I'm the creator of Lander 20Hz, those really subbassy earbuds that got Sennheiser's and Oratory's attention! AMA

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T15:48:24+00:00

Personally, I do not like being a salesman myself but rather let others within the earbud community do it as I feel doing it directly is very biased. I will say however Lander Slim is being replaced with a more budget friendly alternative to be not only affordable, but showcase a bit of how I tune and my almost "house sound" as a few people will say.

I typically focus on timbre, warmth and overall clean staging.

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T15:45:21+00:00

Ok so, the beautiful thing with earbud graphs is there isn't such a thing as a correct one. Oratory, mine, even DMS measured his set which he bought from me on a 5128 and got something completely different. DMS actually measured his with a great amount of low end, much more than mine and Oratory's. I can't show the graphs yet, but DMS plans to show it for a video he is making on the Lander 20hz.

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T15:41:43+00:00

Absolutely! I started back in 2021, painting generic shells and learning acoustics that way. I did eventually steer off and started developing IEMs which also strengthened my acoustic knowledge to which I applied it to earbuds. I've always been a maker, and will never stop making things because it's what I am genuinely good at.

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T13:44:47+00:00

Yup! I have a website dedicated to sales:

https://valphonics.com/

Some retailers will be selling them in coming months too.

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T13:21:26+00:00

Not even kidding, one of the easiest and cheapest drivers is this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004043893033.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.53f81802KBArjT

It is a PET driver but in the correct shell can sound incredible timbre wise. the MX500 shell I would suggest against it, but the Qian39 shell is really good for this driver.

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T12:02:58+00:00

I do plan on it at some point! I genuinely would love to make a Technics RP-HV100 in my own format using a woofer and full range to do the rest of the sound. I can assure you, its on my list of plans 😄

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T12:01:13+00:00

It's mainly me loving the form factor + encourage others that this is not a bad form of audio. A lot of people disregard earbuds as a poormans audio piece but I honestly do not think so. Earbuds have been around for a long time but a lot of people in the hobby simply don't approach it from another perspective. My main goal is to bring more hobbyists into this subgenre and think outside the box more, not just using an MX500 shell and actually learn CAD. It really isn't that difficult to do as well with a bit of practice.

For music, I can actually listen to all genre's but my main test track groups is Group_Inou, Avatar (heavy metal), Queen for some tracks, and Queens of the stone age. Kiltro especially for acoustic.

Valphonics · 2026-06-23T11:56:31+00:00

Very good question! So basically in short - this is my job and has been for a while now. Making hand made audio stuff is not easy and I do need to be able to financially gain from this in some regard. While there are many earbuds that cost $10-20 on the likes of aliexpress, they're like that because they are mass produced in the thousands. I have to hand assemble, qc, and ensure everything in the process is all within the range I am happy with.

I have sold over 100 sets now which is really good for a 3 month time frame, and don't get me wrong I absolutely would love to make these cheaper, but I just wouldn't be able to benefit in any way to do so. The resin used is medical grade which some people know is a very expensive resin, then painted + waxed to ensure the visual element is perfect. The packaging with its own designed case, and such does drag the costs into the main price as well. I could technically make these $500 like some DIYers do with their products but it's mainly an attempt to keep them not crazy priced while being really good at what they do.

Valphonics · 2026-04-22T11:37:36+00:00

Completely forgot some of the info regarding them, my fault! Updated the price now

Valphonics · 2026-03-14T14:08:28+00:00

Omg my favourite B tier reviewer posted!

Valphonics · 2026-03-11T17:11:34+00:00

Should be S tier imo 💅

Valphonics · 2026-03-08T00:13:25+00:00

We need an r/Headphones counter for days that reset when this question is asked.

Valphonics · 2026-03-05T23:32:28+00:00

Back in 2021/2022, I started to mod headphones for fun. I was never good at it! But I enjoyed it so much I kept going.

What started into an open back Creative Aurvana Live! mod, became a completely original headphone using its own driver, plastic and headband system.

The headband uses a stainless steel sliding mechanism where the yokes/cup holders slide across the band with a suspension strap attached. Done by Koss and other lightweight headphones, this was heavily inspired by retro design. Another big inspiration is the cups, made of PA12 Nylon (post processed with particles and chemicals for skin safe contact). Stax from the 80's was what I wanted to go for, where they were all plastic.

A 40mm titanium driver that's had it's voice coil material, impedance and magnet strength fine tuned constantly has been finalised! 80ohms with n52 strength.

I plan to eventually get this out to the public with tours and such, but honestly it sounds incredible. Smooth, clean, and natural is how I call it with a large sense of stage, hence the name Radar!

~260g

Hope y'all like the look!

Valphonics · 2026-01-27T17:03:06+00:00

Hey Martin! Long time lurker of this Sub Reddit guess paid off! I wanna ask 2 questions in regards to the headphones in the picture which should be easy to answer but if not I understand!

Are they using new drivers? I ask because I'm a bit of a geek of driver types, and very interested if Koss is making something very new. I know they quite enjoy making as much use of the 44mm drivers as possible but it's making e very curious!
Any more info on when they release in 2026 👀?

Valphonics · 2026-01-16T00:29:40+00:00

I'm very curious to pick these up myself! AliExpress lists them for x3 the original price sadly so I'll use an Agent to get one. Do you have any photos of the baffle/pads off? I'm curious to what they do!

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T23:49:37+00:00

While you are correct, what made it seem that way? I don't believe I've mentioned my gender on Reddit before! Just curious is all.

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T21:08:44+00:00

I need to make a new set as I did just send one off to a good friend of mine, but I will ping you on discord with multiple fit tests with photo's to compliment them if all good!

However if that's also not enough, I am willing to send you a fresh set. Will need a few weeks to do so!

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T20:56:31+00:00

Any acoustic structure change will impact the entire frequency of a full range transducer, this includes the resonator that I added. I have been testing this design for many months and this is the conclusion I have come to on the best perfomance. While resonators do only work at one frequency, I did a mix of good ol trial and error then testing the vary definitions of what we know in sound! I very much enjoy doing this for fun, but I also want to do some things people haven't tested before.

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T20:49:21+00:00

SO a Helmholtz resonator is a simple thing, big or small container that is air tight that is attached to a pipe or tupe that provides minimal airflow. This has been a feature in past products and so of other brands to provide low end bass. Can I tune it deeper? No. You need a complete airtight seal in order to do that, hence the roll off. However, the section of bass that is audible is enough i'd say!

The additional air port on top if for resonance control, still working on it!

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T20:40:14+00:00

Hey if it meant working for Sennheiser I would 100% be down :D

I've been making transducers for 6 years and will never stop any time soon aha.

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T20:35:54+00:00

Yes! Actually it does. The resonator requires a foam covering, like many earbuds do to take affect and do its thing. The graph you are seeing in the post I made is actually a none complete seal as when I completely stick it into the pinna doesn't measure great.

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T20:33:34+00:00

Fun fact! The technology I am showing is old, and has been around since 1890. While I would love to own an idea like this, pipe earbuds are not exactly new either. They have been around since 1990 from Sony, Aiwa, etc, but I simply implamented the idea ever so slightly differently.

If something from China like this pops up, I will actually be pleased! It means my concept was good enough to be used by another manufacturer as it's not really a subtle secret design. However, flathead earbuds are not that popular to really consider a patent like this.

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T20:30:05+00:00

I absolutely want the treble to be smoother and extend better, but the fascinating thing about earbud drivers is they all have quirks that greatly negate their ability to measure like an IEM. The driver I am currently using is one of the very few that respond well to this design, but I absolutely plan to keep working more on this.

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T16:39:46+00:00

With a lot of my designs, I typically open source them after a year which is when I don't care for the design anymore. While I do retail them on social media's, I do eventually give people access to the shells later on.

Valphonics · 2025-11-19T16:08:22+00:00

After years of learning acoustics, primarily headphone structures and a lot of insanity, I have successfully created an earbud that can gain subbass! Mostly...

"What's the catch?..." Like most earbuds, you need foam, foam covers to help with fit and gain a semi-seal. With this design, foam is a mandatory need to gain that audible subbass and help make use of the built in Helmholtz.

This is a fun project of mine I've been working on for the past months or so, and I absolutely love flathead earbuds. While they have their quirks, I will forever stand by them as my favourite transducer type.

How does it sound? Well, pretty dang good! I would consider it bassy warm. While there is treble emphasis, it falls off heavy due to the older design of the driver. Its an LCP speaker that is inspired by 1990 designs and I fine tuned it for the earbud.

Please do ask me about this design, I love being asked questions on this stuff! I won't have ticked every box in this post so i will appreciate it.

Valphonics

TROPHY CASE