The narrative of how I came upon Final Audio Design is found in my reviews of Sonorous X and the Piano Forte X. Suffice to say that I do enjoy the unique music presentation proposed by Takai-san, the man who was behind Final Audio Design. I am proud owner of the FI-BA-SS, the Heaven S, the Heaven VI, the Pianoforte VIII, IX and X, the 1601SB (predecessor to the Pianoforte series), Lab 1 and AKR02 (special edition FI-BA-SS in collaboration with AK). I also have the Hope VI and the Sonorous X.
I remember when I first started with the Heaven S, the Final Audio Design FI-BA-SS was spoken of in almost hushed tones. It was supposed to be this amazing single balanced armature from Final Audio Design with a sonic signature unlike any. The reverence was also because at that time it was the most expensive universal IEM around. To use the term of the Jaben Singapore team, it was “special”. It was proclaimed by Final Audio Design itself on its web site as being their flagship.
I was going fine and told myself I don’t need the FI-BA-SS. However, curiosity got the better of me. So, one day I walked into Jaben and declared that I wanted to try out the FI-BA-SS. The famous last words I uttered to a grinning crew at Jaben was: “I’m just trying”. Less than a month later, I was the proud, if not a little sheepish, owner of the little silver coloured bullets. Well, I am proud of myself that I did not succumb immediately but had agonized for a few weeks over the inevitable eventuality.
Technical details
The FI-BA-SS is made of shaved stainless steel. It is entirely hand made in Japan. Although it has a compact and small housing, it has a nice solid feel to it. Inside the housing there is just a single balanced armature driver. The thinking was to have just one driver obviates any need for crossover or any muddiness introduced when there are a few drivers. I imagine the idea was to have a housing that is simple and pure as is possible. All around the back of the housing are vents which allowed the air to be released. It was called Balancing Air Movement to prevent sound leakage and control air flow.
Build Quality
Build quality is impeccable. For the then highest price for a universal IEM, you get two solid nuggets of stainless steel. They are probably still the classiest housing I have seen for an IEM. With the vents at the back of the housing, it almost reminds me of a jet engine. The Final Audio Design FI-BA-SS looks simple, classy and elegant.
The non-detachable cable is quite thin, soft and has a penchant for entangling. All of which conspire to give me sleepless nights on whether I should pick up a spare FI-BA-SS in case I inadvertently kill it one day. The cable is terminated with a low profile right angled 3.5mm plug. While the housing extends its stainless steel housing to a short tube into which the cable enters, there is no strain relief where the cable goes into this tube and it only adds credence to my nightmare scenario.
Comfort and Isolation
Because of the small footprint of the FI-BA-SS, it fits nicely into most ears. And while solid in feel there is not unduly great weight. Once you insert it into your ear canal, you hardly notice it is there. I do find that the stock ear tips are very comfortable. But of course, because it is pretty standard stuff, it is open to anyone to substitute the ear tips with any make of their own choosing for more comfort.
Insofar as isolation is concerned, this really depends on the type of ear tips that is being used. For the stock ear tips, I can say that isolation is pretty good. Despite my concerns, there does not seem to be any leakage of outside noise through the vents at the back of the housing.
Music Genres
Having a large collection of music, I have much choice in what I want to listen to. However, I will confess that with the FI-BA-SS, I tend to stick to acoustic vocals, jazz, pop and generally vocal music. I am not excited when listening to heavy metal or heavy rock with them because while it does possess quite a bass kick, the quantity of the bass is not quite optimal with these two genres.
Sound Quality
The first time I tried the FI-BA-SS I was stunned by how bright it was tonally. Once I got past the initial shock, I slowly learned to appreciate its sonic qualities.
What I will say is that the FI-BA-SS like its stable mate in the full sized can category, the Sonorous X, in that it paints a vibrant, vivid and rich presentation of the music. At the same time, there is surprisingly no harshness to its trebles even though they seem to feature prominently. The trebles are extended and pristine. There is plenty of grip and timbre in the mids. The bass is probably its Achilles heel – there is plenty of texture, resonance and quality in this department but it simply lacks the quantity that is required for certain types of music. Overall, there is also great detail in whatever music it plays. The flip side of this is that if the quality of the source is not up to scratch, do not expect the FI-BA-SS to gloss over the weaknesses.
One thing that is shocking about the FI-BA-SS is in how raw and emotional it makes the music sound. I still remember sitting in a freezing hotel room somewhere in North East China during the midst of winter and it was minus 35 Celsius outside, and I was listening to Diana Krall wrapping that voice of hers around the lyrics of Walk On By on the FI-BA-SS off my brand new AK100 – the rawness of her emotions and the nuances of her voice really tugged at my heartstrings and sent shivers down my spine. I swear that I could feel myself tearing up. But then again, it could just be cabin fever from being snowed in…
Pairing
As with the other Final Audio Design IEMs, the cables are non-detachable and so the question of cable rolling is moot.
The FI-BA-SS seems to be an equal opportunist when it comes to pairing with music sources. I have used it with the iPod Classic all the way up to the Lotoo Paw Gold and have not experienced anything adverse worth reporting.
Conclusion
Whatever else I can say about the sound signature or sound quality of the FI-BA-SS, what will always come first to my mind is how vivid and vibrant, & raw and emotional it is.