[mtl171]

I don't know why you keep trying to compare "sharks" and "dolphins" over and over again.
They both swim in the ocean, but they're totally different species.

vs

'Cause I want to own the best sharks and dolphins, but my wallet can only afford fish

Joking aside, I do feel its a topic worth discussing especially with new people entering the thread being more familiar with IEM pricing. At the end of the day, most of us in this thread are chasing price to performance. I just hope that future competition in the earbud space can help us more bang for our buck.

Edit: added thoughts

 

[furyossa]

Nemo And what about whales , you don't like them?
Then buy a boat and go hunting for swordfish

 

[Sam L]

Yes, very impressive, given the limitations of buds vs headphones or iems. Use outside might be a no-go though, unless worn under a hat, given their open nature.

I don't disagree but if a user is coming from IEMs with good bass response, the EM5 has noticeable sub-bass roll-off. The quantity of the mid bass isn't better than many iems either. The standout quality of the mid-bass is the speed and resolution for an earbud, which is excellent. The EM5 is, so far for me, the only earbud that measures with a mid bass hump resembling most earbuds BUT has no bloom into the lower mids.

Lastly, I would mention that the stock tuning might not be what users are looking for when coming from headphones or IEMs, which would explain @Alex.Grimm sharing that a number of people he knows find the EM5 lackluster. I'm my case, I run one of my compensation files most of the time when I'm listening to the EM5 which makes them unparalleled in my limited experience (but I'm getting more and more exposed to earbuds!) After I get a new job, one of the reasons that I'll be buying higher end earbuds is to broaden my understanding of what is available in the $300 range for earbuds in terms of sound quality.

 

[Sam L]

ok last post of the morning. dragging my feet before getting on with the morning.

I've been listening to the Tmusic beryllium black version for the last hour (plastic, not the wood one) and they compensate exceptionally well to my v1.5 target. Excellent bass, good clarity and resolution across the FR, excellent sound stage, cable is very similar to the really thin cables of the blon bl03, but for earbuds I appreciate how light and supple they are (not to mention they handle torsional manipulation well.)

One of the sub $10 standouts for earbuds that EQ well.

 

[FranQL]

'Cause I want to own the best sharks and dolphins, but my wallet can only afford fish

Joking aside, I do feel its a topic worth discussing especially with new people entering the thread being more familiar with IEM pricing. At the end of the day, most of us in this thread are chasing price to performance. I just hope that future competition in the earbud space can help us more bang for our buck.

Edit: added thoughts

Well, I found the iem I wanted so I finished that search (B2), it is true that I keep browsing the budget iems, but I'm not looking for anything else. of buds, well I have no idea, so here I am. More lost than a cat in a parking lot.

 

[Sam L]

Well, I found the iem I wanted so I finished that search (B2), it is true that I keep browsing the budget iems, but I'm not looking for anything else. of buds, well I have no idea, so here I am. More lost than a cat in a parking lot.

There are a number of us that wandered into this thread during the pandemic and haven't been able to leave. Welcome to this world of wonder! I'm drinking a cup of coffee and still can't believe the value you can get for a number of buds that are cheaper than this coffee. At this very moment, I'm listening to the Tmusic buds I picked up for just under $10. After compensation, these sound so incredibly headphone-like it's just mind-blowing. My last iem purchase was the LZ A7 (awesome iems) and this earbud has better staging than the A7.

 

[Sam L]

ok... that was my last post of the morning. lol... trying to get Supremus status.

 

[mtl171]

I've been listening to the Tmusic beryllium black version for the last hour (plastic, not the wood one) and they compensate exceptionally well to my v1.5 target. Excellent bass, good clarity and resolution across the FR, excellent sound stage, cable is very similar to the really thin cables of the blon bl03, but for earbuds I appreciate how light and supple they are (not to mention they handle torsional manipulation well.)

One of the sub $10 standouts for earbuds that EQ well.

I'm very intrigued by the claim of beryllium drivers for under $10. Plus the wood version looks neato. How do you like it compared to the EQ'ed datura pro?

 

[WoodyLuvr]

At the end of the day, most of us in this thread are chasing price to performance. I just hope that future competition in the earbud space can help us more bang for our buck.

Either that or seeking "comfort" to include reduced listening fatigue.

 

[furyossa]

There are a number of us that wandered into this thread during the pandemic and haven't been able to leave. Welcome to this world of wonder! I'm drinking a cup of coffee and still can't believe the value you can get for a number of buds that are cheaper than this coffee. At this very moment, I'm listening to the Tmusic buds I picked up for just under $10. After compensation, these sound so incredibly headphone-like it's just mind-blowing. My last iem purchase was the LZ A7 (awesome iems) and this earbud has better staging than the A7.

TMusic 32ohm Bery?
I tried many good drivers with simple PU diaphragm (low and high impedance) but also drivers with different coating.
If these layers are done the right way and if the driver is given more attention when tuning, the performance of these drivers is really impressive and this is most noticeable with drivers with a higher impedance. All DIYers already knows that.
Some sellers on Ali which sale DIY parts, from time to time they assemble a few models, such as the TMusic Bery for example, and sell it at a very reasonable price.
This provides an opportunity for all those who do not want to assemble their model, try the "exotic taste" of different types of drivers.

Let me show you a case where the difference between an assembled model vs. separate parts is not so negligible.
Me and @FranQL discussed this yesterday. This DIY model for example use 400ohm graphene driver (one of the best top3 DIY driver) and beautiful shell.
The price is around $60 which is the price range of several excellent branded models. This driver can reach a bit higher price range for sure.
Now let's take a look at how much each part costs separately if, say, we want to assemble the same model ourselves.
Note: Shell has your own matching housing for mmcx, so we need cable without connectors. Also, we have 3 color versions and 2 different size (for 14.8 and 15.4mm drivers)
We need 3 pats: Driver (~$20) + Shell (~$15) + Cable (~$5) = $40. So we have $20 price difference for the assembly service.

What I noticed, when it comes to drivers with lower impedance, the price of the service is lower, the higher the impedance the price of the service is higher which makes no sense because the job is the same What should be noted is that there is no QC here.
In general these drivers are not to be underestimated at all, and can be quite surprising with their sound, as @Sam_L noted
This is also one of the great advantages of earbuds because you will rarely see a case where one of the DIY sellers puts together some DIY IEM

 

[furyossa]

I'm very intrigued by the claim of beryllium drivers for under $10. Plus the wood version looks neato. How do you like it compared to the EQ'ed datura pro?

Yup. This is 32ohm drive which is not strange. 130ohm is $15 and 600ohm is $35 (on sale). Just beautiful

 

[chinmie]

There are a number of us that wandered into this thread during the pandemic and haven't been able to leave.

i wandered to this thread early, since i joined this forum in 2016..haven't bought a new earbud for quite some time now because at the moment i think my wired earbuds collection is solid enough.. but still haven't been able to leave

 

[40760]

Yes, very impressive, given the limitations of buds vs headphones or iems. Use outside might be a no-go though, unless worn under a hat, given their open nature.

Great... Seems like the EM5 will be it...

 

[cappuchino]

The Stellar has landed.

White w/ mic. *The mic's located on the splitter.

Came in a small box, with a KB Ear pouch and a pair of white foams. Listening to them right now...

 

[nick n]

Yesterday I received Edgun. This is the same EarC earbud, only in other colors made for collaboration with Rholupat

Spoiler

This is an old post of yours , wondering what you thought of the Edgun since there are no other posts about it I can find.
Is that the Edgun #1? Not the #2 ?

Thanks.