[kbear]

For people who are getting poor sound out of the QB3s, try reversing the buds left and right.  I find that when I wear them normally right/left as marked, they fit like crap and sound like it too.  But when reversed it's the complete opposite.  That's why I could swear LG manufactured them pointing backwards towards the front of the ear lobe instead of the back.
 
Of course by doing this the stereo positioning will be reversed.  Whenever you want accurate positioning like when watching movies, you can always wear the buds in the correct right-left position but rotate them 180 degrees for the ideal fit.  Yes the wires will be pointing upwards and you will look like a dork but hey it's better than nothing.

 

[Duncan]

My newly purchased QB3's didn't turn up today, which I'm disappointed by - but, the LG GS100 did, VERY different presentation to the QB2, they're not related at all...

Looking forward to tomorrow, when hopefully the QB3 rock up

 

[never satisfied]

My newly purchased QB3's didn't turn up today, which I'm disappointed by - but, the LG GS100 did, VERY different presentation to the QB2, they're not related at all...

Looking forward to tomorrow, when hopefully the QB3 rock up

What do you think about the sound right out of the box? When I first got the GS100 about a year and a half ago, I was REALLY disappointed in them because at the time I paid $45 for them and they sounded like a pair of gas station earbuds. The treble was really harsh, midrange seemed veiled, and the bass was there and very boomy, but it was fluid and lacking any detail. I bought them over the QB2 (which was a leap of fate since they were 2X the price and there were hardly any impressions) because Golden Ears gave them some really, really good scores. But after a major burn in and a switch to some foam eartips (non-Comply), it really started to shine. The veil was gone and it really gave me some fantastic detail and separation, bass tightened up, and the treble amazingly seemed to smooth out, albeit not by much but enough to let me forgive the occasional sibilance at higher volume. The foam eartips also helped smooth out any sibilance, while still letting in some bite on hi-hats and guitar strums. 
 
I'm listening to them right now out of my MBP on HIFI Tidal with the double flange eartips that came with my MEE M6. The plug is going bad, but the sound is very much refined now after 1.5 years of listening (but that may be psychological because I'm so used to the sound). Mids are creamy, treble is nice and bright but still with a hint of sibilance, and the bass is nice and boomy, but still lacking a little detail. Despite the negatives, they've satisfied me enough to still use them as my daily use phone on the go.
 
QB3 is definitely smoother and balanced overall, but unfortunately I lost them a few months ago. I remember them being much more fun to listen to than the GS100, but seemed less detailed since the GS100 is pretty treble heavy. 

 

[Duncan]

QB3 is definitely smoother and balanced overall, but unfortunately I lost them a few months ago. I remember them being much more fun to listen to than the GS100, but seemed less detailed since the GS100 is pretty treble heavy. 

This final thought of yours sums it up (the QB3 are now here too), the LG IEMs (all three that I have) seem to have a weird requirement to have the largest tips you can possibly squeeze into your ears to sound good...

The QB3 is the most 'neutral' of the three (makes me think I will end up with the AKG version!), I could genuinely see me listening to these long term out of the Samsung S7 as an on the go setup...

The biggest issue with the GS100 is its source dependency, I get exactly what you say with the S7, not much fun at all (whereas the QB3 sounds quite balanced) - but, good news you're telling me - with us being in such a small minority of users - I will stick them on my PC and leave them to burn in for a couple of hundred hours, and hope they balance out somewhat how you've found...

In the mean time - I welcome myself to the QB3 club

Edit... Couldn't help myself - haha



Cannot believe I've gone from having a pair of QB2s I didn't even know I had on Thursday to having (by the time the QB3AKGs arrive) four pairs of LG IEMs

 

[Francisk]

This final thought of yours sums it up (the QB3 are now here too), the LG IEMs (all three that I have) seem to have a weird requirement to have the largest tips you can possibly squeeze into your ears to sound good...

The QB3 is the most 'neutral' of the three (makes me think I will end up with the AKG version!), I could genuinely see me listening to these long term out of the Samsung S7 as an on the go setup...

The biggest issue with the GS100 is its source dependency, I get exactly what you say with the S7, not much fun at all (whereas the QB3 sounds quite balanced) - but, good news you're telling me - with us being in such a small minority of users - I will stick them on my PC and leave them to burn in for a couple of hundred hours, and hope they balance out somewhat how you've found...

In the mean time - I welcome myself to the QB3 club

Edit... Couldn't help myself - haha

Cannot believe I've gone from having a pair of QB2s I didn't even know I had on Thursday to having (by the time the QB3AKGs arrive) four pairs of LG IEMs

Lol.....my wife's been burning in my GS100 for 6 months and I still don't like the tinny top and bloated bottom sound. I still prefer the sound of the QB3 any time with the SpinFit large tips. You're not alone Duncan, I have 6 pairs of LG IEMs....Quadbeat 1, Quadbeat 1 Special Edition, Quadbeat 2, Quadbeat 2 Special Edition, GS100 and Quadbeat 3. The Quadbeat 1 Special Edition sounds the most balanced to my ears but the QB3 has the best fun sound signature with a nice sub-bass rumble without mid-bass bloat. Now I have one more to complete my collection....Qaudbeat 3 tuned by AKG....should I get it....should I not....mouse cursor hovering over the "BUY NOW" button 

 

 

[Duncan]

Do it, for the completionist in you

I'll add to the voices here, the QB3, whether gotten for free with a handset, or purchased, are a steal, if you get the fit right.

 

[Francisk]

Do it, for the completionist in you

I'll add to the voices here, the QB3, whether gotten for free with a handset, or purchased, are a steal, if you get the fit right.

Absolutely true....for the price, it's a total steal for the sound that the QB3 delivers. I actually rate the Quadbeats higher than the Sony MH1 (the proclaimed KING of budget IEM by many) or even the popular Xiaomi Piston 3. Btw I finally skipped the QB3 tuned by AKG because it's toned down around the sub-bass area where I find the most enjoyable part of the QB3 although AKG tuned the overall sound to be more balanced. I still have my Quadbeat 1 Special Edition to give me that balanced sound so I'll give the QB3 tuned by AKG a pass. Btw it still makes me wonder why Golden Ears gave the GS100 such high ratings and the frequency graph that they published doesn't even resemble the GS100's sound. I actually purchased the GS100 based on Golden Ears' review because their frequency graphs are normally accurate except for the GS100 so it's not for me. Here's the link to Speakerphone's frequency graphs of 3 of LG's best sounding budget IEMs.
 
LG Quadbeat HSS-F420 Special Edition: http://clarityfidelity.blogspot.my/2015/06/lg-quadbeat-hss-f420-special-edition.html
 
LG Quadbeat 3: http://clarityfidelity.blogspot.my/2015/05/lg-quadbeat-3-sample-measurement.html
 
LG Quadbeat 3 tuned by AKG: http://clarityfidelity.blogspot.my/2015/10/lg-quadbeat-3-tuned-by-akg-iem.html

 

[never satisfied]

  Lol.....my wife's been burning in my GS100 for 6 months and I still don't like the tinny top and bloated bottom sound.

I think these both may be the overall deal breaker for the GS100, but I guess source and tips really do help the GS100 sound very good. Still listening to them with my double flange MEE tips, but I decided to plug them into my Fiio K1 I primarily use for my AKG K240s on my desktop just for giggles... there really is some great detail in them. I can easily hear little details like minor background noises from the players, little plucks in guitars, even the slightest breaths in some of my Jazz and Classical music. The K1 plus the double flange tips really help smooth out the tinny treble peaks (it's still there, but a lot less) and bring in better detail. Bass is still bloated a bit, but it has its moments, for example with bass drums and toms, there's a certain punch to it that I really like, but that said, it still overpowers the lower mids and they lose clarity. Not perfect, but I'm willing to forgive its shorts if they can give this amount of detail that matches and even beats my K240s on some songs! 
 
It really doesn't take a lot to impress me though (my best headphone is my K240, and I've been using these as a "reference") so you guys probably have way better ears than me! 

 

[Duncan]

I don't care what the QB3 cost (£10 in my case), the fact that they can bring a smile to my face is priceless...

Well regarded by me, although the depth of fit is critical to the SQ these can provide, get it wrong, and they sound quite humdrum.

 

[Francisk]

I don't care what the QB3 cost (£10 in my case), the fact that they can bring a smile to my face is priceless...

Well regarded by me, although the depth of fit is critical to the SQ these can provide, get it wrong, and they sound quite humdrum.

Totally agree with you that the fit of the QB3 is very crucial to get a good sound out of it. Those who's not getting a good sound from it is definitely not getting a good fit with the QB3. My best advice is to find suitable tips that can give those ears a good fit.

 

[Duncan]

I wish I knew where the tips I'm using originated from, were in a bag in my backpack, no clue as to origin, slightly thicker than standard Sony tips, but the large ones in my case provide a perfect seal (there is slight suction when pulling them out of my ears)

 

[Francisk]

As for me, I've never been a big fan of the SpinFit ear tips but surprisingly it does wonders to the LG QB3. I don't get as good results with my Comply T200S tips which somehow shrinks the soundstage and tapers the high frequencies. The large SpinFit tips sort of balanced the QB3 sound with very detailed highs almost to the point of being analytical but yet still retaining the smoothness and widens the soundstage for me. The bass is without the usual over bloated mid-bass from most budget IEMs but yet retaining the sub bass frequency. I find this match the best after trying many different tips. As you can see in the photo below, I'm using the large SpinFit tips. You've got to be very careful with the insertion...it's quite shallow but you need to get a good fit. Without a good fit you'll lose the subs...too deep an insertion and you lose highs and bass with a nasal tone. Once you've got the fit just right then you'll be amazed how the QB3 sounds with the large SpinFit tips. I've not found any budget IEMs that comes close to this sound yet. I'm surprised that the QB3 has been unnoticed by many Headfiers here...I'm sure they don't know what they're missing here.
 

 

[Duncan]

I must have big ears, I have large spinfits too, but find these random tips to be this business - notice though, that I do not push the tip all the way onto the housing, at this point it provides the perfect fit / distance from the ear to get a balanced sound

[IMG ]http://www.head-fi.org/content/type/61/id/1629292/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]

 

[Francisk]

Yes the SpinFit size is a tad small, I wish they have XL size which I think will be perfect fit for me. Anyway, looks like we both have found the perfect match for our QB3 

 I tend to lean towards detailed analytical sound signature ala Etymotic ER4S but found that as detailed as it is, it somehow loses out on the lower registers. I hope their new ER4XR fix that. Having said that, the ER4S has always been my benchmark of a clear analytical flat response sound signature. I recently joined the Massdrop for the Hifiman RE00 IEM because I liked the sound of the RE400 but unfortunately the treble frequencies of the RE400 rolls off too early. I hope the RE00 fix that. For now, I'm very happy with my QB3 with the large SpinFit tips when I'm outdoors. I've found the QB3 and SpinFit tips combi gives the Dunu Titan1/FiiO EX1 IEM a good run for the money. The mids of this QB3 SpinFit combi sounds better and more forward than my Dunu Titan 1/FiiO EX1 and less mid-bass bloat too....though the Dunu Titan 1/FiiO EX1 has a better overall lower frequency slam but then again it's at least 3 times the price of the QB3 

 
I'm enjoying Sebastiaan Cornelissen, Rob Van Bavel and Frans Vollink's track "Me and Freddie" from the album "One Spirit" while writng this post 

 
 
http://www.fransvollink.nl/onespirit.html
 
I'm not in any way affiliated to Frans Vollink's band but I thought they're an amazing jazz rock/fusion band and they deserve to be heard.....just like the QB3.

 

[Duncan]

Agreed, an XL size would be perfect

Just been through my total selection of eartips, and these that I randomly found are by far the best - I wish I knew where they came from, I would happily buy more - just hope I don't lose them!

As always,. I seem to be late to the party, but - definitely happy that I got the QB3s, and hoping for big things from the AKG version