Final Audio Design Muramasa VIII - Page 18

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuppetFace 

 

I recall Kiteki mentioning the owner of Jaben Australia saying he'd have one available for demo, but I'm not sure if that's still the case.

Yeah but what I meant is that I seriously doubt they will have a $8000 headphone here for demo when Australia's audiophile community is so small compared to anything to the likes in the States or across Europe. Not to mention as Currawong stated FAD's offering's are not for and to everybody, only a small group of buyer's such as your yourself.

I personally wouldn't mind auditioning a $8k pair of headphones just to see, touch and listen of what a uniquely expensive headphone is like.

The Heaven IV and Adagio V are (and I say this cautiously not being as experienced with IEMs) quite good. Considering the compromise IEMs are, I tend to like the least offensive sounding pairs. By that, I mean ones that don't have the common faults of dead-sounding percussion or stupid frequency response curves with insanely peaky treble or boomy bass. At least from the DX100 those two were appreciable. Anyway, I should be writing this up for the Tokyo thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DefQon 

Yeah but what I meant is that I seriously doubt they will have a $8000 headphone here for demo when Australia's audiophile community is so small compared to anything to the likes in the States or across Europe.

Yeah, I get what you're saying. However what I'm saying that there was mention of Jaben Australia's owner possibly having a pair available for audition upon appointment. I brought it up because someone asked where they could hear the Muramasa VIII in Australia. Obviously I don't know if he's going to have one available for sure or not, but that would be the closest to a best bet for those interested.

As I was saying a few posts back, the situation isn't ideal by any means. The overwhelming majority of import retailers aren't going to even stock the Muramasa VIII, and those who are willing to do so are going to require payment upfront. Not to mention their weight will drive up shipping costs. Just acquiring them is difficult enough for people outside of Asia, so auditioning them is going to be all the more unlikely.

Still, there may be hope for the curious. It just takes one insane collector to bring his/her pair to a head-fi meet; I'd like to think those who are crazy enough to order the Muramasa VIII sight unseen unheard are also crazy enough to lug them to a public gathering. Also one particularly dedicated head-fier mentioned possibly holding a small listening tour. TBH I tried to dissuade him a while ago, because it's just too much of a risk all things considered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

The Heaven IV and Adagio V are (and I say this cautiously not being as experienced with IEMs) quite good. Considering the compromise IEMs are, I tend to like the least offensive sounding pairs. By that, I mean ones that don't have the common faults of dead-sounding percussion or stupid frequency response curves with insanely peaky treble or boomy bass. At least from the DX100 those two were appreciable. Anyway, I should be writing this up for the Tokyo thread.

The Heaven series has been generally well regarded among the portable-fi crowd. Or at least it's been viewed with less suspicion. Tomscy2000 and I in particular feel the Heaven IV has the most potential for mass appeal, and I think it serves as a really good entry point into the world of FAD.

The Adagio series has been a little more controversial though, and I know Tomscy2000 and James444 weren't particularly impressed by the Adagio V. Personally I really like it. Compared to the Heaven series, the sound is relatively colder; I feel it has a unique delicacy and fragility to its sound that is a bit difficult to articulate.

Have you had a listen to the FI-BA-SS? It's their flagship balanced armature earphone and quite expensive. Unlike the flagship dynamics (Piano Forte) however, the sound is more recognizably "high-fi." Some head-fiers regard it as one of the best universal IEMs currently available.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuppetFace 

 

Yeah, I get what you're saying. However what I'm saying that there was mention of Jaben Australia's owner possibly having a pair available for audition upon appointment. I brought it up because someone asked where they could hear the Muramasa VIII in Australia. Obviously I don't know if he's going to have one available for sure or not, but that would be the closest to a best bet for those interested.

 

Fair enough, if Jaben does end up having a demo pair, I wouldn't auditioning it as I'm only 20 minutes away from Jaben's here in Melbourne....hehe...that is if you don't end up acquiring one before I audition it?

Offtopic: This is odd, I'm online atm but my profile say's I'm offline....

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuppetFace 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

The Heaven IV and Adagio V are (and I say this cautiously not being as experienced with IEMs) quite good. Considering the compromise IEMs are, I tend to like the least offensive sounding pairs. By that, I mean ones that don't have the common faults of dead-sounding percussion or stupid frequency response curves with insanely peaky treble or boomy bass. At least from the DX100 those two were appreciable. Anyway, I should be writing this up for the Tokyo thread.

 

The Heaven series has been generally well regarded among the portable-fi crowd. Or at least it's been viewed with less suspicion. Tomscy2000 and I in particular feel the Heaven IV has the most potential for mass appeal, and I think it serves as a really good entry point into the world of FAD.

 

The Adagio series has been a little more controversial though, and I know Tomscy2000 and James444 weren't particularly impressed by the Adagio V. Personally I really like it. Compared to the Heaven series, the sound is relatively colder; I feel it has a unique delicacy and fragility to its sound that is a bit difficult to articulate.

 

Have you had a listen to the FI-BA-SS? It's their flagship balanced armature earphone and quite expensive. Unlike the flagship dynamics (Piano Forte) however, the sound is more recognizably "high-fi." Some head-fiers regard it as one of the best universal IEMs currently available.

I didn't like the FI-BA-SS when I tried them. Maybe I was expecting as good or better than my XBA-3s (which are the ONLY IEMs I've been able to enjoy listening with for long periods).  The Adagio V are definitely thinner sounding, though I'm not sure my Sonys aren't, likewise, a bit thick-sounding with the DX100. So far, I feel the metal tube possibly fixes some of the issues dynamics have that I don't like. I haven't given them a proper listen yet.

The other thing is, at some point in the day my DX100 started distorting, making everything sound harsh. I only found out when I returned to my hotel room and plugged my Magnums in directly. It worked fine after a reboot, but I know it screwed up my impressions of at least two DACs I'd tried using the optical output and my visit to FAD was late in the day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

I didn't like the FI-BA-SS when I tried them. Maybe I was expecting as good or better than my XBA-3s (which are the ONLY IEMs I've been able to enjoy listening with for long periods). The Adagio V are definitely thinner sounding, though I'm not sure my Sonys aren't, likewise, a bit thick-sounding with the DX100. So far, I feel the metal tube possibly fixes some of the issues dynamics have that I don't like. I haven't given them a proper listen yet.

 

The other thing is, at some point in the day my DX100 started distorting, making everything sound harsh. I only found out when I returned to my hotel room and plugged my Magnums in directly. It worked fine after a reboot, but I know it screwed up my impressions of at least two DACs I'd tried using the optical output and my visit to FAD was late in the day.

Do you mean that the XBA-3 is less fatiguing than the FI-BA-SS? The FI-BA-SS can sometimes be a bit hot headed and will scream at you if you feed it the wrong music. There's a white-cabled version which is gentler, but that one's not available to the public... (not gonna say anymore for fear of the FAD gestapo)

So...

I'm in contact with some people from FAD, starting down the somewhat daunting road of ordering these. Apparently the target release date is the end of this month, and by "release" I mean they're basically just fulfilling pre-orders.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuppetFace 

So...

 

 .."starting down the somewhat daunting road of ordering these"....

Doesn't sound like your enjoying the process of getting these...

According to FAD, pre-orders for the Muramasa VIII will be shipping early this month. Apparently I'll be the only person outside of Asia to have these for the time being, so I'll post my impressions as soon as I can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuppetFace 

According to FAD, pre-orders for the Muramasa VIII will be shipping early this month. Apparently I'll be the only person outside of Asia to have these for the time being, so I'll post my impressions as soon as I can.

Looking forward to it!

The horror!  The horror!

Kurtz would be proud y'all.

The Jaben owner in Melbourne may be picking up the Muramasa VIII soon, however I don't want to speak on their behalf, it could simply be locked in a cabinet for display only, like a statuette.

I like every FAD IEM I've tried so far, the Heaven A / C / S just seem like typical Hi-Fi IEM's but the rest of the series all have unique qualities to offer which I can't find in other IEM's.

.

wait so there will only be 15 of these in the whole world? jesus talk about exclusive...