I suppose you are correct. I am a recipient of this 'infamous' batch if you will, and I am going for RMA.  Now I dont know whether they will send me the Natural wood ones or the red ones. Have sent a mail to GD audio about this. Quote:

@all : how will a maverick d1 pair up with the FA-011?  I am looking for better, more forward mids and tighter bass, currently using a udac.   my udac doesnt seem to bring out the best of my headphones....its fine, but I feel it can do a lot better (maybe its an excuse to spend even more...

If what you are saying is correct, it might explain a lot of things; The bottom line is, its a lottery, their quality control is..well there must be none. Quote:  

I have the straight cable version and I find the bass to be loose and not very impactful as people say. The overall sound signature is a bit loose and the mids are recessed a bit. I find the Brainwavz HM5 to be better in the mids and highs. It pawns the FA-011s imho. All the hype for nothing...

There is sibilance as well, when driven off the udac. The udac is known to be a bit bright, but on some tracks, the sibilance is unbearable.  What I do love on these headphones is the soundstage, instrument separation and the mid bass.

I still dont get it. The bass is not really that hard hitting, even when compared to budget headphones like the jvc rx900. The review seems to be misleading, or maybe I got a lemon.

So mine arrived on boxing day (pretty quick for free whipping i would say, far better than paying 20$ to gd-audiobase and waiting for 1 month). Compared to the FA-011, I feel the mids are forward and better overall. The detailing is also better and there is no sibilance as in the FA-011. Bass is...

 I find the FA-011s very sibilant. I wonder whether its a design change in the newer models thats causing this? Also as many have mentioned the cable is pretty cheap.   Btw, I had gotten my hps with torn off earpads, and I had posted pics of it in this thread. I am happy to say that I have...

Quote: I ordered from GD-Audiobase in september 2011. My observations/experiences:   1. I got the package all crumbled up. There was NO padding or foam. It was simply the headphone in a cardboard box. Due to this, the earpads were torn (refer to my earlier post for pics) and the wood a...

I also jumped on the 100$ deal, and I hope it arrives fast and safe. I also got an E6 with it, and I do have a udac, so what do you guys think of the combo? Will I get some kind of improvement with udac+e6 as compared to udac alone? Also have an FA-011 for an open can, lets see how these compare....

Seeing all the issues related to GD-Audiobase, and from personal experience, I say NEVER order from this site. They charge 20$ for shipping, and it takes 1 month and in my case arrived with torn off pads. And the new model of FA-011 is different.   1. It has a very dark hued wood (as...

Hmm...that makes sense. I guess I wlil stick with the udac for now. Quote: Meanwhile, fischeraudio have agreed to give me a partial refund and ship new earpads. The word 'partial' is the catch here, they are yet to tell me how much it will be.

Okay thanks, it clears that up nicely.   So I am using the FA-011 with a uDAC. I am not sure its driving it good enough, I have the volume knob all the way upto 75%to get to normal hearing level.  Is there a cheap dedicated amp that I can use with the preamp of the uDAC to get better...

I just wanted to ask you guys something. I noticed something today, through the black wire mesh on the cups. A thin filament is dangling from the inside and touching the black mesh on one side. On the other side also its present, but it does not touch the mesh. Is this normal or what? Will post...

For me the status went to 'shipping' a few days after ordering.  Then after a few days I got the tracking number. It took a full month for the item to move from St. Petersburg to moscow Post office and then to be despatched to India. I got the item within 3 days of being shipped out of Russia.