Review on:

Fischer Audio DBA-02

Audio Quality

Comfort

Design

Isolation

Value

Swimsonny’s Rating

Purchase Date: January 2012

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Community Rating:

(9 reviews)

Intro

I acquired this in a trade with my Shure se420s but they retail at $160.

Set-up

I will be using it on the go with my iPhone 4 and mainly 320KBPS mp3 and also at home from my mac with FLAC. So all quite basic rigs.

Build quality

Very flimsy feeling and the strain relief can feel worrying at times. Also the braided cable is starting to loosen up and unbraid. The cable has also completely stiffened were it goes around the ears. It is defiantly not as solid as others but there have been no dramatic problems.

If this worries you then there is a V2 which looks a lot better built.

Accessories

Although I did not get them brand new I still got all the original accessories. Compared to some of the stuff you get with headphones today you could say that it is quite a poor bunch with the pathetic and pointless carry pouch, 3 pairs of tips (small, medium and large) and cable guides. Personally this does not bother me as it does not affect the sound quality. The one thing I would like to be included though would be ear wax loop as it is always nice to keep your earphones clean.

If accessories bother you then maybe look at the brainwavz B2 which is the same earphone (in red and black) but distributed by brainwavs for the same price with a much better accessory pack with a better case and some comply tips.

Comfort

These are small and they fit snuggly into your ears and do not dig in anywhere (something I found when wearing my mates bulkyish IE8s) which cause them to have a very low profile fit in which almost disguise their presence. Also because they are small they stay inside your ear nicely which helps them, firstly not fall out and secondly not stick out of your ears. Lastly they are so very light which means that you can were them for a long time without fatigue. I found it very easy as well to get a good seal with these using stock single flanges which were a bonus.

The only thing that may trouble you is that you wear them over the ear (ideally) which may taking some getting used to at first.

Microphonics (Cable Noise)

Like I have found with most earphones that you were over the ear there is pretty much nothing!

Okay so sound quality.

Soundstage, imaging and instrument separation

 In terms of size I would say nothing like an open air headphone so do not expect miracles but is it has the width and depth I guess of a small hall which for an earphone I find really quite nice. You do not feel closed in at all and that’s the main thing. I must say however there has been a moment when it has been just wonderful and it has on one occasion confused as much to turn around but it is yet to repeat that magical moment of three dimensional sound staging.

Imaging is also very nice and on certain songs (a lot of Jimi Hendrix) when thing maybe are going across in front of your with your eyes closed you can almost sense it being there.

Musical separation I think is defiant one of its strong points in my opinion and there is almost an aura around each instrument allowing you to hear it on its own. It keeps this up even when there is a lot going on which is defiantly a wow factor. Out of the list of in ears I have tried at the moment this is by far had the best instrument separation.

Timbre

I cannot say much here as I think this is an area you really want to compare with other earphones. But quickly I would say that guitar solos are just great!

Bass

Depending on what music you listen to and you as an individual this could work as marmite in that you either love it or you hate it. The quality of the bass is great, it is punch with a real nice impact and it also extends into the lower frequencies nicely. I say it has a nice punch and impact as it is really tight mean you don’t hear it wobbling around all over the place and these are really quite controlled. What it does not have is the presence or boosted bass of some dynamics I have tried. It is not boom at all and this in my opinion works great as it does not take attention away from the other frequency ranges or merge into the midrange. In other works it has great quality but maybe not the quantity that some people are after.

Midrange

I think they have got the balance just right here as they seem to go along with the balanced frequency range oh so nicely. The mids I would not say are forward, by which I mean there are in your face vocals etc, but they are far from recessed. It is in great sync with the highs and the bass which gives off a great neutral effect.

Highs

I do not know where to start, the treble is just great. It is amazingly detailed and also well extended, even better than the bass extension! It is again not over worked like anything on these which adds to the neutral effect. I honestly cannot think of words to describe it!

Hiss

When listening to loud (over listening levels) you may find a hiss problem on s's but by listening to a good volume, say 50% iPhone 4, which is easily loud enough their is no bother from it all. Only mentioning because when i first used it i listened at maybe 80% and it was quite annoying.

Amping

I have tried numerous times with my cMoyBB but they really do not go well together. When used it feels like everything is muddy and everything is all merged, euuggh.

 I will have to try with my objective 2 and hopefully they will suit. But so far they have been great without amping which is always a good thing as it makes things a lot easier.

Value

At $160 these are an absolute bargain, you may lose out a bit on build quality and accessories but it more than make up for it in sound quality as well as comfort. It is no longer widely available and you be able to much easily pick up a brainwavs B2 (same) which I think is the same price but more available in both US and abroad.

This is all in my opinion of course and you may not agree with what I said.