[Cotnijoe]

Its more out of interest in trying something new and i happen to have the chance to get those two at a relatively good deal. The heaven also stick out of my ears a little too much. Faxtor in the weight and my small ears means they get a little uncomfortable after some time.

fAD is legendary for having a very unique sound, and while i hear it in the heaven VII, i feel like thats a model that is probably more "normal" relative to the others. Like you said, its easier to recommend. I hear the piano forte line are more of the oddballs. Either way, FAD has my attention

 

[sonickarma]

My wife created a little pouch to help the Piano Forte X-CC earpieces from clashing when in transit and avoid any banging that could mark these beautiful earphones.
 
Thought I'd share it
 

 

 

 

[dallan]

Its more out of interest in trying something new and i happen to have the chance to get those two at a relatively good deal. The heaven also stick out of my ears a little too much. Faxtor in the weight and my small ears means they get a little uncomfortable after some time.

 

 
The fibass are more comfortable, have a lighter cord an smaller. I have the Heaven VIII, fibass and Lab1 and of the three the fibass is for sure the easiest to deal with. They are more airy and if you suffer from any cord noise or foot noise when walking you will get none with the fibass. That is the main reason i started with Final. They are very resolving though and for me it took a little time to acclimate to the bass, i use comply tips, but am waiting for some sony tips that are the noise canceling/hybrid that have the extra spacer or insert to hold them in your ear better-the Complys are fine though just experimenting.
 
My only real issue with the Heaven or Lab1 is, if you are walking around the cord is a bit heavy, i actually tuck it into something, the earpieces themselves aren't heavy. Also the cords hitting stuff can be a little  noisy. Not bad just if i am looking for a criticism. I would say the Lab1 gets the most head time but the fibass are the easiest to deal with when out and about.
 
Hope that ramble helps…...

 

[Cotnijoe]

 
The fibass are more comfortable, have a lighter cord an smaller. I have the Heaven VIII, fibass and Lab1 and of the three the fibass is for sure the easiest to deal with. They are more airy and if you suffer from any cord noise or foot noise when walking you will get none with the fibass. That is the main reason i started with Final. They are very resolving though and for me it took a little time to acclimate to the bass, i use comply tips, but am waiting for some sony tips that are the noise canceling/hybrid that have the extra spacer or insert to hold them in your ear better-the Complys are fine though just experimenting.
 
My only real issue with the Heaven or Lab1 is, if you are walking around the cord is a bit heavy, i actually tuck it into something, the earpieces themselves aren't heavy. Also the cords hitting stuff can be a little  noisy. Not bad just if i am looking for a criticism. I would say the Lab1 gets the most head time but the fibass are the easiest to deal with when out and about.
 
Hope that ramble helps…...

 
Thanks for the input! Definitely very helpful. I took my demo Heaven VII out for the first time today, and I definitely wont do that again. Theyre staying at home now. Good to hear that the FIBASS is more managable

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Joe - Definitely wouldn't recommend the PF series to someone who has never heard one. As James said, they won't sound "right" to you on first listen. Muppetface once said that they were tuned to more closely resemble the horn speaker system of old. I'm not sure whether there's any truth to that, but they'll sound rolled off at the extremes, and very mid centric. Decay is also exaggerated, and without a seal in your ears, it results in a very unusually airy presentation without the caveats of exaggerated treble. Imaging can also seem to be erratic. I think the PFs suit stuff like vocal, singer songwriter, small jazz combos, and are interesting for some genres of rock and electronic. Finally, the fit can be a total bitch. I'd imagine with your smaller ears, the fit would be very painful. It certainly was for me, so I had to part with mine. 
 
I actually had the FIBASS with me on several occasions when we met up lol. You should have gave em a listen if the H VII suits your tastes. I hear from SGS/James that the VII is more well behaved than the SS though. I was actually very interested in acquiring a VII of my own for quite a while until SGS told me that he felt the EQ-8 sounded better overall. I haven't heard the VII myself to comment, but I should be receiving James' tour package soonish I think. 

 

[Cotnijoe]

  Joe - Definitely wouldn't recommend the PF series to someone who has never heard one. As James said, they won't sound "right" to you on first listen. Muppetface once said that they were tuned to more closely resemble the horn speaker system of old. I'm not sure whether there's any truth to that, but they'll sound rolled off at the extremes, and very mid centric. Decay is also exaggerated, and without a seal in your ears, it results in a very unusually airy presentation without the caveats of exaggerated treble. Imaging can also seem to be erratic. I think the PFs suit stuff like vocal, singer songwriter, small jazz combos, and are interesting for some genres of rock and electronic. Finally, the fit can be a total bitch. I'd imagine with your smaller ears, the fit would be very painful. It certainly was for me, so I had to part with mine. 
 
I actually had the FIBASS with me on several occasions when we met up lol. You should have gave em a listen if the H VII suits your tastes. I hear from SGS/James that the VII is more well behaved than the SS though. I was actually very interested in acquiring a VII of my own for quite a while until SGS told me that he felt the EQ-8 sounded better overall. I haven't heard the VII myself to comment, but I should be receiving James' tour package soonish I think. 

 
Oh all this time I had no clue you had the FIBASS! Guess its time to arrange another time to meet up haha. Definitely give me some thoughts on FIBASS, Heaven VII, and EQ8 when you get to compare them.

 

[dallan]

Oh, almost forgot to add my reasoning, the fibass is more airy and doesn't have some problems associated with iem's because it is partially open. It has vents in the back which gives it a more open sounding signature. For those reasons it performs more like an half open headphone, thus the bass is less pronounced and the cord doesn't make sounds, or your steps and it has the airiness of a less closed system.

 

[sonickarma]

Silly question - do the Piano Fortes gain from burn in ?

 

[sonickarma]

Its more out of interest in trying something new and i happen to have the chance to get those two at a relatively good deal. The heaven also stick out of my ears a little too much. Faxtor in the weight and my small ears means they get a little uncomfortable after some time.

fAD is legendary for having a very unique sound, and while i hear it in the heaven VII, i feel like thats a model that is probably more "normal" relative to the others. Like you said, its easier to recommend. I hear the piano forte line are more of the oddballs. Either way, FAD has my attention

The Piano Fortes definitely gain from amping if you want that 'horn speaker' out of head sound.
I really didn't like them at first until I amped them - then it was all revealed - their unique spacious immersive signature

 

[dallan]

So i got the Sony noise isolating tips. Did a little A/B with the Comply tips. The Sonys are fairly comfortable and hold the fibass in place well however the sound, at this point, first listen, has too much treble for me. It sounds more like the original sound, which may be good for most people however I like the treble slightly toned down on these and the bass a touch turned up. So for the time being think i will stay with the Comply tip but i may go back and forth a bit because as another headfier once said to me, my hearing changes day to day and sometimes even within a day. Maybe i'll try them on the Lab1 too since they are not as treble heavy.  All good, think these will work at times.

 

[cooperpwc]

^ Cool. I don't have the FIBASS but the Sonys noise isolation tips are working on the Lab 1 for me. The Sonys are fairly narrow bore. So that either works with a given IEM or it doesn't. The SpinFit are wider and the Complys wider again (although other factors come into play affecting sound too). Sonys are amazing for combining much of the firm fit of a Comply with the convenience and solid sound surface of silicon (not to mention better hygiene).

 

[dallan]

^ Cool. I don't have the FIBASS but the Sonys noise isolation tips are working on the Lab 1 for me. The Sonys are fairly narrow bore. So that either works with a given IEM or it doesn't. The SpinFit are wider and the Complys wider again (although other factors come into play affecting sound too). Sonys are amazing for combining much of the firm fit of a Comply with the convenience and solid sound surface of silicon (not to mention better hygiene).

Just tried the Sonys on the Labs, I see what you mean, more true to sound sig i think. Next try will be on the Heaven VIII which i think will benefit the most from them actually. Thanks.

 

[HarryH2O]

Reading these forums really hurts my wallet. Now I have Sony Hybrid, Sony Noise Isolating, Spinfit, and Comply tips on the way.

And all along I thought stock tips are all I need.

 

[daveyston23]

Hmm...so I think my Lab 1 may have a minor defect. The silver covering on the 3.5mm plug seems to rotate quite easily. Doesn't affect the sound at all though.
 
Just wondering if other Lab 1 owners have found the same thing? I'm thinking about sending it in to FAD to get it fixed if it is a real defect.
 

 

[dallan]

Mine doesn't rotate, but if it doesn't effect the sound i can't see a problem. I would hate for them to be sent and get lost in the mail or something silly.