[WoodyLuvr]

I'm open to any earbuds style. I use MX style at home (branded as HTC, bundled with an old phone), without any form, lazy fit just for listening to non hifi stuff on my laptop. Not sure what bell or new age style are. I use the foam on the Yuin, simply to get a more secure fit.
Cheers

Yincrow X6

New style are marked green. They are in most cases metal shells (bell-shaped or funnel-shaped) with stem or no stem (with MMCX connectors)

In addition to @furyossa's excellent reply above you can check out this co-authored post here that discusses the various earbud shell types.

 

[furyossa]

You can never have too much bass! Love the ST10s Gold, so these may be very interesting.

You are right if you mean sub-bass but for mid-bass, no

 

[WoodyLuvr]

It depends a lot on the quality of the plastic they use. But as we know none of them can predict whether the user will change drivers often and I think it is definitely not meant for frequent driver changes. In addition to this connector, driver cover can be equally damaged at the point where it joins the shell

Yes. These type of wire-to-wire connectors are heavily used in electronic items utilizing battery packs and they tend to fail after a certain amount of use. A very good point there about the driver shell cover. But I do still think this is the right direction for earbuds to go and maybe a mini-sized magnetic based connector could be created for this high-usage scenario along with a replacement friendly shell (cover).

 

[baskingshark]

oh, thats a shame I guess. Did you buy the other variations though? Are they like filters (big change) or switches (gimmicky) for iems?

I didn't buy the other driver modules though as I don't have soldering skills. But a friend of mine bought the ST10S Black Gold driver and soldered it into the M2 Pro and he said it sounds rather close to the original ST10S Black Gold, for much cheaper.

I'm pretty sure the sound is influenced more than the driver though, even the earbud shell shape, vents, damping materials and shell materials will for sure influence the sound, even with the same driver.

 

[furyossa]

@WoodyLuvr

Yes. These type of wire-to-wire connectors are heavily used in electronic items utilizing battery packs and they tend to fail after a certain amount of use. A very good point there about the driver shell cover. But I do still think this is the right direction for earbuds to go and maybe a mini-sized magnetic based connector could be created for this high-usage scenario along with a replacement friendly shell (cover).

Yes, this is right direction but needs more improvement. There are some very durable materials used for example, for vape atomizers parts:
Polyether ether ketone (PEEK), Delrin and ULTEM. There are more but they are not cheap. I don't know how smart it would be to use a magnet here because there might be a conflict with the driver magnet.

 

[furyossa]

I didn't buy the other driver modules though as I don't have soldering skills. But a friend of mine bought the ST10S Black Gold driver and soldered it into the M2 Pro and he said it sounds rather close to the original ST10S Black Gold, for much cheaper.

I'm pretty sure the sound is influenced more than the driver though, even the earbud shell shape, vents, damping materials and shell materials will for sure influence the sound, even with the same driver.

100% correct answer. It's simple: different shell = different sound although it is the same driver. Also, even if we have the same shell but different size of inner cavity, again the sound will not be the same.

 

[shenshen]

100% correct answer. It's simple: different shell = different sound although it is the same driver. Also, even if we have the same shell but different size of inner cavity, again the sound will not be the same.

Exactly, this is honestly precisely why the DIY earbud scene flourishes to the extent it does and why I find this realm of audio so damn interesting.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

100% correct answer. It's simple: different shell = different sound although it is the same driver. Also, even if we have the same shell but different size of inner cavity, again the sound will not be the same.

Exactly, this is honestly precisely why the DIY earbud scene flourishes to the extent it does and why I find this realm of audio so damn interesting.

I am trying to find the article and the name of the speaker-designer which escapes me at the moment (the ole' gray matter failing me) but he commented that consumers would be very surprised (and in some cases royally pissed off) to know that: one, that many speaker manufacturers actually use the same drivers (or the same driver materials) as there is really not as wide of a choice in the supply-chain than one would believe and two, that most of these drivers (whether manufactured, custom-built, or in-house made) measure incredibly similar to one another and if carefully matched and tuned properly can be from completely different sources, easily fooling consumers' ears. He went on to say that the magic begins with the enclosure... the shape, size, and design utilized and how the driver is implemented. I probably have bastardized what he had said but hope I got the spirit of what he was trying to get across. I would be interested in hearing how accurate his comments are in regards to limited supply and enclosure design being paramount as it appears to be the same case with DIY earbuds.

 

[furyossa]

I am trying to find the article and the name of the speaker-designer which escapes me at the moment (the ole' gray matter failing me) but he commented that consumers would be very surprised (and in some cases royally pissed off) to know that: one, that many speaker manufacturers actually use the same drivers (or the same driver materials) as there is really not as wide of a choice in the supply-chain than one would believe and two, that most of these drivers (whether manufactured, custom-built, or in-house made) measure incredibly similar to one another and if carefully matched and tuned properly can be from completely different sources, easily fooling consumers' ears. He went on to say that the magic begins with the enclosure... the shape, size, and design utilized and how the driver is implemented. I probably have bastardized what he had said but hope I got the spirit of what he was trying to get across. I would be interested in hearing how accurate his comments are in regards to limited supply and enclosure design being paramount as it appears to be the same case with DIY earbuds.

When we take a closer look at the shape of earbuds and how the whole system works, we can freely say that they are the closest to loudspeakers aka the miniature speakers.
The driver itself is placed on the outside and the enclosure, i.e. the shell, is designed so:
#1 the pressure on the back of the driver is properly regulated via the vent system which allows free movement of the diaphragm in an enclosed space
#2 size and shape of inner cavity should be designed to not allow direct reflection of back sound waves into the driver which cause vibration

 

[Tapir Tost]

When we take a closer look at the shape of earbuds and how the whole system works, we can freely say that they are the closest to loudspeakers aka the miniature speakers.
The driver itself is placed on the outside and the enclosure, i.e. the shell, is designed so:
#1 the pressure on the back of the driver is properly regulated via the vent system which allows free movement of the diaphragm in an enclosed space
#2 size and shape of inner cavity should be designed to not allow direct reflection of back sound waves into the driver which cause vibration

So which of the current earbuds/shells are designed the best in your opinion? I've been reading this thread the past few days, and you seem to know a lot.

 

[RikudouGoku]

So which of the current earbuds/shells are designed the best in your opinion? I've been reading this thread the past few days, and you seem to know a lot.

I dont think there is a best design out there, otherwise everyone would be using it.

What does seems to be true however, is that these TOTL/high-tier buds rarely use MX500/PK shells and they tend to be more "bell" shaped (K, Moondrop, Yincrow, ETC) . So these bell shaped design should be better than MX500/PK shells judging from that.

 

[furyossa]

So which of the current earbuds/shells are designed the best in your opinion? I've been reading this thread the past few days, and you seem to know a lot.

Probably most used shells in earbud world are MX500 by Sennheiser (supports 15.4mm drivers) I always had problem with it to get good fit so if I have to choose buds with this driver size then I prefer more "bell" or "funnel" shaped type with short stem. This shape also allows for a double way of wearing (upright and over the ears).
Current comfort and fit "KING" is K's Bell lineup.

Similar plastic shell with "Bell" shape (FAAEAL Z-Sound)

Now "funnel" shaped type is more widespread and is divided into 3 subgroups:
- convex arc > characteristic shape for TONEKING lineup, Astrotec Lyra etc.
- angled shape > some models from Moondrop use this form
- concave arc > this shape provide the best fit and can be seen in models such as: Smabat M2 Pro, HE150Pro, TY Hi-z F32MT, HIFI BOY Dream etc

If we look at for example the classic type of shells such as MX500 there are several models of shells worth mentioning, comfort and fit wise

DP100 by Beyerdynamic provide slightly better fit than MX500

And below you can see the winners
K314P by AKG

Another very interesting pair of buds that provide great comfort and fit are Quan39 aka. "sleeping" buds and Quan69

As for 14.8mm driver size one of the most popular shell is PK.

But IMO, one of the most comfortable shells with an almost perfect fit and a great vent system is DOCOMO shell. Hands down!

BTW ... If you are interested in different type of shells you can check amazing post by Mr. @WoodyLuvr

 

[Lionlian]

Can't recommend the 'Faaeal Datura Pro' enough

.... its love's presentation and timbre is 'Goddess of Love'

 

[furyossa]

Can't recommend the 'Faaeal Datura Pro' enough

.... its love's presentation and timbre is 'Goddess of Love'

I assume you use compensation file with EQ?

 

[Lionlian]

yes perfect with my own EQ and mid-bass boots