Jun 19, 2024 at 5:10 AM Post #75,901 of 78,637
Temperament X6 is recommended.
The NiceHCK EB2S Pro is not recommended as it is not that different from the NiceHCK EB2S you already have.
Do you own/have heard both of the EB2S varieties? Judging by the graph the pro version should be warmer/less bright sounding than the standard variety. Is this really the case? There must be more tuning changes than just the differing cable, making me wonder if I indeed need the pro version too. The EB2S is right now my favorite earbud regardless of price.
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 6:04 AM Post #75,902 of 78,637
Do you own/have heard both of the EB2S varieties? Judging by the graph the pro version should be warmer/less bright sounding than the standard variety. Is this really the case? There must be more tuning changes than just the differing cable, making me wonder if I indeed need the pro version too. The EB2S is right now my favorite earbud regardless of price.
I have owned both of the EB2S varieties before. But I sold the standard variety. As like judging by the graph the EB2S pro is warmer/less bright sounding than the standard variety.

So you also should buy the EB2S pro, because the standard EB2S is right now your favorite earbud very much regardless of price.
 
Last edited:
Jun 19, 2024 at 6:39 AM Post #75,903 of 78,637
Wow! The frequency graph looks weird. The blue filter seems to make things even worse. It seems we might wish for a third filter that brings down the bump at 500hz some more and reduces the dip at 1,5khz even more. Hopefully it will sound nothing like the graph suggests... ☺️

Earbud graphs are not really meaningful TBH.

Cause earbuds don't seal or sit inside the ear canal, even slight variations in the earbud insertion depth, earbud foam type etc will skew the graphs tremendously during measurements.

Also what is measured on a coupler does not translate to what the end-user hears cause of our different ear anatomy causing the earbud to sit differently outside the ear.

Perhaps they are useful to compare tonality within a same user/rig, using the same foams/insertion depth, but otherwise interpreting a earbud graph in isolation is gonna be super misleading.
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 6:48 AM Post #75,904 of 78,637
I have used those in conjunction with normal foams over it. I tried them once to find out if I prefer those hooks to normal silicone rings.
The fit became very stable for me, but after some time it hurt me a little. Also I wondered why the sound was so bright suddenly, but was thinking it only was daily deviation in my hearing.
When I changed back to silicone rings I got back the normal sound with more bass. Turns out that while I got a very stable fit with those hooks, it apparently was not a correct seating in the concha, resulting in bass loss.
This may or may not be the case for you, beeing dependant on ear anatomy.
I suggest buying donut foams (those have the least effect on sound) and also these silicone rings while you are ordering the hooks to try out all different sorts of combinations with/without foam. There will be variations in sound and fit. Like this you can find the (hopefully!) perfect fit and even tune the sound for you (no foam/donut doam/full foam).
Screenshot_20240619_104516.jpg
Those nicehck silicone rings are a lot more expensive than the cheap variety, but they simply work a lot better making them the better choice overall.
Good luck! 😊
I finally decided to buy the silicone rings from Yincrow. They seem to be a little thinner than the ones from NiceHck, but I won’t know the details until my goods arrive.
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 7:05 AM Post #75,905 of 78,637
Earbud graphs are not really meaningful TBH.

Cause earbuds don't seal or sit inside the ear canal, even slight variations in the earbud insertion depth, earbud foam type etc will skew the graphs tremendously during measurements.

Also what is measured on a coupler does not translate to what the end-user hears cause of our different ear anatomy causing the earbud to sit differently outside the ear.

Perhaps they are useful to compare tonality within a same user/rig, using the same foams/insertion depth, but otherwise interpreting a earbud graph in isolation is gonna be super misleading.
It still begs the question, why they post a graph for their product then... Earlier @jogawag posted a frequency graph comparison of EB2S vs EB2S pro. Those graphs are at least informative and are similar to what we are used to see from frequency graphs of in-ears. So while it seems difficult to do a measurement with buds it can be done at least a lot better than BGVP have done with their DX7! Not the greatest marketing decision here from BGVP to show this graph imo... 😌
It might sound awesome!
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 7:24 AM Post #75,906 of 78,637
I have owned both of the EB2S varieties before. But I sold the standard variety. As like judging by the graph the EB2S pro is warmer/less bright sounding than the standard variety.

So you also should buy the EB2S pro, because the standard EB2S is right now your favorite earbud very much regardless of price.
Dammit - I guess I will have to then! Am not a fan of the blue colorway though, also price is more than double. Will watch the pricing on Aliexpress for some time and probably buy them.
I own the Rikubuds Berserker 1 and the Grand Alter Saber 3 as more expensive and qualitatively better options but find myself reaching for the EB2S more often because the tonality seems to match my library and tastes so well.
I see you recommending the Blox TM11. How does your Blox tonally compare to the EB2S/EB2S pro? (Thinking these 2 are not worlds apart...)
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 8:13 AM Post #75,907 of 78,637
even slight variations in the earbud insertion depth, earbud foam type etc will skew the graphs tremendously
You have describe the main idea of Chaos Theory. Seriously. Now we all here know where we are.
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 10:41 AM Post #75,908 of 78,637
Dammit - I guess I will have to then! Am not a fan of the blue colorway though, also price is more than double. Will watch the pricing on Aliexpress for some time and probably buy them.
I own the Rikubuds Berserker 1 and the Grand Alter Saber 3 as more expensive and qualitatively better options but find myself reaching for the EB2S more often because the tonality seems to match my library and tastes so well.
I see you recommending the Blox TM11. How does your Blox tonally compare to the EB2S/EB2S pro? (Thinking these 2 are not worlds apart...)
Comparison of the Blox TM11 with the NiceHCK EB2S Pro

The EB2S Pro is the new big brother of the NiceHCK EB2S; compared to the EB2S Pro, the TOTL sound offered by the TM11 is immediately and easily identifiable. The TM11 is much deeper, especially in the soundstage.
Everything sounds richer on the TM11 (especially sub-bass and bass). There is more detail and better imaging; there is still less sub-bass on the EB2S Pro; the EB2S Pro sounds excellent for a budget earbuds, but not as good as the TM11.

Well, the mmcx cable used in the Blox TM11 alone is more expensive than the EB2S Pro, so there was no comparison to be made.
Wouldn't it be better for you to buy TOTL's Blox TM11 at once instead of stopping at Rikubuds?
 
Last edited:
Jun 19, 2024 at 12:57 PM Post #75,909 of 78,637
Maybe check out the Rikubuds Grand Alter Saber 3.
I recommend the BLOX TM11 (around 180 USD).
I'd recommend looking into LREY as well.

Appreciate the suggestions, folks. There is no rush, so I will keep watching this thread while slowly digesting what is out there. 👍

Care to share some recommendations based on the requirements below?
  • For background music in the office
  • Any tuning except too dark. E.g.: neutral, warm is preferred, V would also be nice
  • Easy or hard to drive; Harder would be preferable -- stupid fétiche, I know
  • Budget: $200 -- can stretch a little, assuming it is a killa product
  • Detached cable using standard and robust MMCX interface -- :information_source: automatically excludes fixed cable, 2-pin or any proprietary MMCX connector
  • Robust housing -- e.g.: MMCX itself might be robust but it is mounted on a fragile housing
  • Durable -- likely a combination of the two previous requirements

Forgot to include in the requirements, but size matters here, so a DD bigger than 15mm will also get extra points from me. I am currently using those NiceHCK rubber rings to expand the FF5 so I can have a more secure fit while also getting some more bass/seal.

Cause earbuds don't seal or sit inside the ear canal, even slight variations in the earbud insertion depth, earbud foam type etc will skew the graphs tremendously during measurements.

This has been a (fun) battle with FF5. It is always a thin line between having some minimum viable treble or having a boommy bass. And that is simply by small increments in positional variation. For instance, as of today, I have abandoned the foams as it downtilts the whole tonality and the sound becomes veiled for me. I will probably revisit this, as soon as I have better control on this angry bull. :smile:

And the channel imbalance due asymmetrical conchas / ear canals? Don't even get me started on this. :smiling_imp:
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 5:42 PM Post #75,910 of 78,637
The sound of the earbuds that came with the Nintendo Game Boy was surprisingly good better than I expected.
But the cable was flimsy and only 50cm long, so I re-cabled it and converted it to MMCX.
1000081963.jpg
1000081964.jpg


1000081962.jpg
 
Last edited:
Jun 19, 2024 at 5:56 PM Post #75,911 of 78,637
The sound of the earbuds that came with the Nintendo Game Boy was surprisingly good.
But the cable was flimsy and only 50cm long, so I re-cabled it and converted it to MMCX.
1000081963.jpg1000081964.jpg

1000081962.jpg
I wonder if @WoodyLuvr knows who made those Gameboy earbuds...
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 10:28 PM Post #75,912 of 78,637
Apologies for response delay, postponing stuff is a vice.
Well I think I have you beat on that front lol, I do the same thing and it's even worse when I'm not feeling the best. I have several things I need to post at some point that I've been saving for a while now but I wanted to be feeling decent so I could respond to them promptly.

Hmm, nice thinking, an angled connector must solve it.
I think i'm going for NiceHCK SnowAg as i've been eyeing this for some time now, and the curve near the connector is also very agressive
Yep it's made a world of a difference for me, the only thing is that for my ears the aggressive curve does cause a little bit of discomfort after wearing for a while but it's manageable. I've tried a couple other cables with a less aggressive curve but the hit to sound quality was too much so I'm still using the WhiteSky.

That cable looks pretty similar to the WhiteSky, it looks like it just has a different color scheme so hopefully it's been fitting well for you assuming you've received it by now.

Oh, reading these i finally noticied a flaw i had commited a few posts back, i had misread your post when you asked me about earclips, what i did tried were earhooks, like that silicone rings with a hook; i'm sorry, gonna buy the earclips and see how it goes.
Yeah it's confusing since they're sometimes used interchangeably, I would use the term wireguide instead of earhooks but most listings on AliExpress use earhook in their description. It's already hard enough to find either in the first place that I don't want to use wireguide and make it even harder for someone reading this to find what they're actually looking for. Earclip was the only term that wasn't also used in listings for earhooks so it's what I've been using for the plastic version but if anyone has better terms that are still used in AliExpress listings please let me know.

I'm deeply sorry to hear that mate, hope the store solves your problem with no hassle.
Sadly, we already had at least one serious case (at least that i'm aware of) of a similar happening with Ksearphones/Temperament in this thread, the retired WoodyLuvr had the misfortune of getting a pair of Bell Ti with a loose voice coil. i had already heard people complaing about QC problems with this brand products, but i do not remember if they were this serious.
Thankfully CKLewis was ok with me returning it for a refund, it was just delivered to the return center yesterday so I haven't received my refund yet but hopefully everything goes well. I already received my replacement and it's been fine so far but I only used it for a few hours before I left for a doctor's appointment and I didn't take it with me so hopefully it doesn't have the same issue as my first one.

I had seen that post from Woody and the discussion around it but I couldn't remember the specifics of what his problems were; it's not great to hear that I'm experiencing the same problem with an entirely different model. It's not a great feeling when you have a $80-100 defective pair of earbuds but I'm sure it's much, much worse for a $400 pair. I've read that there have been issues with loose connections or broken wires with other models but I haven't run into that with my X10 or X6 so my fingers are crossed. I've got an X3 on the way too as well as some more earhooks with different designs to try and mitigate any future connection issues but I'm holding off on getting the DB1 until I make sure that my replacement DB1E is problem free and I don't run into issues with any of the other Ksearphones models I have.

This buzzing you talked about, it happens only when EQ is active?
Unfortunately yes, it wasn't as pronounced but it was definitely still present. I could've lived with it if I had to but knowing how much the low-end can be improved by EQ it would have felt like I was losing some of its potential. Not to mention the risk of it getting worse and not just being limited to a couple of songs which was my biggest worry.
 
Jun 19, 2024 at 10:54 PM Post #75,913 of 78,637
If anyone is running a group buy for LREY earbuds, please me know! I'm interested in ordering the Aurora with MMCX head, but shipping to the US would be half the price, then to ship that through a courier to Argentina would be another $50 on top.
 
Last edited:
Jun 20, 2024 at 12:06 AM Post #75,914 of 78,637
In a previous post I said I wasn't going to get a set of these, but my curiosity got the better of me.

Smabat S2-PRO. Accessories are a bit sparse, only a short charging cable, 2 pairs of full foams and only one size of ear support loops.

For first sound impressions, I'll just say that these buds are not ice picks in my ears. While there is bass, it's a little lacking. I think it's due to a shallow fit in my ears. If I press the buds into the concha the bass increases. I should try swapping out the supplied beryllium driver with the Super One driver and see how the sound changes.

S2-PRO 00.jpg
S2-PRO 01.jpg

S2-PRO 02.jpg
S2-PRO 03.jpg
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 1:17 AM Post #75,915 of 78,637
Judging by the graph the pro version should be warmer/less bright sounding than the standard variety. Is this really the case?
As a fan of both bud variants, my experience with them more or less corresponds with the graph, though the difference in the upper mids may not be as stark. Thankfully the pro retains the nice timbre of the original to me. I generally used the pro more than the original primarily due to the pro's cable behaving better and taking much longer to start hardening near the stem.

On the topic of the EB2S and its tuning, I noticed that my original bud had more fit position-dependent variance in its sound than other buds I'd heard. Last week I decided to open my old EB2S (I have a fresh spare) and cannibalize it for DIY parts. In doing so I noticed that the voice coils of the left and right buds were aligned off-center and inconsistently, as opposed to the typical top or bottom symmetrical alignment. I suspect this to be a contributing factor. I may decide to peek inside my pros later to see if anything visible changed internally, but not until I buy or make something else that somewhat fits its niche in my bud rotation.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top