[willyboyaudio]

There is also a cheap 64ohm which is considered to be not so good which looks the same, about 4usd sold in many stores check it out. I guess if the monk had that titanium driver than it would cost much more and would be advertised like crazy that its titanium

@Themilkman46290 did you compare the 32ohm n52 with the ti composite by the way? They do look related, I wonder how similar they are

Thank you my friend. With all this collective knowledge, I'm really thinking we should create a DIY earbuds wiki. Like photos and specs of drivers, brief impressions, etc etc.
What you said makes a perfect sense, sorry I got carried away with my detective work. A local shop has many drivers, and I much prefer buying from them than waiting 2 months from Ali, hence the detective work to cross-reference items.

 

[robar]

Thank you my friend. With all this collective knowledge, I'm really thinking we should create a DIY earbuds wiki. Like photos and specs of drivers, brief impressions, etc etc.
What you said makes a perfect sense, sorry I got carried away with my detective work. A local shop has many drivers, and I much prefer buying from them than waiting 2 months from Ali, hence the detective work to cross-reference items.

That's a good idea, maybe even a google sheet or doc could work
Earbud drivers are very confusing but that's part of the fun lol. I sometimes search in shoppee and EA fb group for more info.

Cheap drivers make great giftbuds!
I’ve made two of these and gifted them to friends. So far, I’ve found that the top of the list for most people are “bass” and “mic” hehehe..

Nice build! What driver did you put into it? The blue shell looks nice, is this the standard one or the less common varnished one (sold at nsc for example)?
I gifted two buds so far (not formally, more like spontaneausly) I built a bud for my mother with n52 32ohm speaker + standard mx500 (custom foam setup) + fengru tc200 cable and one for my brother with emx500 + tc200 shell. Both sounded punchy and fun, they don't really care about sound but seemed to like zhe buds

 

[Themilkman46290]

Oh I completely forgot about this driver, I didn't remember any reviews about it. And it's also available in steel mesh cover. Looks like from the same family as n50,n52 32ohm drivers. Could you compare it to other sub 15usd drivers that you have? Your comment made me curious about these. I'm torn between buying one 10-12usd driver that is new to me (like this, or n52 300ohm etc), or a set of 5 cheaper ones for the same amount, weird situation I know .

Well, I actually have the n52 32ohm bass and compared to the 64ohm ti composite, I tuned them similar, and in my tuning the n52 32ohm has less sub bass, more mid bass, strong vocals, smoother highs, it's very good for acoustic music

 

[willyboyaudio]

That's a good idea, maybe even a google sheet or doc could work
Earbud drivers are very confusing but that's part of the fun lol. I sometimes search in shoppee and EA fb group for more info.

Nice build! What driver did you put into it? The blue shell looks nice, is this the standard one or the less common varnished one (sold at nsc for example)?
I gifted two buds so far (not formally, more like spontaneausly) I built a bud for my mother with n52 32ohm speaker + standard mx500 (custom foam setup) + fengru tc200 cable and one for my brother with emx500 + tc200 shell. Both sounded punchy and fun, they don't really care about sound but seemed to like zhe buds

I put a driver from my local seller, it's called "Warm Bass" driver.
The blue shell, if I remember correctly the inside is black, so it must be painted.
So what new driver are you getting, @robar?

 

[robar]

I put a driver from my local seller, it's called "Warm Bass" driver.
The blue shell, if I remember correctly the inside is black, so it must be painted.
So what new driver are you getting, @robar?

I'm not sure yet, as I found about the xiaomi mi headphones 2 yesterday, which is about 35usd now with coupons, and it's the nice smallish foldable design I was looking for a long time (metal build, graphene drivers, bass radiator, replacable cables, recommended on headfi, original price is 3x etc lol) I'm not sure if I buy that or some cheap speakers, I haven't made up my mind yet. But I don't think I'll buy both (I need to hit at least 8-10usd to get tracked shipping with cheap stuff and that would be too much with the headphones) Maybe if I get some money back from orders that didn't arrive, but I'm losing hope with that.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000861493570.html

If I decide to buy earbud stuff than I'll probably buy either a 5 set mx500 shell + N50 + 32ohm titanium from jietu, or buy a 5 set of 19-21 speakers with mixed covers from nsc. I don't want to risk more expensive stuff and this way I can fill up my remaining shells and possibly give away stuff.

 

[captione]

Those steel mesh drivers that @robar mentioned are really freaking good ootb. I kinda used it on my wood shell but I changed the shell to my transparent one and replaced the faceplate to a transparent one. Real good if you want a warm bassy driver.

Also I'd probably suggest the big solder variants, especially the ones with the green dot, they're pretty sweet and balanced sounding ootb. I also tried the 64ohm black dot titanium plated variant that @robar mentioned but he isn't far off from the description, although it's a big improvement in terms of transients and has a more sparkle upfront presentation, ootb. You really can't go wrong from what I mentioned unless you're finding a different signature.

Edit: ootb, well without any tweakings, just putting it in a shell with the horseshoe foam on.

 

[robar]

Those steel mesh drivers that @robar mentioned are really freaking good ootb. I kinda used it on my wood shell but I changed the shell to my transparent one and replaced the faceplate to a transparent one. Real good if you want a warm bassy driver.

Also I'd probably suggest the big solder variants, especially the ones with the green dot, they're pretty sweet and balanced sounding ootb. I also tried the 64ohm black dot titanium plated variant that @robar mentioned but he isn't far off from the description, although it's a big improvement in terms of transients and has a more sparkle upfront presentation, ootb. You really can't go wrong from what I mentioned unless you're finding a different signature.

Edit: ootb, well without any tweakings, just putting it in a shell with the horseshoe foam on.

I'm happy you like those, and thanks for the 19-21 green dot rec, I was thinking about trying those. By the steel mesh do you think about the red rim N50 drivers? Yes they are really fun warm smooth v shaped character when put into a regular mx500 shell. (If you remove the installed foam from the speaker and put a simple horseshoe on the shell than it becomes tighter and deeper with similar signature)

 

[captione]

By the steel mesh do you think about the red rim N50 drivers? Yes they are really fun warm smooth v shaped character when put into a regular mx500 shell. (If you remove the installed foam from the speaker and put a simple horseshoe on the shell than it becomes tighter and deeper with similar signature)

Yep, meant those. I'm gonna try your suggestion next time I buy another pair of those N50 drivers + plus the blue epoxy 32ohm and the 64ohm variant that the VE Monk uses. I actually call em the "VE Monk type drivers" rather N50 so I got confused a bit

I had alot of experience built up from messing around VE Monks and Lites drivers so it'll be fun exploring those other driver variants. Plus they're insanely cheap here, can't really resist to put em all in my plans.

 

[robar]

Yep, meant those. I'm gonna try your suggestion next time I buy another pair of those N50 drivers + plus the blue epoxy 32ohm and the 64ohm variant that the VE Monk uses. I actually call em the "VE Monk type drivers" rather N50 so I got confused a bit

I had alot of experience built up from messing around VE Monks and Lites drivers so it'll be fun exploring those other driver variants. Plus they're insanely cheap here, can't really resist to put em all in my plans.

Sweet! I only call the red rim steel mesh N50 because the NSC store description says it has N50 magnet The blue glued plastic cover variant has N52 according to them. I have no idea what the 64ohm variant has though.

 

[captione]

Sweet! I only call the red rim steel mesh N50 because the NSC store description says it has N50 magnet The blue glued plastic cover variant has N52 according to them. I have no idea what the 64ohm variant has though.

I usually judge em on how the PCB and solder points look, and it's probably because the sellers here on shopee barely or sparsely show any accurate info on the specs so I had to check aliex listings sometimes. Surprisingly enough the N52 blue ones are the cheapest here compared to the other variants lol

 

[robar]

I usually judge em on how the PCB and solder points look, and it's probably because the sellers here on shopee barely or sparsely show any accurate info on the specs so I had to check aliex listings sometimes. Surprisingly enough the N52 blue ones are the cheapest here compared to the other variants lol

They are the cheapest ones on ali too. I personally prefer the N50, very similar to N52 but more natural and balanced N52 is a bit brighter and thinner for my ears. If you have a chance to compare them also side by side, let us know what you think!

 

[assassin10000]

I came up with a way that works better than my molded ear. Just requires some tubing, e6000 glue and hot glue.


Various vinyl tubing and one latex for the connection to the mic.


Staggered them to make a 'bowl' like area. Filled in with e6000 glue. Still wet in this picture and needed a second layer.



Cut the largest diameter tubing into a 3 prong claw or crown shape. Roughed up the inside of the tubing with a razor blade at the tips (for better adhesion) and applied hot glue.



The crown or claw can slide up and down the inner core to change fit depending on earbud shape. The arms flex and fold so earbuds can be inserted, positioned and removed relatively easily. I'm able to take repeatable measurements fairly easily, still some finickiness but not bad at all.



Here's some comparisons of the two different couplers I made. It is easier to get repeat results with the claw/crown style. It also seems to catch upper mids & especially treble better.

These are the measurements that seem mostly the same. There were several that were massively different (mostly in the bass & lower mids) depending on fit until I figured out what positions worked best.

 

[robar]

I came up with a way that works better than my molded ear. Just requires some tubing, e6000 glue and hot glue.


Various vinyl tubing and one latex for the connection to the mic.


Staggered them to make a 'bowl' like area. Filled in with e6000 glue. Still wet in this picture and needed a second layer.



Cut the largest diameter tubing into a 3 prong claw or crown shape. Roughed up the inside of the tubing with a razor blade at the tips (for better adhesion) and applied hot glue.



The crown or claw can slide up and down the inner core to change fit depending on earbud shape. The arms flex and fold so earbuds can be inserted, positioned and removed relatively easily. I'm able to take repeatable measurements fairly easily, still some finickiness but not bad at all.



Here's some comparisons of the two different couplers I made. It is easier to get repeat results with the claw/crown style. It also seems to catch upper mids & especially treble better.

These are the measurements that seem mostly the same. There were several that were massively different (mostly in the bass & lower mids) depending on fit until I figured out what positions worked best.

Amazing project! Do you have other popular budget earbuds? I'd be interested in comparing graphs if we have a common model

 

[assassin10000]

Amazing project! Do you have other popular budget earbuds? I'd be interested in comparing graphs if we have a common model

Just a clear RY4S and the ME80.



Which are actually sold and about to be shipped. But I measured them a few days ago. Both with full foams.

 

[jogawag]

Just a clear RY4S and the ME80.



Which are actually sold and about to be shipped. But I measured them a few days ago. Both with full foams.

I am interresting in the mesurement graph of your RedFilm DIY PK1 earbuds.
I want to see the graph displayed together with RY4S and ME80.

Below is the FR graph of the original Yuin PK1 (PK2) which I picked up on the web.