springbay
100+ Head-Fier
One year ago I only had one "modern" ear bud - VE Monk.
During 2016 I extended the collection with about 30 new buds. The final few from 11.11 (TY Hi-Z HP320M and HP650) arrived this week. And right now I have no more buds incoming.
I've come to the conclusion that I actually only need 4 or maybe 5 buds to cover all my needs.
1. Seahf LD-3.0 320 - being my all round buds that don't excel in any specific area other than being like absolute butter to my ears. I use them either when I want laid back music listening or watching talk television.
2. K's Earphone 500 - the love affair I have devolved with the the bass on these buds can't be compared to the relationship I have with any of my other head gear. Oh yes, they can misbehave and send you some sharp high tones if you feed them with music that they don't like, but that only adds to the dynamic of the love affair. I use them whenever I want to feel energetic, and that seems to be most of my waken hours, nowadays.
3. Rose Mojito - the K's 500 do great with acoustic music, but are clearly trumped by the Mojitos. While I can hear the strings vibrate on an acoustic guitar on the K's500, I can almost smell the air in the room where the music was recorded on the Mojitos. They are absolutely non forgiving, but can also emancipate the listening experience like no other bud I've heard. I was five years old when Keith Jarrett recorded the Köln Concert, but experiencing it on The Mojitos, I feel like it's happening here and now and that I'm present at the opera house. The Mojitos other forte is that they are great with heavy metal. No easy listening with these buds. They demand your full attention as soon as you pop them into your ears.
4. AUGLAMOUR RX-1 - I like to listen to pod casts in bed. I wouldn't dare to use the Mojitos in any situation where there is even a slight possibility that I could fall asleep. I'm certain they would break with even the tiniest tension put at the wrong place. The RX-1 on the other hand are the only buds the barking dog next door would not be able to chew to bits. I also love the small foot print of the RX-1. They are the only buds that I can use with my ear pressed to the pillow (and I use ergonomic, hard af Tempur pillows). Also I sometimes use them with the RUIZU X02 dap in bed listening to some Buddha Bar when going to sleep, without ever worrying that I will break some expensive gear while asleep.
5. This is a special. I didn't like my FAAEAL 300 one bit when I took them out of the box. But somehow they were totally transformed with some simple modding (placing a Monk+ thin foam behind the driver for better controlled bass, and plugging the middle front facing vent holes with cotton to open up the mids and highs). They are not my best sounding ear buds, but they were cheap enough and sound good enough driven by my iPhone (way better than my low impedance buds), that I can't resist using them as my commuter buds without worrying that I will lose them.
To sum it up. I feel like I have all the buds that I need. I'm certain there are other buds out there, and that there will be new buds released in the near future, that could fill my needs even better. But right now I feel content with my gear. And that is a satisfying feeling. A feeling I hope all subscribers of this thread can feel towards the end of the year.
Happy holidays to all of you!
...and remember, like my avatar would say: there are no short cuts to the perfect sound!
During 2016 I extended the collection with about 30 new buds. The final few from 11.11 (TY Hi-Z HP320M and HP650) arrived this week. And right now I have no more buds incoming.
I've come to the conclusion that I actually only need 4 or maybe 5 buds to cover all my needs.
1. Seahf LD-3.0 320 - being my all round buds that don't excel in any specific area other than being like absolute butter to my ears. I use them either when I want laid back music listening or watching talk television.
2. K's Earphone 500 - the love affair I have devolved with the the bass on these buds can't be compared to the relationship I have with any of my other head gear. Oh yes, they can misbehave and send you some sharp high tones if you feed them with music that they don't like, but that only adds to the dynamic of the love affair. I use them whenever I want to feel energetic, and that seems to be most of my waken hours, nowadays.
3. Rose Mojito - the K's 500 do great with acoustic music, but are clearly trumped by the Mojitos. While I can hear the strings vibrate on an acoustic guitar on the K's500, I can almost smell the air in the room where the music was recorded on the Mojitos. They are absolutely non forgiving, but can also emancipate the listening experience like no other bud I've heard. I was five years old when Keith Jarrett recorded the Köln Concert, but experiencing it on The Mojitos, I feel like it's happening here and now and that I'm present at the opera house. The Mojitos other forte is that they are great with heavy metal. No easy listening with these buds. They demand your full attention as soon as you pop them into your ears.
4. AUGLAMOUR RX-1 - I like to listen to pod casts in bed. I wouldn't dare to use the Mojitos in any situation where there is even a slight possibility that I could fall asleep. I'm certain they would break with even the tiniest tension put at the wrong place. The RX-1 on the other hand are the only buds the barking dog next door would not be able to chew to bits. I also love the small foot print of the RX-1. They are the only buds that I can use with my ear pressed to the pillow (and I use ergonomic, hard af Tempur pillows). Also I sometimes use them with the RUIZU X02 dap in bed listening to some Buddha Bar when going to sleep, without ever worrying that I will break some expensive gear while asleep.
5. This is a special. I didn't like my FAAEAL 300 one bit when I took them out of the box. But somehow they were totally transformed with some simple modding (placing a Monk+ thin foam behind the driver for better controlled bass, and plugging the middle front facing vent holes with cotton to open up the mids and highs). They are not my best sounding ear buds, but they were cheap enough and sound good enough driven by my iPhone (way better than my low impedance buds), that I can't resist using them as my commuter buds without worrying that I will lose them.
To sum it up. I feel like I have all the buds that I need. I'm certain there are other buds out there, and that there will be new buds released in the near future, that could fill my needs even better. But right now I feel content with my gear. And that is a satisfying feeling. A feeling I hope all subscribers of this thread can feel towards the end of the year.
Happy holidays to all of you!
...and remember, like my avatar would say: there are no short cuts to the perfect sound!
