[jogawag]

I have the 32Ti version as well and it's a pretty good pair for the money too. I just find the 80 LCP to be a bit more refined, a bit bigger sounding, smoother up top, with better punch and articulation down low. I think the 32 Tis are worth the money they charge for them, though.

Edit: BTW, make sure you let me/us know what you think of the 32Ti. I for one would be interested to know.

OK, I'll post what I think of the 32Ti, but the earbuds are still on their way to me.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Late to the party I know. Let's see what the fuss is about. Sound is good on first impressions. Love the cable.

Woah, I almost missed this one. Welcome to the FF3 club and congrats on the new shinies! Don't forget to keep us update on what you think of them.

 

[qua2k]

Woah, I almost missed this one. Welcome to the FF3 club and congrats on the new shinies! Don't forget to keep us update on what you think of them.

I got pulled by a good used price so sure, will try them out taking them to the office tomorrow for some time on them. First thing I did was put the 4.4 module on ready to go!

 

[baskingshark]

BTW, I broke out the @FranQL Blue Voodoo 600s that my hermano de un otro madre made and that dude can make so top shelf buds. He can be modest all he wants, but these buds just sound flat out good with every genre I throw at them. I'll spend a few weeks rotating through other buds and every time I make may way back to these through the rotation my first reaction is always one of two things depending on the music: 1) If the music I play has a good bassline I always think ,"Damn he nailed the linear bass extension on these. No mid bass hump to swamp the mids or overshadow the nice sub bass rumble." Or 2) If the music has good dynamic range like what I'm currently listening to, "Man, Fran packed a lot of big micro and microdynamic prowess into these little buds and all without unnaturally boosting any part of the FR or losing the low level detail in the process."

Not only can the man make buds, but he has a good ear, and is one of the nicest and most genuine guys you'll ever meet. Thanks again for these buds and for being my friend, hermano! You're the man!

@FranQL sent a nice LCP 100+ ohm bud to me last year, and I use it weekly, even though there are pricier earbuds in my collection. I kid you not, it shares a similar tonality to the HD650 but has better imaging and soundstage!

He is a great tuner and legit gentleman. If he sold any of his creations online, I would surely be the first customer!!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I got pulled by a good used price so sure, will try them out taking them to the office tomorrow for some time on them. First thing I did was put the 4.4 module on ready to go!

Sounds like you're in for a fun day at work! Just make sure you're prepared to try a lot of different genres and styles. I think you'll be surprised at how many genres they do well. I think the authority of the bass and the big presentation hit people first so the tendency is to pigeonhole the FF3s as being bassy and only good for those genres, but if you take the time to step outside that initial impulse to label them and start trying out genres you'll see what I mean.

They have great timbre for many instruments (the cello being one of my favorites on the FF3s), they have the agile bass and tonality to do justice to even the most complicated/busy rock and prog pieces, they can sound wonderfully rich with jazzy numbers, give you plenty of punch and dynamics for funk...you get what I'm saying. I'll be interested to see how they suit you after you've had the time to put them through their paces. Especially so considering that I know you have plenty of experience with other buds to compare them to. I won't bug you for it or try to rush you, but I would love to read your thoughts when you get a chance if you're inclined to share.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

@FranQL sent a nice LCP 100+ ohm bud to me last year, and I use it weekly, even though there are pricier earbuds in my collection. I kid you not, it shares a similar tonality to the HD650 but has better imaging and soundstage!

He is a great tuner and legit gentleman. If he sold any of his creations online, I would surely be the first customer!!

Absolutely! I have heard his reasoning behind not wanting to sell buds and it makes total sense. I definitely get where he's coming from. I just consider myself lucky to have recieved a pair as a surprise. They're just too good not to bring them up every now and then. Especially when you consider that everyone I know that has one has a different driver and tuning and yet everyone loves them!

That crazy Spaniard is talented indeed...

 

[samandhi]

Late to the party I know. Let's see what the fuss is about. Sound is good on first impressions. Love the cable.

Congrats on your new shiny!

Do let us know your thoughts on them once you have had them in your ears for a time?!

By the way, I think this is raises an interesting question on innovation. The question is, whether

a) Innovation happens naturally, in which case we should be grateful, and not continually criticise, especially for cheap earbuds. Constantly looking for criticisms may also draw away from our enjoyment from them.

b) Innovation happens "the hard way", in which case we should criticise $20 earbuds thoroughly, so that developers are pushed to improve continuously.

An analogy I have is pizza restaurants. On one hand, a local community pizza spot may be frequented and supported in a neighborhood of a small-midsize city. The pizza is good, price is decent, and people know what they are getting. Life goes on.

On the other hand, from what we see, the pizza scene is extremely cutthroat in larger cities like New York, with no better example than Dave Portnoy's reviews on YouTube. Continuous criticism, even for the cheapest of slices, pushes restaurant owners to improve their recipes, contrasting from the neighborhood spots in the former scenario, which may face little to no criticism by the local community.

Now, if you ask me to bet money on which slice the average person would say is better, I would definitely bet my money on a popular New York spot rather than the neighborhood spot.

However, to achieve the perfect New York slice, regular criticism may put a lot of stress on owners, and in fact may put some New York pizza spots out of business rather quickly. Whereas, local patronage of the neighborhood spot encourages owners to work hard and serve the community, even if the pizza isn't perfect.

@JAnonymous5150 , I know this discussion may not directly apply to our initial discussion above on the LCP 80ohm. In fact, you were just making a suggestion and helping a user out (and pointing out another crazy guy, with craziness warranted or not). But overall, with earbuds being so much cheaper than iems, should they be scrutinised heavily, or should we just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music?

While I don't disagree with your train of thought here, I think that in the case of earbuds, this (constant criticism) might not work as intended (or maybe it would). The reason is that earbuds are still very much a niche market, and most companies would simply stop making them, rather than spend the R&D money to make a "better" pair where the ones being replaced weren't successful (in their eyes).

I could be totally wrong here and am only playing devil's advocate.

And, having said that, I DO think that feedback (critical OR praise) does indeed need to reach the ears of the makers of these buds so that they CAN make improvements. Without our voice, they only know that they either sell well or not. I am not afraid to "go against the hype" when I feel it needs to be heard.

As an example, when I first got my 7Hz Timeless, I was not well liked over on the 7Hz thread, because I was not all "sunshine" in my impressions of them. I think people got the wrong idea that I did not like them at all (which was simply not true), but I felt it necessary to share not only the good, but also the bad (and there IS some) in an honest way. Lots of people (the kind that swore they would sell off their kilobuck IEMs) defended their purchase with fervor... In the end, I really like them, but they DO have faults, and I don't believe that they are the best planar IEMs out there (still don't, Hook-X take that spot for me).

@FranQL sent a nice LCP 100+ ohm bud to me last year, and I use it weekly, even though there are pricier earbuds in my collection. I kid you not, it shares a similar tonality to the HD650 but has better imaging and soundstage!

He is a great tuner and legit gentleman. If he sold any of his creations online, I would surely be the first customer!!

He also sent me a couple pairs last year (40ohm and 150ohm) and I was simply amazed at how good they sound (still). When you compliment him on his skill, he will either downplay it, or even argue it with you. He is a very humble person.

Having said that, I just want to remind people that aren't too familiar with @FranQL not to PM the crap out of him requesting he make you a set. He doesn't sell his creations so please don't ask. He only does it for the pure joy of giving joy to others (and he REALLY does get joy out of it). If you want to purchase a set, there are MANY (other) good great makers that will be happy to do that for you. Or, better yet, learn from some of these masters and make your own. We would all love to hear about your journey!

 

[samandhi]

Sounds like you're in for a fun day at work! Just make sure you're prepared to try a lot of different genres and styles. I think you'll be surprised at how many genres they do well. I think the authority of the bass and the big presentation hit people first so the tendency is to pigeonhole the FF3s as being bassy and only good for those genres, but if you take the time to step outside that initial impulse to label them and start trying out genres you'll see what I mean.

They have great timbre for many instruments (the cello being one of my favorites on the FF3s), they have the agile bass and tonality to do justice to even the most complicated/busy rock and prog pieces, they can sound wonderfully rich with jazzy numbers, give you plenty of punch and dynamics for funk...you get what I'm saying. I'll be interested to see how they suit you after you've had the time to put them through their paces. Especially so considering that I know you have plenty of experience with other buds to compare them to. I won't bug you for it or try to rush you, but I would love to read your thoughts when you get a chance if you're inclined to share.

This is a great take on the FF3. They really are a fantastic "all-rounder" by all accounts. This can (sort of) be proven. If most people that have differing sound preferences can all agree that these sound really good, then there is something there... Just my $.02

 

[yaps66]

Love this community!

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Having said that, I just want to remind people that aren't too familiar with @FranQL not to PM the crap out of him requesting he make you a set. He doesn't sell his creations so please don't ask. He only does it for the pure joy of giving joy to others (and he REALLY does get joy out of it). If you want to purchase a set, there are MANY (other) good great makers that will be happy to do that for you. Or, better yet, learn from some of these masters and make your own. We would all love to hear about your journey

I got lost in my admiration for the buds and for Fran and I should've made this clear. Excellent point compadre! Thanks for being the practical one.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Love this community!

And this community loves you big guy!

 

[jenkinsontherun]

Congrats on your new shiny!

Do let us know your thoughts on them once you have had them in your ears for a time?!

While I don't disagree with your train of thought here, I think that in the case of earbuds, this (constant criticism) might not work as intended (or maybe it would). The reason is that earbuds are still very much a niche market, and most companies would simply stop making them, rather than spend the R&D money to make a "better" pair where the ones being replaced weren't successful (in their eyes).

I could be totally wrong here and am only playing devil's advocate.

And, having said that, I DO think that feedback (critical OR praise) does indeed need to reach the ears of the makers of these buds so that they CAN make improvements. Without our voice, they only know that they either sell well or not. I am not afraid to "go against the hype" when I feel it needs to be heard.

As an example, when I first got my 7Hz Timeless, I was not well liked over on the 7Hz thread, because I was not all "sunshine" in my impressions of them. I think people got the wrong idea that I did not like them at all (which was simply not true), but I felt it necessary to share not only the good, but also the bad (and there IS some) in an honest way. Lots of people (the kind that swore they would sell off their kilobuck IEMs) defended their purchase with fervor... In the end, I really like them, but they DO have faults, and I don't believe that they are the best planar IEMs out there (still don't, Hook-X take that spot for me).

He also sent me a couple pairs last year (40ohm and 150ohm) and I was simply amazed at how good they sound (still). When you compliment him on his skill, he will either downplay it, or even argue it with you. He is a very humble person.

Having said that, I just want to remind people that aren't too familiar with @FranQL not to PM the crap out of him requesting he make you a set. He doesn't sell his creations so please don't ask. He only does it for the pure joy of giving joy to others (and he REALLY does get joy out of it). If you want to purchase a set, there are MANY (other) good great makers that will be happy to do that for you. Or, better yet, learn from some of these masters and make your own. We would all love to hear about your journey!

I think it's great to play devil's advocate, as it stimulates further thinking. Like playing chess . While I don't want to steer this thread off track of earbuds, I think it does present an interesting philosophical discussion on innovation. Large enterprises like Tesla in fact need criticism to grow. As you suggest, by contrast, we need to be careful in niche markets like the earbud market. One bad review, even if the content is warranted (depending on how harsh the reviewer is) can have horrible impact on earbud makers - even if that was not the intention.

However, in a sense, I also disagree with the point that I just made above. For me personally, if I faced criticism, I would simply take it as a challenge to work harder. Sure, let's say my first earbud is faced with scathing criticism. But that doesn't stop me from making more. But maybe in practice, I'd crumble up, since I don't know anything about developing audio products .

 

[itwasluck]

Congrats on your new shiny!

Do let us know your thoughts on them once you have had them in your ears for a time?!

While I don't disagree with your train of thought here, I think that in the case of earbuds, this (constant criticism) might not work as intended (or maybe it would). The reason is that earbuds are still very much a niche market, and most companies would simply stop making them, rather than spend the R&D money to make a "better" pair where the ones being replaced weren't successful (in their eyes).

I could be totally wrong here and am only playing devil's advocate.

And, having said that, I DO think that feedback (critical OR praise) does indeed need to reach the ears of the makers of these buds so that they CAN make improvements. Without our voice, they only know that they either sell well or not. I am not afraid to "go against the hype" when I feel it needs to be heard.

As an example, when I first got my 7Hz Timeless, I was not well liked over on the 7Hz thread, because I was not all "sunshine" in my impressions of them. I think people got the wrong idea that I did not like them at all (which was simply not true), but I felt it necessary to share not only the good, but also the bad (and there IS some) in an honest way. Lots of people (the kind that swore they would sell off their kilobuck IEMs) defended their purchase with fervor... In the end, I really like them, but they DO have faults, and I don't believe that they are the best planar IEMs out there (still don't, Hook-X take that spot for me).

He also sent me a couple pairs last year (40ohm and 150ohm) and I was simply amazed at how good they sound (still). When you compliment him on his skill, he will either downplay it, or even argue it with you. He is a very humble person.

Having said that, I just want to remind people that aren't too familiar with @FranQL not to PM the crap out of him requesting he make you a set. He doesn't sell his creations so please don't ask. He only does it for the pure joy of giving joy to others (and he REALLY does get joy out of it). If you want to purchase a set, there are MANY (other) good great makers that will be happy to do that for you. Or, better yet, learn from some of these masters and make your own. We would all love to hear about your journey!

I agree 100% companies won't invest in R&D if they don't see a market in it. Also, the Hook-X are truly special, I even bought both versions which is not very common for me to do. Still prefer the OG but they are both amazing.

I do see a lot of potential in future R&D in earbuds but as it is, we have some amazing sets for all genres! Not to mention a handful of modders who really put passion into their buds.

 

[AudioNewbie76]

There's some crazy dude who seems to pop up on this thread every couple of days to answer one of these posts by saying he recommends the NSC Audio 80ohm LCP driver buds (I'll include a link below). That guy is a real nutcase, but the buds are pretty damn good. Well balanced, good extension on both ends, they sound pretty open and detailed, and they're well made. He seems to think they might be the best you can get for that kinda money.

As I said, he's crazy, but I think he's pretty much right on this one.

Link (you want the 80ohm LCP driver version and not the 32ohm Ti version):

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrL9CGC

Looks pretty neat visually, thanks for the recommendation. I think these might be at the top of my list now haha

 

[AudioNewbie76]

Congrats on your new shiny!

Do let us know your thoughts on them once you have had them in your ears for a time?!

While I don't disagree with your train of thought here, I think that in the case of earbuds, this (constant criticism) might not work as intended (or maybe it would). The reason is that earbuds are still very much a niche market, and most companies would simply stop making them, rather than spend the R&D money to make a "better" pair where the ones being replaced weren't successful (in their eyes).

I could be totally wrong here and am only playing devil's advocate.

And, having said that, I DO think that feedback (critical OR praise) does indeed need to reach the ears of the makers of these buds so that they CAN make improvements. Without our voice, they only know that they either sell well or not. I am not afraid to "go against the hype" when I feel it needs to be heard.

As an example, when I first got my 7Hz Timeless, I was not well liked over on the 7Hz thread, because I was not all "sunshine" in my impressions of them. I think people got the wrong idea that I did not like them at all (which was simply not true), but I felt it necessary to share not only the good, but also the bad (and there IS some) in an honest way. Lots of people (the kind that swore they would sell off their kilobuck IEMs) defended their purchase with fervor... In the end, I really like them, but they DO have faults, and I don't believe that they are the best planar IEMs out there (still don't, Hook-X take that spot for me).

He also sent me a couple pairs last year (40ohm and 150ohm) and I was simply amazed at how good they sound (still). When you compliment him on his skill, he will either downplay it, or even argue it with you. He is a very humble person.

Having said that, I just want to remind people that aren't too familiar with @FranQL not to PM the crap out of him requesting he make you a set. He doesn't sell his creations so please don't ask. He only does it for the pure joy of giving joy to others (and he REALLY does get joy out of it). If you want to purchase a set, there are MANY (other) good great makers that will be happy to do that for you. Or, better yet, learn from some of these masters and make your own. We would all love to hear about your journey!

Could you name some well known makers of DIY buds? The only ones I'm familiar with are TGXEar and Rikubuds, but if there's any other I could look out for, it'll be great if you could tell me