are there any earbuds that outperform recommended and similarly priced IEM’s?
Yeah, it’s easier to find the truly over-performing earbud than it is to find the over-performing IEM
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which tend to be smaller in size that would work with ear hoops / hooks and have a natural sound profile, like the Etymotic ER??? series.
There are lots of different earbud shapes out there. With the MX500 being the most commonly used.
MX500 is not that small though. If you need something small, then amongst chifi it is pretty much only the Qian39 (name of the bud and what we call that shell) or buds with the Yuin PK (shell/bud name) shell (DQSM Panda).
Or my Rikubuds Gen 3 models (RG39 shell) are very small.
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@Rikudou_Goku I have finally caved and tried some cheap flatheads, and for the money they are tough to beat. Sorry it took me so long, and I picked up a few to play with ( FAAEAL Iris 2.0, FAAEAL Iris Ancestor, KBear Stellar ).
I had some questions.
- I know you make quality buds. How do your generations work? Meaning, can I still buy a Bersker 1 or 2, or are you only making gen 3 now?
- Is your Ranking list ( the Google spreadsheet ) still current? I ask because there are some newer models that I don’t see from brands that get talked about ( NICEHCK EB2S Pro, FAAEAL Rosemary ).
- I don’t see any of the Fiio models in that list. Is that about the value? The FF5 & FF5S comes to mind.
- I also don’t see any of the cheap flatheads from the big brands like JVC or Sony ( MDRE9LP ). Any reason beyond, too many earbuds and not enough time?
Assuming that I like a bit of bass and am not afraid of warm sound ( the OG QKZxHBB is still my favorite budget IEM with the Hola in a close 2nd ). What are good next steps for earbuds?
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The generations are just to separate the price tiers and the shells that they are using, with the gen 1 being the cheapest and uses a simple MX500 shell (Your Faaeal buds have this shell) and gen 2 uses the Val39 custom designed by valphonics (and some input from me). Then there is the gen 3 which uses the RG39 shell which is designed by me and drawn by @pylaczynski.
Gen 2 IS discontinued though (although I havent officially mentioned it since i wanted to wait for the Berserker 3 and Caster 3 release to officially mention it). Gen 1 and 3 buds are still sold (although the Grand Rider 1 is discontinued).
I stopped updating it after I started Rikubuds for obvious reasons.
I never bothered with them years ago because everyone said they were shit.
Saber 3. Or wait for the upcoming Berserker 3.
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Thanks, that is some great information.
Is it normal to feel strange running $10 buds on $200 of source hardware?
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Sources tends to be very (over)pricey compared to the transducers people use, so I wouldnt worry.
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It can feel odd, but it shouldn’t since buds are almost always the value and price-to-performance kings in all categories of transducers. And good ones scale.
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I don’t do much on Ali Express, is there a “good store”? I am thinking about trying out a few of the buds that aren’t on Amazon. Both the “CKLewis Audio Store” sounds sus, but the ratings look solid, and they carry the stuff I think I am interested in.
Bell-LB
Yincrow X6
Yincrow RW-9
FENGRU EMX500S
Qian39
Are there other affordable models I should be looking at?
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@Rikudou_Goku I would absolutely love to see graphs for your earbuds. I’ve heard such good things from them and I’m interested in dipping my toes in, but there are just so few measurements.
Alternatively, If I was to say that I prefer tunings that are harman-esque up until like 4kHz (the low mids recession sounds normal to me), with slightly less mid treble and much more treble extension above 10kHz in comparison (think Moondrop Variations), could someone suggest some places to start? Thanks yall.
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Graph is graph. And graph breaks
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Oh wait, wrong motto.
But yea, i can graph buds
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X6 > RW-9
Definitely try this, if you like this shell, my gen 3 buds are the only upgrade for you (RG39 shell being based on that one).
Graphs for buds are unfortunately useless which is why you barely see any.
Lancer 1
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I’m sad that wired earbuds are uncomfortable for me, I remember as a teenager it hurt after a while. Would love to check out some audiophile buds.
Are you thinking about the decades old ones? They usually sucked though and perhaps you didnt use them with foam? which is mandatory for a good fit/comfort → sound.
Give the Qian39 a try though.
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@Rikudou_Goku 100% bang for buck…if you really like listening to music? then they’ll deliver 
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Yes, correct.
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