It is fine for folks to adhere to foams only, whether you are Mr. Ball, or the regular listener. But there are so many treble killing silicon tips out there that I do not find them useful-plus foams tend to deteriorate faster than most materials used.
The graph above tells me these are not truly Grado-esque, but more treble oriented, with a decent amount of bass to balance things out. Grados are about mids that people describe as "highs" but are not treble. These Sabers have highs-Grado has decent highs, but not great upper treble or the best extension (especially so the latest X versions, it appears to me-I have no measurement equipment, but the new X version is a Grado that is afraid to offend the modern audiophile. I like them, but wish they had more air and extension.)
I personally see no problem with the above graph in a world where DT990s exist, so I do not see why the Sabers are so bad, with or without foams. I would get them if I had the means, even though I generally like more mids than CFA generally seems to prefer. They should be a nice addition, and Campfire Audio usually makes them sound unique in some way that circumvents the need to adhere to an strict "audiophile" target.
(I always am bemused by comparing measurements of "hated" models of any brand with those of the "accepted audiophile canon", and find many inconsistencies of opinion-in *my* opinion, there is a lot of group-think in the audiophile community, and too much "graph-thumping", as it were. *And some are selling themselves* while providing supposedly neutral feedback. Please do not be offended and like what you do, whether it is the "right" target or too "weird". Of course, I appreciate the graphs to give me a better idea-however limited-of the flavor of the earphones-in this case, my idea of what they were was wrong, comparing people's statements with the actual graph.)
Just in case it wasn't obvious, I doubt the Saber was designed to sound "good" as defined by a target, but more, to do their own thing. It is not an accident or "bad design" that the treble does what it does. You may not like it, and that is fine. 500 models made for those who would love this signature, and I honestly believe I would be, based on the measurements-it should sound better in real life.
The graph above tells me these are not truly Grado-esque, but more treble oriented, with a decent amount of bass to balance things out. Grados are about mids that people describe as "highs" but are not treble. These Sabers have highs-Grado has decent highs, but not great upper treble or the best extension (especially so the latest X versions, it appears to me-I have no measurement equipment, but the new X version is a Grado that is afraid to offend the modern audiophile. I like them, but wish they had more air and extension.)
I personally see no problem with the above graph in a world where DT990s exist, so I do not see why the Sabers are so bad, with or without foams. I would get them if I had the means, even though I generally like more mids than CFA generally seems to prefer. They should be a nice addition, and Campfire Audio usually makes them sound unique in some way that circumvents the need to adhere to an strict "audiophile" target.
(I always am bemused by comparing measurements of "hated" models of any brand with those of the "accepted audiophile canon", and find many inconsistencies of opinion-in *my* opinion, there is a lot of group-think in the audiophile community, and too much "graph-thumping", as it were. *And some are selling themselves* while providing supposedly neutral feedback. Please do not be offended and like what you do, whether it is the "right" target or too "weird". Of course, I appreciate the graphs to give me a better idea-however limited-of the flavor of the earphones-in this case, my idea of what they were was wrong, comparing people's statements with the actual graph.)
Just in case it wasn't obvious, I doubt the Saber was designed to sound "good" as defined by a target, but more, to do their own thing. It is not an accident or "bad design" that the treble does what it does. You may not like it, and that is fine. 500 models made for those who would love this signature, and I honestly believe I would be, based on the measurements-it should sound better in real life.