[drewbadour]

I have the DQSM Panda and the B40.
The B40 is much better. Much better definition, separation and clarity.

For a smaller shell I recommend the Ksearphone LBB. Not the LBBS which is more expensive and worse IMO. The LBB has excelent sound and very conmfortable. A bit more pricey though.

I'm using a good DAC - ifi Zen Air DAC. A good DAC is essencial for earbuds IMO, as it really gives them the bass and fullsound quality they deseve. A good dongle is usually enough.

Is your panda the old one that was warm or the more recent one which is bright and clear?

Apparently it's changed quite a bit.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Thanks. Just to be clear, you are recommending getting the donut shaped (orange one) in VE's ex-pack? or any in that Ex-Pack range?

I also noticed that your signature shows a way to order FF3 foams itself. I have reached out to FiiO to see if I can order additional crisp foams.

The HieGi foams are indeed thicker and, thus, dampen a bit more than the Fiio Crisp donuts. That said, they're great to have around and I enjoy them and use them on a couple of my pairs. The VE donuts are thinner and I also have donuts from "O-ffice E-lectronics Store" on AliExpress that are thin, but stretchy so they don't tear easily and retain their shape well so they don't get stretched out and have to be replaced like some do. I have found them to be quite similar to the Fiio crisps, but they're very cheap and I like them a lot.

Of course, if you're committed to using the Fiio Crisp foams you can just order more of them from Fiio through their AliExpress store. I believe @Ronion still has a link in his sig to my instructions on where and how to purchase them. They're a bit expensive though so it just depends on how important they are to you.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Which earbuds have the best soundsprofile?
Im looking for buds to use on a regular AUX.

That really depends on you and what sound profile you prefer as well as what you're planning using them for. Also, how much you're willing to spend could be a factor as well. If you can give me/us a budget, maybe some sound signature or music preferences, and whether you'll be using them for music, movies, games, etc then I/we can probably give you a better answer rather than a huge list of buds.

 

[4ceratops]

I'll start by saying that I prefer donuts to fulls in foams. Apparently it's my preference for bass earbuds, where I don't even want to sacrifice their treble potential. That said, I like thicker foams, for the sake of a better fit in my more dimensional ear. My ideals in terms of thickness and color palette from cheap foams are met by Trig Rain foams, but not so much in terms of sound, which, due to their density and thickness, dampens the highs. At the same time, such a wide colour palette of foams is not available in the donut version, or I just haven't discovered it. One more caveat: never order a color-mixed pack, the foams can easily color each other in the pack.

So I'd like to share the simple method by which I transform these full foams into donuts. I found the tool in my wife's workshop, she uses it when punching leather in making her handbags.
The diameter of the tool allows you to create exactly the hole you want on the side of the ear.

I suppose that this procedure has occurred to many people if by chance it hasn't, let them like it...

Trig Rain foams:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32671911259.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.0.0.21ef1802rSXwYF

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I'll start by saying that I prefer donuts to fulls in foams. Apparently it's my preference for bass earbuds, where I don't even want to sacrifice their treble potential. That said, I like thicker foams, for the sake of a better fit in my more dimensional ear. My ideals in terms of thickness and color palette from cheap foams are met by Trig Rain foams, but not so much in terms of sound, which, due to their density and thickness, dampens the highs. At the same time, such a wide colour palette of foams is not available in the donut version, or I just haven't discovered it. One more caveat: never order a color-mixed pack, the foams can easily color each other in the pack.

So I'd like to share the simple method by which I transform these full foams into donuts. I found the tool in my wife's workshop, she uses it when punching leather in making her handbags.
The diameter of the tool allows you to create exactly the hole you want on the side of the ear.

I suppose that this procedure has occurred to many people if by chance it hasn't, let them like it...

Trig Rain foams:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32671911259.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.0.0.21ef1802rSXwYF

I use leather punches to create offset donuts where the hole isn't in the center, but is lower and to the side so that it lines up more closely with the entrance to my ear canal. I still use traditional donuts on some because the sound is different so the offset version just gives me another option. I believe it was @assassin10000 who introduced the idea to me.

 

[Ronion]

I'll start by saying that I prefer donuts to fulls in foams. Apparently it's my preference for bass earbuds, where I don't even want to sacrifice their treble potential. That said, I like thicker foams, for the sake of a better fit in my more dimensional ear. My ideals in terms of thickness and color palette from cheap foams are met by Trig Rain foams, but not so much in terms of sound, which, due to their density and thickness, dampens the highs. At the same time, such a wide colour palette of foams is not available in the donut version, or I just haven't discovered it. One more caveat: never order a color-mixed pack, the foams can easily color each other in the pack.

So I'd like to share the simple method by which I transform these full foams into donuts. I found the tool in my wife's workshop, she uses it when punching leather in making her handbags.
The diameter of the tool allows you to create exactly the hole you want on the side of the ear.

I suppose that this procedure has occurred to many people if by chance it hasn't, let them like it...

Trig Rain foams:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32671911259.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.0.0.21ef1802rSXwYF

This is really brilliant. I was wondering if it could be so easy. Punching holes so smoothly it’s almost greasy. Making budget foams that breath so freely. Would they ever get TB and wheezy? With HieGi foams, it would feel so sleazy. So sleazy and skeezy my girl might leave me…

yeah, I’ll keep my day job. Buenos Dias earbud people.

 

[brad86]

I decided on buying some bell shape cases today. Even though I can't get on with MX500 fit, I'm hoping these might just fit a little better. Worth the risk.

I will be throwing my RY4S Plus driver inside them, as this is my favourite sounding earphone, just ahead of the Faaeal Iris V1.0. I have spare sets, so I can afford to mess up a couple. Considering how terrible sounding the B40 are in comparison to these sets, I felt like I had to find an alternative that works, without sacrificing the sound of those.

 

[Ronion]

I’m assuming you got bell shapes that can handle 15.4mm drivers?

 

[brad86]

I’m assuming you got bell shapes that can handle 15.4mm drivers?

I did indeed. Expecting the worst, but it's part of the fun, I guess. I'll be very happy if it works out sound, and fit wise.

 

[Ronion]

I did indeed. Expecting the worst, but it's part of the fun, I guess. I'll be very happy if it works out sound, and fit wise.

Let us know either way. It’s all about learning and having fun. Do you have a link to the shells? I really want to do some metal shells, but the 2 I’ve bought are challenging to tune and I’m going to have to get my workbench assembled to make it happen. I know how to make it happen, but I like the simplicity of these plastic shells.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Does anybody know what the story is behind the panther references nonsense at ASR? I end up on their measurments threads every once in a great while, like this evening, and the polls have references to panthers, Amir's begging for donations references panthers, people post references to panthers, etc, etc, etc. I've never stuck around long enough to track down an answer and don't really want to, but I seem to remember someone (@o0genesis0o maybe?) on this thread saying something about the "headless panther" stuff so I figured I'd ask.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Does anybody know what the story is behind the panther references nonsense at ASR? I end up on their measurments threads every once in a great while, like this evening, and the polls have references to panthers, Amir's begging for donations references panthers, people post references to panthers, etc, etc, etc. I've never stuck around long enough to track down an answer and don't really want to, but I seem to remember someone (@o0genesis0o maybe?) on this thread saying something about the "headless panther" stuff so I figured I'd ask.

Just Amir's cheeky way of providing subjective ranking of stuffs. Headless panther is the worst. Golfing panther (or happy panther? I don't remember) is the best. The polls at the top of the post by ASR commenters always seem to agree with whatever panther that Amir chose.

Just to be clear, I have no problem with Amir at all (though I have seen people digging dirt about his shady links with some manufacturers). He is generally helpful and reasonable, and I find his measurements useful to a certain degree. For example, I have seen a certain Bluetooth DAC/AMP that have absolutely horrible measurement (30 SINAD, I think?) and poor output (~ 2Vrms balanced). No matter how "boutique" the brand is, I'm not paying that much for that performance.

Some of his followers, though (you know, the "hungry for learning" crowds / clowns). I don't understand why some brands like iFi and many folks who like to "roll" sources stick around there for verbal abuse by those people.

---

I don't know. There is some thing icky when I think about DAC/AMP. I don't understand them enough because I didn't pay attention in electronic course in Uni, so I cannot say why things sound the way they sound. I know that they don't sound the same and some sources sound "better" (more separated, larger stage, better "depth"). However, I don't know how that differences happen and where they are on the measurement. Moreover, "experienced" folks on both "sides" are vocal about whether sources make / do not make a difference. So I always doubt what I hear (and have a lot of hesitation to pen reviews for DAC/AMPs).

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Just Amir's cheeky way of providing subjective ranking of stuffs. Headless panther is the worst. Golfing panther (or happy panther? I don't remember) is the best. The polls at the top of the post by ASR commenters always seem to agree with whatever panther that Amir chose.

Just to be clear, I have no problem with Amir at all (though I have seen people digging dirt about his shady links with some manufacturers). He is generally helpful and reasonable, and I find his measurements useful to a certain degree. For example, I have seen a certain Bluetooth DAC/AMP that have absolutely horrible measurement (30 SINAD, I think?) and poor output (~ 2Vrms balanced). No matter how "boutique" the brand is, I'm not paying that much for that performance.

Some of his followers, though (you know, the "hungry for learning" crowds / clowns). I don't understand why some brands like iFi and many folks who like to "roll" sources stick around there for verbal abuse by those people.

---

I don't know. There is some thing icky when I think about DAC/AMP. I don't understand them enough because I didn't pay attention in electronic course in Uni, so I cannot say why things sound the way they sound. I know that they don't sound the same and some sources sound "better" (more separated, larger stage, better "depth"). However, I don't know how that differences happen and where they are on the measurement. Moreover, "experienced" folks on both "sides" are vocal about whether sources make / do not make a difference. So I always doubt what I hear (and have a lot of hesitation to pen reviews for DAC/AMPs).

I feel you. If I was in your shoes and reviewing a DAC, amp, or combo I would just make it clear from the beginning that your review will be based solely on an audio lover and layman's subjective opinion on its sound and performance. It's hard to legitimately know and understand every facet of any of the audio tech we use every day unless you are immersed in the design, engineering, and production of them as a hobby.

I, for one, find that the VAST majority of folks claiming to understand the minutiae of all these things on most forums are either too ignorant to know how much they stilk don't understand or are charlatans. They exist in every hobby and on both sides of any issue. That said, there are certainly some folks around who clearly understand a lot of the tech and I generally find them to be pretty easy to spot because they tend to be humble and helpful and are rarely the ones loudly proclaiming their viewpoints and expertise.

For me, I just trust my ears. I know from my profession and experience that I have very capable ears that are more than capable of telling me what they hear. I love to understand why they hear what they hear, but I'm also okay with sometimes admitting that I don't. It comes down to this: If my ears are consistently hearing a difference, then even if I can't explain that difference it make sense to adjust my experience based on it because, in the end, I'm the only one capablenof accurately evaluating my experience. The reasons behind the differences become secondary to the observation that they exist.

That said, I don't allow myself to be intellectually lazy or stop being rigorous in my pursuit of answers. When I hear a difference in some element of my rig, I do my utmost to isolate that element and replicate that difference under as many different circumstances as possible to both verify it's existence and to determine, as accurately as possible, its cause. Once that's done I spend quite a bit of time researching and attempting to educate myself in regards to the in and outs if the isolated component/technology so that I can pursue any future changes from a a place of educated understanding. The pursuit of that knowledge and understanding will never end for me and is one of the things I love about this hobby.

When I can't find adequate answers or my own intelligence and education limits my understanding (and I've done what I can to overcome those limits), I'm equally okay with admitting that I don't know something and simply stating that my belief relies upon my trust in my ears and experience. In something as subjective as audio, I take absolutes when I find them, but I relish the certain amount of wonder that exists in the areas where absolutes elude me.

For you as a reviewer, I understand the need to explain as much as you can in onjective absolutes, but don't forget that when people read your reviews they're also trusting your opinion. I think as long as you're open and honest about what those opinions are based off of, whether provable absolutes or subjective observation, people will respect those opinions. I mean, anyone can regurgitate measurments and write paragraphs interpreting a graph. A successful review, IMO, is as much, if not more, about telling the readers about what the graph doesn't cover. A graph doesn't tell the whole story and it's your job as a reviewer to try as best as you can to fill in the blanks. Thankfully you do that very well in your reviews.

Sorry for the treatise. That was a bit longer than I intended lol!

 

[Ronion]

Just Amir's cheeky way of providing subjective ranking of stuffs. Headless panther is the worst. Golfing panther (or happy panther? I don't remember) is the best. The polls at the top of the post by ASR commenters always seem to agree with whatever panther that Amir chose.

Just to be clear, I have no problem with Amir at all (though I have seen people digging dirt about his shady links with some manufacturers). He is generally helpful and reasonable, and I find his measurements useful to a certain degree. For example, I have seen a certain Bluetooth DAC/AMP that have absolutely horrible measurement (30 SINAD, I think?) and poor output (~ 2Vrms balanced). No matter how "boutique" the brand is, I'm not paying that much for that performance.

Some of his followers, though (you know, the "hungry for learning" crowds / clowns). I don't understand why some brands like iFi and many folks who like to "roll" sources stick around there for verbal abuse by those people.

---

I don't know. There is some thing icky when I think about DAC/AMP. I don't understand them enough because I didn't pay attention in electronic course in Uni, so I cannot say why things sound the way they sound. I know that they don't sound the same and some sources sound "better" (more separated, larger stage, better "depth"). However, I don't know how that differences happen and where they are on the measurement. Moreover, "experienced" folks on both "sides" are vocal about whether sources make / do not make a difference. So I always doubt what I hear (and have a lot of hesitation to pen reviews for DAC/AMPs).

I bet the SINAD of my B4X is lousy. It is however euphonic to me. When I want something that’s utterly neutral, I have my Atom or my A5 in a portable situation. They are definitely cleaner and have better separation and such. Still there’s something about lousy sound that sounds good to me. I’m not fooled into thinking it’s in some way better other than the better enjoyment I get from listening to it. Nowadays the sources that are designed to be transparent are at worst so close to that as to be identical to the ear provided they have the power to get the transducers up to the same listening level and dynamic range. Of course today I was at work on my lunch break with my Apple Dongle and a pair of 300 Ohm buds loving life listening to a John Williams composition that absolutely sounds like the various instrument groups were all playing in different keys—just mind blowingly good. How people get things like that to work is beyond me, but I want to compose like that.

I know my viewpoint may be contradictory for someone who has gone through so much work to get a neutral sounding set of earbuds, but you can see that they amount of destruction a DAC or amp does to the signal is orders of magnitude less than an average off the shelf transducer, so I view it as adding a little spice or in some cases making a meal a bit more insipid so that the raw quality of the ingredients can be enjoyed.

2/3rds of those amps were literally designed to create errors and of my commercial buds, these are the most neutral (Though none of them are that).

 

[o0genesis0o]

I feel you. If I was in your shoes and reviewing a DAC, amp, or combo I would just make it clear from the beginning that your review will be based solely on an audio lover and layman's subjective opinion on its sound and performance. It's hard to legitimately know and understand every facet of any of the audio tech we use every day unless you are immersed in the design, engineering, and production of them as a hobby.

I, for one, find that the VAST majority of folks claiming to understand the minutiae of all these things on most forums are either too ignorant to know how much they stilk don't understand or are charlatans. They exist in every hobby and on both sides of any issue. That said, there are certainly some folks around who clearly understand a lot of the tech and I generally find them to be pretty easy to spot because they tend to be humble and helpful and are rarely the ones loudly proclaiming their viewpoints and expertise.

For me, I just trust my ears. I know from my profession and experience that I have very capable ears that are more than capable of telling me what they hear. I love to understand why they hear what they hear, but I'm also okay with sometimes admitting that I don't. It comes down to this: If my ears are consistently hearing a difference, then even if I can't explain that difference it make sense to adjust my experience based on it because, in the end, I'm the only one capablenof accurately evaluating my experience. The reasons behind the differences become secondary to the observation that they exist.

That said, I don't allow myself to be intellectually lazy or stop being rigorous in my pursuit of answers. When I hear a difference in some element of my rig, I do my utmost to isolate that element and replicate that difference under as many different circumstances as possible to both verify it's existence and to determine, as accurately as possible, its cause. Once that's done I spend quite a bit of time researching and attempting to educate myself in regards to the in and outs if the isolated component/technology so that I can pursue any future changes from a a place of educated understanding. The pursuit of that knowledge and understanding will never end for me and is one of the things I love about this hobby.

When I can't find adequate answers or my own intelligence and education limits my understanding (and I've done what I can to overcome those limits), I'm equally okay with admitting that I don't know something and simply stating that my belief relies upon my trust in my ears and experience. In something as subjective as audio, I take absolutes when I find them, but I relish the certain amount of wonder that exists in the areas where absolutes elude me.

For you as a reviewer, I understand the need to explain as much as you can in onjective absolutes, but don't forget that when people read your reviews they're also trusting your opinion. I think as long as you're open and honest about what those opinions are based off of, whether provable absolutes or subjective observation, people will respect those opinions. I mean, anyone can regurgitate measurments and write paragraphs interpreting a graph. A successful review, IMO, is as much, if not more, about telling the readers about what the graph doesn't cover. A graph doesn't tell the whole story and it's your job as a reviewer to try as best as you can to fill in the blanks. Thankfully you do that very well in your reviews.

Sorry for the treatise. That was a bit longer than I intended lol!

Your ability to thumb your phone is outstanding, mate

You know, "for you as a reviewer" suddenly makes me feel pretentious. What does it even mean to be a "reviewer". A talkative audio geek sounds better

Btw, today I learn that the voice coil opening is supposed to face upward (the opposite direction to the stem). I swear that all tutorial that I learned and all the commercial buds that I have opened have the voice coil facing down. Strange.