Earbuds Round-Up
Sep 11, 2017 at 12:53 PM Post #22,893 of 75,463
QianYun Qian69 - Earbud

www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-QianYun-Qian69-In-Ear-Earphone-Earbud-Dynamic-Flat-Head-Plug-Earbud-Bass-HIFI-Earphone-Bass/32830311159.html

What a little GEM! Crisp highs, smooth mids and just a touch of sub-bass. Nice, clear wide soundstage. These are SUPER light and fit great! Only issue is the cable is very thin and not the best 3.5mm plug. These would be great for quick re-cable for those so incline.

The Qian69 is quite a nice surprise. I was not expecting to like them so much. Plus they are very photogenic.

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Huh, only $11! I love the Qian39's. I see a pair of 69's in my future!

I do like their unique look as well.
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 1:00 PM Post #22,894 of 75,463
Huh, only $11! I love the Qian39's. I see a pair of 69's in my future!

I do like their unique look as well.

Ordered a few things during the aliexpress sale. The Qian39s were delived Saturday and I really like them. They were only £3.63. The 69s should arrive any day now. They were £6.94. Just could not resist at that price. I like how they look too.
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 1:22 PM Post #22,896 of 75,463
I'm using full foams from the package. My Graphene is from NICEHCK, by the way.

For me I don't find EMX500 brighter.

Maybe there are enough sub-bass in EMX500 to balance the extended high. But the high is quite natural not color as I hear from Graphene.

Different ears, different taste. Sometime I wonder, are we talking about the same earbud? lol

Well, as somebody would put it, your ears must be broken. Jk. Lol but yeah...discussion and opinions of earbud sounds is highly subjective. At the end of the day, the main question is how deep are you willing to dive into this hobby? Risks are taken if you're going to pursue that "sound".
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 2:00 PM Post #22,897 of 75,463
I have a few ways of fitting earbuds and all of them change the sound in very drastic ways. The point is always to have as much of the front surface directly facing your ear canal. I have a very normal ear shape (never had a fitting issue with any IEM), but earbuds don't sound the best to me when worn normally. My ear canal is towards the front of my head meaning that putting earbuds regularly, the sound has to bounce around before it reaches my canal as the driver is facing my head and goes kinda sideways to where my canal is. I suspect that this is the case with 95% of the people. Obviously, we could push the driver exactly in our canal and hold it with hands, but this is not a solution. This also doesn't produce correct sound as it potentially creates seal which doesn't pair well with earbuds. I think I almost damaged my ears when I pushed Auglamour without foams directly to my canal and it created an impressive seal but also a very uncomfortable pressure on my eardrum.
The best way of wearing any earbud for me is: driver goes sideways, front of it faces towards the front of me and this way most of it ends up facing my canal the way it should be. Most earbuds have a hard tail where the cable goes in, and this gets in the way, so in order to put the driver sideways, I had to loop the cables around my ears and wear them upside down.

I already mentioned it here and I am doing it again because I am kinda surprised that people are not talking about this more. It makes way too much of a difference for me and I can't be the only one. This way of wearing them makes you look like a complete idiot though, but most of us wear earbuds in isolated environments anyways.

For example, Auglamour sounded way too thin with some weird peaks in the lower treble and after putting them properly, they have neutral bass and peaks are gone. EMX500 sounded bright and now it's just pure energy. The difference is massive, probably because it's, relatively speaking, a small driver and the sound is leaking but not going directly where it should be.
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 2:54 PM Post #22,898 of 75,463
Wrote up some quick impressions on the Blur 64 Premium (basically 64 ohm driver with SPC cable). Will revise it later after more listening. Been sick all week...

Blur 64 Premium

AMP1 BAL: Mid-tier earbud with a warmer sound signature compared to the Blur 魔音. Same mid-focused approach, but with more mid-bass bloom and sweeter vocals. Bass extension is still there and overall sound is no longer clinical or dry at all. Treble is a little smoother as well, but cymbals still retain that shimmer. Not as resolving in comparison, but more forgiving due to it’s warmer nature.


Build: Same exact look and build as Blur 魔音, but a more shiny cable. Suggest different color foams to not mix them up! Great quality overall.


Personal thoughts: A more popular tuning. If you felt that the other Blur buds were a bit dry and light on the bass, then these are a great alternative. I actually enjoy these through thin foams. Sounds closer to the other Blur’s more reference sound, while retaining it’s warmth.

Not sure which Blur I like better now. Both take a different approach to vocals (analytical / dry vs smooth / warm). I definitely feel these sound much better balanced, since the vocals don't sound as forward with the much larger soundstage, especially for Blur 魔音, which can sound too forward at times through 3.5mm SE.
 
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Sep 11, 2017 at 4:01 PM Post #22,901 of 75,463
At the end of the day, the main question is how deep are you willing to dive into this hobby? Risks are taken if you're going to pursue that "sound".
Real question is, how deep is your love?


lol
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 4:23 PM Post #22,902 of 75,463
I was too lazy to take them from the post office .. I hope, tomorrow I'll take it back.

I just hope my cat doesn't take off with them like he did my usb C OTG adapter so I can hook my Shanling M1 up to my Micro iDSD BL. I still have another dap I can use as transport, but still annoyed as the last thing he took ended up being lost for 3 weeks.
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 4:59 PM Post #22,903 of 75,463
Ok, I apologize in advance for this question, as I am sure it has been answered before, but here it goes...

Looking for a non-isolating earbud with in-line controls for Android phone. I don't care about a mic...just the ability to skip tracks and change the volume while working out. Budget...I can go up to $100. I like a warmer sound signature with solid but not excessive bass (something like the Audioquest Nighthawk signature).

Thanks in advance for you help!
Greg
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 5:21 PM Post #22,904 of 75,463
I'd suggest this cable (available in Black / Blue / Brown) for $13.88 - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wit...5-se425-se535-Se846-LN004900/32811373313.html
and the new **** PT15 for $8.80 - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...arplhone-With-MMCX-Interface/32756183154.html
or the Svara-L Escase for $78.10 - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...e-Top-Sound-Bass-Earbud-With/32807384267.html

I've got the earlier 115Ω version of the Svara-L, and it has quite a bit of Bass. I don't know how much the sound has changed, with them going to a 32Ω driver.
 
Sep 11, 2017 at 5:35 PM Post #22,905 of 75,463
@GregBe For most people, excessive bass in an earbud can only be achieved through heavy EQ. One of our basshead members for example would push around +26 dB, where I believe I'm pushing maybe +20 dB (not actually marked on Opus #1 so those could be .5 dB steps) plus ifi XBass. And even then, I wouldn't call it excessive, just fun.

Your sound signature request should be easy enough, although I've mever heard the example can, but in-line controls can be rare unless we're talking detachable cable. I'd be inclined to suggest Rose Technology Masya as it has respectable bass, lovely vocals, non-murderous treble and a detachable cable (.75mm 2-pin annoyingly enough) but last I checked it's a hair above $100 at I believe 109 or so, and some people have fit issues which might affect work-outs.

My favorite over-ear detachable cable warm sub-100 earbud is the Svara-L, but soon after release it was changed from a 115 to 32 ohm earbud for the sake of phone-friendliness (or at least that was my understanding) so cannot currently comment on the sound sig or quality, but others here did buy it as this iteration came out. Also, given your in-line requirement 115 ohm might be too much for your source. Hopefully someone can chime in on the other version. I've heard some rumors the bass was tamed, but cannot confirm.

If you're not needing the top quality sound available, there are less expensive options like the 1More EO320 which meets your bass & control requirements, has a sturdy construction, a reasonably enjoyable sound with enough bass for most, and hopefully can stay put for a work-out. There are also reports that the new version of the **** PT15 (which originally were my treble-head budget recommendation) were given a bit more bass to fix the somewhat anemic nature from before (I should give this a listen as the quality for the price on the original was actually really quite good) and might also suit you.

If other recommendations come to mind, I'll let you know.
 

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