[pack21]

wrong topic. sorry.

 

[Clarencemailbox]

Quote:

You should look at the alo dac/amp combo and keep the akg's you won't find better at the moment so don't even try!That's the algoRythm solo dac and rxmk3-b headphone amp  www.aloaudio.com/cypher-labs-algorhythm-solo-black-pre-order www.aloaudio.com/ p.s the iphone doesn't do them justice, get the better dac/amp combo and use your phone to make calls and let the dac of the solo and amp show you what the akg's can really do! 

 
Thanks for the help, I will look into this. 

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

So far, I have in searching for an upgrade, auditioned the FI-BA-SS, FitEar ToGo 111 and the Final Audio Design Piano Forte X-G.
Interestingly the AKGs sound the best to my ears, even though the Piano Forte X-G was definitely more pricy.
Any help would be appreciated. I use my earphones with either a macbook air of a iPhone 4S, playing songs bought from the iTune Store. Thanks again and please be gentle with this newbie.

 
If you actually tried the Piano Forte X-G, I want some pics! Doubtful since it has pretty much never been seen in the wild. You probably tried the X-CC. Piano Fortes are a completely different kind of headphone and so shouldn't be regarded as an upgrade in the traditional sense. They either move you or they don't.

 

[james444]

Poor man's K3003. 

 
 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Well, just finished repacking the 3003s and will send back today. FOR ME; doing a quick comparison between the Shure 535s Bronze and these over three songs, simulating the setting I will use them in the most (airplane with hum of engines and other background sounds), I liked the Shure's better. IMHO and untrained ear, I liked the sound of the Shure's over the 3003s as well as the isolation. It is just as some of you said, if we use the Shure's as 100% isolation....the AKG's are about 80-85%.
 
I have taken the advise from several Head-FIers and have Westone 4Rs on the way from Earphone Solutions. They arrive tomorrow. I am excited to try these and hope they are a step up in SQ from the 535s. I have not doubt the isolation will be at lest equal.
 
I really wanted to love the 3003s. Yesterday, in attempt to that end, I sent PMs to a bunch of you. Mahalo Nui Loa (thank you very much) to all for taking the time to answer me both PM and in the threads.

Fellow islander here
Aloha!
 
I did really enjoy the AKGs while I had them but ended up much preferring the Tralucent 1Plus2 Custom Universal IEMs. Also noticeably cheaper than the AKGs.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

You should look at the alo dac/amp combo and keep the akg's you won't find better at the moment so don't even try!That's the algoRythm solo dac and rxmk3-b headphone amp  www.aloaudio.com/cypher-labs-algorhythm-solo-black-pre-order www.aloaudio.com/ p.s the iphone doesn't do them justice, get the better dac/amp combo and use your phone to make calls and let the dac of the solo and amp show you what the akg's can really do! 

 I beg to differ our martin.

 

[Clarencemailbox]

Quote:

 
If you actually tried the Piano Forte X-G, I want some pics! Doubtful since it has pretty much never been seen in the wild. You probably tried the X-CC. Piano Fortes are a completely different kind of headphone and so shouldn't be regarded as an upgrade in the traditional sense. They either move you or they don't.

 
I don't have pictures but I can try to describe it for you, it is gold in colour, looks really strange, like a hershey kiss glued onto a pair of earphones except that the point which goes into the ears.... are the same colour and material as the body of the earphone, completely made of metal and painted in the same gold colour. It has no soft silicon or form material at the insertion point just that metal tip. I found it quite uncomfortable actually(imagine sticking metal straight into your ears). The left side kept popping out so I had to squeeze them into my ears, which was definitely not a pleasant feeling. With the AKG K3003 I use the smallest tips, it is a good fit for me, most likely my ears are too small for the piano forte. You could be right since I don't really know much about earphones and such, I basically asked if i could audition the best earphones from final audio design and the sales person brought out the piano forte that I tried. I had to put on a pair of gloves to handle them, which of course made it very difficult to actually handle the earphones and the iPhone at the same time since I could not interact with the iPhone screen with gloves on. The earphones stick out, like two elongated golden knobs coming out of the ears. I had to keep pushing the left one in my ears as it felt like it was going to pop out. The sound was not as nice as the AKG K3003 to me. I can't really put it in words since I don't know the right terms to use, but it sounded like the female vocalist was further away on the piano forte compared to the AKG K3003. Also on the AKG K3003 there is a kind of wetness to the singer's voice, it feels like there is a texture to the air that pours out of her throat as she sings, almost like a slight rumble of throatiness. It's beautifully rendered on the AKGs but not present on the piano forte that I tried. I also much prefer the way base is represented on the AKGs. The piano forte were quite expensive, if I am not mistaken it cost almost $3000. Audition them at an audio show in Singapore(Raffles city), last Sat, the company that carried said product was Jaben. Sales person was really friendly and helpful. Hopefully all these information would help you have a clearer picture of the earphone I tried, sorry i can't make it any clearer as I had said in my earlier post, I am a total newbie.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Poor man's K3003. 

 
 

 
Are those a newer model they are releasing? Looks interesting ....

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

 
I don't have pictures but I can try to describe it for you, it is gold in colour, looks really strange, like a hershey kiss glued onto a pair of earphones except that the point which goes into the ears.... are the same colour and material as the body of the earphone, completely made of metal and painted in the same gold colour. It has no soft silicon or form material at the insertion point just that metal tip. I found it quite uncomfortable actually(imagine sticking metal straight into your ears). The left side kept popping out so I had to squeeze them into my ears, which was definitely not a pleasant feeling. With the AKG K3003 I use the smallest tips, it is a good fit for me, most likely my ears are too small for the piano forte. You could be right since I don't really know much about earphones and such, I basically asked if i could audition the best earphones from final audio design and the sales person brought out the piano forte that I tried. I had to put on a pair of gloves to handle them, which of course made it very difficult to actually handle the earphones and the iPhone at the same time since I could not interact with the iPhone screen with gloves on. The earphones stick out, like two elongated golden knobs coming out of the ears. I had to keep pushing the left one in my ears as it felt like it was going to pop out. The sound was not as nice as the AKG K3003 to me. I can't really put it in words since I don't know the right terms to use, but it sounded like the female vocalist was further away on the piano forte compared to the AKG K3003. Also on the AKG K3003 there is a kind of wetness to the singer's voice, it feels like there is a texture to the air that pours out of her throat as she sings, almost like a slight rumble of throatiness. It's beautifully rendered on the AKGs but not present on the piano forte that I tried. I also much prefer the way base is represented on the AKGs. The piano forte were quite expensive, if I am not mistaken it cost almost $3000. Audition them at an audio show in Singapore(Raffles city), last Sat, the company that carried said product was Jaben. Sales person was really friendly and helpful. Hopefully all these information would help you have a clearer picture of the earphone I tried, sorry i can't make it any clearer as I had said in my earlier post, I am a total newbie.

 
Thanks. No argument that you heard the expensive Piano Forte X; the only question is whether it was truly gold in color (gold plated, the X-G) or ion-coated chrome copper (the X-CC). Maybe it really was the fabled X-G. Here is an archive page that shows mock-ups of each. This (near the bottom of the page) is what the X-CC (now known commercially as the X) looks like in real life. I cannot show you a picture of what the X-G looks like in real life; there are no pictures out there. It was either discontinued quickly or never released. That is why I am intrigued that you might have seen one. The two would sound exactly the same; it is just a coating difference.
 
Edit: MuppetFace somehow found this one photograph of the whole line-up including the X-G (bottom) and the X-CC (top). I cannot find a single other picture of the X-G in the wild.

 

[Clarencemailbox]

Quote:

 
Thanks. No argument that you heard the expensive Piano Forte X; the only question is whether it was truly gold in color (gold plated, the X-G) or ion-coated chrome copper (the X-CC). Maybe it really was the fabled X-G. Here is an archive page that shows mock-ups of each. This (near the bottom of the page) is what the X-CC (now known commercially as the X) looks like in real life. I cannot show you a picture of what the X-G looks like in real life; there are no pictures out there. It was either discontinued quickly or never released. That is why I am intrigued that you might have seen one. The two would sound exactly the same; it is just a coating difference.
 
Edit: MuppetFace somehow found this one photograph of the whole line-up including the X-G (bottom) and the X-CC (top). I cannot find a single other picture of the X-G in the wild.

 
Nice link, if I had to go by just the first link, I think I could comfortably conclude that I tried either the X-G or VIII they look so similar, but on the second link the X-CC on a light background also looks about the same. I have to say I don't really know which one is the actual one i audition based solely on the looks, could be any one of the three. On MuppetFace picture it could be either of the two golden looking earphones. Strange how all of them, seem to have the same shape, just different colour. Are they..... basically the same? I would discount the VIII since the Fi-BA-SS was not handled with any kind of care, on the other hand I was told to keep each ear piece of the piano forte's apart so they don't accidentally knock into each other. Even the sale person who handed it to me had to put on a pair of gloves before handling them. It is probably one of the more expensive models, if I had both the "Gold" and "Chrome Copper" versions side by side I would have been able to more clearly tell which I had actually auditioned. Unfortunately I was only handed one pair of piano forte. To my senses at the time that I had it, it did look gold in colour, though you are right to point out that it could probably be the chrome copper coloured version since under the right lighting condition against a light surface, it is very possible to mistake that for the gold version. Perhaps the more important question is.... does the colour affect the sound? 

 

[james444]

Quote:

Are those a newer model they are releasing? Looks interesting ....

 
Yup, apparently there are two new models to be released soon, one with and another without active noise cancelling. Their design is obviously inspired by the K3003.

 

[Audiowood]

Ok pull the trigger on k3003, hope to replace Shure 500.

 

[piotrus-g]

Quote:

Poor man's K3003. 

 
 

I love the design of those new AKG they have made really good call on black-brushed allu combo.

 

[evolutionx]

Hi cooperpwc, jaben singapore do carry stocks of the X-G, though quite limited.    
 

 
For some reason, they are not listed in all the japanese online shops and on FAD's website.    Cheers.    

 

[psygeist]

that bokeh and exposure make the image so much artistic...lol