Earbuds Round-Up
Mar 29, 2019 at 10:49 AM Post #41,042 of 74,617
I recently got the Massdrop HD58X which I'm absolutely loving. Without question the best $150 headphones I've reviewed, and absolutely the best value of any full-sized headphone I've tried.

But it got me thinking..if you can get this type of sound for just $150, how much do you really need to spend to get the same (or at least very similar) in a more portable package. So that prompted me to start looking towards earbuds and then work my way up the pricing ladder to see where I would hit that sweet-spot.

I'll be getting a couple and reviewing and comparing them with one another. So far I'm looking at getting these to get me started:

**** MX50
EMX500
Vido
Qian25
RY04
MS16
Monk+
Yincrow X6
Qian39
RY4s
K's 32
Qian69
K's 64
Moondrop Nameless
Yincrow RW-9

Any others that you guys can think of that would truly be worth checking out or perhaps ones that seem redundant on that initial list?

Thanks in advance.
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 10:55 AM Post #41,043 of 74,617
I recently got the Massdrop HD58X which I'm absolutely loving. Without question the best $150 headphones I've reviewed, and absolutely the best value of any full-sized headphone I've tried.

But it got me thinking..if you can get this type of sound for just $150, how much do you really need to spend to get the same (or at least very similar) in a more portable package. So that prompted me to start looking towards earbuds and then work my way up the pricing ladder to see where I would hit that sweet-spot.

I'll be getting a couple and reviewing and comparing them with one another. So far I'm looking at getting these to get me started:

**** MX50
EMX500
Vido
Qian25
RY04
MS16
Monk+
Yincrow X6
Qian39
RY4s
K's 32
Qian69
K's 64
Moondrop Nameless
Yincrow RW-9

Any others that you guys can think of that would truly be worth checking out or perhaps ones that seem redundant on that initial list?

Thanks in advance.

make sure the RY4S you test is the UE version. It's a little tricky to find (you have to choose one of the two correct "color" options), but it is considerably better than the standard RY4S...
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 11:23 AM Post #41,044 of 74,617
I recently got the Massdrop HD58X which I'm absolutely loving. Without question the best $150 headphones I've reviewed, and absolutely the best value of any full-sized headphone I've tried.

But it got me thinking..if you can get this type of sound for just $150, how much do you really need to spend to get the same (or at least very similar) in a more portable package. So that prompted me to start looking towards earbuds and then work my way up the pricing ladder to see where I would hit that sweet-spot.

I'll be getting a couple and reviewing and comparing them with one another. So far I'm looking at getting these to get me started:

**** MX50
EMX500
Vido
Qian25
RY04
MS16
Monk+
Yincrow X6
Qian39
RY4s
K's 32
Qian69
K's 64
Moondrop Nameless
Yincrow RW-9

Any others that you guys can think of that would truly be worth checking out or perhaps ones that seem redundant on that initial list?

Thanks in advance.
Snow Lotus 1+
WillSounds

If you want to spend a bit more:
K600, EBX, Ourart AGX, Smabat ST-10
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 11:38 AM Post #41,045 of 74,617
make sure the RY4S you test is the UE version. It's a little tricky to find (you have to choose one of the two correct "color" options), but it is considerably better than the standard RY4S...

I was able to find the UE version by hovering over the color choice. But what is UE?
 
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Mar 29, 2019 at 11:43 AM Post #41,046 of 74,617
I recently got the Massdrop HD58X which I'm absolutely loving. Without question the best $150 headphones I've reviewed, and absolutely the best value of any full-sized headphone I've tried.

But it got me thinking..if you can get this type of sound for just $150, how much do you really need to spend to get the same (or at least very similar) in a more portable package. So that prompted me to start looking towards earbuds and then work my way up the pricing ladder to see where I would hit that sweet-spot.

I'll be getting a couple and reviewing and comparing them with one another. So far I'm looking at getting these to get me started:

**** MX50
EMX500
Vido
Qian25
RY04
MS16
Monk+
Yincrow X6
Qian39
RY4s
K's 32
Qian69
K's 64
Moondrop Nameless
Yincrow RW-9

Any others that you guys can think of that would truly be worth checking out or perhaps ones that seem redundant on that initial list?

Thanks in advance.
Vido and Yincrow x6 are the same driver. Recabled and rebranded. You
Probably don't need both.
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 11:55 AM Post #41,047 of 74,617
Vido and Yincrow x6 are the same driver. Recabled and rebranded. You
Probably don't need both.

Unless you don't plan to recable the Vido. My Yincrow x6 is red with a red cable:)

I was able to find the UE version by hovering over the color choice. But what is UE?

I think it is suppose to be the same or similar to what Ultimate Ears puts on theirs?
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 12:00 PM Post #41,048 of 74,617
Thanks for the replies and input.

make sure the RY4S you test is the UE version. It's a little tricky to find (you have to choose one of the two correct "color" options), but it is considerably better than the standard RY4S...

Yeah that is the one I selected.

Snow Lotus 1+
WillSounds

If you want to spend a bit more:
K600, EBX, Ourart AGX, Smabat ST-10

I might look at the SL 1+, but those others are considerably more than what I'm prepared to spend on earbuds (at least for now, anyways). Ironically I cold easily buy them if I was just buying a single or a pair, but for the purpose of reviews and comparisons I think it's best to start off with a bunch of more affordable ones.

Vido and Yincrow x6 are the same driver. Recabled and rebranded. You
Probably don't need both.

Much appreciated, I didn't know that. So no change to the tuning (foam dampers, etc)?
 
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Mar 29, 2019 at 12:39 PM Post #41,049 of 74,617
OK, so here's an updated list for what I'm looking at:

Vido
Qian25
RY04
Monk+
MX50
RY4S

MS16
Fengru EMX500
Qian39
RY4S UE
K's 32
Fengru EMX500s

Snow Lotus 2.0
Qian69
**** EMX500
GM500
K's 64
Snow Lotus 1+

Moondrop Nameless
Yincrow RW-9


Again if you can spot any redundancies or just something that is otherwise really not worth checking out in that list, please do let me know, much appreciated.
 
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Mar 29, 2019 at 1:02 PM Post #41,051 of 74,617
I was able to find the UE version by hovering over the color choice. But what is UE?

Honestly, I don't know. lol. I mean I think it relates to the cable. Personally, I'm not a cable guy. I just don't really buy the notion that different (non-defective) cables will affect SQ in a notable way. So, I suspect the UE version of the RY4S is actually tuned differently from the regular version - because it definitely sounds different. The standard RY4S has a sort of "all sliders maxed" quality - it sounds good, but as you increase the volume it gets pretty harsh. Not so the UE version...
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 1:18 PM Post #41,052 of 74,617
Honestly, I don't know. lol. I mean I think it relates to the cable. Personally, I'm not a cable guy. I just don't really buy the notion that different (non-defective) cables will affect SQ in a notable way. So, I suspect the UE version of the RY4S is actually tuned differently from the regular version - because it definitely sounds different. The standard RY4S has a sort of "all sliders maxed" quality - it sounds good, but as you increase the volume it gets pretty harsh. Not so the UE version...

That is really interesting. I have only heard the UE version. My husband @HungryPanda has a red RY4S with the silver cable and likes it but neither of us has compared. Unfortunately he has to work this weekend so we cannot compare at the moment.

BTW, surely I am not the only one who has the RY04. Love the shell, love the cable and I personally appreciate buds that have a more balanced sound signature. My husband also liked it when he borrowed it. We obviously both have too many choices so nothing becomes a "daily driver."
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 2:18 PM Post #41,053 of 74,617
Still no ry4c. Sunyou shipment sucks and no tracking . dont use them if you have the choice.
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 3:13 PM Post #41,054 of 74,617
That is really interesting. I have only heard the UE version. My husband @HungryPanda has a red RY4S with the silver cable and likes it but neither of us has compared. Unfortunately he has to work this weekend so we cannot compare at the moment.

BTW, surely I am not the only one who has the RY04. Love the shell, love the cable and I personally appreciate buds that have a more balanced sound signature. My husband also liked it when he borrowed it. We obviously both have too many choices so nothing becomes a "daily driver."
i have the silver cable version and the blue one, they sound different, silver cable one is very neutral with a little bit of brightness, blue one is with boosted bass and uneven mids, the bass is very strange, it sound like is forced from DSP like in some Bluetooth speakers, i assume they added second harmonic distortions to give them more bassy warmer presentation, the silver cable sound very clean and a lot better thought
 
Mar 29, 2019 at 7:37 PM Post #41,055 of 74,617
i have the silver cable version and the blue one, they sound different, silver cable one is very neutral with a little bit of brightness, blue one is with boosted bass and uneven mids, the bass is very strange, it sound like is forced from DSP like in some Bluetooth speakers, i assume they added second harmonic distortions to give them more bassy warmer presentation, the silver cable sound very clean and a lot better thought

I only have the standard version of the RY4S ($5), maybe it’s just me but since I started my earbud journey in January, I’ve been the most impressed with these amongst my other ~$10 dollar purchases (RY4C, kube v1, kube v2, snow lotus 1.0+, my 2 year old monk+).

I totally agree with your description, but maybe this fake dsp effect is what makes it sound more spacious, relaxed, and separated in comparison and sounds like an open set of headphones to me.
 

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