[droenald]

Some great suggestions from others. The first thing I would do though is to go HERE where you can find out both your trouble spot in your hearing, and/or where the trouble spot is in the head gear. Then you will know exactly where to subtract using EQ, and how wide you may need to make the Q or BW, and by how much.

Also, if you are using android or Windows, or IOS, or MAC I would suggest to you an app called Neutron Music Player. One (of the MANY) thing that is great about it is the EQ/PEQ. You can actually mix and match (i.e. you can make 40Hz a low shelf PEQ, and make 80Hz a peak EQ, and etc...). It has some of the best DSP out there (without having to mortgage the house to afford it, like some other top-notch apps will).

Anyhow just my $.02, and as always, YMMV!

Thank you for the link, it is awesome! The possibility to easily swipe back and forth on the frequency band will make it easy to find hot spots in the frequency response of any headgear. This will actually be a lot more accurate than applying eq according to a frequency graph somebody made of a headphone, as this approach using the slider will applies to ones personal hearing and the actual used headphone. I will definitely use this!

Apart from at work I don't have time to listen to music. There I am in a big office space with colleagues around me, so listening to music on big open back headphones with a desktop system is not an option. I found over time that the isolation and invasiveness of in ears are not really my cup of tea, hence the recently acquired obsession for earbuds. I won't need any software like neutron player, high quality downloads on spotify and the qudelix 5k are really all I need. I am super happy with the qudelix, it can do 20 bands of parametric eq: bandpass filters (this is useless), peak filters or Hi/Lo shelf filters. It also has crossfeed and choice of 8 different dac filters. LDac bluetooth streaming. Balanced or single ended out. Max 240mwatt output and 4V Rms.
Some of these options yield more subtle results than others, but all of the options clearly do something to the sound (obviously eq can do the most...) and if one takes some time with this little beast all of the options can be put to good use.
An added benefit of the qudelix vs an eq app like neutron player is that all the eq takes place in the qudelix itself and the eq settings are saved there. This avoids the problem with Android not allowing systemwide EQ. I tried wavelet once, it was at least able to apply eq to spotify. It had no effect on other apps like netflix or YouTube however. Also the 10 band graphic eq wavelet offers is not exactly a precision tool...
Did this sound like an advertisement for the qudelix? I have it now for nearly a year and am still completely in love with it. I only wish it hat a 3 or 4 times bigger battery, would gladly accept it if it was 3 or 4 times as big with bigger and better buttons.

Sadly, EQ will NOT help here, and there is really nothing that can be done short of trashing the poor drivers.

It might actually be satisfying to use the the yincrow calf . My first and worst earbud purchase.

It really depends on your budget, what you consider great mids (i.e. do you like thick, thin, recessed, forward, lush, wide, intimate, etc...), and what type of shells you desire to have.

Having said that, for me the the Moondrop Chaconne still comes to mind. They have some of the best technicalities, mids and treble, and are not boosted in the presence region (upper mids, lower treble).

Have a look at these reviews; especially the one from our own @RikudouGoku. Ironically, most of the time, our likes/dislikes are pretty opposite, but this review on the Chaconne is pretty spot-on from my (subjective) perspective.

[sidenote]: There IS another set that we both agreed upon as well, once upon a time. It was the Audiosense T800 (8 all BA IEM).. That was nigh on 5 years ago (come May).

Shell type does not matter I think. I wear the mx500 shells cable over ear and use silicone rings, otherwise I do not get a good fit. This approach should work with any shell I think.
Budget is a difficult question... I was ready to shell out the 150 for the yinman 600. I don't feel I am ready yet for spending 300 or more for TGXEar or RW3000 or 4000. Thank you for taking the time to do a little comparison of the RW2000 vs RW3000 by the way . This makes it clear to me that the RW3000 will never happen for me.
About what I consider great mids: this is what I have to find out really
Probably I can say what I don't like: I own the Truthear Zero Red. This one is diffuse field neutral. And I do not like it at all. I think the pinna gain is in the wrong place. The mids sound tinny. The pinna gain maxes out at around 2,5-3 khz. It starts to roll off from there. Harmann tuning the pinna gain maxes out at 3,5 to 4khz and then it rolls off. If one overlays diffuse field and harman, one will see that roughly from 1-3k diffuse field has 2db more energy than harman in that region, whereas harman has 2db more energy than diffuse field beyond 4khz. This makes for a quite different tonality and my experiments eqing the Truthear Zero more "Harmanish" have shown me, that I prefer that kind of tuning. That being said, for me there is too much ear gain in both of the target curves.
Probably I am wishing for a Harman tuning with slightly more warmth, so a less pronounced bass shelf then harmann, more a gentler slope to the mids, then less pinna gain than harmann but in turn some more shimmer in the mid and upper treble to make up for the lesser ear gain.
Right now I think this is what I want. But then again once I was thinking the "neutral" sound of the Truthear Zero would be what I want!
But I have learned something from it: "neutral" means it will likely be too bright and not natural for me...
By the way I received the Faaeal Rosemary and the Snow Lotus Yesterday. So far I can say I very much like the Rosemary. The Snow Lotus cannot compete at all...

 

[samandhi]

Thank you for the link, it is awesome! The possibility to easily swipe back and forth on the frequency band will make it easy to find hot spots in the frequency response of any headgear. This will actually be a lot more accurate than applying eq according to a frequency graph somebody made of a headphone, as this approach using the slider will applies to ones personal hearing and the actual used headphone. I will definitely use this!

Apart from at work I don't have time to listen to music. There I am in a big office space with colleagues around me, so listening to music on big open back headphones with a desktop system is not an option. I found over time that the isolation and invasiveness of in ears are not really my cup of tea, hence the recently acquired obsession for earbuds. I won't need any software like neutron player, high quality downloads on spotify and the qudelix 5k are really all I need. I am super happy with the qudelix, it can do 20 bands of parametric eq: bandpass filters (this is useless), peak filters or Hi/Lo shelf filters. It also has crossfeed and choice of 8 different dac filters. LDac bluetooth streaming. Balanced or single ended out. Max 240mwatt output and 4V Rms.
Some of these options yield more subtle results than others, but all of the options clearly do something to the sound (obviously eq can do the most...) and if one takes some time with this little beast all of the options can be put to good use.
An added benefit of the qudelix vs an eq app like neutron player is that all the eq takes place in the qudelix itself and the eq settings are saved there. This avoids the problem with Android not allowing systemwide EQ. I tried wavelet once, it was at least able to apply eq to spotify. It had no effect on other apps like netflix or YouTube however. Also the 10 band graphic eq wavelet offers is not exactly a precision tool...
Did this sound like an advertisement for the qudelix? I have it now for nearly a year and am still completely in love with it. I only wish it hat a 3 or 4 times bigger battery, would gladly accept it if it was 3 or 4 times as big with bigger and better buttons.

It might actually be satisfying to use the the yincrow calf . My first and worst earbud purchase.

Shell type does not matter I think. I wear the mx500 shells cable over ear and use silicone rings, otherwise I do not get a good fit. This approach should work with any shell I think.
Budget is a difficult question... I was ready to shell out the 150 for the yinman 600. I don't feel I am ready yet for spending 300 or more for TGXEar or RW3000 or 4000. Thank you for taking the time to do a little comparison of the RW2000 vs RW3000 by the way . This makes it clear to me that the RW3000 will never happen for me.
About what I consider great mids: this is what I have to find out really
Probably I can say what I don't like: I own the Truthear Zero Red. This one is diffuse field neutral. And I do not like it at all. I think the pinna gain is in the wrong place. The mids sound tinny. The pinna gain maxes out at around 2,5-3 khz. It starts to roll off from there. Harmann tuning the pinna gain maxes out at 3,5 to 4khz and then it rolls off. If one overlays diffuse field and harman, one will see that roughly from 1-3k diffuse field has 2db more energy than harman in that region, whereas harman has 2db more energy than diffuse field beyond 4khz. This makes for a quite different tonality and my experiments eqing the Truthear Zero more "Harmanish" have shown me, that I prefer that kind of tuning. That being said, for me there is too much ear gain in both of the target curves.
Probably I am wishing for a Harman tuning with slightly more warmth, so a less pronounced bass shelf then harmann, more a gentler slope to the mids, then less pinna gain than harmann but in turn some more shimmer in the mid and upper treble to make up for the lesser ear gain.
Right now I think this is what I want. But then again once I was thinking the "neutral" sound of the Truthear Zero would be what I want!
But I have learned something from it: "neutral" means it will likely be too bright and not natural for me...
By the way I received the Faaeal Rosemary and the Snow Lotus Yesterday. So far I can say I very much like the Rosemary. The Snow Lotus cannot compete at all...

Congrats on your new shiny(s)!

You are very welcome, and I know that you (like me) will put it to good use.

Oh no! I wasn't trying to get you to get rid of the 5K. I have heard nothing but good things about it from its inception. I am glad you are happy with it. I was only making the suggestion because I didn't realize that the 5K had such a PEQ/EQ built in.

As for me, I use Neutron on my DX300 and PC. While the DX300 IS indeed android, there are no android limits (or rather they are bypassed by iBasso's implementation). And for Windows, Neutron has a WASAPI driver, which also bypasses the built in Windows and sound card driver's sound mixer, therefore the only limitation is in my external DAC. This is plenty for what I would ever need @PCM 24/768KHz or DSD512). I guess you could say the gear I got lucky with have chosen, has a lot of versatility. For instance, with the DX300, if I should happen to NOT have music on the player but is on a PC or TV with BT, I can set up the DX300 as a BT DAC as well (with LDAC, and LHDC).

I almost bought the 5K once, but instead opted for the much smaller Shanling M0, which has a lot of those options as well but sadly is missing the balanced connection. It wasn't a total dud for me though, I really like it for what it is and does.

I can listen to pretty much any type of tuning, but I have never really been a fan of Harmon tuning, unless I plan on using that head gear to indulge my (once in a while) guilty pleasure of "bass cannons" because the bass is usually already boosted some (I just need to take it up a notch )... And of course, diffuse tuning has to be with only certain types of music (that won't make my ears bleed).

Having said all of that, and speaking of EQ, I DO love the DSP in Neutron Player, but since I DO use Amazon for streaming HQ music as well, and their built in EQ SUX, I am going to be ordering something that most that aren't considered an "old timer" won't remember too well, other than from stories; a passive EQ. This will sit in my chain after the DAC, but before the amp which means it doesn't matter what source I feed it, the EQ will be "system wide".

It is getting really hard to find one of those nowadays (I used to have one with my sound system in my car when I was young) that aren't "rack" type systems made for mixing and mastering. Though I DID manage to find a couple desktop units. Here is one (more like a tone control than EQ) that looks interesting; though it is a bit big for my stack, but I don't want to use the smaller version of it, as it is only a 4 band so the Qs will be TOO wide for my tastes.

I know, I am a dying breed... Go ahead and jibe me for not using the "better" digital EQ... LOL

P.S. Technically speaking, the one I linked is not truly passive either, but I can't find ANY that are passive any more. Apparently they don't sound good anymore, and people don't want them.

 

[Ace Bee]

LREY has been releasing some pretty impressive models lately, one each better than the previous ones in almost all cases. It's really mind-boggling, the way his sets (which I own) produce all three spectrums in such a perfect harmony. W08 is the bassier brother with a smoother approach but has more than sufficient treble sparkles and immaculate imaging, W03 pro has a cleaner bass but similarly deep subbass and powerful midbass, transparent mids and more energetic trebles with more HD notes, a similarly 3D presentation and well-rounded stage. To my ears, the W03 Pro was definitely ahead of the TGXear Desolation Sound, and W08 was an improved TGXear Sunniva.

But the VE Sun Copper still stood ahead of them in terms of sheer details and soundstage.

And the latest flagship of LREY, Aurora...well, it is exhilarating! It simply outperforms anything that I have ever heard, including Sun Copper. The bass is very deep, may be deeper than the W03 pro even by a slight bit. The midbass slams are similarly powerful, and yet somehow even cleaner. The midrange and treble are easily comparable to 4K if Sun Copper is Ultra HD. They are so highly transparent and detailed that it took time for me to wrap my head around it, to believe what I am hearing is real and not a hoax. There is no sudden peak here, the whole region is carefully energetic and immaculately detailed, which is complimented perfectly by the deep and powerful bass. The notes are very very tangible. They are sharply defined but devoid of sudden peaks. Resolution is the best I've ever heard, similar to Sun Copper, might sound even better on occasions.

And the stage, GOSH! It is wide and deep and tall, with a highly articulated 3D imaging. I have never heard a more 3D stage on any buds of any shape - mx500, bell, custom, val39, rg39, or anything else. It is grand, spacious, with the best separation I have ever heard in buds.

I had the TGXear Seratus Black Sand with me, and I compared them:
Aurora has deeper and more natural subbass, a tad bit controlled midbass body with perhaps slightly better slam, cleaner and more transparent mid and Treble. Notes might feel very slightly thinner in comparison but very good nonetheless. The whole sound feels much more HD, 4K, compared to SBS's 1080p. Bigger and deeper stage, more 3D imaging, more resolving and more three-dimensionally defined tactile notes.

 

[ttorbic]

LREY has been releasing some pretty impressive models lately, one each better than the previous ones in almost all cases. It's really mind-boggling, the way his sets (which I own) produce all three spectrums in such a perfect harmony. W08 is the bassier brother with a smoother approach but has more than sufficient treble sparkles and immaculate imaging, W03 pro has a cleaner bass but similarly deep subbass and powerful midbass, transparent mids and more energetic trebles with more HD notes, a similarly 3D presentation and well-rounded stage. To my ears, the W03 Pro was definitely ahead of the TGXear Desolation Sound, and W08 was an improved TGXear Sunniva.

But the VE Sun Copper still stood ahead of them in terms of sheer details and soundstage.

And the latest flagship of LREY, Aurora...well, it is exhilarating! It simply outperforms anything that I have ever heard, including Sun Copper. The bass is very deep, may be deeper than the W03 pro even by a slight bit. The midbass slams are similarly powerful, and yet somehow even cleaner. The midrange and treble are easily comparable to 4K if Sun Copper is Ultra HD. They are so highly transparent and detailed that it took time for me to wrap my head around it, to believe what I am hearing is real and not a hoax. There is no sudden peak here, the whole region is carefully energetic and immaculately detailed, which is complimented perfectly by the deep and powerful bass. The notes are very very tangible. They are sharply defined but devoid of sudden peaks. Resolution is the best I've ever heard, similar to Sun Copper, might sound even better on occasions.

And the stage, GOSH! It is wide and deep and tall, with a highly articulated 3D imaging. I have never heard a more 3D stage on any buds of any shape - mx500, bell, custom, val39, rg39, or anything else. It is grand, spacious, with the best separation I have ever heard in buds.

I had the TGXear Seratus Black Sand with me, and I compared them:
Aurora has deeper and more natural subbass, a tad bit controlled midbass body with perhaps slightly better slam, cleaner and more transparent mid and Treble. Notes might feel very slightly thinner in comparison but very good nonetheless. The whole sound feels much more HD, 4K, compared to SBS's 1080p. Bigger and deeper stage, more 3D imaging, more resolving and more three-dimensionally defined tactile notes.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!! @PeacockObscura you might wanna read this

 

[ttorbic]

@AWSMDanny posting your good work here!

 

[PeacockObscura]

LREY has been releasing some pretty impressive models lately, one each better than the previous ones in almost all cases. It's really mind-boggling, the way his sets (which I own) produce all three spectrums in such a perfect harmony. W08 is the bassier brother with a smoother approach but has more than sufficient treble sparkles and immaculate imaging, W03 pro has a cleaner bass but similarly deep subbass and powerful midbass, transparent mids and more energetic trebles with more HD notes, a similarly 3D presentation and well-rounded stage. To my ears, the W03 Pro was definitely ahead of the TGXear Desolation Sound, and W08 was an improved TGXear Sunniva.

But the VE Sun Copper still stood ahead of them in terms of sheer details and soundstage.

And the latest flagship of LREY, Aurora...well, it is exhilarating! It simply outperforms anything that I have ever heard, including Sun Copper. The bass is very deep, may be deeper than the W03 pro even by a slight bit. The midbass slams are similarly powerful, and yet somehow even cleaner. The midrange and treble are easily comparable to 4K if Sun Copper is Ultra HD. They are so highly transparent and detailed that it took time for me to wrap my head around it, to believe what I am hearing is real and not a hoax. There is no sudden peak here, the whole region is carefully energetic and immaculately detailed, which is complimented perfectly by the deep and powerful bass. The notes are very very tangible. They are sharply defined but devoid of sudden peaks. Resolution is the best I've ever heard, similar to Sun Copper, might sound even better on occasions.

And the stage, GOSH! It is wide and deep and tall, with a highly articulated 3D imaging. I have never heard a more 3D stage on any buds of any shape - mx500, bell, custom, val39, rg39, or anything else. It is grand, spacious, with the best separation I have ever heard in buds.

I had the TGXear Seratus Black Sand with me, and I compared them:
Aurora has deeper and more natural subbass, a tad bit controlled midbass body with perhaps slightly better slam, cleaner and more transparent mid and Treble. Notes might feel very slightly thinner in comparison but very good nonetheless. The whole sound feels much more HD, 4K, compared to SBS's 1080p. Bigger and deeper stage, more 3D imaging, more resolving and more three-dimensionally defined tactile notes.

WOW! That's got my juices flowing, can't wait for mine to show up now. Thanks for the detailed impressions

 

[h8uthemost]

The Yinman 150(32) has arrived! Box a little mangled but it's fine. Took less than 2 weeks for delivery, very quick I would say.








Shells are the same dark black sandalwood like the original 600 version. Cable is a nice black OFC, which is very malleable, with splitter and chin strap unlike the 600.

The sound is very neutral. I only had a few minutes with them tonight but they seemed to have lost thr magic of the 600s. The bass is there but not full not as present and pounding as the 600. It is a decently good neutral set I think some will still enjoy no doubt.

All three of my Yinmans together... With the evolution of Yinman packaging.

Congrats on your new shiny!

Now that you've had a couple days with them, what's your impressions now? And did you go through AliExpress?

Anyway hope you're having a good time with your new flats!

 

[mt877]

The recent comparison I did of the Nobunaga Uguisu (aka Nightingale) vs other earbuds prompted me to see if an excellent DIY "Nightingale" earbud could be built.

I think I've succeeded in that quest, so I present to you my "Artiste" earbuds which I'm sharing with my fellow earbud fiends here as another Drag-n-Drop build.

Spoiler: DnD build details

If you're new to DIY earbuds building / soldering, please click the "Soldering for Earbuds 101 - A Practical Approach" link in my signature. It's easy to build these buds and for the time spent you'll have an excellent sounding set of "Artiste" Nightingale earbuds. These buds have excellent tonality and absolutely no spike in the ear gain region. Also don't be fooled by the bass region in the FR graph, these buds have very good bass. BTW, the FR was measured with HieGi full foams applied to the earbuds and IMO they sound best with those foams.

Build notes: The shells come with black horseshoe tuning foams. You will apply them to the inside of the shell covering the back vents. Here's the important part, the vent closest to the MMCX connector is where you'll start and end applying the foam, leave a small uncovered gap (1mm) at that vent. When snapping on the speaker cover to the shell, be sure to put the voicecoil upwards (opposite the MMCX connector).

Enjoy and if you do build a set of these Artiste buds please share your impressions. I think you will be impressed.

Build materials:
15.4mm MMCX Open Back Flat Earphones Shell (4 colors)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805988389365.html

68Ω Graphene driver
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805165081080.html

RY-C5 Silver plated 8 core (2.5mmBal, 3.5mmSE, 4.4mmBal)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800618505046.html

 

[trevdawg94]

i would like to give my two cents about Yincrow RW-2000, at least in this soundstage regard.
I have made a post in the past about being hyped for getting them, as they were featured in Woody's earbud timeline under the Earbud's for StageHeads, though i never have updated about what i thought of its stage.

There's a openess to the stage of the RW-2000, it has (nearly) enough of all dimensions in my opinion, but is not as wide as some buds, though it has more depth than lots of them, still not enough for me to say it has enough depth though. In genral i think it has the most 3D-like stage of all store bought earbuds i had till present date (that statement was taken from memory, as i had not listened to any other store bought buds from a while, with the exception of the ones featured in this post).
DB1E is wider, and sounds more open, in some musics also more tall, but has less stage depth than RW-2000. As separation and positioning are better in DB1E, i generally use it for stage purposes instead of the previously mentioned, unless I need/want stage depth.
I don't think RW-2000 has the most impressive soundstage, but i think it is very good, and at the second place, after DB1E, that's on the first place. But it is very likely a preference matter.

In conclusion i would say that RW-2000 is warm, and a much more 'fun' bud, which sounds much, much more pleasing than DB1E, that is brighter and tinnier.

Now about your post:
I don't have the OpenHeart Nightingale, but by your descriptions of it, it seems that it is kind of v-shaped. So, if i am not not misunderstanding, i would like to point out that the Yincrow RW-2000 is warm, and have treble roll-off, or maybe just 'a lack of eventfulness in treble' (at least to me), so it may not be exactly what are you looking for. As for the Green Mamba its said that they are treble cannons with not much bass, so if you are looking for something bassy, maybe that's not the bud.

Song recomendations for imaging, layering and staging? Well, i generally use 'Yosi Horikawa - Letter' for everything above and 'Chico Buarque - Contrução' mainly for staging and timbre.

By the way, could you provide a link to OH nightingale?

Apologies upfront for any mispellings or anything that isn't coherent, my health took a nosedive the past few days. Don't be afraid to point out anything that doesn't make sense, I'm used to needing to clarify or rewrite what I've said when I'm not fully with it.

Somehow I completely missed your post, sorry about that. I think you're spot on about the RW2K not being as wide as other earbuds and I think that's what I was noticing with the OH Nightingale. The Nightingale definitely trades depth for width and I think that's part of what I'm noticing, maybe my hearing doesn't discern depth as well? Because I've never felt like any of Yincrow's buds have had that great of staging regardless of source, though I think I've noticed it somewhat with female vocals that are much more in your face with the OHN than the RW2K. But with the OHN I've also found multiple songs that have two or three seperate vocal tracks with distinctly different positions that I've never noticed on any of Yincrow's buds. I'm willing to give up some depth for a greater sense of width if you can't have both or need to spend a lot more to get the best of both.

I've been interested in the DB1E but hadn't looked very far into it, but after seeing some comments about the LBBS being somewhat similar to the Chaconne which is now on my short list thanks to a recommendation from @samandhi I've been giving K's earbuds a close look. As much as people love the LBBS I wasn't too keen on the fixed cable, especially since (I think?) at least part of it was braided which I'm not a fan of. The DB1E fixes that issue but I wasn't sure what it sounded like, but after reading your comments and doing some more digging I think it's definitely worth considering. It would be interesting to see whether anyone has ever compared the DB1/E to the Chaconne, I wonder whether the comparison between the LBBS and the Chaconne applies or not.

After listening to it more I would agree with that assessment of the OHN, I don't think I stressed enough in my other posts that the treble can be overwhelming and if I'm not feeling great then I can't stand to listen to them for very long. But when my hearing isn't affected by my health problems it's not as much of an issue. I think you're spot-on with that comment, while I definitely like the way the RW2K sounds and think that it makes a great all-around bud I think I'm looking for something that has a little more sparkle for the times when I can stand it. Yeah that's the impression I've gotten, the only thing that's kept me interested in them was a comment I found from @JAnonymous5150 over on r/headphones saying that they achieve 95% of what the Chaconne does. I know his opinion of the Green Mamba isn't what most people think of them but the chance they can achieve most of the same sound for 1/5th the price is definitely intriguing.

Here's a link to the OpenHeart Nightingale.


For everyone who's had suggestions of what I could try with the Qudelix 5K to try and figure out what frequencies are bothering me I appreciate the help. I've saved all of the posts and I'll try them when I'm feeling better and my hearing isn't out of whack.

 

[samandhi]

The recent comparison I did of the Nobunaga Uguisu (aka Nightingale) vs other earbuds prompted me to see if an excellent DIY "Nightingale" earbud could be built.

I think I've succeeded in that quest, so I present to you my "Artiste" earbuds which I'm sharing with my fellow earbud fiends here as another Drag-n-Drop build.

Spoiler: DnD build details

If you're new to DIY earbuds building / soldering, please click the "Soldering for Earbuds 101 - A Practical Approach" link in my signature. It's easy to build these buds and for the time spent you'll have an excellent sounding set of "Artiste" Nightingale earbuds. These buds have excellent tonality and absolutely no spike in the ear gain region. Also don't be fooled by the bass region in the FR graph, these buds have very good bass. BTW, the FR was measured with HieGi full foams applied to the earbuds and IMO they sound best with those foams.

Build notes: The shells come with black horseshoe tuning foams. You will apply them to the inside of the shell covering the back vents. Here's the important part, the vent closest to the MMCX connector is where you'll start and end applying the foam, leave a small uncovered gap (1mm) at that vent. When snapping on the speaker cover to the shell, be sure to put the voicecoil upwards (opposite the MMCX connector).

Enjoy and if you do build a set of these Artiste buds please share your impressions. I think you will be impressed.

Build materials:
15.4mm MMCX Open Back Flat Earphones Shell (4 colors)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805988389365.html

68Ω Graphene driver
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805165081080.html

RY-C5 Silver plated 8 core (2.5mmBal, 3.5mmSE, 4.4mmBal)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800618505046.html

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way those look brother. Congrats on another fine looking build!

For a drag-and-drop, do they sound as you had hoped, or do they need a bit of work, beyond not having a boosted upper mid (very hard to tell from the graph here)??? Also, is this the first that you have worked with that graphene driver? What is your opinion of it overall? (sorry for all the questions, as you know I don't/haven't build/built any, but I am always interested in such builds to at least see it in my mind's eye. )

Apologies upfront for any mispellings or anything that isn't coherent, my health took a nosedive the past few days. Don't be afraid to point out anything that doesn't make sense, I'm used to needing to clarify or rewrite what I've said when I'm not fully with it.

I am so sorry to hear that, and hope you get healthy very soon?!

 

[mt877]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way those look brother. Congrats on another fine looking build!

For a drag-and-drop, do they sound as you had hoped, or do they need a bit of work, beyond not having a boosted upper mid (very hard to tell from the graph here)??? Also, is this the first that you have worked with that graphene driver? What is your opinion of it overall? (sorry for all the questions, as you know I don't/haven't build/built any, but I am always interested in such builds to at least see it in my mind's eye. )

Thanks bro! It's my first build with a graphene driver. From what I've read about the 68Ω graphene driver, it's known as a mids / vocal driver. One AE store lists the driver for vocals and high frequency, while another mentions full frequency / vocals. I tried a few different shell and this driver combos and the final combo has the best synergy without tuning tricks. I sort of had an idea what to expect with the sound, but to be honest you never know until that first listen. I've been listening to different artist's music with these buds and they sound very good with a range of music from Bonnie Raitte, Eric Clapton, Euge Groove, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Led Zeppelin, Spyro Gyra.

 

[samandhi]

Thanks bro! It's my first build with a graphene driver. From what I've read about the 68Ω graphene driver, it's known as a mids / vocal driver. One AE store lists the driver for vocals and high frequency, while another mentions full frequency / vocals. I tried a few different shell and this driver combos and the final combo has the best synergy without tuning tricks. I sort of had an idea what to expect with the sound, but to be honest you never know until that first listen. I've been listening to different artist's music with these buds and they sound very good with a range of music from Bonnie Raitte, Eric Clapton, Euge Groove, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Led Zeppelin, Spyro Gyra.

Sounds like a lot of awesomeness in a small package.. Very interesting stuff there. I'm very surprised that because it is known as a mids/vocal driver that there really isn't any offensive presence region boost. Nice!

Now, if you can hear the phone ring (about 1:42) in Led Zeppelin's The Ocean (Houses of The Holy 1973) then you have pretty decent micro detailing. Better yet, if you can hear the squeaky drum pedal (throughout a lot of their music, but this song the whole thing), then I would suggest you not only have good micro detailing and micro dymanics for the head gear, but you would also have to have at least a decent source/chain as well. I never heard those things until I started getting into high end audio many years ago (which is why I suppose they never edited those noises out; you probably couldn't hear it in equipment from back then).

 

[qua2k]

Congrats on your new shiny!

Now that you've had a couple days with them, what's your impressions now? And did you go through AliExpress?

Anyway hope you're having a good time with your new flats!

Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time with them yet. I hope to have some more listening time either tomorrow or Monday.

Correct, I got them from AliExpress,

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832675927781.html

 

[h8uthemost]

Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time with them yet. I hope to have some more listening time either tomorrow or Monday.

Correct, I got them from AliExpress,

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832675927781.html

Thank you for the link! And I hope you'll post your impressions when you've had the time to get acquainted with them. I'm really interested in these.

 

[qua2k]

Thank you for the link! And I hope you'll post your impressions when you've had the time to get acquainted with them. I'm really interested in these.

As others have said, the pictures on AliExpress are deceiving. In the link above, pictures #1, 6 & 7 match what I received to the T.