[o0genesis0o]

Every time I plug them in I’m impressed. The fact that they got so much resolution from low impedance drivers and a deep, articulate, punchy bass with a great soundstage. It’s a keeper. There’s something delicious in the midrange too. This is the sort of thing that confounds me: what measurements show that? I literally haven’t seen any literature on it. I have some guesses, but I’ve read others guesses and I know there’s no research to support them…. I don’t assume I’m smarter than they are.

According to Amir and his fans at ASR, resolution does not seem to exist. The only thing matters is FR matching Harman target. I read a review of Salnote Zero by Amir yesterday and saw one person asking about the lack of resolution, the response is essentially "stop imagining".

Kind of funny, since the guy who actually builds headphones for a living (Dan Clark) absolutely believes that there is resolution, but our measurement tool and knowledge cannot detect reliably yet.

The GEM001 saga continue: I filled in the drilled bass vents and let my colleague listen again. She said that the vocal cut through the mix, bass is crisper and deeper (yup, she is using the right terminology now). In overall, massive improvement. However, there is a significant channel imbalance in the bass region according to her. She can't hear any special soundstage / imaging either (she daily drive Apple wired earbuds, so maybe she is used to large soundstage?). The moral of the story? Anyone can listen and critique head-fi gears if they pay attention, yet most people keep saying "no, I can't hear, my ears are not good, I don't know audio".

Still, lots of respect for DIYers like TGX, Riku, and manufacturers in general. It's hard to produce good tuning. Perhaps that's why sticking to Harman is not a bad idea. At least it is "scientifically correct"

 

[MelodyMood]

Friends. Just received the EMA TRN Earbud I ordered. I am at very early stage of listening but only one word came into my mind after listening of just 10 min. That is Mind Blowing. I would like to add more words like Amazing, Brilliant and what not. What a lovely sound. Beautiful Clarity and Good Bass and little bit of thump too.

Here is the link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804224513469.html

At AUD $14-15, this is an excellent steal. Very High quality Packaging, Material, Metal Housing and what not. I don't have any experience in writing long full reviews but this is really nice earbuds. A Must Have.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Friends. Just received the EMA TRN Earbud I ordered. I am at very early stage of listening but only one word came into my mind after listening of just 10 min. That is Mind Blowing. I would like to add more words like Amazing, Brilliant and what not. What a lovely sound. Beautiful Clarity and Good Bass and little bit of thump too.

Here is the link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804224513469.html

At AUD $14-15, this is excellent steal. Very High quality Packaging, Material, Metal Housing and what not. I don't have any experience in writing long full reviews but this is really nice earbuds. A Must Have.

AUD? Hey there, fellow Aussie Looking forward for your detailed impressions.

Agree with you that AUD $15 is insanely great value. Economy of scale is certainly at play here. A pair of metal shell + MMCX cable + drivers certainly cost more than AUD $15.

------
On an unrelated note, I have a complete set of M4 (main body + all drivers, including the BA driver) coming. The expected delivery is 20/10. Can't wait. I will measure everything I can and share with you.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Friends. Just received the EMA TRN Earbud I ordered. I am at very early stage of listening but only one word came into my mind after listening of just 10 min. That is Mind Blowing. I would like to add more words like Amazing, Brilliant and what not. What a lovely sound. Beautiful Clarity and Good Bass and little bit of thump too.

Here is the link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804224513469.html

At AUD $14-15, this is an excellent steal. Very High quality Packaging, Material, Metal Housing and what not. I don't have any experience in writing long full reviews but this is really nice earbuds. A Must Have.

I too have been telling the folks around here that the EMAs are a legit option in the low cost price bracket. I really like them and I think they offer a lot of value for the money too. They're a good way to get a good pair of buds for cheap!

 

[MelodyMood]

AUD? Hey there, fellow Aussie Looking forward for your detailed impressions.

Agree with you that AUD $15 is insanely great value. Economy of scale is certainly at play here. A pair of metal shell + MMCX cable + drivers certainly cost more than AUD $15.

------
On an unrelated note, I have a complete set of M4 (main body + all drivers, including the BA driver) coming. The expected delivery is 20/10. Can't wait. I will measure everything I can and share with you.

Nice to meet you

It is 2 Pin Connector Cable but really great earbud. I bought SMABAT M0 40 Ohms Driver which costed me around $40 but this one (EMA TRN), is 3 times (or may be more) better than those. I guess SMABAT is charging unnecessary high price for not that earbud.

 

[MelodyMood]

I too have been telling the folks around here that the EMAs are a legit option in the low cost price bracket. I really like them and I think they offer a lot of value for the money too. They're a good way to get a good pair of buds for cheap!

I think you only posted abt EMA TRN few weeks ago. After reading that post only I decided to give it a try and it was wise decision Really nice sound. I am sure that the sound will be even better after few days of listening. They recently launched their Flagship Earbud EMX (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804534353639.html). It is on higher side of the price though but I am sure that it will be much higher in terms of everything than TRN.

 

[DBaldock9]

It appears that the Smabat M4 items that I recently ordered, have cleared US Customs.
So, they should be delivered sometime during the next week.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I think you only posted abt EMA TRN few weeks ago. After reading that post only I decided to give it a try and it was wise decision Really nice sound. I am sure that the sound will be even better after few days of listening. They recently launched their Flagship Earbud EMX (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804534353639.html). It is on higher side of the price though but I am sure that it will be much higher in terms of everything than TRN.

Yeah, I have actually been thinking about trying the EMX as well, but at this point I still have a lot of buds I haven't finished listening to and deciding which to keep and which to move so I think I'll probably hold off for a bit. I mean, the EMX isn't going anywhere, right?

BTW, I'm glad to hear that my comments were useful! That's the biggest reason I started posting here so that's pretty cool to hear. My girl has been trying to get me to start a blog with audio gear reviews on it, but I think there are plenty of people doing that already so it's particularly nice to hear that I'm still helping people more informally so thanks!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

It appears that the Smabat M4 items that I recently ordered, have cleared US Customs.
So, they should be delivered sometime during the next week.

Mine cleared Monday so I'm waiting anxiously as well! Good luck, man!

 

[MelodyMood]

Yeah, I have actually been thinking about trying the EMX as well, but at this point I still have a lot of buds I haven't finished listening to and deciding which to keep and which to move so I think I'll probably hold off for a bit. I mean, the EMX isn't going anywhere, right?

Absolutely not. They have just launched it and I am sure it will stay if the sound is good and it is value for money like TRN. I am sure they have come up with much better sound signature as the cost if 4X of TRN.

BTW, I'm glad to hear that my comments were useful! That's the biggest reason I started posting here so that's pretty cool to hear. My girl has been trying to get me to start a blog with audio gear reviews on it, but I think there are plenty of people doing that already so it's particularly nice to hear that I'm still helping people more informally so thanks!

Yes. It was helpful. And I agree with you girl. Go for it. It will be good and helpful too. Don't think that many people are already doing so yours won't be welcomed. There is no work in the world which is done by only 1-2 people

 

[Ronion]

According to Amir and his fans at ASR, resolution does not seem to exist. The only thing matters is FR matching Harman target. I read a review of Salnote Zero by Amir yesterday and saw one person asking about the lack of resolution, the response is essentially "stop imagining".

Kind of funny, since the guy who actually builds headphones for a living (Dan Clark) absolutely believes that there is resolution, but our measurement tool and knowledge cannot detect reliably yet.

The GEM001 saga continue: I filled in the drilled bass vents and let my colleague listen again. She said that the vocal cut through the mix, bass is crisper and deeper (yup, she is using the right terminology now). In overall, massive improvement. However, there is a significant channel imbalance in the bass region according to her. She can't hear any special soundstage / imaging either (she daily drive Apple wired earbuds, so maybe she is used to large soundstage?). The moral of the story? Anyone can listen and critique head-fi gears if they pay attention, yet most people keep saying "no, I can't hear, my ears are not good, I don't know audio".

Still, lots of respect for DIYers like TGX, Riku, and manufacturers in general. It's hard to produce good tuning. Perhaps that's why sticking to Harman is not a bad idea. At least it is "scientifically correct"

Dan Clark is not wrong. He may not be right on everything, but he’s right about that.

interesting that you mention the Apple EarPods. I found a set of these dusty buds in a dank drawer today. I’m not sure where they are from but I took measurements for fun. They seem to do okay really with some old generic foams on. I bet they would do better with HieGi though.

they seem to be fairly bright on my rig, but don’t sound particularly bright in my ear. They don’t sound anywhere near as detailed as the FiiO, 130Be, or the 500Be. There’s definitely a thing called resolution and soundstage even though I can’t prove it. There are lots of metrics beyond Frequency Response… They are just very hard to control for and thus it’s very difficult to tease out.

I personally can’t go with the Harman Science (as I’m sure you’re suggesting just by the smiley) just like Dan Clark, Sony, Sennheiser, Creative Labs, FiiO, etc... It’s so obvious that it’s wrong even Chad Kroeger knows it and I demonstrated quite clearly and succinctly and linked it in my signature. Harman started with a false premise and then tried to fix it with a 2 band EQ. That’s why they call it a preference curve. So a 2 band EQ was used to ”fix” a mistake. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. 3 wrongs…. Probably not going to get much more correct, but the balance likely improved from their original. Scientifically Correct…. I wouldn’t say that really. Scientifically preferred over their original problem would be more accurate. Unfortunately, you could start with any curve, install a 2 band EQ, and get 80% of people to like something similar to each other based on that. All that really tells us is that we tend to like similar things as humans even across cultures, sexes and age groups. All the science on audio playback already tells us this. There are always a few outliers however. I refer to them as oddiophiles.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I refer to them as oddiophiles.

I want to be an oddiophile! Where do I sign up?

 

[Ronion]

I want to be an oddiophile! Where do I sign up?

I think you need to start that club! I’d sign up.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I personally can’t go with the Harman Science (as I’m sure you’re suggesting just by the smiley) just like Dan Clark, Sony, Sennheiser, Creative Labs, FiiO, etc...

The other day, I suddenly thought “why must headphones sound like good speakers in a good room”?

Anyhow, I personally believe that a good target for head-fi gear needs ear gain and controlled bass boost to compensate for the form factor. How much to boost is debatable. Any other form of target sounds wrong to me somehow (think of weird flat tuning of JH, old school tuning of Sennheiser IE300 and IE900, honky 1.25k boost of Westone MACH20, 30,40). I also believe that 10-12k dip is a must to avoid metallic timbre and create holographic illusion.

The good thing about dynamic drivers nowadays is that they usually have those characteristics built in. That’s why singing about “well tuned budget IEM” is kind of … meh to me. Give me good technical performance for a low price. That’s the real challenge.

 

[dinodogJR]

rentiate between their points of origin, but in the center all the sounds seem to come from a single somewhat nebulous source. It's very important to ke

Couple new things arrived and joined my growin stable of buds:

1. Longyao Yinman 600
2. tgxear Alpha

Love them both!
Alpha is like a slightly warmer Serratus with less subbass extension and more mid focus. Very good complement to Serratus - vocals and mids are an absolute joy!
And Yinman 600 is just straight up pleasant to listen to! Warmer than Alpha and with more bass extension. Not quite as separated or open but very enjoyable to just listen to!

Unfortunately, my Yinman 600 has channels flipped (left channel marked R, right marked L). Gonna message AVVCK Store to see if they'll make up for this....

How is Yinman 600 ohms timbre and sound signature compared to ToneKing with a few different Ohms earphones?