Earbuds/Flathead Discussion

Yeah, the Riku GAS2 looks pretty good compared to Serratus on that rig. I plan to try one of his models soonish. Kinda waiting on his Gen 3 release first, as they are supposed to be custom shells designed for maximum comfort.

 

Finally received the Ksearphone Temperament LBBS I ordered right at a month ago. I think this is the longest it’s taken an AliExpress order to arrive. Most are 2 to 3 weeks.

The LBBS is a small bell shaped housing that is really comfortable and easy to fit. The fixed cable is thin and a bit rubbery above the Y split, and below is cloth covered. At the time I bought it, I paid about $38 but now the same seller is about $10 more expensive.

The LBBS is more polite and refined of the other two budget sets I tried. It’s a midcentric signature with very good clarity. Acoustic music is where it shines. Treble is a little on the polite side; bass extends well but is a bit on the light side. A small 2.5 db bump at 30hz with broad Q sounds really nice. My very first impression out of the box was that it was reminiscent of the original Hifiman RE0 in-ear.

To me, this is a much better sounding starter set than the other two, at least for my tastes; although I can see appeal in the rougher, v-shaped X6, especially at its bargain based price. But the LBBS sounds more even, more mature and does less things wrong. However I’m not sure I’d pay the current almost $50 price for them; mid 30’s is much more palatable for what you get.

 

I just have to show this off-
Introducing the one-of-a-kind, custom EVH-FB from Daeil Lee Music in South Korea. It contains a 15.4mm PET driver.



I asked for a Frankenstrat and Bumblebee inspired design and supplied some pics of Eddie’s famous guitars. I’d say he nailed it.

 

I will be trying several higher end earbuds. They just offer a more open, more headphone like presentation over IEMs. The question is if sonically they can match higher end IEMs. The TGXear Serratus has showed me they can. I picked it up used and have been pleasantly surprised by it.

This EVH inspired earbud doesn’t have that kind of high end sound though. I noticed this artisan earbud maker had a lot of artistic capability and flair, and just thought it would be really cool to have Frankenstrat and Bumblebee inspired designs, if he was willing to do the project. This was just totally a self-indulgent idea.

There are a lot of artisan/DIY earbud makers in these countries but portable audio, in general, is also extremely popular in these countries. Like you mentioned, IEMs are really popular too. A lot of these guys are fairly young as well. I’ve noticed portable audio is more popular than ever, in any country, with the younger generations.

For earbud popularity, besides the sonic presentation differences from IEMs, I think a lot of the appeal is the general comparative lower cost. Very good earbuds seem to be much, much cheaper than very good IEMs. And to be honest, the pricing of TOTL IEMs has gotten quite ridiculous. But ownership price justification and FOMO are very powerful influences on the mind.

 

32 ohms

 

Dunu rep on HF said Shenzhen Audio wasn’t authorized to post anything about it yet, and that the price they had listed was wrong. I think it’s already for sale in the Chinese market and supposedly it’s 400 yuan. If true, it will be around $60 in US market. Kind of a weird marketing issue going on.

 

I've been following some artisan earbud makers in Thailand, where earbuds are pretty popular on social media. I decided to order from Apollo, as he had several established models and I knew of one person on Discord who owned one. The Apollo maker didn't speak English very well, so he passed me off to his sister to discuss payment and shipping. We settled on a previous flagship named Warlord for $129 USD. Shipping, however was very expensive, at an extra $49 but at least it was fast getting here. I'm told others will ship for much, much less but I have to guess it wouldn't be insured.

Apollo is in an MX500 shell and has MMCX connectors, so you can easily replace cables. Warlord does come with an optional and very expensive green cable. I assume he makes the cable as well but I didn't have an interest in that, so didn't ask (hence the lowish price on the earbud). Since I was negotiating with his sister, I didn't think to ask about other cables he might offer, as later I found out he does have a nice looking all 'black mamba' cable at a reasonable price (~$30). I ended up using a XINHS cable from Aliexpress terminated in 4.4mm, since the Apollo is 150 ohms and needs a bit extra driving power.

To my ears Apollo is a downward sloping signature:

• Very good bass power and impact; Doesn't lack here at all and was great with my guitar rock based library
• Pleasant warmth but not overdone
• Full lower midrange; sounds great with male vocals
• Slightly pulled back upper mids; female vocals sound a little husky and relaxed
• Polite treble. Treble has solid enough resolution but is definitely on the polite side
• Staging width is just average but has very good depth

If I were to equate the sound signature to an IEM, the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 came to mind, as it was a warmer and darker version of the OG Andromeda. Hard to say, since it's been a long time since hearing Andromeda 2020 but I suspect the Warlord isn't quite as warm and probably a little more polite up top, but this is the first IEM that came to mind.

Ultimately the tuning is not quite in my wheel house; I prefer more upper mid and treble presence. But preferences aside, it is a very good earbud and is significantly better than the budget models I had tried previously. I'm very pleased with the sound quality. After I receive my order of Rikubuds Alter Rider 3 and can compare the two, I'll probably sell Warlord to pursue further earbud options, and will probably try another Apollo earbud with tuning closer to my preferences down the road. His Gold Story model might be in my wheel house, after recently reading about some difference in his lineup that wasn't available prior to my purchase.

 

Yes, I contacted him on Facebook messenger. There are lots of artisan makers on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram is how I found most of the mid century modern furniture pickers I’ve shopped with over the years too.

 

I’ve only had the first gen AirPods for non-sealing TWS earbuds. I like them for phone calls a lot but are just ok for music. They are warm and mid-centric, nothing offensive at all, just a bit sleepy sounding being rolled off on the ends. The latest gen 3 seem to measure with much better extension but I’ve yet to hear them.

I think most of the TWS popular here are the IEM kind, like Sony WF Series, Samsung Galaxy series and AirPods Pro. APP2, AirPods Pro 2 get a lot of love here from regulars. But anything using tips is not truly an earbud…