What's the best $5-10 earbud available right now? The last ones I heard were the Vido and thought they were pretty good for the money. The TRN EMA look like great value (detachable cable?!) but reviews don't seem very good compared to the more expensive EMX.
Hey ext23! There isn't really a single best allrounder cheap earbuds thats better than all the rest budget earbuds out there in that price range there's always going to be some sound quality aspects that's lacking it's mostly tuning differences and personal preferences, but the old 2012 Vidos are one of the best value for money earbuds still since they cost only around 3-4€ (used to be 0.50-2€ before) so they have good sound quality per $ value.
I would recommend only the blue or black coloured ones since they have the most consistent QC / sound quality out of all the different coloured variants in my experience of buying and using many different coloured Vidos over a few years.
I've maybe had bad luck with QC and different manufacturing batches before but the red and red&blue Vidos had worse sound quality sometimes and normal good sound other times (sounding muffled with less bass or less trebles and even smaller soundstage and worse details or channel imbalance etc.) the white Vidos sold nowadays though are a newer revision all together and not as good since it uses thinner plastics shell than before with a silver logo instead of the old black text logo they used to have, sound is still the same but with less bass than the old version white Vidos.
The 10-15€ costing Yincrow X6 Rackhour mentioned are also pretty good ones to get and I agree that they are slightly bassier and darker sounding and less harsh than the blue Vidos which have bit more mids/treble and less subbass, but the sound quality is still the same since it's a retuned / rebranded 2012 Vidos drivers that they use, it's just a bit different tuning like the other coloured Vidos though they all have a very similar frequency response so the differences are small, but the X6 comes with more accesories and a bit stronger build quality than the Vidos which have a weaker cable.
I got the black coloured TRN EMA on sale before for 6€ and it sounds okay but not very good it lacks both sub and midbass and it has a very lightweight noteweight / impact so it sounds too polite / relaxed, timbre is a bit metallic sounding sometimes and the imaging isn't that accurate, but the sound is sibilance / fatigue free at least which is nice despite the brighter sound it has.
The TRN EMA makes up for its lack of sound quality in its build and comfort which is excellent and very good for its cheap price, I was surprised at the EMAs good build for something costing only 6€, also the smaller sized shells are really comfortable and ergonomic as good as the QianYun Qian39, I would recommend them if you can find them on sale for less than 10€ and you want smaller sized comfy earbuds.
There are many good budget earbuds in the 5-30€ price range but as far as under 10€ and less costing earbuds go the old Vidos are still the best value for money, though if you want cheap and smooth relaxed / fatigue free sounding earbuds then the 10€ TRN EMA and even the 10€ FAAEAL Iris 2.0 (relaxed sounding earbuds like the EMA but with a warmer / darker tuning and better timbre) are good options.
I would recommend the Qian39 as well but it's more expensive nowadays it used to cost 4-10€ but now it's 15-20€ its sound quality is good and on similar level to the Vidos/X6 and Iris 2.0 but it lacks imaging, still it sounds better than the EMA especially in timbre but the best aspects of the Qian39 is the small size and comfort which the EMA does just as well but for cheaper.
XinYue Transparent MMCX MX500 6€ earbuds are also good for their price as well but not that new user friendly like the Vidos, X6, EMA, Iris 2.0 and not the safest sound tuning since they are very bright and have sibilance without EQ (reduce all trebles 4k-18k by -5db or more) or using thick full foams (either single thick dense foams like FiiO Bass or Hiegi ones and add 1 layer of teabag paper inside / under the foam, or just use double full foams instead).
The XinYue Transparent MMCX has pretty good imaging and soundstage while sounding airy, it has more bass than the EMA or Iris 2.0 but not as much as Vidos / X6 but the basses on those can even be too much sometimes, though a bit light in noteweight / impact but after EQ and full foams and a strong seal / deep fit its impact is better than the EMA and Iris 2.0 at least which sound too smooth. I use it for listening to orchestral or live music recordings, game/movie soundtracks etc. or any songs with good mixing / mastering, it's maybe not the best allrounder earbuds but for its cheap price it has decent details and after reducing the sibilance with EQ and thick foams I like it. AliExpress links to the earbuds:
Vido 2012 (blue colour):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...order_list.order_list_main.201.21ef18027fZDpc
or another store:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.146.21ef18027fZDpc
Yincrow X6:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/328...09384545316e8ccf!64763606706!sh!FI!2161405736
TRN EMA:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.116.21ef18027fZDpc
FAAEAL Iris 2.0:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/326...order_list.order_list_main.241.21ef18027fZDpc
QianYun Qian39:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002275229979.html
XinYue Transparent MMCX MX500:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100....order_list.order_list_main.36.21ef18027fZDpc
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