[DimitriTrush]

We order bunch of this for office. Really very good and so tiny. First taking out of the packaging box is incredible view. It is so Final audio with nice metal case and beautiful layout.

 

[tomscy2000]

Okay, Heaven IV in my ears right now...
 
Some Initial Thoughts (please reach for some condiments):

1. This is the first China-made FAD, which may be cause for some consternation amongst people. The Y-split has a massive 'CHINA' stamped on it, without a neck cinch.
2. Overall, the build is not too bad. The strain reliefs at least seem capable this time around, so people will be pleased with that, but it's not the kind of rock solid engineering people will see from the likes of Shure and Westone. I doubt FAD will ever roll out anything as utilitarian.
3. There's that 'new car' rubber smell to the cables, which is kind of annoying, but I think so people might get a kick out of that (it'll make them slightly high, at least, with those polyaromatic hydrocarbons doing a number on the CNS).
4. I'm not a fan of the outward angling of the cables. It looks nice from an aesthetic point-of-view, but on the practical side, it's not really great when it comes to ergonomics. I foresee using these earphones almost purely straight-down as opposed to over-the-ear.
5. When the cables are worn straight-down, there is quite a bit of cable noise.
6. Sound-wise, they're not a disappointment in that they sound quite nice. Good bass impact, good clarity, and smooth highs --- practically zero sibilance (especially compared to the A1/SS).
7. However, by sealing up the BAM, the Heaven IV seems to have lost a little bit of the soundstage magic that FAD has long had with their products. Nevertheless, it still sounds excellent, and by pricing these more realistically as well, FAD is probably going to sell a lot of these.
8. My initial impressions of the sound (and take this with a little bit of crystalline powder) hint to me that it's a Heaven S without the brassy resonance. I distinctively noticed less of the 'offensive' treble that some people hated about the Heaven A/SS. Details are quite present, which I found to be very pleasant. At the same time, it's a fairly forgiving sound as well. Perhaps it's that it's now a fully closed system, and it's easier to hear details.
9. However, without that extra resonant sound and without the openness of the vented system, that distinct FAD flavor (i.e. coloration) is a bit diminished. The sound is now distinctively vanilla, rather than the usual polarizing sound that FAD is used to pulling off.
10. Being in the financial reach of the majority of Head-fi members at less than $200, the Heaven IV might actually be the first FAD to gain mainstream acceptance.

 
As you can tell, I'm not exactly raving about the Heaven IV because I think it doesn't quite have that uniqueness that FAD is known for, but I do think it's a very respectable product, and is by far the most practical earphone FAD has churned out. To me, it feels like the perfect entry level FAD Heaven --- it'll hint at the Final Audio coloration, but will mostly stay a middle of the road IEM. As a company, Final certainly has been working on gaining mainstream acceptance, which, depending on your viewpoint, may or may not be a good thing. I just hope they can continue to churn out ostentatious, ludicrously-priced Piano Forte X-CCs and simultaneously make more practical products like the Heaven IV.

 

[tomscy2000]

So the sound of the Heaven IV is quite pleasant, but, and this may be due to the fact that I haven't had an IEM that wasn't strictly over the ears in a while --- the microphonics of this cable are absolutely awful. I can't stand it!

 

[kiteki]

 

1. There's that 'new car' rubber smell to the cables, which is kind of annoying, but I think so people might get a kick out of that (it'll make them slightly high, at least, with those polyaromatic hydrocarbons doing a number on the CNS).

 

The difference in cables finally unveiled.
 
 
Quote:

1. The sound is now distinctively vanilla

 
Ice-cream or bath-oil?

 

[james444]

Quote:

1. There's that 'new car' rubber smell to the cables, which is kind of annoying, but I think so people might get a kick out of that (it'll make them slightly high, at least, with those polyaromatic hydrocarbons doing a number on the CNS).

 
FAD have always had their own eccentric conception of strain relief.

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

The difference in cables finally unveiled.
 
Ice-cream or bath-oil?

 
Perhaps eating some ice cream while taking a bath?
 
Quote:

  FAD have always had their own eccentric conception of strain relief.

 

 

[kiteki]

deleted nsfw ice-cream picture

 

[MuppetFace]

I should have some impressions for these up by the weekend. Maybe I'll take a vanilla bubble bath before doing so, just to get in the right frame of mind.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

deleted nsfw ice-cream picture

 
 
E-mail plz? K thnx.

 

[Jeremypsp]

Quote:

So the sound of the Heaven IV is quite pleasant, but, and this may be due to the fact that I haven't had an IEM that wasn't strictly over the ears in a while --- the microphonics of this cable are absolutely awful. I can't stand it!

Did you find the BA200 to have bad microphonics? It's over-the-ears and the microphonics seem really bad, luckily I'm not sensitive to it. 

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

  Did you find the BA200 to have bad microphonics? It's over-the-ears and the microphonics seem really bad, luckily I'm not sensitive to it. 

 
The microphonics are only bad if I wear them straight-down. It's not an issue with the shape of the cable. I realize microphonics are going to be there whenever IEMs are worn straight down, but the Heaven IV feels particularly bad when it comes to microphonics. Perhaps I need to compare it to other products with a similar design before I can actually say for sure...

 

[Jeremypsp]

Quote:

 
The microphonics are only bad if I wear them straight-down. It's not an issue with the shape of the cable. I realize microphonics are going to be there whenever IEMs are worn straight down, but the Heaven IV feels particularly bad when it comes to microphonics. Perhaps I need to compare it to other products with a similar design before I can actually say for sure...

Hmm, I wear them over the ear and seems like there's still a lot of microphonics. Or maybe it's because I'm comparing them to Westone...

P.S. I didn't find the ER-4's microphonics a big problem.

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

  Hmm, I wear them over the ear and seems like there's still a lot of microphonics. Or maybe it's because I'm comparing them to Westone... P.S. I didn't find the ER-4's microphonics a big problem.

 
Oh, I always had my BA200 wired behind my head with the cinch tightly secured behind my occiput, so I rarely get any microphonics with anything worn over the ear --- that's actually the way I always wear my IEMs except when there's no neck cinch, or when the design just works better worn straight-down.
 
Hmm, I didn't like the microphonics of the ER4... odd.

 

[Jeremypsp]

Quote:

 
Oh, I always had my BA200 wired behind my head with the cinch tightly secured behind my occiput, so I rarely get any microphonics with anything worn over the ear --- that's actually the way I always wear my IEMs except when there's no neck cinch, or when the design just works better worn straight-down.
 
Hmm, I didn't like the microphonics of the ER4... odd.

I see, that explains it, I usually wear it over the ear, in the front, but I just find it odd to have that level of microphonics for an over-the-ear IEM, although it's not a big problem. 

Well, I can tell the ER-4 does have quite an amount of microphonics, though not as bad as some people have mentioned. 

 

[tomscy2000]

Wait, I'm a little confused --- are you trying to say you tried out the Heaven IV and wore it over the ear? Microphonics of the Heaven IV aren't too bad when it's worn over-the-ear. It's when it is worn straight-down that it becomes a problem. Unfortunately, the shape of the Heaven IV just isn't conducive to over-the-ear wearing, much like the shape of the ER4. It just looks silly when either the Heaven IV or ER4 is worn over-the-ear.