thanks.

not sure if i can get them before Oct.

never thought a univeral earphone could take such a long time to wait. hope it worth the wait.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaseyD 

thanks.

 

not sure if i can get them before Oct.

never thought a univeral earphone could take such a long time to wait. hope it worth the wait.

it is definitely worth the wait =)

i guess there are also lots of ppl that is ordering it, hence the waiting time

hope u can get it soon and enjoy it too.

thanks, mate.

have a g'day

I mailed my impressions to the CA office almost 2 weeks ago and as of yesterday they haven't arrived!!!! Uhg, if I have to get the impressions done again, I'm going to be really bummed.  I guess that's what I get for thinking that since I was sending them domestically, first class mail would be fine.  Hopefully the USPS temporarily misplaced them and will get them to CA in the next couple of days.  I was hoping to have my 4.A's before my golf trip at the end of the month but that is now out of the question.

Will the 3.Ai and 4.Ai stay at their current prices of $299 and $399 after Oct 1st or are they being raised along with the Heir customs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdiddypdler 

Will the 3.Ai and 4.Ai stay at their current prices of $299 and $399 after Oct 1st or are they being raised along with the Heir customs?

I assume they are staying the same since they aren't listed as a 'promo price' like the customs have been since they were released.  Also, it will give some separation between the IEM and CIEM lines.

Does anyone know if I should pick the 3.Ai over the 4.Ai for bass? I had a Denon D2k, and I loved it's bass. I'm thinking of buying one back or buying either the 3.Ai or 4.Ai. Which one would have better bass / bass that is comparable? Are they comfortable enough to sit at home with? I have a budget of ~ 450-500, is the upgrade cable worth it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by iJimmy 

Does anyone know if I should pick the 3.Ai over the 4.Ai for bass? I had a Denon D2k, and I loved it's bass. I'm thinking of buying one back or buying either the 3.Ai or 4.Ai. Which one would have better bass / bass that is comparable? Are they comfortable enough to sit at home with? I have a budget of ~ 450-500, is the upgrade cable worth it?

Can't answer the cable.  The 4.Ai is more neutral (with neutral levels of bass).  The 3.Ai are basically bass monsters to my ears.  They have large quantities and pound.  If you want that type of sound, go 3s.  If you want something more linear, go 4.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iJimmy 

Does anyone know if I should pick the 3.Ai over the 4.Ai for bass? I had a Denon D2k, and I loved it's bass. I'm thinking of buying one back or buying either the 3.Ai or 4.Ai. Which one would have better bass / bass that is comparable? Are they comfortable enough to sit at home with? I have a budget of ~ 450-500, is the upgrade cable worth it?

if its D2K you want, i would say 3.Ai is actually very similar. 3.Ai is like the D2K with a bit more treble and overall a bit cleaner bass. Havent heard the D2K in a while now so I dont really remember how the bass quantity compare...i do remember finding the two somewhat similar though =)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cotnijoe 

if its D2K you want, i would say 3.Ai is actually very similar. 3.Ai is like the D2K with a bit more treble and overall a bit cleaner bass. Havent heard the D2K in a while now so I dont really remember how the bass quantity compare...i do remember finding the two somewhat similar though =)

Even more treble? I don't know if I want more treble than the d2ks, would rather have an increase in mid-range ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

 

Can't answer the cable.  The 4.Ai is more neutral (with neutral levels of bass).  The 3.Ai are basically bass monsters to my ears.  They have large quantities and pound.  If you want that type of sound, go 3s.  If you want something more linear, go 4.

Thanks! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by iJimmy 

Even more treble? I don't know if I want more treble than the d2ks, would rather have an increase in mid-range ;)

 

Thanks! 

Surprisingly enough, the 3.Ai does very well in the upper midrange.  The weaknesses of the 3.Ai would be the lower midrange and lower highs (lower mids more than the highs).  I haven't heard the D2k though, so can't make that comparison for you, sorry :( 

FYI, for anyone in Southern California who wants to hear the Heir products, there is a Head-Fi meet on November 3rd, 2012 in San Diego, CA:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/624972/san-diego-head-fi-meet-saturday-november-3rd-2012-date-changed

Brannan from Heir Audio USA will be attending and he will be bringing the 3.Ai's, 4.Ai's, and accessories to the meet. He has also offered to do ear impressions for free for anyone who shows a proof of purchase for any Heir customs.

If you are planning on attending, please post in the thread above. If you plan on having Brannan do ear impressions, definitely post in the thread or PM me so he will know how many people might want impressions done.

Hope some of you can make it to the meet.

-Darin

Oh god the wait for my IEMs to be shipped out is killing me. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by darinf 

FYI, for anyone in Southern California who wants to hear the Heir products, there is a Head-Fi meet on November 3rd, 2012 in San Diego, CA:

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/624972/san-diego-head-fi-meet-saturday-november-3rd-2012-date-changed

 

Brannan from Heir Audio USA will be attending and he will be bringing the 3.Ai's, 4.Ai's, and accessories to the meet. He has also offered to do ear impressions for free for anyone who shows a proof of purchase for any Heir customs.

 

If you are planning on attending, please post in the thread above. If you plan on having Brannan do ear impressions, definitely post in the thread or PM me so he will know how many people might want impressions done.

 

Hope some of you can make it to the meet.

 

-Darin

Thanks Darin, your post is very much appreciated. Everything that Darin has said is true, including the free ear mold impressions, which I think is a tremendous value.

I would also like to encourage as many people as possible to come to the San Diego meet. It should be a very fun time and it will be interesting to see a large variety of gear there.

For those of you who can't make it to the San Diego meet, but live in the SoCal area, our products are available for demo by appointment free of charge and ear mold impressions can be done as well.

- Brannan

Heir Audio 3.Ai VS Buncha’ Headphones

It’s time for the battles to begin.  The Heir Audio is going to take on a list of competitors, some that are twice it’s MSRP.  That said, this line of competitors is strong.  The 3.Ai may win some, it may lose some, it may draw in others.  Let’s go straight to the briefing.

Headphone Briefing

• Heir Audio 3.Ai: V-shaped signature that has a dip in the lower mids.
• Phonak PFE232: V-shaped signature that has a dip in the lower mids.
• Logitech Ultimate Ears UE900: Warm headphone that walks the line of neutrality, but doesn’t quite make it.
• Westone W4R: Balanced IEM with slightly boosted highs and lows and a strong midrange focus.
• Aurisonics ASG-1 (1.2 Rev): Warm, lush signature with receded highs.

NOTE: Specifics about the actual sound of the 3.Ai alone will be in the review.  Since the review is going to be copyright (not even owned by me), I won’t be writing it here.  This is also the reason why I can’t repost my reviews, only link them.  So if you are looking for that, you’ll have to wait.  

Comparisons, however, aren’t part of the original review, so get ready for some in depth comparisons between these IEMs.  So sit back, we’ve got quite a lineup here of 300+ dollar IEMs ranging up to 600!  Let the trials begin.

Heir Audio 3.Ai VS Phonak PFE232

This is going to be the most interesting comparison as these two IEMs, in my mind, have very similar signatures.  Both are V-shaped with a drop in the low mids.  That said, I feel that the Heir Audio 3.Ai is a less refined PFE232.  The 3.Ai is a funner version of the PFE232 really.  Taking the bass and making it stronger and taking the highs and following the same routine.

• Bass
  
  Both of these IEMs do exceptionally great in this area.  For both, it’s a strength, for the 3.Ai, it’s the strongest strength.  The texturing on both is absolutely stunning.  Both offer a beautiful euphoric feeling with excellent texturing overall.  The body on the Phonaks is slightly larger than the 3.Ai though.  If you drop into impact, you find that both provide more than enough impact, but the Phonak has a larger impact that feels a little stronger.  Punchyness is done well by both in good regards as well.  The 3.Ai provides a much tighter, punchier sound over the Phonak’s larger body and impact.  Overall though, it’s really a wash for these two concerning bass…
  
  Bass: DRAW

• Mids
  
  OK, the midrange will be the big battlefield.  This is where both IEMs have weakness, but in different areas.  Starting low at the lower mids, we find that the Phonak does better in this regard, although both IEMs have this as their weakness.  The PFEs just have better overall detailing and clarity in this region over the 3.Ai.  Going up into the vocals, both offer a sweet sound, but the 3.Ai has better top-end dynamics while being able to match the Phonak on the lower end of the vocal spectrum.  If you dig into the higher instrumentals, you find that the 3.Ai does slightly better clarity, although both do a wonderful job in this area.  With all this said, the Phonak takes the slight edge over the 3.Ai.
  
  Mids: PFE232

• Highs
  
  The Heir Audio offers more perceived treble sparkle and splash over the Phonak PFE.  Both, however, do well in this regard, more is not better (but can be preferred).  The extension goes well both ways, but the Phonak bests the Heir Audio in this regard still.  This extension also plays major rolls at the weakness of the Heir in the highs being the lower-highs.  The Phonak does a wonderful job here with a strong release of energy that extends much further than the Heir as well as having much better presence as well.  
  
  Highs: PFE232

Like I said before, the Heir Audio 3.Ai sound very similar to the Phonaks.  I like to think of them as a less refined version of the Phonaks.  That said, they are half the price, so if you are unsure if you’ll like the Phonak sound, give the 3.Ai a whirl (Heir Audio is cool with auditions anyways!).  Preference really doesn’t play a role here as both share the same signature type.

Heir Audio 3.Ai VS Logitech Ultimate Ears UE900

New toys are always fun, when you compare two of them, it’s twice the fun.  The UE900s are a different animal than the 3.Ai.  They are warmer and more neutral overall compared to the Heir Audios which feature a nice fun V-shape.  For the sake of time, I’m going to C&P my comparison of these two from the UE900 thread.

• Bass
  
  The bass on the 3.Ai digs just as deep as the Phonak, actually, a little deeper.  If the PFE232 is deeper than the 900s, the 3s will be deeper as well.  Once again, you get a more euphoric presentation of the bass here.  Texturing is just magical and something the UE900 can’t really level with.  The mid bass is much tighter here over the 900s as well, although both provide an ample punch.  Impact can be shown by both IEMs with good quality as well as quantity.  The UE900s actually have a larger body over the 3.Ai, but both do fine with presence.  The Heir Audio easily surpasses the UE900 in both quality and quantity.
  
  Bass: 3.Ai

• Mids
  
  The midrange game is a flip however, mostly.  The instrumentals in the lower-miss are a win for the UE900.  The detailing is much better with the 900 over the Heir in this region, just like they were with the Phonak.  Clarity is same story here, the UE900 is much clearer than the Heir Audios in both the lower mids and upper mids as well as the mids in general.  Detailing in the upper mids is a flush though, neither outdoes each other.  Now, we go to the vocals, we have another IEM that is exceptionally strong with vocals.  This one outdoes the Phonaks, and it’ll outdo the UE900 the same way.  They offer much better dynamics with vocals entirely.  They are lusher, but actually offer similar sweetness.  The general improvements of the UE900 in the instrumentals outweighs the loss of lushness the 900s show against the Heir Audio.
  
  Mids: UE900

• Highs
  
  The Heir Audios extend high, but don’t extend quite enough actually.  They have a very strong splash to them that isn’t sibilant, it’s a lot of fun, and it’s really done right.  However, the extension of both of these IEMs is actually about equal.  The UE900s have a strong splash as well, and its done just as right as the Heir Audios.  Both of these IEMs have a slight weakness in the lower highs.  This is where the UE900 is the better of the two.  Snaps extend slightly longer with the 900s due to the better linearity of the highs with them over the Heir.  Due to this reason, the 900s do take the highs.
  
  Highs: UE900

The Heir Audios are actually a way to get something like the Phonak signature, but made more fun.  The UE900 is still slightly above them however in technicality.  However, some may actually prefer the fun V-shaped sound of the 3.Ai over the UE900.

Heir Audio 3.Ai VS Westone W4R

The Westones offer a balanced sound having a boost in the lows and highs, but also having a mid-focus while doing it.  Seems very odd, some might say impossible, but it is possible.  The 3.Ai are a more extreme V.  

• Bass
  
  I always felt that the W4s could dig just a little deeper.  That’s where we’ll start. The Heir Audios dig nice and deep with great extension into the lower regions.  The texturing runs circles around the W4’s that offer a more solid texture while the 3.Ai are almost completely fluid.  As we move up, the impact of the Heir Audio is much stronger than the W4 with better presence overall.  The bass is punchier and tighter than the W4 as well.  It’s really no contest here, the Heir Audio takes Westone’s bass and tears it into pieces.  
  
  Bass: 3.Ai

• Mids
  
  Both of these IEMs have a little trouble in the lower-miss.  So we’ll start there.  The W4 really turns out to be the lesser of two evils in this case though offering much better detailing and clarity over the 3.Ai.  Continuing onto the vocals, both IEMs excel at this area.  Both offer great vocal dynamic by being able to suit both lush vocals as well as the sweet vocals to provide more than enough energy behind them.  Both portray vocals in equal beauty.  If you go up into the upper-midrange, you’ll find that the W4 does take the edge here with slightly better clarity, both do fine detail-wise up here.
  
  Mids: W4R

• Highs
  
  Starting down low, we find that the W4s begin with a good lead.  The lowre-highs on the W4 do much better in just about most aspects, extension, presence, detailing, clarity, you name it.  The weakness in the highs for the 3.Ai is exposed once again by the W4.  If you go further up, however, this battle evens out.  Remember, I did find the W4 a bit sibilant (one of few Head-Fiers that do), which does factor into this.  The 3.Ai extends well, and isn’t sibilant in any fashion.  The W4 extends just as high, if not higher, but is a bit sibilant.  Overall, however, the Westone’s still take the edge in the highs.
  
  Highs: W4R

The Heir Audios do put up a good fight against the W4R, but can’t come out on top.  It is like the rookie player in the big leads, they can put up a fight, but might not be able to win it.  However, there are things the 3.Ai does significantly better than the W4, and if bass is your territory, step towards Heir Audio ;)

Heir Audio 3.Ai VS Aurisonics ASG-1 (1.2 Rev)

Now, we take a battle to a new signature, a unique, warm, lush, inviting, relaxing signature of the the ASG-1.  The latest revision of the ASG drops the resonance spike at the 2k region of the ASG and flattens it as well as some of the treble.  It extends the bass further.  The result is a very unique signature that is 100% relaxed.

• Bass
  
  The ASG and 3.Ai both show off different flavors of bass.  The ASG-1 is much more linear and offers a solid, but beautiful sub-bass with great texturing.  The Heir Audio’s on the other hand provide a strong fluid texture.  Both can equally be euphoric and engaging, you really can’t go wrong either way.  If you go into the impact, both provide a strong impact, but the ASG offers a much larger body over the 3.Ai.  The 3.Ai, contrary, are tighter and punchier over the Aurisonics.  Both provide a fine punch though.  Overall, I feel this category is a wash.
  
  Bass: DRAW

• Mids
  
  The mids are really flip-flopped around.  The lower-miss are much better resembled with the Aurisonics.  They show much better detailing overall with strong, clear notes down here.  The detailing with the 3.Ai is lacking in contrast.  After this, however, the Aurisonics  really begin to snowball down hill.  The vocals are the strong point of the 3.Ai.  While both provide a lush sound, the Aurisonics being much lusher over the 3.Ai, only one can also balance it out with a nice bit of sweetness.  This is the 3.Ai.  If you go into the upper-mids, we find that both IEMs do a splendid job detailing everything out, but the 3.Ai still do a better job being clearer and more upfront with them.  Overall, the 3.Ai will take this round.
  
  Mids: 3.Ai

• Highs
  
  Both of these IEMs take a weakness in the lower-highs.  However, the 3.Ai do a better job with clarity and detailing in this area, as well as extension.  Overall, the 3.Ai do much better as the highs seem absent with the Aurisonics.  If we go up int the spectrum, the Aurisonics does show signs of life with a bit of splash.  However, it just isn’t enough.  The 3.Ai offers a better stronger splash, but more importantly, higher extension and better detailing and separation.  The highs are really a no brainer, they are the ASG-1’s eternal weakness.
  
  Highs: 3.Ai

In a battle between the Aurisonics and Heir Audio 300-tier IEMs, the Heir Audio does take it.  If it were the previous revision(s) (1.0/1.1), it would actually end up a bit of a tie.  That said though, the signature type will make a big difference concerning which one you choose.  The Heir Audio is technically better, but many may prefer the Aurisonics for the relaxing sound that is 100% non-fatiguing.  

That’s the end of the battles.  The 3.Ai ends up being 1-0-3 (W-L-T) here.  The Heir Audio is able to play at the level of some of the IEMs above, being able to exploit their weaknesses and showing some reason to get it over the others.  Overall though, it technically could be better.  However, some of those IEMs are twice its price.  Like all subjective comparisons, take these with a grain of salt.  If you have further questions, ASK!  Don’t ASSUME, cause you know how I feel about AssUMe.