Konoka

So these arrived today. Have only spent an hour with them but have some thoughts already. I'm mainly going to give my opinion on the bass response and vibration haptics. Have compared to GK Kunten (both use zenith driver) and Penon Archangel (unfair premium bone conduction comparison). Test track I was using was 'Georgio by Moroder - Daft punk'. The last minute of the track, has a very deep but tight sub bass kick drum with elements of electronic and rock (guitar, bass, synth etc) and gets quite busy, in a good way. As expected the Vibe X has a similar sound signature and quality to the Kunten until you hit the low end. There's noticeably less sub bass than the Kuntens and a buttload less than the Archangels. This translates to the kick drum being less 'present' in the mix. Then on a tom hit, the vibes suddenly do their thing and you feel the hit of the toms in your ear canal thanks to the BC/vibration driver. Bass guitar can sound a bit bloated at times. Sounds like the BCs are most reactive to around 80-100hz - kind of like having a subwoofer without room tuning applied where it reverberates more around certain wavelengths. They shake and thump quite noticeably when touching them with my fingers but in the ear the effect is significantly less noticeable at least for my ears. I tried different insertion depths and angle etc and could definitely feel the vibration but not as much as I was expecting and a more narrower frequency response range than I was hoping. Interested to hear other people's opinions though as I feel the vibration drivers might react differently to various individuals ear anatomy. Technically they are meant to vibrate down to 5hz or something silly, maybe my ears just feel/detect it more at 90ish hz. If they do a V2 down the track, I'd love to keep the Zenith driver, Kunten tuning and add a modest bass boost and have the vibration driver respond across a broader range with the most noticeable point around 40-60hz. Just like with large speaker systems/live music where you begin to 'feel' rather than 'hear' the lower frequencies. Basically copy how Skullcandy implement their crusher haptics, refine it and apply it to a high fidelity iem. TLDR: mid and treble similar to Kunten, suprisingly subdued sub bass (60hz and below), vibration not very consistent across bass frequencies - responds most to 80-100hz. Suffers from some bass/midbass bloat. If anyone else has received theirs I'm keen to hear your opinion!

No sorry. Only the CVJ Luki/Konoka and archangel. The CVJ was odd. Haven't listened to it in a while but my memory tells me its bcd was centred around 150-200hz and had to turn it up significantly louder or bass boost the snot out of it to get it going. Sounded very cheap overall. The archangel is a totally different BCD type - much more subtle. More for texture and soundstage than ear rattling bass. It's dynamic drivers thump and rumble enough already.

cvj konoka are really great for me, love their scene sound (without vibration motor because it's messing up frequency response)

with motor on overall sound isn't that great (it's not like calibrated for another genre of music, just worse and more hollow) but motor itself really nice thing. probably would be nice to calibrate eq so with motor on it would be same frequency response because motor is kinda neat when it's some low bass and i wouldn't say motor thing sound cheap or gimmick, IT IS nice addition. Also i'm playing guitar using these iems too (with focusrite solo 3rd gen). and they are sound great without any dacs just phone itself is sufficient enough for great experience (32 oms impedance)

and sound stage is indeed something mesmerizable never experienced this some songs sounds completely new with these iems

Yes I use foam tips on my cvj konoka and I find it helps a lot with the seal and bass. I haven't used them much so I haven't had an issue with them getting dirty or degrading yet but I'll make sure to get some backups. Thanks for the tip. Luckily I don't have any cats but I do have a little did that chewed my Skullcandy crushers a little just 1 time but it still sucks so I can relate.

I have the cvj konoka and I've been happy with them so far, I'll have to see what the Vivian is all about thanks

I've had a few recommendations for the rosefinch, I'll definitely keep those in mind for a future purchase. I have the cvj konoka and I actually like the sound of them when I shut the vibration off. I'm not too familiar with the Vivian but I'll have to check them out thanks

First time seeing that name, I'll check them out thanks

Cvj konoka. You can turn the drivers off if you will. Ultra budget category

My opinions and experience with various budget "bone conduction" iems. CVJ konoka = Tuned for gaming, not good for gaming or music. KB02 = Trash can water. Needs volume, but it sounds like shit to me. But there are so many people that like it so it may work for you. Penon Fan3 = Good iem with subtle texture to sound and stage. Negligible vibration or extremely tip dependant. Kiwi Ears Etude = Another good and fun iem with vibration you can feel. It would be my choice for a starting point. BGVP DMA = Amazing iem with the best overall implementation of bone conduction imo. It has helped convince me to get the ISN Audio EBC80. If the BGVP Astrum had the sonion bcd included, I would get that instead. Once again, these are my opinions, and I would have went after the Anvil if I didn't get the DMA instead. The KB03 has gotten panned from most reviews I've seen. They say to stick with the 02.