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Final Audio Design Impressions and Discussion Thread
Mar 9, 2017 at 1:01 AM Post #6,991 of 11,643
Mar 9, 2017 at 4:23 AM Post #6,992 of 11,643
jalo said:
It says:

Final Audio Lab II
Balanced Armature
Limited Edition

Do they know that the Lab II is not a balance armature?

Very interesting.
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Probably not...

It would be legit, they are the retail arm of the authorised importers in Australia.

Regards,

Giles
 
Mar 9, 2017 at 8:03 AM Post #6,993 of 11,643
Mar 9, 2017 at 11:16 AM Post #6,995 of 11,643
Rumina, how do you keep the Lab 2 clean? I am thinking do you need to do any vacuum once in awhile? With your stables of fine headphones, how much do you reach for the Lab2?
 
Mar 9, 2017 at 1:22 PM Post #6,996 of 11,643
hi jalo, the lab 2 has a protective mesh at the opening (in contrast to the pictures from the catalog), so you dont need mutch work to clean them, a cloth is enough. when the mesh is to dirty to clean with a cotton swab you have spare parts in the package for a exchange, woulden't use any air pressure. 
 
at this moment i use the utopia 1/3 of the time and 1/3 the lab 2, 1/4 the sr-009 and then the rest (closed iem mostly for travelling or noisy places (plane), dont like the pressure on the inner ear to much). the blue hawai is best after 20 minutes so i need to power it up befor listening. my diy dynalo (same as the headamp gs-x mkii but with the newest design evolution from kevin gilmore) is fine after 5 minutes, the diy ksa5 need a bit more time. the ak380cu sound fine from the start, so easy to grab and listen, dito the continental dual mono.
 
i hope you will enjoy the lab 2, more people should have the pleasure to hear them once.
 
Mar 9, 2017 at 1:56 PM Post #6,997 of 11,643
jalo said:
  Indeed I was lucky.  When you asked about the Lab 2 I did not even think about it. So you could have called US FAD before me, you will be the lucky one 
biggrin.gif
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Well, $4k for IEMs is too much for me, but I'm looking forward to your thoughts ...
 
Mar 9, 2017 at 8:05 PM Post #6,999 of 11,643

 

 
Sorry, I don't know how to rotate the picture.  I will post initial impression in an hour.  But Wow.
 
Mar 9, 2017 at 10:29 PM Post #7,000 of 11,643
Well, I know better not to give any impression on something I only receive today, but I like to share some initial thoughts on the Lab 2 which I may change later. Yes I was wowed after I put on the Lab 2 for a few minutes.  Mainly because of the big sound. I have heard many totl iems described as "full size head phone LIKE".  But the Lab 2 doesn't sounds "like" a full size head phone, the sound to me is a full size head phone sound. The sound is big but not diffuse.  Imaging is good. Resolution is good.  Like Runima said, it is quite emotional and musical. Bass is punchy and tight (just listened to the first 60 seconds of Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, it is like you are in a club, so visceral). Mid has texture and layering. The sound is through and through a totl full size headphone sound. Somewhat similar to the Utopia. I was going to buy a Utopia and now I am having second thoughts if I really need to. My urge of listening to a big sound from a full size phone is kind of gone. It is too bad that this is a limited edition.  I really wish more people can have the chance to hear it.  I am familiar of the Piano Forte series, I owned the Fibass and I have heard most of the Heaven series.  As most of you that have the Fibass knows the clarity of the Fibass and not that many iems can match it.  The Lab 2 has almost the same level of clarity but with more body.  The hallmark of a good head phone is its ability to resolve nuances like the subtle crackling voice of a vocalist, or the emotional overtone of a voice, or conveying the second or third harmonic of a note, they are all there in the sound of the Lab 2. I shall stop now go go to discover some more.  This is a gem to keep.   
 
Mar 10, 2017 at 5:09 AM Post #7,002 of 11,643
I experienced the F4100 never as actually that bad. 
One certain thing I mentioned is, ( actually also Final Audio says that in relation to size) to receive real bass, you need to kind of ram them into your ear as their would be no morning. If you use the correct size of ear tips for you, then they will sound a lot better. Without this they can sound pretty low level in the bass. Its general quiet important to find for all In ears a good fit in your ear. Otherwise no driver of the whole world can achieve real bass
 
Mar 10, 2017 at 5:57 AM Post #7,003 of 11,643
ruthieandjohn said:
  Has anyone compared the FAD Heaven VIII to the Shure SE846?  How do they compare?  Thanks!
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If it is still relevant. Shure is an excellent choice for bassheads, and PF 8 for vocalheads. Shure SE846 have a failed mids, a lot of sub-bass (frequency range from 30 to 100 Hz), and the PF is practically devoid of sub-bass and the mids is pushed forward as in no other headphones of any price. For me the PF 8 is much better, but I'm not a basshead, but a vocalhead. More than a week, I could not stand the Shure, very bad mids for such a large price. Most decent headphones have a better mids than a Shure: Etymotic er-4s, ATH IM-03, CK100, Ortofon eq-8, FI-BA-SS, Heaven 6 and many more.
 
Mar 10, 2017 at 8:37 AM Post #7,004 of 11,643
ninaraduga said:
If it is still relevant. Shure is an excellent choice for bassheads, and PF 8 for vocalheads. Shure SE846 have a failed mids, a lot of sub-bass (frequency range from 30 to 100 Hz), and the PF is practically devoid of sub-bass and the mids is pushed forward as in no other headphones of any price. For me the PF 8 is much better, but I'm not a basshead, but a vocalhead. More than a week, I could not stand the Shure, very bad mids for such a large price. Most decent headphones have a better mids than a Shure: Etymotic er-4s, ATH IM-03, CK100, Ortofon eq-8, FI-BA-SS, Heaven 6 and many more.
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You know I have never heard the PF but I would definitely like to. I really didn't like the 846 mids either when I had them. As a matter of fact I like the 535 mids better then the 846's mids.strange coming from a iem half the cost of the 846. Just my personal opinion. I mentioned that in another thread saying I was nuts for that and someone agreed with me lol oh well each their own. To me the mids are Vocals yes, but so much much more too ,, sorry i have a hard time explaining that. I just bought the fostex te100 and the mids to me are great. They are pushed forward and uncoloured. Vocals sound real like they were singing right in front of you. They really have a very fun way of presenting your music. I'm very interested in the PF's which model would be best for rockn roll? Thanks for the advice:blush:
 
Mar 10, 2017 at 10:35 AM Post #7,005 of 11,643
jwbrent said:
Well, $4k for IEMs is too much for me, but I'm looking forward to your thoughts ...
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If you will attend this year Socal Can Jam on April 8/9 let me know, I will be there with my Lab 2 and I can let you listen to it.
 
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