[MelodyMood]

FWIW, I've never heard the Monk Plus.

They are nice. Only that it lacks slightly more bass and little sub-bass can make it really really good earbuds. But still great value for money. Non Mic version is only $10 including shipping which is not bad at all. There will be at least 1000 review or comparison of Monk Plus across the internet.

 

[MelodyMood]

And also keep in mind Monk Plus (smoke edition) sound different than its SPC edition. I feel SPC edition is a nice bud for people trying stuff up to 20 bucks. I dont like the smoke edition, tho.

Source: I own both.

Brother. I am really looking to find comparison between Smoke and SPC. I am almost going to order one but not sure if 3X price of SPC is worth spending or not. Can you pls provide some more details on SPC compare to Smoke. What difference do you feel or hear in SPC compare to Smoke? I have Smoke but this is 2nd time it is broken so thinking of ordering 2 Qnty or may be order 1 SPC.

It will be highly appreciated if you can pls provide some view here. Thanks in advance.

 

[Kamen555]

Assuming you haven't been lurking, here are a number of interesting earbuds released since you have been away that may be of interest to you... many of which priced at a steal.

2020 - Ks Temperament 小黑铃 Bell-LBBs (30Ω; aka "New Little Black Bell S")​

2020 - Shozy SG (32Ω; first production were 36Ω)​

​

2021 - Faaeal Iris Ancestor (32Ω)​

2021 - JCALLY EP09 (32Ω)​

2021 - Q'labs #5 (32Ω; Red Concept)​

2021 - Smabat M0 (20Ω; DIY Modular Earbud)​

2021 - Smabat M2s Pro (40Ω; Modular Earbud)​

2021 - Shozy Cygnus II (32Ω)​

2021 - VE Monk Slim Metal PK Standard Edition (32Ω; aka "Monk SM") --- I haven't heard these yet ---​

2021 - NiceHCK B40 v2021 (32Ω; w/ or w/o mic... yes, the almighty B40 is back again!) --- I haven't heard these yet ---​

​

Hopefully, a few others will chime in with anything that I might have inadvertently missed.

Yea, that's quite a list!

I'm eyeing d smabat (one I can afford!) n K's LBBS...

Hopefully Ill get a try at them soon.

 

[wskl]

Nicehck's "Lucky draw" bag. What could it be?

Already answered by @uneri in post #57,399, it is the Qian39.

 

[nymz]

Brother. I am really looking to find comparison between Smoke and SPC. I am almost going to order one but not sure if 3X price of SPC is worth spending or not. Can you pls provide some more details on SPC compare to Smoke. What difference do you feel or hear in SPC compare to Smoke? I have Smoke but this is 2nd time it is broken so thinking of ordering 2 Qnty or may be order 1 SPC.

Sure, I'll try to resume it.

Normal smoke edition sounds veiled to me, like there's some layer between you and the sound, which I hate.
SPC let's it scale better and removes some of that veil. I feel it has slightly more detail and the mid bass is better, as it dont bleed as much into mids (which I really value). Sound stage is also slighly improved, but I think it's psycoaccousting from treble/detail.

I use it foamless, tho. I prefer clearer signatures and detail to bassy bloated signatures. I really believe VE stuff sounds better without foams or with donuts/non thick foams (Zen is the best example of this), but YMMV.

To be honest, I'd not order any of the two. Just grabed some buds from a box (trying to downsize) and did some very quick comparitions. My picks would be, within my collection:

** Warning: I know nothing about this hobby compared to people like @WoodyLuvr, @RikudouGoku or @furyossa, just to name some. My opinions should be taken with a grain of salt and you should seek opinions like these guy's over mine. I'm a music enthusiast who got into the hobby around April/May and got into the bud world even later. **

Under 20 USD:​

Signature​	Model​	Notes​
Bass	Yinxcrow X6	Used with full foams. One of the best basses in the bud hobby, despite the price. End-game to some. Chuck Norris approval. Can come with a mic on cable, 3.5mm.
Balanced	RY4S Plus 32ohm	Used foamless. Poor man's ZEN 2.0. Great value for price. Doesn't come with a cable, which is a pro and a con. MMCX connection.

Under 50 USD:​

Signature​	Model​	Notes​
Bass	M2S Pro	Used with donut foams. Golden driver is an upgrade, imo. Great bass. When used over-ear, gets a different signature, losing some mid/sub bass but gaining airy, clarity and detail, which I prefer. MMCX connection.
Balanced	LBBS	Used with stock full foams. Best bang-for-buck deal in the game, imo. Does everything right, only beaten by high-end stuff. Cable is not detachable tho, might have some small microphonics. End-game to most people. No mic/different cable selection, 3.5mm only.

Under 200 USD:​

Signature​	Model​	Notes​
Bass/Slight V-Shape/FUN!	Blur 266 PK32 32ohm "High Mountain Tuning"	Used with stock full foams. Best bud on my collection. Does everything right. Great detail and separation, even on very busy tracks. Huge sound stage and air. Best bass on my collection. Makes some more expensive IEMs sound like a robbery.
Balanced/Vocal oriented	Blur OFC MX64 "Special Tuning Edition"	Used with stock full foams. Tuned to bring out the best of vocals and genres lick jazz, classic, etc. Still has some of the best bass I've heard, only beaten by her brother PK32. Great detail and separation, even on very busy tracks. Huge sound stage and air. Makes some more expensive IEMs that focus on the same signature sound like a robbery.

Edit: tables got some crappy format after posting, sorry, tried my best.

 

[SiggyFraud]

Brother. I am really looking to find comparison between Smoke and SPC. I am almost going to order one but not sure if 3X price of SPC is worth spending or not. Can you pls provide some more details on SPC compare to Smoke. What difference do you feel or hear in SPC compare to Smoke? I have Smoke but this is 2nd time it is broken so thinking of ordering 2 Qnty or may be order 1 SPC.

It will be highly appreciated if you can pls provide some view here. Thanks in advance.

I found this review pretty helpful when I pondered buying Monk Plus SPC a few years back.

 

[Ronion]

So I wrote the piece to teach my little niece how to play in ensemble using a basic (with little variations) Cmaj scale for the easy/beginner upper piano part. I mixed it on the Yincrow X6 just for fun. Unfortunately the upload is seriously compressed, but it is what it is if you want a free hosting service. Let me know if the mix sound okay through your buds.

 

[nymz]

So I wrote the piece to teach my little niece how to play in ensemble using a basic (with little variations) Cmaj scale for the easy/beginner upper piano part. I mixed it on the Yincrow X6 just for fun. Unfortunately the upload is seriously compressed, but it is what it is if you want a free hosting service. Let me know if the mix sound okay through your buds.

Thanks for this share, awsome work and skills

 

[Ronion]

Thanks Nymz! I have to update the score yet: I rewrote the Cello and Violin part today and in truth it's still not exactly what I'm going for but it's close now. If my sample library was a bit more expressive and my keyboard had aftertouch and mod wheels it would sound better. I'd love to do it acoustically, but I'm lazy (truth). Just mixing a piano scares me. I bet I will when I'm completely satisfied.

 

[0b0d0]

Hello Head-fiers comrades, i would like to demand your help. I want out and i want to get something nice for my audio before that.

I gonna get a little amp and a DAC, maybe something like the Topping a50s ans d30 pro. And i want a nice pair of buds to go with it.
Mainly for gaming, in fact, as i tend, for quite a few tears now, to listen to a lot of talking (with intras) and just a little bit of music. Guess i need the focus on gaming to temporally forget what i learned. (The gaming is done on xbox one and will be done on a series x, if i manage to get one someday, so no usb-in for the DAC. Im' a Battlefield guy and i love immersive simulations and FPRPGs, from Morrowind to Dishonored)...

It got to be buds since that the one form factor for me. Only got a few of them, TG - 38S, RW-9, Aurvana Air, EP09, E1008 ( what a crappy cable, can't understand the point of having a nice braided low section with such a thin an fragile upper one)... And the first gen. EBX , which is my favorite for gaming.

Got my eyes on some reaaaally shiny things, since i decided to go " end-game " to really end my game, like, first of all, the Lyra Nature Limited Edition then the Maria II, . and the Chaconne (but as baskingshark would say, non removable cable at this price is a bit worrisome).

The EBX, sits a bit loose in my ears, with large-cells covers on them. Crisp is a word i read a lot in EBX reviews back in the days. Guess i like that. (It's a bit hot with quite some tracks, i admit). Would love big extension with a bit of subs, quick bass, clear and clean mids, airy trebble, a huge holographic soundstage and good overall technicalities...

So any more input on those ones and top tiers earbuds in general in the context of gaming would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance, head-fiers.

 

[fonkepala]

Depends what you want out of earbuds, I'd recommend against the ISN Rambo II largely due to comfort (heavy metal shells are hard to keep in place)...

Can confirm. I have the Hessian Ansata, the 'sibling' of the Rambo II. It gives me severe fit and comfort issues. The shells, while nicely built, are heavy and wouldn't stay in place. Tried all sorts of foam configurations to no avail.

 

[Ronion]

Did you try shark fins?

 

[northernsound]

Yincrow X6 is like a BLON BL-03 of the earbud world. Bassy and warm, non fatiguing. Good tonality and timbre, but bottlenecked in technicalities, like the BLON BL-03.

The Yincrow's X6 bass is textured and well extended though, which is different from the boomy and undefined midbass of the BLON BL-03.

Thank you for that info, after reading in this thread today I ordered the Yincrow X6 today to someone who prefers earbuds over IEMs but still want a warm sound signature.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Thank you for that info, after reading in this thread today I ordered the Yincrow X6 today to someone who prefers earbuds over IEMs but still want a warm sound signature.

Enjoy them.

 

[northernsound]

Enjoy them.

Thank you, I hope she will.