[chickenmoon]

The Periodic Be is my favorite IEM, I suppose I will have to try the urbanfun to see what I think.

edit: just bought it

That's the spirit!

 

[chickenmoon]

The problem is that hype get's so big that you really expect some magic from a budget iem, reviewers saying it's a high end sound and beating x times more expensive phones make me smile now. I think people tend to praise them even more due to it's low price and I do get it why many love them. It's fun to listen to, has nice low frequencies and a bit in your face attitude, but in the need to show off it reveals it's faults. You can do a simple test, play Charlotte Day Wilson - Work and try the same track on high end phones(YBF puts vocals all over the track, shouty and unnatural, ) It's go to IEM for fun listening and music enjoyment for those who will like this kind of "crispness" and coloring mid/high section.In todays age it seems a thing to extract more "micro details", having pin point imaging, leaving tonality, the real sound aside, but maybe going that route they wouldn't receive so much rave as they do now, or would they ?

Perhaps you could say what hi-end earphones you mean, that'd be interesting. Also, I think upper-mids boost isn't a trick to extract micro-detail, if it's any trick it's about boosting the perception of "clarity". I certainly find overall smoothness with upper-mids boost more natural than say lack of thereof coupled with a nasty treble spike like the EX-1000 or even the 1551 CU have or the treble "detail zing" other hi-end phones like the IE800 and T8iE have, I like the latter much more than the former though.

 

[Slater]

So I have 2 different pairs of Urbanfuns.

One pair was bought right after they launched, before they got as popular as they are now. That pair had a mmcx jack problem, so Urbanfun sent me one of the sets from the ‘new’ batch.

I knew for sure that the original pair contained the beryllium driver, because all of the original/early ones did. But I was never sure about the new pair though.

Until now.

Last night I removed the nozzle mesh on both sets and examined the drivers (or what I could see of the drivers).

First, let me say that the nozzle mesh is glued on with a fair amount of glue, and the mesh itself is one of the style that have bent/formed edges, like an upside down deep dish pizza pan. If you’ve ever removed the nozzle mesh from the KZ ZST you’ll know what I’m talking about. The reason I mention this is because it’s very difficult if not impossible to remove the nozzle mesh without damaging and deforming it. And once you do that, it’s extremely difficult to reshape it perfectly so it fits back into the carefully machined nozzle opening.

The lesson is to think twice before removing the Urbanfun nozzle screens. I was able to successfully reinstall the screens on 1 pair (although they were pretty mangled and ghetto looking), but on the 2nd pair I was not able to save them as they were bent up beyond repair.

Now, once you remove the nozzle screens, I will say that you can barely even see any of the driver! The nozzles are quite narrow and very long, so the driver sits deeply inside. In addition, the driver is covered by a metal plate, where the only part of the driver diaphragm you can see is through a tiny 2-3mm hole in the center of the metal plate. Basically just the center dome of the diaphragm.

It looks very similar to the beryllium driver below (notice the single hole in the center). Who knows, it may even be the same exact beryllium driver:



Anyways, beryllium diaphragms are shiny, so when you shine a flashlight on them they are reflective like a mirror. Bear in mind other diaphragm types appear the same, such as titanium. So you can’t necessarily tell a titanium diaphragm from a beryllium diaphragm just by looking at it. But the Urbanfun did not come with a titanium driver, so I knew this 1st set was definitely beryllium because my diaphragm was mirror reflective like the photo.



Anyways, the other diaphragm type the Urbanfun comes with is a magnesium-aluminum alloy (which they refer to as “noble metal”). Sure enough, the diaphragm on my 2nd pair (the ‘new’ ones they sent) looked different than my 1st pair. The color of the 2nd diaphragm was more of a milky silver, and most importantly it was totally dull i.e. not at all reflective like the beryllium diaphragm was.

Do you know how aluminum foil (that you use for cooking) has a shiny side and a dull side? That is exactly how each of my driver diaphragms looked when I shined a flashlight on them. The beryllium is highly mirrored and reflective and the magnesium alloy is dull and non-reflective.

I know these aren’t the best photos, but it’s all I could get. It is extremely difficult to photograph the drivers because of the size and depth of the nozzle, coupled with the small diameter of the exposed portion of the diaphragm, on top of the trying to shine a flashlight just right on the diaphragm, all while trying to get the camera to focus on the diaphragm and have everything show up properly haha

With that said, I was at least able to get photos where you can sorta see what I’m referring to. The magnesium alloy one isn’t the best though. It appears in the photo like it’s a gunmetal grey color but that’s just the lighting. It’s the same color as the dull side of aluminum foil. The key to the photos is the beryllium diaphragm is mirror/reflective and the magnesium alloy diaphragm is not.

Beryllium:


Magnesium-alloy:


Now, with the visual confirmation out of the way, the million dollar question is “Do they sound different?”

The short answer is, yes.

The long answer is, they are similar but there are very subtle differences.

The main and most noticeable difference is that the beryllium driver has a ridiculously deep and powerful sub bass extension. It’s probably one of the deepest sub bass extending earphones I own. The magnesium alloy driver doesn’t extend anywhere near as deep.

I did a frequency sweep and the beryllium easily hits below 10Hz, whereas the magnesium alloy rolls off hard at 20Hz.

The other differences, which are a bit more subtle, are that the magnesium alloy has better sounding and more pronounced female vocals vs the beryllium. Finally, the magnesium alloy version has a slightly more balanced sound (vs the beryllium’s more v shaped sound), due to a combination of a little less bass and the bump in female vocals.

I don’t know if the average person would be able to tell a difference without having both versions to directly A/B though. As I mentioned, the difference is pretty subtle. It should not be something to obsess about.

They both sound extremely similar, and I would be happy with either. Heck, if I wasn’t aware that they had different drivers, I would simply assume that the minor sound difference is simply normal variation between units.

A lot of people mentioned this with the Blons and Sony MH755 (and of course technically any earphones), where some units sounded better or different than others (this one is a little bassier than that one, this one has slightly clearer treble, etc).

That’s just the way the cookie crumbles when you’re dealing with something handmade and mass produced like ChiFi earphones.

Either way, I hope that answers some of the questions we have on the Urbanfuns, and clears up some of the confusion. Of course there’s no way for a seller to know which one is which, so if you are interested in an Urbanfun you’re just going to roll the dice and be happy with whatever version you get I suppose.

 

[genck]

Welp, solves that mystery

 

[FSTOP]

Slater, thanks for the time and effort to give us those details.
My set should be here soon. Not too worried about it, much less than I was 3 weeks ago when I ordered it, by recent perspective.

 

[courierdriver]

So I have 2 different pairs of Urbanfuns.

One pair was bought right after they launched, before they got as popular as they are now. That pair had a mmcx jack problem, so Urbanfun sent me one of the sets from the ‘new’ batch.

I knew for sure that the original pair contained the beryllium driver, because all of the original/early ones did. But I was never sure about the new pair though.

Until now.

Last night I removed the nozzle mesh on both sets and examined the drivers (or what I could see of the drivers).

First, let me say that the nozzle mesh is glued on with a fair amount of glue, and the mesh itself is one of the style that have bent/formed edges, like an upside down deep dish pizza pan. If you’ve ever removed the nozzle mesh from the KZ ZST you’ll know what I’m talking about. The reason I mention this is because it’s very difficult if not impossible to remove the nozzle mesh without damaging and deforming it. And once you do that, it’s extremely difficult to reshape it perfectly so it fits back into the carefully machined nozzle opening.

The lesson is to think twice before removing the Urbanfun nozzle screens. I was able to successfully reinstall the screens on 1 pair (although they were pretty mangled and ghetto looking), but on the 2nd pair I was not able to save them as they were bent up beyond repair.

Now, once you remove the nozzle screens, I will say that you can barely even see any of the driver! The nozzles are quite narrow and very long, so the driver sits deeply inside. In addition, the driver is covered by a metal plate, where the only part of the driver diaphragm you can see is through a tiny 2-3mm hole in the center of the metal plate. Basically just the center dome of the diaphragm.

It looks very similar to the beryllium driver below (notice the single hole in the center). Who knows, it may even be the same exact beryllium driver:



Anyways, beryllium diaphragms are shiny, so when you shine a flashlight on them they are reflective like a mirror. Bear in mind other diaphragm types appear the same, such as titanium. So you can’t necessarily tell a titanium diaphragm from a beryllium diaphragm just by looking at it. But the Urbanfun did not come with a titanium driver, so I knew this 1st set was definitely beryllium because my diaphragm was mirror reflective like the photo.



Anyways, the other diaphragm type the Urbanfun comes with is a magnesium-aluminum alloy (which they refer to as “noble metal”). Sure enough, the diaphragm on my 2nd pair (the ‘new’ ones they sent) looked different than my 1st pair. The color of the 2nd diaphragm was more of a milky silver, and most importantly it was totally dull i.e. not at all reflective like the beryllium diaphragm was.

Do you know how aluminum foil (that you use for cooking) has a shiny side and a dull side? That is exactly how each of my driver diaphragms looked when I shined a flashlight on them. The beryllium is highly mirrored and reflective and the magnesium alloy is dull and non-reflective.

I know these aren’t the best photos, but it’s all I could get. It is extremely difficult to photograph the drivers because of the size and depth of the nozzle, coupled with the small diameter of the exposed portion of the diaphragm, on top of the trying to shine a flashlight just right on the diaphragm, all while trying to get the camera to focus on the diaphragm and have everything show up properly haha



With that said, I was at least able to get photos where you can sorta see what I’m referring to. The magnesium alloy one isn’t the best though. It appears in the photo like it’s a gunmetal grey color but that’s just the lighting. It’s the same color as the dull side of aluminum foil. The key to the photos is the beryllium diaphragm is mirror/reflective and the magnesium alloy diaphragm is not.

Beryllium:


Magnesium-alloy:


Now, with the visual confirmation out of the way, the million dollar question is “Do they sound different?”

The short answer is, yes.

The long answer is, they are similar but there are very subtle differences.

The main and most noticeable difference is that the beryllium driver has a ridiculously deep and powerful sub bass extension. It’s probably one of the deepest sub bass extending earphones I own. The magnesium alloy driver doesn’t extend anywhere near as deep.

I did a frequency sweep and the beryllium easily hits below 10Hz, whereas the magnesium alloy rolls off hard at 20Hz.

The other differences, which are a bit more subtle, are that the magnesium alloy has better sounding and more pronounced female vocals vs the beryllium. Finally, the magnesium alloy version has a slightly more balanced sound (vs the beryllium’s more v shaped sound), due to a combination of a little less bass and the bump in female vocals.

I don’t know if the average person would be able to tell a difference without having both versions to directly A/B though. As I mentioned, the difference is pretty subtle. It should not be something to obsess about.

They both sound extremely similar, and I would be happy with either. Heck, if I wasn’t aware that they had different drivers, I would simply assume that the minor sound difference is simply normal variation between units.

A lot of people mentioned this with the Blons and Sony MH755 (and of course technically any earphones), where some units sounded better or different than others (this one is a little bassier than that one, this one has slightly clearer treble, etc).

That’s just the way the cookie crumbles when you’re dealing with something handmade and mass produced like ChiFi earphones.

Either way, I hope that answers some of the questions we have on the Urbanfuns, and clears up some of the confusion. Of course there’s no way for a seller to know which one is which, so if you are interested in an Urbanfun you’re just going to roll the dice and be happy with whatever version you get I suppose.

Thanks for this, bro! I just bought a set from DD AUDIO on Aliexpress. Don't know what type of driver coating I'll end up with, but I MUCH appreciate that you took yours apart to see the differences. Thanks for your always invaluable input. Whatever version I end up with, it's gonna really have to be something special to compete with my KZ ZS10 PRO and TFZ NO.3. Hope this set lives up to the hype. I'm sure it will...with certain kinds of music, just as all iem's do.

 

[genck]

Thanks for this, bro! I just bought a set from DD AUDIO on Aliexpress. Don't know what type of driver coating I'll end up with, but I MUCH appreciate that you took yours apart to see the differences. Thanks for your always invaluable input. Whatever version I end up with, it's gonna really have to be something special to compete with my KZ ZS10 PRO and TFZ NO.3. Hope this set lives up to the hype. I'm sure it will...with certain kinds of music, just as all iem's do.

That's who I bought mine from, I used Singapore post and their estimated date is 4/21 delivery. I've actually had really good luck with AliExpress in the past concerning shipping and usually get items in less than 2 weeks, but with the current situation who knows. I've ordered/received things recently and mail for USPS is still going at normal speed in the US, so if there is a lag it's going to be from their end. I'm also looking forward to hear it, whatever version that may be. I like to keep expectations low so that I'm never disappointed, lol.

 

[HerrXRDS]

Got my YBF-ISS014. So far nothing stands out to me about these and don't see myself picking them over any of my other more expensive sets. Compared to Blon, I don't enjoy them near as much. Might have some areas where they appear technical superior, like a sharper treble which also makes them more sibilant, but overall sound, tonality and pure enjoyment of the music isn't anywhere near Blon IMO.

 

[Slater]

I'm also looking forward to hear it, whatever version that may be. I like to keep expectations low so that I'm never disappointed, lol.

That’s the best attitude to have!

Got my YBF-ISS014. So far nothing stands out to me about these and don't see myself picking them over any of my other more expensive sets. Compared to Blon, I don't enjoy them near as much. Might have some areas where they appear technical superior, like a sharper treble which also makes them more sibilant, but overall sound, tonality and pure enjoyment of the music isn't anywhere near Blon IMO.

I think the UF does some stuff better than the Blon, and the Blon does some stuff better than the UF.

I can say that after doing the nozzle mesh mod to the Blon, I’m choosing the Blon every day now while the UF sits and gathers dust. At least until I’m ready to change things up and give some of my otter gear a turn.

 

[Nabillion_786]

I haven't done any "ABX" between the two so will refrain to comment on "absolute" bass quality between the two. One of the reason I like the UF a lot is that besides its, for me, pleasing overall tonal balance and clarity, I have no other earphone that renders toms in such a tight, tactile and well separated manner.

Technically, the fdx1 is easily the best iem I own. It has more speed, clarity and better separation then my other DD iems. The only drawback for me is that it lacks a little bit of meat in the sound but that would probably come at a sacrifice. It's also worth to know that this iem is soo dodgy to the point where I had to go through 3 fdx1 sets to find the one with less sound imbalance and no build quality issues. 100% all 3 sounded different and I'm beginning to think you have a worse pair as the sound escapes this iem ever soo easily through that dodgy build.

Its funny how my sound preferences are starting to change. Nowadays, my Kanas pro are getting most of the eartime as I feel is has the most beautiful vocals I've listened too but the fdx1 is used when I want the most clearest picture of everything.

 

[hakunamakaka]

Perhaps you could say what hi-end earphones you mean, that'd be interesting. Also, I think upper-mids boost isn't a trick to extract micro-detail, if it's any trick it's about boosting the perception of "clarity". I certainly find overall smoothness with upper-mids boost more natural than say lack of thereof coupled with a nasty treble spike like the EX-1000 or even the 1551 CU have or the treble "detail zing" other hi-end phones like the IE800 and T8iE have, I like the latter much more than the former though.

But that "clarity" comes at a cost, it is not smooth sound, neither an ear piercing, but I did get tired for a long listening session. I tested them against headphones which certainly is not high end sound either pm3, but it showed straight away why such enjoyment for music faded with YBF. For sure YBF is not a new WOW IEM, i put them in the same bucket as tin t2 which i bought few years ago(this even has slight edge for me as faults are better masked with more linear sound) I believe it even goes toe to toe with the blon that people are comparing it against, just I haven't heard of.

I don't want to drag on with where it fails as for the price YBF really try to impress, just don't see any point of buying it if you own good budget iem already, as it will not lift your sound to the new heights, just different sound signature. From my point of view if you really want a step up in sound better route is to save $ for a purchase instead of chasing every praised budget iem for hopes to hit the jackpot.

 

[dharmasteve]

But that "clarity" comes at a cost, it is not smooth sound, neither an ear piercing, but I did get tired for a long listening session. I tested them against headphones which certainly is not high end sound either pm3, but it showed straight away why such enjoyment for music faded with YBF. For sure YBF is not a new WOW IEM, i put them in the same bucket as tin t2 which i bought few years ago(this even has slight edge for me as faults are better masked with more linear sound) I believe it even goes toe to toe with the blon that people are comparing it against, just I haven't heard of.

I don't want to drag on with where it fails as for the price YBF really try to impress, just don't see any point of buying it if you own good budget iem already, as it will not lift your sound to the new heights, just different sound signature. From my point of view if you really want a step up in sound better route is to save $ for a purchase instead of chasing every praised budget iem for hopes to hit the jackpot.

Shows how subjective this is. I used the Tin T2 for a few months. Now I use the YBF and I find it better sounding. I hear it different to you because we all have different ears, perceptions, likes, dislikes etc, etc. There are many opinions that finalise themselves in 'do we enjoy and gain from our musical experience'.

 

[senegalas]

Appearantly linsoul insists that they sell berilium ones.

 

[YamabushiJapan]

Saw that. I have a pair from Linsoul currently in-transit. That being said, aside from opening them no way to really tell which driver they have.

 

[ErkH]

Appearantly linsoul insists that they sell berilium ones.

I think Slater's new batch was received before linsoul/DD-audio start selling YBF.
Those non-beryllium sets are supposes to be a imrprovement over beryllium sets accroding to CS of urbanfun.
Gathering infomation I found from threads of chinese forum,they start selling non-bery one from mid-december but will switch back to bery one at Feb 2020(delayed to march because of virus issue) due to many people asking them to sell the bery one.
I guess YBFs on aliexpress right now are bery driver since everyone wants the bery one.