[Narayan23]

With the perforated foam, the sound of the B40 is more airy, with more detail. With the foam full the sound is veiled, did you notice that?

No veil at all for me with full foams, I really like the B40 and reading some negative or completely different opinions to what I experience with them, leaves me a bit baffled. They are less bright sounding than the RY4S UE although the latter have a bass I´m infatuated with (I´d say the RY4S UE is a very good movie earbud since it gives dialogues and shots / explosions the clarity and heft they need). The Snow Lotus 2.0 are pretty well balanced but I find them less lively than the B40 and that damn cable gets in the way of my enjoying them, I can´t seem to get a proper fit. Finally, the B40 have made me realise that lifeless and sterile = the **** **** sound, I´ve tried to like them, used different tips, but alas we weren´t meant for one and other and I´ll give them away.

A tip of the hat to ClieOS and a petition to him to do more collaborations, thinking what he could do given more budget has my Mojo flowing.

 

[snowmind]

That is why some people do prefer donut foams. If you are enjoying them like that, then that is what is right for your hearing.

Personally I am happy with full foams. I am unable to use donut foams because they always slide out of place for me. Probably when I wiggle the earpiece into position in my ear.

the only buds that I use with no foams are my recabled Sony HPM-64s. They have a rubber edge that is part of the shell and are small enough to stuff into my ear opening with a good seal. I have never even tried foams on them because I am happy with them as they are. Also, as you are experiencing with the B40, the Sony would probably become veiled.

I do not find the sound on the B40 to be veiled but that is with my pair (fully burned in) and my ears. No one can tell you what is best for you.

Thank you for your words. For most people, the B40 has a natural, well-tuned sound, nothing is missing, it's all there.

However, i would like to understand an evaluation of the Audiofool. The man goes into battle against the B40 saying he is lousy in treble: https://audiofool.reviews/2019/10/02/nicehck-b40/

 

[waynes world]

However, i would like to understand an evaluation of the Audiofool. The man goes into battle against the B40 saying he is lousy in treble: https://audiofool.reviews/2019/10/02/nicehck-b40/

He/she also says that the B40's bass is more potent than the ME80's bass. Not my experience.

 

[snowmind]

He/she also says that the B40's bass is more potent than the ME80's bass. Not my experience.

Exactly, i don't observe coherence about that either. We all know that each person has an ear type, signature sound they prefer, but this assessment of the site seems distorted from reality.

Maybe he has a lemon B40?

 

[dharmasteve]

Thank you for your words. For most people, the B40 has a natural, well-tuned sound, nothing is missing, it's all there.

However, i would like to understand an evaluation of the Audiofool. The man goes into battle against the B40 saying he is lousy in treble: https://audiofool.reviews/2019/10/02/nicehck-b40/

I think, from what I see on this thread, quality control is not great on cheaper ear buds. My own B40s are really good, not far behind much more expensive buds. So they can be really good. But I have had a bad version of the Monks, a really poor KZ, a fake Sony and another couple of bad ones from a while back. We may be talking a high percentage of cheaper buds.

 

[snowmind]

I think, from what I see on this thread, quality control is not great on cheaper ear buds. My own B40s are really good, not far behind much more expensive buds. So they can be really good. But I have had a bad version of the Monks, a really poor KZ, a fake Sony and another couple of bad ones from a while back. We may be talking a high percentage of cheaper buds.

I probably believe there is a bias to that. Jim Nicehck must face problems of lack of quality control in the factory, especially in the cheapest buds. Maybe that explains this weird review.

 

[robar]

Exactly, i don't observe coherence about that either. We all know that each person has an ear type, signature sound they prefer, but this assessment of the site seems distorted from reality.

Maybe he has a lemon B40?

If I understand the review correctly, he listens to these earbuds without any foam. If this is true indeed that would make these reviews even more “interesting”. I also don't understand his complaint about lack of strain reliefs

 

[citral23]

Thank you for your words. For most people, the B40 has a natural, well-tuned sound, nothing is missing, it's all there.

However, i would like to understand an evaluation of the Audiofool. The man goes into battle against the B40 saying he is lousy in treble: https://audiofool.reviews/2019/10/02/nicehck-b40/

People hear different things, he finds the EBX neutral, and detailed without becoming harsh, while I personally can't use them on albums that are even slightly too forward in mids/treble my ears literally bleed (but they are great on albums that have a very soft sound)

 

[cqtek]

Ourart QJ21: In two words .... Wooooowwwwww!!!

 

[rkw]

Ourart QJ21: In two words .... Wooooowwwwww!!!

Someone mentioned it before. This can't be a coincidence.

 

[csglinux]

Here's a brief comparison of the Moondrop Chaconnes vs the Shozy BK Stardust earbuds:

I'm using @antdroid's suggestion of donut foams over the top of full foams on the Chaconnes. (My Shozy BKs are just using single donut foams.) I like @antdroid's double-foam trick for the Chaconnes, but it still doesn't entirely resolve the fit issue for me. Here are some pros/cons of the Chaconnes:

Pros:
One of the best-sounding earbuds I've ever heard. In fact, I think I'd say it is my favorite-sounding earbud so far. Overall, I think I even prefer it to the Shozy BKs, which have otherwise been my favorites for years. They have a slightly more natural timbre to my ears and a smoother-sounding treble. (They don't have that hole that the Shozy BKs have around 8-9 kHz.)

Cons:
Even with double foams, they have a little less sub-bass than the Shozy BKs. One word of caution about these graphs though. I measured these using a 711 coupler with an earbud canal extender. My setup won't match your ears, and, very likely, neither would a full anthropometric set of artificial pinna. While I can get very repeatable measurements from IEMs, earbuds with any kind of foams are a bit of a crapshoot, because the bass can easily go up or down by several dB according to the amount of pressure you apply to the earbud over the canal opening, i.e., it will depend on your external ear shape and how well they sit and seal in your ears. I can get a decent amount of bass with the Chaconnes, but their ergonomics aren't nearly as good as that of the Shozy BKs. I can run around and do backflips with the BKs in, and they don't go anywhere. Just walking around in the Chaconnes is enough to cause them to wobble around and come loose in my ears.

So, my Shozy BKs will still be my go-to portable set of earbuds, but if you're going to be sitting fairly still, the Chaconnes are a great choice.

Somebody had asked @ClieOS a few pages back for his top 10. Now I haven't heard anywhere near the number of earbuds that @ClieOS has (I've only owned about 40 pairs), but the Chaconnes and the Shozy BKs are easily my top two. Number three on my top 10 doesn't even come close to the SQ of these two earbuds. Every other earbud I own, or have owned, has some fairly wild peaks or troughs in the FR, resulting (to my ears) in a less natural sound. These two are both way ahead of any other competition I've heard so far.

 

[Merkurio]

Received my Tonekings TO600 today and I really liked the detail, instrumental separation and openness feeling for the price (about 70 dollars with shipping by DHL). However, I was not surprised with the bass response or the treble extension and my left driver rattles with genres where low frequencies predominate, so I will process a replacement/return.

Which TOTL earbuds you consider would be a worthy upgrade and with good QC, regardless the price? I like the harman target in IEMs (such as the Blon BL03) and also prefer a nice build quality and materials, but with better sonic capabilities than the TO600s (better extension at both ends, resolution and tonality).

 

[ClieOS]

...
A tip of the hat to ClieOS and a petition to him to do more collaborations, thinking what he could do given more budget has my Mojo flowing.

I really don't mind if I can help out, as I do have an ulterior motive of wanting to see better earbuds make it into the market. While my advice is free, it does take effort from manufacturer to send sample over and going back and forth about tuning, which is not easy on their part.

He/she also says that the B40's bass is more potent than the ME80's bass. Not my experience.

...and to think we have someone complaining the lack of bass on B40 last week...

I think, from what I see on this thread, quality control is not great on cheaper ear buds. My own B40s are really good, not far behind much more expensive buds. So they can be really good. But I have had a bad version of the Monks, a really poor KZ, a fake Sony and another couple of bad ones from a while back. We may be talking a high percentage of cheaper buds.

Here is story that the owner of Moondrop told people awhile back when they were doing inventory - his manager told him that half of all the drivers for Liebesleid at the time, around 50 pairs or so, have to be threw out because they don't meet the tolerance - that is about RMB15000 ( = USD$2100+) worth of drivers in the trash can. Now you know why some earbuds cost so much.

 

[seanc6441]

So any full impressions on the QJ21? Does it improve on the low end of the ACG/TI7. Are the mids of as high quality?

 

[ricesteam]

I miss my VE Zen 1.0, which I foolishly destroyed a while ago. Anyone know if there are any earbuds in today's market with the same or similar sound signature? I recall at one point the Seahf 320 v1 (smart) sounded the same or similar to it. It even looked like a rebranded Zen 1.0.