Submitted by DwellerInIce t3_ycapen in headphones
Based on your personal preference, give me some examples of cheap/cheaper audio devices that you really enjoy. Obviously it's not going to be your best choices, just a serviceable alternative, let's say a backup. My example would be the KZ-ZSA that I got for around a tenner on sale, and maybe the Samsung-AKG ones I got for free with an older phone around 4 years ago that are still going strong.
So around the 25 mark is your baseline.
Looks that way. I have cheaper things, but these are my favorite ones on the cheaper end.
What are those cheaper ones if I may? Don't you enjoy them at all?
Enjoyable? The freebie Samsung earbuds.
Actually good? The 7Hz Zero.
I haven't had a huge amount of experience but:
Headphones - Superlux HD 681 EVO (sibilant to some but in my opinion it has a fun V-shape that isn't too fatiguing)
IEMs - CCA CRA (once again fun V-shape but surprising amount of detail and technicalities for the price)
The earcups for the Superlux are however quite fatiguing
Moondrop Quarks
Koss Porta Pro
VE monk plus and VE monk lite
KSC75 for "head"phones (around $20) and Moondrop Chu for the same price for IEMs (I haven't tried the 7Hz Salnotes Zero).
This.
Nichck Vido Earbuds 6$.
Kz Edx 6$.
Koss ksc75 20$.
Okay okay, I see you! Any comments on the NiceHCK Vido?
It's an earbud, Not an iem. Pretty great for that price, next step up would be a yincrow x6 at 12$.
Yeah I know it, I've seen it and almost bought it a couple of times due to the reviews. I just wanted to know your opinions on it. What stopped me is my weird ass ears, I've never found earbuds that stay on and I'm not sure if it's worth the gamble.
They come with these donut shaped foams that help in keeping them in place.. If you are looking at iems, The best one under 25$ would currently be the salnotes zero imo.
KZ ZS10 pro. Much better than anything above
Grado SR Series.
Salnotes Zero fit the bill for me but hey I did find the KZ EDX Pro fun most times
Edx pro it is then! (I find them around the 12 mark, usually)
If your budget can't get to the Salnotes Zero price then yes, the EDX Pro is an option... If you can pay for the Salnotes Zero... Get that rather
No no, I mean your answer to my question is the EDX Pro. I actually have a couple pairs of Zero's on the way as we speak. Got them around 21 bucks.
Ah I see... Happy listening then🤝🏾
You too!
CCA CRA paid $12 on sale.
Have never had (and probably never will have) an IEM cheaper than that outside of dollar store ones or the Sony Fontopia ones I used to get from ebay for $5 each but that was so long ago I can't comment on the sound quality anymore but I liked them at the time.
But IMO the Chu reign supreme in the very low price category.
If only the cable was replaceable... that's my only issue with the CHU.
I've heard many good things about the CRA (and some ridiculously good), I might get a pair to see for myself.
I wouldn't say the CRA is ridiculously good. The treble timbre isn't perfect and and it has more bass/lower mids than neutral but it is fine as a beater IEM for bringing outside.
I should probably add a "for the price" at the end of every sentence. It's obviously not going to compete with the 50-100+ ones.
I have a bunch of cheaper IEMs for when I'm out and about and the CRA are definitely quite nice for the price. V shaped but not as much as the usual KZs, good bass and overall great performers for the money.
The Chus have been great for me. A replaceable cable would be nice, but at $20 it's hard to pass up
For headphones, Hifiman HE400SE ($109)
For IEMs, Moondrop Chu or 7Hz Salnotes Zero ($20)
Tin t2
Retuned(or moded if you will) Blon 03. Resulting FR eerily close to Tanchjim Oxygen, and punching way above their class. I find myself using them more than i should given i have 2 pairs of $200 range IEMS in the drawer beside them :).
Words of someone who has both - "They sound 95% same as the Oxygen"
Whats the mod
Open up the iems going around the edges with an exacto knife and prying apart. Theyre glued, and also have 3 pins on the edges going in their respective holes. Take your time, and lift each side bit by bit.
On the back of the driver slap a 3mm wide Y2,Y3 or Y4 filter over the existing one. This will lower the bass and low mids(up to around 500Hz), which will remove bass bloat and bleeding into mids. I used Y3 filter, Y2 will leave you with more bass and lower mids, close to 1db. If you prefer less bass and low mids, Y4 will bring it down close to another 1db from my result.
Remove original filter from the nozzle and replace with a 4mm 500 filter, which im pretty sure was mislabeled 400 as my measurement showed that the 400 attenuated more than the 500 and it should be the other way around. So get both if youre going to do the mod and see what you like better if you dont have the means to do a measurement of the result. This will deal with the upper mids/treble.
This is the result compared to Oxygen.
Blue is the modded Blon and green is the Oxygen. Oxygen measurement in the chart wasnt done by me(The Blon meaurement is mine), so the larger spread after 8KHz could be due to differences in rigs(theyre pretty consistent up to 7-8KHz) and/or also resonance because of different tips used. If both were measured on my rig, result might be even more spot on. Not like theyre not very close already, ive seen sets with channel imbalance between R/L like that :).
Edit: When comparing by normalizing the charts at 1KHz, it would get closer to the Oxygen by using Y2 driver and 300(or maybe 350) nozzle filters. Worth considering.
Tnx for the write up i ll check it out ( probably) Which 200 Range IEMs do u have btw
No no, after all that text, now youre obligated to do it ;).
Those iems are the 7Hz Timeless and Tri i3 Pro
Cant argue that lol
Idk man, im kind of suspicious... Your next comment should have been "where do i get those filters", as usually people are not this far into modding. Unless you are, and know about those and where to get them?
hmmmm idk idk.
IM WATCHING YOU :P :)
Yiu are right, i have mire questions but at tgat time i was on my way to bed to catch that 6h of sleep and now im at work i am gonna have questions when i get from work lol
Sure, ask away if something isnt clear.
First of all what kind of tuning does oxygen have? Because i need sone warm headphones iems..because well hd 560s re bright same goes for s12 i guess that tinhifi t3+ arent...
Since i dont have the Oxygen, well cal them by their name, modded Blons. Though they do identify as Oxygens(pretty progressive, i know).
They have Harmanish(warmer with more body/weight) tuning, which i find better, as i dont really like the plain harman curve. In my configuration, theyre not warm per se, but will be warmer sounding than the S12. I find the tuning practically perfect for everything i listen, and i think they will sound right with anything. To mention few, my mostly listened genres are Vocal/acoustic Jazz, Reggae, EDM, Alternative, Classic Rock, Acoustic Rock etc.
Going by the FRC(as i dont have them), compared to S12, most noticeable would be theyre less shouty because of couple of db lower at 2KHz, smoother vocals(less raspiness in the voices) because of also couple of db lower at 3KHz. And generally a feeling of the band being bit farther away because of that dip at around 6-7KHz, which sort of contributes to the warmth feeling. Though mostly its bass that will affect warmth. You can try yourself with 250Hz band on GEQ, going down makes the sound colder, and up makes the sound warmer. But warmer also means bass covering some of the mid frequencies so you might not really want that. I think what might be bothering you in the S12 is the 2KHz ammount, and mostly the flatness at around 6-7KHz. You can try lowering 2KHz Q1.5 by 1-2db, and also 7.2KHz by around 4-5db with Q3 and see how you like the results. Use peaking filters.
You would need parametric EQ to target the frequencies i mention, on android you want "Poweramp Equalizer" and on Windows "Equalizer APO + Peace GUI".
You could also try this bit more complex EQ for your S12
Preamp: -1.7db
Fr: 2180Hz, Q: 5.106, Gain: -1.2
Fr: 4568Hz, Q: 4.338, Gain: 2.3
Fr: 5427Hz, Q: 7.452, Gain: 1.4
Fr: 6036Hz, Q: 3.251, Gain: -1.4
Fr: 7596Hz, Q: 3.478, Gain: -4.8
Fr: 9946Hz, Q: 1.000, Gain: -1.2
This should bring your S12 to the FR of my modded Blon, though not really ideal way to do it because of unit variation, also ideally i would need to verify the resulting FR after applying the EQ by measuring. But should at least give you the general picture.
Or not ideal, but closest you can get to that result with Graphic Equalizer is:
Preamp: -1.1db
Fr: 1000Hz, Gain: 1.1db
Fr: 2000Hz, Gain: -1db
Fr: 4000Hz, Gain: 1.1db
Fr: 8000Hz, Gain: -6.9db
I recommend you go with the PEQ
If you get those filters i mention i used for my mod, you can also play with your S12, and probably will manage to bring them to a level more to your liking with just the nozzle filters.
Btw, what size is the nozzle of the S12?
I ll give u more in depth abswer tomorow when i have time... But do you know akros, yesterday i remembered that i saw him make a video on " bloxygen" some time ago?
It was a video on youtube that inspired me doing the mod, it was some time ago so i dont recall the name of the channel. Though that "Bloxygen" rings a bell, so its probably the same guy.
I remember that Tanchjim Oxygen filters were used on the nozzles(and Y2 on the driver). With what im using, and the measurements i have available to me, i find my results very close to target.
Thanks for the reminder of "Bloxygen". Dont remember what he achieved, but will search youtube with that term, curios to compare.
Edit:
Searched around Akros channel, and yep, thats definitely the guy. Its these 2 videos
The mod - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdFaGm13qaA
The measurements - https://youtu.be/VAiVek2h1rQ?t=1221
When i normalize my charts at 1KHz results are pretty close with what he got, almost the same. Though as i mentioned in one of the previous comments, with my blon sample(there can be some variation), 300 or 350 nozzle filter should bring it even closer and compensate for that around 1-2db difference in the 2-4KHz regions(this would also affect the dip at 6-7KHz, and i like it the way it is currently), and Y2(instead of the Y3 im using) on the driver for the 1db bass difference. Dont have them glued still as they hold pretty well only with the pins, so i might try this variant in the future.
Nozzle outer size is 5.84 mm
I was asking that in context of the nozzle filters, so curious to know the inner diameter.
I measured it at around 4mm lol but that was with a ruler so not a proper way
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I have a question, do you think mod is achiveable if you have shaky hands, because i imagine its much harder, like im interested in doing it, but thats my biggest concern
Its not like i have surgeon hands, but if you have like alcoholic without a drink shaky hands then idk :).
You just glue the filter edge on a needle tip and lay it down on the driver back, its pretty easy that way imo, easier than using tweezers. Even if you missalign the filter at first try you can peel off and try again.
Getting the 4mm nozzle filter in is bit more finicky, but do it the same way with the needle and once its aligned properly then just push around the edges with the blunt end of the needle so you bring the filter down to the filter shelf in the nozzle and glue them to it. You can potentially instead of 4mm use larger filter for the nozzle(4.5-5mm should do) and just glue it on the top of the nozzle, just like in the video on the Akros channel where the guy uses larger Tanchjim Oxygen filters for the nozzle. But this way you can potentially unglue them when changing tips, so i prefer it my way, with a 4mm filter inside the nozzle.
Smallest amount you can get those filters in is 10 pieces for the Y and 20 pieces for the nozzle filters, so even if you manage to mangle/ruin some im pretty sure youll be able to do it by accident in the end :).
Samsung AKG Buds, CCA CRA, or HBB x QKZ. I actually use the last two with my other headphones cause I like them that much.
Sony has been my backup for years.
They have a few earbuds around $15-20 that are actually pretty darn good. Totally serviceable, especially if you forgot your normal buds at home or just don't want to risk them.
CCA CRA+ has no right to be as good as it is for the $20 it costs. Also the BLON Fat Girl (stupid name) is pretty okay for the $0 I paid for it lmao.
0 as in found a ridiculous deal, or was it just a gift?
Linsoul was doing a promotion where if you bought a BLON Z200 you got an FG for free. The Z200 were pretty mediocre and I sold them immediately but the FG are genuinely alright. My fiancee is using them with some moondrop springtips now. But I think they're normally only like $10 anyway.
Sounds like a great deal, since the Z200 goes for like 20(?).
Bought the Salnotes Zero to check the hype, wasn't impressed. Included tips are bad and sound quality was a pretty significant step down from the slightly less cheap ER2 series.
Gave them another shot recently for a bit, couple hours later realized I'd just been listening to music on them happily enough all that time.
There's a reason most people are perfectly happy with garbage quality audio from bluetooth speakers or whatever: It doesn't actually matter that much if you're not paying attention to it.
I'd get a Chu for that price instead tho just for the spring tips it comes with.
I can totally see what you mean and is a very interesting perspective. I too, am very harsh on the new stuff I get, because of what I want them to be. People on the hobby usually do pay attention tho, and it can get distracting.
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Haylou W1 - with aptx, warm but just needs a little bit of brightening up with eq. This was previously my daily driver, but have been into wired things lately because of electronic drums.
Kz eda balanced - my current cheapest thou I usually just use this for electronic drumming. Bright, but way better than previous kz zst. Just eq them.
CCA CRA or CRA+
My favorite is the CRA+
Final E500
How much did you find them for? They go for around 30 where I'm at.
£20 - or £9 for a refurbished pair
CCA CRA definitely
Vido Earbuds for $5 shipped
Moondrop Chu
Sony sbh24.
A tiny, basic but decent bluetooth receiver which includes their mh750 earphones. I often recommend this over any cheap wireless buds because of the simplicity of the design and ability to use any earphones if the included pair are damaged. I bought mine in UK for £24 last year and didn't expect much but was pleasantly surprised. It can be bought for as little as €16. The earphones have a bassy, warmish neutral sound.
CCA CRA and Qian39
7hz zero
KSC75. I find them a lot more enjoyable then a lot more expensive headphones in the $200-300 price range
I got my first pair of KSC75 for like $14 used on Amazon. Still my favorite headphone
KBear Stellars - $3
Probably my main used buds right now. They sound incredible for their cost
Also my Monk Plus - $8
I'm really into earbuds right now. Never knew how good they can be
HP - Koss KPH40
IEM - Blon BL-05S
Random iem from openheart on aliexpress(the black one)
It also look like shit
Tangzu Zetian Wu
Shuoer S12, the cheapest iem i've heard that achieves good detail accuracy without severe tuning flaws.
That's a 150+ pair if my memory servss me correctly.
Yep. That's pretty high compared to what others have mentioned but for me they're the cheapest i'd happily daily. The cheapest iems i've heard are the BL-03 and Mele from which the BL-03 severely lacked detail and had flaws in the tuning, the Mele had pretty good tuning but the details were also severely lacking. Sure they're worth their prices but they're still not exactly something i'd call enjoyable.
Salnotes Zero
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First of all what kind of tuning does oxygen have? Because i need sone warm headphones iems..because well hd 560s re bright same goes for s12 i guess that tinhifi t3+ arent...
I measured it at around 4mm lol but tgst was with a rules so not a proper way
Blon BL-01
How much did you find it for? I usually see it slightly above 20.
KZ CRN
So there is nothing below the 50 price range that you enjoy?
Edit : Oops, meant to say 35-40.
The next best thing would be Tangzu Shimin Li but it has too much drawbacks for me, imo KZ is still the king for budget options with their Zs10 Pro X and likely the PR1, tbh everything under 80-100 is so similar that going for the cheapest really isn't going to mean losing on sound quality. The step from a Chu @20$ and a CRN @40$ is minuscule, while going for a VR3000 @80$ is a night and day difference
I can totally see what you are saying. Have you had any experiences with the Aria? They are next on my purchace list since we are talking about the 80 mark.
I dislike the Moondrop tuning and I'm wary of their QC so I didn't bother, especially since I already have the Final A4000 and this fucker blew my mind so hard I don't really look at IEMs anymore, I could use it as my daily driver for the rest of my life and be happy about it. It's so similar to my HD800S that I use the same EQ settings for both
Definitely noted
Most Superlux models, Grado SR60, Sennheiser HD 202 II and MX 475.
Honestly, as a backup, any of those supermarket earbuds you can get for like $10. I remember when I was in college and my pair of Porta Pro’s snapped, some ultra cheap Koss KEB in ear’s that the college bookstore sold were a lifesaver while I waited for my warranty Porta Pro’s. They sounded good enough and blocked noise, and for a music lover like me literally anything would be better than no music at all.
Chew-Magna t1_itl3ckv wrote
BLON BL03, 7hz Salnotes Zero, CCZ Coffee Bean.