Jun 20, 2024 at 1:31 AM Post #75,916 of 78,715
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'm really glad to hear the store didn't leave you high and dry and hope it's smooth sailing from here.
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 1:58 AM Post #75,917 of 78,715
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.
Be kind and put some photo with drivers and shells 🍻
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 5:01 AM Post #75,918 of 78,715
So you also should buy the EB2S pro, because the standard EB2S is right now your favorite earbud very much regardless of price.
I ordered them yesterday. Price came down to around 20€ with coins and a coupon. 😁This time without microphone. Nice to hear the cable is better, but have to say that I am having no problem with the cable so far on the non pro version, it does not tangle and is very light.
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?
Agreed that the bass (quality and slightly more quantity required), soundstage and especially imaging for the instruments relying on treble (shakers, cymbals and the like) are the small downside in EB2S. It is mostly not a problem in "simple" non convoluted music consisting of a more or less typical setup like bass, vocal, drums, guitars.
I will have to say though that the Rikubuds Grand Alter Saber 3 is absolutely a totl bud. So this is definitely not an in between stop or detour! Treble is smooth and very detailed, detail retrieval throughout the whole frequency range ist crazy good, timbre oh so beautiful. Quality of the bass is also outstanding, but I would wish for some more quantity... All the great technical abilities in conjunction with the more bright leaning sound signature create a sensation of hyperrealism in the content played back. Staging is also very very good, it is the only bud I own, that actually manages to put the vocalist in front of the band, instead of the vocal "floating on top" of the music as usual. So it goes actually beyound displaying depth in a track only via the baked in reverb of the track, as other buds do for me. However the sense of "hyperrealism" is also the thing I am fighting with, making me reach for the EB2S more despite of the clearly inferior technicalities. In GAS3 I find myself somethimes craving more warmth and bass, making me turn up the volume a little, only to find a few minutes later, that the music is suddenly demanding too much intellectual attention from me because of the slight treble emphasis (never painful though!), and I turn the volume down again. In contrast to the EB2S or RY4S which I can put in my ears and simply leave in there for hours on end...

So if you don't mind me asking: how is the rest of the sound signature of the blox? Is it somehow comparable to the EB2s in treble, mids, timbre with a boost in bass and better technicalities? Or is it generally more relaxed sounding?
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 5:18 AM Post #75,919 of 78,715
I ordered them yesterday. Price came down to around 20€ with coins and a coupon. 😁This time without microphone. Nice to hear the cable is better, but have to say that I am having no problem with the cable so far on the non pro version, it does not tangle and is very light.

Agreed that the bass (quality and slightly more quantity required), soundstage and especially imaging for the instruments relying on treble (shakers, cymbals and the like) are the small downside in EB2S. It is mostly not a problem in "simple" non convoluted music consisting of a more or less typical setup like bass, vocal, drums, guitars.
I will have to say though that the Rikubuds Grand Alter Saber 3 is absolutely a totl bud. So this is definitely not an in between stop or detour! Treble is smooth and very detailed, detail retrieval throughout the whole frequency range ist crazy good, timbre oh so beautiful. Quality of the bass is also outstanding, but I would wish for some more quantity... All the great technical abilities in conjunction with the more bright leaning sound signature create a sensation of hyperrealism in the content played back. Staging is also very very good, it is the only bud I own, that actually manages to put the vocalist in front of the band, instead of the vocal "floating on top" of the music as usual. So it goes actually beyound displaying depth in a track only via the baked in reverb of the track, as other buds do for me. However the sense of "hyperrealism" is also the thing I am fighting with, making me reach for the EB2S more despite of the clearly inferior technicalities. In GAS3 I find myself somethimes craving more warmth and bass, making me turn up the volume a little, only to find a few minutes later, that the music is suddenly demanding too much intellectual attention from me because of the slight treble emphasis (never painful though!), and I turn the volume down again. In contrast to the EB2S or RY4S which I can put in my ears and simply leave in there for hours on end...

So if you don't mind me asking: how is the rest of the sound signature of the blox? Is it somehow comparable to the EB2s in treble, mids, timbre with a boost in bass and better technicalities? Or is it generally more relaxed sounding?
Please see review of the Blox TM11 below.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/blox-tm11.27257/reviews
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 6:36 AM Post #75,920 of 78,715
Thank you very much! Nice review. "...extremely versatile for almost any genre." I like this sentence especially. 👍 I think I had already read this review a few weeks ago. My memory is terribly bad. 🤦 I will seriously think about getting it. Have to wait some time though, bought the GAS3 not too long ago, and i simply cannot justify buying buds for 200€ once a month...
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 6:45 AM Post #75,921 of 78,715
Be kind and put some photo with drivers and shells 🍻
Pictures taken kindly.

The 80 ohm LCP drivers I got from this are temporarily inhabiting the shell. I haven't listened to this configuration long, but I think they sound better in the EB2S shell than the one they came in. The stem can fit a cable diameter of about 2mm and the shell is closed in the back behind the cable. Looks like the gap and facet on the shell's back is purely decoration.

IMG_20240620_032703.jpg

EB2S drivers.jpg


I had the drivers installed in a spare MX500 shell for a day before relocating the cable I was using into my now MMCX-less RY4S plus. The pictured EB2S drivers' surface may have gotten scalded a bit; they were the 2nd and 3rd things I had ever soldered. I definitely heard potential for something interesting and entirely different from them in the brief time they were in the MX500 shell.
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 6:46 AM Post #75,922 of 78,715
Thank you very much! Nice review. "...extremely versatile for almost any genre." I like this sentence especially. 👍 I think I had already read this review a few weeks ago. My memory is terribly bad. 🤦 I will seriously think about getting it. Have to wait some time though, bought the GAS3 not too long ago, and i simply cannot justify buying buds for 200€ once a month...
The Blox TM11 is 180USD.
Please buy a Blox TM11 and if you like it (and you probably will) add more great reviews!:L3000:
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 7:02 AM Post #75,923 of 78,715
The Blox TM11 is 180USD.
Please buy a Blox TM11 and if you like it (and you probably will) add more great reviews!:L3000:
Haha please buy and leave a review even if you don't like it 😅
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 7:04 AM Post #75,924 of 78,715
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.jpgS2-PRO 03.jpg


I placed a pre-order back in 2023, but have not received any package.
Now, I see that they're already selling on AliExpress...
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 8:48 AM Post #75,925 of 78,715
I placed a pre-order back in 2023, but have not received any package.
Now, I see that they're already selling on AliExpress...
I also did the crowdfunding in Feb or Mar '24. I wasn't expecting a shipment, they just showed at my front door. Now that we know the S2-Pro are shipping, I'm sure you'll be getting your set pretty soon.

Edit: I tried Super One drivers and the bass did increase, but the overall sound balance didn't sound right to me. Next I tried the ST20 40Ω LCP drivers and the entire sound profile is much better.

ST20 40Ω LCP "Big Windmill" driver
ST20 LCP Driver module.jpg
 
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Jun 20, 2024 at 9:57 AM Post #75,927 of 78,715
I placed a pre-order back in 2023, but have not received any package.
Now, I see that they're already selling on AliExpress...

I'm also waiting for mine.
I will say that the crowdfunding price was way cheaper than what I see on AliExpress.
Yaknow, if I get mine, I'll feel gratified about that.
 
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Jun 20, 2024 at 10:08 AM Post #75,928 of 78,715
I'm also waiting for mine.
I will say that the crowdfunding price was way cheaper than what I see on AliExpress.
Yaknow, if I get mine, I'll feel gratified about that.
I hope you get yours soon. The bery driver sounds ok, was a little light on the bass. Since you haven't been in the Smabat M4 / M5 eco system, you might have to get a few different driver modules. So far I've tried the Super One and the ST20 LCP drivers and the ST20 LCP will be my driver of choice for now.
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 10:19 AM Post #75,929 of 78,715
So do you guys think that in 2024, that Vido colors still make a difference sound wise? I'd like to replace my pair as the cable up by the drivers are like needles. I could take the housings off and use the cable as a weapon. It's crazy.

The pair I have are red. But I'd like to go with a blue or white. Which the thread seems to think are safe. But the posts I'm reading are back in 2020. So you would think 4 years later any color would be safe...

Anyways thanks for any info on an ancient pair of buds. But they're so good, and perfect for the glove box, or to fall asleep in, that I might as well get another pair during the sale.
 
Jun 20, 2024 at 11:20 AM Post #75,930 of 78,715
Smabat S2-Pro UI and firmware "OTA" update info. Unfortunately only in Chinese.

https://www.smabat.com/smabat2/vip_doc/27936599_0_0_1.html

For what it's worth, here's the User Interface chart and rough google translation below.
S2-PRO UI function chart.jpg


Smabat-S2 Pro UI features
Listening to music processIncoming call processPower onShutdownReset
ButtonSingle touchDouble touchTriple touchSingle touchDouble touchPress and hold for 3 secondsPress and hold for 3 secondsPress and hold for 3 seconds to turn on the earphone and hold
Left side touchVolume +Play / PauseNext trackAnswer / Hang upRefuse call(Boot sound)(Key tone)
Left + RightWait until you hear the clearing sound, then turn off and on again.
Right side touchVolume -Play / PauseNext trackAnswer / Hang upRefuse call(Boot sound)(Key tone)
 

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