[KevDzn]

i have the new graphenes which are blue cable and noticed it as well....the sound is a bit more fleshed out and forward after some use... going back and forth between the emx500 R4YS and the new graphenes. i prefer the emx500 and R4ys sound more.. but once high res sound is used, the graphenes seem to perform differently.


emx 500 , R4YS and graphene mx 760 ( new version blue cable)

as far i am concerned.. the first 2 are somewhat similar but the R4YS has better clarity and wider soundstage and the emx 500 has better depth soundstage . in terms of bass they are both somewhat the same but better in their own ways.. if u prefer sub bass to mid bass then emx 500 is better but overall R4Ys has better bass throughout the soundstage and also has some sub bass..graphene is a different sound signature though... its tuned more towards impact weighty thick sound and depth soundstage and doesnt have the excellent articulation ( the flow of sound from top to bottom) of the emx 500 or R4YS...

But the graphenes will articulate more in terms fo forward backwards depth.. if u are mainly a concert, classical theatre hall music listener then the graphenes will do better.. than the other 2... or if u always listen to high res sources of this sort

For movie watchers, everyday youtube and mp3 or processed music or synthesized, emx and r4Ys is better...

Yes, we all know you have the new graphene, R4Ys and emx500. You been saying it soooooooooo many times. It's getting tiring.

 

[SweetEars]

Yes, we all know you have the new graphene, R4Ys and emx500. You been saying it soooooooooo many times. It's getting tiring.

friend i said it many times but not the same thing cut and paste.

 

[golov17]

@golov17 I noticed you bought the V-Master last year and was impressed. Are you still using them without foams? I see the price looks good. How was the budget V-Oldy (if you remember).

Thanks.

Although I really like their sound, I rarely use them because of the hard cable, with MP foams. V-Oldy is a variation on the OKER DS300 theme. I replaced cable and this just a good buds for casual listening on the move with warm sound

 

[ostewart]

I just posted up my review of the Limited Edition Kinera Earbuds, they are really quite good as I'm not used to earbuds at all:

http://www.soundperfectionreviews.com/2018/01/review-kinera-limited-edition-earbuds.html

 

[chaiyuta]

@ostewart : Nice. Your review mostly matches with my impression. Just use different wording. I will try it with iFi Nano iDSD BL.

 

[doggiemom]

friend i said it many times but not the same thing cut and paste.

Still tiring.

 

[DJ The Rocket]

This is a brief update of my Yincrow X6 review back in post 26,910. It's not unusual for it to take me anywhere between 1-4 weeks to really grok a new headphone. I have to wait until all the subconscious impressions my brain's been collecting take on enough form to bubble up to my conscious mind in the form of an epiphany. Sometimes I'll realize "wow, this sounds so good," other times I'll see through the hype and trickery and I'll hang them up in disgust.

Do note that I'm going to criticize it on an absolute scale, because doing it any other way would be boring and unhelpful. For the price ($13 US), everything about the X6 is fantastic, it hits way above that price point. Instead, I'm comparing it to anything I own, with the Sennheiser MX985 as the standard. Please keep this context in mind as you read.


The Yincrow X6, Sennheiser MX985, and my Objective2

As I suspected, the X6 doesn't quite stand up to my initial impressions in some ways, but it does in others. The biggest weakness of the X6 is that it seems to have a hard upper limit on clarity. It sounds veiled with smoothed over detail, but it does it in an inoffensive way. It doesn't seem veiled while I'm listening to it, and details seem "smooth" instead of "smoothed over." Switching to the MX985 (or the Ting, for that matter) makes the X6's limitations starkly obvious.

The X6 isn't without its strengths. Macrodynamics are a clear strength. Bass extension/impact/slam are near TOTL level, though it isn't anything like as tight as I'd prefer. But like the detail thing above, it's bloomy in rather fetching way. I'd note that it's more warm than strictly neutral. The soundstage is indeed as impressive as my first impressions suggest: both wide and tall, very much out-of-head.

Would I still call the X6 mid-fi? I think this is an important question, but my answer might be less than satisfying because I don't know. I think it depends on a lot of factors: your music preference, your source, what particular aspects of the presentation you value. I hear it as mid-fi, but I can see how others might hear it as strictly entry-level. Fortunately, it's happens to be priced as entry-level

Another thing to consider is the X6's weaknesses are the kinds that a low impedance amp can help mitigate to a degree. I think the Objective2 does amazing things with dynamic drivers, and it (or other amps like it) will tighten up the bass bloom and sharpen the detail rendition. Even so the X6 is going to be below average at those things, the O2 won't make it sound like a whole new earbud. But it will make an obvious improvement in those areas.

Most of the time, when my "moment of clarity" turns out to be the negative kind, I'll hang up that gear in disgust and it'll be ruined for me forever. That didn't happen with the X6. It's not a very good choice for focused, critical listening, but for any activity where you're doing something else instead of consciously listening, the X6 is outstanding. It will beat the MX985 hands-down for those particular use cases. Due to its fun, bassy sound sig as well as its price point, the X6 is ideal for wearing under my ski helmet. Something brighter or more detailed is likely to be more distracting or fatiguing, and it's too risky to bring anything more expensive to that environment. But the X6 is perfect: it conveys the emotion and energy of the music in a way that's fun and easy to listen to. Despite it's limitations, it's one of the best audio purchases I've ever made

 

[seanc6441]

Guys of those of you who use smartphones (without external dac/amp) with your buds how satisfied are you with it?

I need a single source (neutral-slightly warm, flat reference sound) to use for everyday as a phone and player. LG V20 is great for full size headphones but lacking in low impendance mode under 50 ohms which basically covers all my earbuds.

Dunno what my next step should be, might look into getting a meizu pro phone from china, apparently they are very natural and detailed sounding.

 

[seanc6441]

This is a brief update of my Yincrow X6 review back in post 26,910. It's not unusual for it to take me anywhere between 1-4 weeks to really grok a new headphone. I have to wait until all the subconscious impressions my brain's been collecting take on enough form to bubble up to my conscious mind in the form of an epiphany. Sometimes I'll realize "wow, this sounds so good," other times I'll see through the hype and trickery and I'll hang them up in disgust.

Do note that I'm going to criticize it on an absolute scale, because doing it any other way would be boring and unhelpful. For the price ($13 US), everything about the X6 is fantastic, it hits way above that price point. Instead, I'm comparing it to anything I own, with the Sennheiser MX985 as the standard. Please keep this context in mind as you read.


The Yincrow X6, Sennheiser MX985, and my Objective2

As I suspected, the X6 doesn't quite stand up to my initial impressions in some ways, but it does in others. The biggest weakness of the X6 is that it seems to have a hard upper limit on clarity. It sounds veiled with smoothed over detail, but it does it in an inoffensive way. It doesn't seem veiled while I'm listening to it, and details seem "smooth" instead of "smoothed over." Switching to the MX985 (or the Ting, for that matter) makes the X6's limitations starkly obvious.

The X6 isn't without its strengths. Macrodynamics are a clear strength. Bass extension/impact/slam are near TOTL level, though it isn't anything like as tight as I'd prefer. But like the detail thing above, it's bloomy in rather fetching way. I'd note that it's more warm than strictly neutral. The soundstage is indeed as impressive as my first impressions suggest: both wide and tall, very much out-of-head.

Would I still call the X6 mid-fi? I think this is an important question, but my answer might be less than satisfying because I don't know. I think it depends on a lot of factors: your music preference, your source, what particular aspects of the presentation you value. I hear it as mid-fi, but I can see how others might hear it as strictly entry-level. Fortunately, it's happens to be priced as entry-level

Another thing to consider is the X6's weaknesses are the kinds that a low impedance amp can help mitigate to a degree. I think the Objective2 does amazing things with dynamic drivers, and it (or other amps like it) will tighten up the bass bloom and sharpen the detail rendition. Even so the X6 is going to be below average at those things, the O2 won't make it sound like a whole new earbud. But it will make an obvious improvement in those areas.

Most of the time, when my "moment of clarity" turns out to be the negative kind, I'll hang up that gear in disgust and it'll be ruined for me forever. That didn't happen with the X6. It's not a very good choice for focused, critical listening, but for any activity where you're doing something else instead of consciously listening, the X6 is outstanding. It will beat the MX985 hands-down for those particular use cases. Due to its fun, bassy sound sig as well as its price point, the X6 is ideal for wearing under my ski helmet. Something brighter or more detailed is likely to be more distracting or fatiguing, and it's too risky to bring anything more expensive to that environment. But the X6 is perfect: it conveys the emotion and energy of the music in a way that's fun and easy to listen to. Despite it's limitations, it's one of the best audio purchases I've ever made

They should include these in the box with smartphones instead of the crap earphones usually included

If they sell for $3 you can only imagine how cheap these are being produced at haha

 

[DJ The Rocket]

I was just talking about this in a PM

For context, to me a flat, neutral sound with minimal noise and distortion are what I consider "good." I want my DAP to be as transparent as possible. If you prefer a colored sound signature, this post won't be very helpful except to show you what to avoid.

I have a V20 as well, and it can sound as good as anything. I don't really think a separate DAP is necessary, sound-wise. I use other players for things like battery management (i.e. when the V20 is on the charger) or for a smaller footprint. The thing about transparent equipment is that one transparent DAP is just as good as the next, so you don't need to spend more than $50 for TOTL sound quality. There are of course lots of good reasons to buy a DAP, but unless your phone has serious problems, sound quality probably isn't one of them.

The biggest drawback of the V20 is a relatively high output impedance, which causes a slight but definite bloom on low impedance earbuds. This usually necessitates using a more appropriate external amp; however, I actually enjoy the MrZ Ting more out of the V20. The slight bloom adds some body to the Ting's lean sound in that instance.

If you just want more power from the V20 (this doesn't change the output impedance), plug in a headphone extension cable first to get "aux mode." (God I hate the ridiculous lengths this phone forces you to go to. I hope you always remember to never forget to carey your extension cable! :/ ) Once that's in the phone, then plug the buds into the extension cable, and voilà! It doesn't have to be a long cable, I made a 3" one using cat5 cable scraps for this purpose. You don't need to bother with a resistive "impedance adapter" thankfully. There's much confusion around how to use them correctly I wouldn't recommend it, and you don't seen to have a need anyway.

If they sell for $3 you can only imagine how cheap these are being produced at haha

Well it was $13, but your point remains valid. I'd be very surprised if they cost more than $1 to produce, less than half that is plausible, with enough volume

 

[Smugsie]

Hey everyone, I'm hoping I'm not asking for too much.

But I'm still on a lookout for appropriate sleeping earbuds. The Edifier H180 and Qian39 are amazing and have a slim profile that lets me roll around on my pillow. But the problem is that they need foam covers to sound good. If you pick up my pillow, you'll find at least 3 earbud foam covers underneath, and I want to get rid of this problem. The only earbud I know that can pull this off is the FiiO EM3 and Apple Earpods, but both have really bad durability.

I noticed the Monk Lite has a slim profile, but it seems that it comes with earbud covers... Does it need them to sound good?

 

[seanc6441]

I was just talking about this in a PM

For context, to me a flat, neutral sound with minimal noise and distortion are what I consider "good." I want my DAP to be as transparent as possible. If you prefer a colored sound signature, this post won't be very helpful except to show you what to avoid.

I have a V20 as well, and it can sound as good as anything. I don't really think a separate DAP is necessary, sound-wise. I use other players for things like battery management (i.e. when the V20 is on the charger) or for a smaller footprint. The thing about transparent equipment is that one transparent DAP is just as good as the next, so you don't need to spend more than $50 for TOTL sound quality. There are of course lots of good reasons to buy a DAP, but unless your phone has serious problems, sound quality probably isn't one of them.

The biggest drawback of the V20 is a relatively high output impedance, which causes a slight but definite bloom on low impedance earbuds. This usually necessitates using a more appropriate external amp; however, I actually enjoy the MrZ Ting more out of the V20. The slight bloom adds some body to the Ting's lean sound in that instance.

If you just want more power from the V20 (this doesn't change the output impedance), plug in a headphone extension cable first to get "aux mode." (God I hate the ridiculous lengths this phone forces you to go to. I hope you always remember to never forget to carey your extension cable! :/ ) Once that's in the phone, then plug the buds into the extension cable, and voilà! It doesn't have to be a long cable, I made a 3" one using cat5 cable scraps for this purpose. You don't need to bother with a resistive "impedance adapter" thankfully. There's much confusion around how to use them correctly I wouldn't recommend it, and you don't seen to have a need anyway.



Well it was $13, but your point remains valid. I'd be very surprised if they cost more than $1 to produce, less than half that is plausible, with enough volume

I tried the aux mode/high impendance mode and I think any improvements in SQ is probably more noticeable on headphones where more power is a welcome addition to better sound. The only real difference I noticed on my earbuds is a slightly warmer signature (more neutral than cold like it was in ‘normal’ low impendance mode) and a slightly more solid low end. But to be honest the SQ increase doesn’t match what others described as a night and day difference experienced with headphones.

The V20 in normal mode isn’t without its faults imo. The lower mids don’t provide much weight behind them. This seems to be a common trait with sabre dacs and i’ve experienced it with two of them now. In my opinion sacrificing midrange body for clarity is not a good deal. I’m looking for both maybe i’m asking for too much though.

Once I use Aux/High impendance mode this improves a little. If I turn on snapdragon EQ this improves even more, especially with bass boost on at 13% the low end and mid bass have more authority without ever becoming muddy.

I really believe there must be a better phone out there for iems/earbuds than the v20. As you say it makes you jump through hoops just to achieve respectable SQ, add to that I couldn’t unlock my version and rooting my variant would be a very difficult task. I think I’ll keep my search going and sell my v20.

I’ve heard the Meizu phones sound more natural, hoping that is true and I might look into them. Also I’m hoping for a wider soundstage than the default v20 configuration which is actually pretty narrow and forward, but that’s fixable with a 3% boost to ‘surround’ in the EQ.

 

[seanc6441]

Hey everyone, I'm hoping I'm not asking for too much.

But I'm still on a lookout for appropriate sleeping earbuds. The Edifier H180 and Qian39 are amazing and have a slim profile that lets me roll around on my pillow. But the problem is that they need foam covers to sound good. If you pick up my pillow, you'll find at least 3 earbud foam covers underneath, and I want to get rid of this problem. The only earbud I know that can pull this off is the FiiO EM3 and Apple Earpods, but both have really bad durability.

I noticed the Monk Lite has a slim profile, but it seems that it comes with earbud covers... Does it need them to sound good?

If the monk plus is anything to go buy youcan get away without foams to sound good. Remember monks sound best with VE thin foams which barely alter the signature so your best bet it that OR the DSQM pk2s.

Pk2s is very smooth and soft treble, enough bass to allow listening without foams to not be a big issue, and best yet it’s front cover is extremely smooth and curved so it’ll be very comfortable.

Actually I suggest the pk2s to you now after listening without foams, very comfortable and not painful listening at all. They actually sound pretty epic without foams... interesting. Slightly bass light but not very!

 

[Smugsie]

If the monk plus is anything to go buy youcan get away without foams to sound good. Remember monks sound best with VE thin foams which barely alter the signature so your best bet it that OR the DSQM pk2s.

Pk2s is very smooth and soft treble, enough bass to allow listening without foams to not be a big issue, and best yet it’s front cover is extremely smooth and curved so it’ll be very comfortable.

Actually I suggest the pk2s to you now after listening without foams, very comfortable and not painful listening at all. They actually sound pretty epic without foams... interesting. Slightly bass light but not very!

My apologies, I should have mentioned my budget is somewhere in the <$30 area.

 

[DJ The Rocket]

It sounds like you have very specific needs in a phone, good luck with that

Maybe you'd be best served with whatever cheap phone you can live with and spending the diff on an OTG DAC/amp that you can velcro to the case?

My main DAP is a used iPhone 4s I picked up for cheap, and I don't think it's possible to have better sound in a phone, certainly not significantly better. I like Apple's hardware, but their software makes operating the V20 seem rational in comparison, and their non-expandable memory policy makes Jim Gibbons seem like a generous and giving person.

Oh, and what is this Snapdragon EQ you mention?