[The3DCie]

For now, enjoy listening to your favorite lists and "don't go crazy" with 70dB+ because sneaky tinnitus waits behind the corner

Ha ha, no worries here, my ears don't like anything loud, even good music!
When I'm going to a concert (well, when there actually are concerts, which are hard to find right now!... ) I always wear ear protections to avoid tinnitus when going back home.

 

[furyossa]

Nobody should try to push 250 mW into anything......

Planar's and DJ headphones are power hungry and some old-school models

 

[furyossa]

Ha ha, no worries here, my ears don't like anything loud, even good music!
When I'm going to a concert (well, when there actually are concerts, which are hard to find right now!... ) I always wear ear protections to avoid tinnitus when going back home.

Busy street + earbuds it’s pretty much like you’re at a concert. Same thing for open-back headphones.
External noise and the music mix with each other and all this energy negatively affects hearing
IEM's are for outside,if you really have to listen to music, their main purpose is to block the external noise at least -15dB to -30dB (passive noise isolation)
ANC headphones are another solution but most of these not sound good when ANC is ON.

 

[The3DCie]

Busy street + earbuds it’s pretty much like you’re at a concert. Same thing for open-back headphones.
External noise and the music mix with each other and all this energy negatively affects hearing
IEM's are for outside,if you really have to listen to music, their main purpose is to block the external noise at least -15dB to -30dB (passive noise isolation)
ANC headphones are another solution but most of these not sound good when ANC is ON.

Nah, it's just the force of habit: I'm hearing what I can hear of my music (which I know so well my brain reconstruct the sections I can't really hear! ) and enjoy fully at other moments when external noise isn't as pronounced.

Anyway, no matter what, my iPhone or iPod never go above 40/50 % of volume, and the buds act as some sort of ear protections instead, even if (a lot) less effective than any IEM!
But I'll trade sounds from the street with that "stethoscope" effect I don't like when walking with IEMs in my ears 100% of the time!

 

[furyossa]

Nah, it's just the force of habit: I'm hearing what I can hear of my music (which I know so well my brain reconstruct the sections I can't really hear! ) and enjoy fully at other moments when external noise isn't as pronounced.

Anyway, no matter what, my iPhone or iPod never go above 40/50 % of volume, and the buds act as some sort of ear protections instead, even if (a lot) less effective than any IEM!
But I'll trade sounds from the street with that "stethoscope" effect I don't like when walking with IEMs in my ears 100% of the time!

You are 100% right. That's why I mentioned: "if you really have to listen music outside".
The "stethoscope" effect is the reason why I much prefer earbuds over big IEM's.
I like small IEM's where the mentioned effect is less pronounced. Still my favorite pair that I don't even consider IEM is Superlux HD381.
There are a lot of old models that look quite similar and use a 13.5mm driver (Sony, Philips etc) but are hard to find since they have been discontinued.
Nozzle + open front cover design is rarely used nowadays because there is no sound insulation but the sound effect (in this case the soundstage) is what really fascinates me

 

[RikudouGoku]

You are 100% right. That's why I mentioned: "if you really have to listen music outside".
The "stethoscope" effect is the reason why I much prefer earbuds over big IEM's.
I like small IEM's where the mentioned effect is less pronounced. Still my favorite pair that I don't even consider IEM is Superlux HD381.
There are a lot of old models that look quite similar and use a 13.5mm driver (Sony, Philips etc) but are hard to find since they have been discontinued.
Nozzle + open front cover design is rarely used nowadays because there is no sound insulation but the sound effect (in this case the soundstage) is what really fascinates me

The Fiio FD5 should be interesting to you then. Semi-open (doesnt affect sound, only to remove pressure) and a huge and airy soundstage.

 

[furyossa]

The Fiio FD5 should be interesting to you then. Semi-open (doesnt affect sound, only to remove pressure) and a huge and airy soundstage.

I know about FD5, but they are a little above my budget BTW... I really like the design and the technology they used in this model, and it doesn't seem gimmicky to me.
Also, this is not a design that I mentioned in the previous post. FD5 has semi-open-back design. By "open-front cover" I mean this one. The open surface on the front side may be larger than the cover of ordinary earbuds.

 

[RikudouGoku]

I know about FD5, but they are a little above my budget BTW... I really like the design and the technology they used in this model, and it doesn't seem gimmicky to me.
Also, this is not a design that I mentioned in the previous post. FD5 has semi-open-back design. By "open-front cover" I mean this one. The open surface on the front side may be larger than the cover of ordinary earbuds.

Havent seen that type of vents on iems before lol.

Not sure if I call the FD5 vents a gimmick or not. Because they dont really affect the sound much and is more for pressure allevation.

 

[llysender]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but are there any earbuds with thinish/neutural bass with high slam and vocal focused?

 

[furyossa]

Not sure if I call the FD5 vents a gimmick or not. Because they dont really affect the sound much and is more for pressure allevation.

Exactly these back vents are for pressure relief. How do you rank FD5 and compare with KBEAR Believe?

Havent seen that type of vents on iems before lol.

You can find many similar earphones that have this design, but they have 1-3 small holes at the front for pressure relief.
On Superlux and other models which I showed a moment ago, the openings at the front let sound through.
Some see this as a negative trait (sound leakage) and probably because of that this design is less used.
But because sound leak from the front and goes towards the ear canal, if an ear tip is used that does not seal the ear 100% then an additional sound is heard
which is very interesting.

 

[Sam L]

I liked Datura X for its lively sound (still have it, it's in the next batch of "gifted to charity" buds) and very good isolation (for earbuds, of course), probably due to the metal shell which is quite heavy! (a lot heavier than Datura Pro, for example)
The only thing that I don't like is the cable, which is quite thin but also quite rigid, which is painful when wearing them over the ear as they almost "cut" the back of my ears!

The Datura Pro is now probably the best sounding audio gear I have, with @Sam L EQ!
I was quite liking the original tuning, although it was very mid-centric, but with @Sam L EQ (and with your help it seems) they sound no less than fantastic, a revelation!!

I see that @Sam L hasn't posted for a few days now, I hope he is well!

Thx for the concern! I'm alive and well, just been super busy looking for a job, while hustling on the side to make ends meet.

Glad you got to experience the Datura Pro compensated and thanks to @furyossa for constantly highlighting the virtues of the driver in it. After the FR is adjusted, the Datura Pro is such a phenomenal value. I don't have very many high end earbuds to compare to but I'd take the compensated Datura Pro over my smabat s10s (blk/silver) or my rambo II, no contest.

 

[baskingshark]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but are there any earbuds with thinish/neutural bass with high slam and vocal focused?

- FAAEAL Datura Pro (non EQ version).
- Ry4S 300 ohm (needs amping as per the high impedance).
- perhaps BK2.

 

[DBaldock9]

Planar's and DJ headphones are power hungry and some old-school models

I've got some 20 year old Beyerdynamic DT-831 Headphones (250-Ω, 96dB/mW), that require a fair amount of power, to play with a sound of "authority".

 

[furyossa]

I've got some 20 year old Beyerdynamic DT-831 Headphones (250-Ω, 96dB/mW), that require a fair amount of power, to play with a sound of "authority".

Wow! They look really cool. I like "stained-glass cross-shaped" cuts on the cups, Semi-open back?
I think the designers were inspired by the windmill

I will post this also

 

[WoodyLuvr]

I've got some 20 year old Beyerdynamic DT-831 Headphones (250-Ω, 96dB/mW), that require a fair amount of power, to play with a sound of "authority".

I see why... 25 mW @ 2.5V to reach 110 dB SPL and 251 mW @ ~8Volts!!! to reach 120 dB SPL. All about the voltage requirement with these cans !