[channum]

Someone with with Yuin PK2s and $10 to spare tell me if I've lost my mind. Last year I bought a set of Yuin PK2s based on the copious recommendations here on head-fi.

I loved them, they had amazing sound quality for the price (relative to what I'd experienced at any rate) and were only a small step down from the Audio Technica ATH-EC7s I'd been using for the previous two years (but much cheaper).

The short version is that I'm now on my second replacement for cord failure at the headphone jack and while I was sans Yuins I wound up picking up a set of the JVC HA-F130 "Gumy" series for $10 at Wal-mart. After sticking a set of foamies on them (used some of the Yuin donut ones), I got to using them. One of the first things I noticed is that they're vented at the back of the bud like the Yuins, something I had suspected played a big role in their SQ. The second thing I noticed after a day or two was they sounded as good as the PK2s.

I've swapped the two back and forth amped and unamped and, if there's a difference, it's so sleight as to be meaningless when there's a very real $60 price difference. Now, either for *just* the PK2/HA-F130s I've got tin ears, which I don't think since it's not like I lost the ability to discern SQ differences with my other gear, or the Yuin PK2s are just decent drivers in a housing that happens to make the best of them and then packaged well to make their high price seem like it's justified.

 

[AnGeLiCbOrIs]

I have never tried the PK2 but I simply love the F130. They have a great all-around sound and are an amazing value for the money. The FX33 got all the attention here as and amazing "bang for the buck" 'bud but I'd take the F130 in terms of SQ any day.

(Also, if you like the F130, try the HA-FX55)

 

[jant71]

When the earbuds that came stock with the Toshiba T400 were 80-85% of the PK2 and not even burned in yet, I decided to sell the PK2's.

I think earbuds are improving but no one really uses them much and don't notice.

Senn has new MX's, JVC has the new F107 and F207, AT and others have some new ones also.

The PK2's are not worth the $79 that they go for now. I liked them at the time but others have seriously caught up in the past 6 months or so.

 

[tstarn06]

Googled these phones for fun, and they are $3.99, I kid you not, on Amazon.com. Only the green ones.

 

[TickTockMan]

I'd like to hear the opinion of others who have A/B'd both of these . . .

 

[bestnaru]

This sounds interesting!! I could use earbuds that sound better than PK3 lol

 

[dazzer1975]

Amazon.co.uk: JVC GUMY In-Ear Headphone With Colour Cord - White: Electronics & Photo

1 pence, thats about 2 cents

 

[aris]

I have a pair of the F130s but lent them to a friend along with my sony dap
Now I have to ask for them back to compare against
pk3s, fx-33, fx-55 and cx300

Too many "bang-for buck" earphones I think it's time to move up to something better

 

[adkimemory]

In all honesty, I feel like our view of SQ is so subjective to an extent. In actuality, there isn't THAT much of a difference.

I bought the Pk2 expecting a lot, but after comparing them to my IPOD EARBUDs, I didn't find THAT much of a difference. Sure there was a difference, but the average listener like me isn't going to be scrutinizing every sonic detail when I'm listening to music.

I sold my PK2 here shortly afterwords... the ipod earbuds were enough for me
(blasphem on this forum, but I don't feel that the PK2 is improvement is worth the price)

 

[channum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adkimemory /img/forum/go_quote.gif II sold my PK2 here shortly afterwords... the ipod earbuds were enough for me (blasphem on this forum, but I don't feel that the PK2 is improvement is worth the price)

This could be subjectively true, but you must admit it's hard to argue with the improvement of the PK2s for 1/3rd the cost of iPod buds.

I cannot stand the iPod buds for music, the bass is just far too mushy and the high to low spectrum too imbalanced, it's why I grabbed the F130s on a whim and got one of the bigger surprises of my audio life. They don't fit quite as well as the PK2, but they've got the same clear soundstage and separation of instruments with a relatively balanced sound spectrum, for casual every day listening, you can't really ask for more, especially for less than $10.

 

[powertoold]

There isn't much a difference in some $30 headphones and $300 ones. Seriously, it's just a sound signature thing.

I have a $25 (Amazon sale) HD497 and the HD580s, and yes, the HD580s are better, but not by much. Head-fi'ers will tell me I need a home amp. Then when I get a home amp and still don't think it's much a difference, they'll tell me to get a more expensive amp. Then, when I get a more expensive amp, they'll tell me it doesn't have synergy. And so on, lol.

Also, iBuds are not much worse than say Super.fi 5 Pros, but the benefit of an IEM is that you get more isolation, etc.

Everything I say is in the context of a normal music lover. Sure, there are discernible differences, but for most, it isn't worth $100+.

 

[tstarn06]

Don't agree with the basic premise. I've been through a parade of portable phones, and I can hear a discernible difference between the $30 ones (Creative EP630s for example, or PX-100s) and $250 ones (Sleek SA6). The sound signatures and sound quality are so different, it's not even close to my ears. Now, that doesn't mean a $300 phone is 10x better than a $30 phone, and I am not an audiophile nor pretend to be one. But if I use any of my collection (the cheapest now is the AL 716 modded), they are far superior to the low-end phones I've tried. Mainly, it's on mids and highs, for me. I recently grabbed that pair of AL716s for $20 (today they normally are at least $50-$60, but originally cost more than $100), had them modded for another $20, and they sound fantastic. In fact, almost as good as the Sleeks. But that's an entirely different issue, since they were not meant to be sold for $20, nor modded.

The Ksc75s are a steal for $10-$15, no doubt. And if a pair of OEM iBuds does it for you sound-wise, then great. But I don't agree that generally speaking the difference between $30 phones and $300 phones is negligible and not worth the extra money. If that's your feeling, then I guess that's good, more gas money.

 

[souperman]

Hmm...even non-audiophiles on amazon don't give these THAT great of ratings.

 

[TenaciousO]

OMG. I just picked these up based on this thread, and I'm blown away. I had the PK2 a little while ago, and these really do seem to sound a lot like the PK2, although it's a little hard to say without doing a direct comparison. Even if they aren't as good, these are a no brainer at $10.

 

[channum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm...even non-audiophiles on amazon don't give these THAT great of ratings.

My theory: on average, the people picking up $10 phones wouldn't know the difference between a triple.fi and a marshmallow, and the people who do aren't picking up $10 phones. It was almost random chance that I tried them: My only functioning earbuds when I grabbed them were iBuds, which I strongly dislike for listening to music. I was too broke to afford another $50-$150 for earbuds when I had other perfectly functioning gear so I took a $10 chance based on having seen someone call them good for the money once; my only goal was to beat the iBuds.