[seanc6441]

I just checked... seems to be very similar, not disturbingly so though (at least as far as I can tell as of yet... ). The most piercing sibilance comes in at around 3.3K ish. The slight bump before and after allow for that mid-high presence without the sibilance. Definitely, a v-shape based on the jump in the highs in general

The reverb I am referring to (to clarify if we are on the same page) is more of the spatial effect you get with audio programmes or processors... it is not necessarily a bad thing.

Incidentally, I just ran the Eb2 through the same thing... much more flat through that range (1-5K) with a ramp up at around 4.7K ish. .....clarity!

And the Datura X - at a very quick listen... slight drop between 1.2-1.8K, rise then drop again between 2.2-2.5K, slight rise, then ramps up at 5K ish... more u-shaped...?

... but then again I'm sure there are charts for all this stuff...

Well this reverb has to be a resonance peak or dip somewhere as it's not magic but I'm not sure if it's at 3-5k because ive had a lot of buds with very much presence at this region and it usually determines the agressiveness and brightness of the mids BUT it almost never sounds unnatural or out of place. It's usually if that peak is proceeded or followed by some weird dip, or if the peak is before or after 3-5k that we usually hear some weirdness. I know my unit was detective but the left driver had a presence at 1.2-2khz that's higher than normal (but actually didnt sound too unnatural) yet the right driver had like a 5db spike in that region which was muderous and a bass rattle so i know it was a defect and im wondering if your unit has some big frequency imbalance which would cause a sort of delay/reverb between L/R drivers at certain frequencies.

Try to listen to any big peaks or dips again and see if its emphasised on one driver or both. Small channel imbalances are fine but large ones effect the SQ.

 

[Themilkman46290]

Hey, I am Korean, may I borrow? I live in the US though.

This has been odd. I missed the religious stuff, or took it as tongue in cheek.


Personally, I’d like to see everyone’s top 10lists with descriptions. There are people here that I think I can count on for recommendations based on similar tastes, so I’d like to know more about their gear.

I have one pair of Blurs. On the plus, they have a unique tuning with good instrument placement, and the maker is really enthusiastic and will chat with you. Unfortunately , I think the K’s Samsara better suit my taste. The 500 and 600 Ohm are good too, just different. (I wrote a shoot out a week or so ago).
First of all, how could you part with the Utopia? Nobody’s perfect, but they are close.
If you liked the Utopia, check out Cypherus’ CampFred2. I love them and we’re listening to them today. Zoomfred is awesome too. Black is for home use because of the rigidity of the cable.

could you post a link to your review of the k's earbuds, I am undecided as to witch to get, would love to better understand what the difference is between them (beside impedance) thanks in advance

 

[mbwilson111]

Monk+ went viral on the internet and must be the most popular and best known. It is no accident that so many buds sold on AliExpress claim "kills Monk+". Everybody knows the Monk+. Nobody says "kills EMX500".

maybe because emx500 is harder to kill, while the monk+ is easier? maybe...

I have always thought that the reason the Aliexpress sellers put "kills Monk+" in the description is so that anyone who searches for a Monk will find these other listings and find out that there are other choices. Meanwhile, I love my Monks and the others I have chosen

 

[mbwilson111]

could you post a link to your review of the k's earbuds, I am undecided as to witch to get, would love to better understand what the difference is between them (beside impedance) thanks in advance

Are you referring to this post that @doggiemom made last week?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-2371#post-14501676

 

[Carrow]

I sent the Airman buds on to @SeedRick today so I have a spare Oyaide MMCX cable at the moment. Thinking of getting @WillSound buds modded to work with it...

 

[Themilkman46290]

Are you referring to this post that @doggiemom made last week?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-2371#post-14501676

Thanks mbwilson that's the one, this actually answers my questions, great job doggiemom ( cute dog btw) guess I will get the samsara on the 11/11 sale

 

[chinmie]

Well this reverb has to be a resonance peak or dip somewhere as it's not magic but I'm not sure if it's at 3-5k because ive had a lot of buds with very much presence at this region and it usually determines the agressiveness and brightness of the mids BUT it almost never sounds unnatural or out of place. It's usually if that peak is proceeded or followed by some weird dip, or if the peak is before or after 3-5k that we usually hear some weirdness. I know my unit was detective but the left driver had a presence at 1.2-2khz that's higher than normal (but actually didnt sound too unnatural) yet the right driver had like a 5db spike in that region which was muderous and a bass rattle so i know it was a defect and im wondering if your unit has some big frequency imbalance which would cause a sort of delay/reverb between L/R drivers at certain frequencies.

Try to listen to any big peaks or dips again and see if its emphasised on one driver or both. Small channel imbalances are fine but large ones effect the SQ.

a reverb is a reverb. not a resonance peak. i think what @toear experienced with the Samsara is just simply the Samsara has more depth that it can display the room/ spatial information better. so it's not something that's the Samsara added, but was not heard (or heard with less information) on other earbuds. i don't know if this is a pattern, but aside of the TM9 and Willsounds, my high impedance earbuds seems to display better/ roomier sound, not as intimate as the low impedanced ones. I think it's not really impedance related, it's just a more common occurrence

 

[toear]

a reverb is a reverb. not a resonance peak. i think what @toear experienced with the Samsara is just simply the Samsara has more depth that it can display the room/ spatial information better. so it's not something that's the Samsara added, but was not heard (or heard with less information) on other earbuds. i don't know if this is a pattern, but aside of the TM9 and Willsounds, my high impedance earbuds seems to display better/ roomier sound, not as intimate as the low impedanced ones. I think it's not really impedance related, it's just a more common occurrence

Sorry... yes... to clarify.. I did not literally mean 'add reverb', other than referring to the tuning on that particular bud. The Samsara does have a bigger depth and space presentation than pretty much all of my buds. My understanding was that higher impedance helped with the presentation of detail (perhaps through better separation via a larger soundstage?)... Mind you I find the detail on the Datura X to be exceptional, yet the soundstage is not as big as the Samsaras....

 

[seanc6441]

a reverb is a reverb. not a resonance peak. i think what @toear experienced with the Samsara is just simply the Samsara has more depth that it can display the room/ spatial information better. so it's not something that's the Samsara added, but was not heard (or heard with less information) on other earbuds. i don't know if this is a pattern, but aside of the TM9 and Willsounds, my high impedance earbuds seems to display better/ roomier sound, not as intimate as the low impedanced ones. I think it's not really impedance related, it's just a more common occurrence

I understand but the samasara is using the same standard mx500 shell as every other mx500 type earbud so if the reverb is caused by the shell it would be common across many earbuds.

It may be perceived as a reverb but it's not proven to be so. I'm thinking it could be a characteristic of the driver frequency response.

If it's an effect of the soundstage, it's caused by the driver frequency response. That's why I suspect it to be an imbalance or resonance in the driver.

 

[toear]

Well this reverb has to be a resonance peak or dip somewhere as it's not magic but I'm not sure if it's at 3-5k because ive had a lot of buds with very much presence at this region and it usually determines the agressiveness and brightness of the mids BUT it almost never sounds unnatural or out of place. It's usually if that peak is proceeded or followed by some weird dip, or if the peak is before or after 3-5k that we usually hear some weirdness. I know my unit was detective but the left driver had a presence at 1.2-2khz that's higher than normal (but actually didnt sound too unnatural) yet the right driver had like a 5db spike in that region which was muderous and a bass rattle so i know it was a defect and im wondering if your unit has some big frequency imbalance which would cause a sort of delay/reverb between L/R drivers at certain frequencies.

Try to listen to any big peaks or dips again and see if its emphasised on one driver or both. Small channel imbalances are fine but large ones effect the SQ.

As I mentioned in the other post my using 'reverb' to describe the soundstage was referring more to the characteristics of a reverb effect on sounds in music. It has more to do with presentation than creation. The resonance that you are hearing, I am guessing, could be created by the relationship between the shape/ spatial volume of the earbuds and the frequencies coming from the music.... To clarify, is this peak you are hearing disruptive to the music? Or, an observation of how the music is being presented? Perhaps my description of 'slight-bump' is also not accurate. The frequencies begin to rise around 1.8K, but drops a bit around 2.8 - 4Kish, then continues to rise... a V-shaped sound with a smaller v in the 2.8-4K region. Hope this makes sense.

I have not as of yet noticed any big discrepancies between L/R channels...will check.

 

[RodRevenge]

I have always thought that the reason the Aliexpress sellers put "kills Monk+" in the description is so that anyone who searches for a Monk will find these other listings and find out that there are other choices. Meanwhile, I love my Monks and the others I have chosen

I decided to give my monk + some time on and damn they sound better than i remember, it is still the best earbud for starters.

 

[waynes world]

Datura X - for my preferences the hype is real! Bass and sound signature is similar to the HE150 Pro but mid and highs are more pronounced. Smooth. Whereas the HE150 Pro is slightly L-shaped, the Datura X is more neutral. Soundstage is nice and wide and holographic but depth goes to to the HE150 Pro. (I'm listening to these as I write this... These are awesome !! The separation and layering is fantastic! I'm going to have to do more comparisons but I think these just replaced my HE150 Pros...?! )

K's 300 Samsara - very similar to full can goodness (HD650 as a reference). As much as I want them to be the same the HD650 is still on a different level I think. These things do sound BIG!! Compared to the the other mentioned buds these sound almost like there is a bit of reverb built into them... Very cool! They cover the full frequency range with ease... What I think is necessary for accurate representation. Sounds signature is similar, but an improvement on, the Datura X and HE150 Pro... And luckily my preferred sound signature so far.

As a caveat, these are only initial impressions as more time is required for burn in... Either way things are looking up and I think I'm going have plenty to keep my busy for a while....

You aren't making me want the K's 300 Samsara's any less!

 

[toear]

I understand but the samasara is using the same standard mx500 shell as every other mx500 type earbud so if the reverb is caused by the shell it would be common across many earbuds.

It may be perceived as a reverb but it's not proven to be so. I'm thinking it could be a characteristic of the driver frequency response.

If it's an effect of the soundstage, it's caused by the driver frequency response. That's why I suspect it to be an imbalance or resonance in the driver.

Yes... the 'reverb' (or big soundstage characteristics) is created by the driver and tuning more so, and less dependent on the shell. I could see how imbalance would throw the presentation/resonance (there is going to be some kind of resonance in the physical earbud... this is why porting can change the characteristics/frequencies of presentation.

 

[toear]

You aren't making me want the K's 300 Samsara's any less!

.... just sharing the love...

 

[seanc6441]

As I mentioned in the other post my using 'reverb' to describe the soundstage was referring more to the characteristics of a reverb effect on sounds in music. It has more to do with presentation than creation. The resonance that you are hearing, I am guessing, could be created by the relationship between the shape/ spatial volume of the earbuds and the frequencies coming from the music.... To clarify, is this peak you are hearing disruptive to the music? Or, an observation of how the music is being presented? Perhaps my description of 'slight-bump' is also not accurate. The frequencies begin to rise around 1.8K, but drops a bit around 2.8 - 4Kish, then continues to rise... a V-shaped sound with a smaller v in the 2.8-4K region. Hope this makes sense.

I have not as of yet noticed any big discrepancies between L/R channels...will check.

For my Ling it was an issue with driver imbalance and the peak was lower around 1.2khz and sounded piercing/unnatural. I'm 100% sure it was a defect as the same driver was rattling in the bass weeks later. It must has had a fault in it's manufacturing.

Maybe the samsara FR was intended to sound as you are hearing, for my ling it was a jarring experience and I immediately asked ClieOS about his Ling which was not experiencing such issues.

It was only last month that I realised how big the imbalance was and it was a massive spike, then the bass rattle forced me to contact the seller for repair/replacement.