[EddyRnB]

I think it's time for a shift around in my rankings...



Source: Mostly Defiant (due to desk listening these days), DX300 Amp12 otherwise.

1. VE Asura Pure White Shining (Bell-Horn, 150ohm)
2. FQL Ibis (DP100, 400ohm graphene)
3. FQL Blue Moon
4. TGXear Alpha (MX500, 600ohm bery)
5. TGXear Desolation Sound
6. VE Zen Shining Ultimate (Bell-Horn, 320ohm)
7. Blur OFC MX64 aPs Special Tuning Edition (MX500, 64ohm, white glue variant)
8. VE Zen SL (custom PK, 320ohm)
9. TGXear Sunniva + tuning kit (MX500, 180ohm bery)
10. VE Sun DICE (Bell-Horn, 180ohm)

Honorable Mentions:
Blur OFC PK150 Wraith (PK, 150ohm)
FranQL Aquila (DP100, 85ohm bio)
Blur OFC MX400 non-aPs Special Tuning Edition (MX500, 400ohm graphene)
VE Monk A1 (MX500, 32ohm bio)

A few movers and shakers of note. @FranQL blew my mind with Ibis and Blue Moon. Super special earbuds in their own rights, one organic and dynamic, the other incredibly clean, resolving and delicate. The Blue Moon reminds me of the high techs of ClieOS planar, good staging and excellent air. Thankfully vocals are much more soulful and there's no unfortunate low end roll off. The Ibis feels like my old Blur OFC MX400 non-aPs STE fully realised. Less dampened and more emotive but with a similarly analog sound and convincing timbre. It flew up my list and has made the Blur rather obsolete for that special timbre sauce. The Ibis has a weightier low end and better dynamics than TGXear Alpha and competes with it in terms of technicalities. The Ibis is just that bit more warm and exciting as an allrounder where the Alpha tends to specialise more with instruments/classical. Fran is truly at the top of his craft. These are two stunning sets and they represent a prime virtue of the flathead realm, the special people in it and the heart put into creating the best sound.

Desolation Sound has really impressed me, it's resolving, has character and lacks very little apart from some low end weight. The reason it features further down is that I find the timbre less convincing than those above it and that may be part in due to the lighter fundamental notes. I do reach for the Alpha more but on the go, Desolation Sound needs less power to shine so it is a strong alternative.

Another surprise was the VE Monk A1. It's a warm but detailed vocal-orientated set with a lot of heart that will more than justify the likely price tag. I imagine it won't be more than $30 (no formal price on it yet) and I have happily used it as a my 'beater' set for over a month and it's given some really beautiful moments to my acoustic vocal tracks with great instrument separation and string texture.

Could you give more impressions on the Zen SL? It's hard to find reviews for it...
Great collection!!!

 

[ian91]

Could you give more impressions on the Zen SL? It's hard to find reviews for it...
Great collection!!!

Zen SL is very good. The Zen driver scales very, very well with amplification. It's one I would recommend if you have a good amplifier to use with it (similar to Zen SU). It's still enjoyable off a DAP but you're not getting the stage and dynamics if you don't power it well. The tonality is a slightly bass boosted neutral really. A very capable set. It reminds me of Zen SU but not as warm, nor as forward. Dynamics don't compete with Zen SU but it still feels vital and exciting. Fit for me with the PK shell is great. Cable is supple and not very microphonic. Vocal/acoustic and jazz both sound really nice on it.

I reach for Zen SU when I want excitement and when I want a less forward, more neutral listen for instrumental I go for the APWS. This leaves the Zen SL in the middle of that line up tonally but slightly redundant when you're fortunate enough to have the other two. The others are also better in the technicalities department. Nonetheless, an excellent earbud as an all-rounder if you want to go for a VE bud.

Oooh mate that'd be fun! I'm afraid my offerings for the table will be quite meager compared to your collection but I'm trying to get my hands on a DIY IEM from Mike Bruce!

Doesn't matter! It's more just about the fun of sharing this niche part of a niche hobby.

In other news I’ve ordered the Zen SU and excited to hear it’s great macro dynamics!

Let me know when you put a bit of Tool through it. Especially this banger:


You'll need to play with the fit a bit more than APWS due to larger bell-horn size but it's worth it.

 

[weexisttocease]

Thank you for sharing your top 10 Ian!

Enjoyed this post very much but I have to say I am even more intrigued now with FQL especially with @Leonarfd recent post as well. I hope we plebs can have a chance to hear his amazing buds soon.

In other news I’ve ordered the Zen SU and excited to hear it’s great macro dynamics!

Thank you for all your impressions of the SU!

I echo your sentiments of DS as well. It’s still one of my favorites while APWS is still sitting in my #1 slot. I will be receiving my Cypherus Audio Black Dragon Susvara in a few weeks as well and anxious to compare.

I also have ordered the Zen SU with the Prime DAC and RA2B-FE.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

I also have ordered the Zen SU with the Prime DAC and RA2B-FE.

Awesome! I’ll be curious your thoughts. How’s the burn in on the ’s going?

 

[weexisttocease]

Awesome! I’ll be curious your thoughts. How’s the burn in on the ’s going?

It's going strong. I'm having a hard time deciding which one I prefer but they're complementary, which is a good thing. Timbre and resolution is top tier on both but they have a different tonality. Caldera is warmer with mid-bass focus and Susvara is more neutral with fantastic sub-bass. I tested Tool's Chocolate Chip Trip and it sounded phenomenal.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

It's going strong. I'm having a hard time deciding which one I prefer but they're complementary, which is a good thing. Timbre and resolution is top tier on both but they have a different tonality. Caldera is warmer with mid-bass focus and Susvara is more neutral with fantastic sub-bass. I tested Tool's Chocolate Chip Trip and it sounded phenomenal.

I’m wondering if the Zen SU and Caldera will be more redundant or complimentary in your collection. Your description of Caldera sounds similar to Ian’s or his Zen SU. But we all hear differently.

 

[weexisttocease]

I’m wondering if the Zen SU and Caldera will be more redundant or complimentary in your collection. Your description of Caldera sounds similar to Ian’s or his Zen SU. But we all hear differently.

It could be but hopefully the Zen SU has a more pliable cable. The cable of the Dragons is a nightmare, unfortunately.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

It could be but hopefully the Zen SU has a more pliable cable. The cable of the Dragons is a nightmare, unfortunately.

Oh shoot! That is lame about the cables.

 

[weexisttocease]

Oh shoot! That is lame about the cables.

Quality sounding cables but very stiff and microphonic.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Just listed my MASS Kobo 475 amp so I can sell it to get the Defiant + Docking bay

I hope it sells quickly so I can get the Defiant asap

 

[Ace Bee]

I think it's time for a shift around in my rankings...



Source: Mostly Defiant (due to desk listening these days), DX300 Amp12 otherwise.

1. VE Asura Pure White Shining (Bell-Horn, 150ohm)
2. FQL Ibis (DP100, 400ohm graphene)
3. FQL Blue Moon
4. TGXear Alpha (MX500, 600ohm bery)
5. TGXear Desolation Sound
6. VE Zen Shining Ultimate (Bell-Horn, 320ohm)
7. Blur OFC MX64 aPs Special Tuning Edition (MX500, 64ohm, white glue variant)
8. VE Zen SL (custom PK, 320ohm)
9. TGXear Sunniva + tuning kit (MX500, 180ohm bery)
10. VE Sun DICE (Bell-Horn, 180ohm)

Honorable Mentions:
Blur OFC PK150 Wraith (PK, 150ohm)
FranQL Aquila (DP100, 85ohm bio)
Blur OFC MX400 non-aPs Special Tuning Edition (MX500, 400ohm graphene)
VE Monk A1 (MX500, 32ohm bio)

A few movers and shakers of note. @FranQL blew my mind with Ibis and Blue Moon. Super special earbuds in their own rights, one organic and dynamic, the other incredibly clean, resolving and delicate. The Blue Moon reminds me of the high techs of ClieOS planar, good staging and excellent air. Thankfully vocals are much more soulful and there's no unfortunate low end roll off. The Ibis feels like my old Blur OFC MX400 non-aPs STE fully realised. Less dampened and more emotive but with a similarly analog sound and convincing timbre. It flew up my list and has made the Blur rather obsolete for that special timbre sauce. The Ibis has a weightier low end and better dynamics than TGXear Alpha and competes with it in terms of technicalities. The Ibis is just that bit more warm and exciting as an allrounder where the Alpha tends to specialise more with instruments/classical. Fran is truly at the top of his craft. These are two stunning sets and they represent a prime virtue of the flathead realm, the special people in it and the heart put into creating the best sound.

Desolation Sound has really impressed me, it's resolving, has character and lacks very little apart from some low end weight. The reason it features further down is that I find the timbre less convincing than those above it and that may be part in due to the lighter fundamental notes. I do reach for the Alpha more but on the go, Desolation Sound needs less power to shine so it is a strong alternative.

Another surprise was the VE Monk A1. It's a warm but detailed vocal-orientated set with a lot of heart that will more than justify the likely price tag. I imagine it won't be more than $30 (no formal price on it yet) and I have happily used it as a my 'beater' set for over a month and it's given some really beautiful moments to my acoustic vocal tracks with great instrument separation and string texture.

Hi, I have a question. I asked Lee what is an upgrade over Sun Copper, and he said Zen Shining Ultimate. I see you have that and Desolation Sound both. Can you give me a brief comparison between the Desolation Sound and Zen SU, so that I can get a idea if I should go for it or not. I really love the Sun Copper except the bass - the subbass is a bit compromised although not a deal breaker, and the timbre sounds a bit off due to the prevalent warmth in the midrange.

 

[LordZero]

What are the best budget earbuds with mic? I plan to use it with the PS4.

 

[ian91]

Hi, I have a question. I asked Lee what is an upgrade over Sun Copper, and he said Zen Shining Ultimate. I see you have that and Desolation Sound both. Can you give me a brief comparison between the Desolation Sound and Zen SU, so that I can get a idea if I should go for it or not. I really love the Sun Copper except the bass - the subbass is a bit compromised although not a deal breaker, and the timbre sounds a bit off due to the prevalent warmth in the midrange.

You won't find lots of sub bass from the Zen SU. It's predominantly mid bass with an intimate presentation to make it exciting. In my opinion, very few earbuds I've heard reach deep enough to sound complete in the low end, including DS and Zen SU. As for warmth in the midrange, you will also have a similar warmth with the Zen SU as you do in Copper, especially if you underpower it. I can't give you accurate comparisons with Copper since I don't own it (as you know).

Desolation Sound and Zen SU couldn't be further apart. Desolation Sound sounds limp compared to the dynamic, closed back-esque sound of Zen SU. DS is more balanced across the three bands and Zen SU has a very forward midrange. Desolation Sound is much more transparent, textured and open. Zen SU has less note definition and much greater note weight.

Zen SU is an upgrade from Sun Copper but I don't think it's going to correct what you feel is deficient in the latter. My advice would be to enjoy the Sun Copper for a while longer before moving on to the next purchase.

 

[Reebonz]

New flagship earbud from Ksearphone set for November release. Easier to drive than the current flagship Bell-Ti Plus.

 

[ARES 35]

Dear Flathead Fiends (aka Earbud Comrades),

Very disappointing news for me. I had a follow-up visit today with my otolaryngologist (ENT) and audiologist and my tests were not favorable in regards to flatheads. Thankfully, nothing too serious for day-to-day life though.

With my particular type of hearing damage and loss incurred in the line of duty and so as to prevent any further deterioration of my hearing and to properly manage unique tinnitus both docs (in full cahoots with my wife of course) have decided that I can no longer have ANYTHING in and/or covering my ear canals no matter how lightly it may be (primarily due to the occlusion effect).

Therefore, I have been relegated to full-size over-the-ear open-back only headphones. Thankfully I love music far more than I do gear so I know I will manage to weather this abrupt tempest and soon adapt .

With immediate effect, I will be selling off all my remaining flathead earbuds .

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ALL SOLD! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• FranQL Caelum; 120Ω
• RikuBuds Saber 3; 64Ω
• Longyao-Yinman 龙谣音曼 2.0 醇净 600 LE; 600Ω
• Blur 256 PK16 White Face LE; 16Ω

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ALL SOLD! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So as to make sure I will walk the line and fully embrace my new open-back (Sennheiser HD 600) only lifestyle and to avoid tempting myself I will refrain from participating in flathead/earbud oriented threads here on Head-Fi and over on SBAF and on the Discord earbud-related servers. I most definitely would like to still hang out and participate in threads oriented to the Sennheiser HD 600, vacuum tube amps, and other related source/accessory threads.

Accordingly, for my own sanity, I will also have to abandon the custodianship of maintaining the Flathead Timeline and The Flathead Corner (Flathead Rankings). I will of course leave the docs up on Google Docs shared to all who have the link though I would advise that some people should capture the data in some way just in case I abruptly kick the butt! I am a senior citizen so it is entirely possible.

Thank you and mad respects to you all!

Thank you for all the info and history on earbuds you've provided over the years, I've learned a lot from them and from reading the Earbuds-Timeline your posts will be missed, but taking care of your health is most important! I'm actually in a similar situation myself and haven't read Head-Fi or bought or even used earbuds in months since I got Covid almost 9 months ago and from then my ears have been irritated and sore when I've tried using any earbuds even for couple of hours, I've got many earbuds but now they all lie unused in the drawer, only Qian39 or my old Sony PSP earbuds from 2006 or similar shell using Fake bootleg Sony MDR808+ copies with no foams are at least somewhat usable for a few hours (though the next couple of days my ears will be sore).

I can only hope you will quickly get used to using only openback over-ear headphones that doesn't touch your ears at all and have good airflow, sadly there are many openback over-ears which will touch the ears even a little bit and thus are unusable. Luckily you already have the Sennheiser HD600 which are very good and have a nice organic / realistic timbre to them, I would reccomend also the AKG K702 / AKG K712 Pro if you want another good headphones which are comfortable and not touching the ears at all, I think any HD6** or AKG K7** series headphones make for a really good pairing / combo since the Sennheisers are intimate sounding (bit narrow) with a organic timbre and relaxed treble while the AKGs are bright and wide sounding with good perceived detail and airy sound but not as realistic in timbre as the Sennheisers, they compliment eachother really well.

I've been using almost only the AKG K712 and also retro / vintage Sennheiser-HD530MkII from 1988-1991 which are extremely similar to the HD600 in both sound quality / timbre and FR tuning but a bit leaner / thinner note weight and have few dB less bass. It's basically an old HD600 tuned to the Diffuse Field sound tuning target that predates the HD600 by around 9 years, however I wouldn't recommend it since you got the HD600 already it's so similar in its sound it would be a sidegrade and have all the condition / build issues of buying a 33-36 year old headphones so it's not worth the hassle of cleaning the headphones / changing new pads etc.

Thanks again for your earbuds knowledge and take care!