u/DiplomatikEmunetey

While the whole world moved on to over-ear IEMs and wireless IEMs, I've stayed firmly in camp earbud. I have always liked and preferred this form factor over the IEM. And fortunately for my wallet, I can't stand over-ear IEMs.

Brands like Sennheiser and Sony abandoned their earbud efforts long time ago, to concentrate on IEMs, and then later wireless IEMs. The earbud scene is still quite present in China though, and they are not very expensive, so I just kept buying them and trying them out.

What you see in the first picture is my collection of Chinese earbuds.

They are:

• RY4S Plus MMCX (Black)
• Wooeasy DIY EMX500 / RY4S
  • RY4S (Black, Blue)
• KBEAR Stellar (Translucent Black)
• VE Monk
• FRANSUN YD30 (Blue)
• FX7816 Global Store Vido (Blue)
  • Wooeasy Vido (Black)
• FAAEAL Iris 2.0 (Silver)
  • FAAEAL Iris 2.0 with Mic (Blue)
• Greendio Audio Store 2022 Vido (Grey, 3.5mm, Type-C)
• NiceHCK YD30 (Green)
• NiceHCK Traceless Vido (Red-Blue)
• 2022 NiceHCK Traceless (Green)
• FENGRU DIY EMX500 (Blue)
  • Girftu Store EMX500 (Black)
• RY4S MMCX (Blue)
• YINCROW X6 / RW-9 (Red)
  • YINCROW X6 (Red) 2023
• FAAEAL Iris 1.0 (Black)
• FAAEAL Snow-lotus 2.0 (Hwhite)
• FAAEAL Snow-lotus 1.0 (Purple)
• VE Monk+
• TY Hi-Z HP 32 (Black)
• TY Hi-Z HP 150
• TY Hi-Z HP 150s

At the very top is the RY4S Plus MMCX (the third, and the fourth picture), which is my current favourite. Originally I got the RY4S and it immediately stood out to me with its clarity. The Plus variant added more base to it, and in my opinion is even better than the original.

I could easily use the RY4S Plus as my endgame. I think they that good.

The most disappointing ones were the Venture Electronics Asura 2.0S. They just sounded terrible, and very muffled. I remember at the time they were advertised as being Sennheiser HD600 in the earbud form. Well, they copied the veil very well. The Asuras were the only earbuds I actually returned, very expensive and disappointing, so they are not featured on the list.

The Toneking Tomahawk, are another Chinese brand. These are alright from what I recall. I have not used them much even though I've had them since 2019.

Auglamour RX-1 were around €20 in 2019, and for that price they are incredibly well built and great earbuds. Very flat and need EQ, but once EQ-ed they became alive.

The original Monks which are shown after the Auglamour sounded much better than the Monk+.

SHOZY Cygnus, got them on eBay in 2018. I "liked" them at the time because I paid £71.00 for them, but this is what I have in my notes after comparing them:

>Overrated! RX1 and EMX500 sound better, cleaner. Bass bleeds into mids. Mids too thick. Very dull, only mids, very, very thick mids. Requires EQ, but still lacks sparkle.

The YUIN PK2 are one of my favourites. They were the first serious, expensive earbuds I bought in 2013. The ones in the picture are 13 years old!! I loved them when I got them, I still love them. Very balanced, sparkly, exciting. I love the PK shell (the design). I also bought the PK3 years later and I was not impressed by them at all, I thought that maybe they were fake because the printing on them was faded looking, but apparently later models came like that.

ROSE Masya are beautiful earbuds. Picked them up on AliExpress in 2018 for around €110. If you like classical music, you would like them. They lack base, but have clinical clarity. I prefer more fun sounding earbuds and headphones, so they are not for me, but I do appreciate them.

And finally, the crown jewel of my collection, the Sennheiser MX 980, which I bought in 2018 for around £100 from a person on eBay that used them on flights.

These earbuds are legendary! This was Sennheiser's last hurrah to the earbud world. Beautiful design, you can just tell that they are something special, Sennheiser did not hold back on these, they went all in. The price reflected that, of course. While we are used to super expensive IEMs nowadays, back then, in 2010, the MX 980 cost from €150 to €200, which at the time was shockingly expensive, and the reason I did not buy them.

There was another model after this, the MX 985, but it was essentially the same earbud. Years ago I had an opportunity to buy practically new, second hand MX 985 and I passed on it, a decision I remember with regret even today.

The MX 980 were at the top of everyone's lists for years, but to be honest, I was not super impressed with them when I got them. Maybe I built them up so much in my head that I had expected something more. They sounded very spacious though, like a full sized headphone, and sparkly. I do remember thinking that the PK2 were more fun though.

Just as a trivia, besides the MX 980, there was also an IEM sibling, the CX 980. If I knew a crazy scientist with a DeLorean, I'd pick them both up.

Besides the MX 985, the other two earbuds which I was hurting for many years but ended up not being able to find were the BLOX TM7, and the VE Zen 1.0. Both were very coveted and highly regarded by the community.

If you are interested in getting good earbuds, right now I would highly recommend you the RY4S Plus MMCX. They have everything, clarity, base, mids, highs. They are really good and they are not rare, at least right now, so you can get them, throw them around and enjoy them.

I also have a decent collection of IEMs, not as many as earbuds, but I got some classics, like the Sennheiser CX 95. I may create another thread with them later.

At the end is a picture of some more earbuds I picked up over the years. At this point, it's been a few years since I took the exit turn from the audiophile highway, I am done with earbuds, and IEMs, and headphones too. It's an endless race, so I just stopped and enjoy what I have.

If you have any questions, ask away!