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Review: Heir Audio 4.A - Page 3

post #31 of 88
7/31/12 at 11:19pm
I must remember not to look at this thread to often. This is where things become a liiiiittttle to expensive for me. smile.gif

I did enjoy the pretty pictures though. biggrin.gif
Edited by H20Fidelity - 7/31/12 at 11:21pm
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post #32 of 88
7/31/12 at 11:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by H20Fidelity View Post

I must remember not to look at this thread to often. This is where things become a liiiiittttle to expensive for me. smile.gif

 

I guess this thread is made for you, then. cool.gif

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post #33 of 88
7/31/12 at 11:44pm

I should have the restraint you display. They're just too pretty though!

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post #34 of 88
7/31/12 at 11:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinocelt View Post

I guess this thread is made for you, then. cool.gif

Unfortunately no, that makes things worse. frown.gif The rules: open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States)

I'm from Australia. Though these new Heir universals look very interesting. Considering I was saving for Westone 4 ultimately they have opened up a whole new gate way to consider on the horizon.

Though thank you. smily_headphones1.gif
Quote:
Originally Posted by tzjin View Post

I should have the restraint you display. They're just too pretty though!

It's only a matter of time, we will cave into the inevitable. mad.gif
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post #35 of 88
8/1/12 at 12:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by H20Fidelity View Post

Unfortunately no, that makes things worse. frown.gif The rules: open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States)

 

Yeah, but the Wizard said it wasn't the case. I shot him an email. It may be a real legal restriction the Wizard wasn't aware of, but it may also be a mere copy>paste mistake.

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post #36 of 88
8/1/12 at 7:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by project86 View Post

 

CABLE
Heir Audio just launched their own upgraded cable, dubbed the Magnus 1. It sells for $149 regularly but can be had for $110 if ordered along with a set of Heir IEMs. The Wizard explained to me how he tried numerous suppliers but none could seem to satisfy his requirements. Eventually he had to go with someone outside of China to build the cable for him. His main priority was usability - comfort and durability are key factors in a cable intended for portable use. I'll add a link about the Magnus cable as soon as I finish that writeup. If you don't opt for the cable upgrade, you get a standard "Westone style" cable which is essentially the same stock cable used by most other custom IEM companies. 
 

700

 

 

700

 

thanks for the review!

 

any chance to know more about the design and/or built quality of the Magnus M1? if not confidential, where outside China did he go to, and whom with? same gauge and metals? anything else that makes the M1 a better cable from the standard one other than durability?

 

thanks

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post #37 of 88
8/2/12 at 10:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenni View Post

 

thanks for the review!

 

any chance to know more about the design and/or built quality of the Magnus M1? if not confidential, where outside China did he go to, and whom with? same gauge and metals? anything else that makes the M1 a better cable from the standard one other than durability?

 

thanks

 

I will be doing a small write-up about the Magnus cable. I'll try to get some info about gauge and such. For know, I know that it has a lot more silver content than the stock cable, and that it has kevlar instead of nylon, for added strength. It's also a quad braid so it could be easily balanced with a quick change of the termination. 

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post #38 of 88
9/1/12 at 8:23am

How would you compare the 4.A to the 8.A? Is it different enough to merit owning both? thank I always enjoyed reading your reviews.  btw your review is why I own an 8.A

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post #39 of 88
9/1/12 at 2:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by blur510 View Post

How would you compare the 4.A to the 8.A? Is it different enough to merit owning both? thank I always enjoyed reading your reviews.  btw your review is why I own an 8.A

 

 

They are very different, to the point where they almost share nothing in terms of "house sound". The 8.A is warm, full, massive bass, ultra smooth top end, and just obscenely fun to listen to. The 4.A is far more neutral, brutally revealing of bad recordings, lighter and more nimble sounding. It is comparatively brighter (though not "bright" in absolute terms). 

 

I imagine the 8.A being like a massive full-range speaker setup, maybe an Eggleston or some other huge megabuck design. In contrast, the 4.A is more like a super precise monitor like a PSB Synchrony One B. Different presentations, both enjoyable and both very "high-end". 

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post #40 of 88
9/25/12 at 6:13am

I can't compare the 4.A to the 8.A or 6.A, alas, but I can compare it to the 3.A.

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post #41 of 88
9/25/12 at 6:41am
Thread Starter 

That's a nice comparison - thanks! I appreciate that the 4.A is not just "the 3.A, only better", but that they have distinct personalities. It makes more sense to me that way and gives customers more options. 

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post #42 of 88
9/25/12 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blur510 View Post

How would you compare the 4.A to the 8.A? Is it different enough to merit owning both? thank I always enjoyed reading your reviews.  btw your review is why I own an 8.A

 

      They are vastly different, but both represent quality.

 

       Internally the drivers are different, the dampers are different, one requires 3 tubes the other two.  They both share the TWFK, but they are also different. The TWFK is a "series" and there are different models within the series.  In other words, not all TWFKs sound the same.

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post #43 of 88
9/25/12 at 6:57am

My TWFK is better than your TWFK.

 

 

 

It's probably worth posting a reminder:
 

Edited by Sinocelt - 9/25/12 at 7:02am
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post #44 of 88
11/6/12 at 8:28am
Thread Starter 

Just a quick update because I've been getting repeated questions about how the 4.A stacks up to the 1964 Ears V3. And also, oddly enough, how it compares to the older UE11pro. 

 

The 1964 V3 is a great custom IEM. I love it. But as I explained in my review of that model it is very different from the 4.A - to the point where I don't think they are reaching for the same customers. The V3 is more competing with the 3.A for people who want a warm "fun" sounding custom. The 4.A has far more detail, and a much more neutral sound. The V3 is warmer, more smooth, more forgiving. They really couldn't be much more different. I think perhaps the intro pricing on the 4.A ($450) made people assume it was a natural competitor with the V3 (which is $425) but it really isn't. Both companies do good work and are run by very nice people who I have a lot of respect for, but they clearly have their unique house sound.

 

I don't know why people are curious about the UE11pro but I've received several questions about it. Maybe because it is a quad driver 3-way model? The UE11 is an older design, actually quite nice through the mids and highs. But the lows are bad in my opinion - overly boosted, too much midbass, and bleedover into the lower mids. Whatever good sound they may have is hidden under that messy area. So the 4.A is by far the better IEM. If you love the UE11 and want a similar sound though, the 8.A is just the ticket. The 4.A, though far more enjoyable to my ears, might be a little bass light for someone accustomed to the UE11 sound. The 8.A is so much better than the UE11 it's not even funny... 

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post #45 of 88
11/13/12 at 12:27pm

How about Heir Audio 4A vs 1964Ears V.6 comparison.  Seems like those two offer an interesting match-up, both in terms of sound signature and price. 

 

I'm still very happy with my V.3s, but now I'm looking to add something much more analytical and less 'fun' to compliment them.  Apparently I've caught the disease that seems to be just short of an epidemic around here.  I'm think I'm going to jump into the FrogBeats C4 group buy if that comes off.  A bit more money, of course.

 

On the one hand, I wish I'd seen the 4.A prior to my V.3 purchase.  On the other, actually visiting the 1964 facility and demoing the V.3 and the Quads made me much more comfortable with my first foray into custom.  Still wish I had picked up the 4.A for the introductory price.  That's quite a bump from 450 to 699.  Oh well, you snooze you lose :)

 

It's easy to imagine a world where I first purchased the Heir 4A, then the 1964 V.6, and now I'm trying to resist purchasing the C4.  All the while waiting for the first reviews of the CosmicEars BA4.

 

Yep, I'm clearly infected.

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