[SymphonyX7]

Hmm...I can buy the Philips SHE 3580/3590 for less than 8$ and they are available right now. It is really in my budget. (Meaning I don't even have to beg from my parents for this one,oh I am 13 lol) So what say? I might just wait for the pistons but if these are worth a shot I might just go for the pistons next time around. Thanks!

If you're not particular about using an equalizer, you're better off with the Pistons 2. But for under $10, the 3580 remains king along with the Monoprice 8320. I'm thankful for the 3580. It taught me how to equalize. When I first got my 3580, I honestly thought it was just above average. But when I started to play around with the equalizer, I was dumbfounded at what you could do. Hence, I include a pair's receptiveness to EQing when judging them. Admittedly though, not many earphones are receptive to EQing, so for me the 3580 is special in a way because could easily "bend" it to fit most tastes.

 

[YamaVega]

Hmm...I can buy the Philips SHE 3580/3590 for less than 8$ and they are available right now. It is really in my budget. (Meaning I don't even have to beg from my parents for this one,oh I am 13 lol) So what say? I might just wait for the pistons but if these are worth a shot I might just go for the pistons next time around. Thanks!

 
I say take the music colors, they are worth the shot.  For IEMs that are released this cheap, I envy your generation (your 13, I'm 30).  Before I left the hifi scene almost 10 years ago, the only affordable IEMs were the CX300, which I had for 2nd hand $40.  Compare them now to the Philips/Pistons, I feel ripped off.

 

[HawkEye0701]

Oh okay thanks guys. Well can you give me an idea how to fix my skull candys? I would love it if you guys can help me out. Its about time for result declaration so if pistons are available by then then cool else I'll try to ask my mom for some money hehe. (I live in India and here spending money on headphones seems like a waste of money to my parents) wish me luck. By the way if you know how to fix headphones just pm me as I won't like to bloat a pistons thread with these things. Thanks guys. Happy listening

 

[SymphonyX7]

Oh okay thanks guys. Well can you give me an idea how to fix my skull candys? I would love it if you guys can help me out. Its about time for result declaration so if pistons are available by then then cool else I'll try to ask my mom for some money hehe. (I live in India and here spending money on headphones seems like a waste of money to my parents) wish me luck. By the way if you know how to fix headphones just pm me as I won't like to bloat a pistons thread with these things. Thanks guys. Happy listening

What's wrong with your Skullcandies? Is left or right channel not working? If that's the case, it's usually just the copper core breaking apart at the end of the cable where the 3.5 mm jack starts. This usually happens because it suffers the most stress from repeated bending when moving around your music player (i.e. shoving them in and out of your pocket). When this happens, I either recable them entirely (if the cable is already short, like 1 meter) or I just cut off around 1 inch nearest the jack, then replace the 3.5 mm jack (if the cable is long, like 1.2 meters or longer). It will require that you know how to strip off a cable and solder. 

If you don't know how to solder or strip a cable, you should just buy the 3580 (now the 3590) if your budget is really limited. It's a shame Xiaomi doesn't sell the Pistons 2 in India. It appears that Xiaomi themselves selling the Pistons for even lower prices in various South East Asian countries like Singapore and Philippines. Around $15 iirc.

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  What's wrong with your Skullcandies? Is left or right channel not working? If that's the case, it's usually just the copper core breaking apart at the end of the cable where the 3.5 mm jack starts. This usually happens because it suffers the most stress from repeated bending when moving around your music player (i.e. shoving them in and out of your pocket). When this happens, I either recable them entirely (if the cable is already short, like 1 meter) or I just cut off around 1 inch nearest the jack, then replace the 3.5 mm jack (if the cable is long, like 1.2 meters or longer). It will require that you know how to strip off a cable and solder. 

If you don't know how to solder or strip a cable, you should just buy the 3580 (now the 3590) if your budget is really limited. It's a shame Xiaomi doesn't sell the Pistons 2 in India. It appears that Xiaomi themselves selling the Pistons for even lower prices in various South East Asian countries like Singapore and Philippines. Around $15 iirc.

LOL. I had a similar problem with my old Apple earbuds, my old SHE 3580s, and even my Pistons. All of them died the same exact way. Didn't really have much of a choice but trash them since I suck at recabling.
 
Also, I agree with you about the Pistons not selling in India. They're practically neighbours, and yet they don't have official resellers there yet. Maybe we'll have to wait and see. The Philippines actually only started selling the Pistons a couple weeks ago, so we might see them expanding to India pretty soon. Also, about $15 is the current retail price of the Gold and Silvery Pistons in Mainland China, so I would see why their official resellers would price them similarly.
 
I think that's kind of why I really, really love the Pistons. At their retail price of $15, there is really little notable competition other than the legendary Philips 3580s and the Monoprice 8320s. I loved the 3580s myself, but sadly, they died before I got the Pistons. At overseas prices of about twice that price, with the rapidly-growing competition, the Pistons are getting lost in the crowd. I think now I see your point about them not being very good giant-killers. 

 

[HawkEye0701]

Hmm...Fingers crossed.XIAOMIIIIIII C'mon...Well I have time till 11th Octo till I get the money to purchase a pair...(I am impatient So I don't know if I get the SHe's lol) Anyways my Left channel has a problem. Contacted a local dealer and he says he won't fix 'em. I am bad at re cabling but well it's better to try rather than let them go to the trash. A point to be noted- The left side has microphone too. Oh and TBG what do you think about the Real vs Fake comparision?

 

[thatBeatsguy]

Hmm...Fingers crossed.XIAOMIIIIIII C'mon...Well I have time till 11th Octo till I get the money to purchase a pair...(I am impatient So I don't know if I get the SHe's lol) Anyways my Left channel has a problem. Contacted a local dealer and he says he won't fix 'em. I am bad at re cabling but well it's better to try rather than let them go to the trash. A point to be noted- The left side has microphone too. Oh and TBG what do you think about the Real vs Fake comparision?

If you're talking about the one you linked to the Pandawill forums, it's almost senseless. The poster is comparing the 2.1 to the 2.0. Yes, the 2.0 mentioned is a definitely fake pair, but even then, it's not the revised 2.1 as there is an absence of the L/R markings. Even if there aren't any, it could very well be an original 2.0. Also, note the container with the tips. The tips on the fake ones have a pair of double-flanges, which the 2.0 also has. Also, the container uses the Phone and Note icons instead of the S/M/L, and there is no shirt clip. Those are all the charactersitics of the 2.0 before it was revised.
 
Also, the differences in the boxes really don't make sense as the one marked as fake actually has a very believable box from the 2.0 version. The 2.1 box did update the logo after they changed their name from Xiaomi to just MI, and the back side did have the old product features there.
 
I don't find that comparison very trustful, to be honest.

 

[HawkEye0701]

Oh okay thanks for bringing that to my notice. Well it is totally up to you but I know many questions will be popping up. But overall awesome job brother. Cheers!

 

[thatBeatsguy]

Oh okay thanks for bringing that to my notice. Well it is totally up to you but I know many questions will be popping up. But overall awesome job brother. Cheers!

Which is why I made this thread in the first place. The old Pistons Thread was filled with all sorts of people asking about these differences, and I thought I'd clear that up with the new OP.

 

[HawkEye0701]

Hey according to the reviews of SHE 3590 the cable is too microphonic is it true? They said that the cable makes a damn irritating noise even when its moved a little and the audio is in-audible is it true?

 

[luberconn]

hawkeye, also look into the knowledge zenith ed special edition.  they are under $10 and i think their build quality, style appear better than the SHE, and in the reviews i've seen, they sound better....but we all know that is subjective.  

 

[SymphonyX7]

Hey according to the reviews of SHE 3590 the cable is too microphonic is it true? They said that the cable makes a damn irritating noise even when its moved a little and the audio is in-audible is it true?

It's average. Most flat cabled IEMs have worse microphonics. If you really want to get rid of the microphonics, you could always wear them over the ear.
 

  hawkeye, also look into the knowledge zenith ed special edition.  they are under $10 and i think their build quality, style appear better than the SHE, and in the reviews i've seen, they sound better....but we all know that is subjective.  

I've got a KZ ED Special Edition and KZ ES coming in. I'll probably get them late next week.

 

[HawkEye0701]

Man this thread is super active. Replies are raining lol. When talking about headphones their is nothing "PERFECT" So yeah I'll need to just keep on researching or else that urge wonglt go off lol. I need to buy one before I get mad.

 

[r4tr4tr4t]

hey guys, anyone knows how the pistons compare to the carbo bassos ? because the latter are USD44 right now on amazon, just 20 bucks more expensive so if they are worth those extra bucks ill get em, if not i will just grab the pistons, thanks in advance !!

 

[spurxiii]

The KZED for under $10 has a better build quality than a lot of IEMs costing 10 times as much. It's surprising how well it's constructed. The SQ is quite good also but sadly not as good as IEMs which are 10 times as much. It's a typical v shaped signature that's more detailed than the SHE3590 but the SHE3590 has less mid bass bloat/bleeding into the mids and sounds more natural