REVIEW: Fischer Audio FA-011 - OFF THE DEEP END!! - Page 120

I'm not all that savvy with how to pick up on issues in headphones (like the muddy bass mentioned by someone on here). I just got my FA011's, they certainly sound different to my old headset, in alot of ways. Is there a good song or something to test with?

Thanks guys

Could I clarify (I just finished reading through this whole thread), that one of the 'bad' batches was the dark/black wood with the straight cable? With extra painful highs and poorer quality bass?

I suppose you are correct. I am a recipient of this 'infamous' batch if you will, and I am going for RMA.  Now I dont know whether they will send me the Natural wood ones or the red ones. Have sent a mail to GD audio about this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by avoshake 

Could I clarify (I just finished reading through this whole thread), that one of the 'bad' batches was the dark/black wood with the straight cable? With extra painful highs and poorer quality bass?

Hey gang..

My FA-011 from GD_Audiobase finally arrived today.  Only took a little over two months of waiting from the day I paid .

I was a little fed up with the lack of communication from GD-A (after incessant pestering, only update many of us got was an email from Dmitry saying they were very delayed.. and that was probably coaxed out due to FA putting pressure on GD-A).. so initiated a refund through MoneyBookers about two weeks ago.  Literally 20 minutes after Moneybookers got that email, I get an email from Dimitry/GD-A stating my phones had shipped .  A few days prior to this is when FA told prospective buyers not to order through GD-A & that the FA-011 was discontinued and being revised.  That advisory too late for many of us who had already placed orders.. so despite getting a shipment email from GD-A, I decided I would keep my MoneyBookers refund request open until (or if) I actually received the phones.  After hearing about the revised FA-011 & getting the shipment email, I asked GD-A if I would be receiving the revised FA-011 or the old one.  Dmitry confirmed I would be receiving the revised version .

Enough retrospective.. these beauties arrived today.  They left the GD-A office on 7/12 and left Russia on 7/18.. I used track-trace.com to track them in Russia & was able to use the same # at USPS.com on 7/25, presumably when they hit US shores (to trace them domestically).

I had the original FA-011 (deep, cherry red cups, solid build quality, and a coiled cable) when it was released.. I sold it and missed their sound so ordered them again.  I'm quite positive I got the new, revised version too (pics coming soon) as the build issues I've read about (subsequent versions after the original) seem all resolved.  No scratches on the metal plate, joints look very well soldered, and the innards simply look cleaner.  Here's the kicker that I'm sure everyone has been waiting to hear about:

NEW PADS!

That's right folks!  Same comfy, fabric texture.. but they're, finally DEEPER!  Oh happy day! 

Your ears are no longer jammed against the cups.. there's a good cm thickness (or more) to buffer the cups away from the ears.. but no so far as to ruin the fq response.  Bottom line, I think everyone will be very happy with this oh-so-important touch.  As much as I loved the dark cherry wood, I like this natural wood color even more.  It simply looks beautiful and well manufactured.  Again, I didn't really have any QC control issues with my original FA-011.. obviously there were plenty in the revisions that followed (and that I closely kept track of, despite selling the phones).  I do get the sense these cups might be smaller than the original cups smaller in some way.  They remain circumaural, but going off of (distant) memory, the new FA-011 seems noticeably lighter and smaller than the original I owned nearly a year ago.  It could just be my memory failing me but regardless, I'd like to get confirmation from those who might have both versions, side by side, eventually.

Regardless, they sound fantastic (as I remembered).  It's been quite some time since I listened to the original.. but the FA-011 signature is unmistakable.. and I hear it faithfully preserved in the new FA-011.  If anything, it sounds a little cleaner straight out of my iPhone.  I will be driving it from my various sources and amps soon, though.. which is when they really shine.

I'll have pics & more impressions soon.. but for those who recently ordered and are awaiting delivery.. sit tight, they're fabulous!

One thing I wanted to add.. and this was in comparison to the original FA-011.. the revised version I'm listening to now sounds really good right out of the box.  While the original version I had sounded good too.. I faintly remember it being noticeably more loose in the bass and treble was borderline unbearably sharp, ootb.  They eventually settled down.. but it took some time.  The revised version sound impressively balanced to my ears.. not neutral of course.. but balanced in the symmetrical sense.. the u-shaped curve seems less emphasized at the edges, the bass is very tight & punchy.. while the treble is impressively smooth with ample sparkle being preserved.. which makes the FA-011 so special.  The lovely, signature FA-011 midrange is there in all it's addictive glory, too.

Now listening with the "Very Best of Lee Ritenour" with my ODAC & Neco amp.. man, what a lovely combo!  I forgot how well these improve with better gear and just how finely they resolve.  The soundstage is fantastic.  As we all know, ably sourcing & amping the FA-011 is where it's at.

I sold these off once only to buy them again.. this time around, they're definite keepers!

I just wanted to add that for anyone curious, GD Audiobase is now accepting Paypal. The price also rose by 12 dollars on the FA-011. I just placed my order. There's also no fedex option anymore.. oh well.

Wheres the pictures of the revised headphones?

If the pads are really much of a difference compared to the older version, I really do hope that Fischer will sell some pads separately as I would like a pair for my modded 011's.

Where can I buy a pair of these?

I tried searching on ebay with no look, same with google.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DefQon 

If the pads are really much of a difference compared to the older version, I really do hope that Fischer will sell some pads separately as I would like a pair for my modded 011's.

I would be interested in the same.  My FA-011's came from the batch that apparently had issues, but I love them anyway.  (I wouldn't feel right RMA'ing them for an improved version, and I can't even imagine how long the wait time would be.)  The annoying thing about them is that I need to deepen the pads with rolled up/twisted paper towels for them to be even remotely comfortable.  After a while, the towels get pushed to the side and the pads becomes shallower again, and it's an extraordinary pain trying to restuff them without pulling the pads off.

As a result, I've been using my lightly modded T50RP's throughout 2012 instead (ghetto suspension headband, Shure 840 pads, Paxmate on the bottom of the cups only, and plasticine "shoring up" the sides of the drivers).  They're a lot more comfortable, and even with such trivial mods they sound much better than stock, but they're not modded extensively enough to be flat-out better than the FA-011's (more neutral though).  There are times I'd really like to listen to the Fischers again for a change of pace and a bit more soundstage...without feeling like someone punched me in the ears.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supertoaster 

Where can I buy a pair of these?

 

I tried searching on ebay with no look, same with google.

I haven't paid attention for almost a year, so there may be better options nowadays, but...if not, you can get them from Russia with love:

http://www.gd-audiobase.com/

They ship headphones old-school style:  They wrap the package in a waterproof seal, walk it to the ocean, swim across with it, take the waterproof seal off, and then walk it to the nearest post office once they hit land.  It takes a while.

If you try to contact them to ask for information about your package, China intercepts the email.  They then have to print it out on paper and deliver it to gd-audiobase by sending a young boy on foot, and replies come back similarly.  It takes a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ledders 

The APE-02S. Two 10k resistors in series, a 130ohm resistor, and a 1uF Tantalum parallel to eachother and all in series with the driver.

Looks like Fischer might've changed the filter; must be part of the reason they sound different as FlySweep described, along with the pads. Thanks for the photo+description Ledders, gonna have to try rigging up similar filters to see if it changes my older FA-011s much

Edit - Yeah, looks like it was changed a little bit -

The old one uses 22k resistors in series, the rest is pretty much the same, just looks less tidy

So where can I get these besides gd-audio?  Everywhere else is sold out and fischer audio doesn't recommend gd-audio.