Intro and Biases
I just started looking at this forum, and cheap buds in general, within the last couple months. I’ve used Sennheiser MX365s for years without really knowing of any decent, affordable alternatives. So needless to say, I’ve jumped into amassing these ChiFi buds pretty quickly, and my impressions could change with time.
I’m making this post to help people who were in my recent situation: trying to figure out what’s worth ordering, but information is scattered all over the place in different threads and posts. Hopefully, having a reference where the same listener directly compares a lot of popular options is helpful, even if it’s only one perspective at the end of the day. Certainly feel free to ask questions or for more clarification on differences between pairs I’ve reviewed; I’ll probably be around quite a bit at least in the short term.
As far as my biases: I mainly listen to rock, including lots of hard rock and metal. I prefer to listen loud (probably too loud sometimes). I’ve always preferred a more forward and bright sound over warm and dark (for example, I love Klipsch speakers). I usually prefer a V-shaped EQ. I like bass, but not so much that I’m willing to accept bloat or boominess to get it.
I’ll try to update this if I have any significant changes of heart and as new buds arrive.
Individual Reviews
Edifier H180
V-shaped EQ. A bit thin sounding in the mids. Bass is prominent but feels somewhat boomy/bloated, focused almost exclusively in the mid-bass. Treble is on the harsh side, yet not especially clear or crisp to my ears. Wide soundstage and not very forward/fast; reminds me of open back Sennheiser headphones in general signature. Prefer with full foam pads to tame harshness/brightness and maximize bass.
These are buds that make a good impression with the big soundstage and overall signature when you first put them on, and I wanted to love them. But upon closer inspection, they’re revealed as boomy and somewhat lacking in clarity.
Build quality is among the worst of any earbuds I’ve used with an extremely thin cable, cheap plastic jack, and shells that don’t inspire confidence.
FAAEAL Datura X
*If you’re sensitive to harsh/bright treble, don’t buy.
V-shaped EQ. My initial impression was that they’re all treble with recessed mids and no bass. With experimentation, I realized this bud’s performance is extremely dependent on positioning in the ear. They’ve got decent bass, but for me at least, the buds sit most naturally in a position where the sound is directed too high within the ear canal. If I force them to point downward a bit (and even more so if I physically press them inward), the bass quickly comes alive, making for a fun V-shaped signature I really enjoy. Relatively narrow soundstage; very fast and forward. Treble is certainly on the bright side, enough to put some people off. Prefer with full foams to tame the treble and augment bass.
Build quality seems good with a braided cable, but the gold-colored cylinder immediately above the jack has already come loose after only a few weeks of use.
This is a frustrating entry from FAAEAL. If they’d gotten the fit right, it would likely be one of my favorites, as someone who often prefers bright, clear, and forward rather than warmth or big soundstage. But I simply can’t get them to stay in the right position to deliver the sound they’re capable of without a lot of effort.
FAAEAL Snow-Lotus 1.0+ Commemorative Edition
**If you need high volume from underpowered sources, don’t buy.
Mid-centric without much attempt at bass or treble extension. Flat, balanced EQ. Moderately wide soundstage. Anemic bass overall (even mid-bass). However, I have to admit these have good clarity and do what they do well; their flat signature just isn’t what I prefer. Worth noting that these are a bit less efficient than others on my list and struggle to get loud with some sources (64 Ohms).
Build quality is decent with a cloth-wrapped lower cable and robust jack, but the weight in conjunction with the bulky rubberized cable split makes them less convenient than average for on-the-go use.
Fengru EMX500
EQ is flatter than most of the others, though not as flat as the Snow-Lotus 1.0+. Signature is more toward the warm and dark end of the spectrum. In some ways, this reminds me of a slightly cleaner and slightly less bassy Vido. It’s good, but comparing head-to-head against top contenders like the HP32 and TC200, things just feel the slightest bit boxy and muddy. Soundstage is relatively narrow with a “band playing in your face” vibe. In a way this is like the darker and warmer cousin to the RY4S, which shares the forward/narrow soundstage characteristic but offers a brighter and less bassy take on it.
Build quality is OK, but I don’t like the cable at all. It’s braided like the Datura X, but thinner, so seems to tangle very easily. Probably my least favorite cable on the list, actually.
Fengru TC200 (aka Fengru Silver)
**If you need high volume from underpowered sources, don’t buy.
Wonderful EQ that’s relatively balanced, but leans just enough toward V-shaped to keep things clear and musical. Probably the best “clarity” I’ve heard from an earbud or earphone -- that word means slightly different things to different people, of course, but I’m floored. The first word I’d use to sum these up is “transparent.” Put another way, these have no significant flaws, so they kind of just disappear and let the content shine through as it should. Bass is mediocre in quantity, but present enough for non-bassheads, and has absolutely no bloat or boominess… in other words, it’s all mid-bass, but it’s punchy and controlled and never comes close to bleeding into the mids. Mids are fantastic and clear, even if a tad deemphasized. Treble really floors me: this is the first bud I’ve heard that, as someone who generally likes bright and forward, I can say is very clear and airy without being harsh or piercing *at all*. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything quite like it from full headphones or in my limited experience with speakers, either.
If the paradox or crisp, airy but non-harsh treble isn’t enough to sell you on these, if gets better: the soundstage is wide, instrument separation is fantastic, imaging just seems spot on… and yet it doesn’t feel at all veiled or recessed to me, as someone who tends to worry about losing that fast, in-your-face edge for rock music when soundstage is big (e.g., Sennheiser HDXXX series cans).
Other than the lack of sub-bass, the only con I’d point out is that these are relatively quiet/inefficient, despite being labeled at 16 Ohms. Compared to most of the other options on this list, you’ll need to bump your volume up a notch or two for equal levels. This could be problematic if you’re not using a good amp and you prefer listening at near-dangerous volumes, but shouldn’t be an issue otherwise.
Build quality is good for the price. Love the cable, love the look.
These deserve all the praise they’ve gotten and then some. If a variant could be made with moderately better bass extension (something approaching the HP32’s bass) but otherwise identical, I might pay 10x what they’re going for now.
Fengru TC300
**If you need high volume from underpowered sources, don’t buy.
Relatively flat and balanced EQ. Moderately wide soundstage. Good clarity.
I bought these after receiving my first pair of TC200s, as those were my favorite out of 10+ buds I’d collected at that time. The TC300 is slightly pricier ($8 vs. $5) and the seller insinuates that it’s a bassier version of the TC200, which is precisely what I wanted. In reality, these have a markedly different signature from the TC200, but they’re still really good. Whereas the TC200 has what I’d consider the ideal EQ -- moderately V-shaped, but not obnoxiously so -- these are quite noticeably flatter. Their sound is very similar to the FAAEAL Snow-Lotus 1.0+ CE in almost every respect. In A/B testing the two, I swapped them 5-10x and still struggled to pinpoint differences I was completely confident in. My initial impression is that the TC300 is ever so slightly less flat (a touch more bass and a touch less rolled-off treble than the SL1.0+), but it’s really splitting hairs. Probably as a result of any minor EQ difference, I’d also describe the TC300 as the tiniest bit clearer and less grainy.
Build quality is good. The cable is black, instead of gray like the TC200. The jack is connected to a cylindrical faux-metal piece, instead of a flatter plastic one on the TC200. Otherwise, it would be hard to tell them apart.
It’s hard for me to decide whether these are deserving of the same high praise as the legendary TC200/Silver, because the flat signature of the TC300 isn’t my preferred style. What I can say is that you shouldn’t buy them expecting a straightforward upgrade from the TC200; also, the bass quantity isn’t really much more (if any). I would highly recommend these as an alternative to the SL1.0+, as I prefer their form factor and they’re around the same price.
NICEHCK Vido
EQ is somewhat V-shaped, but it’s complicated (and not great) on the high end. Warm and bass-centric. Bass is certainly good for an ultra-cheap earbud, but that’s the only high praise I have sound-wise. Mids are dark, not especially clear, and adversely affected by mid-bass. Treble is thin and lackluster, with some attempt at extension that sounds tacky and grating; harshness without real oomph or clarity to make it worth the price of admission. Prefer without foams, given their strength in bass and weakness in treble. Overall, the base signature is enjoyable, but they lean toward graininess and lack clarity in the mids and highs. I’m sure a better execution of this signature would sound fantastic (and the Fengru TC200 is sort of that, albeit with a bit less bass).
Build quality is appropriately lackluster for the price, and the J-cable is fairly annoying to me.
Because of the price, every basshead should own a pair or two, and everyone else into buds should probably still try it out just for the hell of it.
QuianYun Qian39
Probably the most disappointing on my list, relative to my expectations when I ordered. Very much another dark, warm, boxy signature similar to the Vidos, but with less bass, a higher pricetag, and a better reputation to live up to. Dirty, grainy, muddy, playing through a sewer pipe… man, the more I listen to this, the more shocked I am that reviews were generally so positive. I seriously wonder if I have a defective pair. This is probably my second least-favorite on the list after the horrific RY04, but it was close to $10, and it also has a crappy cable. It has an L-jack, which I like… so I guess I can say one nice thing about it? The Qian69 has even more glowing reviews, but I’m so put off and afraid of ordering anything else over $3 that shares much of anything in common with the 39 that I’m not sure I’ll give it a chance. Yuck.
RYGMR RY04
These are a joke. Not in the same stratosphere as anything else on this list. Incredibly tinny, thin, and I don’t think they’re even attempting to reproduce anything below 200 Hz on the low end. Not even worthy of inclusion as a freebie with a cheap smartphone. I’d throw them away if they weren’t potentially worth using in future comparisons. You get the point.
RYGMR RY4S (non-UE ~$3 version)
*If you’re sensitive to harsh/bright treble, don’t buy.
I had high expectations for these, given their reputation for being relatively bright and forward. While they live up to that label, I found their clarity and bass a smidge less than desired. Don’t get me wrong; these are good, and any non-basshead who likes in-your-face soundstage should be pretty happy. EQ tends toward V-shaped, but with little bass extension, so more on the right side of the V than left. It tends to sound really good on some recordings, but gets exposed as thin sounding on loud, compressed songs with a lot of bass.
Build quality for the non-UE version is mediocre at best. Cord tangles easily.
Sennheiser MX365
Another fairly flat and mid-centric bud whose signature closely resembles the Snow-Lotus 1.0+, but with noticeably more treble emphasis… or maybe just peakier in the treble. However, after comparing these two closely, I also noticed the MX365 seems a little thinner and boxier in some ways. Narrow soundstage and reasonably forward in presentation, but slightly muddy. Prefer without foams.
These are all I used for several years up until recently discovering the cheap ChiFi bud craze, and they served me well enough at the price of $15-20 I typically paid when I wore a pair out. After hearing all these other options, though, I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy another pair at that price even if they were still widely available. Given they’re discontinued and now require effort to track down, I’d say it’s a no-brainer to pass on these. The SL 1.0+ offers a slightly cleaner, slightly more balanced take on this signature and is still available for around $10.
Build quality is average. L-jack is a plus.
TY Hi-Z HP32
*If you’re sensitive to harsh/bright treble, don’t buy.
These are about as V-shaped as you’ll find -- in fact, U-shaped might even be more accurate. And I’m talking “crank the very bottom and top ends up by +6 dB” U-shaped. If that’s your thing, these are probably going to be delightful. If mids are your thing, you might as well stop reading here. Bass is exquisite for earbuds, with almost all the focus being on powerful sub-bass that simply doesn’t exist in most budget competitors. Even by the time you get up to the upper end of mid-bass, it feels like those frequencies are already deemphasized. Mids overall are very much toned down in the EQ curve and have a fairly thin presence that will be a dealbreaker to some. Treble is clear, bright, and harsh all at once, with great extension. Foams are a requirement to tame the harshness. Soundstage is wide and impressive; so much so that I actually wish they were a bit more of a “band playing in your face” vibe for the kind of music I focus on.
I feel like these actually accomplish what the Edifier H180s only attempt to do: wide soundstage and a pop-friendly V signature with good clarity. The only reason to prefer the H180s are their slightly fuller mids, but overall clarity and bass quality are loads better on the HP32s. In addition, these offer all the brightness and treble clarity of the RY4S (if anything, these are even brighter), but seem to additionally fill in the low end and widen the soundstage without any real disadvantage. As such, I’d start with the HP32, and only move on to the RY4S if you find these excessively bright and don’t mind sacrificing lots of bass to chop off 20% of the brightness.
Build quality is average with a reasonably thick wire. L-jack is a plus.
Current rankings/groupings
*Always subject to change
Awesome
- Fengru TC200 (aka Fengru Silver)
- TY Hi-Z HP32
Really Good
- FAAEAL Snow-Lotus 1.0+ Commemorative Edition
- Fengru TC300
Decent to Good
- Edifier H180
- FAAEAL Datura X
- Fengru EMX500
- NICEHCK Vido
- RYGMR RY4S (non-UE)
- Sennheiser MX365
Mediocre with Significant Flaws
Abysmal
TLDR Recommendations
The following recommendations are obviously based only on the pairs I’ve reviewed (comprehensive list above in the rankings).
- If you strongly prefer prominent mids (flat EQ) over any semblance of poppy V-shaped EQ: Fengru TC300
- If you’re a basshead, love V-shaped EQ (don’t mind thin and recessed mids), and can tolerate relatively harsh brightness: TY Hi-Z HP32
- Anyone else who likes to crank the volume way up and plans to use an underpowered amp (e.g., smartphone jack) regularly: toss-up between TY Hi-Z HP32, RYGMR RY4S, Fengru EMX500; there’s no perfect answer I’ve found so far
- Everyone else (don’t need ultra-loud volume and/or using a real amp): Fengru TC200 (aka Fengru Silver)
