Earbuds Round-Up

[droenald]

Doubt/FOMO territory: folks in (2a) and (3)

I am clearly in the 2A group.
Even the sales price here in Europe with a coupon would be more than 400€, which just means "I'm out!"
And yes, I believe it was you @dnolan227 stating that the bass in RW4000 was so good compared to RW3000...
I don't have a problem with the treble and vocal presence of the RW3000, finding it perfect for my taste.

 

[samandhi]

For those that can't listen to them, you can at least see how they actually compare with their frequencies. Here are the RW2000, RW3000, and RW4000 as graphed by @mt877:

 

[AsciiJC]

Very nice result. The finished texture of the buds has a look of rustic cast iron.

Example of cast iron and the surface finish characteristic by pouring molten iron into a sand mold.

Ive done actually metal 3d printed earbuds before! I need to find my sample sets, but they were based off the mx500 in my own style. I definitely have shells sitting somewhere but would need to dig for a bit to look for them aha!

I am hoping to do more nylon based shells on this shape I am working with. My current issue is the lack of a stem so there's no real hook in the ear. I will probably add a small and curved stem so it fits nicely! A bit like the modern earbuds sony makes for 10usd.

 

[assassin10000]

Have you tried quian39 shell?
This is supposed to super comfy and what Riku's shell is based upon...

I don't think I have. But I've tried so many it's hard to say.

I even have some old Nokia earbuds for shells that I haven't played with yet.

 

[jogawag]

I don't think I have. But I've tried so many it's hard to say.

I even have some old Nokia earbuds for shells that I haven't played with yet.

If those old Nokia earbuds are the HDS-3 type, try them on your ears as they are.
If they fit in your ears, then changing the drivers to those for the MX500 should also fit.

 

[h8uthemost]

I don't need another bud
I don't need another bud
I...hmm..

Let us know how you like the RW4000 after spending some time with it.

EDIT: @mt877 I've been rockin' the Aika for the past 5 days with HeiGi donuts(I'll never buy another donut again except for HeiGi). It opened things up a bit to my ears. And i love them even more. Try them with the donuts if you haven't yet.

 

[samandhi]

EDIT: @mt877 I've been rockin' the Aika for the past 5 days with HeiGi donuts(I'll never buy another donut again except for HeiGi). It opened things up a bit to my ears. And i love them even more. Try them with the donuts if you haven't yet.

Do you have a camera inside my house? I had the same idea, but only for today and to cleanse my pallete if you will. I have been listening to these budget sets and need a bit of the break from the boosted pina gain; though I do like full foams with these better (though donuts are fantastic with this set as well):

Spoiler

I love me some Aika buds!

The point is that the Aika are just very gentle on the hearing and non aggressive all around. It is just so unique in how smooth they are. I once again applaud @mt877 in how he tuned these. As mentioned in my initial impressions of these, there is a good reason that these are named "Love Song ".

Anything Randy Newman, or Jefferson Airplane, or etc... sound great on these.

 

[h8uthemost]

Do you have a camera inside my house? I had the same idea, but only for today and to cleanse my pallete if you will. I have been listening to these budget sets and need a bit of the break from the boosted pina gain; though I do like full foams with these better (though donuts are fantastic with this set as well):

Spoiler

I love me some Aika buds!

The point is that the Aika are just very gentle on the hearing and non aggressive all around. It is just so unique in how smooth they are. I once again applaud @mt877 in how he tuned these. As mentioned in my initial impressions of these, there is a good reason that these are named "Love Song ".

Anything Randy Newman, or Jefferson Airplane, or etc... sound great on these

Yeah definitely try them out and let us know what you think with donuts. And the Aika is so good. You're right, it's a great all arounder and I feel privileged for having them. @mt877 made and tuned these nicely.

Randy Newman is awesome, so is Jefferson Airplane. I'll have to play some. I've been listening to a lot of Pantera lately which is totally not like me(but I did idolized them in the 90's going to multiple shows), but the drums hit so really nicely and it becomes addicting to hear. Lol

 

[samandhi]

Randy Newman is awesome, so is Jefferson Airplane. I'll have to play some. I've been listening to a lot of Pantera lately which is totally not like me(but I did idolized them in the 90's going to multiple shows), but the drums hit so really nicely and it becomes addicting to hear. Lol

Oh man. I love some Pantera (though i never got to see them live), and is normally right up my ally. But along with listening to less aggressive buds, I am also listening to less aggressive music for a minute. Lol

R.I.P. Dimebag.........

 

[mt877]

Ive done actually metal 3d printed earbuds before! I need to find my sample sets, but they were based off the mx500 in my own style. I definitely have shells sitting somewhere but would need to dig for a bit to look for them aha!

I am hoping to do more nylon based shells on this shape I am working with. My current issue is the lack of a stem so there's no real hook in the ear. I will probably add a small and curved stem so it fits nicely! A bit like the modern earbuds sony makes for 10usd.

It would be cool to see your metal shells. @tgx78 has also made nicely detailed metal mx500 shells for the Serratus 2 buds. Not sure if he had them 3D printed or had them made a different way. I know that the traditional way of crafting with metal is to use jewelery making techniques. It's really amazing how many base materials can be used for 3D printing these days, though you need an expensive industrial 3D printer for some of the more exotic materials. There's also metal polymer clay (copper, silver and gold) which is can be used for crafting jewelery as well. I guess there's several different ways to make metal earbud shells.

Let us know how you like the RW4000 after spending some time with it.

EDIT: @mt877 I've been rockin' the Aika for the past 5 days with HeiGi donuts(I'll never buy another donut again except for HeiGi). It opened things up a bit to my ears. And i love them even more. Try them with the donuts if you haven't yet.

Yeah, I have tried several different foam types on the Aika, but finally settled on using full foams. It's great that you've been experimenting with different foams to find the sound you like. It's also nice that the Aika are versatile enough to sound good with different foam setups as well.

Do you have a camera inside my house? I had the same idea, but only for today and to cleanse my pallete if you will. I have been listening to these budget sets and need a bit of the break from the boosted pina gain; though I do like full foams with these better (though donuts are fantastic with this set as well):

Spoiler

I love me some Aika buds!

The point is that the Aika are just very gentle on the hearing and non aggressive all around. It is just so unique in how smooth they are. I once again applaud @mt877 in how he tuned these. As mentioned in my initial impressions of these, there is a good reason that these are named "Love Song ".

Anything Randy Newman, or Jefferson Airplane, or etc... sound great on these.

Thanks for the compliment guys. The Aika (Love Song) are one of my favorite builds, it's just too bad that the drivers are hard to obtain now. I was told by the AE store that the 120Ω bery comp drivers are still available, but the factory that makes them requires a minimum order of 2000 drivers for them to ramp up production. Eh, I don't think I'll be jumping in and ordering 2000 drivers.

 

[samandhi]

Thanks for the compliment guys. The Aika (Love Song) are one of my favorite builds, it's just too bad that the drivers are hard to obtain now. I was told by the AE store that the 120Ω bery comp drivers are still available, but the factory that makes them requires a minimum order of 2000 drivers for them to ramp up production. Eh, I don't think I'll be jumping in and ordering 2000 drivers.

Well, at least that is better news than I thought. I had thought I read some say that they were just not available anymore. Though, having to purchase so many at a time, they might as well be discontinued. It wouldn't be quite as bad if it were 500 or less. A bunch of the folks that use them could come together and buy a bundle. But 2000, it seems like they purposely put them out of reach of the average DIYer.

I dont build, but I have been around long enough to know that the 120 bery has been a favored driver for quite a while now. It is a shame that they are nigh on impossible to get now.

I wonder, is there a neo or even tesla version of any of the common, but favored transducers that the DIY folks use?

 

[droenald]

I wonder, is there a neo or even tesla version of any of the common, but favored transducers that the DIY folks use?

I believe all the drivers use Neo magnets, but those drivers come in different strengths. Some higher end drivers use the strong N52 magnets, and the even stronger N55 magnets are very rare and only found on custom drivers that some DIYers use as far as I know. Some Rikubuds and TGXEAR buds have drivers in them utilizing N55 magnets. The N55 magnets are only about 6% stronger than N52 magnets.
I actually have no idea what the tesla magnets/drivers are, but would be interested to learn more about it if anyone known something! So far my belief is that it's no more than a buzzword used to market stuff and make you believe it is superior.
Edit: a quick Google search tells me that the magnetic strength is measured in Gauss or Tesla. 10000 Gauss are equivalent to 1 Tesla.
So it would seem to me that in the small 15,4mm drivers there will never be a real "Tesla"-Driver.
If you'd make an N52 or N55 magnet big enough you might reach a strength of 1 Tesla or more however.

Edit2: Damn the double posting restriction!
Can someone please tell me what is going on there? I seem to be able to save up to 68€ via coupons and coins. Still the final sale price is around 140€ cheaper, which is twice this amount?!?
Aliexpress can be soooo confusing at times!!
When going to the PayPal page it displays the cheap price, but states that the final sale price might be higher (up to 393€) including extra fees, and I'll see the final price when returning to the AliExpress page after hitting the pay button on PayPal. This seems crazy that they display a lower price, even in the PayPal payment window and then charge you more afterwards!!! What is going on?!?

 

[samandhi]

I believe all the drivers use Neo magnets, but those drivers come in different strengths. Some higher end drivers use the strong N52 magnets, and the even stronger N55 magnets are very rare and only found on custom drivers that some DIYers use as far as I know. Some Rikubuds and TGXEAR buds have drivers in them utilizing N55 magnets. The N55 magnets are only about 6% stronger than N52 magnets.
I actually have no idea what the tesla magnets/drivers are, but would be interested to learn more about it if anyone known something! So far my belief is that it's no more than a buzzword used to market stuff and make you believe it is superior.
Edit: a quick Google search tells me that the magnetic strength is measured in Gauss or Tesla. 10000 Gauss are equivalent to 1 Tesla.
So it would seem to me that in the small 15,4mm drivers there will never be a real "Tesla"-Driver.
If you'd make an N52 or N55 magnet big enough you might reach a strength of 1 Tesla or more however.

Maybe they do all use a neo driver, I just have never seen this advertised. Most times it WOULD be because it has been considered "higher end" than the ferrite driver that is used in cheaper, and massed produced drivers.

We sort of had a bit of a conversation about tesla magnet drivers earlier. You can find it here. They not only do indeed exist in standard earbud sizes, but they are also made even smaller. The iBasso IT-07 DD transducer is a 10mm tesla magnet driver (one of, if not the first to use one in consumer IEMs).

 

[sofastreamer]

Indeed, those are the ones I was referring to. Thanks for clearing it up.

You are not raining on anyone's parade here. Everyone's opinion is different, but valueable nonetheless.

I will agree that they don't have the most natural tone out there, but considering that we are talking about a DF neutral tuning, I wouldn't expect them to. And let's face it, DF neutral isn't the most sought after type of tuning in buds. It is not my main preference, but we all know I like many different types. This might be why I do indeed like them quite a bit.

@sofastreamer I added your name to comment on them if you had heard them, because of your preference to DF neutral tuning.

somehow i missed the reply, sorry! and another sorry, no, didnt know them. will try to get them. any idea where? We cannot buy most bud brands from ae anymore in germany.

I'm not much for describing earbud sound well, but at one point I had all four (RW-1000 Bass, 2000, 3000, & 4000). The 4000 is the only one that I didn't need thick foams on to tame the treble and it had the bass all of the other models were missing. Granted, I'm pretty treble-phobic, but I'm also a bass-lover. The detail and stage is there, but not grating or shrill at all. They are the one earbud I can use on any type of music and they are quite comfortable for wearing all day. In my opinion, if you CAN get them, you SHOULD get them. Especially at the current sale price.

what ttorbic said.... dang and samandhi feeding my itch with the graph.... you dont need enemies, if you are on this thread

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anyone tried those douk audio (rebrands)?
ebeach

 

[mochill]