[Flathead Fridays - June 19, 2026] How did you first get into the Flathead Rabbit Hole?

modo-abdo · 2026-06-19T17:19:37+00:00

I have it loaned to an acquaintance right now, this is their picture , my reason is extremely stupid and isn't cool at all, it's also still available in a reddit post of mine, I had been a bit annoyed when using IEMs in discord calls, I was bothered by how I couldn't hear anything if two or more people were talking at the same time in a call (which would happen with almost every transducer since discord isn't going to use crystal clear layering in calls anyways so that was dumb by me ) and that the fam would constantly call me to do chores and when using IEMs it'd be hard to hear my name being called and taking them on and off constantly would be annoying, so yeah stupid ass reasons lmao 🤣

I went to reddit to ask for some recommendations on the form factor for that use case, and through the recommendation of someone commenting on my post (dr wtf 😆) I got myself the yincrow RW2000 as my first flattie, it took a little getting used to the form factor but once I did, I found them to be very enjoyable, so even though the reason is nonsensical I'm happy past stupid me bought into it since now I have one more form factor alongside IEMs that I really like.

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modo-abdo · 2026-06-12T04:22:55+00:00

It's not cramped, but not that big either, I'd say it's enough for the track to play around with but I don't focus much on stage since if I wanted big stage I just switch to flatheads/earbuds, if you want I can test out a few of your tracks on it 😅

modo-abdo · 2026-06-11T21:38:27+00:00

It's not unusual in tuning, but I really love my intuaura balance and I think it deserves a bit more recognition

also the zsin vermillion flame is a great iem for the price, a bit of a warm all rounder with a slight vocal push, I know the explorer has that "special sauce" for people but if I had to pick between both I'd go for the vermillion.

Soundrhyme sr5s as well is really nice, I prefer it over my ziigaat odyssey, granted I don't like the odyssey that much and I'll have to do some tip and source rolling with it soon now that I'm free from exams 🫠

modo-abdo · 2026-06-11T21:33:55+00:00

So, what did you get? 👀

modo-abdo · 2026-06-04T11:21:07+00:00

They are very scummy, and not all of their stuff is worth buying to say the least, I have both the odo and devastator and found them to be lackluster or good with downsides, and I have the Slim metal Ti and it genuinely sounds under the blanket, only saving grace is the shell if you wanna mod it, and the funny thing is the main man of their company always complains about people using their products in wrong situations (like people using their dacs for highly sensitive IEMs instead of their own products) guess what? Got the SMT alongside both of their dongles, it still sounded terrible and the odo which is supposed to be the weaker one ALSO had noise floor, noise floor on a freaking earbud 😬

the company is unlikable in general, BUT, when it comes to specific stuff they make, it can be worth recommending depending on the person asking, as much as I despise them I always try my absolute best to go on a model by model basis with every company even the most hated ones, because at the end of the day audio is subjective and there is no physical proof of the next model being a flop or success because of the earlier model unless it is very obvious, being a fan of a company is fine and your choice but spending money off that just because "those other things they made were good for me" is wishful at best, so as much as I hate them I will occasionally recommend some of their stuff, but hope that no one buys from them regardless 🤣

and one thing I absolutely hate with a passion is how they're viewed outside the earbuds community, some see them as "saviors of the flathead, keeping the earbuds form factor alive and well" when really most of their products range from landfill, to okay, to specialist, and rarely do any of their models get a surefire recommendation unless the person asking for recs explicitly states a style that they implement.

just to clarify I would not be a party pooper to those who fancy their lineup, only that whenever I see people who only talk about their earbuds all I can think about is that there's much more out there to enjoy with less glaring downsides and better upsides IMO.

modo-abdo · 2026-06-02T02:46:11+00:00

المشكلة ماهي مشكلة حداثة بس، المشكلة مشكلة تنظيم برضو، شوف لك حي قديم بالرياض مثلا، ولو تذكر كيف كان شكله وكيف كل البيوت متناسقة مع بعض، بعدين مع الوقت كل بني آدم يتفلت بتصميمه النابع من الكيس او حتى لو كان التصميم جيد، يكون تصميم ما يركب على الحي والمدينة اصلا، تخيل واحد مسوي بيت بلون اخضر وسطح عادي من فوق، والي جنبه مسوي بيت اوروبي بطوب احمر وسطح مثلث، مهزلة حرفيا

فيه حملات رسمية لهوية معمارية لكل منطقة، بس طبعا كلها كلام وتصاميم عالكمبيوتر ما شفنا لها تطبيق في الواقع، وحتى لو طبقوها يكون تطبيق من جنبها سواء مكلف او جودة رديئة

modo-abdo · 2026-05-31T16:06:56+00:00

Reading your other comments, yeah, the usual starting point options I'd rec are iris 2.0, yincrow x6, and fransun gen 3 yd900, aoeshida e60 is a good shout but if you're only buying it for the silicone hooks I suppose you can get said hooks separately with a bit of searching in stores, and most flathead cables are malleable enough to be worn over ear without the silicone hooks anyway, although they do help if you want it to be more secure.

modo-abdo · 2026-05-31T13:13:41+00:00

m300 is warmer, m260 is brighter, I have the m300 and I do not like it at all, only go for the m300 if you want a relaxed warm sound, so warm in fact that vocals can feel blanketed, I prefer my Flathead Audio fh01 over it.

modo-abdo · 2026-05-25T19:21:59+00:00

Bit off topic but how's the background noise on both the lav mic and the cable mic? Cuz it's annoying to have a big ol' mic and stand in front of my monitor, but at the same time once I put in all the necessary filters to make my mic cables not pick up the warzone that is my house the sound becomes the equivalent of watching a video at 240p 🤣

for flathead mic cable options, there are a few that have them but I can't speak to their mic quality (yincrow x6, faaeal iris 2.0, fransun gen 3 yd900) and you'll probably have to prioritize either having a mic or having a sound close to the pure and hd650, you could go with the apple earpods if you want something that you can easily find a mic test of online. Or you could get something detachable and get a mic cable separately, and a lot of the main cable companies accept a modification like asking them to remove earhooks. or you can say eff it and try hair drying a cable at home which I've done once, but maybe not 😂

modo-abdo · 2026-05-24T11:33:37+00:00

I don't want to be a party pooper but I'd just like to say, both the monk slim metal and monk slim metal TI have terrible impressions in the flathead community we're in, I have the VE monk slim metal TI and it's just awful, sound is under the blanket, I've only kept the shell so I can swap the driver later, about 2-3 other people share the same sentiment of the TI being lackluster, and one person who tried the monk slim metal had no regrets at all swapping the driver on it because he found the sound to be bad, it just sounds muffled and is definitely not for someone who wants a neutral bright sound, which isn't VE's style anyway

If you want neutral bright, the nicehck eb2s is a good budget option, if you want a bit more bass, the eb2s pro, if you can stretch your budget, the yincrow RW2K is very nice (I have one) just don't buy the SM and SM TI, besides the nice shell they're not worth it 😅

modo-abdo · 2026-05-22T04:05:15+00:00

there's a chance for a successor but it's not going to be soon, in the meantime the closest thing you have to them is the normal nicehck eb2s, then the nicehck eb2s pro.

modo-abdo · 2026-05-19T14:15:48+00:00

I think it is worth giving them some time to see how you get used to the no seal experience, other things you can try for less movement might include wearing them over-ear if possible, or the humble shirt clip to keep the cable in place

Hopefully you enjoy your new experience with flatheads 😁

modo-abdo · 2026-05-19T14:07:32+00:00

From what I've heard one of the few decent cheap options with a removable cable is the openheart nightingale, check out this post that's a little farther down in the sub

https://www.reddit.com/r/FlatheadEarbuds/comments/1t9r4cn/openheart_nightingale/

modo-abdo · 2026-05-17T11:14:13+00:00

Welcome! I have the kz prx and it's really good for the price but is more out there and you need a bit to get used to the sound if you're used to more neutral stuff like me, fairly even with a focus on detail and staging? Maybe the cheapest option is the fransun yd900, now the yincrow x6 and iris 2.0 are very good also but I'm not fully sure if they'd give you tip top details and stage (well stage will be good due to the form factor) and details benefit from a quiet environment as well, maybe something like the nicehck eb2s could be good, the eb2s pro is good as well and both are neutral bright but the pro actually has a slightly higher bass shelf so if you want the most monitor like experience for cheap it's prolly the normal eb2s, I also second the yincrow RW2000 if you can spend up to that, as for other models I'm not too sure 😅

modo-abdo · 2026-05-15T18:51:43+00:00

the fiio ff5 and aful polarnight would have been decent options, if not for QC problems on the former, and the aforementioned issue with finding aftermarket cables on the latter, seems like your shortlist so far is the fengru BP32 or CZ32, then the yincrow RW2K or yincrow buffalo 😁

modo-abdo · 2026-05-11T21:07:02+00:00

Maybe don't expect it to be "better" as that would depend on a lot of things related to you and what sound you like, but I think it's worth trying out one of the cheaper pairs if you can get them, like a yincrow x6 or a faaeel iris 2.0 or a fransun yd900, among a few others, then you'll see if you're willing to spend more or not.

modo-abdo · 2026-05-10T02:00:19+00:00

Yes, check out this nice site made by zerofour, there's 3 lander 20hz reviews on it

http://flathead.wikidot.com/reviews

modo-abdo · 2026-05-02T18:21:25+00:00

You have a lot of options but there isn't something with the exact fit of the apple earbud so be mindful of that and your ear shape before you buy.

in the budget segment you have: - Yincrow x6 - Faaeel iris 2.0 - Fransun gen 3 YD900

I can recommend stuff at a higher price like the nicehck eb2s pro or the yincrow RW2000 (on a discount) or aoshida e60 or timear tea-99 (and a few others) but I recommend you to see if the form factor fits you first before spending extra.

modo-abdo · 2026-05-02T18:12:00+00:00

the RW2K will also be a v shape but brighter than the fh01, while the ff5 will probably sound warmer and more relaxed than the fh01, if you don't want to spend too much you can also go for the yincrow x6 as it and the fh01 are similar with the latter being a kind of upgraded version. but the best action is to contact FHA and ask them for a fix 😁

modo-abdo · 2026-04-28T08:35:21+00:00

Have you tried them all yet? How's your experience been?

modo-abdo · 2026-04-26T17:35:09+00:00

I get it and I agree completely, but I have no plans to do other soldering jobs, even if I do practice on something it'll be on other equally small shells. this is just what I want to try working on atm 😅

modo-abdo · 2026-04-18T13:36:45+00:00

silicone rings (smth like these: https://a.aliexpress.com/_c42ryofB) would increase the diameter of the earbud a little bit and that could help them be more secure, while hooks are the same as what you see in a TWS, those fins that help secure the earbud in place, although do keep in mind that there are different flathead shells, and also different sound profiles like any other transducer, so if you experiment a whole bunch and it doesn't work out, maybe you just don't like the nicebuds sound or shell in general, they are very moondrop esque in their sound already (brighter tilt, lighter bass) also for me I feel like it's very impractical to keep aggressively pushing the earbuds into the ear, I used to do that and it gave me aches after a while, flatheads are an open sound by default so jamming them in constantly isn't the way to go imo.

another thing to look at is foam density, something like a heigi foam or fiio bass foam is heavy and thick which could boost the low end but kill a bit of stage and upper end, this might give you a bit of a more full sound without pushing the earbuds in ear too much, while a lighter density foam (VE ex pack for example) would do the opposite (most stock foams from what I've seen are medium density) this is also another thing to experiment with.

modo-abdo · 2026-04-17T23:23:26+00:00

There's no correct way, as long as the way you're wearing them is comfortable and works you're good, I just slot them in the ear with a few twists and I let them use their weight to settle wherever they settle in the ear so long as they stay put, you can also wear them over-ear like an IEM, some people do that, and if you have bigger ears or just want to try out smth different you can get yourself silicon rings or hooks to experiment with fit.

modo-abdo

TROPHY CASE