[WoodyLuvr]

The Earbuds God-Father's latest creation:

Planar Magnetic Earbud DIY V3 by @ClieOS

His creativity abounds. I am too excited for this next installment in his Planar Flathead R&D journey. Mad skills to say the least, yes?!

An update (Part II) has been posted by @ClieOS here!

 

[o0genesis0o]

It's just to give people with balanced DACs/sources the option to used them balanced. That's all. Using the with the regular 3.5mm jack isn't going to be any different with a pair this easy to drive so you're not missing out on anything by running them with one jack versus the other.

Add to that: unless the performance of the single ended output of your source is noticeably worse than the balanced by design. BTR5 has this kind of problem.

 

[syazwaned]

An update (Part II) has been posted by @ClieOS here!

is it for sale?

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Don't you guys just love it when you give someone their first listen to some really good earbuds and you see the shocked look on their faces when they realize how open and great a good pair of buds can sound?

I just let the producer we're working with have a listen to the ES-P1s plugged into the Gryphon so he could hear some tracks that sound similar to a few things my band is looking to do on this album. At first when I handed him my earbuds I could tell he was wondering what he was supposed to be able to hear well through some earbuds. He put them in anyways without saying anything and after a short moment he looked at me and asked when earbuds became so good lol!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

is it for sale?

I don't know, but with how well he laid out the atep by step process for the build it seems like it would be relatively easy to assemble for yourself. Based on his description and what I know about planars, I think I'll probably always prefer dynamic driver based buds, but I'm going to order the supplies and assemble my own version just to satisfy my curiosity.

If you want to wait until the supplies arrive and I get around to doing the build I can let you know how difficult it is in practice.

Edit: Supplies have been ordered so now the wait begins. Should be an interesting side project when I get to it. Thanks for the instructions @ClieOS

 

[o0genesis0o]

Don't you guys just love it when you give someone their first listen to some really good earbuds and you see the shocked look on their faces when they realize how open and great a good pair of buds can sound?

I just let the producer we're working with have a listen to the ES-P1s plugged into the Gryphon so he could hear some tracks that sound similar to a few things my band is looking to do on this album. At first when I handed him my earbuds I could tell he was wondering what he was supposed to be able to hear well through some earbuds. He put them in anyways without saying anything and after a short moment he looked at me and asked when earbuds became so good lol!

That’s a big praise, given how significant that producer is based on your previous posts.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

That’s a big praise, given how significant that producer is based on your previous posts.

No doubt! If you've listened to indie rock at all for the last 30 years or so you've probably heard his band and other bands that he has produced. Dude is no joke!

He said, "I spend so much time wearing montoring headphones that I'd generally like a break when I'm just listening for fun. If I'd known earbuds could sound that close to actual headphones I would have started using them years ago." We're gonna take over the world one rockstar/producer at a time fellas!

 

[fooltoque]

Don't you guys just love it when you give someone their first listen to some really good earbuds and you see the shocked look on their faces when they realize how open and great a good pair of buds can sound?

I just let the producer we're working with have a listen to the ES-P1s plugged into the Gryphon so he could hear some tracks that sound similar to a few things my band is looking to do on this album. At first when I handed him my earbuds I could tell he was wondering what he was supposed to be able to hear well through some earbuds. He put them in anyways without saying anything and after a short moment he looked at me and asked when earbuds became so good lol!

Spread the good news!

Seriously wouldn't it be great if everyone realized this, and the stores were once again filled with rows of earbuds instead of IEMs?

 

[o0genesis0o]

Based on his description and what I know about planars, I think I'll probably always prefer dynamic driver based buds, but I'm going to order the supplies and assemble my own version just to satisfy my curiosity.

Wait, I thought that planar is the best kind of driver for headphone bass? The first time I heard a planar headphone, I had a big grin on my face when the drum starts in Hotel California (Exactly like that emoji)

Edit: just let me friend audition my FF3. He said this form factor looks so cheap so he is not going to buy this kind of earbuds. Needless to say, I’m not going to make a pair of earbuds for him anymore

 

[yaps66]

Oh. So the “Calf” version is the Rw-1000 Bass version?

Going by the naming convention, it is probably a less bassy version! Haha!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Wait, I thought that planar is the best kind of driver for headphone bass? The first time I heard a planar headphone, I had a big grin on my face when the drum starts in Hotel California (Exactly like that emoji)

Edit: just let me friend audition my FF3. He said this form factor looks so cheap so he is not going to buy this kind of earbuds. Needless to say, I’m not going to make a pair of earbuds for him anymore

The FF3s don't look cheap at all IMO. I think they're actually quite classy, one might even say beautiful, in appearance.

As for the planar driver thing, I wasn't specifically talking about bass. I really enjoy the bass on my Letshuoer S12s for example and have been considering purchasing the CA Supermoons as well because in the brief session I was able to demo them for they demonstrated great bass and resolution. Also consider that I own the DCA Stealths (and their little bro the Aeon X Closed) which are an absolutely fantastic set of headphones.

That said, smaller planar drivers tend to have a decay that is too quick for my liking in that it sounds unnatural to me. Also, the note weight and timbre is very difficult to get right on the smaller planars as well. The S12s ultimately seem to solve these problems best of all the planar based IEMs I have tried with the HookX coming in second. With larger planar drivers, especially those in closed back cups, this problem seems to completely disappear when handled right. In open back full size planar headphones some manage to conquer the issue to varying degrees or entirely.

Regardless, I have never heard the decay and note weight issue exist on the same level in full sized headphones as I have in various IEMs with the small planar drivers. I don't know what the cause would be or if it's something inherent to the driver tech itself. My guess is that the problems will exist to a greater degree in the earbud form factor than it does in the IEMs I have tried, but I'm not sure which is why I am curious and will be giving it a shot. Overall though, I think small DDs have such a wonderfully natural timbre, note weight, and decay that similarly sized planars often struggle to recreate in my experience thus far.

I hope that clarified and made a bit of sense. If not, oh well. I did my best lol!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

BTW, i got to try my Ucotechs on a VE Megatron that an acquaintance of my bassist came by to show off and I ended up ordering one because it synergized so nicely with them. For $50 it seems like a can't miss proposition. I paid for it early this afternoon and AliExpress says it's already headed to their distribution center only 10 hours later. That's pretty damn quick for AE!

In other news, the owner of a hifi shop I frequent finally came through with a Cayin N8ii that he offered to sell me at the promotional rate that Cayin allows distributors to sell a very limited number at. I should have it on Saturday if I'm lucky or Monday if I'm not and after all the good things I have read I can't wait to see how it performs as an additional option to my Kann Alpha in DAP situations. When I demoed it, I did so with my Aiwa HP-V99s which were the only premium level buds I had at the time (late April) and it sounded very musical and well controlled at the same time. The bass on the HP-V99s can kind of get away from some sources. I'm hoping it will become the TOTL warmer, more musical counterweight to the often quite exacting and technical sounding Kann Alpha that some buds just don't play well with.

And last, but not least if you'd like to hear an album that shows off the power of the FF3s and their technical capabilities at the same time might I suggest all you FF3 owners out there take a listen to Tom Morello's The Atlas Underground Flood album. If you have more time the entire The Atlas Underground series by Morello is great, but the Flood installment is my favorite for showing off the FF3s exception agility and control for a driver that comes across with that much power and authority. After you guys get a chance to listen let me know what you think!

Edit: Typos because bug thumbs, small keyboard. Drummer caveman goes grrrr!

 

[o0genesis0o]

BTW, i got to try my Ucotechs on a VE Megatron that an acquaintance of my bassist came by to show off and I ended up ordering one because it synergized so nicely with them. For $50 it seems like a can't miss proposition. I paid for it early this afternoon and AliExpress says it's already headed to their distribution center only 10 hours later. That's pretty damn quick for AE!

In other news, the owner of a hifi shop I frequent finally came through with a Cayin N8ii that he offered to sell me at the promotional rate that Cayin allows distributors to sell a very limited number at. I should have it on Saturday if I'm lucky or Monday if I'm not and after all the good things I have read I can't wait to see how it performs as an additional option to my Kann Alpha in DAP situations. When I demoed it, I did so with my Aiwa HP-V99s which were the only premium level buds I had at the time (late April) and it sounded very musical and well controlled at the same time. The bass on the HP-V99s can kind of get away from some sources. I'm hoping it will become the TOTL warmer, more musical counterweight to the often quite exacting and technical sounding Kann Alpha that some buds just don't play well with.

And last, but not least if you'd like to hear an album that shows off the power of the FF3s and their technical capabilities at the same time might I suggest all you FF3 owners out there take a listen to Tom Morello's The Atlas Underground Flood album. If you have more time the entire The Atlas Underground series by Morello is great, but the Flood installment is my favorite for showing off the FF3s exception agility and control for a driver that comes across with that much power and authority. After you guys get a chance to listen let me know what you think!

Edit: Typos because bug thumbs, small keyboard. Drummer caveman goes grrrr!

Fancy gears. Looking forward for your Megatron + Asura 3.0 FE impression (yes, it’s a threat)

Will try the recommended album with my FF3.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Fancy gears. Looking forward for your Megatron + Asura 3.0 FE impression (yes, it’s a threat)

Will try the recommended album with my FF3.

You'll be happy to hear that we are taking tomorrow off so I will be reviewing the Asura 3.0FEs first thing. Obviously, I won't have the Megatron yet, but at least you'll get the part of that review you've been waiting for the longest.

In regards to the gear, I'm lucky enough to have an informal business relationship with a hifi/headphone shop near me so the owner pretty regularly gets me steep discounts and sometimes even shoots me some free gear. Bless him for that! If it wasn't for the discount, I wouldn't have purchased the N8ii and would have gone with something less expensive instead. The flagship DAP market is very overpriced for what it offers these days versus the portable dac options and even the highly competitive mid priced DAP market which is definitely where the sweet spot is for buying new IMO.

 

[Ronion]

Wait, I thought that planar is the best kind of driver for headphone bass? The first time I heard a planar headphone, I had a big grin on my face when the drum starts in Hotel California (Exactly like that emoji)

Edit: just let me friend audition my FF3. He said this form factor looks so cheap so he is not going to buy this kind of earbuds. Needless to say, I’m not going to make a pair of earbuds for him anymore

That’s not a good sign. The FF3 are the best built buds I’ve had…

@JAnonymous5150, is it okay if a rescind my vote for my 130Be as my one bud? I think I want my FF3.