***Earbud Guide - 22 Earbuds compared***
Dec 25, 2013 at 8:34 AM Post #556 of 611
Hi,
 
I listen to a lot of classical music as I am a musician (clarinetist) and I write a lot of music for trailers etc. . . IMO the best all round bud for the price point at this moment is PK2 and if you work on the computer writing music as I do, maybe a pair of PK3s. For about a year and half I struggled with Bose ie's while writing music. Every time I wrote and bounced the music to wav or mp3 I used pk2s or 3s and found that the music had a totally different sound stage and clarity that Bose just doesn't have (BTW Bose are not the most user friendly earbuds in the world either) I don't know if it's the sheer weight of the bud and housing or the design but they always find a way to come out of your ear.
To sum up - go with an inexpensive set of Yuin PK3s to start, if you like them upgrade to Pk2'S. For the money, I don't think you'll find anything better.
 
Regards,
Mike
 
Jan 4, 2014 at 9:27 AM Post #557 of 611
Just to chime in, I own the pk2, m2c, anv3 and mx985. Not to repeat too much was Danneq already said, the anv3 and mx985 are the better of the bunch. I cannot say I like one better then the other. The mx985 is über detailed and has great soundstage, however compared to the anv3 it's a bit lighter on the bass, however the mx985 still sounds quite balanced and I really do enjoy them a lot. The anv3 are quite different to my ears. They have amazing bass without sounding bass heavy, it's very balanced and very natural sounding, it's great fun to listen too, however resolution and sound stage is slightly less than mx985. Both are awesome buds and I do alternate between them quite a bit. For the money the pk2 is good to, the m2c for my taste was too much in my face and did not like as much as pk2. One remark about the fit of the mx985 I hold off on buying the mx985 for a while because of fit concerns however it turned out that, for my ears at least, they fit just fine. The mx985 actually fit my ears better than the anv3 which have a tighter fit. This might also explain why I get less bass from the mx985 than the anv3. If I could get a slightly tighter fit a with the mx985 the bass might be more on par with the anv3. , however compared to the anv3 it's a bit lighter on the bass, however the mx985 still sounds quite balanced and I really do enjoy them a lot. The anv3 are quite different to my ears. They have amazing bass without sounding bass heavy, it's very balanced and very natural sounding, it's great fun to listen too, however resolution and sound stage is slightly less than mx985. Both are awesome buds and I do alternate between them quite a bit. For the money the pk2 is good to, the m2c for my taste was too much in my face and did not like as much as pk2. One remark about the fit of the mx985 I hold of on the mx985 because of fit concerns however it turned out that, for my ears at least, they fit just fine. The mx985 actually fit my ears better than the anv3 which have a tighter fit. This might also explain why I get less bass from the mx985 than the anv3. If I could get a slightly tighter fit a with the mx985 the bass might be more on par with the anv3.
 
Feb 20, 2014 at 9:04 AM Post #559 of 611
The Hisound housing is bigger than the MX580, which fit my ears perfectly.
Consequently, the PAA1 Pro is slightly too big for my ears and while still fairly comfortable quickly loses its fit with movement. For that reason I only wear them in bed.
If the 580 are a perfect fit for your ears, the Hisound will likely be slightly too large for you as well. And honestly, I don't think they sound that much better (if at all). The 580 is a superb earbud!
 
Mar 23, 2014 at 1:18 AM Post #560 of 611
I'm currently enjoying the Blox M2C's, but I'm curious to know which earbud would be classed as a major step up over them. Obviously Sennheiser's MX985's have been brought up, but what is the deal with Sennheiser no longer selling them when they haven't been on the market all that long. Were sales that bad! As someone that currently owns everything from the Sennheiser MX580 ( pretty good ) to the Yuin PK3's ( Good, similar to the MX580's, but reliability was an issue for me) to the Yuin Pk1's ( great when amped, ordinary when not ), I was curious as to how much better the Sennheiser MX985's are over the M2C's. I'm also concerned about the fit of the Sennheiser MX985's. Since Blox's M2C fit me so well and Blox's TM7 has a legendary reputation for sound, it would seem the logical thing to do would be to wait until the BE5's come out and buy them in hopes that there as good as the TM7's or better, but I'd hate to miss out on the Sennheiser's if they're that good, especially if they are getting harder to find new.
 
So, my question basically is if you were only going to buy one more pair of earbuds, would you go for the MX985's now and hope they fit right and hope that the sound blows you away or wait until the 3rd quarter until Blox releases their BE5's knowing that currently the MC2's fit so well and the BE5's could be as special or even better than the TM7's?
 
Mar 23, 2014 at 12:12 PM Post #562 of 611
To my ears the MX-985 are better than the M2C, however it all depends on you music tastes. For thumping house music or high energy music the M2C's work better than the MX-985. The M2C's provide a great dynamic full sound. The MX-985 is more detailed. When I switch from the M2C (or the M2C) to the MX-985 they sound slightly anemic the first few seconds, a bit more brittle. However after these first few seconds I don't notice that anymore and enjoy the much greater detail, I hear details I do not hear on the M2C or even the ANV3. But would I say I would only want to own the MX-985, well it would not be a bad thing, however I still do enjoy the ANV3 for a more deeper sound (I will hear deep bass I will not hear with the MX-985) and the M2C for during exercise or travel. Also will the MX-985 be worth the extra money over the M2C?, that is for everyone different. As with most hifi it can be quite personal and you don't know until you try it out.
About the fit, as I mentioned before I hold off on the MX-985 for a long time because of all the horror stories about the fit. However for me at least I found the fit similar to the ANV3 and M2C. However you will not know how the fit is until you try it out. If you decide to give the MX-985 a try, I ordered them form Amazon in the UK, which shipped them to the US.
 
Mar 23, 2014 at 8:48 PM Post #563 of 611
To my ears the MX-985 are better than the M2C, however it all depends on you music tastes. For thumping house music or high energy music the M2C's work better than the MX-985. The M2C's provide a great dynamic full sound. The MX-985 is more detailed. When I switch from the M2C (or the M2C) to the MX-985 they sound slightly anemic the first few seconds, a bit more brittle. However after these first few seconds I don't notice that anymore and enjoy the much greater detail, I hear details I do not hear on the M2C or even the ANV3. But would I say I would only want to own the MX-985, well it would not be a bad thing, however I still do enjoy the ANV3 for a more deeper sound (I will hear deep bass I will not hear with the MX-985) and the M2C for during exercise or travel. Also will the MX-985 be worth the extra money over the M2C?, that is for everyone different. As with most hifi it can be quite personal and you don't know until you try it out.
About the fit, as I mentioned before I hold off on the MX-985 for a long time because of all the horror stories about the fit. However for me at least I found the fit similar to the ANV3 and M2C. However you will not know how the fit is until you try it out. If you decide to give the MX-985 a try, I ordered them form Amazon in the UK, which shipped them to the US.


Thanks for that input. I was originally using the donut hole pads from the yuin's on the M2C's. More detail, but harsher on the highs, so i went back to the full pads and I'm finding them now more balanced with the sacrifice of a just a little clarity. I haven't had the Blox's for all that long. Mostly using them with a Sansa clip+ or ipod classic both with the rockbox firmware on them. After about 30 hours of burn in, I've got to admit these are really excellent sounding earbuds. When you use the same sound source with a pair of iEM's, like my UE triple-fi's and replace them with the blox's or any decent set of earbuds. It's refreshing to go back to the open soundstage that earbuds like the yuin pk1's or these Blox's provide.

I have no doubt that the Sennheiser MX985's are a step up over the Blox's, but after becoming taken by the m2C's sound, and without needing an amp that I usually need with the PK-1's, I think i'm going to hold out for the next generation Blox's and try to buy a pair before they're all sold out. Worse scenario is if I can't, there's always a good chance a pair of MX 985's will be up for sale, somewhere, at some point,

Bottom line is I wish I could get both, but my budget is telling me no way, so I'll continue to enjoy these M2C's for now and wait patiently until the BE5's are released and try to grab a pair.

Thanks to both of you for your input.
 
Mar 24, 2014 at 2:20 PM Post #565 of 611
  BE5 is on sale for 88$ + 7$ shipping!
http://bloxearphone.com/purchase.htm

 
There didn't seem to be too many up for grabs this batch unfortunately, if they sold out in an instant.  Hopefully its just a trial run and blox will up production for the next run.  Really looking forward to the next opportunity, if its anything like the ANV3/SE they should eventually be obtainable, it'll just take quite some time (and possibly a price increase :D).
 
Mar 24, 2014 at 3:37 PM Post #566 of 611
Crap, just found out my iphone's safari was not uploading the new page but showing an old page which stated that the be5 would be on sale soon. I was checking the blox page today every hour on my phone just to see they were not on sale yet. However just checked it on my computer to find out they were sold out. Too bad. These things sold out quicker than the ANV3. Hopefully there will be a next batch. Maybe we will get some impressions of the be5 before the next batch?
 
May 21, 2014 at 7:36 AM Post #568 of 611
this thread has stopped for quite a while since BenF came into the picture (thanks Ben!) with his introduction of the Dasetn M760 and the Tingo 38S and now the JL1. have not heard either of them myself as they are still on their way but perhaps someone here could rate the earbuds that they have heard so far (given that this is supposed to be a guide for all) based on pure SQ comparison. I have enlisted here some of those well-noted buds and let's see who can rate them ALL first based on personal SQ preference.
 
Senns MX980
Senns MX985
Yuin OK1
Yuin PK1
Blox TM7
Blox BE5
Blox M2C
Blox ANV3/SE
HSA Living
HSA Live
HSA Paa1 Pro
Dasetn M760
Dasetn M1
Dasetn M3
Tingo 38S
Tingo JL1
Hifiman ES100 
biggrin.gif

 
If I forgot something, please feel free to add. I wish I could hear them all and rate each myself. Well, we're all here to find out. 


Head-fiers rating as of 6/10/14:

[COLOR=FF00AA]Danneq: [/COLOR]TM7 > M1 > MX980 > M760 > ANV3 > M2C > M3 > Living > Live
[COLOR=FF00AA]BenF: [/COLOR] TG-38S = TG-JL1 > E100 > BE5 > M760 > M1 >= ANV3SE > PK2 = ANV3 > M2C > PK1> M3 = AP8
[COLOR=FF00AA]mtruong34: [/COLOR]TM7 > M760 >= BE5 >> M1 >= PK1 >= M2C > TG-38s
[COLOR=FF00AA]swmkdr: [/COLOR]BE5 > M1 > ANV3se > TG-38s > M760 > M3 > AP8
[COLOR=FF00AA]subwoof3r: [/COLOR]TM7 > ES10 > PK1 > TG-38s > PK3
 
May 21, 2014 at 9:50 AM Post #569 of 611
  this thread has stopped for quite a while since BenF came into the picture (thanks Ben!) with his introduction of the Dasetn M760 and the Tingo 38S and now the JL1. have not heard either of them myself as they are still on their way but perhaps someone here could rate the earbuds that they have heard so far (given that this is supposed to be a guide for all) based on pure SQ comparison. I have enlisted here some of those well-noted buds and let's who can rate them ALL first based on personal SQ preference.
 
Senns MX980
Senns MX985
Yuin OK1
Yuin PK1
Blox TM7
Blox BE5
Blox M2C
Blox ANV3/SE
HSA Living
HSA Live
HSA Paa1 Pro
Dasetn M760
Dasetn M1
Dasetn M3
Tingo 38S
Tingo JL1
Hifiman ES100 
biggrin.gif

 
If I forgot something, please feel free to add. I wish I could hear them all and rate each myself. Well, we're all here to find out.


It's great that there's some action in the earbud department here on Head-fi! I think I was one of the first who discovered Dasetn sometime last year, and now there are a lot of new finds and I have a hard time keeping up!

Of the earbuds you list,I own/have owned:
Sennheiser MX980
Blox TM7
Blox M2C (sold)
Blox ANV3
HSA Living
HSA Live (sold)
Dasetn M760
Dasetn M1 (+Dasetn MX1 - an earlier version of M1 with better cables)
Dasetn M3

I have ordered a pair of Tingo 38S and those should arrive this or next week.

I think I would rank them:
Blox TM7
Dasetn M1/MX1
Sennheiser MX980
Dasetn M760
Blox ANV3
Blox M2C
Dasetn M3
HSA Living
HSA Live

Dasetn and Blox blow HSA out of the water. Living has got an okay soundstage, but it's very sibilant. Live is awfully thin sounding and lacks the detail and soundstage of Dasetn/Blox earbuds.

Blox TM7 is the overall winner for me, even if I think Dasetn M1/MX1 are more detailed. TM7 is just much more lush and full sounding.

I have to check out the Hifiman earbuds! But if they are 150Ohm, I might skip them...
 
May 21, 2014 at 10:23 AM Post #570 of 611
Wow! That TM7 is really that good. Is there any place on earth where we can still buy one? Well, thank you Danneq for your rating. That's really helpful. I see that you still have some Aiwa earbuds in your profile. How do they compare with those which you considered as your best?

To keep all these rating in one good spot, I will update post #568 from time to time to consolidate all ratings by fellow head-fiers from hereon. Hopefully more and more avid earbud enthusiasts will post their ratings in this thread. Btw, no offense to the OP. I don't mean anything wrong just keeping the thread up and running. :)
 

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