[NymPHONOmaniac]

Hum, to be honnest I think their conterfeit of the LETV earphones because of what I saw at ridiculous price on Aliexpress (like3-5$ from obscur sellers)...don,t know if Taobao is more trusthworthy but I buy mine from Gearbest at 10$ and as with all I buy there i'm certain it's legit.
 
Look like they can be call ''Letv reverse in-ear'' altought mine is call

Original Letv Stereo Earphones Ear Hook with Mic 1.3m

 
This is the link to the one I buy so you can compare if you buy from somewhere else.
http://www.gearbest.com/iphone-headsets/pp_292613.html
 
They are strangely comfortable too and I just try them with stock eartips, sound is so vast and smooth, perfect for combining with bright or revealing DAP. As said, I find them better than the Vsonic Gr06....wich tell alot because I like the GR06. Kind of similar sound with a wider soundstage and more detailed sound signature even if this is not an analytical earphones.
 
You will not regret it I can assure you this!
 
Cheers.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

I'm happy to know the Mrz aren't beat by the MONK...some people don,t like his soundsignature tough, look like the Mrz are a love or hate affair.
For me, as I listen to alot of different style of music I can always find something that will sound good with it, but I will not listen to old recording of jazz, poor mp3 or badly mixed tracks.
I listen some Jamie Saft jazz with them right now on my Ibasso Dx90 and the organ is really well presented, anyway, the DX90 don't help to warm them up, quite the contrary.
I prefer them with the Xduoo X3 plus amp and even more with the Ibasso Dx80.
 
About ears...I got BIG ears too...so I test them on my girl friend and wasn't able to fit them in her ears. After this I remember having read somewhere that chineses people got small ears and was wondering if this model was expressely made for big eared western creature.

 
I'm writing a review right now about the Mrz Tomahawk, will put a link once it's done. Will try to describe the sound from 3 different DAP source. I feel that people don't take in account enough the soundsignature of their music source to make the right choice when buying earphones and even more with headphones (for amping)...it can make a big deal of a difference!

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

OKAY.
So I begin some research to find the best price of the Fostex TE-02 anywhere in the world...
price go from 15 to 75$ (!!).
And YES I find some unknown (by me) store that sell them for 15!!!
I might try them faster than I think after all.
Check the link:
http://www.digitaldjgear.com/fostex-te-02-water-resistant-in-ear-headphones.html
 
Oh....they are OUT OF STOCK.
 
grrrrr.....
 
If ANYBODY know where we can find them below 30$ including the shipping please share the link.
 
As an headfier point out, there a Pionner OEM version of the TE-02. Amazon got them...but reviews kind of suck.
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SE-CL331-L-Headphones-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B005DOOJHS

 

[TwinQY]

I got them on eBay for ~30CAD + shipping a couple of months ago, but the seller I used doesn't seem to have any left. eBay sellers have really jacked the prices up on these since then. The remaining stock looks to be disappearing, so I wouldn't get your hopes up on that $15 one getting restocked. I saw a couple of other stores that had them around the $20 mark, but they all seem to be out of stock as well. Adorama still looks like they have a couple in stock, at the $30 mark. And it's the N version so you get your penguins to boot.
 
I imagine these will go the way of the dodo (penguin might be more apt, because of global warming and all that). They've sort of missed the hype cycle, and I see no chance of a resurgence due to diminishing stock of a discontinued product.

 

[zabunny94]

you can differentiate the translucent ate model by it's splitter, the old batch with hole near the nozzle has similar spitter as ed3(without strain relief in the splitter) the newer ones has the same splitter as the ed3m

you should also add edifier h180 and h185 on that list

i find h180 to similar sounding with regular ve monk, might be a good replacement in case VE discountinued the regular monk

h185 is balance-bright iem with good enough bass and very wide soundstage, good with acoustic music

i also have philips she3800(yes, i know not chinese ) and Vido earbuds on the way(supposed to arrive today), though I'm not sure if both $3 earbuds can stand against monk... but my local community(Indonesia) seems to hype those thing

 

[loomisjohnson]

Serious earphone for $25. Great built. Sound amazing especially woman voice. Forward mid. A little boost mid high. Fast bass. Nice treeble. no sibilance. Good imaging. Sondstage not too wide(using standart S tip) Must burn in 200+(MUST!). Perfect earphone for jazz. Never touch my HDS1 again since I hear remax rm-600m. Sorry my bad English

got my rm600s yesterday and you'r impressions are spot on. i'll add a few of my own:
1. these are without question the LOUDEST iems i've heard--they're ridiculously sensitive;
2. prior to burn-in, the treble is a tad splashy and hot (as opposed to smooth), though the micor-detail and imaging is very impressive for such an inexpensive piece
3. not much subbass present, tho as you point out the midbass is fast--i tend to gravitate towards more of a v-shaped signature, but these will be a nice change of pace.
overall, these sound very refined and as good or better than much pricier klipsch and other bas i've owned--in this era you can spend a lot more and perhaps getter better build quality and aesthetics, but not necessarily sq

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

you can differentiate the translucent ate model by it's splitter, the old batch with hole near the nozzle has similar spitter as ed3(without strain relief in the splitter) the newer ones has the same splitter as the ed3m

you should also add edifier h180 and h185 on that list

i find h180 to similar sounding with regular ve monk, might be a good replacement in case VE discountinued the regular monk

h185 is balance-bright iem with good enough bass and very wide soundstage, good with acoustic music

i also have philips she3800(yes, i know not chinese ) and Vido earbuds on the way(supposed to arrive today), though I'm not sure if both $3 earbuds can stand against monk... but my local community(Indonesia) seems to hype those thing

Yeah, got lot of homework to do.
Will add the Edifier H180 because it's not the first time I read great stuffs about them, thanks!
 
Right now i'm just ultra obsess with the SUPERLUX HD381 (not the B version!!!!)...finally I choose them over the  super great LETV REVERSE because they got more details and feel more balanced comparatively to the LETV that have a sub bass bump that can warm a little too much the sound (they still are in my top-10 best off personal list of sub-30 ).
 
I heard about this Phillips too....I can add another section of sub-30 non-chinese supreme value earphones. Will think about it...

 

[1clearhead]

  Hum, to be honnest I think their conterfeit of the LETV earphones because of what I saw at ridiculous price on Aliexpress (like3-5$ from obscur sellers)...don,t know if Taobao is more trusthworthy but I buy mine from Gearbest at 10$ and as with all I buy there i'm certain it's legit.
 
Look like they can be call ''Letv reverse in-ear'' altought mine is call

Original Letv Stereo Earphones Ear Hook with Mic 1.3m

 
This is the link to the one I buy so you can compare if you buy from somewhere else.
http://www.gearbest.com/iphone-headsets/pp_292613.html
 
They are strangely comfortable too and I just try them with stock eartips, sound is so vast and smooth, perfect for combining with bright or revealing DAP. As said, I find them better than the Vsonic Gr06....wich tell alot because I like the GR06. Kind of similar sound with a wider soundstage and more detailed sound signature even if this is not an analytical earphones.
 
You will not regret it I can assure you this!
 
Cheers.

Yea, I ordered them very cheap on taobao!.....hope they're real! 

 

[1clearhead]

 
got my rm600s yesterday and you'r impressions are spot on. i'll add a few of my own:
1. these are without question the LOUDEST iems i've heard--they're ridiculously sensitive;
2. prior to burn-in, the treble is a tad splashy and hot (as opposed to smooth), though the micor-detail and imaging is very impressive for such an inexpensive piece
3. not much subbass present, tho as you point out the midbass is fast--i tend to gravitate towards more of a v-shaped signature, but these will be a nice change of pace.
overall, these sound very refined and as good or better than much pricier klipsch and other bas i've owned--in this era you can spend a lot more and perhaps getter better build quality and aesthetics, but not necessarily sq

.....If you have some spare ear tips laying around, try swapping some of them until you get one that give you a better balance with a little more bass. 

 

[Lurk650]

Not sure if posted in here but the MusicMaker Maples (FengYin on HCK store) are stellar for only $23-24. OOTB bass is super heavy, maybe slightly congested in the mids, highs are fine. Burn in brings everything to a beautiful balance with bass emphasis but not bloated, fantastic mids, easy rolled off highs that still provide good detail, a wide yet circular sound stage with great separation and very good resolution. Hard to believe its a single dynamic 

 

[Judge17]

GEARBEST has the Original Tennmak In-Ear Wired Earphones  -  RED WITH WHITE on sale again $10.99 w/coupon Eoottie

 

[Vidal]

I've just set set myself up a webstore in the UK aimed at selling these budget gems. Obviously to make it worthwhile I'm selling these at a higher price than what you can get these from China for. However, delivery is in a day or two compared to a few weeks. I've picked out a few recommendations from HeadFi, Audiofight and Audiobudget. 
 
My process is > read reviews > buy a pair to test > get single item to sell > buy more of the ones which sell well.
 
So far I've been really impressed by the following: -
 
* VJJB K4S - good sound, great build/materials
* VJJB K1S - again good sound and build, less warm than the K4S
* Mannhas E170 - I also got the C190 but the build was a bit iffy with these
* Audiosense AS 20 - balanced sound with a thumping bass when turned up a bit
* **** UES Custom - great sound that I like, not too much bass
* Tennmak Banjo, Piano and Dulcimer - all very very good
 
I didn't really like the Rock Zircons, Monks (fit) but I stock them as they sell well. 
 
It's really only a hobby, but it's a good way of justifying buy lots of earphones, I'm certainly not looking to do it full time. 
 
Does anyone else know of any other good review sites that I can look at? 

 

[zabunny94]

so... i've tried the vido earbud for an hour now, first impression is that it sounds like h180,particularly the punchy bass with less wide soundstage. can't really recommend it to people because the cable looks and feels really cheap with no strain relief at all to be found. if you hate h180's cable, you'll hate it even more.

though, this earbud sounds much-much better than stock earbuds that bundled with my moto g and xperia

i also bought a pair of xiaomi piston colorful 2nd generation for my brother.
lol, it's still using nickle plated 3.5mm jack

sounds really average, probably the same driver as piston colourful 1st gen and youth. it's really shine on xiaomi phones though with their build in enhancement program. sounds like a louder meeaudio rx18. also, seems like that the housings are made with some aluminum and plastic instead of pure plastic in first gen. the cable is really bad though,even though it is a flat one, feels really stiff

at it's asking price, i'll probably go with kz edr1. but it's a nice gift for someone who isn't really into audio, since you know... everyone know xiaomi brand, and will always assume that their product are good

 

[SuperMAG]

hey there, sorry for posting this here, new member and all but i am following head fi for like 2 months, followed most of the budget iem's topics like kz, pistons, zircons etc. my budget is very low for headphones as its maximum of 26usd.
 
Last year i bought my first real headphones in xiaomi piston 2.1, used it for an year until i lost it 3 months ago, it was a great headphone, i really like the sound of it and the build quality was super solid and i used it roughly and haven't got broken unlike my most other headphones which i bought locally in qatar, even 20usd one's.
 
Having had experience with xiaomi phones and headphones, i decided to buy the latest xiaomi hybrid, thinking it will be an upgrade over my piston 2 as there was a piston 3 and hybrid being 4.
 
Well after listening and using it i wasn't fully satisfied, i am not a sound expert, i don't know exactly what i like or don't, my english is not even that good to understand all the stuff written around here, but from what i felt and heard, and i repeat that my english being not good.
 
Xiaomi piston 2.1 had bright kind of sound, very sharp and sometimes hurt my ears too, but very clear and good ..soundstage.., i could hear different instruments very clearly and the vocals too, but that best thing about it was how it made me feel excited when hearing the action songs and themes or anime action themes while watching, for example the changes in sound as being quite and suddenly action exploding made me feel very excited, i also liked the songs which were used musical instruments and heard them very cleanly. for example songs like one republic, everybody loves me and counting stars were nice to hear among the 150 i have that i listen.
 
Xiaomi hybrid sound was a bit different, round instead of sharp which is a positive for me, i like that sound signature, the soundstage is even bigger the piston 2 which was also very nice, music is clear sometimes and muddy and mixed sometimes, which i don't like, also even though it has good bass, the main thing is it doesn't get me excited like piston 2 which made me feel like i am inside the action, but i hear stuff i haven't heard in piston 2 which is good too.
 
Looking for that feeling i started searching about headphones and here i am reaching here, i became obsessed with budget headphones i ordered ve monk + after reading about it here as being the only headphone with all praise and no negative comments not to mention that huge topic for a single headphone. It reached today and after hearing it i liked it very much, its better than my hybrid which costs 3 times more, i can hear all the stuff in the songs, the vocals, instruments, especially the bass and the soundstage, but the negative is its an earbud and not iem, and its uncomfortable and not soundproof like my hybrid. So i decided i want more options of headphones with me. And i want an upgrade over the hybird and monk+, and i want something better but similar to piston 2 and monk +.
 
i read many topics here and looking at my budget arrived to a conclusion that there are few hyped headphones here that made my list, i want to purchase just one more, the list is KZ ed9, Rock Zircon and Joyroom jr e07. Kz ed9 is the least reliable as i heard many people had died with them in couple of months but is the most hyped ones. if there is any other that fits my list and is similer to monk+ and piston 2 please share, i also receaved kz edr2 *was the 2nd most hyped and very cheap* which is for my bro and i will listen to it too.
 
Which one of these do you guys think can excite me like piston 2 and make me feel i am inside the action, and sorry for telling my life story here and wasting much valuable time of yours.

 

[Vidal]

 
Which one of these do you guys think can excite me like piston 2 and make me feel i am inside the action, and sorry for telling my life story here and wasting much valuable time of yours.

 
My personal recommendation would be the Tennmak Piano or the cheaper Mannhas 190