Earbuds Round-Up
Apr 23, 2019 at 9:26 PM Post #41,717 of 74,630
They are nice. I also have them. From 1st Gen iPod. Very nice sound. Much better than the available earbuds now a days. Not sure why Apple stopped them and went for very uncomfortable Earpods. I wish I can get new pairs of these 1st or 2nd Gen ones with Mic :)

You will change your opinion when you hear them. I am not talking about Earpods but older apple earbuds (which used to come with iPod v1 or v2 time).

I have/had many of today's available ones like Monk+, Yincow X6, TP16, Edifier P180 etc. But while they are good, I feel they don't match the clarity and smoothness of Apple Earbuds. I wish they can but sadly no :frowning2:

Ok, so what you are really saying is "IMO, they sound much better than any of the <$20 buds that I have heard". Got it.

I'd be happy to check them out, but my guess is that they are next to impossible to find.

Edit: btw, you should check out the Kubes, Sabia's and ANN200s of the world. They are older Indonesian earbuds, yet they sound great and are enjoying a resurgence of popularity now. I'd be interested to see how you feel they compare to the apple buds.
 
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Apr 23, 2019 at 9:38 PM Post #41,718 of 74,630
Ok, so what you are really saying is "IMO, they sound much better than any of the <$20 buds that I have heard". Got it.

I'd be happy to check them out, but my guess is that they are next to impossible to find.

Edit: btw, you should check out the Kubes, Sabia's and ANN200s of the world. They are older Indonesian earbuds, yet they sound great and are enjoying a resurgence of popularity now. I'd be interested to see how you feel they compare to the apple buds.
I guess you can still find them. Ebay and I also saw on AE: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FOR...html?spm=2114.11010108.10001.5.650c649btyudYF. But the one I had was not with mic so hope this one sounds exactly like that.
 
Apr 23, 2019 at 10:01 PM Post #41,719 of 74,630
Apr 23, 2019 at 10:10 PM Post #41,720 of 74,630
There are boats' load of fake Apple iBuds out there, just so everyone knows.
Possible.
I guess you can still find them. Ebay and I also saw on AE: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FOR...html?spm=2114.11010108.10001.5.650c649btyudYF. But the one I had was not with mic so hope this one sounds exactly like that.
I don't see them available easily and mostly surely not with Mic. I need Mic so I can take calls also while I listen to the songs.
 
Apr 23, 2019 at 10:39 PM Post #41,721 of 74,630
Today I received my Ibasso DX120, this can easily drive the Zen ZOE - 300 Ohm :) beautiful sound:
IMG_20190424_001510126.jpg
 
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Apr 23, 2019 at 11:17 PM Post #41,722 of 74,630
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Apr 24, 2019 at 2:02 AM Post #41,724 of 74,630
Listening to the Faaeal Originals and the 64's. Between them and the SL1.0+'s (among others), they make damn fine buds! (budget or otherwise!)
 
Apr 24, 2019 at 3:05 AM Post #41,726 of 74,630
DSC_0189.jpg
 
Apr 24, 2019 at 4:35 AM Post #41,727 of 74,630
Edit: btw, you should check out the Kubes, Sabia's and ANN200s of the world. They are older Indonesian earbuds, yet they sound great and are enjoying a resurgence of popularity now. I'd be interested to see how you feel they compare to the apple buds.

20190424_100257.jpg

So, I've still got my minty 'new' 2007 apple earbuds that came with my iPod Classic Video 80GB (which is still my daily driver after all these years).
I've only used it for 5-10 hours (really not sure), and only even opened the packaging last summer/autumn when I first compared it to my Kubes.
(I've also got at least one more new (never used) still in it's packaging that came with a pre 2010 iPod nano, and possibly another in an iPod shuffle box somewhere...)

Like most buds, I can't use it without foam or there is huge bass roll-off.

My verdict is that it's quite different to MX500-shell based buds.
These have a different fit to the other buds, so if like me you can't get the best fit without actually pushing the buds slightly closer to your ear canals, you will hear considerable bass roll-off.
When looking at MX500 based buds, holding the 'stalk' up vertically, you notice the bud doesn't come out exactly perpendicular, but points slightly upwards.
The apple iBud (is that it's name? :) ) does point directly perpendicular to it's stalk.

The absolute best sound from these buds I heard was WITHOUT foam, and manually applying pressure to get a better bass response.
In this instance, they do get close to competing with the other buds pictured above, but sub-bass is still very much lacking. Soundstage was also minimal, but that could be due to the bad fit.

WIth full foam, bass is VERY bloated and mid-bass focused. Not a good sound, but soundstage improved.
Donut foams provided the best compromise for my personal use, but I don't really see myself using these when the other sound better to me, simply due to the better fit.
In any case, I always thought there was some tonality issues in the midrange too.
I think I might be able to use these with those extremely thin 'itchy' looking foams, but I don't have any at home to try.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend them, especially to MX500-based bud lovers.
Even the Vidos just sounded more open, airy and articulate, with none of the obvious lack of bass.
 
Apr 24, 2019 at 9:00 AM Post #41,728 of 74,630
I picked my red RW-9 today and have round 1 hour burn so far using my phone.

Just got back home and put the faom (100pcs per Usd) and listening again on my desktop setup.

Just curious what type of foam you guys use to squeeze the best SQ from this, since I notice there's a lot of donut supplied with the bud.

OOTB the sound did not disappointed me especially for the price. Easy recommendation.

Edit.

Rw-9 just passed my acid test, Aisaka Yuka - Hikari Hikari track. The most difficult track to pleased in my listening collection.
 
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Apr 24, 2019 at 9:07 AM Post #41,729 of 74,630
I picked my red RW-9 today and have round 1 hour burn so far using my phone.

Just got back home and put the faom (100pcs per Usd) and listening again on my desktop setup.

Just curious what type of foam you guys use to squeeze the best SQ from this, since I notice there's a lot of donut supplied with the bud.

OOTB the sound did not disappointed me especially for the price. Easy recommendation.

I like the idea of the donut foams and for some earbuds they really make a pleasant difference to tweaking/refining the signature...but I hate how impractical they are. At first when they're still a bit tight it's fine, but as they become stretched it's so heard to keep them centred on the bud, especially as they tend to move when placing the buds in my ears.
 
Apr 24, 2019 at 9:35 AM Post #41,730 of 74,630
Sharing some photos I just took from my ST-10 equiped with my fresh received pure 7N copper cable, looks great, incredible sound, I'm so happy! :)





That cable is one of top ranked on the budget chi fi cable thread right? (Although it's not exactly budget at around $95). Both the electrical measurements and subjective opinion of the guy who tested like 100+ cables said it was one of the best. Clean sound and solid bass.

I was thinking of buying this wire in bulk to make my own cables. How is the quality to feel and is it flexible enough?

Also in your opinion does it alter the sound?

It really looks great and I like how thick and the purity of the copper is nice. I think pure copper cables is the way I want to go as I value a full low end and a warmth in the mids. So if these cables do make a difference that's the sound I'd be looking for on my Mojito and some other earbuds.
 
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