(Introduction)
It seems like as of now, custom in ear monitors or CIEMs for short are all the rage and being intrigued by them, I decided to give them a go. To those who are unfamiliar with CIEMs, they are essentially earphones that are made in the shape of your ears after you send the CIEM company a molding of your ear (usually made by an audiologist). I see many different CIEMs available on the market and the M Fidelity SA-43 isn't the creme da la crop, and at its competitive prices of $1199 (w/o Add-ons), I didn't expect it to be, but it's very unique in its on way.
(Purchasing Process)
This was my very first set of CIEMs and my fellow friend Calvin and fellow owner of Music Sanctuary, a place specializing in sale of CIEMs, recommended the M Fidelity SA-43 for its versatile nature which I would touch on later. Another special point about M-Fidelity's CIEMs is that the turnover time is 2-3 weeks while for most other companies they are usually 5-6 weeks and sometimes can even go up to months if there is a great back order. This by itself should be a major selling point for impatient customers and if you want it done even quicker, Rush order is at 1 week (at extra cost of course).
(Accessories/Aesthetics/Ergonomics)
The SA-43 comes in a large rectangular case, about the size of an iPad Mini, in which houses a smaller clam shell case, that can fit the earphones snugly. The SA-43 comes fitted with earwax guard to prevent ear wax from entering the housing of the CIEMs, and the accessories include a canal cleaning kit as well as spare earwax guard.
Regarding the aesthetics, I opted my SA-43 to be silicon-filled as well as to have them in full opaque black that is rather sleek, however I do have to mention that I did send my SA-43 back after the first receival. Reason being is that the exterior and finish of the SA-43 was not up to standards but the guys at M Fidelity were more than willing to make me a new set as an apology and the surfaces were much smoother with a better polish as well the second time round. Photos published are a set of fully clear SA-43s that belongs to my friend because of a camera malfunction so as to show a more clear view of the earphones and its internals.
On to the ergonomics, I find that fitting is nearly perfect and why it is not completely perfect is because of the cables. Since I started owning earphones, I have never liked memory ear loops on my cables as I find it makes any earphone more difficult to achieve a perfect seal and my personal opinion is that earphone companies should just ditch the idea completely. However after much experimentation with countless twisting and turning of the ear loops, a perfect seal was finally obtained and now comes the great music.
(Features)
That being said, I ought to cover the features this earphones have first and yes I did just use the word 'features'. I'm sure if you had seen the photos of the M Fidelity SA-43, you would have caught a glimpse of two switches on each faceplate of the SA-43 and you must be wondering what exactly do they do.
One of the switch apparently increases the impedance within the internal circuitry, let's call this the Impedance Switch (IS), while the other switch activates an additional bass driver and let's name this the Bass Driver (BD). To make it easier, I'll review the SA-43 in 4 portions, firstly with both IS and BD off, secondly with BD on, thirdly with IS on, fourthly with both IS and BD on.
(Sound with IS and BD off)
Using my iPod Touch 4 LOD into the TTVJ Slim, playing FLAC files, I can sense a hint of warmth, a punchy dynamic bass response, as well as a slightly shelved treble response and knowing that both my iPod and TTVJ are warm in nature, I find that the SA-43 managed to be neutral and present the sound characteristic of my amp and source. Changing to a simpler setup, my iPhone 6 streaming spotify, I was surprised to find that the SA-43 became even more neutral from the bass to the midrange but the muted highs still remained. Therefore with both IS and BD off, I find that the SA-43 is a neutral earphone with a slightly rolled off high frequency which could be a pro if you see it as being easy on the ears. To me this, this sounded like a slightly improved version of the Westone W4, which could be a useful reference for some.
(Sound with BD on, IS off)
With this configuration it feels like someone dropped a subwoofer into the system as it does provide a greater quantity in bass, however the impact remained the same and the quality seemed to dwindle, with the bass becoming less controlled and taut. The midrange was also affected by the activation of the bass driver, causing the sound to be slightly less clear and transparent. This is sort of reminiscence of my previous reference the Shure SE846 which in my opinion is a sound character that takes time getting used to. However with the more accurate signatures just a switch away, it's tough to be convinced this configuration is good enough.
(Sound with IS on, BD off)
Now this is where things get real interesting as I didn't expect an impedance change to cause such a drastic change to the sound. You would firstly notice how the soundstage just exploded into a gigantic sound sphere, almost as if like headphone standards. Along with that, a tad more treble and a recessed lower midrange. This difference was a technical wonder, but the sound signature became a little forced and artificial which makes you just wish to turn the switch off.
(Sound with IS on, BD on)
Here we have what I believe is the best sound signature that the SA-43 can offer as it managed to combine a full and natural tonality with an out of your head soundstage that is simply not found anywhere else in this price range of the in earphones world, be it custom or universal. Along with that, the bass increase of the extra bass driver seemed to sync well with the lower midrange dip of the impedance switch that it also manages to give a percival of neutrality, which is absolutely fantastic in my opinion.
(Minor Drawbacks)
Despite it being a wonderful product, no product is perfect or without drawback and the issue with the SA-43 is like a girl playing hard to get. It simply requires tons and tons of power to keep it going and the power required can be misleading. Simply because it is not difficult to get it loud being a earphone but to play more effortlessly and with finesse, it requires power headroom, so this earphone should be refrained from being paired with a smartphone or weaker-output audio players.
(Conclusion)
At the basic price of $1499, the SA-43 is simply a jack of many trades, and master of some in fact such as the phenomenal sound staging I cannot stress enough. The major selling point would be, to most people, still the configurable sonic signatures with the switches and with it having 4 types of sound packed into one in ear monitor, it is difficult for this earphone to disappoint.
It seems like as of now, custom in ear monitors or CIEMs for short are all the rage and being intrigued by them, I decided to give them a go. To those who are unfamiliar with CIEMs, they are essentially earphones that are made in the shape of your ears after you send the CIEM company a molding of your ear (usually made by an audiologist). I see many different CIEMs available on the market and the M Fidelity SA-43 isn't the creme da la crop, and at its competitive prices of $1199 (w/o Add-ons), I didn't expect it to be, but it's very unique in its on way.
(Purchasing Process)
This was my very first set of CIEMs and my fellow friend Calvin and fellow owner of Music Sanctuary, a place specializing in sale of CIEMs, recommended the M Fidelity SA-43 for its versatile nature which I would touch on later. Another special point about M-Fidelity's CIEMs is that the turnover time is 2-3 weeks while for most other companies they are usually 5-6 weeks and sometimes can even go up to months if there is a great back order. This by itself should be a major selling point for impatient customers and if you want it done even quicker, Rush order is at 1 week (at extra cost of course).
(Accessories/Aesthetics/Ergonomics)
The SA-43 comes in a large rectangular case, about the size of an iPad Mini, in which houses a smaller clam shell case, that can fit the earphones snugly. The SA-43 comes fitted with earwax guard to prevent ear wax from entering the housing of the CIEMs, and the accessories include a canal cleaning kit as well as spare earwax guard.
Regarding the aesthetics, I opted my SA-43 to be silicon-filled as well as to have them in full opaque black that is rather sleek, however I do have to mention that I did send my SA-43 back after the first receival. Reason being is that the exterior and finish of the SA-43 was not up to standards but the guys at M Fidelity were more than willing to make me a new set as an apology and the surfaces were much smoother with a better polish as well the second time round. Photos published are a set of fully clear SA-43s that belongs to my friend because of a camera malfunction so as to show a more clear view of the earphones and its internals.
On to the ergonomics, I find that fitting is nearly perfect and why it is not completely perfect is because of the cables. Since I started owning earphones, I have never liked memory ear loops on my cables as I find it makes any earphone more difficult to achieve a perfect seal and my personal opinion is that earphone companies should just ditch the idea completely. However after much experimentation with countless twisting and turning of the ear loops, a perfect seal was finally obtained and now comes the great music.
(Features)
That being said, I ought to cover the features this earphones have first and yes I did just use the word 'features'. I'm sure if you had seen the photos of the M Fidelity SA-43, you would have caught a glimpse of two switches on each faceplate of the SA-43 and you must be wondering what exactly do they do.
One of the switch apparently increases the impedance within the internal circuitry, let's call this the Impedance Switch (IS), while the other switch activates an additional bass driver and let's name this the Bass Driver (BD). To make it easier, I'll review the SA-43 in 4 portions, firstly with both IS and BD off, secondly with BD on, thirdly with IS on, fourthly with both IS and BD on.
(Sound with IS and BD off)
Using my iPod Touch 4 LOD into the TTVJ Slim, playing FLAC files, I can sense a hint of warmth, a punchy dynamic bass response, as well as a slightly shelved treble response and knowing that both my iPod and TTVJ are warm in nature, I find that the SA-43 managed to be neutral and present the sound characteristic of my amp and source. Changing to a simpler setup, my iPhone 6 streaming spotify, I was surprised to find that the SA-43 became even more neutral from the bass to the midrange but the muted highs still remained. Therefore with both IS and BD off, I find that the SA-43 is a neutral earphone with a slightly rolled off high frequency which could be a pro if you see it as being easy on the ears. To me this, this sounded like a slightly improved version of the Westone W4, which could be a useful reference for some.
(Sound with BD on, IS off)
With this configuration it feels like someone dropped a subwoofer into the system as it does provide a greater quantity in bass, however the impact remained the same and the quality seemed to dwindle, with the bass becoming less controlled and taut. The midrange was also affected by the activation of the bass driver, causing the sound to be slightly less clear and transparent. This is sort of reminiscence of my previous reference the Shure SE846 which in my opinion is a sound character that takes time getting used to. However with the more accurate signatures just a switch away, it's tough to be convinced this configuration is good enough.
(Sound with IS on, BD off)
Now this is where things get real interesting as I didn't expect an impedance change to cause such a drastic change to the sound. You would firstly notice how the soundstage just exploded into a gigantic sound sphere, almost as if like headphone standards. Along with that, a tad more treble and a recessed lower midrange. This difference was a technical wonder, but the sound signature became a little forced and artificial which makes you just wish to turn the switch off.
(Sound with IS on, BD on)
Here we have what I believe is the best sound signature that the SA-43 can offer as it managed to combine a full and natural tonality with an out of your head soundstage that is simply not found anywhere else in this price range of the in earphones world, be it custom or universal. Along with that, the bass increase of the extra bass driver seemed to sync well with the lower midrange dip of the impedance switch that it also manages to give a percival of neutrality, which is absolutely fantastic in my opinion.
(Minor Drawbacks)
Despite it being a wonderful product, no product is perfect or without drawback and the issue with the SA-43 is like a girl playing hard to get. It simply requires tons and tons of power to keep it going and the power required can be misleading. Simply because it is not difficult to get it loud being a earphone but to play more effortlessly and with finesse, it requires power headroom, so this earphone should be refrained from being paired with a smartphone or weaker-output audio players.
(Conclusion)
At the basic price of $1499, the SA-43 is simply a jack of many trades, and master of some in fact such as the phenomenal sound staging I cannot stress enough. The major selling point would be, to most people, still the configurable sonic signatures with the switches and with it having 4 types of sound packed into one in ear monitor, it is difficult for this earphone to disappoint.
