[JAnonymous5150]

All this glowing talk of the FF3 is making it hard to not head to Amazon and pull the trigger. I may do so regardless, but could anyone here who has the FF3 and either the Newbsound 32x or Shozy BK compare those to the FF3? I'm trying to not have too much overlap in terms of sound signatures (and to get out of the Amazon order/return habit if at all possible), so any additional info would be greatly appreciated.

The FF3s and the BKs are quite a bit different. I own and like both so I will do my best to answer succinctly.

First off, the sound signature of the FF3s is not really what's unique about them. It's the absolutely huge and authoritatively powerful presentation that sets them apart from other buds. I have never heard a bud that can match it.

As for sound sig differences, the bass on the BKs is slower with longer decay and not nearly as much punch. The upper mids of the BKs get a bit overbearing on some tracks for me, while the FF3's mids are detailed and fairly even. Both have a slight roll off in the highs, but because of their other sonic attributes the roll off has different effects in each bud. In the FF3s that roll off allows the mids and lows to remain the focus and keep their massive presentation. In the BKs the roll off is to give the buds an overall laid back and low key presentation.

I can't imagine anyone thinking that the FF3s and BKs are very similar, let alone similar enough to have a problem with owning both. Just my two cents.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I'm looking at some of the budget buds to try what fits best in my ears, Fengru DIY for example. What's the difference between these 3 items:

1) https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32851072519.html
2) https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32759573651.html
3) https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32805136073.html

For 1 and 2, MX500 is mentioned, while 3 seems to be PK shell, but they look exactly the same to me. Am I missing a detail somewhere? And how come 1 is 50% more expensive than the others?

All of those are MX500 shells. The one that says PK in the ads title just says that to capture searches I would imagine because PK is a popular earbud search term. The one that's more expensive appears to be so because the cable used is silver or silver plated. I have the Fengru DIY EMX500 (The second and middle link) and I like it quite a bit. It's a nice earbud. I haven't tried the others.

 

[madeyasay]

All of those are MX500 shells. The one that says PK in the ads title just says that to capture searches I would imagine because PK is a popular earbud search term. The one that's more expensive appears to be so because the cable used is silver or silver plated. I have the Fengru DIY EMX500 (The second and middle link) and I like it quite a bit. It's a nice earbud. I haven't tried the others.

Ahh, thought so. Thank you!

 

[samandhi]

I’m still with the factory ones. Do you have recommendations that will allow me to retain the factory case and don’t cost more than the amp?

I don't know if you remember @ miserybeforethemusic or not, but he had the Little Bear and John (Burson) sent him some of these as an upgrade for his. He said he REALLY liked them, they are 1:1 and are something like $49. Also it didn't seem to mess with the slew rate or any other aspect (that he noticed). I can't vouch for the validity of how well they do, but just thought I would mention the option (from my memory banks).

 

[Ronion]

The FF3s and the BKs are quite a bit different. I own and like both so I will do my best to answer succinctly.

First off, the sound signature of the FF3s is not really what's unique about them. It's the absolutely huge and authoritatively powerful presentation that sets them apart from other buds. I have never heard a bud that can match it.

As for sound sig differences, the bass on the BKs is slower with longer decay and not nearly as much punch. The upper mids of the BKs get a bit overbearing on some tracks for me, while the FF3's mids are detailed and fairly even. Both have a slight roll off in the highs, but because of their other sonic attributes the roll off has different effects in each bud. In the FF3s that roll off allows the mids and lows to remain the focus and keep their massive presentation. In the BKs the roll off is to give the buds an overall laid back and low key presentation.

I can't imagine anyone thinking that the FF3s and BKs are very similar, let alone similar enough to have a problem with owning both. Just my two cents.

If I were to describe the FF3 in the fewest words possible, it wouldn’t sound much different than this. We should make this a reference post for future inquiries in a signature or something like Woody does.

 

[Ronion]

I don't know if you remember @ miserybeforethemusic or not, but he had the Little Bear and John (Burson) sent him some of these as an upgrade for his. He said he REALLY liked them, they are 1:1 and are something like $49. Also it didn't seem to mess with the slew rate or any other aspect (that he noticed). I can't vouch for the validity of how well they do, but just thought I would mention the option (from my memory banks).

Misery was my dude back in the day. Wish he’d make his way back. Top shelf individual. I’ll check those out! Thanks @samandhi ! Good looking out brother.

 

[samandhi]

Misery was my dude back in the day. Wish he’d make his way back. Top shelf individual. I’ll check those out! Thanks @samandhi ! Good looking out brother.

I feel the same and miss him quite a bit. I doubt he will be back any time soon though; the "elitist behavior" that Head-Fi used to be known for (and still has in varying amounts) sort of turned him off to this place. It was toxic to his well-being (the few bad seeds ruined if for him). But I still talk to him now and again, and he is doing very well (last time I spoke with him).

 

[mt877]

I’m still with the factory ones. Do you have recommendations that will allow me to retain the factory case and don’t cost more than the amp?

There's really nothing wrong with the factory Ti NE5532P amps, especially with the circuit as designed. I put in some expensive OP8802 discrete op amps and the sound was great but removed them because the OP8802 would intermittently oscillate (due to the on board circuit design). I put in cheap but well regarded LME49720 amps which are basically an improved NE5532P, so work well with the circuit design as is. I got them at mouser.com for less then $4.00 each (not including shipping and tax).

I also tried some MUSES02 amps because I had some on hand, but didn't like how they sounded. I think to get the best out of the MUSES02 the circuit needs to be designed with the MUSES02 in mind. Others on head-fi like the Burson V5i with the Little Bear and there's a few glowing head-fi reviews of the Burson with the Little Bear. The Burson's aren't terribly expensive for a pair and fit the Little Bear without case mods. Maybe I'll get some Burson's in the future, but the LME49720's are doing a good job right now.

 

[assassin10000]

In case your interested, I liked how the foams worked with the ES-P1s so much that now you have me experimenting with different hole sizes and even different shapes. I am listening to a pair right now that I made with a 4mm hole, and then use a 2mm, and 1mm overlapping each other to create a tapered oblong shape. So thanks for inspiration! The offset design certainly seems to give an even clearer result than symmetrical foams, while still offering the basic sonic properties that I use donuts for.

Exactly. It gives a mix of both full and donut foams, when you want to get somewhere between the two.

I originally decided to try them due to the donut foams provided with the Ourart ACG being mostly blocked by the center of the driver cover. I also noticed most driver covers have a blocked center. So the offset both allows a more straight shot from the driver for the sound waves, as well as allowing you to align it with your ear canal to provide more surface area to seal against the concha/helix/antihelix.

I typically don't even use regular donut foams anymore. Either medium/light full foams or offset donuts for everything.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

If I were to describe the FF3 in the fewest words possible, it wouldn’t sound much different than this. We should make this a reference post for future inquiries in a signature or something like Woody does.

Do it bro!

 

[yoros]

Hell yeah! Another Viridis convert! They are such an overlooked earbud with absolutely amazing mids and highs aren't they? I'm glad you like them.

I don't have a graph, but if you can't find one I'll see about digging up and assembling rig so I can measure them for you. I probably won't have the time to do it properly until at least Friday and maybe later depending on how my studio time goes. Let me know whether or not you find one

@FranQL said he will do it when he has time. I suppose he'll post it here. And thanks to you for leading me to discover Viridis

 

[mt877]

Just wanted to say that I'm gonna do the foam measurements again. I dug up a film densitometer in my camera gear and can accurately measure the single layer of earbud foams. The numbers will be different as compared to the original measurements, but hopefully will be more accurate and useful. I especially want to revisit the FF3 balanced and bass foams and see if the trending is different.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I don't know if you remember @ miserybeforethemusic or not, but he had the Little Bear and John (Burson) sent him some of these as an upgrade for his. He said he REALLY liked them, they are 1:1 and are something like $49. Also it didn't seem to mess with the slew rate or any other aspect (that he noticed). I can't vouch for the validity of how well they do, but just thought I would mention the option (from my memory banks).

I don't have the Little Bear, but I have several amps and combos that I swap OpAmps in and it's hard to beat the Burson OpAmp of your choice. They're pretty modestly priced and damn good on top of it. My Timekeeper 3i (and I'm sure other models I don't have) shipped with one set installed and an alternate set ready to go for those wanting to experiement. I like rolling Ops in general, but you can't go wrong with a Burson.

 

[samandhi]

Just wanted to say that I'm gonna do the foam measurements again. I dug up a film densitometer in my camera gear and can accurately measure the single layer of earbud foams. The numbers will be different as compared to the original measurements, but hopefully will be more accurate and useful. I especially want to revisit the FF3 balanced and bass foams and see if the trending is different.

I would also be interested in seeing those measurements, but could you throw in the "crisp" measurements also if it's not too much trouble?

I think maybe (at least where the FF3 is concerned) we should not call them foams. Maybe we should just call them "filters" because of how much they change the sound... lol My IT-07 come with "tuning filters" that screw into the nozzle, and I can say that while they DO change the sound, they don't as much as simple foams do with the FF3... I am still in awe of this BTW (if you couldn't tell).

 

[samandhi]

A blast from the past. This song sounds really good on the FF3. You can (distinctly) hear the separation from the bass guitar, electric synth, and bass drum. Though, I haven't listened to the YT version as it is lower quality.

Amazon:
https://music.amazon.com/albums/B00F6X6VYA?trackAsin=B00F6X6WR6&ref=dm_sh_3793-5e5e-7d79-ab93-d4c63

YouTube: