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Earbuds Round-Up
Jan 16, 2016 at 2:01 PM Post #1,996 of 75,150
danneq said:
If I can add another earbud recommendation, here's a nice wood earbud, the DK-PU: I bought the one with red cable, which actually is cooper colored. The blue one didn't look as nice...

They are described as being close to Sennheiser MX985. I'm comparing them to my pair of MX980, which should sound very close to MX985, and do not agree. Out of the box, the DK-PU wood earbuds sound a bit more "boxed in". They might open up more with burn in. Still, the soundstage is quite deep with perfectly okay instrument separation and detail. Definitely a keeper. The price I paid, $61.75 with shipping from China included, is okay. They are a step below earbuds such as Sennheiser MX980 or VE Zen 2.0, but better than stuff like Yuin PK2 which costs around the same price.

And the DK-PU wood earbuds are sweet looking....

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Dude,can it compete with Monk? How would you rate both DK-PU and Monk on a scale of one to ten?
 
Jan 16, 2016 at 5:12 PM Post #1,997 of 75,150
whataudiophile said:
Dude,can it compete with Monk? How would you rate both DK-PU and Monk on a scale of one to ten?
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If you look at the price/performance ratio of the Monk and the DK-PU wood earbuds, the Monk beats the DK-PU. I haven't listened much to my pair of Monks that I got with my pair of Zen 2.0.
I don't like putting numbers on them, but if you consider soundstage, the Monks beat the DK-PU. The Monks have a very open and expansive sound. The DK-PU feel more closed in with a more narrow soundstage (depth however is quite good). The lower end on the Monks feel like they are lacking a bit of punch and control. The DK-PU give me a more balanced sound from lows to highs while the Monks are more focused on mids and highs. If both cost the same, I would pick the DK-PU in a heartbeat. But that $5 for the Monks cannot be beaten.

I think that the Monks could easily be sold for the same as Blox BE3 and Yuin PK3, ie around $30.
 
Jan 16, 2016 at 5:26 PM Post #1,998 of 75,150
danneq said:
If you look at the price/performance ratio of the Monk and the DK-PU wood earbuds, the Monk beats the DK-PU. I haven't listened much to my pair of Monks that I got with my pair of Zen 2.0.
I don't like putting numbers on them, but if you consider soundstage, the Monks beat the DK-PU. The Monks have a very open and expansive sound. The DK-PU feel more closed in with a more narrow soundstage (depth however is quite good). The lower end on the Monks feel like they are lacking a bit of punch and control. The DK-PU give me a more balanced sound from lows to highs while the Monks are more focused on mids and highs. If both cost the same, I would pick the DK-PU in a heartbeat. But that $5 for the Monks cannot be beaten.

I think that the Monks could easily be sold for the same as Blox BE3 and Yuin PK3, ie around $30.
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Do you think Zen 2.0 is worth the price given the Monk only costs $5? Is Zen's mids,highs and bass significantly better than the monk?
 
Jan 16, 2016 at 5:42 PM Post #1,999 of 75,150
If you are looking for bang for the buck, there's not much that beats the Monks. To me, the Zen 2.0 is on another level than the Monks. We are talking full size headphone sound from a pair of earbuds. Unfortunately, highs seem to be a bit tame on the Zen 2.0 and I prefer the highs on the Sennheiser MX980 or Blox TM7 (or even the DK-PU wood earbuds). But with good amplification, the Zen 2.0 still sound amazing.

I suppose that's the difference between expensive high end earbuds and cheaper ones - the expensive ones usually sound like full size headphones while the cheaper ones sound like earbuds.
 
Jan 16, 2016 at 5:51 PM Post #2,000 of 75,150
golov17 said:
http://s.aliexpress.com/InyuUFRn

From this seller
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I forgot to thank Golov17 for this one. Bought it right away! I have been curious about the Tomahawk for a long time. I bought the DK-PU wood earbuds from the same Aliexpress seller, but he didn't have the Tomahawk 3 weeks ago. And here I wanted to go easy on buying new earbuds after buying the Celsus Gramo One a few days ago! $249 is a lot for a pair of earbuds, but I recently sold some headphones that I didn't use anymore (Sennheiser PX100, AKG K420 & K518DJ) plus some old FiiO headphone amps (E3 & E5) and a bunch of DVD & Blu ray movies and I got close to $220 in total for my old stuff. So I suppose I "only" paid around $30 in "new money" for the Gramo One.

Will share my impressions of both the Gramo One and the Tomahawks when they have arrived.
 
Jan 16, 2016 at 6:09 PM Post #2,001 of 75,150
danneq said:
If you are looking for bang for the buck, there's not much that beats the Monks. To me, the Zen 2.0 is on another level than the Monks. We are talking full size headphone sound from a pair of earbuds. Unfortunately, highs seem to be a bit tame on the Zen 2.0 and I prefer the highs on the Sennheiser MX980 or Blox TM7 (or even the DK-PU wood earbuds). But with good amplification, the Zen 2.0 still sound amazing.

I suppose that's the difference between expensive high end earbuds and cheaper ones - the expensive ones usually sound like full size headphones while the cheaper ones sound like earbuds.
Click to expand...


At least the highs are better than the Monk,right?
confused.gif

 
Jan 16, 2016 at 6:24 PM Post #2,004 of 75,150
danneq said:
I forgot to thank Golov17 for this one. Bought it right away! I have been curious about the Tomahawk for a long time.
Click to expand...
Will share my impressions of both the Gramo One and the Tomahawks when they have arrived.
Click to expand...

 
Can't wait for both reviews!  Though I really want to know about the Tomahawks.
 
..
 
Jan 16, 2016 at 7:28 PM Post #2,009 of 75,150
whataudiophile said:
 
Dude,any thoughts on Edifier h180? How does it perform compared to the Monk?
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If you have the Monk, then skip the Edifier. The H180 is nowhere as good - boomy bass with poor extension - a combination of the worst qualities to have. The only earbud I've heard with worse bass extension is the Tingo TG-38s, which is pretty sad.
 
And for your earlier question. both the Monk and Zen are worth their prices. Every part of the Zen is significantly better than that of the Monk, but the Zen 2 does have a different sound signature. The Zen 1 would be more like an upgraded Monk. 
 
Jan 16, 2016 at 7:42 PM Post #2,010 of 75,150
rymd said:
  If you have the Monk, then skip the Edifier. The H180 is nowhere as good - boomy bass with poor extension - a combination of the worst qualities to have. The only earbud I've heard with worse bass extension is the Tingo TG-38s, which is pretty sad.
 
And for your earlier question. both the Monk and Zen are worth their prices. Every part of the Zen is significantly better than that of the Monk, but the Zen 2 does have a different sound signature. The Zen 1 would be more like an upgraded Monk. 
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Different sound signature?! Is it because it is a little bit on the brighter side?
 
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