Alright damn, its either:
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A fake render
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Sonion EST = 200 usd+
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Sonion EST finally got “Bellsinged” → cheaper
8 Likes
Short and tragic love story w/ Earbuds
As promised below I send my short comparison of all 5 earbuds I have at hand based on 3 songs + lots of time with LBBS and Qian39 beforehand.
I based the comparison on the critical listening of 3 songs on each - Fiona Apple - Valentine for female vocals, piano, stage, Dr Dre - Still DRE for slam, male vocals and general fun factor, Radiohead - Everything in the right place for representation of electrical sound, complex passages and layering and ability to overwhelm you with music. With LBBS and Qian39 I spent quite a few hours before as well.
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Qian39: build: 3, cable: 3, bass: 8, vocals: 5, technicalities: 5, comfort 4 - OVERALL: 6
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Qian69: build 4, cable: 3, bass: 5, vocals: 6, technicalities: 6, comfort: 5, OVERALL: 5
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KBear Stella: build: 3, cable: 3, bass: 6, vocals: 6, technicalities: 5, comfort 4, OVERALL: 5
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FAAEL Iris: build: 3, cable: 7, bass: 3, vocals: 5, technicalities: 5, comfort: 6, OVERALL: 4
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Ksearphone LBBS: build: 9, cable: 7, bass: 7, vocals: 9, technicalities: 7, comfort 4 - OVERALL: 9
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Tea for reference: build: 10, cable: 8, bass: 10, vocals: 9, technicalities: 9, comfort 10 - OVERALL: 10
TLDR: the world of earbud is not as cheap and beautiful for me as I believed based on Rikudoku’s opinion. The comfort is tricky (in fact, it is a killer for me), the technicalities for critical listening are not available for cheap, the sound overall is in most cases not on the level as of affordable IEMs. Out of all those 5 sets I listened 4 were below 20$, so expectations should have not been too high, but a good attempt with Qian39 gave me some promises that were not kept in the end
LBBS is definitely a must have for 50$, Qian39 is (was) also good option for some fun listening on the go where you need some awareness, but rest is generally meh and not worth spending money on.
There are 2 problems I have - comfort or how secure the bud feels in the ear. Donuts, hiegi, stock - nothing works for me - I constantly need to fix the fit as I feel it would fall out. On the go it is impossible to work with, but it is good for sleeping or sitting in all cases.
Second problem are the technicalities or ability of those buds to present some separated layers in more complex passages. It is not present anywhere, but in LBBS to some extent, but even there it is nowhere near to multidriver IEMs or even S12.
Qian39 has great bass and is good for fun listening.
LBBS - if having better fit - could be my go to for acoustic music as I have never heard it better sounding than there. Vocals are also top level, soundstage is great. Bass is great quality, but may be more prominent in some cases. It was also sibilant in some songs.
Qian69 - has less bass than 39, maybe better techs (in terms of details and layering), but smaller stage and a little bit veiled sound.
Iris and Stella is nothing to talk about really
Build for all apart from LBBs is just worth the price.
Overall I feel that my journey with Earbuds is not finished (I would look for some earhooks or silicon tips), but it is not as beautiful as I thought it would be. It was supposed to be my area to explore next in the audio world.
Photos to follow tomorrow
Qian69
Qian39
Kbear
Faael
6 Likes
Do the MX500 (Iris) shell work better for you than the LBBS shell?
A little bit better, but nothing crazy, as probably my ear cartilage cannot hold the bud in right ear, so any kind of movement of cable pulls it down. LBBS is good if I am standstill as well, but even more prone to loosening on some shake.
Ear hooks does not help.
That is my biggest problem with earbuds in general by far, as I cannot chill wih music, being constantly on the edge
Maybe PK shells are the next ones you should try.
Nah… These sound really amazing but built quality is not that great. If you daily use it – i did it for 2 months straight, every single day – and you are trying to push to better position them in your ears to get a nice “fit”, they will probably crack the plastic rim around the driver. And I don’t mean using brute force… That’s what happened to me unfortunately as I really enjoy them. Therefore I think they are worth only if you pay around 30-35 usd during sales.
2 Likes
2022-02-25: Softears Volume: Softears Volume - Reviews | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
Modded rank: S-
stock rank: C
Get it only if you can mod it or if you are a treble-head/3k lover.
KZ ZES: Knowledge Zenith (KZ) ZES - Reviews | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
Rank: B
Get the CCA CRA instead.
CCA CA10
Rank: D
Why does this exist?
14 Likes
Thanks for the review, especially on Volume 
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Appreciate the comparison alot.
1 Like
Well, seems that TRN is using a Sonion EST.
4 Likes
interesting, a est112 clone with a smaller DD (inner part of the shell body and internals diagram at least) https://www.dunu-topsound.com/est-112
oh lol, you are right it sure looks similar actually.
Any takers? 
Well guys, how many of you want the true upgrade to the Yincrow X6? 
(And no, its not the PEQed LBBS.)
9 Likes
Speaking of LBBS - Do you have some fancy PEQ settings for it and if so, what do they improve? I have my Q5k waiting at the office to try with S12, KZ CRN, but if LBBS would benefit from anything on the go I would like to try it as well
LBBS to my preferences:
Low-shelf: 50hz, Q: 1.0, Gain: 3db
Low-shelf: 80hz, Q: 1.0, Gain: 13db
Low-shelf: 150hz, Q: 0.6, Gain: 1db
Low-shelf: 250hz, Q: 0.6, Gain: 1db
Peak: 3000hz, Q: 2.0, Gain: -1.5db
Peak: 5000hz, Q:3.0, Gain: -1.0db
High-shelf: 10 000hz, Q: 1.0, Gain: 3.5db
Preamp: -15db
LBBS simulating the Yincrow X6:
Low-shelf: 80hz, Q: 1, Gain: 15db
Low-shelf: 250hz, Q: 0.6, Gain: 2db
High-shelf: 7500hz, Q: 1, Gain: 1db
Preamp: -15db
1 Like
Shit + 13/15dB? Yea, I don’t know about my for that…
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LBBS have very little sub-bass even for bud standards.
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the driver is very capable and can handle a lot of bass boosting without much distortion.
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LBBS fits shallow and that is one of the reasons why it doesnt have much bass so the big boost is to compensate for that.
1 Like
So will you be sharing the details of this this “true upgrade” then? 
2 Likes
its a DIY model I made, price will be around 50 euro (not set in stone yet).
6 Likes
Where can I enter the pre order.
You will have to pm me when I get the units to sell, I only got one pair of each driver basically atm. Im still in my R/D phase (with other tunings, this Yincrow X6-like bud is done though).
Although I might have another bud, midcentric tuning with 4 or 5 units I could sell if you are interested…
2 Likes