[Kalli]

I should get my ME80 and smabat st10s (gold) in a few days, but the sacrifices with buds are obvious and finding a "decent" fit is way, way harder for me than with IEMs/headphones.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the Smabat.

 

[Kalli]

Are earbuds in general a bad idea if I want to use them on the go (street, bus, train, plane)?

 

[digititus]

Are earbuds in general a bad idea if I want to use them on the go (street, bus, train, plane)?

If you enjoy sound isolation, then yes. If you want to hear your surroundings, then they are great.

 

[Kalli]

If you enjoy sound isolation, then yes. If you want to hear your surroundings, then they are great.

That's about 50:50 ...

Hearing my surroundings is fine, since I mostly listen to speakers when I'm at home. And I actually like that. Feels more natural to me. And it's obviously safer when being outside.
On the other hand, isolation/ANC does a pretty nice job if it comes to sound improvement in loud environments.

I had some earbuds in the past, and it was pretty annoying on the train. Pushing the volume up as much as possible to hear at least a bit when things get loud around me.

So it comes down to either earbuds + ANC (probably some TWS all-in-one device (Galaxy buds live?!?)) or IEMs + environment mode (IEM with detachable cable + TWS adapter with ENV mode (Shure TW1 adapter)).

Sound wise I really like the Shure Aonic 50 headphones. Pretty natural and detailed. The only downside is the portability on those. That's why I'm looking for something small. Since I don't like things deep in my ear I was hoping that earbuds are worth to look at.

 

[digititus]

That's about 50:50 ...

Hearing my surroundings is fine, since I mostly listen to speakers when I'm at home. And I actually like that. Feels more natural to me. And it's obviously safer when being outside.
On the other hand, isolation/ANC does a pretty nice job if it comes to sound improvement in loud environments.

I had some earbuds in the past, and it was pretty annoying on the train. Pushing the volume up as much as possible to hear at least a bit when things get loud around me.

So it comes down to either earbuds + ANC (probably some TWS all-in-one device (Galaxy buds live?!?)) or IEMs + environment mode (IEM with detachable cable + TWS adapter with ENV mode (Shure TW1 adapter)).

Sound wise I really like the Shure Aonic 50 headphones. Pretty natural and detailed. The only downside is the portability on those. That's why I'm looking for something small. Since I don't like things deep in my ear I was hoping that earbuds are worth to look at.

Personally, I will take IEM's everytime when in public spaces / transport. Earbuds for quiet places only. But that's me

 

[assassin10000]

That's about 50:50 ...

Hearing my surroundings is fine, since I mostly listen to speakers when I'm at home. And I actually like that. Feels more natural to me. And it's obviously safer when being outside.
On the other hand, isolation/ANC does a pretty nice job if it comes to sound improvement in loud environments.

I had some earbuds in the past, and it was pretty annoying on the train. Pushing the volume up as much as possible to hear at least a bit when things get loud around me.

So it comes down to either earbuds + ANC (probably some TWS all-in-one device (Galaxy buds live?!?)) or IEMs + environment mode (IEM with detachable cable + TWS adapter with ENV mode (Shure TW1 adapter)).

Sound wise I really like the Shure Aonic 50 headphones. Pretty natural and detailed. The only downside is the portability on those. That's why I'm looking for something small. Since I don't like things deep in my ear I was hoping that earbuds are worth to look at.

The buds live ANC is weak and will not do enough on a train or plane.


Sounds like you may want to get earbuds for most of your usage and then a pair of TWS that are IEM like for isolation for planes and trains.

I like my Mavin Air-XR's as they are a shallower fit IEM design. I use foam tips that just seal the outside/entrance of my ear canal and don't go in deep. Way more comfortable fit than most.

 

[rkw]

Are earbuds in general a bad idea if I want to use them on the go (street, bus, train, plane)?

They can work for casual listening (such as podcasts), but earbuds do not block outside sound and it may be difficult to listen to music without turning up the volume, perhaps to unhealthy levels. In a noisy environment such as a plane, isolation or ANC is needed to enjoy your audio.

 

[antdroid]

I'm just getting into buds but this is the biggest factor.... and much more difficult for me with buds than IEMs or over the ear sets. Fit is just wonky.

The FAAEL Snow lotus 1.0+ I have sounds very, very good.... IF I get them to seal ok. And even when I get them to seal ok it's just ok, not like an IEM seal and I'm still getting maybe 75% optimal performance?

If I press on them into my ears they sound much much better (and louder) and the bass stops leaking out. But you can't do that all the time....

I should get my ME80 and smabat st10s (gold) in a few days, but the sacrifices with buds are obvious and finding a "decent" fit is way, way harder for me than with IEMs/headphones.

Smabat ST10s gold is the closest I've heard to an IEM in terms of sound quality and full frequency response and note weight, so I'm pretty happy with those. I did EQ it a little bit so once you get it I can share my EQ with you if you are interested. It tones down a little bit of the shoutiness at 2KHz and I opted to prioritize subbass over midbass. Its one of the few ear buds I've tried that has low end bass response and good quality sound overall. I use it quite often now!

 

[Kalli]

Sounds like you may want to get earbuds for most of your usage and then a pair of TWS that are IEM like for isolation for planes and trains.

Since I'm in a train a lot, I should give IEMs a real shot I think.

They can work for casual listening (such as podcasts), but earbuds do not block outside sound and it may be difficult to listen to music without turning up the volume, perhaps to unhealthy levels. In a noisy environment such as a plane, isolation or ANC is needed to enjoy your audio.

Is IEM isolation on par with over-ear ANC? This would make an IEM + TWS/BT adapter a viable option.

 

[fokta]

I am new & learninh in earbud, and I will not let my eyes close for it. VE Zen 2.0 is great,
bought used one, still in good shape (but smell, previous owner was a heavy smoker... how you remove this?)
Got the XLR balance jack, and was thinking to reterminate to 4.4 TRRS...
sound impression, this earbud really represent Headphone characters... was astonished by the staging and the micro detail...
good gear for mobile usage... offcourse since its open back, need silence surrounding...

 

[baskingshark]

If I press on them into my ears they sound much much better (and louder) and the bass stops leaking out. But you can't do that all the time....

Are u using full foams or donut foams with your earbud?

One option is to buy aftermarket thicker foams. They sell like a 100 pieces for a dollar or so on Aliexpress. U can bring the foam against a light and see how much light it lets thru, and perhaps u can buy something with thicker density. Otherwise, put a second pair of full foams over the first pair (so u have 2 pairs), this will thicken the foam and perhaps give u a better fit.

One thing I found about buds is that sometimes u might have to wear them with the stem at a weird angle to give optimal fit. SMABATS have the option to be worn cable down or over ear, so hopefully that opens more fit options for u.

Are earbuds in general a bad idea if I want to use them on the go (street, bus, train, plane)?

I value hearing protection a lot, and I'd say earbuds are a bad idea for commuting. Transit noise can go to around 85 dB or so, and earbuds have zero isolation, so one may pump up the volumes to overcome the travel noise, not good for hearing health in the long term.

Secondly, most earbuds have poor subbass extension compared to IEMs, and bass is generally lost first in a noisy environment (I'm a basshead so can't be losing my bass haha).

Of course, YMMV, I have friends that want to use earbuds on the go for safety reasons. I'd still use buds for walking down the street, but personally won't use it on buses, trains and airplanes for hearing health.

 

[rkw]

Is IEM isolation on par with over-ear ANC?

They vary in isolation depending on the design and type of eartip. The highest isolation is deep insertion style such as Etymotic, which are highly effective and equivalent to wearing earplugs. I suggest that you purchase IEMs from a vendor that has a trial and return policy so that you can check isolation, fit, and comfort.

 

[XP_98]

Considering it's agreed, from all your answers, that the shell affects the sound, I will ask differently :
Do you think (for those who could compare), that the new shells, particularly Ourart QJ21, Bell ti, ..., assuming the fit is ok, can go further than "classical" shell TOTL (Turandot, swd2+, Red Dragon) ?
Do the new shells open doors to go further in SQ ?

 

[lijing]

KBEAR Stellar
15.4mm dynamic driver
Plug type: 3.5mm
Use for: music, games, calls, etc
Price:$3.69 - 3.99
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001351336216.html?spm=2114.12010611.8148356.3.16011640pHOS5D

 

[darmanastartes]

Question for you Smabat s-10s owners, particularly the black/silver model.

1. What do you love about the sound it produces?
2. What other earbuds do you love?

I spent a full hour tweaking the sound via EQ and find that they are really hard to tune. The biggest hurdle is working around the 2k spike and the huge 9k notch. My EQ philosophy is as follows:

1. simple is better. the fewest adjustments are preferred.
2. cut is better than boost.
3. no PEQ because my main source is my v60. Although I can use the PEQ in the qudelix 5k, I prefer the stock lg eq (it's really good, lots of headroom and very little distortion, not to mention the ability to label custom settings. sadly qudelix app does not allow saving label.)
4. I target the Harman IEM curve but not aggressive so as to compromise #1 and #2. I welcome preserving the individual uniqueness of the iem/bud.

Which brings me to the Smabat s-10s, these cannot be tuned anywhere close to the Harman curve without destroying the SQ. So now I'm going to take a break and read your input to inform what to target when I go at it again in a couple days.

I reviewed the ST-10S and the OG ST-10. What I liked about the ST-10S was the clarity and detail retrieval in combination with the sub-bass extension. I also thought it was a more mature tuning than the ST-10, which flaunted its bass response and had a more aggressive and exaggerated upper midrange. I loved the unique housing design as well. The OG ST-10 raised the bar in terms of higher-end earbuds having unique housing designs and not just shoving higher impedance drivers into generic shells and charging more. I appreciated that the MMCX connectors were integrated into the housing design, as opposed to the DIY-type connectors on many other earbuds that look very much tacked on.
As far as other earbud favorites, I also really like the Nicehck ME80, which is a wonderful starter earbud with a more balanced and agreeable tuning than either the ST-10 or ST-10S. The ME80 is not quite as good as either Smabat earbud in the detail retrieval department.