[atomikn00b]

Sooooo.
either I got a dud, or what they've been saying about the YE's and the piston 3's being the same driver is completely wrong.
It's like the sound focus flipped positions with piston 3's drawing your focus to bass and YE's revealing more mids and treble.
 
Edit: YEP. It's a dud. I bought two since they were so cheap. A black and a white one.
There's sibilance and "neutral" bass in the white one. 
The black one on the other hand, while not as bassy as they 3's, definitely has more bass and less sibilance than the white ones.
 
If they really are the same driver though, I'm realizing how much mids and treble the bass focus of the piston 3's are hiding even though they are capable of producing more. While the piston 3's subbass and impact can be somewhat felt, the white YE's have reduced the subbass to the point where you're only hearing it, not feeling it. The black YE's have it somewhere between hearing and feeling. The black ones are so pleasantly balanced I think I'll prefer them to the regular 3's. I don't think either one of the two YE's are good for bass addicts though. 

 

[DaveLT]

What is a YE?

 

[thatBeatsguy]

What is a YE?

Pistons 3.0 Youth Edition.

 

[atomikn00b]

After half an hour of comparison between the two Piston 3 Youth Editions that I got, it's clear the sounds are different. They're so cheap though ($9) I'm going to order another one to see. Only downside is it might take a month to get to me, but it'll be good to see if it's a QA issue. I'm actually pleased with the highs and mids of the white YE's, but it's missing the bass impact I've come to enjoy from both the piston 2.0 and 3.0. Unfortunately I also find that switching from the white YE's to the black ones makes me miss those highs and mids while I'm enjoying the modest amount of bass from the black ones. Vocals sound forward and somewhat intimate from the white ones while playing Adele's Someone Like You while laid back and adding some huskiness to Adele's voice on the black ones. Even though cymbal crashes don't sound right (they didn't with the original 3.0's for me anyway) I actually think the white piston 3 YE's that are in my hands right now are great at being all rounders in comparison to the black ones which definitely lean more towards the bass side of the sound spectrum though not by much.
 
I loaned the original piston 3's to a friend and won't be getting it back till Monday. I'll compare all three when I have them.
I don't know why the two Piston 3 YE's I have sound so different. Like I said, I'm buying one more to figure out which is the true signature the YE's are supposed to have. I'll also compare the current ones to the original piston 3's when I get it back on monday.
 
At least this way I have what I think are the best cheap and good earphones to pick from depending on my genre listening mood. 

 

[HiFiChris]

Xiaomi Piston Colorful Starter Edition, reviewed:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/xiaomi-piston-colorful-starter-edition/reviews/14505​

 

[Soul_Est]

Xiaomi Piston [COLOR=00FF00]Co[/COLOR][COLOR=0000CD]lo[/COLOR][COLOR=FFA500]rf[/COLOR][COLOR=FF0000]ul[/COLOR] Starter Edition, reviewed:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/xiaomi-piston-colorful-starter-edition/reviews/14505​

That was an excellent read. The remote for the every Xiaomi Piston will not work fully on a BlackBerry. The volume down button does not work. I have a 1More Piston 'Voice of China' coming from GearBest which should work. If they do work, we know that BlackBerry phones work with IEMs with controls that support Apple devices. I will update when I find out.

 

[HiFiChris]

@Soul_Est

Thanks for the feedback.
 
Whoa, nice to hear that there are still other BlackBerry users existing. If you want to, check out my BBM channel, I'd appreciate it (more info: http://www.head-fi.org/t/784610/phone-fi#post_11995671).

Does the volume up button work at least?
Still waiting for my Q10 to get back from repair, it's the best phone I've yet had for business purpose.

 

[IvanV]

Guys, sorry to ask what has been more or less covered before, but there's a reason for it. Is GearBest 100% certified safe? The reason I'm asking is that it has also been said that any price below $16 is a red flag and they are currently offering them at $12.83 - link.

 

[IvanV]

Sorry about the double post, but I actually have a technical question about these. With them having 32Ω impedance and not the highest sensitivity out there, would these be difficult to "drive" for a portable device (such as a Lumia 640 Dual SIM)?
 
The headphones I've used with my devices mostly have 16Ω impedance and higher sensitivity. On the other hand, I also have Sennheiser HD 201 headphones (24Ω) and they sound distinctly different when I'm using them with any mobile device, such as the phone or my old Sony Walkman mp3 player (lacking in bass and, well, most of everything else), compared to how they sound when played through my stereo.
 
So, should I be worried?!

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  Guys, sorry to ask what has been more or less covered before, but there's a reason for it. Is GearBest 100% certified safe? The reason I'm asking is that it has also been said that any price below $16 is a red flag and they are currently offering them at $12.83 - link.

Well, since you haven't read the multitude of posts answering your question, yes.
 

  Sorry about the double post, but I actually have a technical question about these. With them having 32Ω impedance and not the highest sensitivity out there, would these be difficult to "drive" for a portable device (such as a Lumia 640 Dual SIM)?
 
The headphones I've used with my devices mostly have 16Ω impedance and higher sensitivity. On the other hand, I also have Sennheiser HD 201 headphones (24Ω) and they sound distinctly different when I'm using them with any mobile device, such as the phone or my old Sony Walkman mp3 player (lacking in bass and, well, most of everything else), compared to how they sound when played through my stereo.
 
So, should I be worried?!

No. Unless your phone has very low power output, most mobile devices have no trouble driving headphones and IEMs with varying impedances. My iPod, for instance, has no trouble powering an AKG K240 (55 ohms impedance) to comfortable volumes.

 

[IvanV]

Thanks a bunch for replying to both posts.
 
I did actually read a multitude of posts recommending GearBest, but I've also read a few saying any price below $16 for these 'phones was a red flag, this reply to a post that recommended GearBest, Penon Audio and Geekbuying as safe saying that two out of those three have been blacklisted (and I don't think they meant Penon Audio) and a few complaints on other sites where customers said that devices received from GearBest did not have specs as ordered (usually Android devices), so I wanted to be safe that there hadn't been a new development. So thanks for clearing that up for me.
 
Also thanks for the other reply, I don't know why the HD 201 is being so difficult then, but it makes sense that a pair of earbuds would work fine off a mobile device.

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  Thanks a bunch for replying to both posts.
 
I did actually read a multitude of posts recommending GearBest, but I've also read a few saying any price below $16 for these 'phones was a red flag, this reply to a post that recommended GearBest, Penon Audio and Geekbuying as safe saying that two out of those three have been blacklisted (and I don't think they meant Penon Audio) and a few complaints on other sites where customers said that devices received from GearBest did not have specs as ordered (usually Android devices), so I wanted to be safe that there hadn't been a new development. So thanks for clearing that up for me.

Yeah, most sellers selling their Pistons below $16 (the MSRP) is, in fact, a red flag, but as you should have seen in the product page, they were holding a sale. The regular price before than was about $20, if I remember correctly.
 

Also thanks for the other reply, I don't know why the HD 201 is being so difficult then, but it makes sense that a pair of earbuds would work fine off a mobile device.

Well, the reason why the HD201 lacks bass from your portable sources is because, well, the HD201 really does sound like that. Crappy bass, distortion everywhere, etc etc.. The reason why they sound better off your stereo is most likely because of the stereo itself and its amp tuning. I'd like to explain it to you here, but then that would make me stray off-topic, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[U-3C]

Just got my hands on a pair of 1More's "Voice of China" edition Piston 3's!!!!!
 
And YES THE VOLUME CONTROLS ON THE VOICE EDITION WORK ON BOTH iOS AND ANDROID!!!!!
 
Moving from Apple Earpods and a pair of Skullcandy IEMs that I got about 2 to 3 years ago out of ignorance, I must say that the treble is a bit strong for me, but I'm getting used to it. I wonder how it will go after a bit of burning in. Still, gosh, what an upgrade! I'm noticing sounds in songs that I never knew existed, even though I've listened to them carefully for over a year.
 
Also, I was prepared to hate the looks of these because I really preferred the black, minimalistic design of the original Piston 3's over the bold, flashy red and black colour scheme, but HOLY **** they look gorgeous...they don't smell like chocolate though, just like what people are saying about the original Piston 3's.  (>;v>

 

[fallrsk]

@U-3C the site you used is banned from the forums, edit out the name before your post is deleted and/or flamed, just a heads up.

 

[U-3C]

@U-3C the site you used is banned from the forums, edit out the name before your post is deleted and/or flamed, just a heads up.

 
Sorry about that, I didn't know they were banned. I took the name out. ;_;