Anyone who wants AMAZING sounding in-ears/headphones for $16... read this!

[cozats]

Note the "_":

And, like me, you'll never unsee it now.

Back on topic, have you tried the Chu's in a high volume setting? As in, how well do they block out stage volume? I'm stuck in that analysis paralysis land of Protecting Hearing + IEM volume = Conflict of Interest and hoping to find a set of IEM's that don't need to be cranked to overcome external noise levels.

I just got them last night, so, no, no stage tested. It did isolate me just fine with my wife watching tv in the same room at normal volume, and not listening to her at all, when she spoke, so I guess it's good enough
Seriourlsy, I don't know how would these work with a drummer and/or amp on stage. I was feeling isolated enough so as to not be disturbed by the TV and be able to concentrate. The sound quality on the other hand, absolutely superb. They're like 18$, so it's not much to gamble to see if they fit your scenario.

 

[northern_fox]

Isolation is down to what you use for the plug part, so you could probably find some of appropriate type / inner diameter that you're used to already if you don't like the silicone ones and just swap them. I'm gonna try them at practice later

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I am wondering. If the Chu are amazing, and the $18 Chu 2 seem to be even better, what would be the experience with the $319 Blessing 3? Anyone has tried it?

It has 4 divers: 2 for mids and 2 for treble

View attachment 10368

It seems to be very "FRFR". And from 20Hz!!!
View attachment 10369

View attachment 10370
These guys have serious audio labs
View attachment 10371

MOONDROP BLESSING3 2DD+4BA In-Ear Monitor | MOONDROP Official Website

moondroplab.com

I’ve not tried them, but from everything I’ve read, they are exceptional. Judging by how good their budget options sound, I’m inclined to believe it’s true.

View attachment 10372
Actually, "FRFR" is not a good idea for listening music with in-ears.. The curve above looks more pleasant

Yeah. One important thing about headphones is that the “ideal” tuning curve is not flat. It’s based on how our ears perceive sound and the frequencies they’re more sensitive to. That gray line in the plot above—the “target” curve—is an ideal response curve that optimally tuned headphones should match.

However, that’s not the full story. A frequency response plot doesn’t tell you everything about how they sound—driver matching, response latency, and the way they couple acoustically with your unique ear canal anatomy affect it too. For example, poorly matched L and R drivers will result in a wonky soundstage (the perceived stereo field our brain constructs from two mono audio signals).

 

[spawnofthesith]

Our drummer has been using the linsouls for our last 3 or 4 shows and loves them, he says he likes them way better than shure 215s

 

[northern_fox]

Isolation is down to what you use for the plug part, so you could probably find some of appropriate type / inner diameter that you're used to already if you don't like the silicone ones and just swap them. I'm gonna try them at practice later

Okay so the ones it came with are definitely not as good at isolation - my ears are ringing a little too much after practice tonight (it's a really loud band). Gotta fix that - but they definitely sounded better than my se425's with the band

 

[Iron1]

Okay so the ones it came with are definitely not as good at isolation - my ears are ringing a little too much after practice tonight (it's a really loud band). Gotta fix that - but they definitely sounded better than my se425's with the band

That's what I found with the Linsouls. So, I got a set of these yesterday for band practice:

Eargasm hearing protection

While the may not do much good when on stage, they seem to be better at reducing the volume w/o altering the tone than anything else I've tried. Looks like we're having practice again this weekend, so I'll put em thru their paces then and compare to the Earasers I already have that do a decent job but are a little tricky to get to seal properly.

 

[northern_fox]

That's what I found with the Linsouls. So, I got a set of these yesterday for band practice:
Eargasm hearing protection

While the may not do much good when on stage, they seem to be better at reducing the volume w/o altering the tone than anything else I've tried. Looks like we're having practice again this weekend, so I'll put em thru their paces then and compare to the Earasers I already have that do a decent job but are a little tricky to get to seal properly.

I usually use eargasms, but the shure IEMs were definitely have been the "quietest" I've used yet. Wonder if I can find better tips for chifis

 

[Iron1]

I usually use eargasms, but the shure IEMs were definitely have been the "quietest" I've used yet. Wonder if I can find better tips for chifis

I'm wondering if the Eargasm "plugs" would fit over the Chu's... might have to order a set to find out.

 

[northern_fox]

I'm wondering if the Eargasm "plugs" would fit over the Chu's... might have to order a set to find out.

I just bought a bunch of "universal" kind of ones from amazon. Should get them tomorrow, in time for this weekend's show - hopefully one of those will do it. I did also try using the silicone ones with the smallest inner diameter and it's possibly a little better but probably not a ton. I think part of the sure design is they slide in deeper more easily maybe

 

[Iron1]

I just bought a bunch of "universal" kind of ones from amazon. Should get them tomorrow, in time for this weekend's show - hopefully one of those will do it.

Nice. If they work out, please let me know.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I just bought a bunch of "universal" kind of ones from amazon. Should get them tomorrow, in time for this weekend's show - hopefully one of those will do it. I did also try using the silicone ones with the smallest inner diameter and it's possibly a little better but probably not a ton. I think part of the sure design is they slide in deeper more easily maybe

Were you using foam or silicone tips on your Shure?

 

[northern_fox]

Were you using foam or silicone tips on your Shure?

Silicone - the design is different though, and the hole for the driver is a lot smaller. I also think the silicone is a little thicker on those. I can't try those tips on the chi-fis because the diameter is too small

 

[texhex]

So after about an hour or so of A/B comparing these to the OG Chu, the 2’s are much quieter. Running these through an AXE-III which can drive headphones just fine, and there is a definite decrease in volume when using the 2’s. They also have LESS high end treble than my Chu1. Now I probably have at least 100+ hours on the Chu1 set and I’m told that there is no such thing ”burn-in” on IEMs so I’m just gonna set that aside.

Out of the box (using the same SPRING tips from the Chu1) the Chu2s are quieter (require more volume) and have less high end treble. They are also a tad darker (not muddy exactly, just different low end and low kids) compared the the 1s. I actually prefer the overall sound of the 1 to the 2 but I’m much more used to the 1 sound signature.

The build quality and included cable is really nice but I really don’t care for the ear tips when compared to the SPRING tips that come with the 1.
I’m going to run music through these non stop for the next 3-4 days anyway. Yeah I know there is no burn-in but I’m humoring myself and what can it hurt.

They are only literally $17 and for that kind of price they sound pretty good. Crazy!

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Silicone - the design is different though, and the hole for the driver is a lot smaller. I also think the silicone is a little thicker on those. I can't try those tips on the chi-fis because the diameter is too small

You might want to give the SpinFit CP145 eartips a try that I mentioned earlier in this thread. They’re thicker like the silicone ones that come with the Shures and I just generally prefer them.

If you go to Amazon and search “SpinFit CP145 for IEM - L - Patented Silicone Eartips for Replacement, Secure Fit and Supreme Comfort (2 Pairs) (for Nozzle Diameter from 5-6mm)” those will be the ones. I’d link you directly but I think it would get filtered.

Those ones fit the Chu and SalNotes Zero perfectly. I’m not sure what the nozzle size is on the Tangzu, but if it’s the same, they’ll work for those too.

(Make sure to order the size eartip that fits your ears… the “L” in the search above is for large, but they have different sizes of that same style which fit the same nozzle diameter)

 

[SwirlyMaple]

So after about an hour or so of A/B comparing these to the OG Chu, the 2’s are much quieter. Running these through an AXE-III which can drive headphones just fine, and there is a definite decrease in volume when using the 2’s. They also have LESS high end treble than my Chu1. Now I probably have at least 100+ hours on the Chu1 set and I’m told that there is no such thing ”burn-in” on IEMs so I’m just gonna set that aside.

Out of the box (using the same SPRING tips from the Chu1) the Chu2s are quieter (require more volume) and have less high end treble. They are also a tad darker (not muddy exactly, just different low end and low kids) compared the the 1s. I actually prefer the overall sound of the 1 to the 2 but I’m much more used to the 1 sound signature.

The build quality and included cable is really nice but I really don’t care for the ear tips when compared to the SPRING tips that come with the 1.
I’m going to run music through these non stop for the next 3-4 days anyway. Yeah I know there is no burn-in but I’m humoring myself and what can it hurt.

They are only literally $17 and for that kind of price they sound pretty good. Crazy!

Thanks for the write up! I’m not surprised by what you’re hearing… all the Chu 2 reviews mentioned that they have been tuned for more bass and had the treble tamed a bit. Burn-in likely won’t do much because it was intentional in the design. People just seem to like hyped bass so they conceded to the complaints.

 

[StratsoundFan]

Can any of these budget IEMs compete with Sennheiser HD600, mainly for playing guitar using amp sims? I really like how my guitars sound through Senn HD600.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Can any of these budget IEMs compete with Sennheiser HD600, mainly for playing guitar using amp sims? I really like how my guitars sound through Senn HD600.

IMO, yes, absolutely. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that some of them are actually better than the HD600, because they have more accurate bass extension and faster/more detailed transient response in the treble frequencies. That may sound like nonsense, but it is an actual audible difference that you can hear if you’ve got critical ears.

However, the one thing you give up is the comfort of large, open-backed headphones. In-ears can get uncomfortable/fatiguing until you ear canals get used to them, and it can take some trial and error to find the ideal eartip fit for your anatomy.

 

[StratsoundFan]

I find it hard to believe that 18$ headphones can outperform the 400$ ones, but anything is possible, I guess. I have a whole bunch of headphones gathering dust. I might add some of these cheap IEMs to the collection, purely out of curiosity.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I find it hard to believe that 18$ headphones can outperform the 400$ ones, but anything is possible, I guess. I have a whole bunch of headphones gathering dust. I might add some of these cheap IEMs to the collection, purely out of curiosity.

FWIW, HD600 are the headphones I use normally and have used for over 15 years. So I’m quite familiar with their sound characteristics.

Well-tuned IEMs can be seriously impressive, and we’ve reached a point in time where cost no longer correlates well with tuning quality of IEMs. But again I will caution that even if it sounds great, not everyone is going to enjoy the physical experience of IEMs vs a comfy breathable set of open-air headphones.

 

[quadgear]

Correction. The graph above was the SPL & Phase. This is the frequency response.
Still impressive, though

View attachment 10372
Actually, "FRFR" is not a good idea for listening music with in-ears.. The curve above looks more pleasant

"Shallow V Shape with an upper mid hump"