[WoodyLuvr]

Again, the berserker 1 is a fantastic earbud. If I had to choose one model, and only one, between the Maria and the Beserker, I'd choose the Berserker any day, every day. That said, my tgxear serratus x1 variant is currently my best sounding earbud.

to my ears. everyone hears differently, so no claim that the serratus is the best earbud out there.

Patiently awaiting my Tantalus to arrive... can't wait!

 

[Sam L]

Patiently awaiting my Tantalus to arrive... can't wait!

hmmm... I know ClieOS collection is legendary in size, but I'm beginning to wonder if yours is getting to that size as well?

 

[samandhi]

hmmm... I know ClieOS collection is legendary in size, but I'm beginning to wonder if yours is getting to that size as well?

IKR? Was thinking the same.

 

[mochill]

I as well have a huge earbud collection

 

[Sam L]

I as well have a huge earbud collection

oops, of course! One of these days, I'll have to make a point to meeting some of you with 100+ earbuds, buy each of you dinner and talk earbuds!

 

[mochill]

Would definitely love to meet with fellow audiophile

 

[samandhi]

With the newest acquisition of the Yinmans, I won't be looking to get another new set for some . With all of you with that many sets of buds, I don't know how you keep track of them all?!

 

[WoodyLuvr]

hmmm... I know ClieOS collection is legendary in size, but I'm beginning to wonder if yours is getting to that size as well?

IKR? Was thinking the same.

I most humbly bow to the Earbuds Godfather @ClieOS (boy do I really miss his activity here on this thread and find myself anxiously awaiting his updates on Earbuds Paradise although however infrequent they may be).

I must also point respectively to the other Earbuds Round-Up thread GOATs: @HungryPanda @james444 @Danneq @golov17 @vapman @Alex.Grimm @GREQ @mochill @BloodyPenguin @DBaldock9 all of whom I pale in comparison to (please excuse any names I might have missed as the ole gray matter isn't what it used to be).


I am a practicing audiophile minimalist these days... what I do own currently is listed under my profile as linked down in my signature. I am trying to stay around four to six earbuds in my stable at any given time. Will see how well I can maintain this but have been doing pretty good for the last two years. Having a house full of sly sticky-fingered Siamese women with keen eyes helps tremendously in keeping my earbuds numbers low. Please do not be fooled by their cuteness... "Siamese women are quite resourceful and come well equipped with lightning quick fingers, an adept eye for quality, razor sharp teeth, and a frightening disposition to readily visit violence upon any who stand in their way" (many Bothans died to bring you this information).

Although, I have owned and/or listened to perhaps a thousand plus earbuds since their inception in the early 1980s, (I previously owned and/or heard many of the Golden Era buds from 1982 to 1987/8) I didn't seriously get back into using and collecting earbuds again until mid-2018!

The most earbuds I had at any one given point in time were the nearly 300 earbuds I was sitting on just before SEP/OCT 2020 when I began to gift, trade, and sell them all off along with much of the rest of my audiophile equipment collection in an effort to minimalize what I had collected over many decades. Funny to think that two years ago I was sitting on nearly three hundred (300) earbuds; sixty (60) plus IEMS; twenty (20) plus headphones; ten (10) pair of speakers; thirty-six (36) amps and dacs; twenty plus (20+) separate two-channel components; hundreds (and I mean literally hundreds!) of cables, adapters, & interconnects; and countless DIY tools and associated supplies (that I had also gifted away to younger DIYers as my eyes and hands were/are no longer cooperating with me).

I was also quite into IEMs there for a good period of time. I believe I have owned more than 150-160 IEMs (mostly universal) since the 1990s and right before I went 'minimal' in SEP/OCT 2020 I had amassed around sixty (60) IEMs which I have since sold and gifted away. My very first IEM was the venerable Etymotic ER4 which I procured sometime in 1991/2 shortly after they first released. I really liked Shure for a good number of years and I was rather fond of the JVC Woody universal IEM line. In particular JVC's HA-FX750 model. But most unfortunately IEMs and even CIEMSs started giving me treacherously horrific earaches and headaches forcing me to abandon the medium altogether and reintroducing me to flathead earbuds after a twenty some year hiatus. I was pleasantly surprised!

I was also really into full-sized over-the-ear headphones (mostly open-back but I did have a short foray into the closed-back world as well) way back during the Headwize days before we all came over with Jude to Head-Fi in JUNE of 2001. Now I only have one pair, my SENN HD650s packed safely away in their box.

Before that (early 2000s and earlier) I was a two-channel nut for decades which funny enough I do not miss at all.

That all said, I can hands down say that earbuds for me have been (are) the best!

Going minimalist hands down has been the best thing I ever did in the hobby... and that is over many decades! I am/was a minimalist in all other areas of my life but the audiophile bug was very hard to shake so I acquired, acquired, and acquired in a maddening pursuit which would nearly always bring me full circle back to where ever I had started from!

 

[jeejack]

You seriously need to consider RikuBuds Lancer 1 (150ΩBG). Sitting currently in my top three at the moment is the 2022 - RikuBuds Berserker 1 (32ΩTiComp 19-21 Red Dot). Hands down one of the best earbuds I have heard and/or owned; easily in my top twenty all-time I would say... perhaps maybe even top ten. It uses a DIY MX32 19-21 Red Dot Ti driver and is expertly tuned. Real bass canons. Riku's 2022 - RikuBuds Grand Rider 1 (130Ω Bery; Sweden DIY) is also getting excellent reviews here... really great to see a known IEM fanatic giving a flathead earbud some much needed love.

For little as Euro 50 will get you an amazing earbud while supporting "one of our own". There are currently ten (10) available models now to choose from with varying signatures for different tastes ranging from US$50 up to $100:

RikuBuds by @RikudouGoku

2022 - RikuBuds Alter Archer 1; 64ΩWG (MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Alter Rider 1; 32ΩBio (19-21 Black Dot; MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Archer 1; 32ΩBG N52 (MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Assassin 2; 32ΩFostex (Val39 custom-made shell)
2022 - RikuBuds Berserker 1; 32ΩTiComp (19-21 Red Dot; MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Grand Archer 1; 68ΩGraphene (MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Grand Rider 1; 130ΩBery (MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Lancer 1; 150ΩBG (MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Rider 1; 32ΩBG N52 (MX500 shell type)
2022 - RikuBuds Saber 1; 32ΩTiComp (19-21 Red Dot; MX500 shell type)

Saber 1 and Berserker 1 use the same driver but with different tuning?

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Saber 1 and Berserker 1 use the same driver but with different tuning?

Yes, sir. The Saber 1 is the Berserker 1 with less bass. The following is a link to their tuning signature descriptions = ten (10) available models

 

[samandhi]

am a practicing audiophile minimalist these days... what I do own currently is listed under ƎAЯBUD STAᗺ⅃Ǝ down in my signature. I am trying to stay around four to six earbuds in my stable at any given time. Will see how well I can maintain this but have been doing pretty good for the last two years. Having a house full of sly sticky-fingered Siamese women with keen eyes helps tremendously in keeping my earbuds numbers low. Please do not be fooled by their cuteness... "Siamese women are quite resourceful and come well equipped with lightning quick fingers, an adept eye for quality, razor sharp teeth, and a frightening disposition to readily visit violence upon any who stand in their way" (many Bothans died to bring you this information).

Priceless!

The most earbuds I had at any one given point in time were the nearly 300 earbuds I was sitting on just before SEP/OCT 2020 when I began to gift, trade, and sell them all off along with much of the rest of my audiophile equipment collection in an effort to minimalize what I had collected over many decades. Funny to think that two years ago I was sitting on nearly three hundred (300) earbuds; sixty (60) plus IEMS; twenty (20) plus headphones; ten (10) pair of speakers; thirty-six (36) amps and dacs; twenty plus (20+) separate two-channel components; hundreds (and I mean literally hundreds!) of cables, adapters, & interconnects; and countless DIY tools and associated supplies (that I had also gifted away to younger DIYers as my eyes and hands were/are no longer cooperating with me).

I have always had the mentality of the minimalist in this hobby, though in practice it IS difficult at best to maintain that thought. I never intended to collect even the amount that I have over the years. But I also know what I like when I have it and I rarely ever get rid of my stuff (or sell it off), except the occasional "white elephant" Christmas now and again (for instance). The biggest pleasure of this hobby for me is hearing the music that is pleasing to my ears, but another part that makes this hobby fun for me is the knowledge I accumulate along they journey, and of course the people that I can talk to about the journey. I ride motorcycles, and it is much the same. The destination is great, but the journey makes the destination that much better (hope that makes some semblance of sense?!).

I have known about classic earbuds since the early days but have always discounted them as crappy sounding until a couple of years ago where someone on another board posted pictures of their TOTL DAP with some (discontinued) Sennheiser buds. This intrigued me and (short story is) I have been here ever since.

I have always been an audiophile (as much as I could afford it), but I have always just focused on one sound system (and no headgear at all). Since I finally got all of that together (completed 7.1 system) I was not interested in looking further. It wasn't until I bought the Sennheiser RS140 back in 2006 (IIRC) that I decided that some head gear just needed looking in to. Nowadays, I still have my home system, but have focused more on the best portable gear that I can afford, and here we are today.

Your minimalist approach still leaves my currently owned gear look a bit anemic (though I am totally satisfied with it). I have in my collection:

• 9 pairs of earbuds
• 11 IEMs (not counting stuff like Skullcandy 20/20 that never sees use)
• 11 headphones
• 9 wireless (TWS, wireless, BT)
• 7 DAPs (not counting the older model iPods that I still have but haven't used in years)
• 4 sets of speakers
• 3 AV receivers
• 4 BT speakers
• no idea how many cables and interconnects/adapters

Ok, I guess I have more stuff than I thought I did... LOL

Anyhow, I bow to all those that are crazy dedicated and purchase many many of these wonderful devices so that I might better be able to decide what I might want to jump in to.

Going minimalist hands down has been the best thing I ever did in the hobby... and that is over many decades! I am/was a minimalist in all other areas of my life but the audiophile bug was very hard to shake so I acquired, acquired, and acquired in a maddening pursuit which would nearly always bring me full circle back to where ever I had started from!

Preaching to the choir my friend. Gambling and/or drug use has nothing on this hobby if you give in to your desire to constantly "collect" or "upgrade" IMHO!

 

[baskingshark]

Preaching to the choir my friend. Gambling and/or drug use has nothing on this hobby if you give in to your desire to constantly "collect" or "upgrade" IMHO!

There is no such thing as "endgame" in this hobby. But there is a sweet spot around the MidFI region for IEMs/earbuds, where price-to-performance ratio seems to hit the best returns so to speak.

I've learnt this the hard way, but collecting tons of cheap cheap budget pokemon sidegrades will add up to a TOTL model one day, and most will end up in a dark drawer somewhere, never to see the light of day again. These are not easy to be sold away where I live at. Budget gear is very useful to spring a few purchases to see what tunings/sound signatures suit you, but it behoofs one to upgrade up the line once you know what you want, and get out of the budget sidegrade purgatory.

TOTL stuff generally give good sound but at a huge price premium, like perhaps 10 - 30% improvement from MidFI, but at 10x more the price. And even TOTL gear have weaknesses too. So I do think MidFI is still the sweetspot and a compromise between the two.

Of course easier said than done, I think all of us need to see a shrink for GEAR ACQUISTION SYNDROME and UPGRADIITIS. The FOMO is strong!

 

[yaps66]

to my ears. everyone hears differently, so no claim that the serratus is the best earbud out there.

To my ears also, current favs are (in no particular order):
Saber 1; RW2000; tofino; ST10s (Black Gold)

 

[cod6793]

Spoiler: FiiO FF3 - Continuing from post # 61767 on page 4118

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.

FiiO FF3 comparisons:

FiiO FF3 comes with 3 different sets of foams. What FiiO refers to as "Bass foam eartips" (thick full foams), "Balanced" (thin full foams) and "Crispy treble" (donut foams). The balanced foams are working best for me. The cable is permanently attached at the buds and the plug end can be swapped between 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm balanced. The 4.4mm balanced plug is included. The FF3 come with 3 small pouches of different foams and a plastic water tight storage box.

I don't have a set of the FiiO EM3, so can't compare the FF3 to it. I've read that the EM3 got rave reviews and are an excellent low budget choice that punches above it's weight class. I'm not sure what they cost when they were first released, but now they can be had for around $20. That's still very reasonable for a set of buds that are reputed to have excellent sound quality. Maybe someone who has both EM3 and FF3 can do a comparison.

FiiO FF3 (balanced foams) vs FiiO EM5 (donut foams):

The FF3 are not as bass heavy as the EM5. As mentioned in the previous post the FF3 does have nice bass and sub-bass (if the music has that sub-bass kick) while mids and treble sound just right. Not forward or recessed, nor overly bright. While the EM5 by it's design is a basshead's dream earbud. The EM5 with full foams have excellent bass, but IMO it's too much for it's own good. Anyway, I use donut foams on the EM5 to tame the bass and let the mid-range and treble shine a bit. I found the EM5 with donut foams to only really sound good when matched with a neutral sound source, while the FF3 sounds great with either neutral or warm sounding sources.

FiiO FF3 (balanced foams) vs Yincrow RW-3000 (donut foams):

The FF3 while very nice sounding are no match for the RW-3000. The overall sound presentation of the RW-3000 is awesome. The interplay of bass, mid-range and treble of the RW-3000 are very good and create a certain soundstage and audio imaging that I really like. Of course there is one caveat. I found the RW-3000 like to be matched up with a warm sounding source. With a neutral source the RW-3000 high end can be a little fatiguing on the ears, though I think I'm getting used to it by now. As already mentioned the FF3 sounds great with either neutral or warm sources.

FiiO FF3 (balanced foams) vs RikuBuds Berserker 1 (donut foams):

First, gotta give some props to @RikudouGoku for coming up with the Berserker 1 buds. For those who have had the pleasure to hear them, you already know why they are in @WoodyLuvr's current top 3 buds lineup.

Well, here's the surprise. It was very hard to compare the FF3 to the Berserker 1 buds. The sound signature of both buds are very similar with small differences. Now considering that the FF3 had full (balanced sound) foams on and the Berserker 1 had donut foams on. The Berserker 1 buds are bass cannons with full foams on, but in a good way. For my own ears I had to use donut foams to tune them the way I like them to sound. Having said that, both FF3 and B1 buds have similar bass profile with the B1 just edging out the FF3. The bass in both buds do not muddy up the mids or treble. The mids and treble are very well balanced with the bass in both buds, with the B1 being a little brighter on the high end. I already mentioned how the FF3 play nice with either neutral or warm sources, well so does the Berserker 1.

So now you know what I think of the FiiO FF3 through these comparisons. Are they worth it to have in your earbud arsenal? Only you can determine that for yourself. As for myself, I'm glad I got them.

Instead of me posting pictures of the set I got, here's a link to some fine pictures of the FF3 shared by FiiO in the forums. My stainless steel ones look exactly the same as the FiiO provided pictures.

Thanks for your impressions. Aside from tonal comparisons, what are other technical aspects of FF3? detailing, timbre, texture, extension in the treble, etc. Are worth a 100usd earbud?

 

[waynes world]

Going minimalist hands down has been the best thing I ever did in the hobby... and that is over many decades! I am/was a minimalist in all other areas of my life but the audiophile bug was very hard to shake so I acquired, acquired, and acquired in a maddening pursuit which would nearly always bring me full circle back to where ever I had started from!

Yes, for me it's always full circle back to the Koss KSC75's lol (on parts express headband of course!)