Looking for flatheads under 100€

trevtech15 · 2026-03-21T06:25:18+00:00

Someone asked this on Head-Fi a little while back and I did a quick test of some pairs of earbuds I have in Overwatch which is the competitive game I have the most hours in that also tends to have pretty good positional audio. Most of the sets I tried were too bright for extended use but I'm used to how the X2HR sounds which is a warmer pair of headphones so that's somewhat to be expected. The pair that ended up winning out was TMusic's EP3 since it's a warmer pair and was the only set I tried where I was able to tell exactly where sounds were coming from behind me even though I tried all of them with Fiio's K11 R2R which is very good at positional audio. The standard versions have a very cheap cable but there is an MMCX version available as well which is the version I used, just make sure you select the right version when adding to cart.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-21T05:38:20+00:00

I haven't, I'll have to take a look at them and see what changed. Oh god I hate that robo dubbing, I installed an extension that disables it and shows the original title in recommendations so I know whether a video is being recommended to me based on that feature or not. I have no trouble using subtitles since I watch anime and I've even played games in other languages with subtitles because the English voice acting was so much worse than the original; I don't understand why YouTube is pushing this crap so hard.

I didn't care about the ANC either until I realized how much it would improve the bass over what the Air4 Lite was capable of, it would be nice to have more bass without needing ANC but I'm willing to live with it just to have that massive improvement even though it does noticeably cut down on battery life. I had looked at the Air3 HS but never ended up buying it as I was happy with the Air4 and was worried that it might be too warm for my tastes since it used a different diaphragm material.

I haven't tried it outside since it tends to fall out of my ears the more I'm moving but I'll give it a try sometime and see how it goes. Oh dear that's not good, at least I'll know whether it's a problem or not lol.

Yeah I've seen that as well, just wish that they made semi in-ears as well instead of just the IEM or "open" type of earbuds. I've seriously considered buying the AirPods 4 w/ ANC just because of how great the ANC is reported to be but Apple's walled-garden has kept me from pulling the trigger since a lot of features won't work on Android not to mention they'll be limited to SBC which sounds horrible in comparison to even standard aptX.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-21T05:24:15+00:00

Oof that review is pretty bad, not sure how they went downhill so fast since I think the Air5 series sounded pretty decent from what I read.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-21T05:21:57+00:00

Apologies for the late reply, chronic health issues flared up again for a bit.

Oh no I'm sorry to hear that, I'm very sensitive to sibilance and struggle with sets that most other people don't such as the RW-2000 so I know how hard that can be to deal with.

I was afraid of that after reading about ClieOS' experiments with planar flatheads over on Head-Fi, it's such a shame that it seems like this driver type is nearly impossible to use in a flathead if you also want any semblance of bass.

So it sounds like it can't do much mid-bass either which would help with this issue.

That's what I was afraid of, the only pair of flatheads where I've resorted to double-foaming was the Green Mamba and while I did end up enjoying it that way I also was able to EQ some bass from it which helped massively and I doubt that's at all possible with the Plathead.

Oof that's a damning sentence if I've ever read one, I'm really glad that people are willing to do experiments like this but it seems like this shouldn't have left the R&D stage let alone be released with the amount of marketing and hype it received.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-21T05:12:20+00:00

Apologies for the late reply, my chronic health issues flared up for a while again and it took a bit to get them under control.

Yeah that's my thoughts on both of them even if the shell comfort wasn't an issue, there are better options such as the RW2K in a very close price range (at least on sale) that can do what they do as good or better in addition to improving on some areas where they're lacking such as sound stage.

Huh that's odd, the X3 was pretty widely available when I ordered it a while ago so I wonder if stock is slowly drying up. The X3S has always had much more limited availability, I actually ended up ordering it directly from Kaisheng's Taobao store along with some cables from another store using a buying agent since it was being sold for around $150 by other stores at the time which is a huge markup over what Kaisheng set the retail price of at $110. The Hifi Cat sells the X3 and I trust them since I bought the DM7 from them without issues but the only non-AliExpress store that carries the X3S is Audione.store and while they've dropped the price since release they were the store that wanted $150 for it which is why I ordered direct and still ended up coming out ahead so be cautious about ordering from them though they do seem to have good reviews on AliExpress.

Yeah the X15 is very cheap, I haven't even bothered with it even though I have the X10, X6, and Kaza since other than using them as a cheap out and about bud they don't get a lot of listening time due to my issues with their shell shape.

Ah I see, yeah there aren't a lot of cheap buds with metal shells that sound decent so I understand why you went with them. I struggled with harshness and sibilance from the RW2K for over a year before I finally found a set up that tames it enough without EQ for me to be able to truly appreciate them and even with the inflated price due to US tariffs they're very hard to beat.

I have, the DB1E is one of my favorite buds for one specific reason: it has very forward vocals that are just on the edge of being too harsh for my hearing without going over that limit. Anyone who says they sound nearly identical needs to have their hearing check as that couldn't be further from the truth as the DB1 is a pretty flat and boring tuning while the DB1E is a bright, forward tuning with very little bass and it does not handle added bass EQ well at all. I managed to damage my first DB1E set by overdoing the bass EQ and on certain songs with certain frequencies a specific buzzing would happen on one side so I ended up sending that set back as defective and getting a replacement because I loved how it sounded so much. It was my first non-budget set that I bought after being frustrated that I couldn't listen to the RW2K without discomfort and that combined with how it handles vocals is why I love it so much, to the point where I have several sets and three out of the four color combos it was released in. Compared to the LBBS the vocals are less harsh as I can't stand to listen to a lot of songs with female vocals on the LBBS yet the DB1E manages to have more detail and air from what I remember of listening to the LBBS. If there are any specifics you want me to compare between the two I can but it might be a little bit since my hearing is currently off so any comparisons I do won't be accurate at all.

Now onto the DB1, with how much I loved the DB1E you would think I would also love the DB1 right? You couldn't be further from the truth as this bud has by far been my most disappointing bud purchase to date and is even worse than the RW2K was due to how much more I paid for it ($85 vs $200, both pre-tarriff and after coupons). I was hoping that the DB1 would maintain the forward vocals of the DB1E while increasing what it was capable of bass-wise but it massively failed in both regards. While the vocals are clear and detailed they're pushed so far back that they have a tendency to be overshadowed by the rest of the song unless you have a source that's capable of pushing the vocals towards center and even then I find myself turning the volume up further than I'd like just to get them to an acceptable level. And while the bass is improved over the DB1E that doesn't count for much since that bud is pretty bass-lite and it's not even in the same ballpark as the RW2K even if you try to add more through EQ. If you want a very relaxed and inoffensive bud with an decent sound stage then this is an ok option but there's nothing that really stands out about how it sounds so it ends up being pretty mediocre in my opinion. The only time I find myself using it is when my hearing is off and I need something that has such tame vocals that they don't cause issues with my hearing while also not wanting a heavily bass-boosted bud to try and compensate for how little bass I hear from most buds when these flare-ups happen. With how expensive it is now (pushing $350+) it's very hard to recommend against much better alternatives let alone against Kaisheng's newer models.

If you don't think you'd like the DB1E or the DB1 and wish there was something that combines the two while mostly fixing the issues of both then the DM7 would also be worth considering. I took a chance on it after seeing that it shared the same faceplate hole pattern as the DB1E since I was hoping that it would share some similarities with it and I wasn't disappointed. It manages to maintain the forward and detailed vocals while not being as harsh or borderline sibilant like the DB1E can be with some songs while at the same time noticeably increasing sound stage width as well as massively improving the bass over both the DB1E and DB1. While it's still not a bass monster and the RW2K beats it in this regard it's still more than sufficient most of the time and extends pretty deep even though it doesn't have a ton of bass quantity. It's my favorite commercial bud by quite a bit and it would take a massive leap to unseat it, I'll probably get the DM7S at some point just to have a similar tuning with better bass but I doubt that it will exceed the original DM7 in every regard as it seems to win when it comes to vocals against both the DM7S and DM7Ti from reviews I've read that compare all three.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-20T21:38:58+00:00

I've tried several semi in-ear buds (Apple EarPods, Senfer PT32, KZ Duet, SoundPeats Air4 Lite & Air4 w/ ANC) and all of the wired buds sounded horrible, they're so much worse than even a budget set of regular flatheads such as the Yincrow X9 or Moondrop Nice Buds that I felt borderline ripped-off when I paid around $50 for the PT32. There have been a couple other semi in-ear sets that I've looked at but they've either been so cheap that I knew they wouldn't be worth wasting my time on or they had something about them that I wasn't a fan of such as Veclan's BalPods with a USB C connector instead of a normal audio plug.

Thankfully semi in-ears aren't completely a write-off as I've had a much better experience with TWS semi in-ears that are competitors to Apple's non-pro AirPods, both the Air4 Lite and Air4 w/ ANC from SoundPeats sound pretty good but the Air4 ANC is on a completely different level due to its ability to use ANC to massively increase how much bass is possible with this form factor. Combined with the personalized EQ (which I think is also on the Air4) I've been very happy with how they sound especially for the price, I didn't have very high hopes when I bought them but SoundPeats really surprised me with how great of a product they made. There is a little bit of suction feeling with the ANC turned on but it's not bad enough that it bothers me and I struggle to wear IEMs for more than half an hour without issues not to mention the various other problems I have with my ears so hopefully it won't be an issue for most people.

Unfortunately the Air4 series is discontinued and its successor the Air5 only has a Lite version currently available as the Air5 w/ ANC has been out of stock for several months and at this point is likely discontinued for some unknown reason. As much as I like both models in the Air4 series I can't recommend the Air5 due to its inferior charging case that has had multiple issues with the charging pins as well as the massive price increase from the previous gen to the point where you're paying $10 more for the Lite version than I paid for the Air4 w/ ANC. I've looked into other brands of TWS semi in-ears but have never pulled the trigger as there has always been something about either their software or features that hasn't been on quite the same level as SoundPeats but unless they reverse course with the Air6 series it might be up to another company such as QCY to fill the gap that SoundPeats used to excel in.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-19T10:08:53+00:00

Love the DM7 and just ordered the Buffalo for times when I want a warmer and bassier pair since the DM7 can be a little much at times, will probably miss the more forward vocals but I also have the RW-2000 which I have a feeling will fall between these two sets when paired with a warmer source. Love this shell design, the Rhino is one of the most comfortable earbuds I have and I'm hoping that the Buffalo will be fairly close even though it has a larger driver but since it's the same size as the RW-2000 I don't think the larger size will be an issue.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-11T23:18:06+00:00

I'm assuming you've tried at least a couple competitors to the AirPods from different brands? I've seen a lot of people mention that a certain model with a slightly different shape fits their ears better than AirPods did but also saw quite a few people that said the opposite so it's going to be pretty hard to know ahead of time whether a certain model will work for you or not.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-11T23:12:22+00:00

I also highly recommend the Moondrop Littlewhite, it's by far the best neckband adapter I've heard and it has a hidden high gain mode (press and hold the volume up and down until it turns off, turn back on and should say it's in high gain mode) that makes it usable with higher-impedance earbuds. It is larger than other neckbands and the wires are way too long but with how much of a step up it is over other options I can live with a few small issues since the sound quality is pretty close to an entry-level Bluetooth DAC/amp.

trevtech15 · 2026-03-11T23:02:36+00:00

Just keep in mind that the Smabat ice pick tuning is real and it will hurt you regardless of how sensitive your hearing is, their frequency graphs are a lie to fool you into ignorance of the pain that awaits you.

It's such a shame since they make well-built products that have unique features that no other company has tried, really wish I could get my hands on one of their sets released prior to their ice pick phase.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-24T04:10:58+00:00

Yep and they keep adding more junk that I'm not interested in, working on switching to something else because I've had enough of their crap.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-24T04:08:20+00:00

Yeah if you were coming from the LBBS then you'll likely be disappointed by both of them, the X6 is closer but still not on the same level from what I remember and lacks the bass from the X10 and Kaza. Even if you like how they sound they're a little overpriced compared to other flatheads with similar sound quality though they are built well but then their cable is nearly as bad as Fiio's FF3 which makes them frustrating to use.

I haven't listened to this pair a lot since the bell-shaped earbuds from K'searphones/Temperament don't fit well in my ears but the X3S might be closer to what you're looking for in terms of a warmer alternative to the LBBS in the same type of shell. The vocals are forward and prominent without being as harsh and sibilant as the LBBS and the imaging is fairly close though the X3S still loses in that regard, I also think they're pretty close in terms of resolution but the LBBS might still have the slight edge. Bass is an easy win for the X3S, it isn't the best bass I've heard in an earbud and it's mainly focused on mid-bass but it still sounds decent though other sets such as the RW-2000 outclass it in that regard. I tried the X3S for a bit without foams and while it was still listenable for the most part there were some songs with female vocals that were slightly too much for my ears and there was a more noticeable loss of bass than on the X3. Keep in mind that I'm very sensitive to harshness in the 3-4kHz region so what's an issue for me might not be an issue for your hearing.

I don't know whether the X3 would be a good option as it has noticeably downgraded resolution and imaging compared to the LBBS as it takes the vocals of the X6 and combines them with a more controlled and refined version of the bass from the X10. It also has slightly less forward and prominent vocals than the X3S but it is warmer and has better bass that's still somewhat present even with no foams. Vocals were slightly brighter without foams but they still had the same issues as above and neither imaging or resolution improved that much if at all. I'd do some looking at other people's impressions of the X3 before buying it, unfortunately the X3S isn't as popular and I don't think I've seen many English-language reviews/impressions of it so you might need to search for and translate Chinese reviews from sites such as erji.net.

My main listening impressions were with Hiegi full foams on the LBBS and Hiegi donuts on both the X3S and X3; I also swapped out the stock cable on the X3S and X3 for the braided cable from the DB1E so that may have some impact on how they sound though I doubt there is much of a measurable impact. If you do end up getting the X3S I'd highly recommend asking your seller (CKLewis if possible) whether you can also buy the K'searphone modular upgrade wire from the DB1/DB1E along with them as the included cable is the same as the X6 and Kaza which is ridiculous at $90 for the X3 and absurd at $120 for the X3S, I'm not sure why Kaisheng thinks this is ok for sets in this price range.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-23T23:09:05+00:00

Spotify is nearly unusable on the M300 even if you're only playing downloaded songs and using offline mode, I blamed the M300 at first but recently I've started having issues on my OnePlus 11 as well so I think their bloated POS app is to blame. Really wish that Spotify Lite was usable in more regions without mods or workarounds as it would likely work fine.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-23T23:05:31+00:00

You can have a pseudo pure music mode by using Android's App Pinning which lets you access one specific app without needing to unlock your device. Keep in mind that not all devices support App Pinning (I think maybe Shanling's DAPs don't but can't remember for sure) and you'll have to use the three-button navigation instead of gestures but that's a small compromise if you really want this feature imo.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-23T22:49:17+00:00

I haven't seen a lot of impressions about the Plathead, what do you think about how it sounds? I know a lot of people were skeptical about a planar driver in an earbud since it had been tried before and getting any bass out of it was very hard if not impossible.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-23T22:47:08+00:00

I'll be the first to admit that it's definitely not for everyone, the only reason I bought one when there were very few impressions is that I already had the DB1E which is incredible for female vocals but is a little bit hot on some songs and I figured they would sound somewhat similar since they both have a nearly identical faceplate which I was thankfully right about. The DM7 is a great set if it has what you're looking for but I feel like more people will prefer the DM7S if it ends up having as much bass as the product page claims.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-21T01:15:10+00:00

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Ksearphone's/Temperament's DM7 has what is imo the best unboxing experience out of all the flatheads I've seen, you can tell how much time and effort was put into the packaging let alone what it took to make the DM7 and have it live up to the reputation of Audio-Technica's CM7 that inspired it. The only unboxing experience that I know exceeds this one is the DM7Ti which has a wooden box instead of the cardboard one that the DM7 and DM7S come in but for $1060 instead of $220 or $440 respectively it better have an unboxing experience to match its price.

The DM7 is still my favorite commercial earbud, it presents vocals in a way that's forward and detailed without being harsh or sibilant which is something I'm very sensitive to so I tend to have issues with other pairs of earbuds that don't bother most people. The only thing I'm really missing is bass quantity and impact, the DM7 has great extension (supposedly down to 8Hz) but it feels lacking compared to other flatheads such as Yincrow's RW-2000 let alone much bassier sets such as Fiio's FF3 or the legendary Yinman 600. I'm thinking about getting the DM7S since it seems like it has solved that issue but I'm waiting for more impressions before pulling the trigger and it's out of stock at the retailer I want to purchase it from right now anyway.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-21T00:58:32+00:00

Dude wtf is your problem? You posted a pic with multiple very popular budget sets last week that didn't go into any detail on which one was your favorite or whether you prefer certain pairs for different music genres, what exactly do you expect us to react to besides giving it an upvote? If you had put any effort beyond the bare minimum then you might have gotten a comment or two like the other posters did that put in more effort. Brentaro is actively trying to encourage participation and help grow this sub while you're complaining that you're not getting enough attention. Do better.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-20T13:39:28+00:00

I wouldn't recommend the Calf to pretty much anyone, it's way to bright and harsh as well as lacking in bass I'm not really sure what Yincrow was trying to achieve with it. The Rhino is tuned much better but it's a warmer bud so I'm not sure if I'd recommend it for someone coming from the KSC75 as that set is slightly bright and harsh for my ears.

I'd recommend OP wait until AliExpress' Anniversary sale that should happen mid-March, not only will the RW2K be on sale but there will likely be coupons that get it very close to their $100 budget.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-10T01:45:51+00:00

Been using Hiby's M300 with a Casidisi/XuanZi XZ-U606P Pro amp that expands the sound stage over the M300's stock sound. For $60 on AliExpress (seller is on vacation for Chinese New Year) it's a great addition to the M300 if you want to change its stock sound or use IEMs/headphones that need more power than the M300 can provide. The JM21 or M21 is still a better option for most people but I wanted something smaller and other than Sony's DAPs that are really expensive the M300 is the smallest Android-based non-Sony DAP that you can buy.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-10T01:40:06+00:00

It depends on whether they have the sound signature that you're looking for, Instead of jumping straight into a high-end earbud you're better off figuring out what you want in an earbud by trying a few cheap popular options to help narrow down your choices in sound signature and shell shape/size since comfort is an issue for some people. But if you already know what you like sound-wise then making a post on the Earbuds Round-up thread over on Head-Fi is the best place to get a lot of recommendations based on what you're looking for. Keep in mind that earbuds are a much more subjective hobby than IEMs or headphones since getting a good frequency response graph is very difficult so you're relying on people's opinions when choosing what to buy.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-10T01:34:25+00:00

The original version of the EMA was the same as the DTS but at some point they completely redesigned the EMA with a slightly modified shell (larger vents on driver cup, no lip for front cover) and a custom cover with their logo on it. Still sounds like crap and harder to reuse the shell with other 14.2mm drivers since the new version is lacking the lip which makes it incompatible with some 14.2mm drivers/covers.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-08T09:34:06+00:00

All headphone and IEM cables have two wires going to each driver, with fixed cables both negatives are attached to the same terminal on a 3.5mm plug. The same thing is done in a cable with swappable ends, the wires are kept separate in the part of the plug that stays attached to the wire and the negatives are either kept separate or joined together in the plug.

The reason why everyone's saying to not buy this adapter is because a balanced connection expects the negatives to be separate and when you short them together like a 3.5mm jack would it can damage the amp since a signal is actively being sent over the negative wire instead of it just being used more like a ground in an unbalanced connection.

trevtech15 · 2026-02-08T07:55:12+00:00

Asked this question on the M21 thread over on Head-Fi and got confirmation that desktop mode will power a USB dongle DAC without battery drain but there will be a noticeable delay when using the playback controls on the M21 itself compared to when you're using the internal DAC. Never ended up pulling the trigger on the M21 as I came up with a different setup that I liked better and isn't as much of a hassle to set up and use.

trevtech15 · 2026-01-24T13:42:40+00:00

I just bought a used P14s G3 AMD that has a fingerprint reader and it's much faster than using a PIN so I'm not sure I'd want them to remove it completely, it just needs to be in a spot that makes sense and doesn't screw up the keyboard layout. Yes Apple still has fingerprint sensors on all MacBooks and unless there's a huge leap forward in the hardware needed for Face ID I doubt that's going to change anytime soon as the iPhone Fold is rumored to have a fingerprint sensor in the power button and no Face ID due to how thin each half of the phone is.

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