Alex.Grimm
100+ Head-Fier
loving the bass of v1, with some sparkles and soundstage of v2
Earbuds Round-Up
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loving the bass of v1, with some sparkles and soundstage of v2
mochill
Headphoneus Supremus
Deeper bass then v1 and bigger soundstage without sacrifing treble.
mochill
Headphoneus Supremus
Your welcomeThanks guys
Hi everyone,
I've lurked on this thread for a while and found some great earbuds!
I have a friend who just asked me for recommendations in the $10-20 range. He said noise isolation doesn't matter to him, so I recommended the VE Monk+ or Yincrow X6. However, he needs a built-in mic, which neither of those have.
Does anyone know of a good pair with a mic? He said he's willing to go up to $30 if needed.
Thanks in advance!
I've lurked on this thread for a while and found some great earbuds!
I have a friend who just asked me for recommendations in the $10-20 range. He said noise isolation doesn't matter to him, so I recommended the VE Monk+ or Yincrow X6. However, he needs a built-in mic, which neither of those have.
Does anyone know of a good pair with a mic? He said he's willing to go up to $30 if needed.
Thanks in advance!
I think vido comes with a mic option, its basically very close to x6.
awesome, thank you.
mochill
Headphoneus Supremus
:-O:-O:-O:-O:-O:-O:-O How much , and more information pleaseWhat happened in China stays in China.
Willber
1000+ Head-Fier
The new B40 has received a lot of praise on here, and rightly so. I find it significantly better than the Monk+, X6 and Vido (although the X6 and Vido have more bass quantity). It is my favourite of all my buds:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000120453244.html
Another option is the Headroom MS16, also one of my favourites:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32828318200.html
flamesofarctica
100+ Head-Fier
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EDIT - sorry, this is longer than I thought!
Ok so here is my comparison of the various PK type earbuds I've got recently, these being..
NiceHCK B40
DIY SR2 16ohms TPE wire
DIY PK2 32ohms TPE wire
DIY 150 ohms transparent film 'vocal' OFC
DIY PK1 150 ohms red film (black, stiff cable)
DIY PK1 150 ohms red film 5N SCC
Been holding off as I'm not great at describing this stuff, and please remember these are just to my ears. Mostly playing pop/rock and a bit of metal.
All bar the B40 (obviously) were bought from a mix of 2 Ali stores but seem to be available on both: Chitty's store and DIY Earphone Tribe Store. Not sure if there's any relation between the two stores, they seem very similar in stock.
The first of these I bought hooked me in, the DIY SR2.
Originally sounding quite odd and veiled, after a few hours play these really opened up and made anything I played sound somewhat more exciting. Not perfect clarity, but a nice fun listen and suited a whole range of rock / pop. These became my go-to earbuds pretty much immediately and got me ordering a few others..and soon after,they broke. My fault, I think.. I fell asleep wearing them and got them in a right old tangle, when I next tried them I could only get sound from one earbud. I instantly ordered another set, but it's reminded me to take care as the cable is really very thin on these. Enjoying the new set equally, taking care with them and hoping they last.
In the meantime, the others started to arrive and I also ordered the B40 in the lucky bag offer. The B40 arrived pretty quick, and I liked them a lot - enough to order a second as a gift, and a third as a spare (why do I buy spares, have enough earbuds without them). More forward sounding, and more clarity. Really nice sounding, pretty much faultless in fact - and different enough from the SR2 to make both a worthwhile purchase. Neither have screeching highs, but I'd say the SR2 is more relaxing yet in its own way a more fun listen. Not great at describing these things, but signature-wise the SR2 put a bigger smile on my face.
I'll skirt across the PK2 quickly, as it hasn't really had a look in. It didn't sound bad at all on first listen, but didn't draw me in as much as the others on this list, so hasn't had its fair chance to impress.
The 150ohm 'transparent film' earbud I got wasn't the TPE wire - I spotted some with a nicer wire which were still reasonably priced. And it's really nice, reminds me a bit of the wire on the Blox B320. Quite rubbery and malleable, no memory or microphonics whatsoever. I wish the SR2 had this cable. Anyway, I really like this one, I can see why they mention vocals, the mids are excellent although the whole presentation is nice and smooth. Nothing too accentuated. This and the DIY PK1 seem to react better to a bit of power, so have mostly used with my Cayin N5 and/or using an amp, rather than less powerful sources, although they actually sound decent on the Shanling M2S and RUIZU A50 as well. Basically, not for a cheapo smartphone like mine.
The DIY PK1 with the stiff black cable - I think this is the 'OFC silver plated' wire used on the 'SR2 PRO', and wow it's an odd cable. It just wants to coil up and pull the earbuds out due to its weight (the metal splitter doesn't help). Microphonics too. I've worked out if I put them in my ears and position the earbuds in a wearing down position, then keeping some cable down, looping the next length of cable in an over-ear position, they'll stay in. And it's worth it, these sound fantastic. Less forward than the B40, these sound great across all ranges, nicely balanced between bass, mids and treble, plenty of clarity, you can really lose yourself in the music with these in. Recommend them wholeheartedly for sound alone - that cable however, it would be better used building wire fences or something.
Which is why I splashed out and got a set of similar with a nicer cable, the '5N SCC' which I have no idea what it stands for. These sound every bit as good, possibly the highs tamed a little but they're just more practical to wear, nicer looking and with a much nicer plug.
So there you go. I can definitely say, there's not a bad one amongst them provided no more break in which case I'll revise my opinion.
In short, IMO,
DIY PK1 (nice cable) > DIY PK1 ('orrible cable) > SR2 & 150 ohm transparent film & NiceHCK B40 >= DIY PK2
Ok so here is my comparison of the various PK type earbuds I've got recently, these being..
NiceHCK B40
DIY SR2 16ohms TPE wire
DIY PK2 32ohms TPE wire
DIY 150 ohms transparent film 'vocal' OFC
DIY PK1 150 ohms red film (black, stiff cable)
DIY PK1 150 ohms red film 5N SCC
Been holding off as I'm not great at describing this stuff, and please remember these are just to my ears. Mostly playing pop/rock and a bit of metal.
All bar the B40 (obviously) were bought from a mix of 2 Ali stores but seem to be available on both: Chitty's store and DIY Earphone Tribe Store. Not sure if there's any relation between the two stores, they seem very similar in stock.
The first of these I bought hooked me in, the DIY SR2.
Originally sounding quite odd and veiled, after a few hours play these really opened up and made anything I played sound somewhat more exciting. Not perfect clarity, but a nice fun listen and suited a whole range of rock / pop. These became my go-to earbuds pretty much immediately and got me ordering a few others..and soon after,they broke. My fault, I think.. I fell asleep wearing them and got them in a right old tangle, when I next tried them I could only get sound from one earbud. I instantly ordered another set, but it's reminded me to take care as the cable is really very thin on these. Enjoying the new set equally, taking care with them and hoping they last.
In the meantime, the others started to arrive and I also ordered the B40 in the lucky bag offer. The B40 arrived pretty quick, and I liked them a lot - enough to order a second as a gift, and a third as a spare (why do I buy spares, have enough earbuds without them). More forward sounding, and more clarity. Really nice sounding, pretty much faultless in fact - and different enough from the SR2 to make both a worthwhile purchase. Neither have screeching highs, but I'd say the SR2 is more relaxing yet in its own way a more fun listen. Not great at describing these things, but signature-wise the SR2 put a bigger smile on my face.
I'll skirt across the PK2 quickly, as it hasn't really had a look in. It didn't sound bad at all on first listen, but didn't draw me in as much as the others on this list, so hasn't had its fair chance to impress.
The 150ohm 'transparent film' earbud I got wasn't the TPE wire - I spotted some with a nicer wire which were still reasonably priced. And it's really nice, reminds me a bit of the wire on the Blox B320. Quite rubbery and malleable, no memory or microphonics whatsoever. I wish the SR2 had this cable. Anyway, I really like this one, I can see why they mention vocals, the mids are excellent although the whole presentation is nice and smooth. Nothing too accentuated. This and the DIY PK1 seem to react better to a bit of power, so have mostly used with my Cayin N5 and/or using an amp, rather than less powerful sources, although they actually sound decent on the Shanling M2S and RUIZU A50 as well. Basically, not for a cheapo smartphone like mine.
The DIY PK1 with the stiff black cable - I think this is the 'OFC silver plated' wire used on the 'SR2 PRO', and wow it's an odd cable. It just wants to coil up and pull the earbuds out due to its weight (the metal splitter doesn't help). Microphonics too. I've worked out if I put them in my ears and position the earbuds in a wearing down position, then keeping some cable down, looping the next length of cable in an over-ear position, they'll stay in. And it's worth it, these sound fantastic. Less forward than the B40, these sound great across all ranges, nicely balanced between bass, mids and treble, plenty of clarity, you can really lose yourself in the music with these in. Recommend them wholeheartedly for sound alone - that cable however, it would be better used building wire fences or something.
Which is why I splashed out and got a set of similar with a nicer cable, the '5N SCC' which I have no idea what it stands for. These sound every bit as good, possibly the highs tamed a little but they're just more practical to wear, nicer looking and with a much nicer plug.
So there you go. I can definitely say, there's not a bad one amongst them provided no more break in which case I'll revise my opinion.
In short, IMO,
DIY PK1 (nice cable) > DIY PK1 ('orrible cable) > SR2 & 150 ohm transparent film & NiceHCK B40 >= DIY PK2
Last edited:
rkw
Headphoneus Supremus
A Yuin style shell. Is it metal or just coated plastic?
waynes world
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
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Either you look like this when you're trying to put them on, or you look like this after trying to put them on!:
You will have to be gentle with any of them. Those were actually very nice ones. You have to stretch them little by little evenly all the way around. You will think you have one part over the shell and it will pop off again. After a few times you cry and try some moreFinally it works. It would help to have 20 tiny finger. It takes me between 5 and 20 minutes per side to get them on.
Crying is another option. Been there done that!
Great impressions! Do you have a link for the DIY PK1's? I haven't purchased an earbud in the last hour, and I'm feeling the itch lol
Willber
1000+ Head-Fier
Make sure you stretch them first. This will loosen them and also warm them up and make them more pliable.
