[ian91]

MY TOP 5 EARBUDS

#1 Cypherus Audio Susvara Black Dragon

The mighty fills a huge portion of my library, literally everything in my music library sounds incredible. The deepest most layered sub bass of any Bud I know of! I feel like I’ve gushed enough about this bud.

#2 TGXear Desolation Sound

The man, the myth..The Legend! Mr. Jim Park @tgx78 master of flathead wizardry and painter of mystic landscapes blessed us with his masterpiece and I couldn’t be happier. A wonderful all rounder that excels with classical, modern classical, ambient and modern electronic music. Highly resolving bud! Micro dynamics are

#3 Venture Electronics APWS or Asura Pure White Shining

This is a specialist in my collection and has the best string timbre I’ve ever heard. Excels with solo and small ensemble classical and female vocals. Not a Bud for pop, rock, or anything with too much energy or a lot going on. This is a timbre/tonality king and meant for intimate listening of the highest pedigree.

#4 TGXear Tantalus

An oldie but a remarkable listen when powered properly. This is a recent discovery as I used to own this bud and I sold it due to hearing it muddy and bloated…Re purchased recently as I have a better DAP with better integrated power and Tantalus sounds like an Aroma Jewel in earbud form. Seductive timbre in male and female vocals. Resolving and sparkling treble. Great Modal Jazz bud!

#5 Venture Electronics Zen SU or Shining Ultimate

This is another new bud in my collection and while it sounds GRAND and oozing with warmth I’m still wrapping my head around it. @ian91 was correct in saying it rocks with music from Tool! This bud has some of the most correct sounding guitar tone (electric and acoustic alike) I’ve heard in any monitor, Bud or headphone! Female vocals are favored here and a calling card I’ve noticed with VE. I def hear a house sound in this flagship bud. I still need to run through my library but it’s already a favorite!

This list is subject to change and/or rearrange

Buds I most want to hear:
Yinman 2.0 600ohm
Shozy BK
Puresounds 100-500,600
Ksearphone Bell-Ti+, DBX
Simphonio Dragon 3+
FQL BlueMoon
Yuin PK1
Ucotech Es-P2

Nice top 5! Absolutely spoilt for choice there. The Black Dragon has been on my radar for some time now. I've been quite reluctant to go for it due to price/build quality. Shelling out circa $1k for Zen SU was a bit of a one-off for me and I think it would take a lot of praise to see me spend that much on an earbud again. I've recently upgraded my desktop stack and I'm finding a new love for DS, which previously sounded on the thinner side and not organic enough for my tastes. The note weight is now 'adequate' and no longer distracts from that textured appeal. As for Tantalus, I really need to get my hands on a set. I love the Alpha driver but admit that sometimes it can lack some bite and sparkle and wonder if the Tantalus can offer that but with a somewhat similar driver character?

Having said all this, I'm very content with my collection and there's plenty of variety:

APWS for the warm vocal specialist
Blue Moon for a brighter, balanced, technical all rounder (Blue Moon is very much APWS if you were to remove the VE DNA (i.e. the low mid/mid-mid emphasis) and turn the technicalities up a few notches)
Ibis as a dark/warm but detailed, technical all rounder for long sessions
Desolation Sound when I need more neutrality for classical
Zen SU for metal/rock/hip hop etc...when I want to listen loud, essentially.
Aquila + dongle for on-the-go listening

Buds I want to hear:
FQL Caelum
FQL Black Panther
Anything from TGXear - the sky is the limit here and I'm looking forward to novel drivers/configs
Yinman 2.0 600
Yincrow RW-3000
Zen 3.0

 

[samandhi]

Nice top 5! Absolutely spoilt for choice there. The Black Dragon has been on my radar for some time now. I've been quite reluctant to go for it due to price/build quality. Shelling out circa $1k for Zen SU was a bit of a one-off for me and I think it would take a lot of praise to see me spend that much on an earbud again. I've recently upgraded my desktop stack and I'm finding a new love for DS, which previously sounded on the thinner side and not organic enough for my tastes. The note weight is now 'adequate' and no longer distracts from that textured appeal. As for Tantalus, I really need to get my hands on a set. I love the Alpha driver but admit that sometimes it can lack some bite and sparkle and wonder if the Tantalus can offer that but with a somewhat similar driver character?

Having said all this, I'm very content with my collection and there's plenty of variety:

APWS for the warm vocal specialist
Blue Moon for a brighter, balanced, technical all rounder (Blue Moon is very much APWS if you were to remove the VE DNA (i.e. the low mid/mid-mid emphasis) and turn the technicalities up a few notches)
Ibis as a dark/warm but detailed, technical all rounder for long sessions
Desolation Sound when I need more neutrality for classical
Zen SU for metal/rock/hip hop etc...when I want to listen loud, essentially.
Aquila + dongle for on-the-go listening

Buds I want to hear:
FQL Caelum
FQL Black Panther
Anything from TGXear - the sky is the limit here and I'm looking forward to novel drivers/configs
Yinman 2.0 600
Yincrow RW-3000
Zen 3.0

Not only do you have a marvelous list yourself, but your "wants" list is made up of some of the best sound available as well.

 

[ian91]

Not only do you have a marvelous list yourself, but your "wants" list is made up of some of the best sound available as well.

I'm in no hurry to hear them, either! Very much enjoying the journey right now. I really do look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Blue Moon whenever it falls into your lap - it's a real stunner. A timbre-tone-tech sweet spot.

 

[samandhi]

For those on a much lower budget, and want to hear some really good metal, don't fret. There is some REALLY good sets here too.

If you want clarity in your metal (without killing your ears), the Lun Sheng A-Bells are outstanding for this. The presence region isn't boosted to a shouty level, but has lots and lots of sparkle. The downside is that you won't "feel" the bass and kick drums. It is present and is a very addictive sound.

Another set that surprises me is the FiiO FF1. These actually might have too much bass, but they are not shouty. There is nothing offensive in the tuning on these. They only lack a bit in separation, and layering, but I would not say it detracts from listening to this genre IMO. The FF1 come with a dongle (though it is not very good, but useable if you have nothing else).

Both have a removable cable (very nice feature at this level; though with the A-Bell you will either have to supply your own cable or buy it with the BT wireless adaptor), and both can be had for less than $20 (IIRC).

 

[samandhi]

I'm in no hurry to hear them, either! Very much enjoying the journey right now. I really do look forward to hearing your thoughts on the Blue Moon whenever it falls into your lap - it's a real stunner. A timbre-tone-tech sweet spot.

For sure! The journey is half (or more) of the fun.

I am holding off on commissioning them until he has made all the ones he was planning on making, so that he can take his time and not feel pressured on making them. So, it may be a while, or it may be very soon. But, I am also VERY excited about them as well.

Edit: The new Black Panther look amazing as well.

 

[Kyonnie]

Thank you very much, and sure I'll have some....

 

[Kyonnie]

For those on a much lower budget, and want to hear some really good metal, don't fret. There is some REALLY good sets here too.

If you want clarity in your metal (without killing your ears), the Lun Sheng A-Bells are outstanding for this. The presence region isn't boosted to a shouty level, but has lots and lots of sparkle. The downside is that you won't "feel" the bass and kick drums. It is present and is a very addictive sound.

Another set that surprises me is the FiiO FF1. These actually might have too much bass, but they are not shouty. There is nothing offensive in the tuning on these. They only lack a bit in separation, and layering, but I would not say it detracts from listening to this genre IMO. The FF1 come with a dongle (though it is not very good, but useable if you have nothing else).

Most of my friends opted for DIYs and DIYers earbuds as alternative to midfi up to TOTL buds we just borrow/trade with each other so we can try out different buds

 

[Kyonnie]

For sure! The journey is half (or more) of the fun.

I am holding off on commissioning them until he has made all the ones he was planning on making, so that he can take his time and not feel pressured on making them. So, it may be a while, or it may be very soon. But, I am also VERY excited about them as well.

Edit: The new Black Panther look amazing as well.

I think it's very nice of @FranQL to give back to this community me and my friends have learned alot from this Thread and all the wonderful people in here I wish I can give back or be helpful around here too

 

[mt877]

Buds I most want to hear:
Yinman 2.0 600ohm
Shozy BK
Puresounds 100-500,600
Ksearphone Bell-Ti+, DBX
Simphonio Dragon 3+
FQL BlueMoon
Yuin PK1
Ucotech Es-P2

I thought the Yincrow RW-3000 was on your wish list as well(?). Well, I guess I could be wrong about that.

Edit:
Yinman 2.0 600Ω, love their sound when driven well.
Shozy BK, own them and they are definitely keepers.
Puresounds 600 (original not type S), another high ohm set with excellent sound if driven well.

 

[ttorbic]

Thought you folks would enjoy this!
https://twitter.com/JonBruner/status/1721906371388743753?t=5_5g0eEmOVHsUb98VQhWDQ&s=19

 

[mt877]

Are you able to give impressions comparing these to the Yincrow RW-3000?

The comparison is that the M5 Pro Golden and RW-3000 are like night and day.

M5 Pro Golden (M5PG) has a smaller soundstage (in your head) and less instrument / vocals separation than the RW-3000. M5PG sounds a bit fast, where the RW-3000 can be laid back and intimate. Maybe it's because the RW-3000's bass is more present than the M5PG, which enriches the sound from the RW-3000. Since you already have the RW-3000, I think you know what I'm talking about. The main reason I got the M5PG was because I wanted to make use of the Smabat drivers I bought with the M4 (Smabat's dismal attempt). So far the M4-ST10S and M4-Super One drivers sound great on the M5Pro body. I have other drivers that were released with the M4 that I haven't tried yet, so I hope they will sound good as well.

I'm not saying the M5PG is a bad set of buds, they are just different. If I had to pick one over the other, I would definitely choose the RW-3000.

 

[mt877]

Way to busy lately. Had a long session with SU before I had to remove my listening corner from the living room. Some long overdue refurbish of floor and painting I promised wife 1 week break from hard to drive stuff now.

Zen SU do have much of that rich Zen line sound, with full bass specially mid bass but also some sub. Mids also being in the thicker side.

Don't try with any Tool but I listened to some doom metal and it was very impressive. Actually very similar to FranQL Caelum with just more mid warmth on SU.

Hope you get to try the Blue Moon one day since you love APWS, biggest change for me is that APWS is slightly more bright while the Blue Moon have better textured low range.

The Sun Copper is next in line for me to play with, the short listen it seemed very good also. And the price more easy to justify



Anyway try this on SU, not many buds that suit this type of music and SU do excellent here.

If you don't mind me asking, what transducers are used in @FranQL's Blue Moon earbuds? Maybe this is something I should ask FranQL instead?

 

[FranQL]

Good night!!!!!

I have a week of work trip but I always read this thread because I love it, I enjoy it and on days like today it makes me extremely happy! I see these lists and see there buds made on my living room table... oh, I can't describe what I feel.

It's really been a month in which I barely have any free time, but it is what it is, I did have time to think and plan those crazy ideas that always run through my head, which are then difficult to carry out (for many reasons) and without any guarantee of success, which is a not-so-nice part of this.

There are no custom drivers, there is no designed/printed shell (basically what I have been able to try is simply not up to the sound that I like), there is ultimately nothing that can provide added value (well yes, I discovered a craftsman of the cable and uffff, it blew my mind with the quality, materials and finishes of its cables, and I decided that they are what I want for my buds), just the sound. Sound that I have sought to listen to music, to my personal taste, and that ultimately can be absolute garbage for another person.

Friends, you have incredible buds in your collections, I don't do magical or heavenly things, I simply adjust buds to my personal taste using all the means I have at my disposal, with the drivers that I consider excellent, and on which I spend my time and money, just to enjoy the music, there's just nothing more to it than that, really.

These are not first or second category people, I have shared many things with friends, but I can't take it much further, I am a normal person, financially I would be a disaster.

and LOL I don't want a divorce either!!!!

 

[mt877]

I moved from IEM to earbud, now to speaker. Comparing them, iem seems like watching movie in a handphone, earbud a 20 inch tv, and speaker a 40 inch tv. Really easy to get chill with heavily congested tracks like samba or funk jazz.

When I fire up my old Sherwood tube amp and play some tunes, the sound from my old (self-rebuilt) Acoustic Research speakers just bring a smile to my face. No special room treatment or anything. The music just sounds great.

 

[baskingshark]

Gotta love it when they keep posting pictures and impressions of things us normal peon folk have no chance of hearing lol

Actually, majority of the midFI/TOTL earbuds I own are bought from secondhand forums. Sometimes the earbuds are going at 30 - 50% of the original pricing!

If the sound doesn't suit my tastes, I just sell it off and recycle the funds for more second hand gear. Most audiophiles actually take quite good care of their gear, but just do a brief QC check during the transaction and so far this modus operandi has worked for me in secondhand IEMs too.

CHIFI also generally drops in price a few months after release, so patience can snag you a good deal even for firsthand sales on Aliexpress for example.

Another set that surprises me is the FiiO FF1. These actually might have too much bass, but they are not shouty. There is nothing offensive in the tuning on these. They only lack a bit in separation, and layering, but I would not say it detracts from listening to this genre IMO. The FF1 come with a dongle (though it is not very good, but useable if you have nothing else).

Both have a removable cable (very nice feature at this level; though with the A-Bell you will either have to supply your own cable or buy it with the BT wireless adaptor), and both can be had for less than $20 (IIRC).

The FF1 has a removable cable ya, but sadly it is proprietary. That really defeats the purpose of a detachable cable cause we have to go back to the company to buy their approved cables zzzz.