[yaps66]

Incoming from @RikudouGoku: Lancer 1 and Saber 1

 

[samandhi]

Longyao-Yinman龙谣音曼
2.0 600 Limited Edition; 600Ω

​

My new earbuds arrived! Very pleased with their performance thus far. Although warm-sounding their resolution and timbre is crazy good. And boy do they scale with power! Their rated sensitivity of 95dB ±3dB/mW is quite conservative as I am finding them to be much harder to drive than even my Puresounds PS100-600S (600Ω @ 93dB ±3dB/mW but definitely had felt they were actually sub 93 dB/mW in sensitivity). So I am thinking that these Yinmans are probably closer to 90-91dB/mW in sensitivity rather than 95dB/mW.

Due to recent high demand Longyao-Yinman has launched this all new 2022 model with fixed cabling only; Longyao imprinted jacks; and uses similar wooden shells with the long wooden stems as seen (used) on the Longyao-Yinman 龙谣音曼 DR08, Longyao-Yinman 龙谣音曼 DR09, and Longyao-Yinman 龙谣音曼 Green Bull 青牛 models. The original 2016 Yinman 音曼 600 fixed cable models did not utilize long wooden stems. More information at Longyao-Yinman Models Timeline.

They are shipped with the same extraordinarily well-made mini wooden box accompanied by the older Yinman 音曼 2.0 醇净 600 MMCX version. I was informed that although packaged & shipped in the same wooden box this is indeed a new model for 2022... they simply have hundreds and hundreds of these wooden boxes remaining in stock to use up. I don't mind as it is a very nice miniature box indeed!

Spoiler: Pics 2022 Longyao-Yinman 龙谣音曼 2.0 600 LE

So, I got the Yinman 600 2.0 today. I'll start with the packaging:

The box is not near as pretty as the one you got. It is raw wood, glued together. No stamps, or a finish on it. Really light and fragile pressboard. Just a sticker with Chinese writing saying "2.5 balanced". The contents weren't on a nice pillow like you got. They were simply placed in there. It looks like plenty of tips/donuts were included (of both black and white). The other major difference about the packaging (probably to make up for the crappy box) is the puck case they came in.

It is (I think) a faux leather exterior with plush foam in the inside. It is a zippered case and it is the exact same size diameter and depth as one I might get for iBasso IEMs or something to that nature. It does zip really easily too, so that is splendid.

As to the buds themselves:

They really are very nice looking, and the 2.5mm balanced connector is very well done and with a decent strain relief. The cable is surprisingly supple considering the coating that it appears to have. Two things that really concern me for longevity with the cable is there is no "Y" splitter or chin slider. It simply stops being wrapped. The other issue is that there are NO strain reliefs on the buds at all. OH! and they didn't send a cable wrap with mine either. This one isn't too big of an issue because I have plenty of spare ones. Just mentioning it because for the price paid, it seems as though they kinda' threw this package together.

The buds appear to be very well made, and they fit very well in my ears (pretty standard size IMO). I know that they needed to add the "shiny" protection to the wood, but the way they look, no one but me will know they are wood. If they left it the brown color that was the older model MMCX version, I would have liked it more. This is nitpicking, of course, and in the end I know, and they are really cool.

Having only heard them about an hour now, this may not be too accurate, nor permanent but with the right power, these do indeed sound really good. I started out with my tube amp card with my DX300 with SE only. While I was able to get enough volume (not for cranking though), it was indeed flat and lifeless (comparatively speaking). Next up was the Amp11.2 card (the stock card). It is capable of about 1.2W IIRC, and it sounded much better (being SS probably also gave it some more clarity and speed along with driving it better). Then I put in the holy grail; Amp12 card. This one is capable of 2W IIRC. Now we're starting to get where we need to be. So all of my testing/listening will probably be with the Amp12 card.

Man! Do these have some bass. It isn't a super heavy sub-bass (though it is pretty huge for an earbud; more than any other bud I have heard), though they do reach really low for a bud. It is like the entire bass region is boosted (low, mid, upper). And does it ever give off a warm feel. But the good news is that while the treble isn't overcooked at all, they have the kind of clarity mixed with warmth like you might get from a really good tube amp. Also, it is one of the first buds that seem to not be over boosted in the upper mids region in some way or another.

I don't want to say that that means the mids are recessed because (to my ears) they are not at all; just not shrill. I will have to say that the warmth that it has DOES make it a bit off tonally overall, but it does sound very good, nonetheless. The staging isn't as wide as something like the Maria II, but then what is? It is still fairly large and out of your head, like you would expect for an earbud.

I will have to give some time before I "cement" the following comment, but I think these might have just knocked the Chaconne and/or RW2000 off the throne in my castle (see what I did there? ). But, even without having much time on them, if one is looking for a TOTL sound from earbuds, and I think these will be top notch for "all-rounders" too, then these are definitely recommended by me.

For sound alone (and as an early impression and provided you have plenty of power to drive them), I would give these an S+ as @RikudouGoku would say, or God-tier as @WoodyLuvr would say.

OH! And also keep in mind, these are NOT forgiving of crappy .mp3 files (they sound like crap, and I think I can actually hear some distortion with them). Feed it well, and it will perform for you!

Pictures (BTW they didn't come with the foams on them, I put them on before snapping the pic):

Spoiler: Yinman 600 2.0

 

[samandhi]

This must be my day! I got an answer from Smabat regarding the dead 32 Ohm driver. Here is their reply (to which I said heck yeah) :

OK, you take a $1 link, I will send you a new pair of 32 euro drivers, OK?

Maybe I need to play the Lotto before the day ends?!

 

[WoodyLuvr]

So, I got the Yinman 600 2.0 today. I'll start with the packaging:

The box is not near as pretty as the one you got. It is raw wood, glued together. No stamps, or a finish on it. Really light and fragile pressboard. Just a sticker with Chinese writing saying "2.5 balanced". The contents weren't on a nice pillow like you got. They were simply placed in there. It looks like plenty of tips/donuts were included (of both black and white). The other major difference about the packaging (probably to make up for the crappy box) is the puck case they came in.

It is (I think) a faux leather exterior with plush foam in the inside. It is a zippered case and it is the exact same size diameter and depth as one I might get for iBasso IEMs or something to that nature. It does zip really easily too, so that is splendid.

As to the buds themselves:

They really are very nice looking, and the 2.5mm balanced connector is very well done and with a decent strain relief. The cable is surprisingly supple considering the coating that it appears to have. Two things that really concern me for longevity with the cable is there is no "Y" splitter or chin slider. It simply stops being wrapped. The other issue is that there are NO strain reliefs on the buds at all. OH! and they didn't send a cable wrap with mine either. This one isn't too big of an issue because I have plenty of spare ones. Just mentioning it because for the price paid, it seems as though they kinda' threw this package together.

The buds appear to be very well made, and they fit very well in my ears (pretty standard size IMO). I know that they needed to add the "shiny" protection to the wood, but the way they look, no one but me will know they are wood. If they left it the brown color that was the older model MMCX version, I would have liked it more. This is nitpicking, of course, and in the end I know, and they are really cool.

Having only heard them about an hour now, this may not be too accurate, nor permanent but with the right power, these do indeed sound really good. I started out with my tube amp card with my DX300 with SE only. While I was able to get enough volume (not for cranking though), it was indeed flat and lifeless (comparatively speaking). Next up was the Amp11.2 card (the stock card). It is capable of about 1.2W IIRC, and it sounded much better (being SS probably also gave it some more clarity and speed along with driving it better). Then I put in the holy grail; Amp12 card. This one is capable of 2W IIRC. Now we're starting to get where we need to be. So all of my testing/listening will probably be with the Amp12 card.

Man! Do these have some bass. It isn't a super heavy sub-bass (though it is pretty huge for an earbud; more than any other bud I have heard), though they do reach really low for a bud. It is like the entire bass region is boosted (low, mid, upper). And does it ever give off a warm feel. But the good news is that while the treble isn't overcooked at all, they have the kind of clarity mixed with warmth like you might get from a really good tube amp. Also, it is one of the first buds that seem to not be over boosted in the upper mids region in some way or another.

I don't want to say that that means the mids are recessed because (to my ears) they are not at all; just not shrill. I will have to say that the warmth that it has DOES make it a bit off tonally overall, but it does sound very good, nonetheless. The staging isn't as wide as something like the Maria II, but then what is? It is still fairly large and out of your head, like you would expect for an earbud.

I will have to give some time before I "cement" the following comment, but I think these might have just knocked the Chaconne and/or RW2000 off the throne in my castle (see what I did there? ). But, even without having much time on them, if one is looking for a TOTL sound from earbuds, and I think these will be top notch for "all-rounders" too, then these are definitely recommended by me.

For sound alone (and as an early impression and provided you have plenty of power to drive them), I would give these an S+ as @RikudouGoku would say, or God-tier as @WoodyLuvr would say.

OH! And also keep in mind, these are NOT forgiving of crappy .mp3 files (they sound like crap, and I think I can actually hear some distortion with them). Feed it well, and it will perform for you!

Pictures (BTW they didn't come with the foams on them, I put them on before snapping the pic):

Spoiler: Yinman 600 2.0

Excellent mini-review. Buying from China is, has been, and will always be an adventure... just like a box of chocolates! I wish you had received the same little box as I. Oh well.

Indeed, it can not be stressed enough that these high impedance low sensitivity drivers require power... UNLIMITED POWER!!!

Yes, they will play via the meagerest of sources but not well nor anywhere near to their true potential. This is not an understatement at all.

Agreed, although the bass is far from slamming it is rather present, extraordinarily deep, and extremely detailed making the overall bass resolution and presentation quite remarkable without any bleed into the midrange which is remarkable.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

This must be my day! I got an answer from Smabat regarding the dead 32 Ohm driver. Here is their reply (to which I said heck yeah) :


Maybe I need to play the Lotto before the day ends?!

Splendid news!

 

[Charlyro222]

Tantalus received, now some days on burn in.

 

[samandhi]

Excellent mini-review. Buying from China is, has been, and will always be an adventure... just like a box of chocolates! I wish you had received the same little box as I. Oh well.

Indeed, it can not be stressed enough that these high impedance low sensitivity drivers require power... UNLIMITED POWER!!!

Yes, they will play via the meagerest of sources but not well nor anywhere near to their true potential. This is not an understatement at all.

Agreed, although the bass is far from slamming it is rather present, extraordinarily deep, and extremely detailed making the overall bass resolution and presentation quite remarkable without any bleed into the midrange which is remarkable.

Thank you!

Yes it is and adventure to say the least. Did you get the "puck" style carry case in yours also? And yes, I was looking forward to the cool little box too (though not sure why, it is a box...)

Oh yeah, and I knew I would end up with the higher powered amp card in the end, but I had to try since you were able to get decent sound from a very low power source. I wish my tube amp card had more power to it than a typical SE can provide, but I am thinking the synergy with the setup I am using ATM is "butter".

Well, here I might have to (almost) disagree with you. Take a listen to the song below: Atrey: Dark Prince (Final Cut) (also keep in mind I am listening to it in higher resolution)?! I like to use this song as a test for airyness, separation, bass quantities and textures because there is a whole lot of things going on from low lows to upper lows, and these really resolve well in that area, and there is almost some slam going on there (though it is obvious that it has more mid-bass for thump though). First part is the airy, and separation test. At about 3:26 it kicks into the bass, and then again around 4:40, and then again with another cool derivation at 6:52. Normally I don't like this kind of music at all, but when I heard it through my iBasso IT07s with the DX300, it was absolutely magical and completely justified the $1k I paid for them... LOL I decided to use it as a test track from then on.

And the second song: Zapp & Roger: More Bounce To The Ounce is simply because I noticed there MIGHT actually be a spike around the 1k or a bit lower frequency. Listen for the (old school) fake clap sound. It is the only song where that particular frequency hurt my ears, so it COULD just be that song in general.

 

[mt877]

Sweet! You'll have to fill us in on how they sound, feel, look, etc...?!

Work is super busy right now with several projects running at the same (over)time. Not much free time for visiting the forums lately.

Ok, here's a little bit of info. I got the stainless steel version. The buds have some good weight for buds, but they're comfortable in the ears. The cable is very similar to the FiiO EM5 cable. The one thing I don't like about the cable is that it has a memory, meaning when I took the FF3 out of the box the left bud cable had a loose 'S' bend in it near the bud from the packing. Maybe it will straighten out with time, but right now the 'S' bend portion sometimes touches the side of my face, which is annoying. I think I'll soak that part of the cable in some warm water to see if the rubberized cable jacket will reshape itself or allow me to manipulate it somewhat straight again.

The FF3 come with 3 different foams. Thick (not super thick) if you want more bass. Medium/thin for balanced sound and donut foams for that extra treble sparkle. I tried the thick first and the bass was excellent, but the treble was too muffled, rolled off for my taste. The medium/thin foams really struck the right balance for me, as I'm sure it will also work for others as well. Nice bass and sub-bass (if the music has that sub-bass kick) while mids and treble sound just right. Not forward or recessed. This is my impression after listening to them for just a couple of hours and switching tunes to see how they perform. I haven't had a chance to compare them to other buds I have.

I'll leave it at that for now until I get more time to intently listen to these new FF3 and compare to other buds I have. Over all I really like them, nice sound stage, not wide, but not stuck in your head either (like some IEMs). Very easy to listen to without fatigue. Would I recommend a blind buy? I would. For their midrange price they perform nicely and I think would fit in great with anybody's earbud arsenal. FiiO's new 'drum head' bass tech sounds pretty good to me with the FF3's. The upcoming FF5's might even be better? I guess we won't know until they come out.

 

[Ronion]

I wouldn't mind that idea, except that it would be a royal PITA to change drivers "on the whim"... Fortunately for me it is just the one driver that isn't working ATM... From what I have read about it, it is supposed to be the most "top heavy" of them all, so I may not care that much about it.

Really? I didn't know it was that easy to DIY tune those drivers. Maybe I'll have to look into that a bit more.

Well, I sent them a message through Aliexpress yesterday. They haven't read it yet. We'll see how it goes?! LOL

On another note, my New Yinman 600 should be arriving today. I am pretty excited! Thanks @WoodyLuvr for unwittingly recommending them to me.

This is why I hope their new system works better. I wouldn’t consider that driver top heavy. I have it in the M0 shell and it has bass. It does have very good treble! It also has nice, deep, and tight bass. It’s hard to fault any of the SMABAT drivers. They all respond well to tuning as well.

 

[Ronion]

This must be my day! I got an answer from Smabat regarding the dead 32 Ohm driver. Here is their reply (to which I said heck yeah) :


Maybe I need to play the Lotto before the day ends?!

SMABAT people seem like good people. Glad they are working to make it right.

 

[mt877]

Me personally, I’d just desolder all the connectors and make connections old-school. Those connectors really aren’t very good. I’d actually say they are the least consistent of any electronic connector I’ve ever used. Soldering bud drivers is so easy and basic tunings are even easier. You are a clever guy, I’d bet you could beat what SMABAT has done tuning-wise in less than a week with supplies. Soldering is your best bet in the M2s pro. All of mine that weren’t working actually work(ed) when the connectors were removed.

@samandhi, I would like to add to this as well. Do you have a multimeter? You can at least measure the driver impedance and see if it measures 32 ohms or is open at the solder pads where the connector wires are soldered on. If the voice coil is open then it's dead. The coil solder joints are probably covered with a protective coating (glue) so it would be hard to tell if there's a cold solder joint under the glue causing the problem.

Just another tidbit of info. The voice coil wire is exactly the same as transformer winding or inductor winding wire, but much smaller wire gauge. The wire is usually dipped in varnish to give a light yet strong insulation. The point I want to get across is that if the soldering end of the voice coil was poorly prepped by not removing the varnish properly that could result in an 'open coil' situation. In that case it would be a manufacturing defect.

 

[samandhi]

Work is super busy right now with several projects running at the same (over)time. Not much free time for visiting the forums lately.

Ok, here's a little bit of info. I got the stainless steel version. The buds have some good weight for buds, but they're comfortable in the ears. The cable is very similar to the FiiO EM5 cable. The one thing I don't like about the cable is that it has a memory, meaning when I took the FF3 out of the box the left bud cable had a loose 'S' bend in it near the bud from the packing. Maybe it will straighten out with time, but right now the 'S' bend portion sometimes touches the side of my face, which is annoying. I think I'll soak that part of the cable in some warm water to see if the rubberized cable jacket will reshape itself or allow me to manipulate it somewhat straight again.

The FF3 come with 3 different foams. Thick (not super thick) if you want more bass. Medium/thin for balanced sound and donut foams for that extra treble sparkle.
I tried the thick first and the bass was excellent, but the treble was too muffled, rolled off for my taste. The medium/thin foams really struck the right balance for me, as I'm sure it will also work for others as well. Nice bass and sub-bass (if the music has that sub-bass kick) while mids and treble sound just right. Not forward or recessed. This is my impression after listening to them for just a couple of hours and switching tunes to see how they perform. I haven't had a chance to compare them to other buds I have.

I'll leave it at that for now until I get more time to intently listen to these new FF3 and compare to other buds I have. Over all I really like them, nice sound stage, not wide, but not stuck in your head either (like some IEMs). Very easy to listen too without fatigue. Would I recommend a blind buy? I would. For their midrange price they perform nicely and I think would fit in great with anybody's earbud arsenal. FiiO's new 'drum head' bass tech sounds pretty good to me with the FF3's. The upcoming FF5's might even be better? I guess we won't know until they come out.

Sounds like a fantastic pair!

You'll have to share your impressions more when you get time, and also if they sound more similar or different than the EM5?!

This is why I hope their new system works better. I wouldn’t consider that driver top heavy. I have it in the M0 shell and it has bass. It does have very good treble! It also has nice, deep, and tight bass. It’s hard to fault any of the SMABAT drivers. They all respond well to tuning as well.

The way it seems to be implemented, it does seem as though there are less points of failure, but we'll see right?

I don't really have issue with any of the ones I have used so far, so you might be right. I think I was just resigned (undeservedly so) in thinking that Smabat wouldn't fix the issue. I was wrong, and glad to have been wrong too.

So, is the 150 Ohm driver still your favorite of the lot? I think (so far) it is also my favorite overall, though I think the others have their niche uses that might make them my favorite in that regard.

 

[Ronion]

I wouldn’t straight out say that the 150 is my favorite, it can just do things that I don’t have from other drivers that can be fit into an MX500 shell. The SO, little bio, LCP, and 150ti are all great drivers IMO. Anyone one of them can be the one I want to listen to at the moment. If I absolutely had to pick one, I’d say it’s probably my favorite. I’m actually convinced that SMABAT designs the best overall driver lineup. i wish I had more experience when I was first modding that 150ti. I broke it and never replaced it. I miss it, but I have very little time and money for the hobby right now.

 

[mt877]

So, I got the Yinman 600 2.0 today. I'll start with the packaging:

The box is not near as pretty as the one you got. It is raw wood, glued together. No stamps, or a finish on it. Really light and fragile pressboard. Just a sticker with Chinese writing saying "2.5 balanced". The contents weren't on a nice pillow like you got. They were simply placed in there. It looks like plenty of tips/donuts were included (of both black and white). The other major difference about the packaging (probably to make up for the crappy box) is the puck case they came in.

It is (I think) a faux leather exterior with plush foam in the inside. It is a zippered case and it is the exact same size diameter and depth as one I might get for iBasso IEMs or something to that nature. It does zip really easily too, so that is splendid.

As to the buds themselves:

They really are very nice looking, and the 2.5mm balanced connector is very well done and with a decent strain relief. The cable is surprisingly supple considering the coating that it appears to have. Two things that really concern me for longevity with the cable is there is no "Y" splitter or chin slider. It simply stops being wrapped. The other issue is that there are NO strain reliefs on the buds at all. OH! and they didn't send a cable wrap with mine either. This one isn't too big of an issue because I have plenty of spare ones. Just mentioning it because for the price paid, it seems as though they kinda' threw this package together.

The buds appear to be very well made, and they fit very well in my ears (pretty standard size IMO). I know that they needed to add the "shiny" protection to the wood, but the way they look, no one but me will know they are wood. If they left it the brown color that was the older model MMCX version, I would have liked it more. This is nitpicking, of course, and in the end I know, and they are really cool.

Having only heard them about an hour now, this may not be too accurate, nor permanent but with the right power, these do indeed sound really good. I started out with my tube amp card with my DX300 with SE only. While I was able to get enough volume (not for cranking though), it was indeed flat and lifeless (comparatively speaking). Next up was the Amp11.2 card (the stock card). It is capable of about 1.2W IIRC, and it sounded much better (being SS probably also gave it some more clarity and speed along with driving it better). Then I put in the holy grail; Amp12 card. This one is capable of 2W IIRC. Now we're starting to get where we need to be. So all of my testing/listening will probably be with the Amp12 card.

Man! Do these have some bass. It isn't a super heavy sub-bass (though it is pretty huge for an earbud; more than any other bud I have heard), though they do reach really low for a bud. It is like the entire bass region is boosted (low, mid, upper). And does it ever give off a warm feel. But the good news is that while the treble isn't overcooked at all, they have the kind of clarity mixed with warmth like you might get from a really good tube amp. Also, it is one of the first buds that seem to not be over boosted in the upper mids region in some way or another.

I don't want to say that that means the mids are recessed because (to my ears) they are not at all; just not shrill. I will have to say that the warmth that it has DOES make it a bit off tonally overall, but it does sound very good, nonetheless. The staging isn't as wide as something like the Maria II, but then what is? It is still fairly large and out of your head, like you would expect for an earbud.

I will have to give some time before I "cement" the following comment, but I think these might have just knocked the Chaconne and/or RW2000 off the throne in my castle (see what I did there? ). But, even without having much time on them, if one is looking for a TOTL sound from earbuds, and I think these will be top notch for "all-rounders" too, then these are definitely recommended by me.

For sound alone (and as an early impression and provided you have plenty of power to drive them), I would give these an S+ as @RikudouGoku would say, or God-tier as @WoodyLuvr would say.

OH! And also keep in mind, these are NOT forgiving of crappy .mp3 files (they sound like crap, and I think I can actually hear some distortion with them). Feed it well, and it will perform for you!

Pictures (BTW they didn't come with the foams on them, I put them on before snapping the pic):

Spoiler: Yinman 600 2.0

Nice! Yeah, they really did send you the plain pine, no frills 'coffin' box... But that's not where it really matters.

 

[samandhi]

@samandhi, I would like to add to this as well. Do you have a multimeter? You can at least measure the driver impedance and see if it measures 32 ohms or is open at the solder pads where the connector wires are soldered on. If the voice coil is open then it's dead. The coil solder joints are probably covered with a protective coating (glue) so it would be hard to tell if there's a cold solder joint under the glue causing the problem.

Just another tidbit of info. The voice coil wire is exactly the same as transformer winding or inductor winding wire, but much smaller wire gauge. The wire is usually dipped in varnish to give a light yet strong insulation. The point I want to get across is that if the soldering end of the voice coil was poorly prepped by not removing the varnish properly that could result in an 'open coil' situation. In that case it would be a manufacturing defect.

I do have one. I guess I never thought of doing that. Though, I may have to resort to clipping alligator clips to needles to get a reading on them (my current leads are more for "larger things"). I'll have a look.

Thanks! Good suggestion! I will have to take a look at it closer. Good thing I recently (within the last year or so) bought an LCD microscope for micro soldering. I am not getting any younger, and my eyesight is not getting better....

This sounds like a plausible reason for the driver being DOA. They ARE very cheap. I don't suppose QC is too high of a priority for these?!