Review: Fischer Audio FA-003 - a neutral champ! - Page 183

Hi again Sync. There's a couple of reasons I find the hd650s better for extended listening. Firstly, they don't clamp my head quite so much. It's not that the 003s are uncomfortable but you know they're there! Secondly, I think the 003s share the same trait as all the closed phones I've ever listened to; namely, that they sound a little, well, closed in, compared to open phones and this does become a little fatiguing over time. The HD650s simply disappear. You start forgetting about the medium and focus on the music. I still think the 003s are great phones and can be more engaging, in some respects, than the 650s.

Hey there Steve!

 

Again, thanks for sharing your thought on the HD650. Pardon if this is going to seemed a little bit offtopic. Aside from the extra comfortness that the HD650 brings, is there any noticable sound stage improvement or any other audible improvement than FA-003. Seeing the fact that FA-003 is closed can and HD650 is open, I believe the sound stage would be like 3D for the case of HD 650? It is to my knowledge that FA-003 reigns superior in the mid-range domain and offer a very neutral sound signature. So I'm wondering whether it is justifiable to spend twice the price than FA-003 for the HD650.

 

If this would be any help, currently I'm using my FA-003 with Fiio E17.
 

I'm seeing these as 50$ on the website. Can anyone confirm? 

 

https://www.jaycar.com/showcart.asp?__utma=1.1669562038.1358260252.1358260252.1358260252.1&__utmb=1.1.10.1358260252&__utmc=1&__utmz=1%2E1358260252%2E1%2E1%2Eutmcsr=jaycar%2Eus%7Cutmccn%3D%28referral%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dreferral%7Cutmcct%3D%2FproductResults%2Easp&__utmv=&__utmk=&__utmx=

Your link doesn't work as it is to your cart, but the AUD90 price is for inside Australia and the USD50 is for the rest of the world. They can also be found for about GBP25 on the UK site but all orders ship from Australia

Hi dsync.  For a closed headphone the FA-003s sound remarkably open, and it's only when listening for longer periods that they start to feel a little fatiguing.  Soundstage wise, I think the HD650s are better but not by a long margin.  I think that if you were going to invest in the 650s, you're not going to put them on and feel "wow, these are such an improvement", but I suspect that, like me, as long as you're listening in a quiet environment you'll more often than not reach for the 650s and get many years of enjoyment from them.

Ok it's modding time now. Been experimenting with my one for a bit just now. I'm currently not using any of my wooden cups but I removed the stock outer housing cup, gave it a listen with it being open, the sound was a bit shrilled (bit of sibilance) and with some electronic music the bass is  quite funny sounding sort with a fake timbre and all. So decided to pull a few tricks of my past HD580/600/650 mods as the driver capsule is designed very similarly.

 

There is a piece of round slightly dense foam wedged into the top of the drivers housing on the 003 which beneath is a white felt glued on, the felt actually controls how much air is pushed through into the driver cone itself, use a pair of tweezers, remove the foam and run the headphones open without any cups. I'm listening to some 24bit La Mer Seascapes Allegro from my desktop > 3.5mm out to my custom 18v Banzai Cmoy using dual mono AD8597 (a single 8599 IC) and the sound is a lot more neutral with the classical stuff, soundstage is a bit more 3-dimensional maybe a bit more further out on the 4th or 5th row but really surround sounding (prior to the mod it sounded really closed in and laid back or shelved), the sound is also maybe a tad bit brighter, bit of warmth has been removed sounds bit more neutral now. I'm suspecting detail retrieval is a bit revealing but not incremented due to being fully open and bit brighter sounding.

 

Will be playing around with the dampening baffle and turning the stock outer housing cups to a open form factor with grills (resembling my HD600's a bit).

 

The sound is actually a bit more like a pair of bright headphones slapped together with the dark/laid back signature of a HD600/650. So far it has less bass than my HD600's bit more neutral sounding to my ears with classical. Soundstage is a bit wider in terms of 3-dimensionality, detail retrieval seems a bit more than the HD600's possibly due to the sound sig being more brighter, the HD600's have better bass but no where near basshead level (both of these can's are not basshead can's) and the soundstage / sound is a bit more intimate sounding on the HD600's. 

 

Will be reporting more results back.

 

EDIT: Gave my LCD2's a listen and did a comparison, really impressed with the subtle differences between the two for classical music, the sound on the 003 is more fun and serious at the same time.

Edited by DefQon - 1/15/13 at 11:51pm

Thanks very much for the feedback Steve! I think I will hold my purchase for now until I find a better upgrade. So far FA-003 still holds its reputation.
 

Posted this in its own thread, but I figured I might as well post it here too. I recently ordered a pair of jaycar fa-003s, and I love the sound of them, but I have an issue. Unless I hold it in place, its extremely hard for me to keep the right side's jack in place. This is especially a problem since I'm using these for gaming too.

 

Does anyone have a quickfix for this? Or do I need to contact jaycar support....

 

Any help is much appreciated :)

The jacks are locking so if they dont they must be faulty

give the jack a hard press so it locks in! there should be a snap sound when they lock.

I feel really dumb now, this was all I needed to do... This was my first pair of audiophile headphones so I was trying to be gentle, but I guess I was being too gentle. Thanks so much for the help!

$50 for US

$100 for Aus

Does anyone know where to purchase just the wooden cups for these still? It's been quite a while since I've paid any attention to Fischer news.

It looks like you have to purchase the FA-002w?

Since gd-audiobase is down, you can contact FA directly through their website see if you get any luck. Or pay attention to the F/S section.

Hey guys, after many days of agonizing research, I have decided on getting the NVX XPT100 flavor of these headphones (Over the DT770 and A900) due to the look, price and warranty (Dont want to risk dealing with an Australian based warranty).

 

I have two questions, first is if I buy through sonicelectronix there is an option of bundling an Fiio E6 amp with these headphones for an extra $10 only. Would these make a significant difference? I am coming from absolutely nothing in terms of quality audio headphones, so would these make a huge difference? If its not worth it I would rather just go through Amazon because the price is the same but I would prefer their return/support process.

 

Second question is does anyone know which velour pads are compatible with these headphones? My first concern is comfort so these would help with that. I know that this is probably mentioned somewhere in this thread but there are 180+ pages currently, quite a few to look through. I read somewhere else that the Schure SRH940 pads (Here http://www.amazon.com/Shure-HPAEC940-Replacement-Velour-Headphones/dp/B005OM06RG/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1359318378&sr=1-4&keywords=shure+940) might work, but never saw any confirmation.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.