[baskingshark]

Been steadily reading this thread for the last few days, and pushed myself to make an account. Could anyone possibly help a noobie out with recommendations for MMCX cabled buds? Build quality is important to me, so i've been looking at a couple of the tone kings, but I'd like to hear an opinion in 2021. I'd be willing to spend around $100 but would be willing to possibly extend to $150ish if it's really worth it. I'm also not against stopping at lower prices, if something like the toneking 400s (i see aliexpress links for 50ish? if that isn't a scam) can fill the bracket out.

A few more details if you would, so that the community can finetune their suggestions better:

1) What are the music genres that you usually listen to?
2) What are your preferred sound signatures? eg V shaped, basshead, bass averse, treble head, treble sensitive, midcentric, neutral etc?
3) What source are you using? Low powered smartphone or you have some amps on hand?

 

[Podster]

Notice a lot of Buds upgrade cables convo and thought I'd throw this out there however I have no clue what cable this is Hungry Panda upgraded these Sony's with but they sure sound sweet Sure missing the Panda

This ius how you keep working an iPhone 4

 

[vLEGIONv]

A few more details if you would, so that the community can finetune their suggestions better:

1) What are the music genres that you usually listen to?
2) What are your preferred sound signatures? eg V shaped, basshead, bass averse, treble head, treble sensitive, midcentric, neutral etc?
3) What source are you using? Low powered smartphone or you have some amps on hand?

1)I'm all over the place. There's only a handul of genre's I outright avoid, and that's classic rock, country pop, and country rock. I am just as inclined to spend an afternoon listening to outlaw country, as I am to spend an afternoon listening to modern hiphop. I'll then spend the next day listening to post-rock and guttural slam

2)I have no real preference, and I'm not sensitive to boosted ends of the spectrum. I have mild hearing damage and the "shouty peaking trebles" people complain about have never been an issue for me.

3) Desktop - Tascam US-2x2HR > Schitt Magni Heresy.
Phone - Tempotec sonata
Player- FIIO M3 Pro


I know the answers to 1 and 2 leave me vague, but I don't mind switching headphones for genre changes or moods. I'm also not against picking up more then one pair, just not all at once . If it isn't too much to ask, I'd love recommendations in each sound signature, but sets for certain genres would be cool too!
Was never the case when I was sticking with over the ears (I own q701's and sundara's), but I've been impressed and interested in IEMS and earbuds for the last threeish months. I haven't really touched my traditional headphones since then, and have already ballooned to 9 pairs of iems and 6 pairs of earbuds. Earbud wise however, I don't own anything over $20.

Thanks for spending the time to help, haven't seen any very recent recommendations similar to what I'm asking for. Most of the round up recommendations are from a year or two or more, and MMCX is very underrepresented in that.

 

[emusic13]

I've never had an earbud from Indonesia before. Time to see in 2 weeks if its worthy of the name

 

[baskingshark]

1)I'm all over the place. There's only a handul of genre's I outright avoid, and that's classic rock, country pop, and country rock. I am just as inclined to spend an afternoon listening to outlaw country, as I am to spend an afternoon listening to modern hiphop. I'll then spend the next day listening to post-rock and guttural slam

2)I have no real preference, and I'm not sensitive to boosted ends of the spectrum. I have mild hearing damage and the "shouty peaking trebles" people complain about have never been an issue for me.

3) Desktop - Tascam US-2x2HR > Schitt Magni Heresy.
Phone - Tempotec sonata
Player- FIIO M3 Pro


I know the answers to 1 and 2 leave me vague, but I don't mind switching headphones for genre changes or moods. I'm also not against picking up more then one pair, just not all at once . If it isn't too much to ask, I'd love recommendations in each sound signature, but sets for certain genres would be cool too!
Was never the case when I was sticking with over the ears (I own q701's and sundara's), but I've been impressed and interested in IEMS and earbuds for the last threeish months. I haven't really touched my traditional headphones since then, and have already ballooned to 9 pairs of iems and 6 pairs of earbuds. Earbud wise however, I don't own anything over $20.

Thanks for spending the time to help, haven't seen any very recent recommendations similar to what I'm asking for. Most of the round up recommendations are from a year or two or more, and MMCX is very underrepresented in that.

U can check out the smabat st10s black gold. Neutralish with subbass boost (so it hass the best subbass extension and quantity I have heard in a earbud, that subbass area is usually a weakness of earbuds).

Do note it has different tuning from the black silver version. The black gold needs amping, otherwise the 3 khz area is a bit hot.

BK2 (if u can still find it) is cheap and MMCX detachable. Neutralish though bass lite. Soundstage not the best but it has a cold timbre and is something different from the warmer buds.

 

[earfanatic]

Notice a lot of Buds upgrade cables convo and thought I'd throw this out there however I have no clue what cable this is Hungry Panda upgraded

If i am not mistken, You can buy textile cord (like snakeskin) and pull your cable in the middle.

 

[Lovehepburn]

Hello good people!
I've just read like 200 pages but haven't found out something I initially came here for: is there any type of consensus or common view in the community on which are 2-3 best sounding earbuds on the market if price no object? Something like Empire Ears Odin or Erlkönig but from earbuds world? Or at least a u12t analogue.)
Thank you and sorry for the stupid question.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Hello good people!
I've just read like 200 pages but haven't found out something I initially came here for: is there any type of consensus or common view in the community on which are 2-3 best sounding earbuds on the market if price no object? Something like Empire Ears Odin or Erlkönig but from earbuds world? Or at least a u12t analogue.)
Thank you and sorry for the stupid question.

Firstly, welcome to the fold and be forewarned "here be a very deep rabbit hole".

Secondly, we generally have avoided rankings on this thread as it had caused us some problems before... years ago an "earlier" version of this thread had a ranking list but it caused such a period of disagreement that it was eventually taken down in order to maintain the peace. No one would could agree to disagree . Plus, everyone has their own listening, tuning, cabling, and shell-type preferences.

Thirdly, there are quite a number of god-tier level earbuds (aka totl flagship flathead earbuds) available now for varying listening tastes and source types. The following is not a ranking but rather a quick recommendation list of what is currently available with a ballpark price range in USD$. Please note there is a rather strong "YMMV" in effect here, as everyone's ears and tastes vary greatly . If you see a particular brand and/or model missing it most likely is for a very good reason... no longer available and/or difficult to source; continuing, unresolved QC issues; piss poor customer service; or some other concerning business practice.

• Audio-Technica "Iron Triangle" ATH-CM2000TI (16Ω; $400-450)
• Blur Earbuds (16-400Ω; $75-350; custom-made, please see here)
• DQSM Audio Turandot (16Ω; $175-225)
• DQSM Audio PD21 (32Ω; $200-250; 4-strand cable version recommended)
• FiiO EM5 (32Ω; $300-350) Suffered some QC issues
• Moondrop Chaconne (24Ω; $300-350)
• Newbsound 32pro * (32Ω; >$100; custom; formerly BBB - Bisoy Buds Black, see here)
• NiceHCK EBX21 (32Ω; $200-250)
• PISLO by ArtVano PX HIFI (31Ω; $600-700)
• PISLO by ArtVano PXVV * (32/122Ω; $750-800)
• Rose Technics Maria II (14Ω; $350-400; widest staging of any earbud I have heard)
• •*•*•*•*•*•*• PT2021 (147/275/365Ω; $50-100; 32Ω version not recommended)
• Shozy 大黑 Big Black (BK) Stardust (16Ω; $150-200; a reissue of the original)
• Simphonio SW-Dragon 3 Plus (120Ω; $500-550; aka "SWD3+")
• Venture Electronics (VE) Sun "Dice Edition" (180Ω; $275-300; Aluminum/Steel)
• Venture Electronics (VE) Zen 2 (320Ω; $125-175) Suffered some QC issues
• Yincrow 野牛 'Bison' RW-2000 (16Ω; $125)
• Yincrow 天牛 'Heavenly Cow' RW-3000 (16Ω; $300)

* I have yet to personally listen to this particular model but they are highly regarded and recommended by reliable sources so I have added them to the list.​

Updated Last on 17 FEB 2022 --- Apologies, this List is No Longer Supported and/or Updated ---​

And finally, here are some other helpful ranking lists, outside of Head-Fi, that you may find interesting: RikudouGoku's Earbuds Ranking; Luna's Earbud Ranking; Metaller's Earbuds Ranking; ClieOS' Old Earbuds Round-Up Ranking

 

[Lovehepburn]

Firstly, welcome to the fold and be forewarned "here be a very deep rabbit hole".

Thank you very much for the warm welcome and great recommendations! I've been using iems and portable headphones for years. But at some point few days ago found and tried on my old Yuin Pk1 (btw, how audiophiles treat those nowadays?) and decided that I still liked the form-factor. You get a wider and deeper soundstage than with iems and way better comfort than with headphones. Maybe you're losing some details and bass impact, but at the same time the sound is so natural and realistic. That's basically what I'm looking for- a neutral all-rounder with no compromises. As few flaws as possible, as much fun and technicalities as can be. I do like stage, details, good bass, rich mids and detailed treble.
Thanks again!

 

[jestercow]

I've never had an earbud from Indonesia before. Time to see in 2 weeks if its worthy of the name

I've added and removed these from my cart probably a dozen times since last week, please let us know how they sound! I may hop on board but I'm just not ready to be a guinea pig for this experiment

 

[furyossa]

If i am not mistken, You can buy textile cord (like snakeskin) and pull your cable in the middle.

Snake skin or any thin cable for paracord. You can see some beautiful examples on this post

 

[Podster]

Snake skin or any thin cable for paracord. You can see some beautiful examples on this post

Indeed there are and nice collection yourself It took me a while to really appreciate just how good some Buds are, I attribute a lot of that to the late Mr. Hungry Panda and some of the excellent examples he gave me. Until he sent me these in the foreground my Monks were my faves.

 

[furyossa]

Snakeskin is better for protection, and for adapter cables or other non-earphones cables is a good choose. I would not recommend it for earphone cable because the cables will become stiffer. Paracord cable is softer and is good for aesthetics

 

[40760]

Should be receiving my Yinman 600 by today. Fingers crossed.

 

[XP_98]

Thank you very much for the warm welcome and great recommendations! I've been using iems and portable headphones for years. But at some point few days ago found and tried on my old Yuin Pk1 (btw, how audiophiles treat those nowadays?) and decided that I still liked the form-factor. You get a wider and deeper soundstage than with iems and way better comfort than with headphones. Maybe you're losing some details and bass impact, but at the same time the sound is so natural and realistic. That's basically what I'm looking for- a neutral all-rounder with no compromises. As few flaws as possible, as much fun and technicalities as can be. I do like stage, details, good bass, rich mids and detailed treble.
Thanks again!

If Yuin shell is mandatory for you, you have the SWD3. You can also check about the Super Nightingale II that I am selling...
But if your ears accept other shell form factors, from my personal experience, the Sun Copper and Zen SU (same shell) are end games. But keep in mind they need powerful amping to really shine, like most earbuds with higher impedance.