[vladstef]

after a few days with the R4YS and EMx 500 i can say i like the sound of the EMX500 better . it has a certain vibrancy which the R4YS lacks although being similar in sound signature

I ordered R4Ys due to my right side of EMX rattling. I did manage to fix it and it doesn't rattle but bass gets distorted more on the right side now. I never fully understood why MX and PK type shells are popular given that the drivers required for them are not enclosed, the front plastic keeps the membrane in place - a design flaw imho. You should be able to extract the driver out of it without keeping the front cover which is not connected to the driver except when it's glued to it. IEMs almost exclusively use enclosed drivers which protect their membranes while earbuds almost exclusively don't, very strange.

 

[jogawag]

I ordered R4Ys due to my right side of EMX rattling. I did manage to fix it and it doesn't rattle but bass gets distorted more on the right side now. I never fully understood why MX and PK type shells are popular given that the drivers required for them are not enclosed, the front plastic keeps the membrane in place - a design flaw imho. You should be able to extract the driver out of it without keeping the front cover which is not connected to the driver except when it's glued to it. IEMs almost exclusively use enclosed drivers which protect their membranes while earbuds almost exclusively don't, very strange.

I think that copy use of Housing of MX500 type and PK type is due to low consciousness of copying in China and Southeast Asia.
Japan and Korea and Western countries almost will not allow such copies.

Edit:
However, I know that Housing of MX500 type and PK type is copy free.

 

[seanc6441]

I ordered R4Ys due to my right side of EMX rattling. I did manage to fix it and it doesn't rattle but bass gets distorted more on the right side now. I never fully understood why MX and PK type shells are popular given that the drivers required for them are not enclosed, the front plastic keeps the membrane in place - a design flaw imho. You should be able to extract the driver out of it without keeping the front cover which is not connected to the driver except when it's glued to it. IEMs almost exclusively use enclosed drivers which protect their membranes while earbuds almost exclusively don't, very strange.

I’ve ruined a few buds not knowing this before, luckily they were the Vido’s lol

 

[seanc6441]

As christmas is arriving shortly I’m wondering of those who celebrate it are you guys giving an audio related gifts to friends and family?

I’m considering giving my dad some Senngrado’s I’m building... to replace his Sony MDR10rc headphones.

I’m going for a very similar build to this



same headband except I’ll add a layer of black PU leather, sapele cups, black nylon braid cable, px100ii drivers.

Sorry for headphone discussions on earbud threads

 

[vladstef]

I think that copy use of Housing of MX 500 type and PK type is due to low consciousness of copying in China and Southeast Asia.
Japan and Korea and Western countries almost will not allow such copies.

Yeah, there is no denying that copying is happening without any control or moral compass. However, I wouldn't even consider this copying at this point, it's just a shell template that everyone decided to use. The thing is, these are ugly and cheap looking, why everyone decided to use them is beyond my ability to understand.
Look at Auglamour RX-1 for example, a simple metal shell probably costs very little to design and manufacture yet it gave them a lot of street credit for using their own design. It still uses off the shell front cover/driver holder which is sad, but at least it's one step in the right direction.

I am very happy to see that someone actually tried, talking about Memt X6. It has enclosed driver, as you can see on the blown-up photo, while the front cover is just a cover like it should be. This means that you have a controlled environment for your membrane to stay put exactly like it should and not be disturbed by outside influence.

 

[SweetEars]

so is it possible to improve sound quality by somehow meddling with the internal components like the membrane ect?

 

[vladstef]

so is it possible to improve sound quality by somehow meddling with the internal components like the membrane ect?

This is a conversation for diy thread, but it's not really popular so it might be worth posting here.
There is potential to improve some aspects while making some things worse. You can't really do anything with the membrane but earbud drivers have holes on the back which could be covered with tuning foam or fabric/mesh of some sorts - damping material, you could also experiment with openings on the back of the shell (all of these impact how much the membrane moves and how much air it can pull from the back of the driver), the front cover changes the sound to some extent (plastic vs metal, number and size of holes..). Manufacturers mostly mess with these as much as they can in order to adjust all of these aspects to their particular driver and shell shape. They also decide how many holes and their size are behind the driver.

Example: Vido driver, on the left with dampening foam and naked on the right (keep in mind that Vido shell has this same dampening material glued to the shells)

 

[seanc6441]

so is it possible to improve sound quality by somehow meddling with the internal components like the membrane ect?

I think doing anything to the driver itself would probably damage it.

Although I’ve seen large headphone drivers modded by cutting out a circle in the middle of the membrane about the size of a 2 cent/dime/penny which apparently cleans up the bass and lower mids on some drivers. Not sure if this would translate to earbuds though.

 

[Smiped]

Out of all these, what would you say is the most durable? By that specifically I mean it could last me quite a while and not just a few months.

 

[seanc6441]

Out of all these, what would you say is the most durable? By that specifically I mean it could last me quite a while and not just a few months.

VE monks are durable budget earbud. But are not the best budget earbud these days when compared to Vido/EMX500 but are still 'good' for general use.

What price are you looking to pay?

 

[Smiped]

VE monks are durable budget earbud. But are not the best budget earbud these days when compared to Vido/EMX500 but are still 'good' for general use.

What price are you looking to pay?

Max maybe like $40 - $50? Currently I am looking at the **** PT15, but I would like more recommendations to see which one I should pull the trigger for.

 

[seanc6441]

For the people using phones as a source for their music, what dac/amps are you guys using if any? I'm debating getting a portable dac amp for my iphone 6s instead of looking at DAP's as I use spotify exclusively these days and all the daps with built in spotify are quiet costly.

Any good options out there for iphone 6s that will notably improve the SQ?

 

[seanc6441]

Max maybe like $40 - $50? Currently I am looking at the **** PT15, but I would like more recommendations to see which one I should pull the trigger for.

If you want guaranteed durability over the best current SQ in a budget earbud (most say DIY Graphene for $25) I'd lean towards earbuds like the PT15/Moondrop Nameless etc that have durable looking shells and are not 'diy' made. The PT15 is a good choice because of the detachable cable also, allowing you to easily replace the cable for $5-7 if needed.

I have a PT15 coming to me soon so I can let you know how it feels on durability when I get it. But the pictures suggest it's a solid earbud. Also haven't heard of anyone complain of QC issues yet.

 

[Smiped]

If you want guaranteed durability over the best current SQ in a budget earbud (most say DIY Graphene for $25) I'd lean towards earbuds like the PT15/Moondrop Nameless etc that have durable looking shells and are not 'diy' made. The PT15 is a good choice because of the detachable cable also, allowing you to easily replace the cable for $5-7 if needed.

I have a PT15 coming to me soon so I can let you know how it feels on durability when I get it. But the pictures suggest it's a solid earbud. Also haven't heard of anyone complain of QC issues yet.

Oh, okay thanks for the input. No need to follow up. I am too impatient to wait and want to buy a earphone now lol.

 

[j4100]

I have a PT15 coming to me soon...

I pulled the trigger on one as well, since I don't have one with a detachable cable as yet. Certainly looks solid enough.

Since my foams order arrived quick enough, I hope my PT15s turn up this week.