So about a month ago I was looking for a new set of earbuds to replace my audio technica ATH-M50's with. I started reading around and just digging through amazon and found these earbuds threw me off because of how cheap they are, but looking at them I thought...damned those look professional grade:
So I bought them at the then price of 11.99 USD. They shipped from Canada so it took a while to get here, but when I got them I was absolutely blown away. Almost every aspect of those earbuds are flawless. The highs and lows are impeccable. I listened to songs like "Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage" and was amazing on how clear the bass drums at the into are. I listened to "Theophany - Healing Termina" and the song was almost an entirely new experience versus my ATH's. Almost everything I threw at it was amazing until I listened to "Porter Robinson - Sad Machine" and noticed that there was some distortion at the intro of the song with the really high notes. This could be due to lack of a burn in phase, because I've put less than 20 hours in them in a few weeks (been busy), so I don't think this is a huge issue.
My one complaint is the lack of a mid bass. Electronic music, say Daft Punk, Justice, etc, don't quite have the same spirit on these as I wanted. I did some research and found these:
Which is the same product, but with more mid bass and clearer uppers. I haven't received these in the mail yet so I can't comment on them beyond what I've read, but I'm expecting great things. I gave my other pair to my brother while I was visiting this weekend and he's absolutely in love.
I highly recommend checking these out if you're in the market for some earbuds. I'd pay over 75 dollars for these in a heartbeat.
Be sure to update when you get the K7 ATE's. I'll be interested to see what you think of them. I've been looking for decent sounding cheap earbuds for years. The reason I want them to be cheap is because I don't want to be too disappointed if I lose them. And good sounding earbuds aren't always cheap.
I have great headphones, but none of them are conducive to "on the go" listening through my phone. (Stax electrostatic L300, modded Fostex T50 RP, and Sennheiser HD598s.)
How do these compare to the offerings from sony? They've been my go to for cheap decent sounding buds for a while now. I daily Sony XBA-3 but they are falling apart now after years of abuse from me.
I can't answer that, I don't have the luxury of owning nice things anymore because i have a 2.5 year old and a new baby on the way. I had to make my office a nursery and get rid of all of my nice things (RIP my 3 monitors.)
But I'll say that these headphones are, top end, $100 earbuds, max. You can make a comparison from there.
Well shit, I guess for sub $20 I can afford to find out for myself. I didnt mean to say that I want to compare them to the XBA-3 but instead sony's cheaper stuff like you would find in most stores. I have a pair of these and they sound pretty great IMO.
I guess a good question to ask is how comfortable are they for extended use?
Edit: Placed my order. Estimated shipping is a month lol. I'll probably forget I ordered them and then feel surprised.
They're probably one of the most comfortable earbuds I've ever worn. I sat down and payed stardew valley for 5 hours the other night with them in and completely forgot about them. You just want to ensure you get a good seal when you put them in. For me that means putting them in as far as possible then pulling them back out until I feel a hint of pressure.
The L300's are nice. Crystal clear highs and mids (the highs aren't siblant), but the bass is really subdued. It's not going to "wow" you if you listen to Top 40 songs, dubstep, or any metal songs that have lots of low frequency drum kicks. That being said, the little bass that it does have is accurate, with no distortion.
Where they really shine is with orchestral pieces, anything with string instruments, anything with good vocal recordings, etc. Of course the most important thing is that you listen to well recorded music through these. They won't lie to you.
I received the ATE S today. So i'll try to give my most impartial review.
To describe the sound, lacking midrange clarity. That said, lows and highs are great. The sound overall isnt terrible. You could probably level them out in EQ easily. They dont rival any of the high end ear buds ive used in my opinion.
They are also as comfortable as described, though no more comfortable than the sonys I linked, but good for long term wear. The over ear on the ones I have mean they take a lot more force to pull/yank out. Could be good for running with. The cord is a little on the short side IMO but I dont find myself moving with them enough for it to actually be a problem for me.
Overall I cant say i'm impressed with it. They are alright at best, and for $20 I would recommend spending the extra $5 to get the sonys as they are a better deal IMO for the sound.
On a side note, they come with foam like ear pieces but the other sizes for the ear pieces are rubber like, similar to they sony style. I had to use the larger size myself with these where as with the sony I could use the medium size, so if you have issues with the sony style popping out of your ears you might have better luck with these. I know thats the complaint about the sony that my wife has, she likes these more because they stay in better.
Go to models ATM are KZ ATR,ZS3 and ZST which is a hybrid. ATR is arround 5$ on gearbest,ZST are the most expensive at 13$. A hybrid for 13$ is a steal.
I have the KZ ZS3, ATR, and ED9. I prefer the ZS3 the most. It's quite smooth overall with decent midrange clarity, treble which is rolled off a bit and is not fatiguing, and a slightly bassier sound signature. Fits my ear like a glove.
ATR is good for $4. But that's about it. Lacks clarity imo.
ED9 on the stock nozzles is very V shaped. Recessed mids, lots of midbass and treble which can be tiring on your ears after some time. Swapping the second set of nozzles makes everything a lot flatter and brings back the midrange, but bass is very minimal and the sound is borderline airy/tinny.
I have a couple of VE Monk+. Can't understand the hype with these. Harsh highs, unrefined mids, minimal bass due to earbud design. When I can get a KZ ZS3 shipped from gearbest for the same price as a Monk+ shipped, it's a no brainer to shoot for the ZS3.
I also have the Xiaomi Piston 3, Piston Basic, Piston Colorful, and Piston Youth. Unfortunately more recent Piston Youth/Colorful models sound really tinny. I'm guessing Xiaomi is cheaping out compared to the initial release. The Piston 3 for $13 is good, but I find the KZ ZS3 smoother and more enjoyable to listen to.
For reference, home setup is a Schiit Fulla 2 + Schiit Magni 2 + HD 6XX. I also have the AKG K553, Philips SHP9500, and Fostex T50RP.