?

 

[boost3d]

When I saw your post I thought the CSA as I heard it would suit but didn't know about the different signatures.

I ended up going with the CSA. I ordered it from Amazon because the seller said it's the latest production. Fingers crossed it's the one with the good sound sig.

 

[Kumonomukou]

I ended up going with the CSA. I ordered it from Amazon because the seller said it's the latest production. Fingers crossed it's the one with the good sound sig.

You'll be fine! My impression with CSA was... 'Nothing wrong with it', which is a good sign for a budget pair purchased randomly. They won't give you the unpleasant muddiness or veiled mids. You could hear the BA details, and the bass was there. They're not giant killer or anything, but I think they deserve a 'Decent' tag especially for their price.

 

[IEManiac]

Looking for a neutral/flat sound signature iem (maybe slight mid and sub bass boost) under $50. Ideally I'd like to stay around $30. My head is spinning with the amount of chifi iems on the market. I remember the Tin T2 being the reference. I'm considering it along with the Blon BL03 and the CCA C12. Anything I'm missing anything? I know most, if not all, of the KZs are out.

My use case is mostly podcasts with the rest being classic rock and jazz.

Thank you.

BQEYZ KB100
BQEYZ KC2
BQEYZ K2
TIN T2+

 

[Braekfast]

I'm looking to replace my original VE Monk earbuds, since they died. I got myself a Monk Plus and a Monk Mini, but they both seem to sound worse than the original version. I've been looking around the different forum threads and the ME80 seems to come up quite frequently, but that's the only one I've really found so far. Trying to browse Aliexpress itself has been difficult to say the least, since there are like a million different models.

I was looking to stay under 20 euro originally (mostly to avoid import taxes), though I can bump that up to 50 if a really good option presents itself. I realize I'd probably have an easier time finding an IEM, but my ear canals cannot stand to have any kind of IEM tip in them for longer than like 15 minutes. I've tried.

I tend to listen to rock, orchestral (soundtracks mostly), synthwave, metal and vocal stuff (Longest Johns etc). I'm not sure how to desribe the sound I'm looking for, I can only tell you that I liked the VE Monk just fine, same thing with the sennheiser HD555's I use at my desk. I'll also be driving these from my phone, though I don't think that's a problem for most earbuds. Any recommendations are appreciated.

 

[darmanastartes]

I'm looking to replace my original VE Monk earbuds, since they died. I got myself a Monk Plus and a Monk Mini, but they both seem to sound worse than the original version. I've been looking around the different forum threads and the ME80 seems to come up quite frequently, but that's the only one I've really found so far. Trying to browse Aliexpress itself has been difficult to say the least, since there are like a million different models.

I was looking to stay under 20 euro originally (mostly to avoid import taxes), though I can bump that up to 50 if a really good option presents itself. I realize I'd probably have an easier time finding an IEM, but my ear canals cannot stand to have any kind of IEM tip in them for longer than like 15 minutes. I've tried.

I tend to listen to rock, orchestral (soundtracks mostly), synthwave, metal and vocal stuff (Longest Johns etc). I'm not sure how to desribe the sound I'm looking for, I can only tell you that I liked the VE Monk just fine, same thing with the sennheiser HD555's I use at my desk. I'll also be driving these from my phone, though I don't think that's a problem for most earbuds. Any recommendations are appreciated.

You may want to try asking here instead:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/
The thread you're in is intended for in-ear headphones, not earbuds.
That said, I own the VE Monk Espresso and a few other earbuds, and I really like the Nicehck ME80.
I have a review of it here: https://medium.com/bedrock-reviews/nicehck-me80-review-8190c96ca9b8

 

[seanwee]

Just recieved the MH755 and they are currently burning in. I did some initial listening and they are tuned quite similarly to my FDX1.

However, the gap in refinement is massive. Bass goes deep but the rumble lacks the weight normally present with this amount of bass, even when I applied a 6db boost to the sub 54hz range. They are tiny iems with equally tiny drivers so you cant beat physics i suppose. From the mids onwards it sounds rather flat and lifeless for lack of a better description and the overall sound is grainy. Cymbals sound shouty and don't sound complete, as if the shoutyness is masking the rest of the sound. Soundstage is rather narrow as well and depth is almost nill, its basically 2D.

My initial impressions : The MH755 are audibly an entry level iem, a well tuned one but an entry level iem nonetheless. I'll leave them to burn in for 24 hours and see if they improve much.

 

[fonkepala]

You may want to try asking here instead:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/
The thread you're in is intended for in-ear headphones, not earbuds.
That said, I own the VE Monk Espresso and a few other earbuds, and I really like the Nicehck ME80.
I have a review of it here: https://medium.com/bedrock-reviews/nicehck-me80-review-8190c96ca9b8

A bit off topic, but I really like you webpage and your reviews. Keep up the awesome work!

 

[steviewonderbread]

If I understand graphs correctly, from comparing the BL-03's FR and my own personal experience with them, to the ER2XR's FR. If I tried the ER2XR, looks like I'd be trading 4-6kHz shoutiness for 2-3kHz shoutiness (not sure which one is better), and much closer to my ideal bass response.

Does that line up with anyone who owns both?

I have the ER2 and used to have the blons. I do not find the Etymotics to be that "shouty" - this may seem surprising given the huge hump around 2 kHz but my guess is this is either related to the insertion depth or maybe it's my tendency to play music at lower volumes with better isolation. Mid-forward is probably a better descriptor. At around $100 I really think you'd enjoy the improvements of the ER2 coming from the bl-03.. assuming you are okay with the fit.

 

[Braekfast]

You may want to try asking here instead:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/
The thread you're in is intended for in-ear headphones, not earbuds.
That said, I own the VE Monk Espresso and a few other earbuds, and I really like the Nicehck ME80.
I have a review of it here: https://medium.com/bedrock-reviews/nicehck-me80-review-8190c96ca9b8

I apologize, I saw 'earphones' in the thread title and assumed that meant both IEMs and earbuds.
Thanks for directing me to the other channel and for linking that review. The review was well written easy to follow, and makes me lean a bit towards getting the ME80 at the moment.

 

[IEMusic]

I have the ER2 and used to have the blons. I do not find the Etymotics to be that "shouty" - this may seem surprising given the huge hump around 2 kHz but my guess is this is either related to the insertion depth or maybe it's my tendency to play music at lower volumes with better isolation. Mid-forward is probably a better descriptor. At around $100 I really think you'd enjoy the improvements of the ER2 coming from the bl-03.. assuming you are okay with the fit.

I agree. I find the Etymotics to be neutrally tuned, accurate, and never shouty. I don’t find any harsh sounding frequencies.