[Kyonnie]

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 Ugh cable, 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!!!!

Good night! Good luck to your work trip and marriage haha

 

[mt877]

Received my FF3S yesterday and have been comparing with the FF3 (I use the crisp foams with these sets). It's probably too early to draw definitive conclusions, but they do sound a little (as in, a smidge, nothing major) different to me, mostly in the bass presentation. The FF3S is still a bassy bud, but it doesn't sound quite as "big" or meaty as the FF3 to my ear. I find it a little more resolving than the FF3. For those who love the FF3 for its authoritative bass, that might be a factor. For me, I think the FF3S might actually suit me a little better, as I find the FF3 a bit much sometimes. The FF3S feels like more of an all-rounder. I've listened to them out of the Amp14 card in my DX320 and out of my RU7 at 128.

In terms of build quality, the FF3S feels a little cheaper to me (it's much lighter than the FF3). The steel of the FF3 gives that sense a substantial feel of quality that the FF3S lacks. On the plus side, this might make it more comfortable for longer sessions. The cable is as annoying as it was on the FF3 and I'm toying with the idea of ordering the FF5-style cable Fiio recently released for the FF3S, though I don't really love that cable either. This is where the proprietary connector is a bummer. And this is purely esthetic, but where the motif on the back of the bud made sense with the silver or black of the original FF3, I don't think it works with the deep blue of the FF3S and, to me, it further cheapens the FF3S. But that's a very subjective thing, obviously.

FiiO has just released the LS-4.4B upgrade cable for the FF1 and FF3S earbuds. More info in this post from FiiO.
Get it for $14.99 at the FiiO AE Store: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805983193681.html

 

[mt877]

I've never heard the Alpha 3, but your impressions definitely match my experience with the RW3000 and the FF5.

The RW3000 bums me out a little, because I want to love these so badly. And they do sound amazing when I'm in just the right mood, but that's so rarely the case. More often than not, I find them super fatiguing and aggressive (from the pinna gain, I guess?). On the other hand, I can listen to the FF5 all day, but they leave me feeling a little bored (one exception being when I listened to them through the Amp14, which really made them shine). But if I want that kind of tuning, I turn to my Desolation Sound now.

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


That is fantastic! At least I know my old ears aren't COMPLETELY dead to the world yet.

I DO agree that they (RW3000) can be aggressive at times (though not Smabat aggressive haha). I can see using this set on a warmer source, and Amp14 would definitely be that. For me, I didn't like these with Am13 (even warmer). At that point, I would just pull out the RW2000, which are both darker and warmer overall (compared to the RW3000); an overall more "fun" tuning.

For you, the Alpha 3 MIGHT solve it, though I can't say for sure. They are pretty unique in that they DO also have an aggressive pina gain, but they seem less fatiguing to me than do the RW3000 overall. Maybe it is is at 4K rather than 3K (or something like that) that seems to be less offensive to my ears. I do know that while I am super sensitive to the 2K-4K region, I am not overly sensitive to mid and upper treble. Some food for thought thought I suppose?!

Our hearing is so different (and I appreciate that), I don't get fatigued listening to the RW-3000 at all, they're almost my perfect set of buds. I also have the RW-2000 and while they sound great, I don't like them as much as the 3000's. The other Yincrow buds I like are the Rhino.

I finally revisited the DUNU Alpha 3 buds the other night and after giving them a good listen I can finally say that I'm not as disappointed in them as when I first got them. Maybe I got disappointed in them due to critical listening sessions where your ears get burned out trying to decipher the sound signature or something. When I just relaxed and just let the music flow through them the Alpha 3's actually sounded very good.

 

[samandhi]

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.

This is what makes them so special. The fact that you are not building these from the ground up means that you are taking something that otherwise might sound average, and make them sound really special. That is the feat that others marvel at. You are taking parts and pieces and putting them together to be better than some of the best "built-from-scratch" sets out there. Companies like FiiO, Yincrow, etc... should be just a bit embarrassed by this IMO.... Though, I will say that I KNOW some of the ways you tune these, and your unique ways also make them more special than you give yourself credit for.

Either way though, I thank you for your earbuds, but more importantly (to me) I value your friendship and the comradery shared on the journey to making them even more. The fact that the product is something very special to those that listen to them is the bonus IMO...

There are others here that make (I am sure) wonderful buds as well, but I personally can't speak to them like I can yours. And as I have made clear before, I am not willing to spend TOTL prices for DIY buds (though I would probably pay a much smaller price), so I don't suppose I will ever be able to compliment the other fine DIY earbud makers. Let it be known that I respect all of their talents though. With you though, there is no agenda other than to spread the joy. Take that for what it is worth Hermano.

P.S. Don't work yourself to death brother. There are many things sound related that I still wish to discuss with you...

 

[samandhi]

Our hearing is so different (and I appreciate that), I don't get fatigued listening to the RW-3000 at all, they're almost my perfect set of buds. I also have the RW-2000 and while they sound great, I don't like them as much as the 3000's. The other Yincrow buds I like are the Rhino.

I finally revisited the DUNU Alpha 3 buds the other night and after giving them a good listen I can finally say that I'm not as disappointed in them as when I first got them. Maybe I got disappointed in them due to critical listening sessions where your ears get burned out trying to decipher the sound signature or something. When I just relaxed and just let the music flow through them the Alpha 3's actually sounded very good.

That's for sure. It seems to me that you have never (on here) really been as sensitive to the presence region as someone like myself (and apparently @gylyf also), or WoodyLuvr is. This is great for you though, because I have always been a bit envious of those (like you and JAnonymous5150 for instance) that it doesn't bother because having +dB in that region does indeed boost staging (even if artificially).

It is great to hear that the Alpha 3 are sounding better to you. What foams have you ended up with on them that sound best to your ears? I settled on the donut (crisp) foams for them. While the "bass" foams might sound a tad better on them for tuning, they dilute the separation and layering too much for me.

 

[mt877]

That's for sure. It seems to me that you have never (on here) really been as sensitive to the presence region as someone like myself (and apparently @gylyf also), or WoodyLuvr is. This is great for you though, because I have always been a bit envious of those (like you and JAnonymous5150 for instance) that it doesn't bother because having +dB in that region does indeed boost staging (even if artificially).

It is great to hear that the Alpha 3 are sounding better to you. What foams have you ended up with on them that sound best to your ears? I settled on the donut (crisp) foams for them. While the "bass" foams might sound a tad better on them for tuning, they dilute the separation and layering too much for me.

I'm still affected by the presence region, but maybe not as sensitive as yourself. One litmus test I use to determine if a set of buds will kill my ears is to listen to Japanese flute music. When a Japanese flute is mentioned, many people think of the vertical Shakuhachi flute, but the particular flutes I listen too are called the Shinobue and Kagurabue which are traditional Japanese transverse bamboo flutes.

I'm using the full foams I got with my Serratus buds. The foams used for the Serratus are pretty thin. I also tried donut foams, but the thin Serratus foams sounded better without ruining the separation and layering.

 

[samandhi]

I'm still affected by the presence region, but maybe not as sensitive as yourself. One litmus test I use to determine if a set of buds will kill my ears is to listen to Japanese flute music. When a Japanese flute is mentioned, many people think of the vertical Shakuhachi flute, but the particular flutes I listen too are called the Shinobue and Kagurabue which are traditional Japanese transverse bamboo flutes.

I'm using the full foams I got with my Serratus buds. The foams used for the Serratus are pretty thin. I also tried donut foams, but the thin Serratus foams sounded better without ruining the separation and layering.

Ahh. As for me, I use this when I get a new set, and slide it up and down to find the trouble spots (compared to the rest of the spectrum)... And of course, it usually is in that region... haha

I haven't tried some thinner full foams like from the VE Lite pack or something like that (pretty much any generic ones are pretty thin, though probably not too consistent).

 

[Kyonnie]

What foams have you ended up with on them that sound best to your ears? I settled on the donut (crisp) foams for them. While the "bass" foams might sound a tad better on them for tuning, they dilute the separation and layering too much for me.

Imma butt-in on this because I can relate full foams muddying the separation and layering (different earbuds) me and my friends recently talked about it I found that adding tiny holes on foam helps with that I use leather punch and rotating leather punch to do it

 

[Kyonnie]

I haven't tried some thinner full foams like from the VE Lite pack or something like that (pretty much any generic ones are pretty thin, though probably not too consistent).

VE foams are pretty good I recommend getting them specially for tuning purposes because you can try different types of foam and hear how the sound changes

This is what makes them so special. The fact that you are not building these from the ground up means that you are taking something that otherwise might sound average, and make them sound really special. That is the feat that others marvel at. You are taking parts and pieces and putting them together to be better than some of the best "built-from-scratch" sets out there. Companies like FiiO, Yincrow, etc... should be just a bit embarrassed by this IMO.... Though, I will say that I KNOW some of the ways you tune these, and your unique ways also make them more special than you give yourself credit for.

Either way though, I thank you for your earbuds, but more importantly (to me) I value your friendship and the comradery shared on the journey to making them even more. The fact that the product is something very special to those that listen to them is the bonus IMO...

There are others here that make (I am sure) wonderful buds as well, but I personally can't speak to them like I can yours. And as I have made clear before, I am not willing to spend TOTL prices for DIY buds (though I would probably pay a much smaller price), so I don't suppose I will ever be able to compliment the other fine DIY earbud makers. Let it be known that I respect all of their talents though. With you though, there is no agenda other than to spread the joy. Take that for what it is worth Hermano.

P.S. Don't work yourself to death brother. There are many things sound related that I still wish to discuss with you...

Tbh burning out is one of the biggest draw back of this hobby. I hope @FranQL can continue his passion and evolve even further but in his own pace specially considering his IRL circumstances he's facing, more power to you! Hahaha

 

[ttorbic]

Imma butt-in on this because I can relate full foams muddying the separation and layering (different earbuds) me and my friends recently talked about it I found that adding tiny holes on foam helps with that I use leather punch and rotating leather punch to do it

I agree - I tried Hiegi (thicc bois) on the Serratus and really thought the sound got muddied up.

I haven't tried adding a small hole to a thick foam though. What size diameter?

 

[Kyonnie]

I agree - I tried Hiegi (thicc bois) on the Serratus and really thought the sound got muddied up.

I haven't tried adding a small hole to a thick foam though. What size diameter?

It depends on the buds themselves most of the time I use 3MM puncher or a bunch of smaller 1MM YMMV! I recommend using wood cutting board with paper alternatively if you have those rotating ones place the paper on the brass plate in there for punching so it will cut more cleanly

 

[Kyonnie]

Look at what arrived today~

I'm kinda annoyed of the condition of the box because I like keeping them anyways pretty good packaging after typing the ridiculously long authentication code I can finally check the buds out

I'm surprised on how light they are I expected them to be a bit more heavy the cable is very nice and simple there's a bit of memory in it I don't have my scale atm but they have some weight in them probably heavier than the buds themselves lol really nice feel into it I just recieved it so I haven't really test them out yet but my first impressions are that they're too small for my ears I had to use those "devil silicone sleeves" haha the foams included are very unique the synergy between them and the buds is really good I tried using other foams and they didn't sound as good as fiio foams while the material itself is very high quality the hole placement is still bad so many offset holes I had to look for perfect pairs in the bag to minimize the sound imbalance with them also they're pretty annoying to cut even with my sharp precision scissors I still have jagged cuts (MY OCD!!!)

 

[mt877]

Ahh. As for me, I use this when I get a new set, and slide it up and down to find the trouble spots (compared to the rest of the spectrum)... And of course, it usually is in that region... haha

I haven't tried some thinner full foams like from the VE Lite pack or something like that (pretty much any generic ones are pretty thin, though probably not too consistent).

Nice tool! Bookmarked.

 

[weexisttocease]

DX320MAX -> MASS-kobo 475 -> Yinman 600

 

[TimeSnow]

Hey guys, can anyone point me to a nice sounding pair of USB C earbuds with a decent mic?

Price is not MUCH of an issue.