Earbuds/Flathead Discussion

Earbud dimensions are varied. Stem shape too is important in personal fit but luckily those generally don't deviate much. You could find good size comparisons on HF but good luck. The HF Earbuds Round-Up thread is huge and is at 4645 pages at this time, however some of the regulars are sometimes helpful in answering your questions.

Approximately two years ago I became interested in earbuds again so I bought an assortment of budget earbuds that seemingly had high consensus rating for value. My needs were that they be approximately smallest, bassiest, and cheapest. Unfortunately, they all ended up not fitting, they were all too small. So my advice is to buy a bunch of cheap earbuds (im talking like $3-10) in various shapes and sizes to see what works for you then from there you can better narrow down on what more expensive earbuds you'd like to try next. But for much researching and triangulating info you have to wade into HF unless youre lucky and someone here knows. A lot of these earbuds share housings. Diameter specs are available so determining size for a relatively obscure earbud isnt always difficult.

fyi there are a few tricks to help with fitment such as installing silicone rings to basically increase the diameter of the earbud, but in my case they did not help enough. So I gave up and moved on, to be continued...

 

My most used headphones are Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (left) and Sony Linkbuds (right).

Mainly used for podcasts and audiobooks which I do dedicate more time to than music for the past couple years which is why the above headphones are my most used.

These are not traditional earbuds so I hope earbud fiends dont mind this post.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (GBL) are different from most all earbuds in that they create a seal. The seal allows for extended bass which is a weakness of other earbuds, but the seal also causes a more closed-in soundstage which otherwise is a strength of traditional earbuds. The seal also allows some noise isolation. Tonally these are great but they use DSP so are cheaters. They are not hifi but for convenience they rank very high. They've some features like mic, ANC, limited EQ app, etc but I dont use those things.

Spoiler: warning

Fakes might be a thing so I avoid eBay and Amazon and purchase from Best Buy or Target and have them price match if necessary.

The Sony Linkbuds I've only had a short while but its pretty much usurped GBL for quiet environments. The Linkbuds allow ambient noise to be heard clearly and allows for a more wide open sounding soundstage. The Linkbuds dont do deep bass so are not recommended for music. The open soundstage is pleasant as earbud fiends would know, and is a great reason why I choose to use over GBL whenever possible.

Downsides: Physical fit again is very person to person dependent but luckily for me they work. And not hifi. Another is that relatives will claim them so youll have to buy more.

 

Not, but I'm really curious too.

 

Listened to the Faael Rosemary yesterday on a Shanling M6. It is a MX sized earbud, so it won’t fit small ears comfortably. The cable’s rubbery shell is soft and springy, but you can live with it. You get what you pay for in terms of driver quality. It is quite low in refinement, resolve and grainless-ness. But tuning wise, it is a more normal and correct sounding than something like the VE Monk, which lacks bass and lower mids and is a bit tipped up in the upper-mids and ends up sounding thin. Relative to the Monk, the Rosemary has satisfactory level of bass and a more balanced mids, meaning right levels of lower mids and upper mids.

Fiio EM5 is also along the same lines as the Rosemary, but the EM5 is a bit brighter in the treble. You could also tell that the EM5 uses a higher quality driver. But the quality of these drivers are still a far cry from what you have on your 300ohm Sennheisers. I am a treble sensitive person so some may find the treble on the Rosemary a touch insufficient and the transients a bit rounded.

Despite the low quality drivers on these earbuds, these days I have come to prefer the sound of earbuds over IEMs, because the earbuds just sound more normal. This might have to do with fact that the sound doesn’t travel through a tube, but rather radiate and reach your ears just like it would on a full size headphone or a speaker.

I have compared my notes with RikouduGoku’s (Rikubuds maker) on a couple of IEMs and earbuds and it kinda lines up. So I am willing to give his earbuds a try sooner or later. In his Head-Fi signature he has a link to a spreadsheet, where he gives a quick description on what each of his model sounds like.

 

I started this pathway a few years ago, can say Yincrow X6 is definitely my favourite among the budget crowd(Had versions of VE, Vido, Phillips, few others)

I'm now quite liking one higher priced earbud from our rival.

Will be curious on your future steps into high-er priced model and looking forward to some recommendations.

 

Way too early to make any definitive statements, but initial impression of the Noble Fokus Mystique is extremely positive. Instrumental timbres are right, bass is well-controlled, you can hear deep into complex mixes, and there’s an actual stereo image. This could be the current leader in the clubhouse as far as Bluetooth earbuds are concerned.

 

Noble Fokus Mystique are IEMs, not earbuds.

(IEMs = closed / sealed ear canal. Earbuds = open ear canal, quite different in terms of acoustics)

 

I picked up the Sony Linkbuds - I'm really struggling to get a good fit. These are very much like the PFR-V1. Missing bass, but giving you a new presentation that isn't typical. The ear pain is the same as the PFR-V1 right now too. I would rather have the PFR-V1 again I think, but for use case, the linkbuds are very low-profile - great for podcasts or things without much real bass. - Trying to mess around with them and find the best compromise to get bass out of these.

 

How much of the satisfaction is based on a good fit? Is it a make or break deal? I've only had a couple earbuds work for me. 90's Sony Walkman included earbuds alway worked for me. Ever the funky sport ones that turn the backwards.

 

I'll keep any eye on your updates. I've wanted some good sounding earbuds that can run off something like a Shanling M0. I remember reading the TGX stuff is a little tougher to drive the higher you go in his food chain.

Thank you!

 

You guys should try the Fiio FF3. A warm, bassy and very pleasant signature. For the open-box price you can get them for on ebay, I think ti's a good deal. Ridiculously comfortable. It's not my favorite sound signature for classical, but I liked them way more than the FF5. A pleasant, forgiving, not-too technical but easy to drive bud with some really pleasant bass. Fiio has different thickness foams so you can adjust the sound. I like the middle ones. It's not a typical earbud shape but a very smart design.

Personally, I like the MX500 shell a ton (btw, is not the FF3). Being a little bit of a control freak, buds can weird me out because of sound differences depending on how much you shift them. In-ears doesn't have that, unless you jam them in, etc.. But with the MX500, they don't wiggle at all and I can wear them for hours. I was waiting to get my car towed and was listening to my VE Monks for like 3 hours in a desolate parking lot, but one in an area that I didn't really want anyone to surprise me. I've been wanting to get a TGXears bud since he uses the MX500 shell (though he has bell shaped options, too). The Serratus looks up my ally for classical. I'm in an office where I've got some privacy but need to hear people talking to me from outside my office (when I can't see them). Buds are the way to go.

 

Oh, and the FF3 has a kind of wonky-kind of cool mechanism where you can adjust the wire from a 3.5mm connection to a 4.4mm balanced. (Guess, I should have just updated my last post.)

I was hoping the Yincrow would be more balanced. I wish the Monk yad better based. The mids are pretty sweet on it, though.

 

Ever try out the other FIIO earbud with the bass system in the stem? I don't see it on their webpage anymore, I can't remember the model name. (ninja edit - FIIO EM5)