Best wired earbuds?

[kennethk]

Hey all I'd like to know if there are any cheapo wired earbuds that pack a punch. I'm not sure if it's possible but I'd like to know if any have that 3D type of sound with some base. I just prefer wired for now not really looking to spend $100+ on true wireless earbuds and most are crap that don't sound that great or break easily. 

 

I know most will probably recommend IEMs which I'm cool with just wondering if there are any other cheapo that might have some rich base I can turn up the volume to.

[Chris Pratt]

Not really. You're talking 8-10mm drivers here. There's only so much that can be achieved in that form factor.

 

I've pretty much switched exclusively to headphones for this reason, just using earbuds when I'm out and about, working out, etc. If you want to sit back and relax with some good sounding tunes, you need headphones.

 

I know it's not what you're asking for, but if you like bass, I can wholeheartedly recommend Skullcandy Crusher Evos. They can literally rattle your skull.

[Brooksie359]

Can you define cheap? To some 80 dollars is cheap while to others that would be expensive. Can you be more specific on what price range you are looking at?

[OfficialTechSpace]

1 hour ago, Chris Pratt said:

Not really. You're talking 8-10mm drivers here. There's only so much that can be achieved in that form factor.

 

I've pretty much switched exclusively to headphones for this reason, just using earbuds when I'm out and about, working out, etc. If you want to sit back and relax with some good sounding tunes, you need headphones.

 

I know it's not what you're asking for, but if you like bass, I can wholeheartedly recommend Skullcandy Crusher Evos. They can literally rattle your skull.

Interesting combo. So we have an IEM denouncer that recommends Skullcandy products ... not sure how to counter that other than with this:

 

 

Highlighted in orange is the harmon target, which is already getting bad press from the enthusiast audiophile community. In the blue is the Skullcandy Crusher Evo's.

 

Largely bloated and muddied bass response, with no real sense of speed nor tactility. A sloppy mess by all regards to audio, and a consumer-oriented signature meant to please those who haven't experienced the superior end of audio. Kinda the line in the sand between two people, the "Whoa, you guys should try these! I'm hearing so much more than I used to" and "wHoA, iTs GoT gOoD bAsS" (which is objectively false anyways, because it's quantative over quality).

What's wrong with the harmon target:

 

[OfficialTechSpace]

2 hours ago, kennethk said:

Hey all I'd like to know if there are any cheapo wired earbuds that pack a punch. I'm not sure if it's possible but I'd like to know if any have that 3D type of sound with some base. I just prefer wired for now not really looking to spend $100+ on true wireless earbuds and most are crap that don't sound that great or break easily. 

Moondrop Starfield, Moondrop Aria. Look no further.

[Spuriae]

1 hour ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

What's wrong with the harmon target:

Please don't give this guy (BBGAR) views. Even if his arguments against the Harman Curve were legitimate (which they are not), the threats of physical violence that he sends to people in the community combined with his history of stealing gear make it hard to in good conscience promote his content.

 

The Harman Curve has shortcomings (E.g. the HD800 has high pinna interaction and should not be used as a reference headphone, their HATS has inaccurate coupling at high/low frequencies, floorstanding speakers are an inappropriate neutral reference, the filter frequencies are arbitrary, etc.), but this video addresses none of them, instead choosing to focus on an argument that a blind test with 250 participants isn't sufficiently rigorous and that instead a personal target curve, created sighted with a sample size of 1, is superior on the basis that the presenter is the best listener on earth (something unironically asserted in the video).

 

Harman is the only major audio company that releases its research to the public for free, and that's soon going away thanks to new policy. It's no surprise; that free research ends up being bad press for them when people who fundamentally misunderstand or mischaracterize it go on to attack Harman for daring to assert that there ought to be a standard for comparing measurements between test sources.

[GoldenSound]

It will depend on your budget of course.

Personally In terms of stuff under $1000, my recommendations would be:

MH755 if you can find a genuine set ($25 ish)

Tanchjim Tanya (~$40)

Moondrop Aria ($80)

Moondrop KATO ($190) - These things are really worth stretching to if you can. They punch so hard above their pricepoint it's kinda ridiculous and they make most stuff even several times their price seem somewhat pointless. Either cause these are better, or cause the other stuff is so tiny of an upgrade it'd be pointless to pay the extra

used UM MEST MK2 (new $1500 ish but can be found used for ~$900)

If you have unlimited money, best I've heard are probably either the Anole VX or MAD24 depending on what sort of sound you prefer.

[The Flying Sloth]

Kbear KS2 are killer IEMs on a budget

[BahnStormer]

For my buds - I get semi-disposable ones... the AKG buds that come standard with the Samsung Galaxy phones - so I get 4 pairs for £10 on eBay... I literally leave one pair in each jacket / bag...