[Tomasz2D]

  Then I dropped them and the drivers popped out, but were fine when I put them back in.
 
...Then I dropped them again a few minutes latter and the left one didn't survive that fall, but the right one kept working.  I thought it was the cable so I redid the soldering on the left one, and then neither worked 

Better admit you just threw them at the wall with anger...
 
But seriously, Yinman looks interesting. I didn't realize that there are other wooden earbuds apart from DaiK's ones. I wish wood is more often used as shell's material. It should add some warmness to the tone. How is the finish on your pair?

 

[Muniek66]

You should try TY HiZ HP650. Got them yesterday and they're pretty good. I prefer them to K500. If you can find a pair for around $100 it's definitely worth it.

If you go up to $280 CAX black edition beats everything. A guy in the Cypherus earbud thread got his pair the other day and thinks they are almost as good as his $1700 Audeze LCD-X...

 
If I like VE Monk + sound signature,  TY HiZ HP650 will be  a good choice for upgrade?

 

[vapman]

  Better admit you just threw them at the wall with anger...
 
But seriously, Yinman looks interesting. I didn't realize that there are other wooden earbuds apart from DaiK's ones. I wish wood is more often used as shell's material. It should add some warmness to the tone. How is the finish on your pair?

I would feel better about them breaking if I had thrown them at the wall >_< cause the way they broke was so stupid.
 
The Yinman is a great finish. The wood is not rough at all, very smooth to the touch, and no excessive lacquer, which is how I like it =) I couldn't get a great pic so here is one from the Taobao listing...
 

 
That picture is slightly darker than mine seem to be, and makes them look a bit rougher, but they really are fine. They use MX500 driver covers so I assume you could try other MX500 size drivers in it.
 
The sound is warm and balanced. I don't need to describe too much to you because it's awfully similar to the Red De'mun.  With a little more and deeper bass, warmer overall sound, and a little less treble extension, but a comparable amount of clarity and soundstage.  I think they are changing for the better as I burn them in more - better treble clarity and soundstage - so I'll refrain from saying too much before I have more time with them.
 
 
 
 

   
If I like VE Monk + sound signature,  TY HiZ HP650 will be  a good choice for upgrade?

 
Unless you EQ it, HP650 is pretty bass light and is not exactly the same signature as the Monk+. It is a great bud but there are probably other high end ones that are closer to the Monk+ sound sig.

 

[fairx]

You might want to try this earbud for situational awareness:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Original-MDR-E808-Bass-Noise-Isolating-Earphone-3-5MM-High-Qaulity-Flat-Head-Earbuds-In-Ear/1909638_32742308384.html

IMO, has strong enough bass & clarity to enjoy the music at reasonable volume while letting in outside noises, and it's cheap.

how do they compare to she3800? She3800 has strong bass and full mids. Slightly rolled off highs and pass the fullness of sound when wearing helmet.

 

[vapman]

how do they compare to she3800? She3800 has strong bass and full mids. Slightly rolled off highs and pass the fullness of sound when wearing helmet.

Pretty different. E808+ has like no mids at all. Very sharp V sound.
 
Now the Yinman 150 is for people who want a more refined SHE3800 in every way. Hopefully there is a non Taobao seller? But they are really good, and i was super surprised today when I went from SHE3800 to Yinman 150. Those 2 have the same signature almost exactly, just the Yinman is a lot more refined.

 

[Saoshyant]

@vapman Was meaning to ask, which store did you buy the Walnut v2 from?  It seems to be quite inexpensive, so I can't help but want to give it a try.  Only drawback is I'd have to start converting various files to mp3 & wav.
 
Also to keep it kind of on track, Qian39 sounds great with Radiohead's Nude.  Really pleasing sound for the price.

 

[vapman]

  @vapman Was meaning to ask, which store did you buy the Walnut v2 from?  It seems to be quite inexpensive, so I can't help but want to give it a try.  Only drawback is I'd have to start converting various files to mp3 & wav.
 
Also to keep it kind of on track, Qian39 sounds great with Radiohead's Nude.  Really pleasing sound for the price.

Check the link in my sig =) I used the Aliexpress store in the 2nd post but a lot of guys here have used the eBay link too with no problems.
 
The good thing about converting FLAC and other lossless to WAV is the encoding job is done in 2 seconds. Super fast. If you have any lossy stuff try not to transcode it! =)
 
Qian39 is great and I do really love it. I feel like my Qian39 mod is getting somewhere but not quite as good as it can be yet.

 

[Saoshyant]

I'm still disappointed I can't boost the 808+.  I mean it really does have a great bassy sound for no eq, but I was hoping it'd hold up and really show something special on the X3 with some boosting.

 

[fairx]

Pretty different. E808+ has like no mids at all. Very sharp V sound.

Now the Yinman 150 is for people who want a more refined SHE3800 in every way. Hopefully there is a non Taobao seller? But they are really good, and i was super surprised today when I went from SHE3800 to Yinman 150. Those 2 have the same signature almost exactly, just the Yinman is a lot more refined.

now there's something interesting. Refined she3800. Just today I show my she3800 to couple of local enthusiasts and the response is very good. The response is a lot better than monk+. Need to order more while they last.

Will Look into these Yinman. Hope they're available in aliexpress soon. Someone mention ty 32 is not available for purchase anymore? I'm glad my ty 32 still going strong in build quality and SQ. All these made me realize that some small production stuff weren't meant to be mass produced and not always readily available

 

[vapman]

now there's something interesting. Refined she3800. Just today I show my she3800 to couple of local enthusiasts and the response is very good. The response is a lot better than monk+. Need to order more while they last.

Will Look into these Yinman. Hope they're available in aliexpress soon. Someone mention ty 32 is not available for purchase anymore? I'm glad my ty 32 still going strong in build quality and SQ. All these made me realize that some small production stuff weren't meant to be mass produced and not always readily available

Yup, but if you can order from Taobao it's worth it for sure. Great earbud. Yes I agree I tend to hoard a few of everything I really like since stuff appears and disappears again without any warning. I gave one of my SHE3800 away, have one open and the other still new =)
 
Actually, I gave one of the SHE3800 to a friend who introduced me to this site over 10 years ago. He has owned a lot of nice gear..... after the first set of Monk I gave him, he sold his Stax setup, now he is about to give someone else his HD600 setup for xmas because, as he says, all he needs is "all the buds I have and (his) work cans"... and yes, all those buds are my extras I forced him to take from me... 

 
 

  I'm still disappointed I can't boost the 808+.  I mean it really does have a great bassy sound for no eq, but I was hoping it'd hold up and really show something special on the X3 with some boosting.
 

That's weird. Does it distort? I have boosted it a lot... hmm.

 

[Tonx]

  ***

Thank you! 

 

[purplesun]

how do they compare to she3800? She3800 has strong bass and full mids. Slightly rolled off highs and pass the fullness of sound when wearing helmet.

IMO, SHE3800 has a full-bodied sound but with less high/low extensions than E808+. E808+ has stronger low & mid-bass, but dips from upper-bass to low-mids. Upper-midrange to mid-treble is fairly strong, but a bit thin-sounding. I am guessing with the dip in upper-bass & low-mids, there's less masking of outside noise in that range, while the rest of the music is playing at reasonable volume, which should help in situational awareness. It has become my favourite earbud for walking around and interacting with people while listening to music.

 

[Moscow]

My first 11.11

 

[Saoshyant]

@vapman What it's doing was something is loose in the right earbud, kind of like a vibrating sound.  Noticed this on xDuoo X3 rockboxed with +4 bass, so I might order a second pair as I do think it has a lot of promise.  I know if you approve of an earbud's bass, you've put it through a lot more than I would, so it's got to be a defect of sorts.

 

[vapman]

  @vapman What it's doing was something is loose in the right earbud, kind of like a vibrating sound.  Noticed this on xDuoo X3 rockboxed with +4 bass, so I might order a second pair as I do think it has a lot of promise.  I know if you approve of an earbud's bass, you've put it through a lot more than I would, so it's got to be a defect of sorts.

Purplesun and I have collectively decided they are as much of a gamble as the SHE3800.
 

Also, funny that you mention that. that happened to me a couple times. each time i unplugged it, used something else, and then maybe 10 minutes later went back to the track it buzzed on... wait for it... nothing. sounded perfectly fine? they are very weird.