Cheap earphone vs expensive

[lovesound]

Dear all,
this can be a silly thing to ask but I get very confused.
So I went to a local hifi shop, I asked them
"I currently have Meze 99 classic as headphone at home, I am looking for an earphone to travel around"

Basically they told for earphone, it is not needed to spend too much money (like around £1000 price tag). some people even enjoy the £50-100 range.

Can I ask if that is the case? I see that earphone is smaller - maybe they would not cost as much as the big headphone to make, store and distribute?

I have SP100 DAP. I saw the T2 plus or the T4 have good review (they are quite cheap) - is it worth? or better to go for bigger brand and more expensive one?

thank you all

 

[Katji]

The Tin IEM are very popular in the VFM price ranges...let the experts advise about the differences between the various models.

maybe they would not cost as much as the big headphone to make, store and distribute?

Maybe, but some IEM have 3 or more tiny drivers inside, so very high-tech.

 

[DeepFried]

I think in most cases the cost of high end headphones has little to do with the manufacturing and resale costs.

In general I don't think you have to spend large amounts of money to get good results, especially i you're prepared to EQ.

 

[lovesound]

Thank you.
Can ask what IEM?
Would you go for balanced or normal connection for the tin audio t2?.
I hear that 1more has high reviews from whathifi and it is only £40 what do you think?

 

[GaryH]

Have a read of this: https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/price-sound-quality-headphones

The same is true of IEMs:

In fact one of the best IEMs you can buy (in terms of both frequency response and distortion) are the Sony MH755 or MH750, which can be had for less than $10 each. There are fakes out there though and it might be difficult to find a genuine pair now.

 

[lovesound]

Have a read of this: https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/price-sound-quality-headphones

The same is true of IEMs:

In fact one of the best IEMs you can buy (in terms of both frequency response and distortion) are the Sony MH755 or MH750, which can be had for less than $10 each. There are fakes out there though and it might be difficult to find a genuine pair now.

Thanks
I tried the sony earphone search and found that they are available in aliexpress. Is this real

https://m.aliexpress.com/i/4000279778327.html

 

[lovesound]

And also om ebay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

Sounds like really good. Price

 

[GaryH]

I doubt the eBay one is genuine at that price, and I wouldn't trust the AliExpress one either. It's best to search internet forums for people who have received confirmed genuine pairs from a particular eBay seller, e.g. try looking through the Head-Fi forums.

 

[lovesound]

I doubt the eBay one is genuine at that price, and I wouldn't trust the AliExpress one either. It's best to search internet forums for people who have received confirmed genuine pairs from a particular eBay seller, e.g. try looking through the Head-Fi forums.

Thank u.
Can you show more details in the graph?
I am thinking to get thr lle T2 audio as it is quite good price and i can try connect balanced cable it. Would balanced cable make the difference? I see the sony earphones does not need the fancy balance cables to get accurate audio

 

[GeekyBastard]

Basically they told for earphone, it is not needed to spend too much money (like around £1000 price tag). some people even enjoy the £50-100 range.

My respect to the shop owner, he sounds like a genuine person.

 

[MrBrainwash]

https://www.myearfun.com/limited-edition/earfun-free-pro-tuned-by-oluv

9 units left.

These are 'no BS' wireless In-ears phones with high VFM performance for people that like clean and detailed sound. I bought one pair and they are superb. I heard this is last chance to buy them.

 

[GaryH]

https://www.myearfun.com/limited-edition/earfun-free-pro-tuned-by-oluv

9 units left.

These are 'no BS' wireless In-ears phones with high VFM performance for people that like clean and detailed sound. I bought one pair and they are superb. I heard this is last chance to buy them.

Massive dip around 6 kHz: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5a43rw7xr... (Oluv Edition) (oratory1990 target).pdf?dl=0

Likely a non-minimum phase cancellation too so won't be EQable (probably why Oratory hasn't touched it in his EQ).

 

[GaryH]

Thank u.
Can you show more details in the graph?
I am thinking to get thr lle T2 audio as it is quite good price and i can try connect balanced cable it. Would balanced cable make the difference? I see the sony earphones does not need the fancy balance cables to get accurate audio

The Tin T2 isn't great, with bloated upper bass / midrange: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fmpteg9g8mtbgue/Tin Audio T2.pdf?dl=0

Don't worry about balanced cables, they're only really useful for eeking out more volume, which you hardly ever need for high sensitivity IEMs.

The graph I posted was based on preference ratings given by listeners in double-blind controlled studies by Dr Sean Olive, but he doesn't reveal the identity of the particular models tested. He did create an algorithm which predicts preference with a 91% accuracy for IEMs based on their measured frequency response. Here's a ranking based on that algorithm: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/RANKING.md

Just pick a reasonably priced pair near the top of the list (scroll down for the In-ear Headphones ranking) and you'll likely be happy with the sound.

 

[someguyontheinternet]

https://www.myearfun.com/limited-edition/earfun-free-pro-tuned-by-oluv

9 units left.

These are 'no BS' wireless In-ears phones with high VFM performance for people that like clean and detailed sound. I bought one pair and they are superb. I heard this is last chance to buy them.

Important to note is that Oluv specifically attempts to recreate his own hearing for the samples in his videos. The earfun Oluv edition is also specifically tuned to suit his own ears and preferences. While it is entirely possible to have matching preferences and similar enough ears, the design behind these earphones explicitly follows an approach based mostly on subjective experience and opinion.
He also mentions in one of his videos that these earphones have audible unit variation. The results you get will not only vary by person, but also by unit!

In this specific case his preferences seem to track the harman target relatively closely up to about 3kHz, but I would like to suggest some caution when recommending a product that very explicitly relies on subjective experience in it's design. It's not impossible to get good results with a good amount of experience (as seems to be the case here), but this is not always the case.

 

[RikB]

I like my Tin Hifi T3 earphones a lot. The cable doesn't last long though, but there are plenty of replacements available.

 

[MrBrainwash]

Important to note is that Oluv specifically attempts to recreate his own hearing for the samples in his videos. The earfun Oluv edition is also specifically tuned to suit his own ears and preferences. While it is entirely possible to have matching preferences and similar enough ears, the design behind these earphones explicitly follows an approach based mostly on subjective experience and opinion.
He also mentions in one of his videos that these earphones have audible unit variation. The results you get will not only vary by person, but also by unit!

In this specific case his preferences seem to track the harman target relatively closely up to about 3kHz, but I would like to suggest some caution when recommending a product that very explicitly relies on subjective experience in it's design. It's not impossible to get good results with a good amount of experience (as seems to be the case here), but this is not always the case.

Tuning of the headphones by ear make sense espassially when the end result match science based research. AND we have to have in mind that there is no such thing as perfect curve. We don't know everything about hearing and acoustic when it comes to effects of headphones reproduction. We essencially don't know what "sounds good" That's why product based on someones taste can sound better than EQualizing mindlessly to the harman curve.

 

[Katji]

I was surprised to see Apple Airpods so low in the list, and Tin, given their popularity...I must go back and see if the Apple headphones do better.