Final Audio Design Heaven II DIY Edition

GunnerXL

New Head-Fier
Pros: Lush mid to upper-mid range, Clarity, Airy, Slightly bright sound signature.
Cons: Lacks deep/sub-bass extension, Lacks of accessories, Somewhat finicky assembly process.
Final Audio Design Heaven II DIY Edition

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Intro
I bought this kit at my own expenses, without any affiliation with Final Audio Design and it's staff. All opinion in this review are solely my own, and I am not being paid or given any compensation for writing this review. All the picture shown here are taken by myself.

The kit was sold as a Do-It-Yourself model and without any warranty. The idea is to let the user to experience the assembly process of the earphone and contains removable nozzle and multiple filter materials to tune the sound to the user's preference.

Technical Specification
The Final Audio Design(FAD) Heaven II DIY Edition is a single-driver balanced armature universal-fit IEM. Unfortunately there is no exact specification provided and I would assume it should be the same or similar to the normal edition of Heaven II.

= Contents =

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The kit contains an Instruction Manual(on the left), BA & Cable Assembly, Housings, Nozzles, Eartips, Filter materials, Glue and Tools. The instruction manual gives a detail step-by-step assembly process in clear pictures and instructions.

= Building Process =
I will briefly show and explain each process taken to build this IEM.

Step 1: Fixing BA into the rubber housing.
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The BA model is 31105, but I couldn't found any details on the internet, I presume it's custom made or developed by Final Audio Design.
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The BA sits snugly inside the rubber housing. All the parts will be fixed later with the glue provided.
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Both side after fixing the drivers.

Step 2: Gluing the strain relieve and BA in the housing.
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The kit provided glue to fix all the items in the rubber housing. It is some sort of clear glue which is very viscous and somewhat annoying to glue. It can be clean up using wet tissue but leaves some residue behind which needed to be clean after the glue completely dries.

Step 3: Fitting the retainer clips.
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The kit provides a pair of stainless steel retaining clips. It can be expanded and enclose the wire portion snugly. Both side is slot into the holes aligned with the rubber housing.
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The metal clips will click into place with the outer metal housings.

Step 4: Nozzle and Housing Assembly.
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Removable nozzles with metal mesh.
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The housing with rubber seal. The angled part is faced towards the rear.
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The kit provided 6 types of foams and materials for filtering. It ranges from unfiltered, low to high density foams. Unfortunately in my case, all the filters disintegrated due to aging(I presume it was stored for some time). I run the IEM without filter for this test(Would probably play around with the filters in the future). The instructions also encourage the user to try with different materials to find the preference sound.
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The nozzle and housing assembly. The nozzle is screwed on and can be easily removed.

Step 5: Gluing the outer housing to the wire and BA assembly.
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After gluing the rear portion of the housing, slide the assembly into the metal housing. After a satisfying click, the assembly is finished. Time to listen!
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The kit also provided 6 pairs of eartips. 3 pairs of wide bore(S,M,L) and narrow bore(S,M,L) for tip rolling. I prefer the wide bore which boost a tad bit of low end compare to narrow bore tips.

= Fit and Comfort =

First of all, Heaven II is slim and light weight, it should fit straight right into your ear. It is very comfort and I have no problem wearing it for a long time. With the provided tips, it isolates quite well against some ambient noise.

= Sound =

The source for testing are my smartphone and my Sony NW-A45 Walkman. Both running Heaven II unamped and without any EQ. The eartip is the stock wide bore medium provided along the package.

Bass : The bass is adequate, but lacks some extension to the deep down. It is punchy, accurate and not overshadow any aspect. But a little more oomph and quantity would really appreciated. But being a single BA configuration, the bass is accurate and the speed is appreciated during complex instruments and songs.

Mid : This is where the strong suit of the Heaven II. The mids are lush and natural, but not in a clinical style or signature. The male and female vocals sound so desirable and really articulates. In live recordings, they sounded natural and smooth. A slice of Heaven in your ears.

High : For the treble, it does not extend as much as the mids and rolls-off a little. This is good which I can listen for quite some time without fatiguing highs. But it still have some sibilance on certain track, YMMV. In this case, I think the high, like the bass, is taking a back seat in this IEM.

Soundstage : The soundstage might not be crazy wide, nor the best details, but it has good imaging, and good amount of airiness on top. It is intimate and relaxing.

= Value/Price =
I bought this unit from a fellow member in an audio marketplace section in my local internet forum. It is priced around US$60 at the time I bought it. For this price, it provided the pleasure of DIY, building your own IEM as well having your own signature in sound which made available by the removable nozzle feature. I really appreciate the process of going through the assembly, giving some patience and rewarded by the listening session with a slice of Heaven(Pun intended).

Conclusion
I am really satisfy with this IEM for it's price range and it's mid-range performance. The materials from construction wise and sound quality are impeccable. It really separates itself from clinic, analytic sound; instead it provides a relaxing, intimate listening session for you to relax and unwind.

In the end, this is my first full-length review of an IEM in this forum. If you have any question, feedback or suggestion, you are more than welcome to comment or message me. Thanks for reading and have a nice day!
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