[bhima]

Someone link me a black yuin shell, slightly bassy, possible panda pk2s upgrade earbud for less than $40 usd.

Willsound PK32.

I am listening to the brighter, slightly more analytical PK16's and they sound fantastic for $40. Uses the same black Yuin PK shell. The PK32 is supposed to be bassier than the PK16s.

 

[seanc6441]

Don't worry about the budget, I just want a pair that really sound the best. I do have a couple of cheaper earbuds (monks, yincrow x6, diy graphenes), I'm just ready to get some top-tier earbuds now.

Oh right, well there's the K's earbuds that have great bass and energetic treble and I'll probably be purchasing the new release in 2 months of their next TOTL earbud for around $430.

There's the Cypherus earbuds like Zoomfred/Pro and Red Dragon, the former being somewhere around $300 (or $400 maybe) i think and the latter around $700. The latter being arguably the best earbud in existance.

There's the blox TM9 which is $289 and is the latest hyped TOTL for its grand soundstage and smoothness. But maybe not for bass quantity/extension? Don't have it so cannot say for sure.

There's some impressions on all of those if you'd like to check them out. I really think the K's Ling slight V (which really sounds more like a balanced but energetic headphone signature) is great for my tastes and would love to hear this new variant. But others love Cypherus buds tuning and the way you can opt for some customization to the sound on the red dragon or opt for the 'pro' driver on the zoomfred.

 

[40760]

Danny owns them, and he sounds like a man that could die happy with them. Having said that, $680 is a bit too close in price to the Focal Elex. I personally couldn't justify that kind of money for earbuds unless I heard them, and the Elex, and the earbuds were better. AND they came with a lifetime warranty.

Earbuds with lifetime warranty? So far I only know that the VE Zen Blacks or Whites comes with that...

 

[Zoule]

Oh right, well there's the K's earbuds that have great bass and energetic treble and I'll probably be purchasing the new release in 2 months of their next TOTL earbud for around $430.

There's the Cypherus earbuds like Zoomfred/Pro and Red Dragon, the former being somewhere around $300 (or $400 maybe) i think and the latter around $700. The latter being arguably the best earbud in existance.

There's the blox TM9 which is $289 and is the latest hyped TOTL for its grand soundstage and smoothness. But maybe not for bass quantity/extension? Don't have it so cannot say for sure.

There's some impressions on all of those if you'd like to check them out. I really think the K's Ling slight V (which really sounds more like a balanced but energetic headphone signature) is great for my tastes and would love to hear this new variant. But others love Cypherus buds tuning and the way you can opt for some customization to the sound on the red dragon or opt for the 'pro' driver on the zoomfred.

Man there's a lot of options. Thanks for all the suggestions! I guess its time for more research, but in the meantime I'll get those EB2s lol.

 

[rkw]

I guess its time for more research, but in the meantime I'll get those EB2s lol.

That's the best way to start. Being new to earbuds, you don't really know what you want yet. It may take going through a few before you figure it out, but fortunately that can be done much more affordably with earbuds than other types of headphones.

 

[chinmie]

Willsound PK32.

I am listening to the brighter, slightly more analytical PK16's and they sound fantastic for $40. Uses the same black Yuin PK shell. The PK32 is supposed to be bassier than the PK16s.

mine is in a white shell, as it was the first batch prototype. the PK32 do have a bigger midbass, but the PK16 have a deeper reach, although the bass volume is less than the PK32. the PK16 and the Datura are my designated sleeping earbuds

 

[RodRevenge]

Guys a few questions what are the disadvantages of the pk shell or why is it less used? Also anyone knows the exact diameter?

 

[chinmie]

Guys a few questions what are the disadvantages of the pk shell or why is it less used? Also anyone knows the exact diameter?

usually less bass and/or less soundstage than the MX500 shell. it's around 16.2mm if I'm not mistaken

 

[Danneq]

If I had money^_^

Yeah, that can be a problem. My salary is okay and this is pretty much the only hobby I spend money on. But I sell whatever I do not use or like and then use that money to try new stuff.

same as the Abnormal guys, they would buy people's old monks and diomnes lv1 so they can make the Diomnes Lv2. just last week there's also Dipios (the rarest pokemon buds from abnormal) being sold at my local forum's auction

Dipios would have been cool to try! I read about that one first and then bought Diomnes Lv2.

Thanks for the background Danny. I know expensive headphones aren't in the cards for awhile as the wife and I are on a tight budget until the kids get out of daycare ($2k a month for daycare zomfg. Could buy Focal Elears every month and have left over money!).

Where do you live? The US? I complain about a lot of things in Sweden such as PostNord and Swedish healthcare but the high taxes we pay gives us cheaper services (well, sometimes cheap and bad service - for example a friend's wife who is from Ukraine recently was operated on and the operation had to be redone because of a mistake made. She complains about the low level of competence in Swedish healthcare, and when that comes from a Ukrainian it says a lot. The technological standard is high, but competence levels so so at best). But childcare is pretty good if you use municipal one (paid mainly by municipal taxes). Until my oldest kid turned 3 we paid around $110 a month and now it's about $70 a month. When the younger brother starts there in about 4 months it will still be a little less than $200 a month for 2 kids.

Earbuds with lifetime warranty? So far I only know that the VE Zen Blacks or Whites comes with that...

Herry of Cypherus never said it out loud but I think he might repair broken Cypherus earbuds for free if you pay for shipping both ways. He said that if I got any problems with the ZoomFred that I canot fix myself I can send it to him to get it fixed. Some smaller DIY makers might reason like that.

 

[rkw]

wife and I are on a tight budget until the kids get out of daycare ($2k a month for daycare zomfg. Could buy Focal Elears every month and have left over money!).

Been there, done that, and sorry to say but it gets worse — my daughter just started college. At top private US colleges, it works out to $2K per week (counting only weeks in session).

 

[Decommo]

Gee.. I have been away from this forum for so long and not sure when I was here last time. Can anyone recommend me one budget earbud for casual listening? My budget is under $30 and looking for non-fatiguing sound sig for long term listening. Is VE monk still the ideal option under $30?

 

[redkingjoe]

Been there, done that, and sorry to say but it gets worse — my daughter just started college. At top private US colleges, it works out to $2K per week (counting only weeks in session).

Education is investment!

Luckily, we stop bleeding. My son had already graduated from top graduate school in London! Although it costed us a total of US$140k per year, he got great job with fast promotion and high pay. The company even pays the tuition for his parttime Master from University of Oxford!

When I recount my son’s spending, I asked myself : why don’t I spend just a few % of his education on my hifi? Anyway, it costs a kidney to get him educated, I gladly spend more money on my hobbies!

 

[handwander]

Willsound PK32.

I am listening to the brighter, slightly more analytical PK16's and they sound fantastic for $40. Uses the same black Yuin PK shell. The PK32 is supposed to be bassier than the PK16s.

Possible purchase but also not black. I'm shallow and want black shells!!

I might just gamble one day on a pair of random "diy pk1/2" buds off Ali, e.g. these:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/diy...parent-film-with-without-mic/32803268088.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Yui...al-copper-wire-super-quality/32366470027.html

Also on the topics of yuin shell or whatever these are called, the foams on my panda pk2s randomly came off and I wasn't home so I just wore them without foams, which I don't think I've ever done before. I think they were somehow more comfortable. The fact these aren't more used than mx500 are a crime.

 

[Decommo]

I thought they were ridiculously uncomfortable.....they're a distant memory now thankfully! (got refunded within days!)
I'd totally recommend EB2 ...great detail retrieval with none of the harsh sibilance of the iSines..and the small matter of being $426 less!!! lol

Someone already recommended earbud for the price of $30 which is what I exactly looked for. Thanks. I will give a try.

 

[Fabi]

Herry told me when we met that he even looks to buy used CampFred 1 to get the driver for use with White CampFred, but that second hand CF 1 rarely are sold.

Interesting hehe