[nmatheis]

Finally some impressions that didn't come from the excessively enthusiastic hype train. We really need some more of that here.

Hey now, I thought I called the AD01 out on its faults and provided some suggestions for improvement...

 

[thatBeatsguy]

Finally some impressions that didn't come from the excessively enthusiastic hype train. We really need some more of that here.

Hey now, I thought I called the AD01 out on its faults and provided some suggestions for improvement...

Ah, guess I forgot about it. Apologies.

 

[nmatheis]

The good thing about AD01 is they show us where TEOSJ is headed and provides us with the opportunity to give him a lot of feedback on not only what we like but what could be improved!

 

[Armaegis]

Yeah, as a first product I think it shows promise. There's some nice construction, decent suite of accessories, and the tuning is obviously geared towards a bass heavy consumer... but I think in the process of tuning they overlooked the actual sonic integrity and focused purely on frequency response.

 

[money4me247]

Have not read anything on this thread but had a bit more than a week playing with these, thanks to @nmatheis.
 
Posted my review here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/alpha-delta-ad01/reviews/13730 for anyone interested.
 
Do note that I am coming from a background of pretty high-end gear and personally prefer more neutral-orientated sound signatures. Hope it is an informative read!

 

[nmatheis]

Thanks again for taking part in the tour @money4me247.  I look forward to reading your review!

 

[Alpha & Delta]

  So I just had these for a brief tour. I have not read anything from this thread, so my thoughts and impressions are entirely my own. That said, I did not have a good experience. I will leave my notes simply in point form...
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 
- it's a nice box
- moderate size, moderate weight, even on smallest tip I still have a bit of trouble keeping it in my ears
- can't wear it over ear
- detachable cable, feels like good quality, but slightly microphonic from jiggling the earpiece, not much from friction
- upgraded cable: more flexible, softer, even less microphonic from friction, chin slider is nice addition
 
- nice semi-hard case, simple and functional
- good selection of silicon tips (single and double flange) and a foam, ten in total
 
- very strong bass emphasis, very deep reach and rumble, not the cleanest, kinda mushy, too much on bass heavy songs which come to the front and drown the mids
- feels like there's an additional boost way down in the lowest octave? like there's a bit of a dip just before the subbass hits?
- the hits/impact feel right, but then it feels drawn out longer than it should
- “lazy” feeling
 
- mids drop, feel recessed; that area is reasonably even though, so it only feels recessed in bass heavy songs
- mids are overall meh, I feel like there's something fuzzy here but can't really hear it over the bass
 
- treble comes in weak but peaks a bit
 
 
over time, get a pressure buildup in my ears
- fatiguing
- feels “heavy”
- can't listen very long, gets increasingly congested
- something is wrong here, the longer I listen, the more distorted it sounds
- after a few days, all I hear is the distortion now and it hurts my ears after a few seconds
- going back to other cans is like breathing a sigh of relief
 
soundstage - above my head? that's odd
 
 
feels like a blah $100 IEM to me (I have no idea what the price is), but then in this range I'd probably reach for a Shure SE215
 
the fit and sound signature didn't grok with me at all
 
fat and lazy, with a black striped copper cord... this is Garfield isn't it?
 
 

Hi, 
 
I am sorry you did not like it. I am concerned about the complains on distortion.it should not happen. can you let me know the gear that you are using? I will look into it. And in the interest of improvement, can you let me know why you think that the cable is "fat and lazy"? thank you. 

 

[nmatheis]

  Hi, 
 
I am sorry you did not like it. I am concerned about the complains on distortion.it should not happen. can you let me know the gear that you are using? I will look into it. And in the interest of improvement, can you let me know why you think that the cable is "fat and lazy"? thank you. 

Hi @TEOSJ.  Not to speak for @Armaegis, but in interest of clearing up any misunderstandings, I'm pretty sure @Armaegis was not referring to the cable when he said "fat and lazy".  Rather, I bet he was referring to the overall sound signature, specifically the bass response.

 

[Alpha & Delta]

  Yeah, as a first product I think it shows promise. There's some nice construction, decent suite of accessories, and the tuning is obviously geared towards a bass heavy consumer... but I think in the process of tuning they overlooked the actual sonic integrity and focused purely on frequency response.

quite the contrary here. In fact, i am one who do not like the idea of using frequency response to judge a pair of earphones. The AD01 has been measured here:http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AlphaandDeltaAD01.pdf. Don't think tyll will approve of it =p
 
Perhaps I would like to address the most common criticism here which is the enhanced bass and the deviation from a more audiophile tuning. When the team set out to create the AD01, we deliberately deviate away from having a more audiophile tuning to create something bass heavy. This is because I feel that in the USD 100 ish price range, the market is lacking of something that has a really strong bass, something akin to the levels of Futuresonic Atrios. Thus, our intention is to create something similar while improving on the clarity and highs which I think is one weakness to the Atrios.

 

[Armaegis]

  Hi, 
 
I am sorry you did not like it. I am concerned about the complains on distortion.it should not happen. can you let me know the gear that you are using? I will look into it. And in the interest of improvement, can you let me know why you think that the cable is "fat and lazy"? thank you. 

 
I primarily listened from a NuPrime uDSD and a Sansa Fuze/Clip+
 
Other iems compared against: VSonic GR07, Encore Rockmaster IE (not an iem, but my reference is a Hifiman HE-6)
 
As @nmatheis said, my comments on fat and lazy were regarding the sound. It was a play on words referring to Garfield: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield (a striped orange cartoon cat known for being fat and lazy)

 

[nmatheis]

  quite the contrary here. In fact, i am one who do not like the idea of using frequency response to judge a pair of earphones. The AD01 has been measured here:http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AlphaandDeltaAD01.pdf. Don't think tyll will approve of it =p
 
Perhaps I would like to address the most common criticism here which is the enhanced bass and the deviation from a more audiophile tuning. When the team set out to create the AD01, we deliberately deviate away from having a more audiophile tuning to create something bass heavy. This is because I feel that in the USD 100 ish price range, the market is lacking of something that has a really strong bass, something akin to the levels of Futuresonic Atrios. Thus, our intention is to create something similar while improving on the clarity and highs which I think is one weakness to the Atrios. 

A hearty thanks for diving head-first into the discussion, @TEOSJ!!!

 

[Armaegis]

  quite the contrary here. In fact, i am one who do not like the idea of using frequency response to judge a pair of earphones. The AD01 has been measured here:http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AlphaandDeltaAD01.pdf. Don't think tyll will approve of it =p
 
Perhaps I would like to address the most common criticism here which is the enhanced bass and the deviation from a more audiophile tuning. When the team set out to create the AD01, we deliberately deviate away from having a more audiophile tuning to create something bass heavy. This is because I feel that in the USD 100 ish price range, the market is lacking of something that has a really strong bass, something akin to the levels of Futuresonic Atrios. Thus, our intention is to create something similar while improving on the clarity and highs which I think is one weakness to the Atrios. 

 
I had not seen the innerfidelity measurement yet, but the measurements do seem to match with my impressions. Everybody has noted on the elevated bass already. The rising midrange THD also seems to jive with my feelings of "pressure" after a few days.

 

[Alpha & Delta]

   
I primarily listened from a NuPrime uDSD and a Sansa Fuze/Clip+
 
Other iems compared against: VSonic GR07, Encore Rockmaster IE (not an iem, but my reference is a Hifiman HE-6)
 
As @nmatheis said, my comments on fat and lazy were regarding the sound. It was a play on words referring this Garfield: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield (a striped orange cartoon cat known for being fat and lazy)

ahh thanks for the clarification! As promised, I will look into the distortion issue.

 

[Armaegis]

  ahh thanks for the clarification! As promised, I will look into the distortion issue.

 
It's all good. I'm happy to see you taking an active part in the discussion.
 
I'm not as well versed in iems as I am with regular headphones, but are the AD01 fully sealed? The feeling I got was similar to headphones with very tight seals which caused that "pressurized" feeling as well as what I interpret as increased distortion. Normally I can "hear" bass distortion, but the mid/treble range is more "felt". I wonder if a change in venting would affect this (without overly changing frequency response).
 
Granted, I am aware that iems and headphones do not necessarily respond in the same way, and that varies with the driver type as well, so I could be completely off base here as I'm just making guesses.

 

[nmatheis]

   
It's all good. I'm happy to see you taking an active part in the discussion.
 
I'm not as well versed in iems as I am with regular headphones, but are the AD01 fully sealed? The feeling I got was similar to headphones with very tight seals which caused that "pressurized" feeling as well as what I interpret as increased distortion. Normally I can "hear" bass distortion, but the mid/treble range is more "felt". I wonder if a change in venting would affect this (without overly changing frequency response).
 
Granted, I am aware that iems and headphones do not necessarily respond in the same way, and that varies with the driver type as well, so I could be completely off base here as I'm just making guesses.

AD01 has two vents.  One on the rear of the shell and one just before the nozzle start on the front of the shell.