[waynes world]

Svara L is now obsolete....Svara pro Dual driver is here

This is where I got mine. They are on sale at the moment for US $49.68. Edit: they are on sale in 2 days.

The fact that there is a newer model doesn't matter much to me. All that would matter is if they sound better to my ears or not (maybe they do, maybe they don't).

 

[HungryPanda]

Just put a balanced 4.4mm cable on my Svara L's into the iBasso DX200 with amp8. If the pro can get better than this I would be amazed

 

[waynes world]

Just put a balanced 4.4mm cable on my Svara L's into the iBasso DX200 with amp8. If the pro can get better than this I would be amazed

Awesome! If you don't mind me asking, which cable do you have?

 

[HungryPanda]

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32830990606.html

 

[acygni]

Nice. Thanks for the post.

 

[Narayan23]

No I meant my own lifetime.. which is long...

my old transitor radio was blue and small

My point was just that music has always been my passion, regardless of equipment.

My sentiment exactly, although listening once to an unspeakable noise that proved to be my uncle Carlos singing in the shower, convinced me that the source does matter.

 

[blackberriesandthinkpads]

MX980/985 are still excellent earbuds, but as said by @Danneq, there are better option out there now. Also, I don't want to recommend NOS Sennheiser's top end earbuds because their cable are known to crack over time. You might get a NOS pair now but the cable could crack after couples of months and you won't have warranty to claim.

Mojito is a great earbuds, but the tuning really only works best with classical music. Even the maker is listing Mojito as a classical only earbud on his own Taobao store.

Cypherus would have made my list as well but they are not the easiest to buy.

MX980/985 are still good. I would say that they are champion level (if I go by ClieOS terminology), but they are nowadays outdone by many newer earbuds. I have owned MX980 and 985 and still own a pair of OMX980 (with ear hooks). I won't sell those for a while, but I rarely use them.

Chinese makers have really improved in the last 5-6 years.

Indonesia has got some great smaller earbud makers. I have only heard earbuds from Cypherus (my favorite maker the last 2-3 years), ABnormal, Bengkel Macro and De'mun and they are all great.

I would add anything from Cypherus to the list of ClieOs TOTL earbuds. Cypherus only makes TOTL earbuds that range in price from $200-400 with the rare custom made pair exceding $600. All of them are made in relatively limited batches. Currently Cypherus offers CampFred 2 ($199) and ZoomFred ($249) as well as White CampFred which is based on CampFred 1 but fine tuned and with better cable etc. I think that one is closer to $400 but only 5 or so pairs will be made. I think both CampFred 2 and ZoomFred will not exceed 100 pairs made. Each pair is made after order and the buyer can choose single ended or balanced connector and some other customizations.
Most of the small DIY makers use the same housing that the old Sennheiser MX400/500 earbuds about 15 years ago used. It might not be the best fit for everyone.

Rose Mojito is very detailed and revealing but highs are quite sharp. I sold my pair because of that. I listen to a lot of metal and rock and it doesn't work at all with those genres.

Still researching all the replies, thank you. I'll be passing on the MX980, especially at the asking price. What had initially sparked my interest in them was the low impedance and "champion level" quality. I see low impedance high quality buds are a common thing now. Before this thread I only knew of the Zen 2.0. As I said earlier I'm a one headphone kind of guy so low impedance is important for when I don't have an amp or powerful source.

The Mojito is probably not what I want then, since I'm looking for an all-rounder.

I'm a rather patient guy, I'll wait for good stuff. How does one even purchase Cypherus? Their website is of no help.

It seems shell size/shape fitment is rather important for buds. What I'm thinking of doing then is to order either just the shells or really cheap buds with the shells that TOTL buds use, to see what fits my ear before I go dropping $500 on buds. Honestly, I think I'm rather small and even the Monk Plus is probably too large for me.

So what shells are being used by these top top TOTL buds?


Quick tangent while I'm here.

I recently ordered a NOS DX90 for about $400 USD (with warranty). Yes I know I'm paying for old tech, but I really like the simplicity and size of the player, hate the new android based slow crap. I really like simple, and buttons.

I liked the idea that there are so many firmware versions with differing sound signatures, in my head this means for sure I'll find a sound I like with the player.

Have yet to even try it, long story, but my return window is running out in a bit. Will I be bottle necking my modern TOtL earbud setup with this 4 year old DAP?

Keep in mind I have almost zero interest in balanced buds, as I said, I like simple. Unless there are HUGE gains to be had by going balanced.

Also keep in mind around the +-$500 USD mark is what I'd pay for a DAP, and I don't mind shopping used and/or discontinued. Though shiny new things are nice... (the used DX90s on ebay were so filthy I couldn't do it, not to mention the hardware faults with it, a warranty seemed necessary).

 

[mbwilson111]

I'm looking for an all-rounder.

are you wanting to spend top of the line prices? there are so many excellent budget options... you would be surprised.

 

[waynes world]

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32830990606.html

Thanks. I see that it is an "over ears" design (which I prefer with the Svara's). Does that cable make the signature brighter? (something I would not prefer).

 

[mbwilson111]

What, if any, of your earbuds do some of you prefer without foams?

 

[Danneq]

Still researching all the replies, thank you. I'll be passing on the MX980, especially at the asking price. What had initially sparked my interest in them was the low impedance and "champion level" quality. I see low impedance high quality buds are a common thing now. Before this thread I only knew of the Zen 2.0. As I said earlier I'm a one headphone kind of guy so low impedance is important for when I don't have an amp or powerful source.

The Mojito is probably not what I want then, since I'm looking for an all-rounder.

I'm a rather patient guy, I'll wait for good stuff. How does one even purchase Cypherus? Their website is of no help.

It seems shell size/shape fitment is rather important for buds. What I'm thinking of doing then is to order either just the shells or really cheap buds with the shells that TOTL buds use, to see what fits my ear before I go dropping $500 on buds. Honestly, I think I'm rather small and even the Monk Plus is probably too large for me.

So what shells are being used by these top top TOTL buds?


Quick tangent while I'm here.

I recently ordered a NOS DX90 for about $400 USD (with warranty). Yes I know I'm paying for old tech, but I really like the simplicity and size of the player, hate the new android based slow crap. I really like simple, and buttons.

I liked the idea that there are so many firmware versions with differing sound signatures, in my head this means for sure I'll find a sound I like with the player.

Have yet to even try it, long story, but my return window is running out in a bit. Will I be bottle necking my modern TOtL earbud setup with this 4 year old DAP?

Keep in mind I have almost zero interest in balanced buds, as I said, I like simple. Unless there are HUGE gains to be had by going balanced.

Also keep in mind around the +-$500 USD mark is what I'd pay for a DAP, and I don't mind shopping used and/or discontinued. Though shiny new things are nice... (the used DX90s on ebay were so filthy I couldn't do it, not to mention the hardware faults with it, a warranty seemed necessary).

Cypherus and a few other smaller DIY earbud makers use MX500 shells just like VE uses Monk+ and their other earbuds. Shozy BK and Simphonio Dragon 2+ uses a smaller type of shells. Many of the Chinese makers have customized shells and fit may range from great to awful.

You can get a pair of Monk+ and see how you like that type of shell.

I do not think the DX90 will give you any problems. I have a small collection of vintage MP3 players with the oldest one, iRiver H140 being released in 2004.
I'm thinking of selling my older MP3 players to focus on my 3 newer ones (iBasso RP10, Questyle QP1R and Onkyo DP S1). The iBasso is around 5 years and still sounds great. The only negative thing is that it uses Android 2.3 which feels very slow and clumpsy. Older MP3 players can be easier to use than that. Especially if they've got Rockbox installed.

All the TOTL earbuds that ClieOS listed are low impedance, except for Black Ling (I think). Cypherus only makes earbuds with impedance under 100 ohm.

 

[blackberriesandthinkpads]

are you wanting to spend top of the line prices? there are so many excellent budget options... you would be surprised.

Yes, since this is my end game setup. I'm not the type of person that needs to have the absolute best, for example My X00 Ebony would be my endgame if I decided to stay with over ear cans, it has it's faults but it's good enough to keep me from longing for more.

But since I can get TOTL buds for about the most I'd spend on a piece of gear (+- $500 USD), I see no reason not to.

I'll be figuring out my complete end game setup in the next few weeks, hopefully it revolves around an earbud. I love my X00 Ebony, but if I can get sound that good or greater in a bud that'd be perfect. So I'll be figuring out my DAC/AMP (USB), DAP, and buds, they all need to work together. If I can combine the DAC/AMP and DAP into one product that would be nice, but it seems no-one has implemented this all that well yet.

 

[DAndrew]

Blur seems interesting, but it's difficult to get an overview of the different Blur models. I could be interested in something TOTL and below 70 ohm from Blur. I used to own some high impedance earbuds but then decided to only go low impedance so I sold them all and also my portable amps.

Well there are a lot of models indeed , Personally I have a 300 ohm Blur but it doesnt need a lot of power and play very good out of my S7. Most neutral bud I have heard, close to my full sized Sennheiser

 

[DAndrew]

Cypherus and a few other smaller DIY earbud makers use MX500 shells just like VE uses Monk+ and their other earbuds. Shozy BK and Simphonio Dragon 2+ uses a smaller type of shells. Many of the Chinese makers have customized shells and fit may range from great to awful.

You can get a pair of Monk+ and see how you like that type of shell.

I do not think the DX90 will give you any problems. I have a small collection of vintage MP3 players with the oldest one, iRiver H140 being released in 2004.
I'm thinking of selling my older MP3 players to focus on my 3 newer ones (iBasso RP10, Questyle QP1R and Onkyo DP S1). The iBasso is around 5 years and still sounds great. The only negative thing is that it uses Android 2.3 which feels very slow and clumpsy. Older MP3 players can be easier to use than that. Especially if they've got Rockbox installed.

All the TOTL earbuds that ClieOS listed are low impedance, except for Black Ling (I think). Cypherus only makes earbuds with impedance under 100 ohm.

Let me know if you are going to sell something interesting

 

[doggiemom]

Yes you can, just sell your Utopia

Oh, hell no!