I finally found a way to get a comfy fit for my NiceHCK ME80, I used the ear hooks which came with my K's LBB, the material is extremely soft, it has the feel and texture of gummy candy and they do lift off the weight of the earbud from my ears.
Earbuds Round-Up
- Thread starter ClieOS
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Thanks to you guys for making the Puresounds PS100 500ohms sound so interesting. Now, should it be "pop" or "classic"? 
Anyone know if the 2 versions make them different sounding earbuds or just a slight tuning variation for the different tastes?
Anyone know if the 2 versions make them different sounding earbuds or just a slight tuning variation for the different tastes?
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I had the opportunity to audition a Fiio EM5 today at a local audio shop.
Very good set in terms of sound. Great organic timbre and superb technicalities. Wide soundstage. Very balanced tuning with good midbass slam, and it isn't as rolled off in the subbass as most other earbuds. Though it won't beat the SMABAT series in the subbass department (in terms of subbass extension/quantity). Mids are forward but not harsh/shouty, treble quite well extended for a earbud.
The EM5 seems to be warmer than the NiceHCK EBX21 and has a slightly thicker note weight. Technicalities between these 2 earbud behemoths are very close.
But the big elephant in the room is the fit. I thought that the NiceHCK EBX21 was bad in fit, the Fiio EM5 is worse for me, it kept dropping out of my ears even with thickening the fit with foam. But YMMV as we have different ear anatomies. The cable is non detachable too, so that loses points in my book (the rep kept harping that the EM5 has some interchangable modular plugs at the end to incorporate different balanced/unbalanced terminations, but I rather have the option of using different aftermarket cables and even BT adapters with a detachable earbud). This summitFI earbud is one awkward yank away from being a white elephant, if the proximal non detachable cable dies, who cares about the distal modular changable plugs?
The EM5 is also very expensive (for a earbud), and diminishing returns exist compared to the budget earbuids. So I would suggest for those that wanna get EM5, best audition first if possible, as the fit may be iffy, and as @palestofwhite had also experienced multiple QC problems. Or second option is buy from somewhere where u can return it (eg Amazon), just in case the fit is not suitable. IMHO, it is no point having a heavenly sounding set, but it don't fit well and you don't get the optimal sound.
Very good set in terms of sound. Great organic timbre and superb technicalities. Wide soundstage. Very balanced tuning with good midbass slam, and it isn't as rolled off in the subbass as most other earbuds. Though it won't beat the SMABAT series in the subbass department (in terms of subbass extension/quantity). Mids are forward but not harsh/shouty, treble quite well extended for a earbud.
The EM5 seems to be warmer than the NiceHCK EBX21 and has a slightly thicker note weight. Technicalities between these 2 earbud behemoths are very close.
But the big elephant in the room is the fit. I thought that the NiceHCK EBX21 was bad in fit, the Fiio EM5 is worse for me, it kept dropping out of my ears even with thickening the fit with foam. But YMMV as we have different ear anatomies. The cable is non detachable too, so that loses points in my book (the rep kept harping that the EM5 has some interchangable modular plugs at the end to incorporate different balanced/unbalanced terminations, but I rather have the option of using different aftermarket cables and even BT adapters with a detachable earbud). This summitFI earbud is one awkward yank away from being a white elephant, if the proximal non detachable cable dies, who cares about the distal modular changable plugs?
The EM5 is also very expensive (for a earbud), and diminishing returns exist compared to the budget earbuids. So I would suggest for those that wanna get EM5, best audition first if possible, as the fit may be iffy, and as @palestofwhite had also experienced multiple QC problems. Or second option is buy from somewhere where u can return it (eg Amazon), just in case the fit is not suitable. IMHO, it is no point having a heavenly sounding set, but it don't fit well and you don't get the optimal sound.
I can see why fit was a problem as mentioned before, though my ears played pretty well with them when I had them. The majority of problems I experienced were usually related to the cable and the interchangeable plugs could be the main culprit and a point of failure down the road. That being said, I still feel they should be priced much lower, perhaps in the range of the RW-2000.
I will take the RW-2000 any day for its built and better accessories. I have since also let go of the Sun Dice due the heavy weight and Dendroaspis Viridis. The Toneking is actually really good for classical, jazz or vocals if you are into those, but I could not deal with the lack of of low ends.
RikudouGoku
Member of the Trade: RikuBuds
How does the RW-2000 bass compare to the EM5? You have both If I remember correctly.
EM5 has the upper hand in bass department, both in quantity and quality. Perhaps one of the best in any earbuds I tried.
But that is not to say RW-2000's bass is not good. I prefer the RW-2000 because the overall sound is smoother and not as shouty as the EM5.
viktor3000
New Head-Fier
Guys, I really liked the sound of ps 100-260. I don't know what to choose and buy ps 100-500 balanced classic or yinman600?
mtl171
100+ Head-Fier
Both
Darn. Thats a real shame. I'm almost afraid I'd purchase it, like it lots then have the cable fail, and not be able to score a replacement D: Thanks for all your information!Unfortunately, all the PureSounds earbud models were discontinued sometime late 2017/early 2018
and what remains is unsold stock (New Old Stock).
After hearing a few different PureSounds earbud models at a mobile audiophile meet-up in mid-2018 I was beyond stunned by their awesome sound (most especially the 600S "Pop" and "Classic" versions) but sadly found that I was too late to the game as I could not find them anywhere to buy. Later in December 2008, by a stroke of luck, I was offered a pair (by a member of this thread) on a trade.
The PS100-500 "Pop" and "Classic" models you see offered on AliExpress could either be the "Original" version or the "S Version". Probably "Original" version as they are listing the sensitivity as 96 dB/mW (which is listed on the original packaging for both versions). The "S" version was ever so slightly less sensitive and tested at 95 dB/mW. Really, the only true way to know if it is the "S" version is by the white-colored serial number bar code sticker that they affix on the back of the box like so:
"S" Version c2017 (left pic); "Original Version c2016 (right pic)
The "Original" version is indicated as PS100-600Ω whereas the "S" version is listed as PS100-600S... everything else is exactly the same.
Just to be super clear: PureSounds PS100-260 ≠ Yinman 600 or even PureSounds PS100-500. They are completely different sound signatures... so far from being similar to your PureSounds PS100-260.
Also, the Yinman 600 and PureSounds PS100-500 are actually a challenge to drive from a mobile source and usually requires an amp being 600Ω @ 95 dB/mW (Yinman) and 500Ω @ 95-96 dB/mW! (PureSounds). For reference your PureSounds PS100-260 are/were much easier to drive from a mobile source being only 260Ω @ 102 dB/mW.
Again I must iterate, the Yinman 600 earbuds are the second hardest pair of earbuds to drive that I know of after the PureSounds PS100-600 (600Ω @ 93 dB/mW!).
With that all said and understood, I think many of us would recommend the Yinman 600 between the two as the PureSounds PS100-500 earbuds are a discontinued product and no longer supported (it appears that a 12-month warranty is still available via PureSounds' Official Store on Taobao for discontinued production clearance stock --- see link below in the next post by @palestofwhite) whereas the Yinman 600 are and they have detachable cables which many members on this thread prefer.
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Both
Darn. Thats a real shame. I'm almost afraid I'd purchase it, like it lots then have the cable fail, and not be able to score a replacement D: Thanks for all your information!
It seems that they have a shop on Taobao, but you'll need to be able to read or purchase from there.
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Nice find there mate! Even though all the earbuds are unsold stock (new old stock) they are offering a 12-month warranty which I say is pretty fair for a discontinued earbud!
"Discontinued production and warehouse clearance, warranty for 12 months, maintenance after sale..."
@viktor3000
There appears to be two (2) remaining PS100-260s! You may be in luck.
Nice find there mate! Even though all the earbuds are unsold stock (new old stock) they are offering a 12-month warranty which I say is pretty fair for a discontinued earbud!
"Discontinued production and warehouse clearance, warranty for 12 months, maintenance after sale..."
@viktor3000
There appears to be two (2) remaining PS100-260s! You may be in luck.
I'm really tempted to get the 600S in 4.4mm. Anyway I will be receiving the K's 300 Samsara next week, so I don't know if I really need another high impedance pair or if the 600S are drastically better?
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Hello earbud people. I really like the Smabat ST-10s Black Gold and would like to know if other owners of them feel like the given foams/silicon kind of hold the sound back. The foam darkens/muffles the sound and the silicon makes the sound brighter but also more narrow. I haven't tried them without covers yet, I should probably do that...but I do also wanna know what y'all use to make the ST-10s sound just right, in your opinion.
I use full foams with them. Yeah agree the full foams do muffle the sound and clarity a tinge. But without foams, the 3 kHz area is a bit too sharp for me.
Silicone rings as you say make the sound brighter.
I have heard the following versions (variants) of the PureSounds PS100-600:
PS100-600 3.5 Unbalanced "Classic"
PS100-600 2.5 Balanced "Classic"
PS100-600S 2.5 Balanced "Pop" (I ended up owning a pair of these)
To my ears there wasn't a huge difference between "tuning" ("Classic" vs "Pop"). The mids are slightly more forward on the "Pop - Vocal" aka "S" version (just noticeably so in the lower to middle range, nothing too extreme though). I found that the "S" sounded the best with ambient electronica which usually has a lot of soft details in the lower mids. The "Classic" tuning/version focuses more on the middle to upper range to capture the timbre of a lot of instruments so is definitely better tuned for classical and/or acoustic music in my opinion.
I would definitely be mulling over a pair myself again if it wasn't for the fact that I now have the Ks Bell-Ti 120Ω which have easily replaced the PureSounds for me.
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