Heir Audio - The Appreciation Thread - Page 7

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomscy2000 

You can check out the UHA-6 and other products, too. They have pretty good measurements and have rollable opamps. But they don't do 24/96 over USB.

I'll second the UHA-6 (or the 6S variant if you might have need for toslink input, up to 24/96). Simply one of the best portables out there, at any price. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rroseperry 


The UHA-6S is not in stock unfortunately. They're developing a new model to replace it. I found this out when I was looking into buying one not long ago.

DOH! Didn't realize that. That's potentially good news (for the new model) but bad for folks wanting to buy now.

Luckily for me I'm not planning to buy for at least a month as there's another major purchase between now and then (read: the Feb/March iPad 3 release).

Still, I'll be curious to see what they release. The more I'm looking it does seem that a lot of AMPs are targeted towards full-size headphones and not IEMs. Most of the reviews I see are talking about how well these portable rigs work with larger, harder to drive headphones where IEMs sound like their easier to drive but much harder to drive well due to how sensitive they are.

iPad 3? I just got an iPad 2 not too long ago.... I guess it was bound happen. 

Seriously though, I will be watching Leckerton for their new models. They really seem to have their stuff together.

Anyone has difficulties opening their website?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rroseperry 

The UHA-6S is not in stock unfortunately. They're developing a new model to replace it. I found this out when I was looking into buying one not long ago.

Interesting! When I bought my UHA-6S a year-and-change ago, I asked if he was considering adding certain features into a future version of the 6, and he confirmed it, but that it's challenging to fit everything into a UHA-6's case. I've been happy with the 6, and I'm looking forward to what Nick's got in the pipeline.

Quote:

Originally Posted by quanxu 

Anyone has difficulties opening their website?

Hm, I've just tried in Chrome. No problem.

A few Chinese sites I've been trying since yesterday (my time) have been slow or broken. I wonder if it's because of the rush of people returning to home and work after the holiday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardgedee 

A few Chinese sites I've been trying since yesterday (my time) have been slow or broken. I wonder if it's because of the rush of people returning to home and work after the holiday.

Maybe. Or it's yet another instance of the Great Firewall of China acting up.

any recommended portable amps to pair with the 8.A?

Pico Slim, Rx Mk 2.. The usual I guess.

Their website has been slow and buggy for about a week now. Basically, I'm putting it down to Chinese New Year.

Since Polmandres has the Heir Audio 4.A too, i think it's best if I add my impressions/utter newbie review here.

I ordered the Heir Audio 4.A on January 1st. They received my impressions on January 9th. I received the 4.A on February 2nd. Part of the delay was thanks to the Chinese New Year. Nonetheless that was fairly quick for a custom in ear monitors order.

These are my first custom IEMs. But not my first customs per se, I have the Etymotics HF3 with custom ACS Silicone Tips.

My notable listening experience till date:
Grado SR80 - I love the Grado sound signature, it's great for rock. To be honest, I haven't heard them in a few years since the foam pads wore out. Too lazy to go buy some new pads.

NuForce NE-7M - Fun, but far from perfect

Apple Dual Driver IEM - Excellent mic, more neutral than the NE-7M but too thin as well.

Etymotics HF3 w/ Custom ACS Tips - Excellent isolation. To my ears these sound fairly neutral but seem too thin compared to what I know the music sounds like.

Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 (tried both TF10 & TF10vi cables) - Good bass & treble but the mids sounded muddy to me. Especially compared to the HF3. I listen to a lot of rock and the guitars and vocals took a big big hit. An example: The intro guitars and vocals on Oasis' Champagne Supernova sounded muddy on the TF10. Hated that. I had planned on getting TF10 customs but that plan was quickly dropped when I realized I hated that sound signature for its muddiness in the miss.

I am not an experienced audiophile. I am just a guy who believes music should be heard the way it was recorded without any extras thrown in on the listener's end. Therefore I wanted to get something neutral. I stumbled across Heir Audio here and as they say, the rest is history.

They may not look visually stunning like the Woodies or Carbon Fiber ones but they still manage to look great in-person. The silver foil Heir Audio logo looks great. The clear tips are just perfect. There's a minor bubble by the serial number sticker but beyond that I can't really see any flaws in the housing or build quality. Heir Audio's work is very professional. The fit seems to be good, although I need to live with it for a few days to be sure.

Heir Audio 4.A with the stock cable. (My stock cable has Westone branding on it)

First impression: Phenomenal clarity. By far the most neutral sounding earphones/IEMs I've ever heard. Superb instrument separation. Accurate music & soundstage representation. Music that I've lived on for the last twenty years and know very well sound revived on the 4.As. I know you might think that it's the new toy effect making everything else sound good. I'd agree with that to a point but the songs I've known for years and use as my benchmarks for testing any new headphones, speakers, device sound great. I am not listening to anything new in these songs just yet but I am listening to what's there much more clearly.

I am not technical enough to split the review into sections exploring the highs, miss and bass responses. To my untrained ears everything on the 4.A sounds normal, there's no fake bass boost or mids push or anything. Just normalcy thanks to its neutral nature.

I'll update this post with more information as I live with the 4.A more and learn its ins and outs.

^

Wait, your left and right drivers seem to have some matching issues? The imbalance is pretty noticeable on the FR charts. Is it within audible range (it appears to be JUST under audible range, if I got my facts right).