Earbuds/Flathead Discussion

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by shotgunshane, Oct 18, 2016.

  1. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    I couldn't find a way to upload a photo, and I assumed it isn't possible (some forums have this restriction and it isn't uncommon).
    You can upload it to a photo sharing site (imgur, photobucket, flickr, etc) and use its url when you insert with the image button.
     
  2. music4mhell

    music4mhell New

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    Thanks for reply, i will use this method then....!!
     
  3. music4mhell

    music4mhell New

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    By the way guys, I received Cypherus CAX yesterday, but i have put them into burn-in.
     
  4. cocolinho

    cocolinho Acquaintance

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    Any update? Very curious about Cypherus stuffs but the price is... quite deep. Thanks
     
  5. music4mhell

    music4mhell New

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    Almost 100 hours burn in is done...I will share my impressions after full 200 hours burn in.
    I will compare side by side Black Zen, Cypherus CAX and HD650/6XX with Cardas cable....!!
     
  6. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    Any sound difference between Monk+ with mic and without? Also, how much leakage is there? I need to be able to listen at fairly low volume in silent room next to my wife in bed without her hearing. I can do this with Koss KSC75.

    @Deep Funk
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2017
  7. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    Haven't AB'd , but the mic version has a cheaper looking cable, lower sensitivity and dull sounding than the non mic version.
    Monk does not leak as much as the ksc75 but will need more power to drive at equivalent volume.
     
  8. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I've been thinking more about earbuds lately as I'm taking my dog on longer walks as the weather here warms up and the Anrdomeda is total overkill for taking out on dog walks, not to mention that it isolates so completely that I can't hear anything and there's lot of streets here without sidewalks. So I pulled out the lightning connector earbuds that I got with my iPhone and they're certainly not going to unseat any of my other headsets, but they do have a "just play it and get out of the way" aspect to them that I'm appreciating.

    Part of me is thinking I should try one of these better earbuds listed in this thread, but at the same time part of me is leaning towards ordering the wireless airpods, which I know won't be significantly better in terms of SQ but would be very convenient and easy to carry around. The name of the game here is convenience. With any third party earbuds I'd have to use the lightning->analog adapter which is just one extra thing I don't want to have to worry about (although I could just buy a spare and keep it plugged into the earbuds since they'd only be used with the phone).

    The benefits of the airpods are better overall integration with the phone, the benefit of a third party earbud is better sound. Still not sure which way I want to go yet.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2017
  9. Vanheim

    Vanheim Acquaintance

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    The auglamour rx-1 are okay-ish out of a phone. Not much treble, not much bass. Midrange is there but nothing special.
    But out of my Magni 2+Modi Multibit they sound f'ing mesmerizing. Somewhat reminiscent of the hifiman-400i magic mids but not quite the same level, you could say it carries the essence. Sounds much more refined and detailed than out of a phone to my ears. Nick Cave and Crimson King are getting increasingly addictive each time I listen to them with these. Pretty comfortable too.

    Donut foam works best for me, full foam sounds a bit hazy and muffled, completely bare sounds anemic and is uncomfortable.
    Thanks @Abhishek Chowdhary for the recc!
     
  10. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    Donut foams work fine with them. Even better are the thin foams that come along with the Monk+ accessory pack ($5)
    Yeah, the RX1 does reveal source quality to an extent. I've been using them for almost 6 months now and for casual listening they are perfect.
    There are several other earbuds that'll give wow moments but over extended listening the issues become evident. Some worthy mentions :
    Cygnus - Good bass, bit sibilant, lower treble peak, low res.
    Zen 2- Bass reverb, recessed mids, smooth treble, very uneven FR
    Zen black - Great treble, meh everything else
    RX1 - Best timbre and balance of all earbuds, weak bass, treble not as refined as the zen black, outresolves all other earbuds.
     
  11. music4mhell

    music4mhell New

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    Nice summary :)
    I am glad you are enjoying RX-1 from last many months. Many other audiophiles like you should give Earbuds a try.
     
  12. cocolinho

    cocolinho Acquaintance

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    Thank you
    I was severely disappointed with Cygnus, especially the bass, almost not existing... currently the best I have are TY HP400s I'm trying to get rid of all the other ones I bought for cheap on Ali
     
  13. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    If you find cygnus to have weak bass, avoid everything in the list.
    Recently heard another earbud from a Jakarta based brand. Expensive and cardas cabled, Check it out for maximum impact bass among earbuds.
     
  14. DigMe

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    This thread needs measurements! Can you get accurate measurements with earbuds? It might be difficult for the same reason that they always kind of seem lacking to me.
     
  15. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    Measuring earbuds will be difficult. If measured in a controlled space they'll measure very uneven. Similar to speakers they need breathing space to sound decent.
     
  16. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    That's what I suspected. Thus we're stuck with purely subjective and everyone has a different favorite.
     
  17. cocolinho

    cocolinho Acquaintance

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    That's what I'm doing :)
    Curious about Cypherus products , any clue?
     
  18. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    The one that I heard -
    - Tries to sound like a full size headphone
    - Bass is clean and impactfull
    - Good macrodynamics, so much so that there are hardly any soft sounds. Everything appears to b boosted.
    - Hardly any layering, very 2d.
    - Uneven FR and some unrefined (acceptable but not for this price) treble.
     
  19. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    @Abhishek Chowdhary @DigMe @music4mhell
    I greatly appreciate all that you guys wrote about earbuds, I never knew that there were audiophile versions of these. I joined the drop for the Monk+ and got the Ex pack. I also ordered the RX-1 from Amazon.
    How does the Monk+ sound out of the iPhone? Is there one model that sounds better than EarPods out of iPhone?
     
  20. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    RX1 is definitely an upgrade over the earpods. Monks are decent but do not offer any better fidelity.
    I have recently grown fond of the Musicmaker TY Ting. Slightly dry and rolled off upper treble but does bass and other things quite good.
    The thing with RX1 is proper foam cover matching. The sound ranges from shouty to veiled if sub optimal foams are used. Stock foams make it too bright.
    Some P&C can give you preferred tone/timbre. Other than that I recommend it highly for its technical capabilities. Decently resolving, imaging, layering and timbre.
    I find iPhone 7 to sound inferior to previous versions, its timid and lifeless sounding.
    I had to use a lightening cable to connect my earphones, not sure if the cable is the culprit.
     

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