Earbuds Round-Up

[mt877]

Just ask Riku! I think he will know best.

Something else:
I received the RW3000, listening to it now.
Surprised by the amount of bass this one has. Wasn't expecting that!
The cable is indeed very nice, the hardware and interchangable plugs are great. It is a somewhat standard mmcx cable however in that it is an 8 strands and has a weave and weight as many aftermarket cables. So it is indeed a little heavier and thicker than I like. Great cable nontheless!

Congrats and welcome to the Yincrow RW series family! Of course I say this without even knowing how you feel about the buds, but I hope they make a good impression on you. After you've had some time with them, maybe a DBX vs RW3k comparison is in order. I don't think you could lose with either one of them, but that's just me.

 

[h8uthemost]

Just ask Riku! I think he will know best.

Something else:
I received the RW3000, listening to it now.
Surprised by the amount of bass this one has. Wasn't expecting that!
The cable is indeed very nice, the hardware and interchangable plugs are great. It is a somewhat standard mmcx cable however in that it is an 8 strands and has a weave and weight as many aftermarket cables. So it is indeed a little heavier and thicker than I like. Great cable nontheless!

Congrats on your new shiny! I feel like I'm kinda missing out by not having a RW set. Maybe someday I'll get the RW-2000. According to reviews I think that'll be more to my liking. But yes, please let us know what you think as soon as you can!`

 

[uncletim]

looking for USB-C earbuds with a Mic? For girlfriend, no 3.5 on new phone.

 

[h8uthemost]

looking for USB-C earbuds with a Mic? For girlfriend, no 3.5 on new phone.

NiceHCK Traceless . You can get it in Type C and with a mic. I have a pair and they're not bad at all. Kind of bassy. They're a fun listen to.

 

[samandhi]

looking for USB-C earbuds with a Mic? For girlfriend, no 3.5 on new phone.

Or you could use just about any set with a cheap dongle/adapter. Like one of THESE if she has an iPhone, or one of THESE is it is android. (disclaimer- I have tried neither of these, but there are just to give you an idea of what exists).

FiiO FF3S also come with an adapter (USB-C, not Lightning though).

 

[uncletim]

Or you could use just about any set with a cheap dongle/adapter. Like one of THESE if she has an iPhone, or one of THESE is it is android. (disclaimer- I have tried neither of these, but there are just to give you an idea of what exists).

FiiO FF3S also come with an adapter (USB-C, not Lightning though).

Thanks for this, she uses android, small ears so not easy. with the right dongle she could use her current buds that work fine, just has to support a mic.

I like the idea of USB-C earbuds

 

[samandhi]

Thanks for this, she uses android, small ears so not easy. with the right dongle she could use her current buds that work fine, just has to support a mic.

Yeah, I believe that the set that I linked (android) version does indeed support mic as well. I don't know about the sound quality though.

 

[mt877]

Thanks for this, she uses android, small ears so not easy. with the right dongle she could use her current buds that work fine, just has to support a mic.

I like the idea of USB-C earbuds

I found these YDSmall USB C earbuds with mic on Amazon. The buds are from NICEHCK, so may not be so bad. According to the description the buds are intended for people with smaller ears, so may work well for your GF.

 

[SomeEntityThing]

Here is my short review of the Lun Sheng YE05 and Aeolian earbuds. I recently got bitten by the earbud bugs and purchased 5 inexpensive earbuds from NiceHCK, Fransun, and Lun Sheng. I bought the YE05 about a month ago and the Aeolian a few days ago.



Excuse for buying the YE05: After I bought the NiceHCK YD30 and Fransun earbuds, I was surprised by their relatively high quality of sound (especially the latest Fransun model with gold plated cables). I would like to try a slightly higher tier model, still cositng below CNY100, for easy listening before/during bedtime. My requirements would be a balance sound signature and low profile earphone case which does not protrude outside my ears too much, so I can lie on the side on my pillow wearing the earbuds comfortably. I chose the YE05 after its low profile case, beautiful full metal construction, carbon element drivers (similar to the NiceHCK B70?) and the favourable comments found on the Lun Sheng taobao shop. I ordered the YE05 from the Lun Sheng taobao shop. I even purchased an custom made a 1.6m MMCX cable (costing more than the YE05) to be used with YE05 for its upcoming bedtime duty.

The YE05 model name 風輪, actually means "wind mill" in Chinese, which is illustrated by its grill cover design.

About the YE05 audio performance (driven by my CS43131 dongle from phone and PC, the same "Player2" model from the Luling Aliexpress store, with the SPC litz upgrade cable):The YE05 does not disappoint me. It has a smooth FR profile with no treble peak, nor excessive mid bass. The sub-bass does need some 15 burn-in hours to be opened up. After the 15 hours burn-in period, the YE05 gives a smooth, non intrusive, sound signature with enough dynamics and micro details for its bedtime duty. The YE05 is slightly warm due to its slightly slow sound decay in the mid and bass frequency range, but it doesn't sound congested. Overall I found the YE05 both neutral and natural sounding and like it quite a bit. The performance of the YE05 justifies my purchase of the upgrade cable costing more than it.

Initially the smaller 14.8mm driver case of the YE05 does not give my enough seal for proper bass response. Then I bought the Fiio FF3/FF5 rubber rings to use with the YE05 together with sponge foam covers, to have the bass returns to proper level.

Excuse for buying the Aeolian: I followed the Lun Sheng taobao store after the satisfactory YE05 purchase. I found the Aeolian was heavily discounted the other day and was intertested to try out the Piezo drivers sound for cheap.

The Aeolian model name 風鈴, actually means "wind chimes" in Chinese, which is illustrated by its case profile.

About the Aeolian audio performance (driven by my CS43131 dongle from phone and PC, the same "Player2" model from the Luling Aliexpress store, with the JCally EP05 SPC cable): The Aeolian does sound like its name, like a pair of wind chimes. Every notes across the frequency range, including the bass section, are played with a layer of air wrapped around. It is almost like you have the reverb effect turned on with your player, but not quite exactly the same. I find the Aeolian's main sound notes actually decay quicker than the YE05, yet with its "airness" harmonics extends longer, yet without costing congestion. I suspect there is no crossover between the dynamic and Piezo drivers in the Aeolian and both drivers are just connected in parallel, as the airness extends to the bass frequency section.

Initially I felt the Aeolian sounding bright, but later I found there is acutually no treble peaks. I also would not call it sounding thin as there are plenty of harmonics filling the air space like how a tube amp sounds. The Aeolian have less sub bass extension comparing to the YE05, and also resolves a bit less detailed. However, the Aeolian still performs above the "base level" earbuds from NiceHCK and Fransun in technicalities.

I do not need to use any rubber ring with the larger and thicker driver cases of the Aeolian to have good seal.

Overall I like the Aeolian as a pair of "special effect buds" for its price. The Aeolian sounds very pleasing with the right music. Listening to Baroque organ and harpsichord with the Aeolian and you'd feel like being inside a 17th century cathedral. Listening pop/rock music with the Aeolian and you'd feel like being in an outdoor concert.

Be aware of the Aeolian MMCX sockets may have some compatibility issues. I initially purchased the Aeolian with another JCally MMCX cables from the Lun Sheng store. The store then told me the cable I chose cound not be plugged into the Aeolain and substituted with the SPC cable used by the JCally EP05 earbuds and refunded the price difference to me.

I know this post was from a while ago but I wanted to say thank you very much for the detailed writeup on both these models. I've been looking into earbuds for the same nighttime duties you were looking to fill with earbuds and I picked up the Aeolian Bells for around $6 CAD (just the earbud heads) with a coins discount out of curiosity. I could get the YE05 for around ~$15 CAD using the same discount system but I wanted to look up feedback on them first. Has the build of both models - particularly the MMCX sockets - held up over time? I'm a little nervous about the MMCX sockets on the Aeolian Bells but I have a few cheap spare cables in reserve so I'll probably find a way to make things work.

 

[lordearl]

I know this post was from a while ago but I wanted to say thank you very much for the detailed writeup on both these models. I've been looking into earbuds for the same nighttime duties you were looking to fill with earbuds and I picked up the Aeolian Bells for around $6 CAD (just the earbud heads) with a coins discount out of curiosity. I could get the YE05 for around ~$15 CAD using the same discount system but I wanted to look up feedback on them first. Has the build of both models - particularly the MMCX sockets - held up over time? I'm a little nervous about the MMCX sockets on the Aeolian Bells but I have a few cheap spare cables in reserve so I'll probably find a way to make things work.

I can't comment about the Aeolian Bells as I don't own it but the YE05 is to me a budget gem, I've enjoyed it as a casual listening bud for quite a while now. Sure, it's not at the same level of detail as the EB2S Pro but the flexibility of the detachable cable and a bit of extra bass compared to the EB2S Pro makes it a great set to just throw in your backpack for listening on long journeys without having to cry too much if you accidentally leave them somewhere!!

 

[samandhi]

I know this post was from a while ago but I wanted to say thank you very much for the detailed writeup on both these models. I've been looking into earbuds for the same nighttime duties you were looking to fill with earbuds and I picked up the Aeolian Bells for around $6 CAD (just the earbud heads) with a coins discount out of curiosity. I could get the YE05 for around ~$15 CAD using the same discount system but I wanted to look up feedback on them first. Has the build of both models - particularly the MMCX sockets - held up over time? I'm a little nervous about the MMCX sockets on the Aeolian Bells but I have a few cheap spare cables in reserve so I'll probably find a way to make things work.

I own the A-Bells (@mt877 does as well), and if you do a search on this thread, there are some few impressions on these (which include quality thoughts as well as sound impressions). There was complaint that the MMXC connector came out of the shell when one user tried to disconnect the cable from the shell. I think the problem was that the tabs that hold the connector in, is made of plastic (on a metal connector, you do the math haha). I have had 0 problems with mine on that front, but I found a decent cable to attach to them and have never removed them since that time. I have had mine since August of 2023...

 

[mt877]

I can't comment about the Aeolian Bells as I don't own it but the YE05 is to me a budget gem, I've enjoyed it as a casual listening bud for quite a while now. Sure, it's not at the same level of detail as the EB2S Pro but the flexibility of the detachable cable and a bit of extra bass compared to the EB2S Pro makes it a great set to just throw in your backpack for listening on long journeys without having to cry too much if you accidentally leave them somewhere!!

I just looked at some pics of the YE05 buds and from what I could see, they are using the same shells as the Artiste.

 

[samandhi]

I just looked at some pics of the YE05 buds and from what I could see, they are using the same shells as the Artiste.

It IS a good shell as far as I am concerned.

 

[SomeEntityThing]

I just looked at some pics of the YE05 buds and from what I could see, they are using the same shells as the Artiste.

Looking back at this thread, it seems the shells are from HuaYunxin and are sold independently for DIY projects. They do look quite pretty and certainly unique amongst the wide array of generic plastic casings on AliExpress.

I can't comment about the Aeolian Bells as I don't own it but the YE05 is to me a budget gem, I've enjoyed it as a casual listening bud for quite a while now. Sure, it's not at the same level of detail as the EB2S Pro but the flexibility of the detachable cable and a bit of extra bass compared to the EB2S Pro makes it a great set to just throw in your backpack for listening on long journeys without having to cry too much if you accidentally leave them somewhere!!

Excellent to know, thank you. I'm still quite new to this earbuds rabbit hole having used IEMs and headphones for most of my music listening, so I would like some beater pairs on the cheaper side of the earbud spectrum to familiarize myself with what to expect. I love details on the high-end but I don't mind something a little bassier to start, especially since I've heard earbuds aren't usually in the same ballpark as IEMs when it comes to bass, especially sub-bass.

I own the A-Bells (@mt877 does as well), and if you do a search on this thread, there are some few impressions on these (which include quality thoughts as well as sound impressions). There was complaint that the MMXC connector came out of the shell when one user tried to disconnect the cable from the shell. I think the problem was that the tabs that hold the connector in, is made of plastic (on a metal connector, you do the math haha). I have had 0 problems with mine on that front, but I found a decent cable to attach to them and have never removed them since that time. I have had mine since August of 2023...

Noted, thank you too! A shame to read about the plastic tabs, but I'll pick out a hopefully dedicated cable like you did and stick with it. Apparently, there are two versions of this model and I don't know which one I picked up, but if mine can last as long as yours have so far without the drivers themselves dying or anything I think I'll be happy for what I paid hahaha. I read the sound is on the brighter and airier side so I think it's right up my alley.

 

[samandhi]

Noted, thank you too! A shame to read about the plastic tabs, but I'll pick out a hopefully dedicated cable like you did and stick with it. Apparently, there are two versions of this model and I don't know which one I picked up, but if mine can last as long as yours have so far without the drivers themselves dying or anything I think I'll be happy for what I paid hahaha. I read the sound is on the brighter and airier side so I think it's right up my alley.

You are welcome!

Yes, they are north of neutral as far as brightness is concerned, but I don't find them to be either shouty (upper mids/lower treble) nor sibilant (mid treble to upper treble). There really is something addictive about the sound on this set, and for the money I paid, I would certainly buy them again (should I need to). Not everyone is a fan of the sound of these, but I am. And, short of potential issues with those connectors mentioned, they are built like a tank (all metal shell).

Since this is a sister branch of Smabat, it is a bit disappointing to me because if Smabat's buds were tuned this way, but had the refinement of their TOTL drivers, this would be a real winner IMHO. Though I DO enjoy (to a point) their contemporary buds, it has been since the M2s Pro and ST10S (for me) since they had really good sound from a bud.