[Braekfast]

oh, and, yes I heartily recommend the Snow Lotus 1.0+ commemorative edition. great earbud for the price.

I second the B40, I used to dislike them heavily but I've recently gave them another go and I actually really enjoy listening to them with music from the likes of Duster and some other rock bands, it's definitely something worth giving a go. About the Snow Lotus though, I only have a pair of the 1.0+ Commemorative Edition and they're pretty damn good. I usually bring them everywhere with me since they work with nearly anything I throw at it. Both are something I'd recommend, that is, if your wallet allows for a 1.0+ CE to creep into your cart .

Thanks for the answers. So the commemorative edition's sound is much better/different from the regular version then?

Currently I've got the ME80, kbear marvel and the snow lotus commemorative edition in my cart. That combo is about on budget, and seems like a pretty good starting order. Maybe I'll get some extra foam covers and a storage case while I'm at it.

 

[luckyeights]

So i have the vido (blue) apparently the colors have different sound? And i have the MX500. Is the snow lotus 1 commemorative better than those? Also i see a lot of mentions for the nicehck traceless, yincro rw 9 and faaeal Iris. Out of these which is better?

 

[luckyeights]

Also still curious about the kube plus vs willsound mk2 vs mk32. Trying to narrow down what i might want to try.

 

[fonkepala]

I also found the Snow Lotus 1.0 while browsing around here, any idea how they compare to the ME80 and/or the earbuds anonymous? The people who reviewed the snow lotus seemed really positive about it.

I wrote my impressions of the Snow Lotus 1.0+ CE recently. Not a comparison to the ME80 per se, but it might help. See it here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/post-15824943

Also, has anyone else noticed a new variant of the Iris CE on FAAEAL's store recently? It's grey and the store description goes as follows :
>>The White Transparent Shell Edition -Bass, not too much. -Good Mid and high. -Clear vocal.Warmth and detailed. -Rich details -Good Sound field

>>The Gray Transparent Shell Edition -More balanced -Good Bass, better than white shell. Warmth,immersing and detailed -Good Mid and high. -Clear and warm vocal. -Soundstage: better than white

Here's the link : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001270397403.html

Interesting. I thought the Iris CE only came in that clear transparent shell. They make it sound like the gray version has a different driver than the white/clear shell. This might be worth a try, methinks.

Currently I've got the ME80, kbear marvel and the snow lotus commemorative edition in my cart. That combo is about on budget, and seems like a pretty good starting order. Maybe I'll get some extra foam covers and a storage case while I'm at it.

The KBear Marvel is so new no one yet knows what it is really or how it sounds like. It might be a better idea to sit that one out and see how others like them later. Personally, I'd go for the ME80, B40 and SL 1.0+ CE. They sound different enough from each other and have their own unique traits to be worth checking out. Just my 0.02.

So i have the vido (blue) apparently the colors have different sound? And i have the MX500. Is the snow lotus 1 commemorative better than those? Also i see a lot of mentions for the nicehck traceless, yincro rw 9 and faaeal Iris. Out of these which is better?

Can confirm the different color Vidos do indeed have different sound signatures. I'm currently listening to the black one after spending some time with the white one. Plan to share my short impressions on the two soon. Also refer here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/yincrow-x6.22393/reviews

As for the SL 1.0+ CE, see my thoughts on it here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/post-15824943

No idea about the RW9. Traceless for me is just ok but nothing to write home about really.The following are my thoughts on the Traceless from FB:

"So a funny thing happened. When I first tried on the Traceless immediately after burn-in, it sounded straight up bad, so much so that I had this overwhelming urge to rip them out of my ears. Everything sounded off, recessed somehow...like I'm sitting in one room while the music was playing in the other room next door. Mids sounded honky too. But....I gave them another shot the day after and this time, strangely enough they sounded alright! Not mind blowingly good or anything close, but sufficiently decent to make listening to my music fun and quite enjoyable. Not sure what happened, if it's brain burn-in or anything of the sort. I even switched DAC's and amps to make sure....sure it sounded better with the Mojo but with everything else it was close. Yup the cable is nothing to write home about but I guess it's to be expected for so little money. Now, I'd rank them to be at least on par with the Vido. Hope this helps."

 

[Braekfast]

I wrote my impressions of the Snow Lotus 1.0+ CE recently. Not a comparison to the ME80 per se, but it might help. See it here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/post-15824943

The KBear Marvel is so new no one yet knows what it is really or how it sounds like. It might be a better idea to sit that one out and see how others like them later. Personally, I'd go for the ME80, B40 and SL 1.0+ CE. They sound different enough from each other and have their own unique traits to be worth checking out. Just my 0.02.

Actually, I just noticed that the SL 1.0+ CE is 64ohms, and several other reviews I've read here talk about them needing more power than straight from a smartphone to drive well. I'm getting a bit worried that I won't be able to drive them well now.

If that's the case, I might go for the ME80, B40 and the Kbear Marvel instead. The first two because they're known to be good, the marvel because it might be good. Roll the dice so to say.

 

[fonkepala]

If that's the case, I might go for the ME80, B40 and the Kbear Marvel instead. The first two because they're known to be good, the marvel because it might be good. Roll the dice so to say.

Well, you pays your money and you takes your chances

 

[digititus]

So i have the vido (blue) apparently the colors have different sound? And i have the MX500. Is the snow lotus 1 commemorative better than those? Also i see a lot of mentions for the nicehck traceless, yincro rw 9 and faaeal Iris. Out of these which is better?

The Yincrow RW9 is a gem. Haven't listen to anything else for quite some time.

 

[jogawag]

So i have the vido (blue) apparently the colors have different sound? And i have the MX500. Is the snow lotus 1 commemorative better than those? Also i see a lot of mentions for the nicehck traceless, yincro rw 9 and faaeal Iris. Out of these which is better?

I used to have vido, snow lotus 1 ce, nicehck traceless, yincro rw 9. I didn't have faaeal Iris. But I recommend you yincro rw 9 as the best choice.
(nicehck traceless is almost vido, they have the same driver(speaker). )

Also still curious about the kube plus vs willsound mk2 vs mk32. Trying to narrow down what i might want to try.

I used to have only willsound mk2. And willsound mk2 has gotten the firm reputation of good sound (specially bass) in almost members of this thread.

And did you check the price of them?
https://www.rholupat.com/willsound-buds?page=1

Almost of them are too good prices.

So as first, I recommend you below.
https://www.rholupat.com/willsound-buds/willsound-mk2-nv.html
https://www.rholupat.com/willsound-buds/willsound-mk2-nv1.html

Or you don't have MMCX earbuds yet, I recommend you below (by waiting to be stocked).
You can arrange the sound of earbuds by changing MMCX cable.
https://www.rholupat.com/willsound-buds/willsound-mk2-mmcx-bk.html
https://www.rholupat.com/willsound-buds/willsound-mk2-mmcx-wh.html

And if you must know about willsound mk32 and KubePlus, you must ask to @Alex.Grimm.
https://www.rholupat.com/indonesian-buds/kubeplus-orange.html
https://www.rholupat.com/indonesian-buds/kubeplus-black.html

 

[Braekfast]

Well, you pays your money and you takes your chances

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the SL CE is the safer choice compared to the Marvel, and it will probably be better sounding. But that is probably only true if I can drive it well, which I'm not sure my phone will be able to do. It's a redmi note 8t, if that says anything.

Of course, I could just get all four of them... Brb, I think I can hear my wallet screaming downstairs.

 

[vygas]

Actually, I just noticed that the SL 1.0+ CE is 64ohms, and several other reviews I've read here talk about them needing more power than straight from a smartphone to drive well. I'm getting a bit worried that I won't be able to drive them well now.

If that's the case, I might go for the ME80, B40 and the Kbear Marvel instead. The first two because they're known to be good, the marvel because it might be good. Roll the dice so to say.

That's fair enough, I didn't really take that into account but once you do get a slightly more powerful source, go for 'em.

 

[fonkepala]

Of course, I could just get all four of them... Brb, I think I can hear my wallet screaming downstairs.

My wallet is now merely a shadow of its former self...

 

[Braekfast]

My wallet is now merely a shadow of its former self...

I ended up with the ME80, B40 and Marvel combo. Figured I might give my wallet some reprieve and wait with the SL CE until I get a better source and/or I inevitably start wanting something new after playing around with those three. Though in my rush to buy them I did screw up a bit and ended up ordering the ME80 from VS Audio Store instead of the NiceHCK store on aliexpress, d'oh. Hopefully that won't be problem.

Thanks for all the help and recommendations everyone, I appreciate it. Now I'm going to attempt to stay away from this thread until my buds arrive, lest I be tempted into ordering others in the meantime.

 

[SciOC]

Brief sharing of my morning listening....

I finally got around to opening up a bunch of aliexpress iems and buds that finally came in (mostly sub $20 items). I spent most of last night reading for a few hours, listening to music through my me80's.

What makes the me80 distinctive is the ease of moving from an iem to the me80. The sound profile of the me80 is more harman-ish than nearly every bud I've been snapping up the last couple months (around 7 or 8 buds).

That's not to say that the me80 is even remotely close to harman target, but more of an observation that (from my limited experience) most buds sound warm, have strong lower freq presence with pronounced treble rolloff. Yes, there are brighter-ish buds but when compared to a harman-ish tuned iem, they sound significantly lacking in the treble.

If you're an iem user pondering buds, start with the me80.

Good to know. I don't own any buds but just ordered the me80....

And well, ummm, also the smabat st10s gold/black as well. So hopefully I like buds! It's weird to me that I paid $100 on sale for what is considered a pretty high end bud in the st10s. $100 IEMs are still in the budget arena IMO.

 

[Sam L]

The Yincrow RW9 is a gem. Haven't listen to anything else for quite some time.

Fully agree. Finally got to it today. I know I've been touting the me80 the last couple days, but the RW9 is at worst just as good and, in all likelihood, better. I need more time with it. Problem is too many buds and iems, so I'm not sure that will happen any time soon.

 

[Sam L]

Good to know. I don't own any buds but just ordered the me80....

And well, ummm, also the smabat st10s gold/black as well. So hopefully I like buds! It's weird to me that I paid $100 on sale for what is considered a pretty high end bud in the st10s. $100 IEMs are still in the budget arena IMO.

lol. That is the immediate learning curve we all went through -- how the earbud pricepoints are vastly different from the iem world. My current feel for the bud market is as follows:

serious bang for the buck. Buds <$5 (ie. fengru emx500). IEMs $15 to $40 range
awesome value, 83% of endgame. Buds = $12-$20 (rw9, me80, monk lite 120ohm). IEMs = $60 to $100 (it00, isn d02)
near endgame, 90% there. Buds = $65 to $120 (isn rambo 2, smabat s10s). IEMs = $300 to $500 (lz a6, h40, aq7, etc)
endgame. Buds = $300ish. IEMs = >1k

This is not to say that the buds in these categories are equivalent in sound to their IEM counterparts -- no way to compare as it's apples to oranges.