Mar 11, 2025 at 8:03 PM Post #79,006 of 80,305
I have been made aware by someone over at the Flathead Sanctuary Discord that the Venture Electronics SMG is no longer a Club member item but available for purchase to everyone. I checked and it is correct.

Screenshot_20250312_005617_org.mozilla.firefox.jpg
 
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Mar 11, 2025 at 9:05 PM Post #79,007 of 80,305
Yup! It was an easy challenge because I had already built the buds a while ago and only had to dig them out and refine the tuning. I know you don't favor MX500 shells, but that's the shell I used for the first build and I didn't want to "reinvent the wheel" again. Maybe it's "Destiny". LOL!
Congrats on refining your build. 🙂

And @samandhi congrats to you as well on your new shiny's. :) Hope you're enjoying them
 
Mar 11, 2025 at 11:10 PM Post #79,008 of 80,305
Bass head earbuds build as promised.

I'm happy to present "Destiny". Build these earbuds and they could be your destiny.
Destiny.jpg


The earbuds were measured with HieGi full foams on them.

Destiny L+R Ave HieGi FF.jpg

Materials:
15.4mm 32Ω 19-21 red dot
Black MX500 shell
3.5mmSE braided cable
Small Metal U clip (not really needed, you can just tie an anchor knot instead.
Y2 White Tuning Paper
Black Medium Density Tuning Foam


Tuning version 1:
Apply the Y2 tuning paper to the driver (red paint is the positive side). Don't cover the 2 holes on the left and right of the voicecoil opening.
Apply the black medium density foam to the shell. When snapping the speaker onto the shell, put the voicecoil upwards (top).
Put on HieGi full foams for the best fit and best bass.

tuning.jpg


EDIT: Revised tuning:
I found as I listened to the buds as tuned above that it sounded unnatural with some music due to forwardness of the mids and presence region.

This following tuning has a more relaxed feel with the mids and presence region receding which showcases the bass better. You can try tuning version 1 (above) and if it doesn't suit your taste, then it's easy to cut off a little more of the Y2 tuning paper to uncover the 3rd hole on each side of the driver. I'm using this revised tuning now.

Apply the Y2 tuning paper to the driver (red paint is the positive side). Don't cover the 3 holes on the left and right of the voicecoil opening.
Apply the black medium density foam to the shell. When snapping the speaker onto the shell, put the voicecoil upwards (top).
Put on HieGi full foams for the best fit and best bass.

tuning 01.jpg


That's it, enjoy your new Destiny earbuds.

As always, if you build a set of these earbuds, please give some impressions. Your impressions help this earbuds community.

Enjoy!
 
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Mar 12, 2025 at 5:42 AM Post #79,009 of 80,305
I am actually looking for a set that is a bit on the dark side, and is also on the warm side, but without an offensive upper mids/lower treble region.
Reading this again, I can't help but feel the VE SMG might be that earbud. It has low amount of upper mids/lower treble, placing the vocalists further away from you in the stage. It is not exactly dark sounding though, as there is mid and upper treble and shimmer on cymbals.
Bass and mids are sooo good on it!
EDIT: You could read the 4-way comparison I did with the 3 other totl earbuds I own again... My opinion on the SMG has changed a bit for the better over time from my first impressions. Even though I liked it from the start - now I think I am in love with it. ☺️
 
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Mar 12, 2025 at 10:14 AM Post #79,011 of 80,305
Bass head earbuds build as promised.

I'm happy to present "Destiny". Build these earbuds and they could be your destiny.
Destiny.jpg

The earbuds were measured with HieGi full foams on them.

Destiny L+R Ave HieGi FF.jpg

Materials:
15.4mm 32Ω 19-21 red dot
Black MX500 shell
3.5mmSE braided cable
Small Metal U clip (not really needed, you can just tie an anchor knot instead.
Y2 White Tuning Paper
Black Medium Density Tuning Foam


Tuning version 1:
Apply the Y2 tuning paper to the driver (red paint is the positive side). Don't cover the 2 holes on the left and right of the voicecoil opening.
Apply the black medium density foam to the shell. When snapping the speaker onto the shell, put the voicecoil upwards (top).
Put on HieGi full foams for the best fit and best bass.

tuning.jpg

EDIT: Revised tuning:
I found as I listened to the buds as tuned above that it sounded unnatural with some music due to forwardness of the mids and presence region.

This following tuning has a more relaxed feel with the mids and presence region receding which showcases the bass better. You can try tuning version 1 (above) and if it doesn't suit your taste, then it's easy to cut off a little more of the Y2 tuning paper to uncover the 3rd hole on each side of the driver. I'm using this revised tuning now.

Apply the Y2 tuning paper to the driver (red paint is the positive side). Don't cover the 3 holes on the left and right of the voicecoil opening.
Apply the black medium density foam to the shell. When snapping the speaker onto the shell, put the voicecoil upwards (top).
Put on HieGi full foams for the best fit and best bass.

tuning 01.jpg

That's it, enjoy your new Destiny earbuds.

As always, if you build a set of these earbuds, please give some impressions. Your impressions help this earbuds community.

Enjoy!
Thank you for the build and the instructions and sharing it with the community! 👍☺️
Honestly I believe this build will be even easier to do than your "Artiste Nightingale", as there is no mmcx soldering necessary! So I can wholeheartedly recommend to do this build to everyone wanting to take an easy first step into DIY territory. An extra benefit for beginners is that they will buy 5 sets of the driver for an affordable price, so if there are problems with soldering there are spares, should a driver end up with a burnt voicecoil.
Having seen some of your other earbud measurements for balanced/more normal sounding buds, for instance the RW3000, I think it will be safe to say that "Destiny" must really have a thunderous bass response! ☺️
I will add the drivers to my AliX cart, I'll have to hit the order button soon!
BTW: I believe the next AliX sale will start on the 18th.
 
Mar 12, 2025 at 10:40 AM Post #79,012 of 80,305
I've been enjoying the BGVP DX7 straight out of my laptop and the comfort is top notch, due to how small the face places are.

Are there other small earbuds worth looking at? Smaller than the typical 15.4mm.
Yincrow's Rhino is still the most comfortable earbud I own but I only wear them over-ear so if you prefer cable down that might be a different story. But they're a similar size to the DX7 (14.6mm vs 14.2mm) though the cover over the driver isn't as large so they might fit you even better than the DX7. I'm not at home right now but once I'm back I can give you a comparison of the two if you're interested. The only downside is that the price of the Rhino has gone up recently, I used to see it being sold for around $80 regular price and it would be on sale for around $65 (I bought one for $55 after coupons a year and a half ago) but it seems like the new sale price is around $80 before coupons. For $55 the Rhino was a great deal, but for around $80 (maybe $70 w/ coupons) it's not quite as good of a value but still a good bud if you want a warmer, slightly dark tuning. The Calf is also the same size as the Rhino but it's a much brighter tuning that's slightly harsh and even though I now lean towards brighter buds I still think it's too much for most people so the Rhino is a much safer bet.

Edit: Any of Fiio's buds would likely be comfortable for you as well, since they're a similar size and the driver cup is a similar shape to the DX7. But I'm not the biggest fan of them so any comparison I make between them and the DX7 will lean towards the DX7 so someone else who appreciates them more would give you a better idea of how they stack up against each other. Dunu's Alpha 3 is also 14.2mm but it has a different driver cup shape and I have trouble keeping them in my ears without earclips so I'm not sure they would be a good option for you. But I do like how the Alpha 3 sounds so I can compare it with the DX7 if you're interested.
 
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Mar 12, 2025 at 11:13 AM Post #79,013 of 80,305
So I found this on the Earbud Sanctuary Discord from thecheeselover (thanks for showing btw!) that was posted on facebook by Aful.

1741792141807.jpeg


>Millenium-old inlay Technique

Now I dont have facebook anymore, only use an account for the market place but I would love to see what they mean by that! The earliest adaptation of this was back in the 1960's. We are still discovering how to record all forms of sound, but if they could make a dedicated section for the nerds like me on this meaning, I would love that! Because I do not think it is that old by 1000 years haha.
 
Mar 12, 2025 at 11:39 AM Post #79,014 of 80,305
Riobuds 300Ohm LCP mini Review



A belated New Year gift to myself arrived in February. As an owner of 3 pairs of Riobuds, I couldn't resist ordering the 300 Ohm LCP to add to the collection. The fact that all Riobuds share the same excellent shell (ergonomic and sonic masterpieces IMO) a new color was required in order for me to identify them correctly, so purple was decided upon! I paired them with the excellent 4.4 balanced XINSH4 core 6N single crystal copper cable to complete the set.

I have listened to them exclusively for the last month, without switching to other buds. They were paired with a Hiby R1 connected to a Fiio K7 DAC/amp via USB or with a Venture Electronics Devastator dongle.

Being 300 Ohm I was expecting to have to crank up the amp to get any decent volume. That wasn't the case. On the Fiio I listened to the volume at around the 2 o'clock position. That was plenty. With the Devastator around 60-70 was good.

Sound wise, my first impression was of a wide scene, great separation and excellent detail. I do like my bass and whilst these don't dig as deep as the 130 Ohm Beryllium driver, they still produce excellent bass quality within the frequency response range. In fact, I would say all the Riobuds that I have heard have excellent textured bass. Maybe this is due to the shell design optimizing bass response, or maybe I'm just making crap up. Regardless, none of them disappoint in this area.

I recently found an old collection of FSOL recording (all of their live ISDN broadcasts from the 90's - 00's) in mp3 format, so I decided to see how they sound with the 300 LCP's. I would guess I spent a good 30 hours with these. FSOL from this time consists of breakbeat techno sounds, mixed with field recordings, film samples and ambient soundscapes (with the odd voice message recording thrown in for good measure). Listening to this all again was really enjoyable. I was able to dissolve into an analogue soundscape, drifting from scene to scene, easily forgetting that I am actively listening to music. For me, these are the most comfortable shell design I have. They disappear in my ears and are quite stable. Most of the time I was able to switch off from the world and be taken on a journey.

After the initial 30 hours I moved on to more varied artists. Subterranean dub techno from CV313, psychedelic space reggae from the Ozric Tentacles, Mancunian Rock & Roll from early Oasis, American Country and Western from Sheryl Crow, Bjork, Psytrance from Hallucinogen and Techno from L.S.G to name but a few. Nothing made me feel like they couldn't handle a particular genre or that they were more suited to one style of music. I enjoyed them all and each of the albums played I know really well.

The main take away from all of this? These are great. It is fantastic what sound quality can be achieved with earbuds and these don't disappoint. If you like sitting in a room with a big pair of monitor speakers, in a big soft leather chair with maybe a glass of wine or two and where no one will disturb you for a few hours, then maybe you'll like these.

FG7A7267.JPG
 
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Mar 12, 2025 at 12:16 PM Post #79,015 of 80,305
So I found this on the Earbud Sanctuary Discord from thecheeselover (thanks for showing btw!) that was posted on facebook by Aful.

1741792141807.jpeg

>Millenium-old inlay Technique

Now I dont have facebook anymore, only use an account for the market place but I would love to see what they mean by that! The earliest adaptation of this was back in the 1960's. We are still discovering how to record all forms of sound, but if they could make a dedicated section for the nerds like me on this meaning, I would love that! Because I do not think it is that old by 1000 years haha.
by the way i didn't found that discord chart. can anyone help me?
 
Mar 12, 2025 at 12:52 PM Post #79,017 of 80,305
Riobuds 300Ohm LCP mini Review



A belated New Year gift to myself arrived in February. As an owner of 3 pairs of Riobuds, I couldn't resist ordering the 300 Ohm LCP to add to the collection. The fact that all Riobuds share the same excellent shell (ergonomic and sonic masterpieces IMO) a new color was required in order for me to identify them correctly, so purple was decided upon! I paired them with the excellent 4.4 balanced XINSH4 core 6N single crystal copper cable to complete the set.

I have listened to them exclusively for the last month, without switching to other buds. They were paired with a Hiby R1 connected to a Fiio K7 DAC/amp via USB or with a Venture Electronics Devastator dongle.

Being 300 Ohm I was expecting to have to crank up the amp to get any decent volume. That wasn't the case. On the Fiio I listened to the volume at around the 2 o'clock position. That was plenty. With the Devastator around 60-70 was good.

Sound wise, my first impression was of a wide scene, great separation and excellent detail. I do like my bass and whilst these don't dig as deep as the 130 Ohm Beryllium driver, they still produce excellent bass quality within the frequency response range. In fact, I would say all the Riobuds that I have heard have excellent textured bass. Maybe this is due to the shell design optimizing bass response, or maybe I'm just making crap up. Regardless, none of them disappoint in this area.

I recently found an old collection of FSOL recording (all of their live ISDN broadcasts from the 90's - 00's) in mp3 format, so I decided to see how they sound with the 300 LCP's. I would guess I spent a good 30 hours with these. FSOL from this time consists of breakbeat techno sounds, mixed with field recordings, film samples and ambient soundscapes (with the odd voice message recording thrown in for good measure). Listening to this all again was really enjoyable. I was able to dissolve into an analogue soundscape, drifting from scene to scene, easily forgetting that I am actively listening to music. For me, these are the most comfortable shell design I have. They disappear in my ears and are quite stable. Most of the time I was able to switch off from the world and be taken on a journey.

After the initial 30 hours I moved on to more varied artists. Subterranean dub techno from CV313, psychedelic space reggae from the Ozric Tentacles, Mancunian Rock & Roll from early Oasis, American Country and Western from Sheryl Crow, Bjork, Psytrance from Hallucinogen and Techno from L.S.G to name but a few. Nothing made me feel like they couldn't handle a particular genre or that they were more suited to one style of music. I enjoyed them all and each of the albums played I know really well.

The main take away from all of this? These are great. It is fantastic what sound quality can be achieved with earbuds and these don't disappoint. If you like sitting in a room with a big pair of monitor speakers, in a big soft leather chair with maybe a glass of wine or two and where no one will disturb you for a few hours, then maybe you'll like these.

FG7A7267.JPG
Beautiful sets! Thanks for sharing your impressions!
 
Mar 12, 2025 at 1:20 PM Post #79,018 of 80,305
So I found this on the Earbud Sanctuary Discord from thecheeselover (thanks for showing btw!) that was posted on facebook by Aful.

1741792141807.jpeg

>Millenium-old inlay Technique

Now I dont have facebook anymore, only use an account for the market place but I would love to see what they mean by that! The earliest adaptation of this was back in the 1960's. We are still discovering how to record all forms of sound, but if they could make a dedicated section for the nerds like me on this meaning, I would love that! Because I do not think it is that old by 1000 years haha.
I believe the millennium-old inlay technique is referring to the sparkly faceplate
Something like the "mother of toilet seat" inlays on guitars, fret markers, abalone binding and the like. 😁
I don't believe this will add to the sound. 🙉
 
Mar 12, 2025 at 1:37 PM Post #79,019 of 80,305
I believe the millennium-old inlay technique is referring to the sparkly faceplate
Something like the "mother of toilet seat" inlays on guitars, fret markers, abalone binding and the like. 😁
I don't believe this will add to the sound. 🙉

Whaaaaat, you're saying the glitter flakes don't affect tuning? Thats awful! I need to complain...
Aful have been very vague with their responses, so we may find something soon!
 
Mar 12, 2025 at 1:54 PM Post #79,020 of 80,305
Thank you for the build and the instructions and sharing it with the community! 👍☺️
Honestly I believe this build will be even easier to do than your "Artiste Nightingale", as there is no mmcx soldering necessary! So I can wholeheartedly recommend to do this build to everyone wanting to take an easy first step into DIY territory. An extra benefit for beginners is that they will buy 5 sets of the driver for an affordable price, so if there are problems with soldering there are spares, should a driver end up with a burnt voicecoil.
Having seen some of your other earbud measurements for balanced/more normal sounding buds, for instance the RW3000, I think it will be safe to say that "Destiny" must really have a thunderous bass response! ☺️
I will add the drivers to my AliX cart, I'll have to hit the order button soon!
BTW: I believe the next AliX sale will start on the 18th.
Yep, you will feel the thunderous thumping in your ears while still enjoying the clarity of the music in tracks like Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". For music that lacks that fun bass punch expect some good vibes as well.
 
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