[furyossa]

The idea of DIY earbuds is interesting to me but I don't like the idea of buying a bunch of tools for it and the shipping times are too long for me. Would you happen to know if newer earbuds have technical improvements over older ones? Or is it not really like cellphones that improve every year?

Yes and no. Every year new models are released that use more advanced technology, with earbuds it is mostly a new diaphragm material.
Last year, the DLC (diamond-like carbon) driver was presented, which gained great popularity with some IEMs and Earbuds. This year, the first DD that uses pure beryllium was introduced, unfortunately not with earbuds. All these new technologies are expensive and drastically raise the price of the product.
In most cases, a higher price does not justify quality control, especially for products coming from China.
These drivers have great potential but that doesn’t mean every model that uses them has good sound.
I think that in the past, much more attention and time was devoted to tuning the sound than today
If you follow this forum, you have probably noticed that older models are mentioned a lot.
People love them, not because of fancy materials but because of the great "nostalgic" sound
BTW... I don’t like older cell phones as much as older buds

 

[axhng]

talking about older models.... finally got my hands on these...

 

[povidlo]

talking about older models.... finally got my hands on these...

Looking forward to your impressions!

 

[furyossa]

talking about older models.... finally got my hands on these...

And? How comfortable they are? Sound signature?
If I'm not mistaken, the original design was taken from Sony?
These two has a similar "hook" design
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Headphones-SHS3300BK-drivers-open-back/dp/B01564J0LO
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/THOMSON-HED161-N-Sport-Clip-On-Headphones/dp/B000VS3NCS

 

[axhng]

And? How comfortable they are? Sound signature?
If I'm not mistaken, the original design was taken from Sony?
These two has a similar "hook" design
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Headphones-SHS3300BK-drivers-open-back/dp/B01564J0LO
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/THOMSON-HED161-N-Sport-Clip-On-Headphones/dp/B000VS3NCS

oh man, i just remember I actually had that exact philips earbuds many many years ago. don't remember anything of it though, just that i used it while jogging. lol.

for the A.Air, haven't spend too much time with them, but initial impressions are that it sounds fairly neutral. soundstage is probably the highlight here with good details, but feels like that airiness does make it sound a little lean overall. Treble is decently extended too, so instruments like violins, cymbals, all sounds natural to me. Though upper mids is a little subdued for my personal taste and music preference. For example, the nicehck ME80 has more upper mids than the A.Air, and it's at a level that is just nice for me. So maybe anyone who finds the ME80 a bit too shouty might enjoy this a bit more, but i think for now i'm still leaning towards the ME80 a bit more. Both are really enjoyable in their own way though. I was expecting it to be competent, but maybe not the most value for money now (since it is over a decade old now), and that's pretty much the case. the non-removable cable probably doesn't help too. But have to give it to Creative for their packaging though. great presentation, nice carrying case, and all. Also kudos to them for still making these for sale. I was expecting to get really old "clearance" stocks, but my unit's "QA Passed" date on the bottom of the box is 12/2019, which is more recent than I thought they would be. lol.

the earhooks are a nightmare for me though especially because i'm wearing glass already. So instead of keeping the earbuds in place, it's pushing it out. I was only able to get a good fit after removing the hooks, and after that it's great. the left/right markings are on the hooks though. the shorter stem makes it a little harder to handle while putting them on, but once in place they feel weightless. since they're lighter than the ME80. That's about it for now. will update if my impression changes as I use them more.

 

[furyossa]

oh man, i just remember I actually had that exact philips earbuds many many years ago. don't remember anything of it though, just that i used it while jogging. lol.

for the A.Air, haven't spend too much time with them, but initial impressions are that it sounds fairly neutral. soundstage is probably the highlight here with good details, but feels like that airiness does make it sound a little lean overall. Treble is decently extended too, so instruments like violins, cymbals, all sounds natural to me. Though upper mids is a little subdued for my personal taste and music preference. For example, the nicehck ME80 has more upper mids than the A.Air, and it's at a level that is just nice for me. So maybe anyone who finds the ME80 a bit too shouty might enjoy this a bit more, but i think for now i'm still leaning towards the ME80 a bit more. Both are really enjoyable in their own way though. I was expecting it to be competent, but maybe not the most value for money now (since it is over a decade old now), and that's pretty much the case. the non-removable cable probably doesn't help too. But have to give it to Creative for their packaging though. great presentation, nice carrying case, and all. Also kudos to them for still making these for sale. I was expecting to get really old "clearance" stocks, but my unit's "QA Passed" date on the bottom of the box is 12/2019, which is more recent than I thought they would be. lol.

the earhooks are a nightmare for me though especially because i'm wearing glass already. So instead of keeping the earbuds in place, it's pushing it out. I was only able to get a good fit after removing the hooks, and after that it's great. the left/right markings are on the hooks though. the shorter stem makes it a little harder to handle while putting them on, but once in place they feel weightless. since they're lighter than the ME80. That's about it for now. will update if my impression changes as I use them more.

Thanks man. This is a very nice review and presentation. Are you sponsored perhaps by Creative?

 

[axhng]

Thanks man. This is a very nice review and presentation. Are you sponsored perhaps by Creative?

thanks! but no, not sponsored. haha. I just like taking photos of stuff?
or maybe it's just from being used to reviewing other stuff like phones. lol.

 

[furyossa]

Very cool. We all know that a good presentation sells the product.
For background, you are using "EVA" foam in different colors or ...?
Yamaha buds (+ mmcx) look awesome. They remind me of Kinera TYR, except that Kinera uses a micro DD 6mm. I guess Yamaha has a BA.

 

[axhng]

Very cool. We all know that a good presentation sells the product.
For background, you are using "EVA" foam in different colors or ...?
Yamaha buds (+ mmcx) look awesome. They remind me of Kinera TYR, except that Kinera uses a micro DD 6mm. I guess Yamaha has a BA.

the background is just from a pack of A3 sized construction paper in different colours. The yamaha eph-200 are using 6mm DD as well actually, but yeah, the design was a big part of why i bought them.

 

[FantaStik]

Wonderfull. It's really great collection!

 

[furyossa]

the background is just from a pack of A3 sized construction paper in different colours. The yamaha eph-200 are using 6mm DD as well actually, but yeah, the design was a big part of why i bought them.

You said 6mm micro DD. Interesting. Do you know how the eph-200 compares to Kinera TYR?
I love the small DD buds. My current favorite is the Meze Audio lineup.

It's also very challenging to tune them. Last year I bought MSUR C210 for my DIY project. It uses an 8mm beryllium coated driver, the quality of the workmanship is excellent except for the cable. This model is the worst tuned earbuds I've ever tried. More challenge for me
The main problem is channel imbalance and the bass bleeds across all frequencies (bass through the roof). This is the power of beryllium when it is not adjusted properly
I replaced the stock cable and start "burn-in" for a few days. This mod will fix the channel imbalance but the bass is still too strong. The vent on the backside is too open.
I added some wool and foam material inside the shell to reduce the inner cavity and seal a bit the back vent. This softens the bass and also pushes the mids slightly forward,
but for Bery, this is not enough. The next step was to drill a hole in front of the driver (near the nozzle) to release the pressure.
There I made a stupid mistake and accidentally punctured the driver with a drill
No matter how it ended, I learned a lot from this project so the next one went well.
These small drivers are stubborn and much more challenging than classic MX500 and PK drivers.

 

[MelodyMood]

Hello Friends. Hope all are doing well. I am facing some issue and I am sure you all will be encountering the same. As you know that now Mobile Companies started following Apple blindly and not providing 3.5mm Jack, it has become almost impossible for me to buy new phone as I use phone (and a paid Music Player Software) to listen to the songs. But the phone needs upgrade now. One option is to buy 1-2 years old model like S10 or S10+ and see if any good phone comes with headphone jack in next 3-4 years. I have few earbuds and I don't want to use connector and don't want to just leave them too. I have Monk+, TP-16, FiiO EM3, Fengru etc. and many more earbuds. But none will be compatible with latest phones. I don't want to use Bluetooth even if Samsung or these companies made me Brand Ambassador and pay me Millions of $$$s to use them their phone with Bluetooth. And 1-2 phones which are having 3.5mm Jack, wither they are very basic with poor specs or too heavy to carry (much more than 170 grams).

Does anyone knows if these earbuds are available with C Type Connector also. Or similar earbuds which has good bass and with Mic are available in C Type? Any help will be highly appreciated. If none is available, then I will buy S10 or S10+.

I am also wondering if we can order and built our own High end Phones with the specs these companies provide. I know that the cost of the phone for these companies are not more than $200-300 so even if we build one set only, it will not cost more than $1000. But not sure how and where to order the parts required for that? Thanks.

 

[MelodyMood]

Hello Friends. Hope all are doing well. I am facing some issue and I am sure you all will be encountering the same. As you know that now Mobile Companies started following Apple blindly and not providing 3.5mm Jack, it has become almost impossible for me to buy new phone as I use phone (and a paid Music Player Software) to listen to the songs. But the phone needs upgrade now. One option is to buy 1-2 years old model like S10 or S10+ and see if any good phone comes with headphone jack in next 3-4 years. I have few earbuds and I don't want to use connector and don't want to just leave them too. I have Monk+, TP-16, FiiO EM3, Fengru etc. and many more earbuds. But none will be compatible with latest phones. I don't want to use Bluetooth even if Samsung or these companies made me Brand Ambassador and pay me Millions of $$$s to use them their phone with Bluetooth. And 1-2 phones which are having 3.5mm Jack, wither they are very basic with poor specs or too heavy to carry (much more than 170 grams).

Does anyone knows if these earbuds are available with C Type Connector also. Or similar earbuds which has good bass and with Mic are available in C Type? Any help will be highly appreciated. If none is available, then I will buy S10 or S10+.

I am also wondering if we can order and built our own High end Phones with the specs these companies provide. I know that the cost of the phone for these companies are not more than $200-300 so even if we build one set only, it will not cost more than $1000. But not sure how and where to order the parts required for that? Thanks.

Another query is if USB C Type earbuds will sound poor than 3.5mm? I think so. But not too sure about it. And there are few Earphones with C Type connector but they all are in-ear ones and no earbuds at all.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Hello Friends. Hope all are doing well. I am facing some issue and I am sure you all will be encountering the same. As you know that now Mobile Companies started following Apple blindly and not providing 3.5mm Jack, it has become almost impossible for me to buy new phone as I use phone (and a paid Music Player Software) to listen to the songs. But the phone needs upgrade now. One option is to buy 1-2 years old model like S10 or S10+ and see if any good phone comes with headphone jack in next 3-4 years. I have few earbuds and I don't want to use connector and don't want to just leave them too. I have Monk+, TP-16, FiiO EM3, Fengru etc. and many more earbuds. But none will be compatible with latest phones. I don't want to use Bluetooth even if Samsung or these companies made me Brand Ambassador and pay me Millions of $$$s to use them their phone with Bluetooth. And 1-2 phones which are having 3.5mm Jack, wither they are very basic with poor specs or too heavy to carry (much more than 170 grams).

Does anyone knows if these earbuds are available with C Type Connector also. Or similar earbuds which has good bass and with Mic are available in C Type? Any help will be highly appreciated. If none is available, then I will buy S10 or S10+.

I am also wondering if we can order and built our own High end Phones with the specs these companies provide. I know that the cost of the phone for these companies are not more than $200-300 so even if we build one set only, it will not cost more than $1000. But not sure how and where to order the parts required for that? Thanks.

I suggest either going the Fiio BTR5/qudelx 5k route OR a simple dongle like the Sonata HD pro.

LG phones (V and G series) have the 3.5mm jack left and has a very good quad dac in them, so check them out. Otherwise I would go with the dongle/bluetooth-dac/amp route and just get a budget phone from redmi, honor, xiaomi, Oppo, realme, vivo or poco phones.

(unless you can go with daps)

 

[MelodyMood]

I suggest either going the Fiio BTR5/qudelx 5k route OR a simple dongle like the Sonata HD pro.

LG phones (V and G series) have the 3.5mm jack left and has a very good quad dac in them, so check them out. Otherwise I would go with the dongle/bluetooth-dac/amp route and just get a budget phone from redmi, honor, xiaomi, Oppo, realme, vivo or poco phones.

(unless you can go with daps)

Yes. LG Phones are still providing Headphone Jack. I am waiting for V70 which will be released in Jan I guess. V60 is good too but the issue is that they are making phones to heavy. They all are 210 grams. My current phone is 153 gram and S10 is 157 and S10+ is also around 170. Even Budget phones RedMi, Honor, Oppo, Vivo etc. not providing 3.5mm Jack. They are bunch of fools who are just following Apple without thinking and many fools are even buying these phones too. I really want some Consumer Court to fine them Billions of $$$s for not providing 3.5mm Jack, I wish if that can happen.