u/ResistDirect2537

I've been seeing a lot of chatter about full suspension belt drive this year, but hardly any coverage of Rohloff builds. Is the consensus that there are too many trade offs for the kind of riding people are doing, or is it just a symptom of chains are good enough and it's an issue diminishing returns? I remember riding a spot ss belt drive and thinking wow this rules, but building it with a Rohloff makes designing the frame kind of a nightmare.

I’ve given away the majority of my entry level single dd earphones, so these are all $50 or more, but I didn’t pay more than $100 for any of these sets.

Kiwi Ears Forteza: 2 DD + BA inoffensive tuning, satisfying bass and decent build quality at the price point. The stock cable is fine but does not spark joy.

Tin T2: 2 DD very small, overall nice feeling build, nice foam tips if they’re not melted (I got mine from Drop). The stock cable is nasty feeling braided wire. I like that I can easily get these fairly deep which afford a very stable and comfortable seal.

Moondrop Aria Dos: DD I really like the modular cable? They sound fine? The red paint is terrible. I’ll probably peel off what’s left of the red and then they’ll just be shiny, but for the money I’d give these a pass.

Truthear Zero: 2 DD Pretty middle of the road tuning, sounds full but not overly colored. Stock cable is mid, 90 degree 3.5, basic knockoff Sennheiser black. The build of the shells feels great, nozzles fit pretty deeply in my ear canals.

Celest Plutus Beast: SPD + BA + Bone Conduction Tried these and thought they sounded weird but I liked the fit. After listening to them for a while I think maybe they’re weird for the sake of being weird, but it’s an interesting sensation that feels different from all my other sets. Not a blind buy, but nice enough balanced cable and travel pouch so if you get them on sale they’re kind of novel at this price. Celest does weird for the sake of weird better than most and I keep falling for it.

Tempotec DD + 4 DA These are the highest msrp of any of my iems, and for like a week I was thrilled with them. The sudo custom shells fit great and I feel like hybrids with this many crossover frequencies add something that 2 driver hybrids don’t quite deliver. But then the 2 pin connection came partially loose inside the shell and now I’m afraid to wear them outside. Kind of a letdown, but maybe I just got a crummy unit. The included cable and case are quite nice.

Truthear Hexa: DD + 3 BA I think this is sweet spot for anybody who want to obsess over this stuff. The cable is the same uninspiring black one that comes with the zero, which means that they work best with recessed 2 pin cables. But those cables feel pretty sketchy if the socket is flush. So despite all my earphones using .78mm cables I still have 2 separate ecosystem. 

Letshouer DZ4 3 DD I think people got really hung up on the drivers and forgot that the fit is like 75% of the problem, and these are very middle of the road fit wise. They feel light, but not cheap or oily. I think the important thing to note with the pressure equalization system is for better or worse there isn’t a noticeable issue with ear canal pressure despite a lot of air moving around. Would they work fine with regular ports?

Tangzu x Dethonray YuXuanJi; DD Based on my first set of Tangzu IEMs I had pretty low expectations, so the fact that these aren’t total junk is a win. That said the supper rubbery braided cable didn’t last long, so they’re less of a value. I like the ID though. They sound fine, uncolored.

DD Hifi Janus Dos: DD I really like these. As with the Tin T2 I find they’re easy to position for a good stable seal. They’re easy to drive, the mmcx in one side is a fun gimmick, but I’ve never used it. At the closeout prices they’re a great value.

Simgot EW300: DD + Planar + Piezoelectricity I had no opinion on setter this tribrid is and better or worse than any other multi driver iem, but the fit an finish of the earphones and the cable are really excellent. Like the Moondrops they’re a bit undersized for my ears, but they’re stable enough with the right ear tips. I have not played with the tuning nozzles, but it’s a compelling idea.

Shozy P20: 14mm planar These are potentially the end game for me at least on paper. The build is good, the fit is fine, the tuning is inoffensive. The stock cable is a bit thin but night enough and 4.4mm. The stock tips don’t sit deep enough for me, but I have a practically unlimited supply of choices at this point. 

I don’t need most of these but these are the ones I haven’t given away or broken.

Moondrop Echo B: Honestly all I really need for IEMs. Struggles a little to drive some of my over ear headphones.

Snowsky/Fiio Retro Nano: I don’t really need the Bluetooth or the screen, but the battery is clever and it’s more than enough to drive every headphone I own.

Blon V1: Super budged 4.4 + 3.5 CS43131 with a window. I could have stopped here. I should have stopped here.

Dunu DTC480: It’s a little cyber truck. I don’t know what else to say about this but I like the build quite a lot.

Hidizs XO: honestly this dac kind of sucks. I got it on sale, so I’m not overly disappointed, but the PCM filters are pretty pointless, the 2.5mm jack is flakey and it gets super toasty. The lights are kind of fun, but just passive, not reactive. Swing and a miss.

Hidizs AP80: Not primarily a dac, but I rarely use it as a stand alone player. Not every usb c cable plays well with this player, but the Bluetooth is convenient. Bluetooth connection is not particularly reliable, but it does ldac when it wants to and it gets loud enough. I love the Alps volume knob, but it doesn’t scroll which is another miss from Hidizs. I don’t think I would bother upgrading to a balanced AP80 versions considering it works with most usb dacs (although ironically not the xo). The headphone jack feels delicate so I rarely take this out anymore.

I had a grip of iPods that I have since redistributed to anybody I could convince to take one, but I just can’t be bothered to get a bunch of offline flac music.

I’m helping my SO design a bike and I just plugged my parts list into Google and it spit out I think some pretty passable concept art. Is this what I’m going to do with my spare time now? Or does this mean I can finally let it go an just ride my bike without thinking about parts?

Chungus 1X1 as it was always meant to be. 26x3” Even running a duck tape rim job for street cred.

I went to the LBS and got the narrowest risers they had, a pair of Hussefelt 700mm that would have been considered quite wide when I built this thing. It feels good. Gotta change it up every 5 to 10 years. Thinking about getting some Dirt Wizard or Minion DHF tires, but I’m not trying to build new wheels anytime soon.