[kiteki]

Final Audio Piano Forte II

 

[marlonmarabe]

that gave me a good LOL
 
Quote:

Final Audio Piano Forte II

 

[kiteki]

that gave me a good LOL

 
Why?  There is a guy in Singapore which uses JH16 at home and PF II outside.
 
swbf's review looks positive
 
"They are very light but feel very hallow. Heavily lacking bass, bordering an unbalanced sense due to its mids and highs being very large and spacious sounding. The quantity is small and the quality is the same as the stock sansa mp3 player earbuds. While it may not be the cleanest sounding, it has an impressive range in the highs. I found the highs to be more enjoyable here than on any of the Yuins, as well as the mx880. The forte is surprisingly clear, the "missing" bass helps boost the clarity of the highs and mids, makes them seem very clear.
 
Believe it or not, the stage is very large and spacious, immersion is excellent , It is a natural presentation that is very forward. In terms of soundstage size, it is very tall and not so wide. In terms of height, it competes with the big boys, but in terms of width it falls short and possibly extending beyond my ears. I still haven't decided if it is real or not, I cant tell. So, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and will show the image with slight extension.
 
Excellent presentation with great lively stage, considering the price, its very impressive for what it offered. Natural placement, above average sound quality, but off balance due to the lack of bass making the experience odd."
 
 
Final Audio makes the most expensive IEM's in the world, so for less than $50 it's pretty good!
 
It has proprietary 15.5mm drivers which Final Audio makes themself, unlike some Chinese companies which just tweak Fostex or Sony drivers and put them in plastic OEM housing.

 

[kiteki]

Another thing, for $20 I don't think you can find an earbud better than a Sony or Apple.
 
You really have to spend $35 for a Yuin PK3 or a bit more for something like the Final Audio.
 
I think Hisound is the newest player in earbuds, Blox went out of stock a while ago and most companies focus on IEM's now which are much more popular.

 

[JK1]

Initially I hated IEMs, however now I am used to them. If the isolation isn't a problem, then getting an IEM rather than traditional earbuds is a good idea. I still use traditional earbuds and keep the volume low then I am walking through traffic, but at other times, especially when I am sitting I use an IEM.
 
If you want traditional earbuds that are cheap, the Sony MDR-E828 is the first one that comes to mind. For around $8 it has plenty of bass. At higher volumes some distortion is audible, but at lower volumes it isn't really an issue. Of course this isn't as good as the Sennheiser MX580, althought the MX580 is now around 4x the price.
 
If you do decide to get some IEMs(and perhaps also the Sony E828) some good IEMs under $25 are the Panasonic RP-HJE355($19) which has great clarity and detail, the Panasonic RP-HJE450($24) which has more bass impact than the HJE355 but not as much clarity, the JVC Riptidz($8) nice balance sound, sweat and water resistant, and the Panasonic RP-HJE140($8), which has decent bass but not as much as the HJE450, and also less detail than the HJE450.

 

[kiteki]

Initially I hated IEMs, however now I am used to them.

 
I agree, almost everyone is skeptical of IEM's at first, but they eventually get used to them and realise how amazing IEM's are!  I know Jlox is in the US and likes hip-hop, he might like the JVC FXC51 which is $26 on amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAFXC51R-Headphones-Micro-HD/dp/B003XQRN6W/, good for the price and a good introduction to IEM's, this one is comfy.
 
 

Originally Posted by JK1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
If you want traditional earbuds that are cheap, the Sony MDR-E888 is the first one that comes to mind. For around $8 it has plenty of bass.

 
$8?  I think you're talking about a fake.  I bought mine on a special sale in a Sony store for around $50, and it doesn't have much bass btw.
 
The E888 uses bio-cellulose diaphragms which can take up to a week to make in a lab, they cost a lot more than $8.  For $8 you can get the basic Sony's like E737 or whatever, or E930/931 for around $20 I think.

 

[JK1]

That was a typo. It should have read Sony MDR-E828 for $8.
 
I also have the E888 though which is amazing, however it is very hard to find now, and is over $75 if you do find it. There are many fakes around.

 

[kiteki]

Oh, yeah I have the E828, for under $10 it's pretty amazing lol, after all Sony invented the earbud... and they eventually bought all the secret Aiwa labs and took over their technology too.
 
I'm not sure how random Chinese companies are supposed to compete by making an earbud from scratch, the answer is... they don't. =p  They take a Sony driver, and spray titanium vapour on it.