BeB 866B Red and 868 Silver added.
Warm + Sweet 24. Blue Ever Blue 868B Silver (
link)
Warm and sweet with an added layer of forwardness and thickness to the 866B that makes it more aggressive and upfront. Fuller mid, intimate vocal and crisp treble with the side effect of borderline sibilant in lower treble and overly thick bass note, which begins to interfere with the rest of the presentation. The fullness also reduces the sense of air and thus lowering the soundstage to about average. While overall performance going from 866B to 868B is positive, it pretty much is three steps forward and two steps back and thus not quite a significant upgrade as one might want it to be. More suitable to those who are really into full forward sound that has a strong rumbling bass. When EQ’ed however, there are still a lot of potential left by simply lowering the sub-bass level for 3~6dB.
Pro: None.
Con: Price. Build quality. Packaging.
Warm + Sweet 28. Blue Ever Blue 866B Red (
link)
Slightly warm and sweet yet remains fairly neutral with no particular emphasis on a certain frequency or the lack thereof. In fact, the end to end extension is rather good for IEM in such price bucket. Bass reaches deep and slightly on the thick side, quantitatively not monstrous but overall larger-than-average. Occasionally it can become slightly too thick (which reduces the texture and resolution) on bass heavy music, but it is still enjoyable and not too offensive. Mid is warm and slightly full, but not overly sweet or forwarded. Vocal is very decently textured while still retains a sense of space between the singer and the listener. Treble, especially lower treble and upper mid, is clean and clear, giving a rather good highlight over female vocal without sounding sibilant. Upper treble is however slightly rolled off. There is still some sparkle, but really lacks a sense of crispiness. Soundstage is quite good with a clearly defined sense of air, separation and image. It might not have the best soundstage in the sub$100 category but combines with the evenness of its sound signature, it is remarkably good for slow and relaxing music like vocal jazz.
Pro: Soundstage, Technical proficiency.
Con: Build quality. Packaging.
