Heir Audio 3.Ai Impressions/Comparisons/Review Thread - Page 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winter Charm 

 

 

I'm willing to wait, if it can help me decide what I want to buy. :)  Please let me know as soon as they come in. :)

I just got an email from Heir yesterday that my ear impressions were rejected, so I am sending new ones in today - so the waiting clock is reset. it will be at least 5 weeks now, but I will certainly post impressions then

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegrobe 

I just got an email from Heir yesterday that my ear impressions were rejected, so I am sending new ones in today - so the waiting clock is reset. it will be at least 5 weeks now, but I will certainly post impressions then

Aww Bummer :( That really sucks, man. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by zlorena 

Is there somebody that has listened to these 3.ai and sennheiser ie80?

I'd be all about hearing this comparison too.

While on the topic of pin problems, am I going to face issues with the pins if I happened to bend the cable too far back? As in, would the pins break off and become stuck inside the sockets? I'm looking at buying a pair but that is what's kind of holding me back.

I have yet to see this happen, that is not to say it can not happen, but I have not seen it.

That said, the pins are kind of catch 22. 

They are made in a "lathe" process, and after being lathed microscopic ridges are left behind. Now after time the ridges are worn down, and they become a little loose in the socket.  (so what one does is crimp the pins and they are like new again)

Now as I said before the pins are made by a lathe. In order to avoid the ridges from wearing down, a harder metal can be used, thus the ridges do not wear down as fast.

But harder pins have a tendency to "break" off clean when bent, softer pins, bend, but usually do not break.

Can anyone comment on the sound signature of the 3.Ai with regard to jazz? I'm coming from a Shure SE420 that has beautiful, fluid mids and great clarity when I'm listening to saxophone or piano-heavy music. Any thoughts on this or comparisons to the Shure sound signature?

Also, does anyone know how feasible it is to get a test model of the 3.Ai before buying?

(Posted this in the Heir Aprriciattion Thread as well. )

Just got my 3.ai's. Yes they are sitting on top of my empty wallet. :) Actually that is not true, it is almost empty.

My rig:

Minidisc RH1

RSA The shadow

Heir cables all the way from RH1 to 3.ai

I started listing to some Keb Mo's with the 3.ai plugged directly into the RH1.

I have to say that reading all the information about these EIM's ensured I had no surprices. Yet still I was surprised, they sound ever better than I anticipated. I am impressed with them and I can only imagine how good the 4 and 8's are. (Will find out in a months time, ordered the 8.a's)

Listening to Keb Mo's using the RSA shadow made the set up complete. I am absolutely amazed. Before I knew it I had finished listening to the Suitcase album and was ready for Seasick Steve's Walkin' Man. The guitars are absolutely staggering and draw you into the music. These 3.a are so enjoyable that you forget all time and before you know it your tapping your feet and snapping your fingers.

I am not technical and I do not Sh!t about the graphs that some of you use as their bible, what I do know is that I enjoy the tunes that are being produced by trusted MD player and my new friend the 3.ai's. While I am writing this I realize that I finished listening to Seasick Steve and Up next are the Black Key's The group's sixth studio album, Brothers and boy does the 3.a deliver the goods. The grunty vocals of Dan Auerbach and of course the drums, guitars and backing vocals all work together just as you would expect from my Naim Audio home set-up ,which has a price tag of $3500. It is amazing the MD player with a Shadow amp and 3.a EIM can give my Naim a run for the money.

My local (New Zealand)reggae favorites 1814 have a new album out and it sounds O so sweet. The first song of the album named "Relax" really sums up the 3.ai's.

Lyrics:

Sit back and relax

Put your feet up

Do you want this feeling to ever stop

Sit back and relax

Take your time

I will sign off for now and will do the dishes while listing to my portable set up. Yes, I have a dishwasher but it takes more time to do the dishes by hand and right now I take any excuss to leave my trusted lounge chair. :)

Cheers

G

Quote:

Originally Posted by cue003 

Has anyone tried these against the Westone 3 or 4? Maybe even the Shure 535? I currently have the Future Sonics Atrios with the mg7 drivers and am interested in potentially upgrading. The Atrios are considered "bass heavy". I listen to jazz, dubstep, reggae, r&b, and pop. I know that is a crazy mix but I like various types of music and I like headphone that pull me into the music like I'm there at the studio and can hear/feel every instrument that is being represented.
Thx

I'm no expert, but I have listened to the Westone 4, Shure SE535, and Heir 3.Ai (the only one I own). I can tell you that there really is no comparison between the 3.Ai and the SE535. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that the SE535 is REALLY mid-centric with a nice bass hump and serious high end roll-off, and the 3.Ai is much more of a v-shaped sound. That is to say the 3.Ai has a wonderful top end (sometimes a little much for me, but not often), pretty decent low end (though you can still tell it is a BA), and the mids are right where they should be. It all sounds very nice and cohesive to my ears.

I didn't spend a whole lot of time with the W4 and I would have loved to spend more with it, but from my short experience I can say that it is one of the most natural and flat sounding IEMs I've listened to. Everything seems just right with it, nothing over-exaggerated. However, I think the 3.Ai is more exciting to listen to in most instances. Again, I'd love to spend more time with the W4 to draw better conclusions, but I'd just buy a 8.A before I would do that. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winter Charm 

The source is from this blog:

 

http://rinchoi.blogspot.com/2012/10/heir-audio-3ai.html

 

Reading some of their other reviews/analyses they seem to be pretty credible. However, I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm their findings. :)  

 

 

 

 

I'm willing to wait, if it can help me decide what I want to buy. :)  Please let me know as soon as they come in. :)

uhh..... I dont even understand what the blogger is trying to say but it's not positive 

ON SECOND THOUGHT #3: Heir Audio sells an upgrade cable,Magnus 1, for $149. Since the manufacturer says it has more silver content, it should lower the overall impedance of the IEM, and increase the output SPL due to improved efficiency in electroacoustic transduction. Since 3.Ai is more efficient than 4.Ai, the resulting relative output difference is actually larger.

And just as expected, my random $25 furutech cable from Ebay performs better than Magnus 1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hapopo 

 

uhh..... I dont even understand what the blogger is trying to say but it's not positive 

 

ON SECOND THOUGHT #3: Heir Audio sells an upgrade cable,Magnus 1, for $149. Since the manufacturer says it has more silver content, it should lower the overall impedance of the IEM, and increase the output SPL due to improved efficiency in electroacoustic transduction. Since 3.Ai is more efficient than 4.Ai, the resulting relative output difference is actually larger.

And just as expected, my random $25 furutech cable from Ebay performs better than Magnus 1.

 If you look all reviews out there it seems that this is the only negative one. I own both the Magnus 1 and 3.ai and am pretty happy with it. Ps.This blogger seems to be very graph dependant. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

I'm just going to say that the Heir IEMs don't sound nearly as bad as you two put it. You've overstated the negatives (although they are valid) while others have overstated the positives.

Well you are right, everybody is entittled to their opinion. Same as not everybody likes the same cheese:)

Anyway,that is the first negative I have heard about the 3.ai. Glad I am part of the 99% who do like them, :)

Recommended the 3.ai to someone in /r/headphones on reddit, based on their listening needs :) 

Got this message yesterday. :D  Decided it belonged here.

:)