RikudouGoku's Database (IEMs/Earbuds/Headphones Ranking list)

Dont have a 300 usd bud lol. But this RW-2000 do actually sound very very good, I might take it over the iems in that price range. (unless I am in a basshead mood.)

Well guys, I ordered the Moondrop Chaconne lol. :joy:

LZ A7, LZ A6, FiiO FD5. Those are all $300 or so right? The FD5 is €300 here, but maybe we get shafted in terms of pricing.

Yeah, I got a lot of 300 usd iems. But not earbuds, my most expensive ones are the NiceHCK EBX21 and the DQSM Turandot at 200 usd. (although I did just order the 320 usd Moondrop Chaconne.)

150-300 usd range is actually high-tier/TOTL for earbuds, while it is just mid-tier for iems.

I can’t read, sorry.

hahah, dont worry lol.

(the FD5 is 320 usd btw.)

Since u were talking about earbuds…
Are there any advantages to them opposed to IEMs?
I havent heard buds for years and my experience in the past wasnt pleasant tbh.
If I get it right, they are usually a single big DD with a questionable fit…
Are they?

There are a lot of different types of earbud shapes.

Here is a post on that: Earbuds Round-Up | Page 3418 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

Best way is to try as many different shapes as possible with the 0-10 usd range.

As for buds vs iems:

Pros:
A lot bigger and airier soundstage (more like an open back headphone than iems)
vocals and treble are usually very high quality and very natural (excellent timbre)
Comfort can be better for longer sessions since they dont go into your ear canals and therefore less heat generated (weight less as well)
Value, a lot cheaper than iems (150-300 usd range with buds is high-tier/TOTL area, while it is just mid-tier for iems)

Cons:
Bass, while there are a few exceptions, most buds cant compete with iems in this area (at least in quantity)
Most buds have non-replaceable cables…
Almost non-existent isolation (for home use, not recommended for public use because of this)
Resolution and technicalities (except soundstage) are usually not as good as multi-driver iems or very high quality single DD iems. (although I might change my opinion on this after getting the Moondrop Chaconne…)

Overall: I would say buds are better than iems if you listen mostly to classic/acoustic music, where the bass advantage of iems doesnt matter that much. But if you listen to hip-hop, edm, trance or any bass focused music, iems are definitely better.

But buds and iems are 2 separate breeds, I say it is good to have both for variation.

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So non-existent subbass should be expected as a price for fine mids and treble…and stage?
That sounds like ksc75 or Sennheiser openbacks…
Thats intertesting, thanks for your quick yet efficient summary, man… :+1:

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Generally speaking yes. Although there are some exceptions (Yincrow X6 being my favorite) that do have sub-bass but still wont compete (in bass) against a bassy iem like the Blon BL-03 for example.

Yes, this is actually correct. But I do like the KSC75 more than the 10-20 usd buds I have with that kind of tuning (niceHCK MX500, NiceHCK ME80).

I recommend the Yincrow X6 (MX500 shell), it is THE bud for iem users. Love it, its essentially the blon 03 in the bud world. I dont have any other personal recs for other shell types in that budget range though… (niceHCK ME80 would have been recommended but it is discontinued)

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I think I will pass on earbuds (for now) since the mmcx connectors for ksc75 just came, but its interesting to discover a whole new world (at least for me) of audio…
Thanks once again

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Fortunately buds are the cheapest transducer type to get into in this world. So if you want to try them it’s not expensive at least, and even totl stuff is pretty affordable.

Just to clarify, are you saying that a TOTL $300 bud would compete with a TOTL IEM in a higher price bracket? In my mind that label applies at $700+ in IEM world these days. I haven’t messed with buds at all, but it seems to me that earbuds top out around $300 because there would be no demand for a higher tier than that. I imagine almost nobody would spend more than that for an earbud. I would guess that a $300 bud would have roughly similar technicalities as a solid $300 IEM with some inherent pros and cons due to the form factor, but I wouldn’t expect it to perform beyond that. Again, I haven’t tried any so I don’t know. Just curious.

I will find out after getting the chaconne I guess.

At the least, I do think these 0-20 buds can compete with the iems in the 100 usd range.

And the yincrow rw-2000 (around 150 usd) is probably in the same league as the 300 usd iems.

I could see that. My point I guess is there is probably no earbud equivalent to a TOTL $700+ IEM. Ear buds just top out sooner in terms of technical ability. Their ceiling isn’t as high as IEMs. Unless the Moondrop can pull it off.

Its interesting, everyone used to have earbuds (even those apple nad samsung “free” ones were technically buds), but now its iems everywhere (mostly bluetooth)…
I think I havent seen anyone in public use earbuds in the past 4 years.
But I think my grandfather still uses some sennheiser buds with his ipod :smile:

Well, if the Chaconne is as good as its users say it is and if it follows what I have seen generally.

Then it might not be a stretch to say it punches above the 300 usd range for iems, if it is 700+ is another question though.

buds 0-20 = iems 100

buds 150 = iems 300

Then perhaps buds 320 usd = 600 usd?

No point in speculating now I guess.

But I do know that there are some damn expensive buds as well, I just havent bothered to look at them since it is way out of my price range.

Thats probably because iems are better in public use due to isolation.

Well, thats true, but before the iem breakthrough that happened somewhere in the past, buds used to be the common one. Now they are straight up gone (for public).
…Thats what I wanted to say.

Yeah, I do remember the time when stock earphones in phones was indeed buds and not iems.