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Review: Fischer Audio FA-003 - a neutral champ!
Nov 14, 2013 at 6:26 AM Post #2,941 of 3,047
A DISCOVERY!​
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    I recently moved from Europe to Australia and I took only the FA-003 from home. So these have been getting all my attention recently. When I go back to FA-003 after listening to HD650 and T50RP for a long time, FA-003 sound weird in high frequencies, but I kind of get used to this effect. I "forget" about it and they sound fine except for being a bit fatiguing — just a bit too much into-your-face — my ears are very sensitive.
    So. While I'm waiting for my HD650 to arrive, I went to an audio shop to take a listen to some headphones. Auditioned HD650, HD700 and HD800. I immediately noticed that on HD650 that they had, the earpads were more stiff, compressed less than mine — they were newer. After I put them on, they also sounded different than mine. So I read up on worn headphone pads and found out that people don't like how worn HD650 earpads sound. I decided to order new earpads. They came here a few days ago.
    Just out of sheer curiosity I took those < inner discs from the package and put them behind my FA-003 earpads. Put them on, played some rock music. I immediately noticed that lower midrange and bass were more prominent. Bass guitars were more audible — something I was kind of missing before. Also the sound is less into-your-face — a little softer, which is nice. But bass got punchier. Mind you, my FA-003 have the damping mod applied, using silverstone material. 
    Conclusion: these inner discs will be staying where they are. :) they must add to the loveliness of HD650 signature. You can get the inner discs separately here: http://www.custom-cable.co.uk/sennheiser-hd650-headphone-spares.html
 
Nov 14, 2013 at 11:29 AM Post #2,944 of 3,047
eimis said:
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    I recently moved from Europe to Australia and I took only the FA-003 from home. So these have been getting all my attention recently. When I go back to FA-003 after listening to HD650 and T50RP for a long time, FA-003 sound weird in high frequencies, but I kind of get used to this effect. I "forget" about it and they sound fine except for being a bit fatiguing — just a bit too much into-your-face — my ears are very sensitive.
    So. While I'm waiting for my HD650 to arrive, I went to an audio shop to take a listen to some headphones. Auditioned HD650, HD700 and HD800. I immediately noticed that on HD650 that they had, the earpads were more stiff, compressed less than mine — they were newer. After I put them on, they also sounded different than mine. So I read up on worn headphone pads and found out that people don't like how worn HD650 earpads sound. I decided to order new earpads. They came here a few days ago.
    Just out of sheer curiosity I took those < inner discs from the package and put them behind my FA-003 earpads. Put them on, played some rock music. I immediately noticed that lower midrange and bass were more prominent. Bass guitars were more audible — something I was kind of missing before. Also the sound is less into-your-face — a little softer, which is nice. But bass got punchier. Mind you, my FA-003 have the damping mod applied, using silverstone material. 
    Conclusion: these inner discs will be staying where they are. :) they must add to the loveliness of HD650 signature. You can get the inner discs separately here: http://www.custom-cable.co.uk/sennheiser-hd650-headphone-spares.html
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Hey, thanks man!  Just so that there wouldn't be any second-guessing, it would be cool if you could elaborate on where/how specifically you place these into the earpads of the FA-003's, what's the damping mod, and if you could go into more detail on the effects you've noticed of both these mentioned mods.  
 
If you could also explain what you mean by less in-your-face.  The FA-003's are one of the least in-your-face sounding headphones I know, to the point that I feel that it's a bit too much.  That's generally the complaint I've heard about them if there ever was one.  What specifically do you find fatiguing about them?  The improvement in bass response as you mention it would be great, but at what expense that makes me wonder.  Do the mid and treble frequencies become more recessed and that's why you find them less fatiguing?  I'm all about getting them as neutral as possible which is why I ask.  The lower mids are a bit recessed, and the lows and somewhat the highs lack a bit of presence.  Those slight deficiencies are what my goal would be in a mod.  Would the damping mod and/or this one which you've discovered compromise any of those areas or otherwise, would they only improve upon them?  
 
Thanks again!
 
Dec 6, 2013 at 11:33 PM Post #2,945 of 3,047
Just finish painting my FA-003. Their stock finishing sucks TBH. I don't know why rubber coated finished was created in the first place.
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Dec 6, 2013 at 11:57 PM Post #2,946 of 3,047
It's so hard to get a perfect coat because it's freaking hard to sanding small item and sensitive like a headphone. Maybe will use flat/ matte black and use glossy paint on top, add a layer of clear. Actually I bought the paint to paint my keyboard but end up doing something else.
 
First coat is silver, followed by metallic blue, and last is MC clear. It's been a long time I didn't use can spray paint. The result is just 50% from what I used to do.
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Dec 8, 2013 at 10:35 AM Post #2,948 of 3,047
cmarti said:
Looks great, can you post a pic of the headphones assembled?
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It's look weird. Lol... Metallic blue and silver not matching. I will paint to matte black before Christmas perhaps. Will upload some photo tomorrow. I wait for the paint to completely dry. But damn it, I just ruined the paint at one of the ear cup holder. I intend to remove the glue stained from the masking tape with alcohol and guess what, it ruined the color. Sigh...
 
Dec 10, 2013 at 6:40 AM Post #2,951 of 3,047
tan1415 said:
  How does these compare with the UE 6000?
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I prefer the UE6000 to the HM5. I'll guess this will differ from person  to person but I find the lack of bass in the HM5 to be a dealbreaker. The HM5 has better soundstage and crispier highs. They're both good phones in their price range but they sound very different from each other. I find both to be very comfortable. I've aslo noticed that putting rolled tissues or a piece of rope under the pads on the UE6000 helps a great deal on both the highs and the soundstage. Also the UE6000 is great for travelling and other portable use while I find the HM5 to be too big for a portable phone. 
 
Dec 10, 2013 at 7:58 AM Post #2,952 of 3,047
What's the real story behind FA-003 and HM5 actually? Own FA-003 for a year but haven't got a clue.
 
Dec 10, 2013 at 8:02 AM Post #2,953 of 3,047
diaboliqu3 said:
  What's the real story behind FA-003 and HM5 actually? Own FA-003 for a year but haven't got a clue.
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As far as I understand they're the same (same OEM), just different branding and accessories. 
 
Someone please correct me if I got it wrong 
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