When I visited their booth in Canjam 2026 they did say Sivga had plans in releasing one to two more Flatties near the end of the year. I guess this is it?
Early impression floating on Chinese website says it still follows M260 tuning but with better low end.
I have been searching for budget detachable flathead earbuds and this one of the few options I have here. Should I get them or do I look for something else?
Haven't gone in depth for the time being, but wanted to know if there were gems you folks found now.
NiceHCK EB2s Pro + NiceHCK Donut Foams + CX Pro Dongle DAC (that is semi-broken, and will be replaced quite soon)
I'm thankful that flathead earbuds are a thing, really can't use IEMs as I have developed a condition that barres me from using in-ear types.
Got what is arguably the best one in its' price bracket, the NiceHCK EB2s Pro, been rocking them for around a year now and so far it is great, glad I have neutral-ish gear that personally want.
I'm also posting because now I still have questions as I'm fairly new to the scene:
Also feel free to critique if there's anything particularly wrong with how I store my dongle dac together with my set lol
Much appreciated
With the latest Aliexpress "sale" I've got a handful of decent coin discounts and a few vouchers and decided I might as well try a few new pairs of earbuds. For the last few years I've been switching between bluetooth earphones as they break and thought I'd bust out my old Fiio X1, BTR5 and a 3.5mm to usbc adapter and give wired another go.
In addition to a pair of cheap IEMS (Tangzu Wan'er Red Lion) I thought I'd grab some cheap(ish) flatheads. I haven't used a pair of flatheads in probably 20 years now, but the lack of isolation and ear fatigue has me intrigued. Thought I'd pick up pair of ultra cheap (~£5) to toss in my bag when I'm out and cheap (<£30), nicer pair to use at home. They'll mostly be used for either music or single player gaming (trying to get more use out of my retro handhelds lol). Not really sure exactly what I'm looking for response or sound wise, best I can do is the last pairs of "premium" audio peripherals I used and enjoyed being a pair of VSonic GR-06 IEMs and Audio Technia ATH-AD900x open back headphones (if that helps at all lol). Most of the stuff I've tried since hasn't really blown me away so I kinda just reverted to "budget" pairs whenever I needed new headphones/earbuds.
For the ultra budget the current front runners are between:
Honestly, between these I'll probably grab either the Yincrow or Iris 2.0, both seem well regarded and liked. X6's are probably ahead because of just how cheap they are, but I could be persuaded to triple the X6 budget for the Iris lol.
And the regular cheap pairs are between:
Here I'd like a bit more advice, quoted prices and the "discount%" are kinda all over the place so I'm not sure which pair offers the best price to quality ratio.
(Prices for both categories are after seemingly arbitrary coin and voucher discounts)
Was also gonna grab some Venture Electronics Ex-pack lite pads to try out too (~£5). Am I safe in assuming that foam pads in general are swappable between most pairs?
Thanks in advance for any help and or advice!
Hi everyone
I was really impressed by the quality of the Yincrow x6 and im looking for an upgrade.
My budget is under 100€ and id like to take advantage of the current Aliexpress sale
Hey everyone,
I’m mostly an IEM user with almost zero flathead experience. Aside from a random no-name AliExpress pair, I picked up a proper set of flatheads and I'm impressed, despite the awful out-of-the-box experience.
The presentation is terrible, the stock cable sucks, and the included tips are useless. However, the actual sound is fantastic—warm, smooth, and very easy to listen to. The bass is pleasant and gets the job done, even if it lacks heavy slam.
Quick question:
Am I actually hearing the good side of flatheads here? If I upgrade to a higher-end set, can I expect more of this warm, relaxed sound with better technicalities, or is this basically the ceiling for the form factor?
Show off your flatheads, gear, and accessories! Post a picture or two, a short description of the setup/sound, and/or what music/media you'll be listening to.
Got an idea for a Flathead Friday topic? Feel free to post it in here or shoot me a message!
I saw on r/audiofiliabrasil that a new Tanchjim flathead, the Tanchjim Pinto, is supposedly going to be announced at the Shenzhen International Audio Exhibition (SIAS).
Are we going to see another brand investing in flathead earbuds?
I've recently found out about flatheads and im looking for something that would be good for single player gaming. I found 3 flatheads that seem interesting, the dunu alpha 3 the douk audio s3, and the sivga m300, are these any good? Any better recommendations?
I just noticed something I've never noticed before, so I thought I'd drop a quick note of it here in case anyone finds it useful or has any additional thoughts about it.
If you don't like technical discussions, please ignore and leave it for those that do. I've tried to make this as easy to skim as possible, and no, it was not written by AI. Not even a little bit.
TLDR:
I noticed a possible correlation between imaging (maybe of relevance to gamers in particular) and testing for correct phase.
Background:
I recently got a some new flatheads. Specifically for the purposes of this post, the Lun Sheng Aeolian Bells and the Fiio FF1. Both are good btw, but in completely different ways. This post is not a review of either, but I'm happy to answer questions about them.
Neither of them have L/R indicators on the shells, so it's up to the cable to indicate left/right. The Fiio cable has a small Braille pattern of 3 dots, which means "L", to indicate left. I was adding some red/blue finishing tape to make them easier to see at a glance. I was also experimenting to see if I can get another cable to fit on the Fiio, as they use a nonstandard recessed 2-pin (turns out no stock cables fit, but I was able to modify one successfully).
After messing about with the cables (esp the modded one), I wanted to check I had everything the right way round and in phase. I have a few tests bookmarked for this, but I'm coming to a point, which this particular test seems to highlight best (in case you want to try it on some of your own headphones/flatheads/IEMs):
speaker polarity check - test tone - BEATNVISION
Finally getting to the point:
Now, I had noticed from previous listening that the A-Bells have unusually good imaging, which initially I attributed to their U-shaped tuning.
However, when I ran this test, I noticed that on the Fiio, it's actually quite hard to tell whether they are in phase or not. On the A-Bells the difference is instantly obvious. In-phase has a pin-sharp centre-image and out of phase is distinctly coming from both sides at once.
The difference in imaging quality between the two is also noticeable, but not immediately obvious. The difference in this phase test is night and day, which is a useful property for a good test.
I am now wondering if this generalises or not. It could just be a coincidence with these particular flatheads, but it seems that if I can't tell whether the sound is in or out of phase easily, then centre imaging probably isn't great in general.
I should also add that the Fiio has better imaging than just "3 blobs" that the HD6x0 series are known for, for example. But the centre image specifically, is not very sharp, even though in a lot of music it's not all that noticeable, because the position of a singer is rarely pin-sharp anyway.
Addendum:
Lately I have been thinking a bit about good imaging tests for gamers, because people often ask me "is such-and-such good for gaming" and usually I don't know, because I don't play competitive shooters, which is what most people care about. It seems, according to what very limited research exists on this, that the most important thing for gaming isn't imaging in general, but (somewhat counter-intuitively) the precision of the centre image. So if this isn't just a coincidence with these specific flatheads then this could be a quick and handy "is it good for gaming" test.
I would also like to try out this phase test with many more headphones than just these two, and see if there is a correlation with imaging in games, as well as normal stereo imaging in music. So to do that I'm going to need to find a game that works well as a test.
So, if anyone here plays a lot of competitive games and can suggest any decent single-player FPS' that are broadly in line with whatever positional audio engines & SFX are used in games like CS, PUBG, CoD, Apex Legends, Valorant and other stuff people ask about a lot, please let me know. I probably have some things in my Steam library gathering dust.
Also, I suspect that the A-Bells may be the best gaming flathead under $20-ish, but I don't want to make that sort of claim without testing it in some actual games & comparing with some of my other flatheads to see if it makes a real difference.
Hello hello,
I've been using foams on my NiceHCK EB2s Pro, and after having done so many research on taking care of Flatheads,
No one's ever pointed out how to take care of their foams?
I'd like to know if y'all have an efficient way of cleaning and maintaining your foams before throwing in the towel and replacing them with a fresh pair?
EDIT: Thanks for all your responses, helps me a lot 🙇
I've recently got into flatheads and they're really wonderful since I can't wear IEMs. Since everyone raves about the X6, I got a pair and I was disappointed. While I hear more of the bass, it's doesn't feel significantly more present than my other cheap pairs. But what bothers me more is the highs feel quite fatiguing. I feel like I got a dud, but they don't sound broken, just tuned differently than I expected. Anyone else feel this way, or is there something weird going on here...
Edit: absurd that this is getting down voted for an opinion / experience. I know y'all love this set but come on. What I've gathered from the comments is it's a QC issue or it just doesn't fit in my ears right. Either way, I won't reroll on this set since there's so many incredible sub $20 sets to try out. I currently enjoy my Nice Buds and my Faael sets.
Bought this on a whim since I saw it for 30$. As a basshead that always goes for that BAAAD sub-bASS rumble, it healed my addiction for the bASS. There are music that doesn't need for that bassy sound and this is good for those type of music.
I was surprised that It is somehow louder than my chu 2. It is kinda good for listening to calm and melodic music. I used it for lofi and Carpenters and it sounds great. I guess the vocals sound natural and forward. Overall, I like how it sounds and it's good for casual listening.
Comfort wise is meh for me. It doesn't feel as fit and secure as in-ear monitors. I could've bought sivga qué but got tempted by how it looks and got curious about flatheads.
Hello, as you may know, earlier I posted about my middle-ear fluid, and wanting to purchase flathead earbuds to compensate for the lack of use of my IEMs.
As a result, I was recommended two different flathead earbuds, but have a hard time making a curated decision.
As stated earlier, I would like recommendations based on the following preferences (I want closest, there will never be an exact):
Sound Performance and Sonic Character
- Clean, transparent, and balanced sound with little to no emphasis in any frequency range, while also providing the widest possible sound stage. All frequency ranges, generally have to be close in audibility.
- As these are flatheads and lack a seal, it has to have prominant/adequate amount of bass to where it doesn't sound flat or tinny.
- I generally hate warmth, so I avoid sets tuned with these characteristics.
Build
- Preferably metal, but this isn't a strict requirement
- Durable
Budget
- Under $35
Now, these seem to meet those, despite the Sivga being a little over budget, which isn't a deal breaker.
So, regarding sound, what is the most viable option?
Hi all. I've owned a cheap Fransun Yuandao Second Generation, and I like how it sounded for the price. I'm wondering if I buy a Type-C USB DAC, is there much of a improvement?
I use it with my cheap realme Note 50 and so far it's quite great.
Thanks.
Hello, a little over a month ago, I accumulated fluid behind my eardrums.
Because I had been constantly switching between eartips prior, I thought this was the intial cause (it was just a coincidence).
As a result, I initally stopped use of my IEMs (In-Ear-Monitors), and switched to some older, budget "computer" speakers to compensate.
While they proved to be generally impressive, I would prefer privacy.
To allow the fluid to drain properly, while also not interfering, I decided to look towards flathead IEMs, which doesn't create a seal as IEMs would.
With this, I would like recommendations based on the following preferences (I want closest, there will never be an exact):
Sound Performance and Sonic Character
- Clean, transparent, and balanced sound with little to no emphasis in any frequency range, while also providing the widest possible sound stage. All frequency ranges, generally have to be close in audibility.
- As these are flatheads and lack a seal, it has to have prominant/adequate amount of bass to where it doesn't sound flat or tinny.
- I generally hate warmth, so I avoid sets tuned with these characteristics.
Build
- Preferably metal, but this isn't a strict requirement
- Durable
Budget
- Under $35
I need help picking a flathead earbuds for single player games. I hope to use something lightweight, no mic if possible, and a detachable cable. Not really a big bass guy. Prefer more on clear vocals or dialogue.
If there is a mic I hope it's in the middle and not on one side only.
The stuff I'm choosing between now are the Yincrow YDX (8 dollars), Faael Iris 2.0 (3 dollars), and Faael MX500 Iris Commemorative (3 dollars).
The Yincrow YDX on a local store only has a mic but I guess I can just buy a different cable in the future.
Not sure what the Iris Commemorative is but I just saw it. It has a transparent body and a white braided cable.
Hoping to get help on this. If you have other suggestions I am open to it. Thank you very much!
i use a lot of iems and i always tend to look for bass 7hz legato and scarlet minis are my favorite atm so when i tried these they did seems to sound a lot more balanced but still had that thump i was looking for i love how open they sound definitely changed my opinion on earbuds in general will be purchasing more in the future any recommendations for some the next set i should try ?
Hello,
I am looking for in ear gaming (competitive multiplayer shooters) headphones with a similar shape to Apple wired EarPods headphones. Those are what I currently use because they fit my ears well, but I really should upgrade
So whatever I buy would need to have a similar shape/fit :/
Does not need a mic, it will be plugged into my Logitech Blue Yeti. Budget flexible for the right product
Anyone have any suggestions? Thank you!