Fischer Audio Mighty Bug, FA-977 Jazz, Ceramique, Paradigm v.3, Consonance, Tandem and SBA-03 added.
Balanced 5. Fischer Audio Consonance (
link)
Mildly U-shaped sounding with strong bottom end. Bass reaches down deep and quite abundant, though more on the 110Hz region making it not quite as boomy as one would think with that much bass. It also helps to maintain a better level of texture even though it is not particular fast or hard hitting. Mid, while slightly recessed in the whole presentation, is still quite warm and lush on its own, just not particularly sweet and upfront. Treble shows decent sparkles, not analytical by any means but still more than average with a decent sense of crispiness and micro detail. Soundstage is quite good, as expected from a U-shaped sound. It is airy and open with good separation, though the bass fullness does limit how far it can go. Consonance is one of the most versatile in the new line-up. While it is U-shaped sounding, the overall presentation is lively and fun with just the right balance between bass, mid, treble and soundstage. It is technically proficient and doesn’t seem to be lacking in any particular region. That is perhaps the great strength of Consonance.
Pro: Overall proficiency. Accessories. Price.
Con: Microphonics.
Mid 6. Fischer Audio SBA-03 (
link)
Classic Shure sound that is warm and mid centric with a good vocal performance. Different from Tandem’s lushness, what SDA-03 offers are speed and resolution that you can expect from a balanced armature. While bass lacks good texture due to its neutral quantity, it has good impact and speed. It will never win a basshead IEM shootout, but the performance is still admirable among single BA except perhaps when compared to the new type of single BA used in Ortofon’s and Grado’s. Mid is full, warm, slightly sweet and definitely creamy. Upper mid / lower treble has just enough edge to keep thing interesting without sounding overly bright. Treble is well extended, smooth with a decent amount of micro detail and sparkle. Not sparkly per se, but with just enough crispiness not to dull string instruments – though analytical it is not. When compared to other IEM that shares a classic Shure’s sound, like Philips SHE9850, the difference for SBA-03 is the grander / lusher (*while not over-the-top) of the overall presentation. While it is still not quite as good as Shure’s own SE530, SBA-03 is certainly giving it a good run for its money. To get a conventional single BA sounding this close to a flagship triple drivers in the old days itself is already an accomplishment on its own, certainly worthy to be called the second flagship of FA’s current line-up.
Pro: None.
Con: None.
Mid 7. Fischer Audio Tandem (
link)
Warm, mid centric sound from its dual drivers. Bass is a bit more than average in quantity and decent in quality. It has decent speed and shown some impact, but it won’t please basshead especially since it begins to roll off gently under 100Hz. Mid is dominating but not aggressive, full and lush in a sense but not particularly sweet or upfront. It is very well layered yet doesn’t give the usual extra-separation that dual drivers tend to have. It has good balance between smoothness and texture, almost trying to make vocal sweet but without being obvious about it. It certainly doesn’t sound quite like dual drivers to the ears yet it handles layer better than most single driver ever could. Treble extends decently upward though missing most of the top end sparkle and crispiness, making the overall presentation smooth and not particularly good for instruments such as strings and brass. It also lacks really good air and thus soundstage, which could have been better because of the ability to handle layer, only sounds decent at the end. This is why Tandem sound curious to the ears. It is a dual driver that doesn’t sound quite like a dual driver, yet it does show trait of dual driver in places least expected. Overall, Tandem is still quite a good sounding IEM for vocal listener seeking for warmth and smoothness. But those who want to find dual driver wow factor from Tandem might be disappointed.
Pro: Dual driver. Accessories.
Con: Microphonics
Mid 11. Fischer Audio FA-977 Jazz (
link)
Mostly neutral with slight warmness on the mid with decent detail and good soundstage, much like a tuned-down SW-Xcape but with a little more forwardness. Bass has decent impact and speed but quantitatively smaller than average and roll off gently under 100Hz. Mid is slightly sweet and lush with good texture on the vocal, placed just a little forward but still shows good sense of space. Treble extends well right to 16k with good sparkle and micro-detail. While it might not be classified as being analytical, it is above average. Soundstage is above average with a sense of openness, but better on width than it is on depth.
Pro: Wood housing.
Con: Big housing.
Warm + Sweet 9. Fischer Audio Ceramique (
link)
Warm and sweet, not nearly as crisp but grander overall. Bass reaches down deep and a little boomy around the 250Hz region. While it is quantitatively above average, it is neither particularly fast nor hard hitting, but good in presenting body and depth which let the slight bass bleed acceptable. Mid is warm, sweet and on the full side. Like CC51, it is distanced but not recessed and has a better sense of space and layer. Treble is well extended but a step behind the mid and bass. While it might not be as crisp as CC51, the amount of detail and sparkle are still enough not to feel lacking. As like treble in CC51, it acts more as an accentuation rather than an element of its own, though milder in presentation and gives a smooth and cozy impression. Soundstage is rather good even with the slightly boomy bass as the overall presentation feels grander than that of CC51 yet still remains intimate. Despite suffering from issues on build and design, Ceramique is still able to hold up on its own in sound quality. The warm and cozy sound signature is particular good for a laid back, relax listening session.
Pro: Ceramic housing
Con: Weight. Poor cable design. No left /right mark. One size fit all eartips. Not for small ears.
Warm + Sweet 10. Fischer Audio Paradigm v.3 (
link)
Warm, sweet, full and smooth. Bass is not large but has good depth, body and decent hit when called for. Mid, like X-IE, is lush and well rounded but more upfront. Not the best textured vocal but it is smooth, full and intimate. Treble has good sparkle and detail but a half step back behind the mid, lacks the up most crispiness. Soundstage is decent. Not quite as airy as X-IE due to the more forwarded mid, but it becomes more enveloping. While Paradigm v.3 also has a kind of relaxing sound as Ceramique, the main difference is that Paradigm v.3 is more neutral in presentation and thus ever slightly more laid back that the fuller / lusher sounding Ceramique. While both will make great choice for fatigue-free listening, Paradigm v.3 perhaps is better for care-free / background listening.
Pro: Microphonics.
Con: Housing can be slightly large.
Warm + Sweet 24. Fischer Audio Mighty Bug (
link)
Warm, full, rich and smooth sounding. Bass is just a tad on the boomy side with good quantity and decent quality. While it reaches down really deep, most of the time it is the upper bass that is a little over dominating and lose out some of the texture. The same fullness also extends upward to the mid, which gives a rich tone to the vocal though fortunately, not at the cost of making vocal muddy. Treble extends decently to near 16kHz, shows sparkles but smooth overall and lack a sense of crispiness. Soundstage is only average. The fullness on the bass and low mid and the lacking of air on the treble limit the feeling of space, though not bad enough to make it sounds 2D. Might Bug is pretty much a smooth and fun sounding IEM that pairs well with colder sounding source like iPod, tailored more toward the younger generation.
Pro: Tiny.
Con: Not for big ear canal.
