[funniecow]

Recently I've been constantly finding threads with titles such as:

wow blown away
cheap cans that surprise
am I crazy?

All of them mainly discuss that IEMs and buds that are high priced and well known can be. Compared against cheap 10-20 IEMs/Buds that can be found at Best Buy and Walmart.

What are the standards? How are these cheap products able to compete with items that cost 50+ USD? Does this mean that we shouldn't even bother with high priced IEMs/buds and just settle for cheap stuff that are inside of Walmart?

I think the one that stands out the most is PK-1 being compared to a cheap 10$USD product and only winning slightly.

So what's going on?
What are the standards?
Which IEMs/buds have the best bang/buck ratio?

 

[funniecow]

Let me elaborate, I think headphones can change greatly in quality because of:

wiring
housing
materials

But it seems that all of these IEM/Buds seem to be amd eof the same material and the same type of plastic. The only ones that I think has a real differance would be livewires.

The threads have become mostly isolation or not type of things for the buds/IEMs.

 

[Chrispy]

Well, the JVC marshmallows are good, but I doubt they are better than even Shure's entry level IEM (Not that I've hear any canalphones other than the marshmallow end the SOny Ex-51, and the marshmallow is the better of those 2)

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by funniecow /img/forum/go_quote.gif What are the standards? How are these cheap products able to compete with items that cost 50+ USD? Does this mean that we shouldn't even bother with high priced IEMs/buds and just settle for cheap stuff that are inside of Walmart?

How do they achieve it? Two points to be made.

1: They don't.

2: Through dumb luck or unlikely convenience, designs end up shipping that have reasonable frequency response without any really annoying peaks or dips and without annoying resonances or irritating distortion, and this surprises us very much.

Take any of these giant killers and do an honest and well-amplified A/B test against any decent $150 headphone and they fall down immediately.

For example, the KSC75 sounds very coarse and imprecise in a direct A/B test against my QP85 floats - enough to make me rip the KSC's off my head in disgust - but if I'm just casually listening while browsing a flea market, there's nothing wrong with the KSC75.

 

[funniecow]

Does that mean that we should just give up on the items that cost less than 150$USD because they will only be less than mind blowing?

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by funniecow /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does that mean that we should just give up on the items that cost less than 150$USD because they will only be less than mind blowing?

That's up to you.

The most I've ever paid for a headphone was $120 after shipping and other considerations for a nearly-NOS K340, though.

 

[ClieOS]

If a person can get as much enjoyment from $10 'bud as PK1, than all the power to him/her. We all stick to what work best to our taste, that's the beauty of this hobby.

 

[natural_nut]

Well said ClieOS. Nice avatar btw!

 

[synaesthetic]

Everyone's ears are different. Some people just like bad sound. =P

 

[funniecow]

I was in the market for buying some pk's so when i read that thread I was outraged by the idea of paying trough the nose for something that will only beat 10$USD items by a little.

 

[synaesthetic]

What is barely better to one person may be leaps and bounds ahead to another, so don't think that one person's word is the end-all-be-all. Different headphones have different sound signatures and some will like others more.

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

I believe they were compared to the pk2 and not the pk1

 

[funniecow]

Still yet the price differance was HUGE!!!

ionno, I was just wondering if any of you guys will/did a thorough comparison at can jam.

 

[TickTockMan]

I'm guilty of posting favorable impressions of cheap earbuds lately.

In fact, I'm currently listening to Mozart on the $10 Gumys I picked up at WalMart today (due to reading some of the recent posts you are likely referring to on the Head-Fi forum), and am enjoying them quite a bit.

Do they sound as good as PK1s or PK2s? I have no idea, as I don't own, nor have I even heard any of the Yuin series.

Do they sound as good as my Etymotic ER-4Ps? No. But are they a perfectly acceptable substitute for the Etys when the near total isolation of deeply seated triple-flanged Etys is impractical? Absolutely.

Are they an excellent substitute for someone who can't afford or justify the cash outlay for a set of PK1s or PK2s (or whatever) that may or may not (based on personal auditory acuity or sound signature preferences) sound any better? For me, yes.

The fact is not everyone can afford a set of cans, IEMs, or earbuds that go much past the $25-$30 range no matter how much they want them or how much more incredible they may sound.

Does that mean they don't deserve honest reviews or impressions of gear that does fall into their price range from people that do have experience, even limited experience, such as myself) with pricier goods? Or that they don't deserve to be part of an interesting internet community such as Head-Fi? I would hope not. That way lies elitism and snobbery, which is generally not considered a desirable characteristic.

Personally, I would love to see a separate "Budget-Fi" forum page here on Head-Fi where people whose passion for music is high, but whose wallets are thin, could come for advice on how to get the very most out of their hard-earned money from people who are blessed with higher disposable incomes.

And considering that for me a tank of gas for my environmentally unfriendly '96 Bronco costs more than a set of PK2s shipped, I find my thoughts turning more toward the "acceptable substitute" category rather than the "here's my credit card, blow me away category" when it comes to this audio hobby.

Just my thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

 

[funniecow]

I'm not slaming cheap stuff, man look at my allowace 30bucks a week =(. And since I started dating a girl my money is gone in the first few days of the week.

I'm just wondering what are the set differances of the items being sold.

TBH I'm hoping the guy who won the lottery would put them up for another lottery so I'd have a chance to win them.