oluvsgadgets

Earfun UBOOM L vs all the other rest

I think I managed to cover most speakers I still own and which are still interesting to some degree. I should receive the Marshall Emberton II soon which I would also like to compare but first need to fix those sample variation issues.

Earfun UBOOM L vs the rest

I had shot several other videos of the UBOOM L recently which I didn’t want to post and avoid creating any further hype until the official announcement by Earfun but post them afterwards bit by bit as there were also some requests by users to compare it to this or that speaker which I wanted to fullfill. Unfortunately with the recent “changes” all those videos would actually become obsolete as the new unit I got actually performs differently which would also require new videos to demons...

Problems, issues, desperation

A lot has happened lately and because so many are repeatedly asking about the eventual release of the UBOOM L I finally decided to share this info with you as I want to remain as transparent as possible with what I am doing.

I received the first production sample of the UBOOM L some days ago which nearly made me quit and abandon the entire project. With the experience I managed to make with most audio products so far I was somehow afraid of sample variation from the very beginning ther...

Oluv’s audiophile collection #36

https://music.apple.com/at/playlist/oluvs-audiophile-collection-36/pl.u-11zBMeyC8zoBp5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Sf4kKcqBswPRiAbL8c5Ud?si=jPNo22GxSDmAk1SX40BmLA

Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus - evening garden session

I am using my recent binaural compensation for this video. If you listen at exactly half volume with the Free Pro 2 and my reference tuning, you should also get the correct volume level that I was hearing in real life. I will continue to optimise both my compensation as well as improve the reference tuning for an even more neutral response which should also render my recordings more faithfully.

In the meantime I managed to do a quick measurement of the Motion Boom Plus just to check wha...

Oluv’s audiophile collection #35

I have to out myself as big smooth jazz fan and always try to snip in some single tracks into most of my playlists, but this time I wanted to dedicate an entire playlist to this genre, as I love that clean and high recording quality with extensive production effort and a mostly positive and sunny vibe those tunes carry. Please enjoy!

https://music.apple.com/at/playl...

Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus - unboxing & first impressions

After the video I performed the firmware update for the Motion Boom, but the issues with disappearing bass still remained. Later in the evening before shooting another video there was also an update for the Motion Boom Plus shown which I did, but I didn't noitce any significant changes to before. More videos with the Motion Boom Plus coming soon....

The birch

I spent the last couple of days trying to optimise my entire recording/monitoring chain by laying at the ground and listening to the wind noises created by the moving birch leaves above me. It’s extremely hard to capture these noises precisely and also reproduce them faithfully with a headphone.

I want to eliminate any possible coloration from my binaural recordings caused by my ears at least to an acceptable degree, I was not satisfied with all the compensations I achieved so far. Bu...

Oluv’s audiophile collection #34

I tried to get some variation and included some smoother tunes this time, I hope you enjoy them:

https://music.apple.com/at/playlist/oluvs-audiophile-collection-34/pl.u-aZb01ZZCPkXvZq

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2UKW7iwmE9qGS0lB34LfU...

Music for the day: Vangelis - Beaubourg

After Vangelis, one of my big musical idols from my youth passed away recently I thought about posting this little Hommage to him and hint at one of his most uncommon albums he ever released: Beaubourg from 1978.

It’s basically an abstract kind of electronic sound painting but done with such high skill and elegance that it definitely belongs to one of my favourite albums by him. The first time I heard this album I couldn’t really get warm with it, but some years later having grown u...

Earfun UBOOM L - official presentation on Friday May 27th

Sorry to inform you that the launch planned for today was delayed to next week (probably Tuesday) because of some production issues by the factory. As it won’t make sense to start any presale as long as no units are produced yet, they decided to wait until the first production batch will really start without issues.

This will be the public video presenting the Earfun UBOOM L next Friday which I wanted to share with you already before. Curious about your thoughts.

 There wi...

Oluv’s audiophile collection #33

Some fresh food for your ear:

https://music.apple.com/at/playlist/oluvs-audiophile-collection-33/pl.u-e98lyk9Uzobpj7

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5TyehOCShjZNYB49kGCdHq?si=IEMxNQMdSHqrBvjhUnpY5Q

Best TWS IEMs? Apple Airpods Pro, Anker Liberty 3 Pro, AKG N400NC, Nura NuraTrue, Nothing Ear 1...

This time I wanted to offer realistic sound samples for all the IEMs shown, unfortunately it's not that easy to get reliable results. Using the Free Pro 2 with my reference tuning as base, all the other IEMs should more or less sound like themselves when listened over the Free Pro 2. While this worked for the major part of the IEMs I recorded here, I coudln't get any decent result for the Nothing Ear 1, also the Apple Airpods Pro needed an additional correction, which I quickly applied by ear...

Artsound PWR05 - first impressions

I got this based on some raving by a friend of mine and although quite OK for 150€ if you can get it discounted, usual price is 199€. I let it play against 2 UBOOM L connected for stereo, curious to hear your opinion.

Earfun UBOOM L - indoor/outdoor sound demo

I wanted to demonstrate how the UBOOM L will perform in various locations and situations including playing in stereo outdoors.

When does a headphone sound better than another one?

Just trying to explain my personal experience I made during the last years when one product starts sounding better than another one. 

Discount code for the Free Pro 2 is active again: EFP2OLUV3
Amazon DE: https://amzn.to/3me4xQm
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3k9Gp09

Oluv’s audiophile collection #32

I already played some of these tracks in my older videos, one song is missing at Spotify:

https://music.apple.com/at/playlist/oluvs-audiophile-collection-32/pl.u-V9D7GNGHBmbgoL

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4C0MK50D6d10uXOIR1BpnN?si=KE...

Earfun UBOOM L - final firmware

The firmware shown here is close to final, there were some changes but not regarding sound, which should remain like shown in the video. Unfortunately there was some copyright issue with a Prince song which I had to speed to up to avoid getting the video blocked. The original version should still be available in some selected countries and can be found here: https://youtu.be/X56yd4NS7hY

There will be a first early batc...

Earfun UBOOM L - final adjustments and corrections

I had some busy days recently, trying to optimise the sound for the Earfun Free UBOOM L. When you think it's already done, the next day you notice that there is still room for improvement. But there must be a deadline, and that’s why today I finally sent Earfun my most recent sound settings for the final firmware. There was some slight delay with production start which actually came in handy to me otherwise I wouldn’t have had that remaining time. Thanks to the valuable feedback I got fro...

Oluv’s audiophile collection #31

Some tracks I also played in my recent videos.

https://music.apple.com/at/playlist/oluvs-audiophile-collection-31/pl.u-aZb0Dz7CPkXvZq

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6i512OJZvSYNev8OayC9PU?si=Fz25sWS8SmOYUvGDC5WZVg

March/April give away winner

Congrats to Tim!

Sorry for the confusion, the link to the video obviously got ccorrupt which I didn't notice.

Earfun UBOOM L - another teaser

Unfortunately I still found some issues with my settings included within the firmware used in this video. I found some tracks which caused a slight distortion with outdoor mode, but indoor mode appears clean so far. Meanwhile I readjusted the dynamic EQ for low levels for even better results. There is slightly more bass boost at the lowest steps now and at the same time I reduced treble a tiny bit but boost more at low levels. There is some difference between both units I got especially in up...

Oluv’s audiophile collection #30

Some jazz’n’stuff as usual, unfortunately one song is missing at Spotify:

https://music.apple.com/at/playlist/oluvs-audiophile-collection-30/pl.u-aZb0KNrFPkXvZq

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2WdYwTp3H0d6KWcu1zMa8Y?si=31fQehPwTWGcNk...

Earfun UBOOM L - final firmware

I wanted to keep you updated about the progress I did with the UBOOM L recently. I moved into the cellar the last days to be able to crank the speaker to higher levels without annoying anyone and tried to tweak and optimise the settings which I finally managed to send to Earfun today. I should hopefully get the final firmware later and can check the results included within the speaker.  Hopefully I will still have some additional time for further tweaks and corrections in case necessary....

Earfun UBOOM L - facts and discoveries

To answer most questions which popped up recently: according to Earfun the UBOOM L should become available in July with a price of $79.99. I am not sure if they can offer some discounts, I suggested them to offer a lower preorder price prior to release or for the first hundreds of orders but didn’t get any response so far. To keep everything transparent: I have no confirmation from Earfun yet how this “partnership” will look like. If I will be mentioned on the packaging or at least on t...

Earfun UBOOM L - teaser

Keep in mind this video was still recorded with my old microphones and my old compensation which is not optimised for my current target yet. I hope to finally find some time to concentrate on creating a new compensation for my new microphones, then the recording should sound even more realistic. But when I sat down today with the speaker standing in front of me just like in the video and listened to my video over the Free Pro 2 with my reference tuning, the recording is pretty close to what I...

Music for the day: Nick Walters - Singularity

Video is still uploading, hope to have it finished before falling asleep and to keep me awake I am listening to some music as usual disovering new stuff continuously.

I often had situations with a particular album I was listening to completely blew my socks off and I couldn’t share my enthusiasm with anyone. Because of this I thought to start a new series called “Music for the day” with particular album recommendations from me in case there is interest at all.

I would like...

Earfun UBOOM L - video coming tonight

After I got the firmware with my recent DSP tweaks yesterday I immediately shot a first video with the UBOOM L putting it against some other speakers side by side like the MaxSound+, Flip 6, Soundore Motion+ and Denon Envaya, I didn't manage to include the Soundlink Flex anymore as my camera got out of charge. But to give you some further idea what to expect I wanted to share another frequency response measurement of the UBOOM L against the Flip 6 (green) and Soundlink Flex (blue). 

March/April - give away

As last month the give away somehow fell through, I wanted to raffle off 2 products at once this time and let someone win both of them. First being the quite rare Divoom Atom Bluetooth speaker and the other one the Valco VMK20 Bluetooth headphone tuned after the Meze Empyrean by the top Finnish music producer Jasse Kesti.

I hope the winner will have better use for them than me and I wish everyone...

Earfun UBOOM L - final DSP tuning

Unfortunately I am currently sick, my son has brought Covid from school right before Eastern and then it caught my wife and finally me some days ago. They both could already recover but I still have my nose and ears blocked. 

Nevertheless I was not lazy and because Earfun gave me access to the DSP I was able fine tune everything on my own. I was hoping to be able to squeeze out some deeper bass out of it, but to be honest it's pretty hard as you get into distortion prettty quickly,...