Earbuds Round-Up

[samandhi]

Yeah I'm excited! But while I wait for the Artiste Nightingale, here's my impressions of the NiceHCK EBX25Ti, on loan from Ascii!

Source: ifi ZEN stack, ONIX Alpha XL1
Music: jazz, classical, vocals, from Tidal
Foams: TGXEAR stock full foams

Build, fit
- Built like a tank! Lovely metal shells. Stock cable is fabric but not microphonic. The shells + stock cable are quite heavy, so I had to use a cable shirt clip
- Shells are very comfortable. They are more comfortable than stock MX500

Sound
- Summary: EBX52Ti are tuned neutral bright. It has excellent clarity across the whole FR, and mids are front, centre, and stars of the show. Although there isn't much midbass to speak of, there is decent subbass, and the overall low frequencies are high quality albeit low in quantity. It is very detailed and airy. I think it deserves the flagship status of an established company like NiceHCK
- Well-recorded female vocal tracks like The Curse by Agnes Obel, My Same by Adele, Hurt by Youn Sun Nah, all sound sublime with no harshness
- Some female vocal tracks, however, can get hot in the treble
- Male vocals by Nowicaresomemore by Parcels, Hey Gringo by KALEO, sound good, although slightly light noteweight
- Jazz and classical pieces sound very good. Timbre is excellent for most of the FR, although the upper frequencies of brass can sound a tad metallic. Surprisingly, violins sound very realistic, but that might be because violins are a bit metallic (Violin Concerto in D Minor, first movement, by Sibelius, played by Maxim Vengerov; Winter 1 by Max Richter)
- Bass: there is more subbass than midbass. In Goldmine by Kimbra, the intro deep bass notes dig deep, but doesn't have much body. This is excellent quality bass, and I personally find the quantity fine for most of my music. I don't think, however, that EBX25Ti will be good for people who want thick bass (like in TGXEAR SBS)

Technicalities
- This set is highly detailed, and has very good imaging
- Transients and decay are excellent. Drum hits, or any percussive hits (tapping on double bass, güiro strikes), sound fast with quick impact, like a quick thump as opposed to a boom
- Stage: wider than taller/deep. SSBX is taller/deeper but not as wide

TGXEAR SSBX on the left, NiceHCK EBX25Ti on the right

Fantastic write-up! Thanks for sharing with us.

WOW! Do I sound like a member of AA?

 

[h8uthemost]

Congratz on your new shiny(s)!

Excited to hear more.

I didn't even see your congrats until someone quoted you. Doh! Thank you!

EDIT: Nice impressions of the Nicehck. I really like that company and am betting their flagship is every bit as good as you say.

 

[frkasper]

EnginEAR, a Thai based maker has been creating incredible designed earphones and has actually been doing so for a while but mainly in their local area as I have been told.

Great finding. And thanks for sharing.

Shout-out to @AsciiJC once again for the finding. Received my ARE-164r earlier today. Straight from

The piece is well built. But man, these are very sensitive to positioning on my ears. It is going to take me a while to dial in the best sound on these buds. Still need to try some other foams, rubber rings, etc... The kit even came with dampers. Not sure if you ever used them? Already asked the builder, just in case.

 

[samandhi]

I didn't even see your congrats until someone quoted you. Doh! Thank you!

EDIT: Nice impressions of the Nicehck. I really like that company and am betting their flagship is every bit as good as you say.

Maybe you already knew this, and if so, please ignore; but if you are subscribed to a thread, when you log in to the forum, the little bell icon at the upper right should show a number in it for any new post, quote of you, like on your comments, etc... and clicking on any of them will take you right to it. I normallly start from the oldest, then I only need to start reading from there to get to the end of new comments, rather than having to click on each entry in the bell icon separately.

Shout-out to @AsciiJC once again for the finding. Received my ARE-164r earlier today. Straight from


The piece is well built. But man, these are very sensitive to positioning on my ears. It is going to take me a while to dial in the best sound on these buds. Still need to try some other foams, rubber rings, etc... The kit even came with dampers. Not sure if you ever used them? Already asked the builder, just in case.

Congrats on your new shiny!

 

[Kamen555]

Became proud owner of a pair of Fiio ff3s.

Loving them! Explosions in d sky's 'End' album sounds so good.

Using them without foams n still very enjoyable.

Came with a plathora of accessories!

Worth d money I think.

 

[samandhi]

Became proud owner of a pair of Fiio ff3s.

Loving them! Explosions in d sky's 'End' album sounds so good.

Using them without foams n still very enjoyable.

Came with a plathora of accessories!

Worth d money I think.

Congrats on your new shiny!

I have yet to hear the "S" version, but if they are anything like the OG FF3, then I know you got some good gear there.

What is your source/source chain, if you don't mind me asking (out of curiosity)?

 

[droenald]

Yeah I'm excited! But while I wait for the Artiste Nightingale, here are my impressions of the NiceHCK EBX25Ti, on loan from Ascii!

Source: ifi ZEN stack, ONIX Alpha XL1
Music: jazz, classical, vocals, from Tidal
Foams: TGXEAR stock full foams

Build, fit
- Built like a tank! Lovely metal shells. Stock cable is fabric but not microphonic. The shells + stock cable are quite heavy, so I had to use a cable shirt clip
- Shells are very comfortable. They are more comfortable than stock MX500

Sound
- Summary: EBX52Ti are tuned neutral bright. It has excellent clarity across the whole FR, and mids are front, centre, and stars of the show. Although there isn't much midbass to speak of, there is decent subbass, and the overall low frequencies are high quality albeit low in quantity. It is very detailed and airy. I think it deserves the flagship status of an established company like NiceHCK
- Well-recorded female vocal tracks like The Curse by Agnes Obel, My Same by Adele, Hurt by Youn Sun Nah, all sound sublime with no harshness
- Some female vocal tracks, however, can get hot in the treble
- Male vocals by Nowicaresomemore by Parcels, Hey Gringo by KALEO, sound good, although slightly light noteweight
- Jazz and classical pieces sound very good. Timbre is excellent for most of the FR, although the upper frequencies of brass can sound a tad metallic. Surprisingly, violins sound very realistic, but that might be because violins are a bit metallic (Violin Concerto in D Minor, first movement, by Sibelius, played by Maxim Vengerov; Winter 1 by Max Richter)
- Bass: there is more subbass than midbass. In Goldmine by Kimbra, the intro deep bass notes dig deep, but doesn't have much body. This is excellent quality bass, and I personally find the quantity fine for most of my music. I don't think, however, that EBX25Ti will be good for people who want thick bass (like in TGXEAR SBS)

Technicalities
- This set is highly detailed, and has very good imaging
- Transients and decay are excellent. Drum hits, or any percussive hits (tapping on double bass, güiro strikes), sound fast with quick impact, like a quick thump as opposed to a boom
- Stage: wider than taller/deep. SSBX is taller/deeper but not as wide

TGXEAR SSBX on the left, NiceHCK EBX25Ti on the right

Great impressions post! Thank you for that.

 

[h8uthemost]

Became proud owner of a pair of Fiio ff3s.

Loving them! Explosions in d sky's 'End' album sounds so good.

Using them without foams n still very enjoyable.

Came with a plathora of accessories!

Worth d money I think.

Congrats on your new shiny! How's the bass in them? I've read the FF3's have great bass.

 

[Kamen555]

Congrats on your new shiny!

I have yet to hear the "S" version, but if they are anything like the OG FF3, then I know you got some good gear there.

What is your source/source chain, if you don't mind me asking (out of curiosity)?

I'm on a 5 year old Sony Nwa55 Walkman with the MrWalkman firmware. And the ff3s are singing with it.

I'm sure with higher end sources, or an amp for abit more power, it'll sound richer. My ol ol skool Fiio e12 finally died last year so didn't have that to try with the ff3s.

You know portable amps nowadays have been losing their line in options, it's all USB-c ins, kind of hard to find amps for just double amping now.

Also, the bass on the ff3s are GOOD! Clear n shapely. Open back hp levels I think.

 

[samandhi]

I'm on a 5 year old Sony Nwa55 Walkman with the MrWalkman firmware. And the ff3s are singing with it.

I'm sure with higher end sources, or an amp for abit more power, it'll sound richer. My ol ol skool Fiio e12 finally died last year so didn't have that to try with the ff3s.

You know portable amps nowadays have been losing their line in options, it's all USB-c ins, kind of hard to find amps for just double amping now.

Also, the bass on the ff3s are GOOD! Clear n shapely. Open back hp levels I think.

Don't discount that old Sony... Their DAPs have some pretty rich sound to them, they just lack the driving power needed for higher impedance (and less sensitive) gear. Those old FiiO DAPs do indeed sound good, but like all their DAPs they are a bit north of neutral for brightness (especially in the presence region; which is not necessarily a bad thing). I still listen to my (now VERY old school) Fiio X5 OG, and X3II every now and again. Even by today's standards these lil' fellas have quite the driving power for tiny devices, and one of the things I love most about them is that there are only screws holding on the back plate, so changing the battery is a breeze. The X5 OG was my first "reference" DAP. Before that, it was all iDevices and other random "MP3" players. haha

Spoiler: My "still working" DAPs & portable DAC/amps

From left to right - Top = iPod Touch 4th gen, iPod Touch 3rd gen, FiiO E17K (Alpen2), FiiO E17 (Alpen)
Bottom = iBasso DX300 (with 3 amp cards), iBasso DX160, FiiO X5 OG, FiiO X3II, Shanling M0 OG version.

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying them, and yes I agree that the FF3 has some really big bass (for flatheads) and do indeed also think that they rival some open back phones as well.

 

[sapporo444]

Became proud owner of a pair of Fiio ff3s.

Loving them! Explosions in d sky's 'End' album sounds so good.

Using them without foams n still very enjoyable.

Came with a plathora of accessories!

Worth d money I think.

They are better than the Fiio FF5, at least in my opinion. To me, they don't sound shallow and lifeless like the FF5, but that might have been due to fit issues.

 

[ImaginaryFireball]

Is there anyone here who owns or has tried both the Grand Alter Saber 3 and Alter Rider 3? I'm considering getting one of them and am having trouble deciding. People seem to like them both, but the GAS3 seems to get talked up more. I've had a Rider 1 for a couple of years now and I really like it, but I'm not sure how different an Alter is compared to a non-Alter so I don't know if it's comparable to the AR3.

 

[droenald]

Is there anyone here who owns or has tried both the Grand Alter Saber 3 and Alter Rider 3? I'm considering getting one of them and am having trouble deciding. People seem to like them both, but the GAS3 seems to get talked up more. I've had a Rider 1 for a couple of years now and I really like it, but I'm not sure how different an Alter is compared to a non-Alter so I don't know if it's comparable to the AR3.

Just ask Riku! I think he will know best.

Something else:
I received the RW3000, listening to it now.
Surprised by the amount of bass this one has. Wasn't expecting that!
The cable is indeed very nice, the hardware and interchangable plugs are great. It is a somewhat standard mmcx cable however in that it is an 8 strands and has a weave and weight as many aftermarket cables. So it is indeed a little heavier and thicker than I like. Great cable nontheless!

 

[frkasper]

I received the RW3000, listening to it now.

Congrats on the new Yincrow.

Surprised by the amount of bass this one has. Wasn't expecting that!

Is this a trademark from their line up?

 

[samandhi]

Just ask Riku! I think he will know best.

Something else:
I received the RW3000, listening to it now.
Surprised by the amount of bass this one has. Wasn't expecting that!
The cable is indeed very nice, the hardware and interchangable plugs are great. It is a somewhat standard mmcx cable however in that it is an 8 strands and has a weave and weight as many aftermarket cables. So it is indeed a little heavier and thicker than I like. Great cable nontheless!

Congrats on your new shiny!

When the RW2000 first came out (which has the same cable but different color) this cable was a bit unheard of for earbuds, so to say that this is one of the best cables for earbuds needs to taken in the proper context, I suppose. Nowadays, they have gotten cheaper and better (for stock) and it has become (sort of) standard practice to not only have a nice cable but also be modular as well. I am glad you find it serviceable.

I look forward to hearing more of your impressions as you get more "ear time" with them.

Is this a trademark from their line up?

Yes.
Having said that, it isn't massive amounts of bass, but in comparison to other flatheads that sound a bit lean in this regard, it sounds like there is much more quantity. It is more like a "normal" amount of bass, which can be shocking to those that are used to what earbuds USED to be like in this area. Combined with the fact that Yincrow boosted the mid bass (to compensate for the lack of sub bass) to the point that everything sounds so tight and controlled. It is perceived (by my ears anyhow) as almost having the speed, attack, and transients of a good planar; though not quite having the "plucky" sounds you get from a planar.

That being said, and if you are looking for a more linear curve down low, the RW2000 don't roll off nearly as quickly or as much as do the RW3000, but you have to live with the softer treble tuning (by comparison). This also makes them sound quite a bit warmer overall, but I wouldn't say dark (though still retaining the clarity in the "house" sound of Yincrow TOTL buds).