[Sam L]

time to give the Smabat s-10s some love...

wavelet and PEQ files, v1.5, are uploaded here.

 

[Sam L]

Let's have some fun! (well, fun for me and one other individual)

Any wavelet users of my test curves, let me know what bud you use and I'll generate my first v1.5 bass neutral version for your bud (provided it's one I have a graph of.) Let me know!

 

[assassin10000]

Any thoughts on the ourart ti7 ? Looks very interesting

IIRC from prior posts amazing mids and soundstage, but polite treble and bass is either very light or adequate depending on fit and your sound signature preferences.

I had 2 of the ACG which had the brighter treble of the sister earbuds.

 

[sebek]

@baskingshark where is your post on sizes?

Are there any earbuds with a 2 pin connector that I can use on balanced output with the 2.5mm balanced cables I use for the iems?

Besides this feature I'd like something with:

- Very large soundstage
- Natural timbre
- Good technicalities and detail
- Able to keep up with fast music like Metal

 

[RikudouGoku]

@baskingshark where is your post on sizes?

Are there any earbuds with a 2 pin connector that I can use on balanced output with the 2.5mm balanced cables I use for the iems?

Besides this feature I'd like something with:

- Very large soundstage
- Natural timbre
- Good technicalities and detail
- Able to keep up with fast music like Metal

Do you mean this post?
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-3207#post-15645387

I havent seen any earbuds with 2 pin connectors, its quite rare that they even got replaceable cables at all and if they do it is mmcx.
(you could use a mmcx to 2pin adapter though.)

 

[assassin10000]

@baskingshark where is your post on sizes?

Are there any earbuds with a 2 pin connector that I can use on balanced output with the 2.5mm balanced cables I use for the iems?

Besides this feature I'd like something with:

- Very large soundstage
- Natural timbre
- Good technicalities and detail
- Able to keep up with fast music like Metal

Rose Maria and Masya MK2 are 2-pin, but they are pricier. I'm not certain how well they'd do with metal and fast music though.

 

[sebek]

Do you mean this post?
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-3207#post-15645387

I havent seen any earbuds with 2 pin connectors, its quite rare that they even got replaceable cables at all and if they do it is mmcx.
(you could use a mmcx to 2pin adapter though.)

Yes thanks, very useful

No 2 pins then, MCX generally try to avoid them as I have read in reviews that it is fragile and tends to break easily

Can an earbud with MCX connector still be used on balanced output with a normal NICEHCK MCX 2.5 mm cable?

 

[RikudouGoku]

Yes thanks, very useful

No 2 pins then, MCX generally try to avoid them as I have read in reviews that it is fragile and tends to break easily

Can an earbud with MCX connector still be used on balanced output with a normal NICEHCK MCX 2.5 mm cable?

yes it works, if you got a 2.5mm or a 4.4mm mmcx cable it will work.

I avoid changing cables on mmcx iems/buds because they tend to get looser and looser and then in the end they can detach by gravity itself.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Btw I know this isnt an earbud but I can still recommend it to bud users.
The Koss KSC75, I just finished my review on it and it sounds amazing for acoustic music.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ko...one-headphones.6373/reviews#item-review-24765

(comparison with the NiceHCK DIY MX500 is in the review.)

 

[assassin10000]

Yes thanks, very useful

No 2 pins then, MCX generally try to avoid them as I have read in reviews that it is fragile and tends to break easily

Can an earbud with MCX connector still be used on balanced output with a normal NICEHCK MCX 2.5 mm cable?

With individual pieces the earbuds being balanced or not is dependant on the cable.

If you get MMCX to 2-pin adapters and leave them attatched to MMCX buds you can freely swap 2-pin cables, without disconnecting the MMCX adapters from the earbuds. This would help prevent excess wear or potential failure.


I've had very problems with MMCX but ymmv. I tend to use split style upgraded MMCX cable ends that don't have a looseness problem and I'm not one for cable swapping. I do however swap which earbuds I use on my BT20S a fair bit, with no issues (either fingernail pinch or with removal tools).

 

[LordZero]

Btw I know this isnt an earbud but I can still recommend it to bud users.
The Koss KSC75, I just finished my review on it and it sounds amazing for acoustic music.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ko...one-headphones.6373/reviews#item-review-24765

(comparison with the NiceHCK DIY MX500 is in the review.)

Ordered them yesterday with some yaxi pads Love the Porta pro, but find them too dark.

Great review! I was afraid of them being too bright, but now i can't wait!

 

[RikudouGoku]

Ordered them yesterday with some yaxi pads Love the Porta pro, but find them too dark.

Great review! I was afraid of them being too bright, but now i can't wait!

Thanks!

I doubt many people will have problems with it being too bright despite the very low bass quantity.

 

[DBaldock9]

Do you mean this post?
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-3207#post-15645387

I havent seen any earbuds with 2 pin connectors, its quite rare that they even got replaceable cables at all and if they do it is mmcx.
(you could use a mmcx to 2pin adapter though.)

Rose Maria and Masya MK2 are 2-pin, but they are pricier. I'm not certain how well they'd do with metal and fast music though.

The two earbuds that I've got, which have 2-pin connectors, are the VE Zen 2.0 ZOE and the VE Asura 2.0s AOE.
I haven't checked the VE website recently, so I don't know whether Lee is still selling these models.

 

[theresanarc]

Ok, I know what's going on with peace/apo vs. wavelet implementation of my files. For some measurements the adjustments required beyond 13k to match my target curve are so dramatic that it affects a number of things negatively in the output values. The biggest hit is to tonality past 5k to 20k. For buds that measure with less drop off in the brilliance range the compensation values are accurate.

What this means is that for a number of buds, I'm going to have to compensate to my target up to 10k to maintain accuracy in my PEQ files. Wavelet seems to be more forgiving for some reason.

Here are the correct B40 compensation files, v.1.5 bass edition. I'm hoping wrap up a neutral bass version 1.5 today and start generating correction files for my most listened to buds (to start) -- em5, rambo ii, x6.

@theresanarc, try this file out. Still stay with -15dB for preamp and start with hitting the "compress" button 3 times. Let me know what you think.

I wouldn't call it bassy but it does sound better now. Vocals sound better and everything is a bit clearer.

What's the reasoning behind turning the pre-amp down to -15?

 

[baskingshark]

Agreed, this is a great thread. It would be awesome if we all could turn this into the most watched/active thread on headfi -- all in the effort to push the value and advantages of buds to the audiophile world at large. How awesome would it be if we could be a part of creating global demand (outside of china/indonesia/philippines for buds and see manufacturers respond in kind and start innovating on the format. That would be so fun to see.

I'll make some eq files for the tc200 later this morning and see if there's any improvement.

I completely agree, $20 and under should be the entry point for new earbuds users. No need to go beyond that, especially if they use wavelet. One last thing, @baskingshark thank you for the kind words. Like you, I'm fairly new to buds. It all started with the pandemic and you were helpful in my education with your quick response to my first post in here. I appreciate your post on sizes. It really helped to get a sense of how to navigate the world of buds.

I have tried introducing earbuds to some audiophiles at a local audiophile meetup (before covid screwed everything). Most of em gave a snob face and declined to even try it. Their general impression is that earbuds are inferior IEMs/headphones, with no isolation and no bass, and are mostly cheap stuff bundled with smartphones. And to make matters worse, those that did try it at the meetups can't get good sound quality due to the lack of isolation, so they walked away reinforcing their belief that earbuds are cheap stuff.

I admit I was one of em previously, I looked down on earbuds for a decade or so. But thanks to @mbwilson111 who introduced earbuds to me last year, this is an awesome rabbithole. Earbuds are pretty cheap compared to cans and IEMs as we discussed, and most of them have very good timbre and soundstage compared to IEMs. Isolation is lacking yeah, and subbass may have a roll off on most earbuds, but I really like them as a substitute for headphones as it is too hot to use headphones in my country for long sessions.

I have a feeling earbuds will remain quite niche for the foreseeable future, but so be it, we can enjoy our little bubble of bliss here discussing these little gems. Sometimes if things get overhyped and famous, who knows, will sellers jack up their prices? Or start churning out weekly sidegrade iterations of earbuds like KZ, and go for quantity over quality?