[Jsingh4]

Rose Maria is available on Ali,
Did you listen to Rose Maria @ClieOS ?
And if yes how do they compare to other TOTL buds?

 

[ClieOS]

Rose Maria is available on Ali,
Did you listen to Rose Maria @ClieOS ?
And if yes how do they compare to other TOTL buds?

No one outside of Rose has heard it yet, the final product won't be out till mid-December and it is said to be different sounding than the early prototype they had shown in China awhile back.

 

[citral23]

Follow-up on shiro-yuki impressions after more time with them, still think they lack a bit in bass department, the mids are OK but a bit grainy, and as such don't scale too well with volume, best heard at low to moderate volume, treble is polite. It's so-so but there's nothing inherently wrong with them and I find them lovely as a collectible, will use them now and then for low volume at night.

Ordered the ry4s ue and snow lotus 2.0 too compare, will post a comparison once it's here, along with the nameless that shouldn't take too long anymore.

And the yincrow rw-1000 because I'm incorrigible and hope it will be a better low ohms all-rounder than the EBX that is too fatiguing for me for extended sessions.

 

[j4100]

Oh good. EA has arrived.

 

[fonkepala]

Oh good. EA has arrived.

First impressions on the sound quality & ergonomics/build quality please?

 

[fonkepala]

Follow-up on shiro-yuki impressions after more time with them, still think they lack a bit in bass department, the mids are OK but a bit grainy, and as such don't scale too well with volume, best heard at low to moderate volume, treble is polite. It's so-so but there's nothing inherently wrong with them and I find them lovely as a collectible, will use them now and then for low volume at night.

Ordered the ry4s ue and snow lotus 2.0 too compare, will post a comparison once it's here, along with the nameless that shouldn't take too long anymore.

And the yincrow rw-1000 because I'm incorrigible and hope it will be a better low ohms all-rounder than the EBX that is too fatiguing for me for extended sessions.

Thanks for sharing. Judging from your description of the Shiroyuki's sound, would you say they're similar to the Monk Lite 40ohm?

Really looking forward to your comparo between the Shiroyuki, Snow Lotus 2.0 & ry4s ue.

 

[fonkepala]

Currently playing them from my phone, streaming my Bandcamp collection. Sounds pretty good to me. Trying them with donut foams, but will likely use them without, as these are to be my sleeping buds.

Thanks! Can't wait for mine to arrive.

KC08 has excellent build quality and very good reach end-to-end, but the mid is a little dry, almost a very mild U-shaped sound. I'll call it a upper mid-tier. KC08T on the other hand is probably upper 2nd-tier, or even a lower 1st-tier. It has a more neutral tone than KC08, though still a little on the warmer / richer side of things. Overall just a really good all-rounder.

Thanks for this. I googled up the KC08T after reading your post (wasn't aware of it beforehand) and saw that its price is $100 dearer than the KC08....yikes!

 

[citral23]

Thanks for sharing. Judging from your description of the Shiroyuki's sound, would you say they're similar to the Monk Lite 40ohm?

Really looking forward to your comparo between the Shiroyuki, Snow Lotus 2.0 & ry4s ue.

Sorry I don't have the Monk. The shiro is not super easy to drive, not BK2 or EBX easy I mean. The closest it sounds like in what I have is the TO200, but that one has a more mature sound imo, shiro sounds a bit cheap in comparison (well it's 10€ or so)

 

[ClieOS]

Thanks for this. I googled up the KC08T after reading your post (wasn't aware of it beforehand) and saw that its price is $100 dearer than the KC08....yikes!

Ali price for KC08T is usually a bit higher at $199, where Taobao price is usually around $170. This year I got a great deal on 11.11 that put it at $140, so that makes it my bargain-of-the-year purchase.

 

[bjk8kds]

...

There are three different type of back vent filters that come with KP120, which gives you three noticeably different sound - the stock black filter is probably the best to my ear with the best balance between detail and warmth. You can also play with full or donut foam with different back vents to further tune the sound, but for the topic I'll keep to just describing the black filter - the overall sound kinda reminds me of PT15, but more upfront and aggressive, lighter on the feet with slightly bright-ish tuning but still have a good bass reach, almost like a very mild U-shaped sound. The re-position of the MMCX socket is a godsend. The over-the-ear design of the KP110 makes fit a hit or miss, but KP120 feels just like a conventional earbud and much easier to recommend.


...

I'm newbie here.
I'm planning to buy kp120 (w/ mic) in the future. Is kp120 worth (sacrifice) to buy?
AFAIK no one bought kp120 in my country or at least in my domestic forum (Indonesia). So maybe i'll be the first (?) here.
FYI. My earbud right now just under $15, sabia v7 and headroom ms16.

 

[ClieOS]

I'm newbie here.
I'm planning to buy kp120 (w/ mic) in the future. Is kp120 worth (sacrifice) to buy?
AFAIK no one bought kp120 in my country or at least in my domestic forum (Indonesia). So maybe i'll be the first (?) here.
FYI. My earbud right now just under $15, sabia v7 and headroom ms16.

I'll say it is worth buying.

 

[fonkepala]

Ali price for KC08T is usually a bit higher at $199, where Taobao price is usually around $170. This year I got a great deal on 11.11 that put it at $140, so that makes it my bargain-of-the-year purchase.

Nice. Too bad I can't shop on Taobao

 

[baskingshark]

I just entered my 3rd rabbithole of the world of earbuds thanks to @mbwilson111 (IEMs and headphones being rabbithole 1 and 2).

I have to make a confession, I last used earbuds 20 years ago, and I always had a negative impression that they were inferior to IEMs because of poorer isolation and hence they should be inferior in details and subbass. At the recent 11/11 AE sale, I got the NiceHCK B40 and ME80 as they were cheap, and I gotta say, I have been proven wrong about earbuds. I'm quite impressed by the earbuds' technicalities and subbass when compared head to head with IEMs. No doubt isolation is not their forte, but they make it up by having a better soundstage then IEMs. They are like mini open backed headphones in a way, but might be more convenient in hot weather even.

Just to check, do donut foams and normal foams make a difference to sound? And between the black, grey and blue foams, are there any differences to sound, or it is just asthetics?

I quite like the shape of the ME80. Am wondering are there upgrades to the ME80 with similar shape, but having a warm signature with good subbass? TIA for your advise!

 

[citral23]

I just entered my 3rd rabbithole of the world of earbuds thanks to @mbwilson111 (IEMs and headphones being rabbithole 1 and 2).

I have to make a confession, I last used earbuds 20 years ago, and I always had a negative impression that they were inferior to IEMs because of poorer isolation and hence they should be inferior in details and subbass. At the recent 11/11 AE sale, I got the NiceHCK B40 and ME80 as they were cheap, and I gotta say, I have been proven wrong about earbuds. I'm quite impressed by the earbuds' technicalities and subbass when compared head to head with IEMs. No doubt isolation is not their forte, but they make it up by having a better soundstage then IEMs. They are like mini open backed headphones in a way, but might be more convenient in hot weather even.

Just to check, do donut foams and normal foams make a difference to sound? And between the black, grey and blue foams, are there any differences to sound, or it is just asthetics?

I quite like the shape of the ME80. Am wondering are there upgrades to the ME80 with similar shape, but having a warm signature with good subbass? TIA for your advise!

This is just aesthetics. Donuts sound brighter for me than full foams, which is logical as foam tames the highs. Some thick donuts also improve the seal and hence the bass for me. I just use full foams on earbuds I find too bright, and donuts otherwise.

I've not listened to the ME80 so it's difficult to recommend something similar, but I'm sure others will. Personally I find my BK2 and TO400s to be the best all-rounders, with the BK2 having the most sub of all my earbuds.

This might happen to you too, since discovering earbuds I've sold most of my IEMs and buy very little anymore. There are some 60-80$ earbuds out there that have really great sound, yes it's more akin to open back headphones, or being close to speakers, I find the sound to have a much more organic nature, I'm still suprised very often by the hit of a bass tom, or other percussive instruments sounding so real, with a physical impact to them.

Isolation is maybe a bit overrated, I doubt we're in good conditions to listen critically waiting for the bus, it's more likely at the end of day in the bedroom, so why isolate ourselves and get poor soundstage and "in the head" effect, not sure. And during the day I prefer to be aware of my surrounding now. So IEMs are really only used for very specific conditions, like the office being really too noisy and I want to "escape" the stress.

 

[fonkepala]

I just entered my 3rd rabbithole of the world of earbuds thanks to @mbwilson111 (IEMs and headphones being rabbithole 1 and 2).

I have to make a confession, I last used earbuds 20 years ago, and I always had a negative impression that they were inferior to IEMs because of poorer isolation and hence they should be inferior in details and subbass. At the recent 11/11 AE sale, I got the NiceHCK B40 and ME80 as they were cheap, and I gotta say, I have been proven wrong about earbuds. I'm quite impressed by the earbuds' technicalities and subbass when compared head to head with IEMs. No doubt isolation is not their forte, but they make it up by having a better soundstage then IEMs. They are like mini open backed headphones in a way, but might be more convenient in hot weather even.

Just to check, do donut foams and normal foams make a difference to sound? And between the black, grey and blue foams, are there any differences to sound, or it is just asthetics?

I quite like the shape of the ME80. Am wondering are there upgrades to the ME80 with similar shape, but having a warm signature with good subbass? TIA for your advise!

Welcome to the rabbit hole

What do you think of the B40?

And since you're looking for something similar to the ME80 but with warm sound & better subbass, am I correct in assuming that you find the ME80 to have a bright sound signature with less bass?

I'm quite new at this as well, so I don't think I'm qualified enough to answer re: foams and how they modulate the sound. IIRC, donuts are supposed to enhance lower frequencies without sacrificing details and treble. Full foams smoothen things out across the board. I may be wrong, though. Others might be able to give more definitive and authoritative answers re: foams.

It's a nice warm fuzzy rabbit hole, right?