[Blackwolf14]

I bought the RY4S plus and 300 ohm versions (both MMCXed), no issues with channel imbalance. Well CHIFI is not a paragon of good QC, so sometimes it is a crapshoot for QC control for their cheaper gear (and even sometimes more expensive gear).

Thank you for the answer. I agree with you. I didn't notice that when the earbud arrived me. After a couple month the issue appeared.

Also I would to say something about B40. I paired my phone and B40 and I enjoy listening to music with EQ. In my humble opinion, B40 and ME80 without EQ its too flat for me. RY4S is more detailed, energytic. I have basic tools: Spotify, Vention usb sound card and DD TC35. Maybe both earbuds(B40 and ME80) needs to drive.

 

[jogawag]

...
I've just ordered the white SR2 from this listing.
...

Please note that the SR2 you bought needs 100 hours of burn-in.
Also, the SR2 have a wide soundstage and the sound signature is L-shaped, so you might want to use donut earpads.

 

[Stereo Skunk]

Ummm. I can understand fit issues with the em5. That's an issue overall with earbuds, particularly since they come in all sorts of sizes. @baskingshark does a great job of providing the details.

In regard to sound quality, did you do a full 200 hour burn in?

I didn't but I thought the sound quality issues were due to the earbud being off-axis to the ear canal. Not something that burn in could fix. Plus, I need comfort first, then sound then aesthetics/build quality.

That makes me wonder. Not that this is a requirement of mine, but has anyone gotten really precise localization with earbuds? Like you could pinpoint where it was coming from inside your head?

 

[baskingshark]

I didn't but I thought the sound quality issues were due to the earbud being off-axis to the ear canal. Not something that burn in could fix. Plus, I need comfort first, then sound then aesthetics/build quality.

That makes me wonder. Not that this is a requirement of mine, but has anyone gotten really precise localization with earbuds? Like you could pinpoint where it was coming from inside your head?

I find some earbuds need to be angled with the stem sometimes in a 45 degree position rather than facing down to get optimal fit. Some buds also require me to put 2 layers of full foams to thicken the foam cover to get a better seal.

Some IEMs like the SMABAT series can be worn over ear or cable down, so that increases fit options.

But gotta agree with you, it doesn't matter how heavenly an IEM or earbud sounds, if u can't get a good fit/comfort and can't use it for more than a few minutes, then the sound is kind of a moot point.

Earbuds are kinda different from IEMs in soundstage, IEMs are generally more in your head, whereas some earbuds can give an out of head positioning for soundstage, somewhat akin to headphones. I don't have any TOTL earbuds, but I would say in general some midfi IEMs have better details and imaging localization than the midfi earbuds I've tried. But maybe those that own TOTL earbuds can advise better.

 

[Stereo Skunk]

There are such a dizzying array of IEMs and earbuds now. It's so great to see so many different variations and solutions in the market, but it is so hard to narrow them down. Then there are those that were produced in history.

I don't want to search through all of them to find the perfect one. I won't even like it after I do that.

 

[Sam L]

I didn't but I thought the sound quality issues were due to the earbud being off-axis to the ear canal. Not something that burn in could fix. Plus, I need comfort first, then sound then aesthetics/build quality.

That makes me wonder. Not that this is a requirement of mine, but has anyone gotten really precise localization with earbuds? Like you could pinpoint where it was coming from inside your head?

Completely agree that comfort is the primary concern. However, the beryllium driver in the em5 is ridiculously huge and actually changes quite a bit of burn-in. I wasn't a believer in burn-in until the em5. I would of returned it as well, if not for @ClieOS warning to not evaluate the em5 on initial hearing.

Most of what you are describing about sound being "off-axis to the ear canal" is common to all audio and is fundamentally described as Anatomical Transfer Function. More specifically for headphone/iem/buds users, Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF). Our ear anatomy creates all sorts of reflections, cancellations, spikes etc. I wrote in depth about my theories regarding pinna notch and pinna gain interactions with earbuds. (do a search for "pinna notch").

What do you mean by "precise localization"? Are you referring to the position of the instruments as rendered in playback (soundstage) or the position of the sound origin as produced by the drivers? The drivers in buds will never sound like the music is coming from inside your head, which is one of the appeals of earbuds -- they represent sound in a more headphone-like manner than iems. The other advantage of buds are that the soundstage is almost always more expansive than IEMs.

 

[Sam L]

Razer Blade Stealth (2017, gunmetal). It's like a Windows version of MacBook in terms of form factor.

Nice! I love that laptop. I asked because since you're on a windows laptop, I encourage you to install apo equalizer and the peace gui. Then you can easily load up either of these PEQ settings and try them out.

v.1.1 target curve info is here.
v1.4 here.

Sadly I don't have v.1.3 (my laptop was stolen), which would be a good one to try out aside from the more neutral v1.4. I personally don't like v1.1 but it gives you a sense of the various differences apo and autoeq can make from the default tuning.

If I can finish my weekend home care projects, I'll try to get my dev environment setup and start generating new target curve files.

 

[Sam L]

Yup. And Yup.

Well, I don't hate the monk plus, and I haven't heard the new MX500's, but I still stand behind my Yups!

well, ok, I need to reserve judgement on the monk plus since my wife thinks they are amazing. lol

 

[povidlo]

Nice! I love that laptop. I asked because since you're on a windows laptop, I encourage you to install apo equalizer and the peace gui. Then you can easily load up either of these PEQ settings and try them out.

v.1.1 target curve info is here.
v1.4 here.

Sadly I don't have v.1.3 (my laptop was stolen), which would be a good one to try out aside from the more neutral v1.4. I personally don't like v1.1 but it gives you a sense of the various differences apo and autoeq can make from the default tuning.

If I can finish my weekend home care projects, I'll try to get my dev environment setup and start generating new target curve files.

Thanks, mate.

QQ: on NW-A105, Wavelet AutoEq works fine when Tidal is streamed through UAPP.

On my laptop, I'm using Tidal application (without Roon or anything) straight up. It uses the external DAC in Exclusive Mode. Unfortunately Peace doesn't change the sound as result. Is there a workaround?

 

[povidlo]

New toy in!

Had to try these.... being a Canadian.

Thanks to OGs for feedback regarding H185 in this thread from 2016.

 

[rkw]

I don't want to search through all of them to find the perfect one.

There is no "perfect one". It's all about compromise and personal preferences. You can even see in this thread that people purchase multiple earbuds and switch back and forth between them depending their mood and type of music.

If you try to pin down a single earbud based only on what you read, you will likely be disappointed. It is a process of discovering what works for you. Start with a few lower priced earbuds to get a sense what sound and fit you like, then you'll have a better idea of what direction you want to go for higher quality.

 

[mkz]

Nice! I love that laptop. I asked because since you're on a windows laptop, I encourage you to install apo equalizer and the peace gui. Then you can easily load up either of these PEQ settings and try them out.

v.1.1 target curve info is here.
v1.4 here.

Sadly I don't have v.1.3 (my laptop was stolen), which would be a good one to try out aside from the more neutral v1.4. I personally don't like v1.1 but it gives you a sense of the various differences apo and autoeq can make from the default tuning.

If I can finish my weekend home care projects, I'll try to get my dev environment setup and start generating new target curve files.

Thank you Sam. Downloaded and trying now.

 

[LordZero]

Someone can give a good EQ Preset for the Rose Masya MK2? Wanted something like the oratory1990’s list of EQ Presets, but can't find it.

 

[Sam L]

Thanks, mate.

QQ: on NW-A105, Wavelet AutoEq works fine when Tidal is streamed through UAPP.

On my laptop, I'm using Tidal application (without Roon or anything) straight up. It uses the external DAC in Exclusive Mode. Unfortunately Peace doesn't change the sound as result. Is there a workaround?

Thanks, mate.

QQ: on NW-A105, Wavelet AutoEq works fine when Tidal is streamed through UAPP.

On my laptop, I'm using Tidal application (without Roon or anything) straight up. It uses the external DAC in Exclusive Mode. Unfortunately Peace doesn't change the sound as result. Is there a workaround?

I also got the a105 solely to run wavelet and my compensation files. I like to keep things consistent across all my listening platforms - dap, laptop, desktop, phones.

There is another user who had the same issue with exclusive mode. It seems to break compatibility. But honestly, the autoeq files have way more positive impact than running thing through exclusive mode.

 

[Sam L]

Someone can give a good EQ Preset for the Rose Masya MK2? Wanted something like the oratory1990’s list of EQ Presets, but can't find it.

You're not going to find much by way of eq settings for buds other than my work. I'm a big fan of oratory target and make compensation files for all of my iems to his target. My initial v1.1 was based off of his curve to a degree. It wasn't a good fit for buds. If you have the FR for the masya I can run it though autoeq since oratory target is already mapped out in the autoeq package.