[Danneq]

Now my interest has piqued and now I am turned: What are some differences between MrZ (musicmaker) Tomahawk and Ting?? Also is shozy cygnus better than both of these?? One last thing to add is, is there a way to create better isolation with earbuds?

I've been sick for a while so I haven't compared Tomahawk to Ting. I've had Tomahawk for a few months and recently receicved a pair of Ting. My overall impression is that Tomahawk is more up front and in your face while Ting is more distanced sounding. More in a reference headphone way.

Today I finally could get my pair of Cygnus (and I didn't need to pay import taxes). Haven't listened to them much but they sound good. Still I prefer Tomahawk to Ting & Cygnus but that might change when I have listened more to them (plus burn in both of earbuds & my brain to the sound...).

 

[BloodyPenguin]

My overall impression is that Tomahawk is more up front and in your face while Ting is more distanced sounding. More in a reference headphone way.

 
I agree 100% with that description.

--

 

[springbay]

I've been sick for a while so I haven't compared Tomahawk to Ting. I've had Tomahawk for a few months and recently receicved a pair of Ting. My overall impression is that Tomahawk is more up front and in your face while Ting is more distanced sounding. More in a reference headphone way.

Today I finally could get my pair of Cygnus (and I didn't need to pay import taxes). Haven't listened to them much but they sound good. Still I prefer Tomahawk to Ting & Cygnus but that might change when I have listened more to them (plus burn in both of earbuds & my brain to the sound...).

 
Good to hear about the import taxes being avoided. What was the problem, did Penon mark the package as a free gift, or why did Post Nord hold it? I'm always weary when first ordering from a seller outside of the EU before knowing what value they will declare on the package. I've sent a whole lot of money to Post Nords kaffekassa during the years.
 
Also about the MusicMaker buds. I received my Tomahawk and Ting earlier this week. They have tremendous highs and mids to my ears. Child in Time - Live in Japan, is just heavenly, and the sound stage on K-electronica like Neon Bunny is just amazing on the Tings. But I'm lacking the bass on both of the buds when listening to K-hiphop like Keith Ape and other genres with prominent bass.
 
I was thinking this has to do with me not getting a proper seal. The buds are just too small for my ears. The 32 ohm Monks with dognut foams fit perfect in my ears and provide that decent bass, but the MusicMaker buds feels like the don't grip. It's not like they are falling out, but I can't feel them connecting all around in my ears like the Monks do.
 
This evening I tried putting on an additional pair of donut foams on the Tings (double donuts). This made them fit a bit better, but still it feels like I don't get the same kind of grip/seal as with the Monks. And I've not found the bass yet.
 
So my question, should I not expect the same level of bass from the MusicMaker buds as from the Monks, or do you have a suggestion on how I can achieve a proper seal on the MusicMaker buds and experience the good bass people are suggesting the buds can provide? Could rubber rings with foams outside help and in that case what dimension should the rubber rings be?

 

[vapman]

Cygnus sound pretty good at first but I have about 3 straight days of burning it in and they seem to sound better each time

 

[Danneq]

Good to hear about the import taxes being avoided. What was the problem, did Penon mark the package as a free gift, or why did Post Nord hold it? I'm always weary when first ordering from a seller outside of the EU before knowing what value they will declare on the package. I've sent a whole lot of money to Post Nords kaffekassa during the years.

Also about the MusicMaker buds. I received my Tomahawk and Ting earlier this week. They have tremendous highs and mids to my ears. Child in Time - Live in Japan, is just heavenly, and the sound stage on K-electronica like Neon Bunny is just amazing on the Tings. But I'm lacking the bass on both of the buds when listening to K-hiphop like Keith Ape and other genres with prominent bass.

I was thinking this has to do with me not getting a proper seal. The buds are just too small for my ears. The 32 ohm Monks with dognut foams fit perfect in my ears and provide that decent bass, but the MusicMaker buds feels like the don't grip. It's not like they are falling out, but I can't feel them connecting all around in my ears like the Monks do.

This evening I tried putting on an additional pair of donut foams on the Tings (double donuts). This made them fit a bit better, but still it feels like I don't get the same kind of grip/seal as with the Monks. And I've not found the bass yet.

So my question, should I not expect the same level of bass from the MusicMaker buds as from the Monks, or do you have a suggestion on how I can achieve a proper seal on the MusicMaker buds and experience the good bass people are suggesting the buds can provide? Could rubber rings with foams outside help and in that case what dimension should the rubber rings be?

I don't really know why the package got import fees placed on it in the first place. Penon said it was marked as gift. I asked Penon to write me an e-mail saying that the gift we agreed upon was sent and that e-mail was enough for the import fees to be removed. The last time I ordered from Penon, when I bought a pair of Celsus Gramo One, it was sent through DHL and also it was marked as "sample". The value was " only" marked as $49 but that together with it being marked as "sample" led to me being forced to pay around 200 SEK in import fees...

I never had a problem with Easy earphone. They always mark the value as $5 or $10 and also mark it as "gift".

About bass on Ting and Tomahawk, I think that Ting seems to have high quality bass, but in a more neutral sense. To me Tomahawk has got more bass than Monk. I actually find Monk to be a bit bass shy and somewhat sharp in the highs. Tomahawk reminds me of Monk but with better balance between lows, mids & highs (although highs are slightly sharp if I do not use full foams). Also Monk has got an overall warmer sound to me while Tomahawk is slightly " colder". This sense of warmth might have something to do with the mids...

You could always put a rubber ring around Ting & Tomahawk and then foams. That might be the best suggestion...

 

[vapman]

  thanks
 
do they really have powerfull bass? like yuin pk3?

Which earbuds are you familiar with? Didn't expect you would know yuin pk3 cause you mentioned none in your first post :O

 

[springbay]

I don't really know why the package got import fees placed on it in the first place. Penon said it was marked as gift. I asked Penon to write me an e-mail saying that the gift we agreed upon was sent and that e-mail was enough for the import fees to be removed. The last time I ordered from Penon, when I bought a pair of Celsus Gramo One, it was sent through DHL and also it was marked as "sample". The value was " only" marked as $49 but that together with it being marked as "sample" led to me being forced to pay around 200 SEK in import fees...

I never had a problem with Easy earphone. They always mark the value as $5 or $10 and also mark it as "gift".

About bass on Ting and Tomahawk, I think that Ting seems to have high quality bass, but in a more neutral sense. To me Tomahawk has got more bass than Monk. I actually find Monk to be a bit bass shy and somewhat sharp in the highs. Tomahawk reminds me of Monk but with better balance between lows, mids & highs (although highs are slightly sharp if I do not use full foams). Also Monk has got an overall warmer sound to me while Tomahawk is slightly " colder". This sense of warmth might have something to do with the mids...

You could always put a rubber ring around Ting & Tomahawk and then foams. That might be the best suggestion...

 
Ok 200 SEK import extras sound rather decent for a $250 bud. That is what I've paid for several $50 orders from Massdrop. I'll just continue to order from Easy, both the Tings and Tomahawks where marked as $10 and passed through Post Nord without hickups.
 
I'll try and see if Igor can guide me where to find rubber rings in the right dimension for the MusicMakers and give it another try.
 
I've been playing around with Alexandre Desplat - Canto at Gabelmeister's Peak on the Monks/Tomahawks/Tings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bXTtWntlf0
I would had hoped that the Tings could handle the bass from around 00:16 to 00:30 a bit better than the Monks given the retail price. But no, neither the Monks not the Tomahawks or the Tings can do anything near what I get with IEM's or headphones.
 
On the other hand, my Monks will do decent justice to Yezi - Cider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YJFr4pwwl0
while the MusicMaker buds just feels terribly bass shy

 

[B9Scrambler]

Review of the FiiO EM3. What a nice little earbud!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiio-em3-open-earbud-earphones-with-in-line-microphone-black/reviews/15771

 

[tayo15]

I've been sick for a while so I haven't compared Tomahawk to Ting. I've had Tomahawk for a few months and recently receicved a pair of Ting. My overall impression is that Tomahawk is more up front and in your face while Ting is more distanced sounding. More in a reference headphone way.

when you say distant sounding do you mean wide or deep soundstage, and instrument separation?? Imaging?? I actually love soundstage and I might just end up buying both xD

 

[kurtextrem]

when you say distant sounding do you mean wide or deep soundstage, and instrument separation?? Imaging?? I actually love soundstage and I might just end up buying both xD

well for me the Tomahawks sound airy, the sound is not in your ear but somewhere... else. For the Asura and Monk the voice/sound is in your ear, directly next to you

 

[Danneq]

when you say distant sounding do you mean wide or deep soundstage, and instrument separation?? Imaging?? I actually love soundstage and I might just end up buying both xD

I haven't compared Ting to Tomahawk too closely. Like Kurtextrem writes, Tomahawk does have an airy quality to it and both soundstage and instrument separation is top notch. But compared to Ting, Tomahawk does sound more up front. Or rather, Ting is more "laid back" than Tomahawk. Have to compare them more closely, though...

well for me the Tomahawks sound airy, the sound is not in your ear but somewhere... else. For the Asura and Monk the voice/sound is in your ear, directly next to you

Agree with you that Monk is more up front than Tomahawk. But Ting goes much further than Tomahawk in that sense...

 

[goldenSHK]

I haven't compared Ting to Tomahawk too closely. Like Kurtextrem writes, Tomahawk does have an airy quality to it and both soundstage and instrument separation is top notch. But compared to Ting, Tomahawk does sound more up front. Or rather, Ting is more "laid back" than Tomahawk. Have to compare them more closely, though...
Agree with you that Monk is more up front than Tomahawk. But Ting goes much further than Tomahawk in that sense...

Where does Shozy compare in this? I am interested to know how top tier the Cygnus is, or isn't. 

 

[Danneq]

Where does Shozy compare in this? I am interested to know how top tier the Cygnus is, or isn't. 

Well, I haven't compared Cygnus directly to my Blox TM7, Sennheiser MX980 or VE Zen1. From a very brief impression I'd say that it's slightly below these three. But it's quite close to them. And considering those other three are discontinued, Cygnus is definitely in the top tier of earbuds that are currently sold.

 

[goldenSHK]

Well, I haven't compared Cygnus directly to my Blox TM7, Sennheiser MX980 or VE Zen1. From a very brief impression I'd say that it's slightly below these three. But it's quite close to them. And considering those other three are discontinued, Cygnus is definitely in the top tier of earbuds that are currently sold.

That's great to hear especially because I have one coming on the way. I should have a decent collection now with that added to it, I can probably do a mini top list like ClieOS soon hopefully.  

 

[music4mhell]

Well, I haven't compared Cygnus directly to my Blox TM7, Sennheiser MX980 or VE Zen1. From a very brief impression I'd say that it's slightly below these three. But it's quite close to them. And considering those other three are discontinued, Cygnus is definitely in the top tier of earbuds that are currently sold.

That's great to hear especially because I have one coming on the way. I should have a decent collection now with that added to it, I can probably do a mini top list like ClieOS soon hopefully.  

i am in the same league.