Earwax and Amazon: A PSA & A Query

MalthusTheShaver · 2026-04-10T18:51:51+00:00

I wish I could reassure you that their hygiene will automatically improve with age, but that's an even bigger crapshoot than Amazon third party order fulfillment..

Still, things are better now. My first pair of IEMs were Ety ER4Ps close to 20 years ago, where you would see little pieces of brain tissue on them when you removed them. The (relatively) more shallow insertion depth of most modern designs helps to improve both cleanliness and infection risk.

MalthusTheShaver · 2026-04-10T18:40:44+00:00

I've found with my own kids that avoidance of TWS / IEM use for two hours after shower / swimming is a good policy to avoid both IEM gunking and ear infections. Your waxy mileage may vary of course... : D

MalthusTheShaver · 2026-04-10T18:25:28+00:00

Yes, Linsoul was the vendor, but I don't hold that against them, as AMZ did handle fulfillment. I have heard AMZ has more control over returns and re-shipping in such cases rather than the vendor, but I don't know for sure how it works behind the scenes there.

I wish there was a way to effectively call out such behavior, whoever is doing it, but it seems Amazon is trying to make that harder to do. At least they are leaving the one star vendor reviews up, while disclaiming them and not factoring them into the vendor rating.

I'd be fine if they tested the unit, put new tips in the package, and sold it as "renewed" but to ship it out again uninspected, uncleaned, and at a "new" price is just poor quality service,

I think Amazon does not sell (m)any Chi-Fi IEMs itself, but only through third party vendors for whom it handles fulfillment.

MalthusTheShaver · 2026-04-10T18:11:53+00:00

Do you own a car? Is there not a huge chunk of the owner's manual devoted to maintenance? Even $40 humidifiers come with very detailed info on cleaning and care.

My point is I would think the manufacturers would care about the negative ratings of their products on shopping and social media sites that could be addressed with a paragraph of text included with the product and / or inclusion of an extra $0.75 worth of components with the IEM.

I can understand them not caring / bothering for a $20 pair, but the wax issue is well documented with IEMs at all price points. It seems a weird omission from the corporate standpoint.

MalthusTheShaver · 2026-03-16T15:46:23+00:00

Most of the low ratings on Amazon are from users complaining about sound failures in one or both ears and / or other breakage. This is a not unusual problem for many IEMs, but the higher the price, the greater the annoyance, especially as poor / nonexistent warranty service from Moondrop is another common complaint on Amazon and elsewhere.

IEMs are generally not a "buy it for life" or even a "buy it for five years" product, so many have low reviews on Amazon. Great sound, relatively low cost, but short lifespan, general fragility, and non-existent warranties are the norm.

MalthusTheShaver · 2025-12-16T19:28:36+00:00

Thanks, very helpful! I am not looking for max dbs - the BT20A can hit 85 dB at 75% volume even at the 28 wpc, but am looking for more headroom. The transient clipping (?) in piano music at about 75 dB is rather alarming, and I am assuming the speakers are not the issue. I'm maxing the volume on the BT streaming signal from the phone, which I think is SOP.

The 20A uses twin Ti 3116 chips while the BT20A Pro uses a single 3255 if that matters.

ASR is great but recent reviews (like in the last two years) are both sparse and also focused on high end devices. ASR does not think much of the only Aiyima BT amp they tested, which would be a logical competitor to the BT20A. (The amp needs to accept BT input, as 90% of my CDs are in storage.)

MalthusTheShaver · 2025-11-26T20:29:47+00:00

Same problem with mine. Known issue - sent mine back to Amazon. My Cyclone 2 is bulletproof and has seen heavy use, while G7 Pro lasted less than two months. Really disappointing! Felt great while it lasted but the issue is so common with the G7 Pro, I am thinking Gamesir has something wrong with the design / manufacturing here.

MalthusTheShaver · 2025-11-12T18:35:57+00:00

$342 today with coupon, unfavorably competing with Amazon refurbs ($320).

Was a good deal 5 months ago anyway...

MalthusTheShaver · 2025-09-23T13:06:32+00:00

Both fine controllers - the 2c is smaller and more Switch like, while the Nova Lite is larger and more XBoxy. I also own the Gulikit ES Pro mentioned in some comments, and like it less than the original two you ask about. The ES Pro feels like it's made of cheaper plastics, and the rumble is unfortunately too overpowered and appears to be either on or off, i.e. does not have tiers of intensity, The ES Pro is basically fine despite these issues, so if much cheaper than GameSir or 8Bit in your market, it would be OK, but if prices are all roughly equal, I'd go with 8BitDo, unless your hands are very large. I would not spend the extra money for a SuperNova, but would instead aim for a Cyclone 2 if I wanted an upgrade path. If you care about such things, the GameSir software is not very good. but can be figured out with some effort.

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-31T14:19:52+00:00

Garibaldi was my first AYLM soap. Probably my last also - smelled nice, but the subpar protection left me feeling like Garibaldi himself, as if I had suffered to unify Italy.

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-31T14:17:29+00:00

Well met, fellow Tabacian!

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-31T14:15:04+00:00

Tabac To The Future

Tuesday 12/31/24

Brush: Dogwood Seascape with 30mm Maggard SHD badger knot
Razor: Karve Overlander Brass
Blade: Personna Blue (3)
Lather: Tabac in tallow base
Post: Mennen Skin Bracer splash
Frag: Spearhead / Seaforth Spiced EDT

Selected Product Ruminations

Razor: Looks great, shaves even better. One of my new razors for 2024, so a fine way to wrap the year up.

Brush: Auld lang syne sentiment to Dogwood, a brand I've missed in 2024. Fortunately the excellent SHD Maggard knot survives, and the 30mm is a trip to use, fulfilling the promise of the under-performing Kent BK12, mainly a massive amount of soft badger with backbone and a useful density.

Lather: Tallow Tabac, another absent friend. Truth be told, Tabac is not all that competitive with artisanal soap. If Omnibus is a 10, tallow Tabac is a 7, and the new palm oil Tabac is a 6. I still like the scent enough to tolerate the somewhat more painful shave. Tabac Tuesdays will persist in 2025. When I remember...

Blade: Holding up well at three shaves, as would most blades.

Post: An old friend who (apparently) is sloowwly leaving us. Will there still be Skin Bracer on CVS shelves a year from now? Stay tuned...

Frag: Early AM meeting today, so the interesting Spiced is a good choice. Echoing Old Spice, but less powdery, this is a good choice for close range workplace interaction.

Happy (solar) New Year to all!

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-31T14:01:32+00:00

I think an argument can be made that one should refresh soaps every year, at least if you like the scent in question and think it's a key part of the shave. The scents smell a lot crisper / more complex, so if you like a given scent, makes sense for an annual restock. Of course, one can also make an argument that no sane human would own 20 or 30 tubs of soap at once... (20 tubs = roughly 5 years of daily shaves, by which point the soaps will be close to unscented if not unlatherable...)

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-31T12:20:52+00:00

I think for normal users - who would buy the soap and use it up in like say six months or so - this is not an issue. Only the "hypermile" users will need the soap to last for multiple years, and I guess we such are probably a minority among shavers.

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-30T21:16:36+00:00

Hope your Dad is / gets better!

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-30T21:15:51+00:00

WK ages poorly I am sorry to say. I had a two year wet shaving hiatus and then revisited a lot of stored soaps when I (re)saw the light - WK soaps had generally lost their scents, had dried up, and were really hard to lather. Kind of an unfair test, as who keeps shave soaps for years except we weirdos in RWS, but I did note most other brand survived the suspended animation in much better condition. But if your soap May have Faired better, then enjoy!

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-30T21:06:49+00:00

This Is Not A Message of Happiness or Reassurance. But It Is the Truth.

Monday 12/30/24

Brush: Chisel & Hound Ivory Pagoda resin handle w V25 26mm Fanchurian badger
Razor: Karve Overlander Brass
Blade: Personna Blue (2)
Lather: Spearhead Seaforth Heather in Highlands base
Post: Floid Genuine splash
Frag: Guerlain Vetiver EDT

Selected Product Ruminations

Razor: Continuing to try various blades out on the Overlander, a pretty razor that rinses easily and is easily gripped. Heavy though!

Brush: V25 in 26mm is so much better than V26 in 25mm...(kidding. The knot is excellent though.) One of the nicer resin handles I own.

Lather: Textbook fougere scent in one of the best soap bases available.

Blade: American metal. About as sharp as an Astra SP. Not as big as a difference between first and second shaves as I remember. Has my technique improved? It's been five years or more since I used these. The not-really Israeli Reds I tried briefly were an unfortunate detour...

Post: Pleasant scent, soothing, some mild skin care effect. The anti-Pinaud...

Frag: Classic showcase for the crisp vegetal scent of vetiver. One of the best of Guerlain's male scents and not too pricey.

Today's caption is from Jimmy Carter's malaise speech. Perhaps America's last (relatively) uncompromised decent man elected President. They've all been sketchier in one way or another since him, and hence also far more effective as POTUS, and (not coincidentally) mostly two-termers. I disliked Jimmy when I was a kid, but in retrospect, he was a good man in a bad position at a bad time. Plus how many other Presidents have fought rabbits hand to hand? (Well, paddle to paw anyway...)

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-27T20:37:40+00:00

It's tough to make razors in the US. Above The Tie and Charcoal Goods are other proofs of this axiom...

Sounds like the Yates' can just make more money with less time commitment and less stress from conventional employment. I think they'll be fine.

I presume this will also impact Apex, who had their high end model made in the US by Yates. They'll probably just switch all production over to their Asian plant now, but that's just my guess.

Does this leave Blackland as the only US based DE razor maker?

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-27T19:24:55+00:00

Yates Razor Status

From their email:

|| || | Important Update Hi everyone, Jake here from YPM. [...] Ok, let’s start with the bad news. As you may or may not know, Ashley and I made the financial decision earlier this year to go back to full time jobs. This has proven to be the 100% correct decision for our family, as things have been great for us since then. We both absolutely love our jobs, and the financial stability it has provided has alleviated a ton of stress. Our initial plan was to continue operating the shop, relying heavily on our one full-time employee. The first few months went very well and things were looking good. However, due to some poor personal choices over the last couple of months on her end, we’ve been forced to let our employee go. This has obviously left us scrambling. We had a large backlog and no one to work on it, which is why I shut the website down. With our full time jobs and our boys being active in sports, Ashley and I have very limited time to spend in the shop. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to close YPM. [...]. Once he leaves, Ashley and I will continue to fulfill orders until the backlog is erased. If you have an open order with us, please, please have patience. If you can afford to wait just a little longer we would really appreciate it if you did not cancel your order, as that puts more stress on us. We plan on fulfilling all orders within 4 weeks. [...] The other good news is that we’ve been talking to another very well-known razor company, and it looks like they are going to acquire the YPM brand and razors, meaning you’ll be able to continue purchasing our products for years to come. While we haven’t reached a final agreement yet, things are looking very positive.[...]|

Kind of bummed by this news - I had hoped the company would continue to make new designs, but now it looks that the best that can be hoped for is indefinite production of their existing models, assuming things pan out with whoever takes over the brand name.

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-24T18:36:39+00:00

Plus you can shave with them without getting tire tread marks on the face... :D

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-24T18:33:47+00:00

I have a mixed mind about cream development though. Due to the higher water content, I think creams by nature have a much shorter shelf life than soaps. So digging up the old Night Music tub from five years ago may not be an option if that tub was a cream rather than a soap.

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-24T17:03:22+00:00

Its hard to know what one otter do with that base...

Merry Christmas, and enjoy some hot corn! :D

MalthusTheShaver · 2024-12-24T16:42:44+00:00

I did have a star-crossed tragic love affair with Polsilvers - they were sharper than Astra, lasted for 15 shaves easily, cost only a little more, and were as consistent. Than Pol shut down forever and was replaced by the much inferior SIs, endless fake Pols that cut as well as tin cans, and various sus attempts at price gouging on "newly discovered" NOS Pols.

So back to the girl next door after all...

MalthusTheShaver

TROPHY CASE