[samandhi]

I was swapping back and forth with different Op Amps and finally ended up with MUSES02 Op Amps. Originally I thought I had problems with the MUSES02, but they have been rock solid and putting out some nice sound.

Fantastic! I love it when things go right...

 

[samandhi]

I thought I would change things up a bit for tonight.

Spoiler: Neutron Player > DX160 > Smabat M4 > Super One 100ohm bio driver

 

[Ronion]

I thought I would change things up a bit for tonight.

Spoiler: Neutron Player > DX160 > Smabat M4 > Super One 100ohm bio driver

No Sturgill Simpson? C’mon man

 

[mt877]

I thought I would change things up a bit for tonight.

Spoiler: Neutron Player > DX160 > Smabat M4 > Super One 100ohm bio driver

I see your cable has slight twist deformity as well. I guess it will straighten out over time as the cable relaxes. My FF3 cable had a bad twist and bend near the left bud, it's 100% gone now. It just took some time and I loosely coiled the cable for storage. I think that helped(?).

 

[samandhi]

No Sturgill Simpson? C’mon man

LOL I'm gettin' there.

I can see why you like him. He sounds VERY much like a younger Waylin Jennings (which I still love). Good Rec bro!

 

[samandhi]

No Sturgill Simpson? C’mon man

Ok, apparently, I am not the first (nor probably 1000th) person to mention how much he sounds like Waylin, so don't tell him I said so because apparently, he doesn't like it too much... LOL

https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2022/05...-waylon-jennings-waymores-blues-back-in-2014/

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Awesome!

Don't know if you are aware of it or not but here is an awesome Blur Earbuds thread started by @siderak. There is a wealth of information in this thread. You can also use us Blur owners over there as a sounding board when trying to finalize your model.

Although a bit shy at first, Blur is truly the consummate gentlemen whom will remain patient and attentive to your requests. He also is very straightforward and will surely let you know if his current model(s) do not meet you requirements. Do take your time when communicating with him. Clearly and thoroughly give your preferences and dislikes (a lot of people expect him to be a mind reader which I don't get sometimes). Most importantly do provide him with some thoughtful music selection as he will use them to tune to your preference (I recommend make it easy for him and provide YouTube links or such). This is a hobby for him (not a business) so he does thoroughly enjoy the comradery and the audio discussion and process in creating his earbuds. Sometimes I think, and unintentionally, people are too business-like and/or not patient enough with him and they lose out in the process, as well as fail to secure the best tuning for themselves (there are a number of us over on the Blur thread that will attest to this!).

Currently, he is only offering the Blur 266R MX aPs Reference Retune; MX 32/64/150/300Ω (w/ Air Pocket Shell; 266v4 aka "266 Clear" cabling) though currently he is sourcing a PK shell replacement (he already has some PK drivers again) so a PK model similar to his 2021 266 PK32 New Line is forthcoming !

Awesome! Thanks for the info. I barely got home about 30 minutes ago after another 40 hour studio run and I'm exhausted from long hours drumming and no sleep so I'm just gonna unwind and see if I can catch some sleep, but then I'll surely hit up the Blur thread and see about putting together a list of songs I'd like a set tuned for.

I really appreciate all the advice present and future. I'd like to think I'm patient and respectful to any DIYers in particular, but knowing that it's still just a hobby and not a business for him is certainly a good thing to keep in mind. One question though, so even though he has models and product lines he'll custom tune to preferences?

Not to compare the two, but what Herry did to these Cypherus Black Editions is CRAZY! They sound totally different and are simply amazing. I mention them because he and I exchanged emails about tuning and musical prefs and that resulted in the tweaks he made to these. They went from being very good to something exceptional that fit what I was looking for very well. I like the idea of that kind of buyer-maker collaboration producing the best fit.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Blur has in store for me already, but I certainly intend to take my time to secure the best outcome.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

What are the best earbuds for orchestral music such as Mahler symphonies? A few options at different price bands would be very much appreciated

I am absolutely floored by how the Simphonio Dragon 3s sound with orchestral music. I listened to Mahler's 4th and 9th the other night on them and it sounded sublime! They have the perfect combination of balance through the whole sonic range, instrument separation, great detail retrieval, a large soundstage and presentation to really do dynamic orchestral/symphonic pieces justice. Particularly something powerul with a lot of dynamic interplay, crescendo/diminuendo, etc like Mahler's works are known for are a perfect match on the Dragon 3s.

Mahler is one of my favorite composers, too! I'd also like to mention that the Dragon 3s do a lot of other genres well to so you'd get an earbud that matches your preferences without pigeonholing you as an overly specialized bud can sometimes do.

Other buds to look at would by the Yincrow RW-3000s, the Rose Technics Maria IIs (though these are what I would call a highly specialized earbud), and the Moondrop Chaconnes. I personally didn't enjoy the Chaconnes much, but I'm clearly in the minority and many think they're the best or amongst the best for classical.

Obviously, there are DIY builders too. I just got two amazing pairs of earbuds from Cypherus Audio and I have a very good pair from @RikudouGoku as well though you'd need to ask these makers for their recommendations for classical since my purchases with them weren't geared towards that. I can easily recommend either as being great to deal with and both are talented at rexommending and producing products to match a buyer's tastes IME. Riku offers a more affordable option while @Cyperus aka Herry at Cypherus Audio is well known for producing some of the best buds in the business.

I hope this helps!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Specifically to @samandhi , @mt877 , and @DBaldock9 and of course to anyone else interested. I was able to spend about an hour on a break I took today with the M4s with the Super One drivers installed and the Super One buds themselves because I was just too curious to hear what, if any, differences the two shells would create. My session was interrupted and my impressions should be considered very preliminary, but the Super One buds provide a deeper reaching low end, seemingly more sub bass, and the low end seemed a bit tighter and more detailed/articulate. The M4s with the Super One driver still sounded quite tasty and I have to say that the pretty steep price difference is probably not altogether justified, but I reserve final judgement on that for a time when I have done much more listening in better conditions.

Right now I'm just trying to unwind so I'm not going to do any listening on the Smabats right now because I don't want to get caught up in a critical listening sesh lol! I'll keep you guys posted though.

 

[samandhi]

Specifically to @samandhi , @mt877 , and @DBaldock9 and of course to anyone else interested. I was able to spend about an hour on a break I took today with the M4s with the Super One drivers installed and the Super One buds themselves because I was just too curious to hear what, if any, differences the two shells would create. My session was interrupted and my impressions should be considered very preliminary, but the Super One buds provide a deeper reaching low end, seemingly more sub bass, and the low end seemed a bit tighter and more detailed/articulate. The M4s with the Super One driver still sounded quite tasty and I have to say that the pretty steep price difference is probably not altogether justified, but I reserve final hudgement on that for a time when I have done much more listening in better conditions.

Right now I'm just trying to unwind so I'm not going to do any listening on the Smabats right now because I don't want to get caught up in a critical listening sesh lol! I'll keep you guys posted though.

Take your time bro, your gonna' burn yourself out.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Take your time bro, your gonna' burn yourself out.

I'm all good man. Non-critical listening sessions to unwind and some sleep are just what the doctor ordered. I won't be burning out any time soon. You have to remember, I'm used to very little sleep so the last 5 days haven't been as hard on me as they'd probably be for most.

I'll let you guys know how those impressions hold up over time. I'm also not sure when I'll get around to demoing the other drivers so I wanted to be up front about that so no one would be eagerly awaiting my next brilliant impressions post.

 

[fooltoque]

It feels kinda sacrilegious, but they were the only buds within hand's reach, so I plugged the FiiO EM5s into my VR headset. It was actually great, immersion wise. Has a much more natural feel in VR than my other buds or headphones. I'm guessing that means that the EM5 sound signature is more true-to-life than my others, and I guess it also means that I don't especially go for true-to-life in my music. Good to know that about myself

And also glad that I found a place for my EM5s.

 

[Danneq]

Not to compare the two, but what Herry did to these Cypherus Black Editions is CRAZY! They sound totally different and are simply amazing. I mention them because he and I exchanged emails about tuning and musical prefs and that resulted in the tweaks he made to these. They went from being very good to something exceptional that fit what I was looking for very well. I like the idea of that kind of buyer-maker collaboration producing the best fit.

Next one might be a Red Dragon for you. My CAX Black Edition was the "regular" kind and really really good but the Red Dragon was a huge step up. I wrote about it here in 2018:

Cypherus is a small Indonesian maker who is among my favorites and there is a TOTL earbud called Cypherus Red Dragon which is custom made and tuned according to the buyer's wishes. Herry of Cypherus told me that one customer wanted his Red Dragon tuned like Audeze LCD 3 and another wanted his pair tuned like Focal Elear. Red Dragon starts from $600. I actually own the first pair made. The original owner bought them for over $700 and I got them second hand for a little over $600. They are exquisite and sublime and can compete with high end headphones. The cable is quite thick though so they are not very good for portable use.

My pair was tuned like Sennheiser HD800S. I forgot to bring the Red Dragon to Japan this year, but next time the family goes I have to bring them and go to Yodobashi or some other place that has HD800S and try to compare them.

Have been burning the TRN EMX for over 2 days now and not too overwhelming. Will try different foams and cable.

 

[Ronion]

Next one might be a Red Dragon for you. My CAX Black Edition was the "regular" kind and really really good but the Red Dragon was a huge step up. I wrote about it here in 2018:


My pair was tuned like Sennheiser HD800S. I forgot to bring the Red Dragon to Japan this year, but next time the family goes I have to bring them and go to Yodobashi or some other place that has HD800S and try to compare them.

Have been burning the TRN EMX for over 2 days now and not too overwhelming. Will try different foams and cable.

Do we have pictures of what a $600 earbud looks like? I didn’t know that such a thing exists.

 

[Ronion]

I wish everyone would do a little DIY. Last night after tearing down a garage, tired and sore, I drank 9%ABV beer, and in less than 10 minutes in a dimly lit room built and tuned the 600Ohm Be drivers with less than $40 spent to an approximation of my curve. I used my dirty old HeiGi foams for the tuning because I want to know what these things are going to sound like when they reach their steady state. They are a knockout! Separation, clarity, composure, warmth and soundstage is all there. A completely fatigue-free sound that can play anything optimally (approximately) barring hiphop or some electronica. Even then it has enough power handling that it’s not horrible. I can get these to sound a little closer to perfect, but my tuning supplies are running short and my desire to fiddle is low. I wish everyone would just buy a TOTL driver and have a go. I messed around with a lot of cheap ones to get comfortable, but it’s largely unnecessary. One or 2 practice runs for due diligence and then go for it.