moonnugs
New Head-Fier
Would you also recommend the silver ones? (impedance of 40 ohm). Or would much of the value of the ST-10s be lost at the lower impedance?
Earbuds Round-Up
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Would you also recommend the silver ones? (impedance of 40 ohm). Or would much of the value of the ST-10s be lost at the lower impedance?
Sorry, never tried the silver ones.
Sam L
Headphoneus Supremus
If you are on an android 9+ source, I so not recommend the silver version. There are a number of earbuds in the sub-$15 category that with Wavelet compensation sound better than the silver s-10s.
Sam L
Headphoneus Supremus
Ah, only 105 more for you!1500
moonnugs
New Head-Fier
really? please id love your recommendation. Im willing to spend up to $150 for a great pair of earbuds (flat) that you can wear over the ear, that have a slightly warm presentation, and arent TOO large (for example, i just had to return the $300 Fiio EM5 because they kept falling out of my ears and were just really uncomfortable). Also, i have a dac/amp (Fiio BTR5) that i carry with me so buds on the higher end of the impedance spectrum arent a problem -- i just like to have the option of being able to run them from my ipod touch.
rprodrigues
500+ Head-Fier
Sorry for the late reply.
For me, ME80 is a better set due to its more neutral signature compared to MX500. However, MX500 is a steal due to their price/SQ ratio.
Since I'm not good on describing sound characteristics, I think @RikudouGoku can give you a good description about their difference.
My bad here!
I forgot I have a M2 Pro with drivers from the gold ST-10s.
In addition, they are a little bit more large than my ears would like...
How would you compare the treble in your ME80 and ST-10s?
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RikudouGoku
Member of the Trade: RikuBuds
I might review the ME80 (and hopefully before the sale starts) since I havent had the time to carefully analyze the sound.
But from what I have gotten from just listening to it normally, is that it is a timbre and tonality king amongst my buds. But that the MX500 has a more airy sound and better technicalities.
(Take it with a grain of salt.)
I used to have the qian69 and thought it was a good design but normal earbuds.
This time I bought the qian39, a smaller earbuds with a PK shell diameter of 16.2mm, because I was curious about them.
The fit is great, but when right out of the box the sound was blurry and the bass was bloated.
After 30 hours of burn-in, with full earpads the bass was a little loud but the mid and treble were clearer and the overall sound was well balanced and satisfying.
If you're looking for PK shell earbuds in this thread due to fitment issues, I would definitely recommend this qian39 as budget earbuds for about $6, which is the same size and balanced sound.
EDIT:
What's more, it's a wide soundstage, a warm sound that you can listen to all night long while you sleep.
If you feel the sound too warm, you might want to use donut earpads.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32824719611.html
Thanks to @cqtek for the graph.
This time I bought the qian39, a smaller earbuds with a PK shell diameter of 16.2mm, because I was curious about them.
The fit is great, but when right out of the box the sound was blurry and the bass was bloated.
After 30 hours of burn-in, with full earpads the bass was a little loud but the mid and treble were clearer and the overall sound was well balanced and satisfying.
If you're looking for PK shell earbuds in this thread due to fitment issues, I would definitely recommend this qian39 as budget earbuds for about $6, which is the same size and balanced sound.
EDIT:
What's more, it's a wide soundstage, a warm sound that you can listen to all night long while you sleep.
If you feel the sound too warm, you might want to use donut earpads.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32824719611.html
Thanks to @cqtek for the graph.
Last edited:
dissociativity
100+ Head-Fier
qian 69 sound like a fuller, higher resolution qian 39.I used to have the qian69 and thought it was a good design but normal earbuds.
This time I bought the qian39, a smaller earbuds with a PK shell diameter of 16.2mm, because I was curious about them.
The fit is great, but when right out of the box the sound was blurry and the bass was bloated.
After 30 hours of burn-in, with full earpads the bass was a little loud but the mid and treble were clearer and the overall sound was well balanced and satisfying.
If you're looking for PK shell earbuds in this thread due to fitment issues, I would definitely recommend this qian39 as budget earbuds for about $6, which is the same size and balanced sound.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32824719611.html
Thanks to @cqtek for the graph.
I assure you the 39 isn't better, but the small shell is lovely.
M2 Pro is an interesting concept! Glad you got them.My bad here!
I forgot I have a M2 Pro with drivers from the gold ST-10s.
For me, the set is amazing due to its low-end extension. C contrariwise, it seems they lack a little bit of the treble extension I like. Anyway, due to the shape of the shells, I'm pretty sure they sound different than the original ST-10s.
In addition, they are a little bit more large than my ears would like...
How would you compare the treble in your ME80 and ST-10s?
Agreed on comfort. ME80 are more comfortable vs ST-10s for me as well, just like you feel vs M2 Pro.
For treble, doing a bit of A/B testing this morning on Paw S1 (which I don't think brings ST-10s Gold to their full potential but still sounds great) listening to Rejoice by Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela.
Signature-wise, ME80 sound brighter so at first seems like they have better treble extension. ST-10s have almost Sennheiser-like, darker tuning profile. However a proper listen shows that ST-10s Gold are generally better in the treble area, too. Notes coming from Masekala's flugelhorn have more texture and quality. Treble quantity and extension (I find both a little rolled off up there) are similar. To me, lows and mids on ST-10s are on another level, so treble appears less pronounced than on ME80.
ST-10s have an advantage of going balanced due to swappable cable. I use mine strictly balanced. Have you tried M2 Pro with a balanced connection to see if there's an improvement in treble extension?
Sam L
Headphoneus Supremus
are you running that into a macbook?M2 Pro is an interesting concept! Glad you got them.
Agreed on comfort. ME80 are more comfortable vs ST-10s for me as well, just like you feel vs M2 Pro.
For treble, doing a bit of A/B testing this morning on Paw S1 (which I don't think brings ST-10s Gold to their full potential but still sounds great) listening to Rejoice by Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela.
Signature-wise, ME80 sound brighter so at first seems like they have better treble extension. ST-10s have almost Sennheiser-like, darker tuning profile. However a proper listen shows that ST-10s Gold are generally better in the treble area, too. Notes coming from Masekala's flugelhorn have more texture and quality. Treble quantity and extension (I find both a little rolled off up there) are similar. To me, lows and mids on ST-10s are on another level, so treble appears less pronounced than on ME80.
ST-10s have an advantage of going balanced due to swappable cable. I use mine strictly balanced. Have you tried M2 Pro with a balanced connection to see if there's an improvement in treble extension?
Razer Blade Stealth (2017, gunmetal). It's like a Windows version of MacBook in terms of form factor.
Blackwolf14
New Head-Fier
Currently, I have ME80, B40 and RY4S UE. I like RY4S UE rather than others. But I have one issue. The left earbud louder than the right. Maybe the problem is 3.5mm jack. I don't know exactly. I am interested in RY4S Mmcx Plus and 300 Ohm version. Anybody faced this issue on Mmcx versions?
rprodrigues
500+ Head-Fier
@povidlo
Thank you for the comparison.
My M2 set also sounds a little bit dark.
It was assembled with a (supposedly) flat tuning filter but there is another tuning filter available. According to Smabat, that filter improves both mid and high regions. I will order it.
I've just done an A/B test with M2 and ME80. This is my first A/B test with them. M2 sounds indeed more refined. It is a pitty its shells hurst me after a while.
I've been using M2 single-ended with my Fiio K5 pro, which is a powerfull and very clean amp/dac set. Anyway, I will test the M2 with my E1DA 9038s as soon as I mod one of my spare cables.
Thank you for the comparison.
My M2 set also sounds a little bit dark.
It was assembled with a (supposedly) flat tuning filter but there is another tuning filter available. According to Smabat, that filter improves both mid and high regions. I will order it.
I've just done an A/B test with M2 and ME80. This is my first A/B test with them. M2 sounds indeed more refined. It is a pitty its shells hurst me after a while.
I've been using M2 single-ended with my Fiio K5 pro, which is a powerfull and very clean amp/dac set. Anyway, I will test the M2 with my E1DA 9038s as soon as I mod one of my spare cables.
