[ARES 35]

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

Hey I would recommend both the NiceHCK Traceless 2022 3.5mm with mic or the original model NiceHCK EB2S 3.5mm with mic, they are both pretty good sounding budget earbuds with mics on them and if you buy them on discounted prices they are great value for money. There is a sale tomorrow on AliExpress 16.10.2023 and you can get the Traceless 2022 for 5€ and the OG model EB2S for around 15€. I've got them both when they first released and they costed about the same as that upcoming sale price they were around 5.5€ and 18€ I think, at their full retail price though they are not as good value for money, they both have decent mics on them and the sound quality of the EB2S is a bit better in every aspect, but the fit and ergonomics are not as good for smaller ears as the MX500 shell using Traceless 2022, since the EB2S is a bit bigger and doesn't allow for a deep fit / tight seal as easily so you will lose subbass compared to the Traceless, there are many other nice budget earbuds as well but in terms of value for money and decent build quality and mics performance these two are pretty good.

AliExpress links to the earbuds:

EB2S

Traceless 2022

 

[hansnaert]

Hey I would recommend both the NiceHCK Traceless 2022 3.5mm with mic or the original model NiceHCK EB2S 3.5mm with mic, they are both pretty good sounding budget earbuds with mics on them and if you buy them on discounted prices they are great value for money. There is a sale tomorrow on AliExpress 16.10.2023 and you can get the Traceless 2022 for 5€ and the OG model EB2S for around 15€. I've got them both when they first released and they costed about the same as that upcoming sale price they were around 5.5€ and 18€ I think, at their full retail price though they are not as good value for money, they both have decent mics on them and the sound quality of the EB2S is a bit better in every aspect, but the fit and ergonomics are not as good for smaller ears as the MX500 shell using Traceless 2022, since the EB2S is a bit bigger and doesn't allow for a deep fit / tight seal as easily so you will lose subbass compared to the Traceless, there are many other nice budget earbuds as well but in terms of value for money and decent build quality and mics performance these two are pretty good.

AliExpress links to the earbuds:

EB2S

Traceless 2022

I would spend a litle more an go for the TRN Emx (+-40 euro) and the TRN Redchain Gaming Cable (+-12 euro)
With the TRN EMX, the cable goes around the ear and a real boom mic is useable.

I have a EB2S and TRN EMA, but I find the sound not so refined.
I like the TRN EMX very much, I find it about the same sound quality as the KZ PR2 and KZ AS16PRO IEM's, just with less (or no ...) subbass.

https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006026450125.html
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004720668391.html

 

[samandhi]

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

Hey I would recommend both the NiceHCK Traceless 2022 3.5mm with mic or the original model NiceHCK EB2S 3.5mm with mic, they are both pretty good sounding budget earbuds with mics on them and if you buy them on discounted prices they are great value for money. There is a sale tomorrow on AliExpress 16.10.2023 and you can get the Traceless 2022 for 5€ and the OG model EB2S for around 15€. I've got them both when they first released and they costed about the same as that upcoming sale price they were around 5.5€ and 18€ I think, at their full retail price though they are not as good value for money, they both have decent mics on them and the sound quality of the EB2S is a bit better in every aspect, but the fit and ergonomics are not as good for smaller ears as the MX500 shell using Traceless 2022, since the EB2S is a bit bigger and doesn't allow for a deep fit / tight seal as easily so you will lose subbass compared to the Traceless, there are many other nice budget earbuds as well but in terms of value for money and decent build quality and mics performance these two are pretty good.

AliExpress links to the earbuds:

EB2S

Traceless 2022

I might second the EB2S recommendation, though it is a crap-shoot as to whether you get the ones that sound as intended or not. I think that it has been accepted that these are not consistent on how they sound coming from NiceHCK. Still, if you get the good ones, they are a very solid budget choice even at their full price.

Having said that, another recommendation of a budget bud with a mic would be the new FiiO FF1. They aren't perfect, but they have a mic, with detachable cable, and have more of a full rounded sound (as opposed to the EB2S which are good, but much thinner in sound). They have big bass quantity, and have clear treble without the added 3K boost so common on budget sets (heck, on most sets coming out nowadays). In other words, they don't seem to have any offensive tuning (to my ears). These really sound their best coming from non-audiophile sources (from my experience) such as a phone, or PS4 in your case.

Another potential recommendation might be the LUN SHENG AEOLIAN Bells. These can be either with mic or not, because they don't come with a cable. You will have to provide your own. They have a very addictive sound to them. They aren't perfect, and have a bit thinner sound to them compared to the FF1, but nothing offensive that hurts the ears (for me anyhow). I also rather enjoy the fitment of these, and can listen to them all day without discomfort, nor worrying about them falling out. The good news is that they are built like a tank, and you could probably actually run them over with a tank and they would be fine. Also, because the cable is detachable (MMCX), you can always replace the cable if it ever gets damaged.

The bad part of these though, is that QC on these is not so good. While others on here have gotten sets that are great right out of the box, I have had issues with 2 sets. The first set had a blown driver on one side (it worked but output massive distortion with ANY sort of volume past really low level). The second set has (I'm guessing) an impedance mismatch, because one side is quite a bit louder than the other (the volume balance has to be at about 40% to make them sound even). If you can live with the fact that they have some QC issues, these actually sound pretty good for a budget set.

P.S. You CAN choose (for $20) to have the A-Bells come with an MMCX BT cable as well; however, I opted out of that one, so I cannot tell you how good/bad it might be.

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!

I don't think I would recommend the AKG line for @WoodyLuvr; specifically the K702. I could be totally wrong here, but over the years I have gotten to know him a bit, and while I LOVE the K702, and they are among my favorites, they are very bright. I think that normally he looks for something that is not so hot in the upper regions (more laid back) and warmer overall. These are neither of those things... they are pure analytical/studio.

These are notoriously harder to drive than people have ever given them credit for because they are not very sensitive and have mid impedance while only having SE capabilities. They can undergo surgery to make them balanced, but at stock level, they aren't wired at the drivers to be balanced.

• 62Ohm impedance
• 105dB/1VRMS (not to be confused with 1mW, which these would actually be 92.9dB/1mW making them fairly insensitive and harder to drive from contemporary 3.5mm ports, except those desktop amps that have the capability of higher number from the same)

Either way though, all some really good recommendations.

 

[fidelio1337]

Thank you very much for the info. High expectations on his new buds.


re-terminating… this maybe the reason for the cracking sound in my case. I asked for 4.4m.

It seems that I maybe having the same issue as you faced. I'm using the Yinman 600s with a Cayin RU7 and it was fine at first but after some listening (40hours or so) I've noticed that the left side has produced some cracking sounds. Did you managed to get a replacement in the end?

 

[ARES 35]

I would spend a litle more an go for the TRN Emx (+-40 euro) and the TRN Redchain Gaming Cable (+-12 euro)
With the TRN EMX, the cable goes around the ear and a real boom mic is useable.

I have a EB2S and TRN EMA, but I find the sound not so refined.
I like the TRN EMX very much, I find it about the same sound quality as the KZ PR2 and KZ AS16PRO IEM's, just with less (or no ...) subbass.

https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006026450125.html
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004720668391.html

Hey hansnaert! I didn't recommend the TRN EMX since it's not as budget oriented at its 40€ price and I don't really like using behind the ear styled earbuds / IEMs that much so I didn't even thought about it, also I've read mixed reports before on its sound quality in lacking subbass and having sound quality not much better than the cheaper TRN EMA even, however that Boom-mic cable with the behind the ear style of the EMX would be pretty good for gaming since it's more stable and the mic quality is probably better than most of these in-line mics so it's a good idea!

I've also got both the TRN EMA and EB2S and agree that the sound quality on them both while pretty decent is not that detailed, however the build quality on them are excellent and durable for their price compared to other budget earbuds in the 5-25€ range, also TRN EMA is very comfortable and ergonomic nearly Qian39 levels of comfort, EB2S much less so if you have smaller sized ear canals it's just too large in diameter, otherwise with a loose fit the EB2S is pretty comfy for most ears. I only recommended the EB2S and Traceless 2022 from my experience for their decent in-line mics and cheap value for money prices of 5€ and 15€, btw how would you compare the TRN EMX and EMA's sound quality, is there a good improvement in terms of raw technical performance between the two? (Not counting any FR tuning differences or timbre only soundstage, imaging, perceived detail etc. since I find the EMA lacking in imaging accuracy especially).

Other decent budget earbuds with a mic to consider would be:

-OG 2012 Vido (it's one of my favourite earbuds though with flimsy cable and durability but huge value for money black or blue colour 5€)

-Qian39 (one of my most used earbuds especially for gaming and media great comfort and nice sound with good soundstage and great for casual gaming, but imaging is lacking and bit vague / blurry not for competetive FPS games or complex / busy music, playing a online game called Anthem sounds great with these though the sound design / quality in that game is great so it sounds good with most earbuds / headphones, also the OST by Sarah Schachner is great as well!, white colour with mic 19€, no-mic version used to cost around 5-15€)

-EB2S Pro (haven't used it but it seems like it's a retuned original EB2S with slightly more uppermids / treble and brighter tuning so a new NiceHCK ME80 replacement perhaps, 3.5mm with mic 28€)

-XinYue Titanium MMCX (good imaging and strong forward mids with a good strong note weight though bit shouty sometimes I EQ 1-4K down by 3dB, no cable 15€ or with XinYue's 7€ in-line mic MMCX cable 22€)

-XinYue Transparent MMCX MX500 (very bright treble and has sibilance! but also surprisingly good soundstage / imaging for 6€ lacks a bit subbass and note weight but is very airy / open, needs thick foams / double full foams / single layer teabag filter or with stock foams EQ all trebles 4.5-18K by 5dB or more to tame splashy trebles, with the XinYue 7€ mic cable 13€)

-Yincrow X6 (it's a bit bassier and V-shaped tuned 2012 Vido with slightly less mids and treble also with nicer build and accesories, black or white colour with mic 13€)

-FAAEAL Iris 2.0 (warm relaxed sounding earbuds with a large soundstage and good imaging though lacking in subbass and overall too smooth and polite sounding / lacking in weight and impact, blue, black or grey with mic 12€)

These are all pretty good earbuds with a mic for that are nice for gaming that I'd recommend there are other good earbuds as well but they don't come with a mic or are lacking in either some sound or build quality aspects or are not as cheap in price as these. AliExpress links to the earbuds below:

Vido 2012 with mic (blue or black version):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002754845953.html

Vido 2012 no mic (choose the blue version, white is 2021 revision with thinner plastics shell and less subbassy sound quality, I've bought 10+ pairs of blue Vidos here before with no problems):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...63178e9cb0!10000013226893819!sh!FI!2161405736

QianYun Qian39 with mic / Also Qian69 as well:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002275229979.html

NiceHCK EB2S Pro with mic:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005604779083.html

XinYue Titanium MMCX (choose the Titanium version, Regular bass sounds worse than most 5€ earbuds, 20€ LCP version is pretty good still):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.131.82081802Bzyz6D

XinYue Transparent MMCX (choose the 6€ no cable version, with cable version comes with a short 50cm cable and more expensive shipping costs 0.75€ vs 3.55€ shipping, warning they are hot in the treble 🌶!! Ice pick to the ear level of sibilance stock with no EQ or thick foams):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100....order_list.order_list_main.36.82081802Bzyz6D

XinYue MMCX cable with mic (blue or pink copper colour both are identical but just different coloured versions build is KZ cable like but the MMCX connections are very tight removing them is not easy as other MMCX cables I've used, maybe bad QC in the connectors tightness tolerances since it's so tight):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.185.82081802Bzyz6D

Yincrow X6 with mic (white or black colour):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/328...33257218227e173f!64763606704!sh!FI!2161405736

FAAEAL Iris 2.0 with mic (light blue colour is a newer version with a slightly better build quality cable than the original Iris 2.0 had though sound quality is identical):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/326...order_list.order_list_main.241.82081802Bzyz6D

TRN EMA with mic (only recommend these if it's on sale and you value comfort and ergonomics over sound quality):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.116.82081802Bzyz6D

Cheap Thin Foamcovers (as a bonus these are thin foamies similar to the thin VE styled foams, but are very cheap and the best value for money quality thin foams on AliExpress I've found only 1€ price + 1€ shipping for 100pieces of foams!):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/330...order_list.order_list_main.121.82081802Bzyz6D

 

[ARES 35]

I might second the EB2S recommendation, though it is a crap-shoot as to whether you get the ones that sound as intended or not. I think that it has been accepted that these are not consistent on how they sound coming from NiceHCK. Still, if you get the good ones, they are a very solid budget choice even at their full price.

Having said that, another recommendation of a budget bud with a mic would be the new FiiO FF1. They aren't perfect, but they have a mic, with detachable cable, and have more of a full rounded sound (as opposed to the EB2S which are good, but much thinner in sound). They have big bass quantity, and have clear treble without the added 3K boost so common on budget sets (heck, on most sets coming out nowadays). In other words, they don't seem to have any offensive tuning (to my ears). These really sound their best coming from non-audiophile sources (from my experience) such as a phone, or PS4 in your case.

Another potential recommendation might be the LUN SHENG AEOLIAN Bells. These can be either with mic or not, because they don't come with a cable. You will have to provide your own. They have a very addictive sound to them. They aren't perfect, and have a bit thinner sound to them compared to the FF1, but nothing offensive that hurts the ears (for me anyhow). I also rather enjoy the fitment of these, and can listen to them all day without discomfort, nor worrying about them falling out. The good news is that they are built like a tank, and you could probably actually run them over with a tank and they would be fine. Also, because the cable is detachable (MMCX), you can always replace the cable if it ever gets damaged.

The bad part of these though, is that QC on these is not so good. While others on here have gotten sets that are great right out of the box, I have had issues with 2 sets. The first set had a blown driver on one side (it worked but output massive distortion with ANY sort of volume past really low level). The second set has (I'm guessing) an impedance mismatch, because one side is quite a bit louder than the other (the volume balance has to be at about 40% to make them sound even). If you can live with the fact that they have some QC issues, these actually sound pretty good for a budget set.

P.S. You CAN choose (for $20) to have the A-Bells come with an MMCX BT cable as well; however, I opted out of that one, so I cannot tell you how good/bad it might be.

I don't think I would recommend the AKG line for @WoodyLuvr; specifically the K702. I could be totally wrong here, but over the years I have gotten to know him a bit, and while I LOVE the K702, and they are among my favorites, they are very bright. I think that normally he looks for something that is not so hot in the upper regions (more laid back) and warmer overall. These are neither of those things... they are pure analytical/studio.

These are notoriously harder to drive than people have ever given them credit for because they are not very sensitive and have mid impedance while only having SE capabilities. They can undergo surgery to make them balanced, but at stock level, they aren't wired at the drivers to be balanced.

• 62Ohm impedance
• 105dB/1VRMS (not to be confused with 1mW, which these would actually be 92.9dB/1mW making them fairly insensitive and harder to drive from contemporary 3.5mm ports, except those desktop amps that have the capability of higher number from the same)

Either way though, all some really good recommendations.

Hey there samandhi! Yeah I've also read mixed reports on the OG EB2S sound quality before ranging from very good experiences to not good at all, some saying it sounds sibilant and harsh and worse than other 5-15€ budget earbuds and others praising its sound as warm / sibilance free and organic and better than any cheap budget earbuds. I've only got one from its lucky bag release and while I like the sound quality and think they are pretty decent still it's also nothing special either (good timbre and midbass but lacks in technical performance, imaging, soundstage, detail retrieval etc. but great build durability though!), so my experience is somewhere in the middle, just like with many other budget earbuds in the 3-30€ price range it's just a matter of tuning preference since almost all earbuds in that price range do some things well and others not so well so there is always some parts of the sound quality that is lacking compared to another budget earbud in the same range and vice versa, while very good value for money and overall nice sound quality there's always compromises in some sound aspects in them.

I've used many different shell types of earbuds and in terms of fit most fit me just fine expect larger / bigger / thicker diameter sized earbuds like the EB2S or FiiO FF3 or Toneking Viridis (Green Mamba) they are too bulky for my ear canals which are a bit smaller sized than average I'd guess, but I've had no problems with most 15.4mm driver using DIY bell type earbuds or the standard MX500 shells fit me perfectly as well and all smaller sized earbuds of course too Qian39 etc.

The EB2S in particular are one of the earbuds that I find that are very sensitive to how you wear them and it can change the sound on them drastically (though a bit true with any earbuds) it could be why many people report the sound of the EB2S to be so different since it can sound both a bit thin and bright when wore with a loose shallow fit / no seal, or it can sound warm thick and basshead level of bassy (more bass than OG blue Vidos even if you wear it deep with a tight seal, requires bigger ear canals to get a constant stable deep fit though since the EB2S face diameter is about 17mm). I've used to wear almost all of my earbuds with thick full foams and using a deep really strong seal on them, MX500 are the best and most consistent for me with this method similar to how I used to put IEMs you can achieve a deeper fit and stronger seal than wearing the earbuds normally, though you sacrifice soundstage, openness, airiness, comfort and stability since the seal is easily lost.

It's similar to putting on IEMs open your mouth wide as if yawning and pull your ear backwards slightly and insert the earbud in your ear deeply and then twist the earbuds forwards / upwards towards your face / eye level a bit and the same time while doing that twist them slightly outwards / away from you so the earbuds frontcover / driver is directed directly and only towards your ear canal and not just resting on your ears, then repeat the process on the other ear or you can try doing both ears at the same time if you want and when they're fitted deeply then slowly close your mouth and fine adjust them, this "Bass ears" method as someone called it before in this thread doesn't work with all earbuds and it's dependent on your ear canal size as well, also most movement will slowly break the seal so you need to put the earbuds in again, but you get better and stronger subbass / bass wearing MX500 or other type earbuds using them like this vs normally with a looser fit, there's an image from TGXEAR earbuds that's a bit similar though simplified.

I haven't listened to the FiiO FF1 or the AEOLIAN Bells however I've seen some negative reviews of the FF1 some saying it's overpriced at 25€ and comparing its sound to cheaper earbuds like the Vidos or Iris Ancestors etc lacking in detail and overall sounding just mediocre also the build quality and FiiOs proprietary cables aren't that great and the dongle DAC having some hiss / noise could be a problem, however I trust your ears so if they have a full sounding bassy sound to them then they can't be all that bad at least.

The LunShen AEOLIAN bells I've also thought about buying before just to test their sound quality since it has a Piezo ceramic + Dynamic driver on them it's nice for 20€, however I've read the posts about the bad QC on them and also experienced a similar bad QC on my 80ohm LCP NSC Audio earbuds which came with a small crack in the copper shell and leaking glue on the front faceplate, sound quality on the NSC 80ohms while really good overall and better in most aspects as other similar prized earbuds for 18€ is still not worth it since it's closedback sounding and has a narrow soundstage width for earbuds and the weak durability and bad QC assembly, if it weren't for the narrow soundstage width and QC problems I've would have recommended them over any other budget earbuds in its 20€ price range.
Also their 18€ LunShen YEONE seems interesting that use a Paper basin driver, not to be confused with the LunShen YE01 LCP earbuds 40€ or the new 2023 LunShen YE01 14.2mm LCP driver earbuds with a SMABAT styled tuned LCP driver 80€, there's also a LunShen YE02 earbud with "Maze tech" shells that are cable behind the ear only like most IEMs or the TRN EMX mentioned before.

Also yeah I forgot about the brightness on the AKG K702 it's a different sound to the Sennheiser HD600 for sure and can be a bit Ice Pick to the ear sometimes (though not as bad as AKG K701 or K612 Pro or even cheaper Samson SR850 or Superlux HD668B). I've mostly used the K712 Pro which is slightly warmer and bassier than the K702 and you can EQ the treble on the K712 down if you want around 6-8K by 3-4dB and 12K and 18K by 5-6dB after that EQ I don't find the K712 Pro any harsh or sibilant sounding at all even compared to the HD600s, but yeah I agree about the power and sensitivity on the AKGs it's mostly displayed online as vrms instead of the real effiency by dB mW which can be a bit misleading, both my K712 Pros (64ohms / 90db mW sensitivity) and the Sennheiser HD530MkII (300ohms / 94db mW are almost equally as hard to drive and have around the same volume when listening to them on the same setups, needless to say they are harder to drive than the more sensitive Sennheiser HD600 at 300ohms / 100mW sensitivity and even the Sennheiser HD595 or 598 with around 55ohms / 102mW sensitivity

 

[anli]

though not as bad as AKG K701 or K612 Pro

For my ears k612 pro are less bright than, say, RW-2000. That is absolutely non bright.

At any case the fact we compare flathead buds with openback overear headphones is interesting.

 

[samandhi]

I've only got one from its lucky bag release and while I like the sound quality and think they are pretty decent still it's also nothing special either

I was also in the fortunate group of getting the lucky bag (before actual) release. For what they cost, they had officially replaced the X6 as the best budget buds (IME).

I haven't listened to the FiiO FF1 or the AEOLIAN Bells however I've seen some negative reviews of the FF1 some saying it's overpriced at 25€ and comparing its sound to cheaper earbuds like the Vidos or Iris Ancestors etc lacking in detail and overall sounding just mediocre also the build quality and FiiOs proprietary cables aren't that great and the dongle DAC having some hiss / noise could be a problem, however I trust your ears so if they have a full sounding bassy sound to them then they can't be all that bad at least.

Having said that above, I might have changed my mind about which ones are budget kings for me. The FF1 lack (some) resolution also but also come the closest (to my ears) to sounding like other TOTL buds. BTW! I was one of those that gave them a bad review; well let's just say not a good review. But, after using them with a lower end source (my Samsung Note 9), rather than a TOTL DAP (iBasso DX300), things just came together, and they are now glued to my phone, and sound great for what they are.

I wouldn't say that they sound just mediocre though. They are very musical and have a good and fun sound to them, though they DO lack in some technicalities. But I am so used to listening to TOTL buds, that when I say these things, it is in comparison to those, rather than other budget sets; of which I only have maybe 3 sets.

It seems as though you have a very good grasp on budget sets, and if I were taking recommendations, I might listen to you over anything I might say.

Also, I recommended (at that time) that everyone throw the dongle that comes with it away because it is complete garbage, and barely useable. Not only do you get noise, but the buds themselves sound distorted and all one note using it to my ears (but YMMV, and it may be different with different gear); almost like it is not near enough power to drive these. Of course, since we don't know the stats, we shall never know I suppose.

Also yeah I forgot about the brightness on the AKG K702 it's a different sound to the Sennheiser HD600 for sure and can be a bit Ice Pick to the ear sometimes (though not as bad as AKG K701 or K612 Pro or even cheaper Samson SR850 or Superlux HD668B). I've mostly used the K712 Pro which is slightly warmer and bassier than the K702 and you can EQ the treble on the K712 down if you want around 6-8K by 3-4dB and 12K and 18K by 5-6dB after that EQ I don't find the K712 Pro any harsh or sibilant sounding at all even compared to the HD600s, but yeah I agree about the power and sensitivity on the AKGs it's mostly displayed online as vrms instead of the real effiency by dB mW which can be a bit misleading, both my K712 Pros (64ohms / 90db mW sensitivity) and the Sennheiser HD530MkII (300ohms / 94db mW are almost equally as hard to drive and have around the same volume when listening to them on the same setups, needless to say they are harder to drive than the more sensitive Sennheiser HD600 at 300ohms / 100mW sensitivity and even the Sennheiser HD595 or 598 with around 55ohms / 102mW sensitivity

Well, as mentioned, I REALLY love the K702 (our own @FranQL recced them to me, of which he has a wonderful mod thread here also, about them). I don't have anything quite like them in my camp (signature wise). I don't find them to ever be too hot, but they allow you to do some critical listening that you would not otherwise be able to do with other gear (without the normal kilobuck price tag). You know how some people swear that you can't tell the difference between 320 .mp3 and 16/44 (much less higher resolutions)? Well, with the right gear, I would argue that you can indeed tell, and this set (paired with a really good source) is one of them IMHO.

As far as recs for @WoodyLuvr, I was thinking more on the lines of something with an overall tone like the HD600, but much different. The Hifiman HE400SE are on the budget side of planar circumaural open headphones ($150), but are absolutely fantastic for what they are... They share some DNA of all of the higher end phones from Hifiman, but at much less price. While I don't own them, I have listened to them. I still own the fabled HE400S (you know, with the funny shaped headband?). The HE400SE are kind of an amalgamation of the HE400I (bright with very deep bass) and the HE400S (warm with a bit of rolled off treble, and bigger mid bass than sub) IMO. If those don't get it, then the Sundara or Deva (or Deva Pro) are also fantastic for a bit more. Obviously, there are a "crap-ton" more options (more than one could discuss in 10 pages on this thread actually), but it is hard to weed out the crap from the good stuff nowadays.

Having said that, I would bet that Woody has probably heard most of the stuff (if it has been around for a time) out there...

 

[samandhi]

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

Those certainly look very nice. I hope they sound as good as they look?! Though, it would nice to see a detachable cable.

 

[ARES 35]

For my ears k612 pro are less bright than, say, RW-2000. That is absolutely non bright.

At any case the fact we compare flathead buds with openback overear headphones is interesting.

Hi there anli! Wow that's surprising to hear I guess our ears will all hear a bit differently (HRTF and tuning preferences / treble tolerance is different on everyone after all!) I've had the AKG K612 Pros before but returned it since the headband and wearing comfort wasn't as good as the K712 / K702, but the sound quality on them was really good for costing only 100€ (it's a bit more expensive nowadays I think), but the K612 had more forward mids / uppermids and bit brighter treble by at least a couple of dB compared to the more warmer / relaxed sounding K712 Pros which even them can have a slight sibilance in couple of narrow treble regions like 12Khz etc. so for me at least they are a bit bright sounding (though not that bad). Yeah I was mostly talking about the AKG K7** and K6** series headphones since I recommended them to WoodyLuvr for their good wearing comfort and none occlusing effect / good airflow, however they are a bit bright compared to the Sennheiser HD600s so maybe they're not the best options. Though flathead earbuds are a bit like mini openback headphones on your ears LOL while IEMs are like mini closedback headphones instead.

 

[samandhi]

however they are a bit bright compared to the Sennheiser HD600s so maybe they're not the best options.

The K702 are a LOT bright, but in a different way than a lot of earbuds (and to some extent headphones as well) in that they do have a boosted treble (mid and upper), but they are not boosted in the presence region (2K-5K). This is where it hurts my ears and where the shouty(ness) comes from for me.... I am not (actually) treble sensitive unless there is actual sibilance or tizzyness is involved (esssssssss), not perceived but real.

Though flathead earbuds are a bit like mini openback headphones on your ears LOL while IEMs are like mini closedback headphones instead.

I have always though in this vein. With some of the best earbuds, one can actually achieve a better sound in most cases than can be had with open back headphones (again, IMHO).

Though there ARE some advancements that are causing some IEMs to (sort of) cross that threshold. I have a set of closed back headphones, for instance, that have a MUCH wider and deeper soundstage than do the HD600 (though they aren't rivaling stuff like the OG HD800 or anything that extreme). Those are the Focal Elegia BTW. And I also have some IEMs (iBasso IT-07) that can get pretty close to some of the front-runners in their technicalities. Of course, they will never be able to completely solve the "closed" feeling you get from these head gear types though. To my ears, the Raptgo Bridge have better staging than anything I have heard, short of the HD700 (which are only beaten by the OG HD800 IMO), as another example...

Having said that last part about the Bridge, I suppose I have not A/B'ed them against the Moondrop Chaconne, or Rose Technics Maria II yet to be able to say that with 100% surety.

 

[EddyRnB]

Guys, does anyone here has the VE Monk Pro Vita? Can't find any review about them... Thanks!

 

[samandhi]

Guys, does anyone here has the VE Monk Pro Vita? Can't find any review about them... Thanks!

I don't own them, and this isn't a full review, but will get you started:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/venture-electronics-thread.963357/post-17137913

 

[EddyRnB]

I don't own them, and this isn't a full review, but will get you started:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/venture-electronics-thread.963357/post-17137913

Thanks!!!

 

[ARES 35]

Yeah for their sale price of 15€ they are really good budget earbuds (and in many ways better than the X6 or the OG 2012 Vidos) but at their full retail price of 30-35€ they are not that good value for money in terms of pure sound quality, again they sound good it's just they lack a bit in soundstage size and imaging / separation qualities and also detail isn't the best, but timbre is good and if you get a good strong seal the bass is strong as well, but I guess some of the negatives about the sound I have with the EB2S is also due to the fit being too big and I can only use it with a loose shallow fit most of the time, thus the lack of subbass and overall sound isn't as good as it could be when worn with a deep fit / strong seal.

Though the lack of raw technical performance is balanced out with a really durable and good quality build for its price both the metal shell and the CCA like cable has been very durable, while my old Vidos and X6s can last anywhere between couple of weeks to couple of months to 2 years honestly the durability and flimsy cables on them are a lottery, sometimes they last a long time even when used as beater pairs for daily commuting or as backup pairs for holidays / trips, or sometimes the cable or the drivers themself just disintegrate on their own even when only used at home for casual listening etc.

Well it's good to hear some positives about the FF1 I guess I've had too high expectations of it thus making my impressions of them overly critical, if it's a decent and fun sounding earbud with strong bass then I guess it's not a bad pair for its price, however I feel like the FF3 is still the best of the FF line of FiiOs earbuds.

When I started using Flathead earbuds again couple of years ago I only owned around 5 different earbuds, but now I've listened to maybe 30 pairs of them (almost all cheap Budget-Fi models) and I learned that although these cheap 1-20€ models offer huge value for money / sound quality per $, the sound quality on them is mostly sidegrades / tuning preferences and maybe in hindsight I should have just saved my money and bought a couple of high end earbuds instead like the Fiio FF3 / FF5 or Yincrow RW-2000 / RW-3000 or DIY models like the Serratus. LOL oh well I can't spend much on this hobby anymore for now and I'm still happy with all the different earbuds / headphones that I've got.

Yeah if the dongle or any DAC/Amp in general has some hissing / Amp noise it's useless for me since my reason for using a DAC/Amp in the first place is to have zero backround noise / no hissing and of course more power / volume for harder to drive headphones / earphones. There are so many good and cheap value for money dongle DAC/Amps to buy from AliExpress that there's no reason to use a crappy dongle that has some static hiss or distortion etc.

Yep the K702 and all the K7** and K6** series headphones have good perceived detail to them and a big open / airy sound thats a bit bright but still very good for their price of around 100-220€ (US prices might be more expensive than ones here in EU).

Spoiler: 320MP3 vs CD/FLAC

Most of my music is in lossless FLAC / CD quality or good quality MP3 320kpbs (converted from FLAC / CD source etc.) and with few songs and tracks that have a good recording quality and or good mixing / mastering quality that I'm familiar with and have listened to many times and I could hear the difference in lossless and MP3 320kpbs but the differences are very small and you basically have to critically listen to small compression artifacts and difference in FR small cutoff in either bass or treble or listen to the backround noise of the recording itself for clues (on live, orchestral, classical recordings it's easier to hear), on the K712 Pro and even Senn HD530MkII or some high end earbuds / IEMs the differences are also more easier to hear.

With lower quality 128 / 192kpbs MP3s the compression artifacts are more noticeable, but if I convert my CDs or FLACs to 320kpbs the differences are pretty small so I don't really pay attention when listening to my library if its a 320kpbs MP3s or FLACs they both sound good (unless it's a lower quality 320kpbs MP3 that has been converted from another lossy format to begin with, as long as it's from a lossless source then it sounds just fine), though I still prefer CDs / FLACs overall for their lossless archiving and ease of converting nature as well and slightly better sound quality.
There's some Hi-Res recordings from a Norwegian label called 2L Nordic Music though I haven't listened to many of them just a few, also 7Digital and Bandcamp has some Hi-Res format albums / songs as well and even the Anthem Game OST by Sarah Schachner I mentioned earlier could be considered Hi-Res since it's only available in 44.1khz/24bit format, also I've bought the Sonic Forces Hires Collections OST by London Symphony Orchestra in 96khz/24bit format and it sounds pretty good but comparing it to the converted 320MP3 versions of the same songs (track 1 This is our World and track 2 Theme of the Resistance - Title screen ver) I don't hear that much of a difference, also Berserk Golden Age Arc I-III OST in CD/FLAC vs 320kpbs converted of the same songs again I hear little difference not much to concern when listening normally (not critically looking for differences), mostly I hear differences with some Albums / songs that are already in a very lossy compressed format to begin with 192kpbs when comparing to their FLAC lossless counterparts, IMO the original recording quality of the song and mixing / mastering quality is more important than the file format and of course the headphones / earbuds are most important as well.

I've listened to both the old original HE400i model and the newer HE400SE and if you can buy them for 150-200€ prices they are pretty good though again a bit bright and the comfort is not as good on them compared to the AKG K7** series or even HD600s, the build quality and durability is also much riskier with Hifimans you never know if you get a good one or if it breaks easily, but with the cheaper HE400SE it's at least less risky since it's cheaper and has good sound for its price, I like Hifimans for their sound but the bad QC and build and not so light weight / wearing comfort is a problem for me. Another good Planars that I've heard before that WoodyLuvr might like more due to its tuning are the old Pre-Fazor Audeze LCD2 headphones they were pretty dark and warm sounding much more so than the two Hifimans also the bass and overall sound quality / detail was better, but the price is too expensive and it's hard to find one sold nowadays, but yeah with the audio knowledge he has on earbuds alone I bet he's already heard many many different models of headphones before!