[cooperpwc]

Well I've read a lot of impressions - mostly from Shigzeo, MuppetFace and now you - so I like to think that I know what to expect. But I suppose it may be like jumping into a Canadian lake for a Spring swim; no mater how much you brace yourself, it's still a shock to the system.

 

[SpringBiscuit]

Quote:

I just dove into the PFIX pool. Now I have to be patient and wait for them to arrive.

Yeap, the sound effect will be totally unimaginable, i usually put it as "Untraditional" 

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Well I've read a lot of impressions - mostly from Shigzeo, MuppetFace and now you - so I like to think that I know what to expect. But I suppose it may be like jumping into a Canadian lake for a Spring swim; no mater how much you brace yourself, it's still a shock to the system.

 
Congratulations on your decision to go down that road. It seems to have been a desire of yours for a while now. If memory serves you were considering the Piano Forte VIII first and foremost; what made you decide to try the IX instead?
 
Here's hoping you like what your hear. Our little "club" could use another member.

 

[MuppetFace]

Also has anyone by chance compared the 1350 M1 to the 1350 M2?
 
I'm quite fond of the M1 and feel it never got its due 'round these parts. A very unusual little IEM. I'd like to try the M2 sometime, which seems even less talked about than its little sibling. It's unfortunate the 1350 series, like the 1601 series, is out of production now.

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

Also has anyone by chance compared the 1350 M1 to the 1350 M2?
 
I'm quite fond of the M1 and feel it never got its due 'round these parts. A very unusual little IEM. I'd like to try the M2 sometime, which seems even less talked about than its little sibling. It's unfortunate the 1350 series, like the 1601 series, is out of production now.

 
I heard from the FAD Taiwan people, and they told me that the only difference between the M1 and M2 is the shiny vs. matte finish, but it was just one guy and I don't know if he truly knows the difference, since he hasn't heard them himself.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

 
Congratulations on your decision to go down that road. It seems to have been a desire of yours for a while now. If memory serves you were considering the Piano Forte VIII first and foremost; what made you decide to try the IX instead?
 
Here's hoping you like what your hear. Our little "club" could use another member.

 
Thanks. Yes these have been on the edge of my consciousness for some time. Recently they drilled right in.
 
I was musing about the DC1602SB around the time that I was picking your brains on all things Piano Forte. (Thank you.) Since then I have read everything that I can find on here and on the web. A number of people prefer the IX for reasons that make sense to me. Also as I scrubbed the web for pictures of the three models, I discovered that there are more reviews, blogs and vanity pages for the IX than for the X-CC and and VIII combined - several times more. Also on Price Japan, no one had requested a quotation for the other two, only the IX. The sample is statistically miniscule but it seems clear that the IX is by far the most popular IEM in the expensive PF VIII-X line. Why?
 
There was a moment when it gelled in my mind. Final Audio works primarily with stainless steel at the high end. Their (apocryphal?) $500,000 speaker bank, the Muramasa, the Fi-BA-SS all use it because it is rigid. That allows for the cleanest reproduction within the design parameters. My primary interest in the Piano Forte is the combination of open air, dynamic driver and especially the acoustic modelling. So as my first (and maybe only) PF, I want the rigid clean version. It strikes me as purest to the concept.
 
There is my short version mash of logic, inference and unreliable statistics. The even shorter version is that I suddenly really really wanted the Piano Forte IX so I bought it!
 
Delighted to be joining the club. I will let you all know what I think.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

 
Thanks. Yes these have been on the edge of my consciousness for some time. Recently they drilled right in.
 
I was musing about the DC1602SB around the time that I was picking your brains on all things Piano Forte. (Thank you.) Since then I have read everything that I can find on here and on the web. A number of people prefer the IX for reasons that make sense to me. Also as I scrubbed the web for pictures of the three models, I discovered that there are more reviews, blogs and vanity pages for the IX than for the X-CC and and VIII combined - several times more. Also on Price Japan, no one had requested a quotation for the other two, only the IX. The sample is statistically miniscule but it seems clear that the IX is by far the most popular IEM in the expensive PF VIII-X line. Why?
 
There was a moment when it gelled in my mind. Final Audio works primarily with stainless steel at the high end. Their (apocryphal?) $500,000 speaker bank, the Muramasa, the Fi-BA-SS all use it because it is rigid. That allows for the cleanest reproduction within the design parameters. My primary interest in the Piano Forte is the combination of open air, dynamic driver and especially the acoustic modelling. So as my first (and maybe only) PF, I want the rigid clean version. It strikes me as purest to the concept.
 
There is my short version mash of logic, inference and unreliable statistics. The even shorter version is that I suddenly really really wanted the Piano Forte IX so I bought it!
 
Delighted to be joining the club. I will let you all know what I think.

 
 
I really want to thank you for this post. One of my favorite aspects of this hobby is the development of the perspective with which we view these devices, and I'm always fond to hear peoples' insights into why they feel the way they do about them. That human connection is something I'm always seeking in these forums, and it's part of why Final Audio's creations appeal to me so much: they foster very strong reactions in people, be they positive or negative, and they encourage the development of a certain private logic when approaching them. There's a very fine and nuanced method to their madness.
 
Regarding the popularity of the Piano Forte IX specifically, I think a large part of it has to do with falling in a sweet spot of sorts. The X-CC is literally double the price (or more), and the VIII isn't that much cheaper despite being the "entry level" of the series.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

 
 
I really want to thank you for this post. One of my favorite aspects of this hobby is the development of the perspective with which we view these devices, and I'm always fond to hear peoples' insights into why they feel the way they do about them. That human connection is something I'm always seeking in these forums, and it's part of why Final Audio's creations appeal to me so much: they foster very strong reactions in people, be they positive or negative, and they encourage the development of a certain private logic when approaching them. There's a very fine and nuanced method to their madness.
 
Regarding the popularity of the Piano Forte IX specifically, I think a large part of it has to do with falling in a sweet spot of sorts. The X-CC is literally double the price (or more), and the VIII isn't that much cheaper despite being the "entry level" of the series.

 
The decision making processing in this hobby is indeed interesting, especially since we buy equipment that we have not heard. We rationalize it but an outsider would not find it especially rational.
 
I agree with your second paragraph. That was not lost on me* (*he who cannot afford the X-CC). I am a textbook example of the IX buyer. Yet I also believe that on some level the IX is the flagship of the horn speaker concept, with the X-CC the exotic flagship of the thick-mids theater presentation concept. 
 
Maybe.  

 

[cooperpwc]

Here are two spectacular photographs of the PFIX that I found during my net travels. With a bit of cropping and downsizing, these have become great desktop backgrounds.
 
Total OCD. I know...
 
 

 
 

 
Full size by clicking and saving, or open link in new tab...

 

[MuppetFace]

OCD? Just wait until you get them and start the ritual polishing....
 
Personally, I'm fond of Reiko microfiber cleaning cloths:
 
 

 

[driver 8]

I wish I could justify buying in-ears that don't isolate :/  Was there going to be a tour of these at some point?  I'd love to hear a pair, though. 

 

[Swimsonny]

Okay, more on it later but I love the Heaven IVs. Great design, great isolation, fantastic and unique sound. Just love them. They sound their price easily as well. They have the most bass , and of great quality, in any single BA I have heard and also perhaps the biggest soundstage of anything, I am away with them, my M-80s and EX1000 for a week so hate writing on my phone do can't do nothing lengthy but wanna say I think they are great and I have found a love for FAD. Plus if the others are meant to have a even bigger soundstage then wow! These are perhaps up there with EX1000, IE8 and ASG-1.

 

[james444]

Quote:

I wish I could justify buying in-ears that don't isolate :/  Was there going to be a tour of these at some point?  I'd love to hear a pair, though. 

 
I might do a tour of the 1602SB (Piano Forte VIII) together with one of my 1601s (SB or SS) later this year, provided there's enough interest.
 
I've actually had the 1601SB for a long time and only recently jumped on a great offer for the 1601SS. The sound difference between brass and steel on the 1601s didn't strike me as very significant, so I decided that the "cheapest" version of the 1602 would suffice.
 
Anyway, haven't done enough listening to come to definite conclusions so far, but the newer 1602s differ more noticeably from their predecessors than the 1601SB and SS from each other, that much is certain.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

 
I might do a tour of the 1602SB (Piano Forte VIII) together with one of my 1601s (SB or SS) later this year, provided there's enough interest.
 
I've actually had the 1601SB for a long time and only recently jumped on a great offer for the 1601SS. The sound difference between brass and steel on the 1601s didn't strike me as very significant, so I decided that the "cheapest" version of the 1602 would suffice.
 
Anyway, haven't done enough listening to come to definite conclusions so far, but the newer 1602s differ more noticeably from their predecessors than the 1601SB and SS from each other, that much is certain.

 
The difference between the 1602SS and 1602SC isn't particularly vast either.

 

[Swimsonny]

James444 I would hugely appreciate the loan tour, it'd be awesome and would love to get involved!