Heir Audio 3.Ai Impressions/Comparisons/Review Thread - Page 15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winter Charm 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

:) 

I thank you as well!

Viva Le Revolution

Quote:

Originally Posted by FullCircle 

 

 

I thank you as well!

 

 

 

Viva Le Revolution

 

You're very welcome :)  It's my personal philosophy that everyone should be able to enjoy their music.

And Oh man... that Rendition 1 looks awesome :D 

Has anyone compared the 3.ai to the Westone 3? I've been trying to decide which one to get as they seem to share the same sound signature and are around the same price range. For me I am looking for something that is musically fun to listen to while having great isolation and comfort. If anyone has any info it would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

Just get the 3.Ai, you'll be happy you did :)

x3 the 3.ai is the best buy of 2012.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gidion27 

x3 the 3.ai is the best buy of 2012.

Random question, when you went with the 3.ai, what made you choose the (+) model? 

I'm debating whether it's worth the extra little bit to have a (+) model of the 3.ai... it'll likely mean putting off a purchase for about another month :o

Also, how does that Magnus 1 cable feel? :) 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winter Charm 

 

Random question, when you went with the 3.ai, what made you choose the (+) model? 

I'm debating whether it's worth the extra little bit to have a (+) model of the 3.ai... it'll likely mean putting off a purchase for about another month :o

 

Also, how does that Magnus 1 cable feel? :)

Main reason was that I wanted the same type of cable from DAP to the 3.ai;s so I bought the Magnus 1-IC and the Magnus 1 cable.

So set up RH1 --> Magnus 1-IC --> The Shadow --> Magnus 1 --> 3.ai

I am really impressed with the cable and love the quality of the Magnus. many aftermarket cables are very stiff but in my opinion the Magnus cables still provide flexibility. I never received the stock cable so can not compare the 2 but I would recommend the Magnus anytime.

ps. Toxic cables makes also nice aftermarket EIM cables but are slightly stiffer,

Sounds awesome. I may seriously hold out and hope for a 3.ai(+) sale, just like we got on the 4.ai :P 

I really hope that happens. 

I want the 3.ai (+) but I just don't have the funds... yet. :P 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by gidion27 

 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. 

Graph dependence, in my opinion, is kinda meh. 

The reason I say this is because graphs don't describe the entire sound, and Heir audio is all about breaking out of the mold and doing interesting things. They use the 4.ai with 4 BA drivers to get a flat sound signature. They use the 3.ai, which most would make mid-centric, flat, or treble boosted, and turn it into a warm and fun sound signature. 

Basically, they break the norms to make beautiful sound. At the end of the day, I will consider the opinions of those who listen to music over those who analyze and test an IEM using graphs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winter Charm 

Graph dependence, in my opinion, is kinda meh. 

 

The reason I say this is because graphs don't describe the entire sound, and Heir audio is all about breaking out of the mold and doing interesting things. They use the 4.ai with 4 BA drivers to get a flat sound signature. They use the 3.ai, which most would make mid-centric, flat, or treble boosted, and turn it into a warm and fun sound signature. 

 

Basically, they break the norms to make beautiful sound. At the end of the day, I will consider the opinions of those who listen to music over those who analyze and test an IEM using graphs.

The person(s) who analyized the graphs did also listen to music, essentially they did both.  What they did was listen to music, make observations, and try to explain their observations in the graph.  I disagree with their statements that the 4.Ai are a horrible IEM, they are actually a great one, but agree that it's not flat (neutral in the sense).  Essentially, they are doing what Tyll does when he reviews a pair of headphones.  He listens, then describes and confirms with the graph.  You actually get better reviews that way, if they aren't entirely lopsided with a bias.  Basically, the person(s) you referenced with their reviews were as bad as any poor reviewer who still listens to music.  I feel that with the Heir Audio IEMs, they were expecting one sound (neutral), but got something they were entirely not expecting.  Remember, these people also feel that the only good sound is one that is reference neutral (no leeway).  

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

  Remember, these people also feel that the only good sound is one that is reference neutral (no leeway).  

      Which then leads to the debate of what reference neutral is.... 

     But lets say we (the manufacturer" actually reached that deffinition (hypothetical).  Then under this logic, there is no reason to have a product line....  We could only offer one product, one sound signature, that is supposed to satify EACH and EVERY individual.  

We could only offer, different colors, shapes and sizes of IEM houseing etc....

If this was all there  was to this love of audio, I certainly would not love audio, as without the mystery and uniqueness of it all, I would find it to be a bore.  Who among us can not recall our first car stereo (Alpine), or first 500+ audio purcahse (Dennon), our first experience with 12 inch dynamic driver... (My Dad's Fisher).  our first audio loves?  If audio gear all sounded the same, I seriously doubt I could,

Wizard

What I don't understand is why neutral (a flat frequency/dB curve) is considered reference... Just because the speaker produces a flat frequency response does not mean that your ear/brain receives/perceives it as flat! To me, "flat" speakers/earphones sound entirely removed from reality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FullCircle 

 

      Which then leads to the debate of what reference neutral is.... 

 

     But lets say we (the manufacturer" actually reached that deffinition (hypothetical).  Then under this logic, there is no reason to have a product line....  We could only offer one product, one sound signature, that is supposed to satify EACH and EVERY individual.  

 

We could only offer, different colors, shapes and sizes of IEM houseing etc....

 

If this was all there  was to this love of audio, I certainly would not love audio, as without the mystery and uniqueness of it all, I would find it to be a bore.  Who among us can not recall our first car stereo (Alpine), or first 500+ audio purcahse (Dennon), our first experience with 12 inch dynamic driver... (My Dad's Fisher).  our first audio loves?  If audio gear all sounded the same, I seriously doubt I could,

 

 

Wizard

Wizard, I actually share your opinion, but I did have to make the statement that their ideology was in fact different than ours.  Your first points may be different than mine when it comes to why neutral may not be the best (it comes more from a manufacturers' standpoint), but the rest really fall straight in line with my personal views on it.  We actually share the same opinion actually.  I feel that neutral, although great to have in a recording studio, may not be what you want on stage or when listening privately/publicly.  I believe that if done right, any sound signature can sound fantastic.  Both of the IEMs I've heard from Heir have shown that (both the 3.Ai and 4.Ai are great IEMs and something to be truly proud of).  How do you do it right?  Well you'd know more about that then I do ;)  

I do not share the same opinion Rin or Inks have regarding their objectiveness as their matching a graph to their impressions is really more of an artform (like fingerprint matching) nor do I share their ideology that neutral is indeed always better (I've falsified this statement so many times in many of my reviews).  Are their statements valid?  Well, every statement is valid, even the really poor ones.  

The only real reason I made the statement you quoted was to show that we are facing two different ideologies here.  Although I don't side with their world views, it does still exist.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by loxxrider 

What I don't understand is why neutral (a flat frequency/dB curve) is considered reference... Just because the speaker produces a flat frequency response does not mean that your ear/brain receives/perceives it as flat! To me, "flat" speakers/earphones sound entirely removed from reality.

 

It is considered reference simply because this is what the sound engineer of the sound source (music file or vinyl) would hear.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyman392 
It is considered reference simply because this is what the sound engineer of the sound source (music file or vinyl) would hear.  

What we hear is the artist's vision of their music after the mixing stage. Without hearing the raw mixes, anything else is speculation. Am sure there are many justifications advocates could find for seeking a flat frequency, but "hearing the music as it was intended" is a misapprehension if nothing else - unless one is the artists or involved in the production