[Review] Impressions of the Final Audio Design FI-BA-SS versus the SM3, FX700 and e-Q7 - Page 9

I didn't mind the stock tips on the Ortofons, but I usually use the Meelctronics double-flanged tips good sound and stay very secure in the ear, which is very important for me, especially when out and about!

^This maybe a bit off topic, but Takoyaki, if given the chance, try out a 75Ohm adapter (ER4P -> ER4S adapter) with the SE425.

 

Would like to hear your impressions about it.

Actually, I already have one! And I think it pairs very well with my SE 425, it especially helps to narrow the gap between them and the W4. In particular I think it does a great job of extending the tremble and adding some airiness, taking away some of the mid-dominated aspects of the SE 425.

takoyaki, do you know of any earphone that could possible be a mini BA-SS? I think james444 mentioned the A1 but I was wondering if there was anything else. I really like the sound coming out of the BA-SS but I can't justify a purchase of them and I their cable inspires zero confidence.

 

Just for fun I tried my 68 ohm adapter and it doesn't seem to affect the BA-SS like it with with my 1964-T where it just destroyed the highs but seems to take away some detail.

Well, tbh no other IEMs I own sound quite like the FI-BA-SS, especially in having that sort of "raw" transparency to them...

  The closest might be Audio Technica. I have tried the ATH-CK10 and CK90PRO a couple times in the past, and from memory they might have some similarities, though I do remember the CK10 lacks the bass, and the CK90PRO was a bit lacking in detail.

CK10 and CK90Pro does have some similarities but what I'm hearing out of the BA-SS has that raw transparency as you call it which I've not really heard in another iem. If only I could afford them..

 

I wonder if the FitEar 333 sounds anything like this. The BA-SS is coming closer to beating the CK10 as my favorite universal than any other iem I've heard.

Edited by rawrster - 3/18/11 at 1:13pm

Wow @ takoyaki7, I didn't know you owned the W4. How are you enjoying them?

I like the W4, but not sure if I will hang on to them at this point. They are very smooth, balanced and detailed, but may be just a bit neutral to my liking. In some ways I preferred my UM3x I sold to help fund them, and I just got sensaphonics custom tips for my SE425, and I think i might prefer the mid-forward sound of those two...

 

  By comparison I HATED the UM3x when I first bought them, but somehow grew to love them. I LIKED the W4 from the moment I put them in, and not much has changed.

 

 

Has anyone noticed that the cable on these are longer than most cables for earphones? Of course that helps if you're really tall but that's not the case for me.

 

I'll be getting my W4 soon and based on those quick thoughts on them they may be for me but I won't know until Monday. I got them on impulse so hopefully they come close tot he BA-SS in terms of enjoyment for me.

They are very, very different sounding than the BA-SS, so it may be a bit of a "beer or wine" situation...

Oh I would imagine they are very different. The descriptions of the W4 sound very different than these. I also like both beer and wine in different situations :)

 

I've been listening to these some more and I find it really hard to believe that this is a single BA driver. I don't know what this balanced moving air technology is but for a single BA it's very impressive. It's very detailed yet has better texture than I've heard in most BA based earphones. If I had to make a guess without knowing what it was I'd probably go MA, dynamic and BA in that order of guessing.

 

These are definitely detailed and transparent. These make the GR10 not seem as good as they actually are as I tried them right afterwards and was a bit disappointed until my ears adjusted. I'll have to test them out not using my J3 since I did most of my listening on the go today. The BA-SS seems to start off better but I'll have to see what happens when a better source is added.

 

I've tried my Monster triple flanges and some biflange tip but I think I'll stick to sony hybrids. The triple flange while gives me the best fit takes away some of that edginess but I may try again just to be sure.

Yes, the BA-SS have a dynamic-like slam to them that makes them feel to me more like a MA than a BA...The Balancing Air Movement apparently really does move air!!

 

 What amazes me about the BA-SS is that they seem wider across the frequency range than any dual-BA that I've heard (UE700, SE425, CK10)

 

The one big advantage of the W4 is airiness. as they have an extremely open, wide, 3D sound.

 

 

@ rawrster. I am afraid that like me you will eventually have to succumb and get the BA-SS Their sound will haunt you until you do get them... There simply is no other Universal IEM that comes close; possibly no Custom either! I have spent the past couple of months extensively auditioning and re-auditioning almost every top-end Universal and Custom IEM: W4, EX1000 among the new contenders to the throne, as well as the old Guard: SM3, W3, IE8, FX700, all the FAD's... you name them! Among the Customs, I have auditioned the top UE's, the JH's, the Custom Monitors. For me, none of them came close to the BA-SS in overall musicality. Among these, those that impressed me were:
The CM Stage 4 for the most solid and powerful bass that I've ever heard. It is extremely refined and classy sounding, but has nowhere near the transparency and coherence of the BA-SS, nor it's musicality.
The SM3 for it's musicality. But again lacking in transparency and coherence compared to the BA-SS. Besides, it's "in-your-face" presentation would be too much of a good thing for me in the long run, I felt.
The FAD BA-SB and BA-A1: many of the strengths of the SS - superb coherence and musicality, but not the transparency nor the dynamics of the BA-SS.

Of all these, the closest to the BA-SS would possibly be the BA-A1. I had a good mind to buy them - they are one-third the cost of the SS after all. But in the end, I knew that if I bought the A1, the sound of the SS would haunt me and eventually I would have to succumb and get the SS. I therefore took the plunge right away, and I can tell you, it's one of the best things I have ever done!

Now I would like to emphasise here that unlike some others, I find the BA-SS to be the most musical IEM I've ever heard. I do not find them to be too revealing, nor unforgiving of poor recordings or low bit-rate MP3's. Yes certainly they are extremely revealing, but they also extract the maximum music from those files. Of all the music in my collection, I find that only a few tracks are rendered unenjoyable by the BA-SS. For the most part, even with low-res files, I enjoy the music more than I ever did with my other IEM's: the Stax SR101 mk2, SE530, ER4P. In my experience, if the music sounds thin, the treble harsh, or if there is a "quacky" or "honky" coloration in the midrange, then this is most certainly due to a less than ideal fit of the earphones in my ears. Get the fit right and all these anomalies disappear. By fit, I do not mean merely good seal or isolation, but more, the angle and depth of the fit in your ears. Initially it takes a lot of trial and error to get this ideal fit, but once you get it, the sound becomes virtually perfect and gloriously musical. Oh, and by the way, the SS is also the most dynamic IEM I've ever heard... Get the fit right and the music simply explodes into your ears! It really shocked me the first time I experienced this...

Well I hope some of this helps rawrster... Wish you the best!
Edited by firoze - 3/19/11 at 12:47pm