Earbuds Round-Up
Nov 3, 2020 at 11:45 PM Post #50,147 of 77,557
Are the PK (diy also) buds too behind the high impedance graphene drivers in terms of bass and sub bass, treble extension and overall clarity?
PK1 "red film" is also a "top-level" DIY driver. For me, it has a better low end than graphene, but not treble and clarity.
 
Nov 4, 2020 at 1:06 AM Post #50,148 of 77,557
Nice!! I’m about to order the Smabat buds on 11.11. How do you like that TRN adapter?

I like them. One is the original BT20 (with EBX), the other is the BT20S (with ST-10).

BT20S is good for dynamic IEMs and earbuds. Not good for high sensitivity BA IEMs. Has water/sweat resistance via a coating. Longer battery and has APT-X, which is good with my Android phone.


I'd probably get the newest BT20S Pro instead, given interchangeable soft ear hooks and charging case. Also may hiss less IIRC.



I broke the ear hooks but ended up modding them to be more comfortable than stock. Changed to soft ear hook style with straight connectors. Lets me use them with center type MMCX earbuds and not just offset style as previously pictured.

IMG_20200512_114312.jpg


PK1 "red film" is also a "top-level" DIY driver. For me, it has a better low end than graphene, but not treble and clarity.

It depends on the tuning and which graphene driver I guess. :)

I find the redfilm has really good clarity and treble. But I did tune mine towards clarity/vocals, without sub-bass roll off and also removing the mid-bass/lower mids bloat.
 
Last edited:
Nov 4, 2020 at 1:16 AM Post #50,149 of 77,557
Do you want a cable with an inline mic or not? I'm after one with, the suggestions I got where cables without...
Definitely without a mic... I would never use iems for calls as I prefer earbuds.
 
Nov 4, 2020 at 7:22 AM Post #50,150 of 77,557
It depends on the tuning and which graphene driver I guess. :)
I find the redfilm has really good clarity and treble. But I did tune mine towards clarity/vocals, without sub-bass roll off and also removing the mid-bass/lower mids bloat.
Yup. It depends on the tuning of course.:thumbsup: Don't get me wrong, "RedFilm" has no problem with treble and clarity but I think the graphene has a slightly cleaner sound especially when the sound is amplified.
All 3 drivers (150ohm RedFilm, 400ohm graphene. 600ohm beryllium) have great performance, it is very difficult to say which is better because each of these has a specific note that elevates them in its own unique way.
Anyway...at the end of the day, everything depends on personal taste and current mood:beerchug:
 
Last edited:
Nov 4, 2020 at 8:55 AM Post #50,151 of 77,557
There are too many options for this upcoming 11.11.
I would order the 150ohm redfilm drivers for pk shells but they are out off stock on Aliexpress. Now, 400 ohm graphene drivers seem to be a good choice, even thought I have to move to bigger shells.

@assassin10000
Have you already tested either Shozy XB or the diy sr2? If so, would you consider the 150ohm redfilm driver a sidegrade for them?

@furyossa
Do you know of a 14.8 mm driver with a sound signature similar to the Tp16?
 
Last edited:
Nov 4, 2020 at 10:20 AM Post #50,152 of 77,557
Oh crap. Then can I do this to any earbud that you wear over-the-ear and also have the mmxc connectors? Or do I need ones with the 2pin?
You can't do this unless you are @ClieOS. :) of if you have good soldering skills and experience taking apart earbuds.
 
Nov 4, 2020 at 10:24 AM Post #50,153 of 77,557
Currently working on making a measurment set up (hardware stores are closed because of quarantine hence it's a lot of impro). I ambition to simulate outer ear in addition to ear canal (well simulate is a grand word I'm doing it for fun more than anything else). This is what I have for the moment with my TY32Ohm :
TY32_1st.jpg
It matches what I drew auditioning frequency sweeps pretty closely from 1k. But the the low are just so off. There is no tight seal involved so no clue why it's that elevated. My audio interface is responsible for the roll off below 60hz (it's very well extended in reality).

Auto-eqing from such measurments is off the table obviously. I'm much more confident in building EQ using my own ears and frequency sweeps. At this point measuring seems like gambling to me. I'll have to get way more serious if I want things worth sharing.
That graph looks like you're off to a good start. My early graphs were pretty horrid. In fact, I prob should go back and remove them. :)

If you haven't already done so, be sure to at least calibrate your sound card and, if possible, your mic.
 
Nov 4, 2020 at 10:26 AM Post #50,154 of 77,557
Some MMCX earbuds can be used with TWS type adapters.

20190707_105032.jpg
20190423_005750.jpg


As far as actual TWS that are earbud style, the only ones I can think to recommend are the Sabbat X12 Ultra (better than the older X12 Pro) or the Samsung Buds Live.

IMG_20200820_234328.jpg

IMG_20200824_043701.jpg
IMG_20200824_043742.jpg

The Buds Live may sound a bit thinner and lack warmth compared to many earbuds though. Ymmv.



Your choice. Either can work.
I re-purchased the buds live because the call quality is so good.
 
Nov 4, 2020 at 2:54 PM Post #50,156 of 77,557
There are too many options for this upcoming 11.11.
I would order the 150ohm redfilm drivers for pk shells but they are out off stock on Aliexpress. Now, 400 ohm graphene drivers seem to be a good choice, even thought I have to move to bigger shells.

@assassin10000
Have you already tested either Shozy XB or the diy sr2? If so, would you consider the 150ohm redfilm driver a sidegrade for them?

@furyossa
Do you know of a 14.8 mm driver with a sound signature similar to the Tp16?

AE hasn't had redfilm drivers for most of the year. They may not ever get them back in stock at this rate.

I haven't heard the Shozy XB, but I did own the single vent 16ohm SR2 from Chitty's store on AE as well as purchasing the DIY SR2 driver from them. I found them both to be tier 2/3 of 5, after the 100-150+ hours of burn-in which was recommended. Ok but nothing special. Bass could be EQ'd to ok levels but I found mids/highs lacking in quantity and resolution.

The redfilm seems better for everything lol. Sub-bass extension, clarity/transparency, vocals, treble and mids quantity and quality, treble extension, etc. They are on completely different levels IMO.
 
Nov 5, 2020 at 6:17 AM Post #50,157 of 77,557
Hey, just stumbled across this thread after searching for some earbuds (not IEMs) for a while now. The seem to very rare to come by these days.
I'v been using apple earbuds with a third party usb-c adapter for my phone which is finicky and the controls (skip, go back) don't work properly and when they broke I got cheap apple clones that are usb-c but mic and sound are awful.

Im looking for wired earbuds with a good mic as I use them to take work calls on the laptop, controls are optional. Also a good USB-C adapter suggestion would be great as I believe good USB-C earbuds are extremely hard to find. My budget would be £50.

For sound, I'd lean towards being neutralish, treblesensitive and possibly a little midcentric (very beginner in audio :confused:). Music genres include Jazz, House and Pop mainly but my taste varies a lot on mood.

After reading through many pages in this thread I think im further confused :upside_down:
 
Last edited:
Nov 5, 2020 at 6:20 AM Post #50,158 of 77,557
Hey, just stumbled across this thread after searching for some earbuds (not IEMs) for a while now. The seem to very rare to come by these days.
I'v been using apple earbuds with a third party usb-c adapter for my phone which is finicky and the controls (skip, go back) don't work properly and when they broke I got cheap apple clones that are usb-c but mic and sound are awful.

Im looking for wired earbuds with a good mic, controls are optional. Also a good USB-C adapter suggestion would be great as I believe good USB-C earbuds are extremely hard to find. My budget would be £50.
After reading through many pages in this thread I think if further confused :upside_down:

My go to USB C adapter is the tempotec sonata HD Pro. No frills, good sounds, no noise, low output impedance, quite neutral. Doesn't get hot too. It can't power more demanding earbuds though. I got mine at $34 USD in the june aliexpress sale.

For the earbuds, it would be good if u could state your music genre preferences eg neutralish, V shaped, midcentric, basshead/bass averse, or treblehead/treblesensitive + preferred music genres, so the community can advise better.
 
Nov 5, 2020 at 6:58 AM Post #50,159 of 77,557
My go to USB C adapter is the tempotec sonata HD Pro. No frills, good sounds, no noise, low output impedance, quite neutral. Doesn't get hot too. It can't power more demanding earbuds though. I got mine at $34 USD in the june aliexpress sale.

For the earbuds, it would be good if u could state your music genre preferences eg neutralish, V shaped, midcentric, basshead/bass averse, or treblehead/treblesensitive + preferred music genres, so the community can advise better.

Thanks for the usb-c adapter recommendation. I'll check it out and make sure it can power the earbuds I end up deciding on.
For sound, I'd lean towards being neutralish, treblesensitive and possibly a little midcentric (very beginner in audio :confused:). Music genres include Jazz, House and Pop mainly but my taste varies a lot on mood.
I'll add this to my previous post as well.
 
Last edited:
Nov 5, 2020 at 7:10 AM Post #50,160 of 77,557
Thanks for the usb-c adapter recommendation. I'll check it out and make sure it can power the earbuds I end up deciding on.
For sound, I'd lean towards being neutralish, treblesensitive and possibly a little midcentric (very beginner in audio :confused:). Music genres include Jazz, House and Pop mainly but my taste varies a lot on mood.
I'll add this to my previous post as well.

Check out these stuff:
- NiceHCK ME80 (seems to be out of production, but maybe some less famous sellers or second hand shops may have it)
- BK2
- FAAEAL Datura Pro

These are all easy to drive, neutral/midecentric sets. They all don't need powerful sources.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top