[Ronion]

What an epic write up. I hope that I wouldn’t disappoint you

I’m not quite happy with my approach, because I work like Edison who tried all combinations and took note, rather than like Tesla who reasons to reduce the guesswork. All the maths and physics are threatening, though if I learn more and rely more on simulation, for instance, I think I can get better results. That’s why I am enthusiastic about Smabat M4. Normal people can swap drivers and tuning rapidly to learn.



I’m still puzzled why sources sound different. Reviewing Shanling UP4 at the moment, and I feel like a fraud for saying that Andromeda sounds richer and more impactful on UP4 comparing to Apple dongle. I mean it’s Andromeda. It requires only peanut in power output to make sound.

Your systematically making data! That’s as good as it gets as far as I’m concerned.

 

[o0genesis0o]

@Danneq @Ronion at least you guys get excited about earbuds. That’s a plus to me

Can’t wait to buy more drivers to experiment. However, I have promised Smabat to measure and review the complete set of M4, so I guess I should deal with that first. Finger crossed that they are good products. I haven’t felt this eager for a product for a while.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Ah…. I hate things like this, but I will respond. Your statements were literally that I needed to hone my skill to get to where I could sell buds and they were uninformed. Your Swedish or more certainly your Japanese association has nothing to do with that as far as I can tell. I lived in Japan for years. I didn’t run into a lot of Japanese doings things like that at all especially from a point of ignorance. My experience was actually the opposite. I’m just taking your statements at face value and that’s literally what they mean in English just as you wrote. They are just wrong, and I took the time to politely point that out. Perhaps I’m too used to Americans LOL. Actually they are the minority where I live.

Little brother you are honestly tilting at windmills here. He meant no offense at all and apologized to you. Where or how was he coming from a point of ignorance? The only ignorance happening here is your unwillingness to accept his clarification and apology. It is clear to everyone else that it was a conversational exchange... a light-handed remark of encouragement and not meant as a slight, especially after he explained himself. As The Joker would say: "way so serious?"

Please reflect for a moment and consider that you might have simply been too defensive... mistook his reply, taking it too literally and in the completely wrong way as intended. @Danneq has been a very respectful and kind-hearted chap in all his posts I have seen over many years I doubt he meant any ill-will or disrespect nor does he have a hidden agenda. His wife is Japanese, he knows the culture well. He was only saying that like Swedes, Japanese do not expect their statements to be spin-doctored and/or nefarious hidden meanings to be found within them (no reading between the lines with them). You surely had to experience that in your time in land of the rising sun, yes? I did/do.

The problem with the internet is that the tone of posts can be easily misconstrued and quickly interpreted as being disrespectful, impolite, condescending, arrogant, elitist, etc. Add in cultural differences, varying mother tongues, different time-zones and times of day, etc. and it truly becomes a recipe for miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Peace.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

What upgraded items are you referring to?

Oh, I think you put it in much better words than I did: "Better ingredients, better pizza". I really like that analogy, very fitting.

 

[Danneq]

Ah…. I hate things like this, but I will respond. Your statements were literally that I needed to hone my skill to get to where I could sell buds and they were uninformed. Your Swedish or more certainly your Japanese association has nothing to do with that as far as I can tell. I lived in Japan for years. I didn’t run into a lot of Japanese doings things like that at all especially from a point of ignorance. My experience was actually the opposite. I’m just taking your statements at face value and that’s literally what they mean in English just as you wrote. They are just wrong, and I took the time to politely point that out. Perhaps I’m too used to Americans LOL. Actually they are the minority where I live.

Yeah, I hate things like this as well. A small general comment being blown up to gigantic proportions like it was a slap to someones face. Since I have not heard any of your earbuds my comment has no relation whatsoever to them. It was just a general comment. You seem intent to misunderstand and become insulted.

This is, or used to be, a place where people could get advice on earbuds. There are more options now than a few years ago so advice is more needed than ever. Some try with blind buys and take a risk so that others don't have to. I am happy to try TOTL earbuds and give my impressions of them. Other than that my knowledge of current earbuds are very limited. The only other part I can contribute is Cypherus since I've owned most of those and Herry's still making them.

The TRN-EMX is not improving. They have all sorts of accessories with 3 different plugs included but sadly are lacking in sound quality. The sound lacks body, so to speak and there's this metallic sheen that colors the music. I would not recommend them.

Will try to buy Rose Martini, DQSM PD21 and 7HZ Beatles over the coming months. I wasn't active in this thread for around 2 years, so I can stay away a couple of years more and hope that it will be the same sort of place it was ca 2010-2020.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Will try to buy Rose Martini, DQSM PD21 and 7HZ Beatles

It's the first time I heard about the Beatles pair. How did you find out about it? Given 7Hz pedigree in planar, I'm surprised that their flagship earbuds are not planar.

 

[ttorbic]

I am happy to try TOTL earbuds and give my impressions of them

Hi there! Would you consider DIY TOTL earbuds? I know @tgx78 and @RikudouGoku are making some fiinnee earbuds that reach the upper echelon of sonic performance (based on personal and reviewers' experiences).

 

[digititus]

Earbud enthusiasts!

A small comment regarding the flourishing of our beloved DIY products. This area will always lead the way in showing what one can achieve from a small financial and labor investment compared to current corporate offerings. A $5 DIY bud can indeed sound like a commercial $50. However, these two areas are not in any way comparable. A full cycle manufacturing process (from raw material to the retail product on the shelf) is a world apart from the DIY producer. This is an area I am very familiar with. Some love and respect for the real hero's of our hobby goes to Venture Electronics, Smabat, Fiio, Yincrow, Moondrop, Rose Technics and so on who are fully invested in bringing great products to our niche market. Let's support them both whilst not trying to judge them by the same criteria.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Earbud enthusiasts!

A small comment regarding the flourishing of our beloved DIY products. This area will always lead the way in showing what one can achieve from a small financial and labor investment compared to current corporate offerings. A $5 DIY bud can indeed sound like a commercial $50. However, these two areas are not in any way comparable. A full cycle manufacturing process (from raw material to the retail product on the shelf) is a world apart from the DIY producer. This is an area I am very familiar with. Some love and respect for the real hero's of our hobby goes to Venture Electronics, Smabat, Fiio, Yincorow, Moondrop, Rose Technics and so on who are fully invested in bringing great products to our niche market. Let's support them both whilst not trying to judge them by the same criteria.

I like to think of DIY vs commercial as home cook vs restaurant chef. You might be able to cook well, but you are unlikely to be able to run a professional kitchen that delivers consistent results again and again.

 

[BCool]

I like to think of DIY vs commercial as home cook vs restaurant chef. You might be able to cook well, but you are unlikely to be able to run a professional kitchen that delivers consistent results again and again.

I'd modify that slightly by saying it's more home kitchen vs restaurant kitchen. A pro chef will be able to work wonders in both, but there are some things that require specialised equipment and processes and consistency that only a professional setup can provide.

 

[Danneq]

It's the first time I heard about the Beatles pair. How did you find out about it? Given 7Hz pedigree in planar, I'm surprised that their flagship earbuds are not planar.

I came across it on Aliexpress by accident. Costs $259 and I hope that will go down on Black Friday.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

I really appreciate all the advice present and future. I'd like to think I'm patient and respectful to any DIYers in particular, but knowing that it's still just a hobby and not a business for him is certainly a good thing to keep in mind. One question though, so even though he has models and product lines he'll custom tune to preferences?

Yes, however at the moment he is limited to one model line (series) so he may not be able to cover every (all) desired signatures like at other times when he is flush with supplies and offering multiple different model lines. Sorry that I was a bit unclear there before. I personally prefer his PK models much more than I do his MX based lines which are more aggressive and/or too far forward for my tastes. The Blur House Sound is mid-centric / mid-forward and is known to be quite focused on vocals though he can change that if you patiently work with him. The last few models he made for me have been warmer, darker, and less forward while still honoring the Blur House Sound.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Will try to buy Rose Martini, DQSM PD21 and 7HZ Beatles over the coming months. I wasn't active in this thread for around 2 years, so I can stay away a couple of years more and hope that it will be the same sort of place it was ca 2010-2020.

It's the first time I heard about the Beatles pair. How did you find out about it? Given 7Hz pedigree in planar, I'm surprised that their flagship earbuds are not planar.

I came across it on Aliexpress by accident. Costs $259 and I hope that will go down on Black Friday.

2020 - 7Hz Beatles; 32Ω (w/ nano ZnO crystal diaphragm)​

I would highly advise to avoid the Beatles... I wish I had taken @Alex.Grimm's sage advice and not buy it. A total train wreck of an earbud which is so surprising coming from the team that created the Timeless. It was so fatiguing and confusing that I gave up trying to understand it. So disappointing...

Rose Martini and DQSM PD21 are both at or near god-tier status. You will win with either of those. @ClieOS especially liked the PD21... I may be mistaken on this but I think he liked even more than he did the Turandot which he liked very much and had convinced me to buy it way back when. I still think I prefer the Rose Maria I and II better than the Martini though but that is simply personal preference.

 

[Danneq]

Hi there! Would you consider DIY TOTL earbuds? I know @tgx78 and @RikudouGoku are making some fiinnee earbuds that reach the upper echelon of sonic performance (based on personal and reviewers' experiences).

Definitely. TGX78's earbuds look very nice. But a few years I decided to only buy low impedance earbuds that can easily be driven by a simple DAP (for example a Sansa Clip). Riku's earbuds also look interesting. Might check one or two of them out.

You have to remember that Cypherus earbuds are DIY. A couple of years ago I tried a lot of Indonesian DIY earbuds and became convinced that Indonesia was the promised land of earbuds. Still have my pair of AB-normal Diomnes Lv2 earbuds (great sounding TOTL level earbuds based on the VE Monk 1). Loved the Edimund earbuds such as Red De'mun.

Like digititus writes $5 DIY earbuds can compare to $50 commercial ones.
When I started coming to Head fi there was only Yuin PK earbuds if you wanted earbuds. Audio Techica had the CM series but those were hard to come by. Then slowly smaller earbud makers like Blox started releasing earbuds. Then Sennheiser released MX980 and MX985. Later Chinese makers started to release more and more earbuds. Still a small market but a lot more options nowadays.

 

[Danneq]

2020 - 7Hz Beatles; 32Ω (w/ nano ZnO crystal diaphragm)​

I would highly advise to avoid the Beatles... I wish I had taken @Alex.Grimm's sage advice and not buy it. A total train wreck of an earbud which is so surprising coming from the team that created the Timeless. It was so fatiguing and confusing that I gave up trying to understand it. So disappointing...



Rose Martini and DQSM PD21 are both at or near god-tier status. You will win with either of those. @ClieOS especially liked the PD21... I may be mistaken on this but I think he liked even more than he did the Turandot which he liked very much and had convinced me to buy it way back when. I still think I prefer the Rose Maria I and II better than the Martini though but that is simply personal preference.

Thanks for biting the bullet, my friend. Then that one is off the list!
Celsius Gramo One was my first earbud over $200 and your impressions of the 7HZ Beatles remind me of my impressions of the Gramo One.