[fooltoque]

Glowing review of Dunu Alpha 3 by an IEM reviewer.

 

[samandhi]

Glowing review of Dunu Alpha 3 by an IEM reviewer.

Nice! Mine should be arriving Wednesday this coming week.

 

[fooltoque]

Nice! Mine should be arriving Wednesday this coming week.

Ooh, looking forward to your impressions!

 

[ttorbic]

In my opinion, Sunniva cannot handle going from anime OST (j-pop/rock), to metal, to jazz. I'd definitely go Ripples if you want warm but versatile. Sunniva is more overt in quantity of bass and can overwhelm the other parts of the sound signature (IMO).

Ripples is my love, too, but it's outside the OP's budget and I don't see a used one listed

@fooltoque , TGXEAR is easy to talk to and will give you his honest recommendations, in case you want to ping him

 

[ttorbic]

I think this might be the first review is the Ucotech ES-P2! Unfortunately it's in Korean but maybe YouTube will have auto translated captions. I'll watch it throughout the day and post a summary if people are keen.

Tagging folks who might be interested @samandhi @JAnonymous5150 @Ace Bee

 

[fooltoque]

Ripples is my love, too, but it's outside the OP's budget and I don't see a used one listed

@fooltoque , TGXEAR is easy to talk to and will give you his honest recommendations, in case you want to ping him :S

Actually at $299 (USD?) it is right at the edge of what I'd think about paying. Actually if I could try it out before buying and it was everything I wanted, I'd be willing to pay more. Sight unseen, even $100-$300 is harder to commit, as I can imagine you all would understand. My local store has 5 totl earbuds that I can try listening to, but none are what I'm looking for.

I think this might be the first review is the Ucotech ES-P2! Unfortunately it's in Korean but maybe YouTube will have auto translated captions. I'll watch it throughout the day and post a summary if people are keen.

Tagging folks who might be interested @samandhi @JAnonymous5150 @Ace Bee

I'm interested in that summary! Apparently it is supposed to have better resolution and tighter bass over the P1.

 

[ttorbic]

Actually at $299 (USD?) it is right at the edge of what I'd think about paying. Actually if I could try it out before buying and it was everything I wanted, I'd be willing to pay more. Sight unseen, even $100-$300 is harder to commit, as I can imagine you all would understand. My local store has 5 totl earbuds that I can try listening to, but none are what I'm looking for.


I'm interested in that summary! Apparently it is supposed to have better resolution and tighter bass over the P1.

Oh you're right! I thought it was 350 USD for some reason. But yes, I agree, it's hard to commit and spend that much money without trying it out. I guess you'll need to look at branded earbuds that are listed on Amazon or stocked at your local store?

I'm listening to the review now, and the reviewers focus a lot on how the ES-P2 sound musical...like an analogue sound. Will post more once I've finished

 

[ian91]

I'm really interested in TGXEar buds, and hadn't heard about the Sunniva yet. Warm with textured bass is what people are saying. Sounds just like what I'm looking for.

As for what I listen to, it is quite a variety. From anime songs to metal to funk to city pop to alt jazz. The RW-3000 has been a fantastic all rounder for these genres. For a new earbud, I would be happy if it sounded good with this track.

I listened to the Badbadnotgood track and preferred it on Sunniva with stock tuning. There is a bit more clarity with Ripples but dynamics are better on Sunniva. Sunniva is the warmer out of the two. I guess it really just depends on how you enjoy your jazz.

Thinking about the VE APWS, and the Cypherus Audio Black Dragon. Are there any comparisons between these two?

I love my audeze headphones, I have the LCD-XC, but I also love good buds and need a new pair. VE zen II were a touch on the warmer side for my liking if I remember correctly.

Are there other buds in this price range that compare as well?

Not sure if I need to list my musical tastes, as buds at this level/price should be able to give everything a pretty good go.

Very few people have heard the Black Dragon but I'm interested in the tonality on this one too. I see VE APWS as a specialist set and the tuning doesn't do it for me with hip hop/electronic/pop etc - so I think musical tastes would be helpful here (and if it's not a specialist you're after then maybe look elsewhere). The new Zen SL is a good option for balanced, detailed and airy with a competitive soundstage and timbre and I'm guessing if you have an LCD-XC (and the Zen 2.0) then you already have an amp to make the most of it (300ohm, scales well with more power).

 

[fooltoque]

I listened to the Badbadnotgood track and preferred it on Sunniva with stock tuning. There is a bit more clarity with Ripples but dynamics are better on Sunniva. Sunniva is the warmer out of the two.

Thank you for checking that out for me! Dynamics are important. Together with @gooberbm 's impression, it sounds like maybe the Ripples is the more all-round option, but the Sunniva might be just what I'm looking for if what I want is something different from my RW3000's

I guess it really just depends on how you enjoy your jazz.

That's just the truth isn't it

 

[ian91]

Nice! Mine should be arriving Wednesday this coming week.

Would be great to hear your opinion on them. I've seen the usual DUNU reviewers cover these and they seem relatively new to earbuds. They praise it but don't say what they've heard before.

 

[ian91]

I have enjoyed Tool since my early teens and saw them on their 10,000 Days and Fear Inoculum tours. The most recent show I attended was great but they did seem a little too tired to be doing global tours... Anyway, their music will always be very important to me. Whenever I get a new set, IEM or earbud, I run them through a few tracks to see if I've struck gold. I'm usually left disappointed. Tool gets very busy and needs a good stage and decent imaging, needs tight upper midrange and treble control to avoid harshness while not glossing over the grit of the guitar work. I want to feel the weight and dynamics to the rhythmic drones of Justins bass and the syncopated hits of Dannys drumming on the low end.

It's rare for an IEM to get the tonality right but they usually manage the dynamics and the weight. To get the right tonality & dynamics on an earbud has seemed like a pipe dream, so far. Well the Zen SU is the first earbud to please (and thank the lord, when we consider the asking price). Powering through the Defiant, it puts all my earbuds to shame with a large, hulking weight to the dynamic swings and a controlled upper midrange. TGXear Ripples, my reference point for macrodynamics up until this point is blown out of the water and I say this while also wanting to acknowledge with the greatest respect and gratitude what Jim is doing for the popularity of buds in the audiophile community.

It might not be news to people here but VE are far ahead of the pack and I guess that's not surprising given the resources and experience to hand.

Anyway, jamming along to 10,000 days right now and wishing everyone a happy Monday.

 

[Rackhour]

Frequency question.

I’ve always noticed when listening outdoors that certain aspects of songs are drowned out by external noise, and this is all the more apparent with open backs. But now I want to ask: which aspect is the last to be drowned out? Because I now want to put together playlists with songs that are more audible than others all while not risking my hearing.

 

[dip registered]

Very few people have heard the Black Dragon but I'm interested in the tonality on this one too. I see VE APWS as a specialist set and the tuning doesn't do it for me with hip hop/electronic/pop etc - so I think musical tastes would be helpful here (and if it's not a specialist you're after then maybe look elsewhere). The new Zen SL is a good option for balanced, detailed and airy with a competitive soundstage and timbre and I'm guessing if you have an LCD-XC (and the Zen 2.0) then you already have an amp to make the most of it (300ohm, scales well with more power).

Thanks for this. Hip hop and electronica is actually what I want these for, I’m into drum & bass genre so they need to be fast. The XCs and 4z (which I’ve heard once) both tackled my musical tastes very well which is why I brought them up. Thanks for the slight redirect maybe away from APWS and towards the SL.

I have a burson amp at home, and I use a QA360 dap on the go, and I haven’t found I need a better amp with that.

I walked away after my first post and kicked myself for not listing musical taste, especially since this is earbuds we’re talking about!

 

[Touchowl]

I really don't understand how you could prove that an earbud has the same tonality as susvara or, given the difference in preferences between in-ear and over-ear earphones, why that would even be desirable

 

[dip registered]

I really don't understand how you could prove that an earbud has the same tonality as susvara or, given the difference in preferences between in-ear and over-ear earphones, why that would even be desirable

Finding my desired tuning from experience with over-ears seems like a good way to go about choosing a higher end pair of buds that I can’t try before buying, but I think you’re commenting on the Black Dragons here mainly?