[Ronion]

Since objective measurements seem extremely unreliable when it comes to flatheads, I'd like to gather people's subjective impressions to get a better idea of how technical their earbuds sound.

Any measurement done poorly is unreliable. Earbuds are just no exception. FiiO’s measurements and rtings measurements translate well on my homemade rig. That just doesn’t fit into your statement.

 

[o0genesis0o]

when the FF5 get released I'll be right there with a blind buy.

Unless Fiio’s engineers decide to “jazz it up” and make it deep V-shaped or something

 

[Ronion]

Unless Fiio’s engineers decide to “jazz it up” and make it deep V-shaped or something

My fears exactly.

 

[silverszi]

The Venture electronics Ex Pack should have them.

Thanks for the info
I've been searching for flathead earhooks/fins but they're all for IEMs and I'm not sure they'll fit
The Ex Pack is kinda useless though and expensive for that plus doesn't have multiple sizes.

 

[FranQL]

Thanks for the info
I've been searching for flathead earhooks/fins but they're all for IEMs and I'm not sure they'll fit
The Ex Pack is kinda useless though and expensive for that plus doesn't have multiple sizes.

I think they are very useful, they are excellent foams, I mainly use Hiegi, but there are buds that go better with these. I would not hesitate to have this pack at home if you are going to use buds. the adjust is very personal.

This are very good too

https://a.aliexpress.com/_u87Ged

 

[Fargeg]

Any measurement done poorly is unreliable. Earbuds are just no exception. FiiO’s measurements and rtings measurements translate well on my homemade rig. That just doesn’t fit into your statement.

Sounds like you've got a lot of experience with earbuds. Could you provide some info about the technicalities of some you own based on my post? I wrote it to make getting impressions that can be easily compared to each other of earbuds people here have tried as straightforward as possible.

e: For instance, the $10 Seahf AWK-F32 with VE foams without EQ goes T!, has a tactile but smeared, poorly textured bassline that comes across as sawtoothy rather than sine-like, barely passes the crossover imaging test but suffers from blurry imaging, has barely any depth, and has width that reaches up to my outer ear canal.

 

[AsciiJC]

Those look reminiscent of the Focal "closed" headphone design, based off of the same jet engine principle (which works very well for resonance reduction BTW). I think you might be on to something here.

From what I have read about their design, a polymer, or plastic (where the dimples are at) works best (or absorb best) for resonance/frequency control over resin though. Food for thought.

You are absolutely right that a much more dense material such as a polymer would work better! However, due to current limitations of what im testing with, I cant exactly do that right now haha. Though, I do plan on testing cast metal shells or plastics in the future for these projects.

 

[FyxeHexyz]

Hello! I'm new to the earbuds section and I'm looking for recommendation on what I should jump for~

• budget (what are you willing/looking to spend? e.g. price range)
  $1 - $1000
• source (e.g. Smartphone, DAP, AMP/DAC, PC, Streamer)
  DAP (Plenue 2 mkII) and AMP/DAC (xDuoo XA-10)
• preferred connection (termination type, single-ended or balanced e.g. 3.5TRS, 4.4TRRS, 2.5TRRS)
  Any is fine
• listening level & session length (volume level and for how long?)
  Mid - High, 10+ hours a day
• listening environment (e.g. mobile, office, home desktop, home listening room)
  Home, Office, Outside
• preferred music genre (to include podcasts and audiobooks)
  Unsure... video games ost, jpop, kpop
• preferred shell and foam-cushion type (e.g. please see here and here)
  Unsure as this is my first earbuds. Mostly dabble in IEM and Open Back Headphones.
• preferred sound signature i (e.g. bright, dark, warm, aggressive, bassy, neutral, L/U/V/W-shaped)
  Fun-Neutral? Something like the Sundara/HE6se. The IEM I used is considered a U-shaped. So either one of these is fine.
• preferred sound signature ii (optional; offer a comparative non-earbud transducer model)
  Headphone - Hifiman Sundara & Hifiman HE6se
  IEM - Acoustune HS1695ti
• preferred brand (optional; only applicable for a model recommendation within a single brand)
  none
• any special need and/or consideration (e.g. mic/no mic?; fixed cable vs. mmcx?)
  MMCX

 

[Halimj7]

Can anyone recommend an earbud that is lean and spacious with greater emphasis on the upper mids and highs? I know about the Chaconne but I’m looking for another hopefully cheaper alternative. Thanks.

 

[AsciiJC]

Hello! I'm new to the earbuds section and I'm looking for recommendation on what I should jump for~

• budget (what are you willing/looking to spend? e.g. price range)
  $1 - $1000
• source (e.g. Smartphone, DAP, AMP/DAC, PC, Streamer)
  DAP (Plenue 2 mkII) and AMP/DAC (xDuoo XA-10)
• preferred connection (termination type, single-ended or balanced e.g. 3.5TRS, 4.4TRRS, 2.5TRRS)
  Any is fine
• listening level & session length (volume level and for how long?)
  Mid - High, 10+ hours a day
• listening environment (e.g. mobile, office, home desktop, home listening room)
  Home, Office, Outside
• preferred music genre (to include podcasts and audiobooks)
  Unsure... video games ost, jpop, kpop
• preferred shell and foam-cushion type (e.g. please see here and here)
  Unsure as this is my first earbuds. Mostly dabble in IEM and Open Back Headphones.
• preferred sound signature i (e.g. bright, dark, warm, aggressive, bassy, neutral, L/U/V/W-shaped)
  Fun-Neutral? Something like the Sundara/HE6se. The IEM I used is considered a U-shaped. So either one of these is fine.
• preferred sound signature ii (optional; offer a comparative non-earbud transducer model)
  Headphone - Hifiman Sundara & Hifiman HE6se
  IEM - Acoustune HS1695ti
• preferred brand (optional; only applicable for a model recommendation within a single brand)
  none
• any special need and/or consideration (e.g. mic/no mic?; fixed cable vs. mmcx?)
  MMCX

Heya! Before spending anything on a bud, I do need to ask for a safety precaution in this type of transducer, can you wear and fit earbuds? If not, I would highly reccomend using a Vido because its so cheap, and actually decent sounding for its price. 3-4 bucks!
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNUiyZK
But if you have worn and fit them, there are plenty of options to choose from. I can reccomend the pt2022 which is a nice value to performance earbud.

 

[FyxeHexyz]

Heya! Before spending anything on a bud, I do need to ask for a safety precaution in this type of transducer, can you wear and fit earbuds? If not, I would highly reccomend using a Vido because its so cheap, and actually decent sounding for its price. 3-4 bucks!
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNUiyZK
But if you have worn and fit them, there are plenty of options to choose from. I can reccomend the **** pt2022 which is a nice value to performance earbud.

ooh thank you. True I haven't thought about that I'm currently waiting for the LBBS to arrive as we speak. So I guess I'll try that first.

 

[baskingshark]

Can anyone recommend an earbud that is lean and spacious with greater emphasis on the upper mids and highs? I know about the Chaconne but I’m looking for another hopefully cheaper alternative. Thanks.

NiceHCK EBX21

 

[ttorbic]

ooh thank you. True I haven't thought about that I'm currently waiting for the LBBS to arrive as we speak. So I guess I'll try that first.

Yeah good shout @ValSuki - fit & comfort are really important for those venturing into earbuds. I was at first hesitant to spend more on some Rikubuds because I didn't find VE Monk Plus to be comfy, but Riku gave me some advice and a few months later, I am really happy to have dived into DIY earbuds! I have both Rikubuds and earbuds from Tgx, and I'd say they are phenomenal value for performance.

 

[Ronion]

Thanks for the info
I've been searching for flathead earhooks/fins but they're all for IEMs and I'm not sure they'll fit
The Ex Pack is kinda useless though and expensive for that plus doesn't have multiple sizes.

$5 doesn’t seem unreasonable to ma and it lists that it has 2 sizes…. I’m not trying to be a jerk, but I think you’ll have a hard time finding a better deal than this in the world.

 

[Ronion]

Sounds like you've got a lot of experience with earbuds. Could you provide some info about the technicalities of some you own based on my post? I wrote it to make getting impressions that can be easily compared to each other of earbuds people here have tried as straightforward as possible.

e: For instance, the $10 Seahf AWK-F32 with VE foams without EQ goes T!, has a tactile but smeared, poorly textured bassline that comes across as sawtoothy rather than sine-like, barely passes the crossover imaging test but suffers from blurry imaging, has barely any depth, and has width that reaches up to my outer ear canal.

In all honesty, that would be a “no” from me at the moment, but I’ve left a lot of posts in this thread and there are tons of earbud reviews on this site and others that you can read. Random thoughts about random buds isn’t going to be a good use of my time.