[syed786]

shigzeo
what is the level of transparency and separation on these A1 compared to ortofon

 

[Botanique]

Hi.
Let me know please, which model, SB or A1, is better for such music as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Stone Sour, Armin van Buuren. In other words for hard and electronic music.
I hate soft sound,sibbilance and I prefer cold neutrality as ck100 by AT.
Thanks in advance

 

[a_recording]

Okay my A1's just arrived, so I can give some brief impressions after an hour of listening. I'm assuming that since these are BA based, burn in won't really do much. I will however write up a bigger review when I get the chance.
 
These are pretty much what I wanted - and I'll compare them to the DDM's and the CK90Pros I have since they sound like a mixture of the two. The A1's are actually slightly warmer than the DDM's, with a overall lusher sound because they have more smoother and more forward upper mids/treble. In comparison the DDM's sound drier. Overall they are lush and a bit warm, yet at the same time have a pretty crunchy sound.
 
The amount of bass is somewhere between the 90Pros and the DDMs as far as I can hear now. Unfortunately, they do not have quite the same timbre and transparency that the DDM's have in the bass, but they are a lot better than the 90Pros in terms of decay. They actually seem to do better than the DDM's in terms of the actual accuracy of the sound of the bass - a little less boomy, and a more defined sound that helps to define the actual pitch of the bass notes. I think the difference in timbre is down to the sheer amount of sub-bass frequencies the DDM's are putting out, because the bass on the A1's is still really sweet.
 
As I said earlier, upper mids and lower treble are more forward, meaning that female vocals sound a lot better on the A1's than the DDM, without that duller diffuse sound. Overall instrument separation, detail and transparency are way ahead of the DDM's - we aren't talking Etymotic MC5 clear, but its clear without having the "hot" sound of the MC5's that bleeds everywhere on some tracks. Sibilance is definitely still a possibility on some tracks though. Soundstage is good, but not crazy wide like the DDM's are at times. A more intimate sound stage, but you can really place the instruments in that stage. Something like Boards of Canada's Gyroscope sounds suitably eerie as a result. There is a nice lingering echo on notes, 
 
Things like dynamics and speed I'll have to listen longer to work out. They are faster than the DDM's though. Electric guitars, triangles and violins seem to be the A1's favourite instruments (like the MC5's).
 
@botanique I don't know about those particular bands, but so far I would say that the A1's sound great with my electronic/electropop (The Knife, Junior Boys, Crystal Castles).
 
Overall these sound great, (they should be for twice the price of the DDMs) and I think are a less polarising sound than the DDM's. If they had to be perfect in terms of sound I kinda wish they had DDM levels of sub-bass (just the 100hz and lower frequencies) but they still seem better than all my other gear so far at that. I think some people will really really love these.

 

[Botanique]

Thanks a lot, a-recording. Great review.
Let us know, why you choose A1, but not SB. Thanks.
 
I reask my question - which model, A1 or SB, best for Broken Social Scene.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Thanks a lot, a-recording. Great review.
Let us know, why you choose A1, but not SB. Thanks.
 
I reask my question - which model, A1 or SB, best for Broken Social Scene.

Well, as Shigzeo said in his review, the SB model is a bit more sibilant and he explicitly names Broken Social Scene as a band which doesn't do quite so well on the SB's. When I heard them both, I found that there was times that the SB was too sibilant for me, so I chose the A1. (Also because it was cheaper.) It's a real shame about the cable on the SB though. I've been using it out and about today. Microphonics are very very low, and while isolation isn't fantastic, I don't think you'd really be turning it up much out and about. Isolation is good enough to block out most of traffic noise, but not so high that you wouldn't be able to hear the pedestrian crossing signal. (The Australian pedestrian crossing anyway.)
 
Also, I've now tried using Sony Hybrid and Head-Direct bi-flanges instead of the stock tips, and I've figured that the stock-tips are actually reducing the bass response. The HD large bi-flanges are my pick (as they often are with almost every IEM!) because they have add to the atmosphere, widen the soundstage and increase sub bass/ improve the bass timbre. They sound pretty fantastic with these...

 

[Dekimasu]

 
Quote:

 
 
Also, I've now tried using Sony Hybrid and Head-Direct bi-flanges instead of the stock tips, and I've figured that the stock-tips are actually reducing the bass response. The HD large bi-flanges are my pick (as they often are with almost every IEM!) because they have add to the atmosphere, widen the soundstage and increase sub bass/ improve the bass timbre. They sound pretty fantastic with these...

 
That's good to know... I'll have to try them with some other pieces. Bi-flanges and tri-flanges are still a pain for me (literally), but I want to convince myself to buy a pair of these, and just a bit more bass would do the trick.

 

[Dregur]

Thanks for the impressions a_recording. I've now just ordered a pair! Should be here in about a week or two.

 

[a_recording]

Okay, I switched back to the Sony hybrid tips because the warmth of tone is really pleasing. Listening to some of my electropop music (Fischerspooner and The Postal Service) I'm struck by just how sweet and rounded the tone is on the electronic notes. It's pretty thrilling stuff.
 
I can't decide whether this sounds more like a BA or a dynamic armature. I'm not quite getting the natural timbre that I get from my dynamics (It still has a ever so slightly tacky feel like my 90Pros, but much improved), but then again the A1's move a lot more air into my ear than something like the MC5 does. You can definitely feel it. So it seems like accuracy of timbre in this respect isn't dependant on the actual movement of air. A taiko drum gets almost 90% of the way that it sounds like on the DDM, but the DDM still has this visceral impact to the sound. I think the difference may just be in the amount of decay in the bass, but I'm still not sure.
 
Maybe someone else can offer a bit of insight into this...

 

[Dregur]

Since these headphones are technically BA phones, there shouldn't be any burn in time, correct?

 

[a_recording]

As far as I know, they shouldn't require burn in, and the sound hasn't really changed for me.
 
A little update on that sound: So after a few days of using these IEMs, I can say that the difference between this sound and the DDM is that bass extension and overall dynamic range is lower on the A1's, which is why they don't seem to have quite the same amount of eerie transparency for guitars and drums the same way the DDM's do. Overall detail is surprisingly both the same - but not quite the same kind of detail. So while the DDM's have a drier, slightly less forgiving sound than the A1's with their warm mids and lush sound, they lose out on that cohesive clarity of the sound of things like female vocals due to their recessed treble. The A1's may not be detail monsters, but their sound is really well blended and its actually hard to hear anything missing unless you immediately AB it to earphones like the DDM on one end or the RE0 on the other. This is probably due to the fact that in the end these are single balanced armature drivers, that have the virtue of having quite a lot of clean, punchy bass. Extension is probably lacking on both ends, but not in a way that sounds blunted. I would say that these are really nicely balanced, with sometimes surprising instrument placement and accuracy.
 
They do hiss quite a bit though...

 

[Rip N' Burn]

They are more of a hybrid driver. Something between a BA and Dynamic driver. A similar type of driver is used in the Orofon EQ-7 and the Grado GR8. Grado calls it a moving armature driver. According to Grado, the GR8 requires 25 hours of burn in. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/474226/grado-gr-8-first-impressions#post_6428718
 
Quote:

Since these headphones are technically BA phones, there shouldn't be any burn in time, correct?

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

They are more of a hybrid driver. Something between a BA and Dynamic driver. A similar type of driver is used in the Orofon EQ-7 and the Grado GR8. Grado calls it a moving armature driver. According to Grado, the GR8 requires 25 hours of burn in. http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/474226/grado-gr-8-first-impressions#post_6428718
 

 

Hmm interesting. See, I changed the tips on my A1's a few times, so I couldn't really safely put down any changes in the sound to burn in, whether mental or physical. I do know that I like them more now as I've got to know them... but the same could be said of almost any IEM...
 

 

[Dekimasu]

I had another chance to listen to the e-Q7 and the heaven a together today. The Final Audios just couldn't compare with the Ortofons for me in terms of soundstage and bass. It's a shame because the design is classic and weight/comfort is much preferable on the heaven a. (And some of the paint was coming off the Ortofons, which worries me.)
 
Where before I was trying to decide between the heaven a and the e-Q7, now I'm leaning more towards deciding between the e-Q7 and the cheaper/lighter Klipsch X5 or Audio Technica CK10.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

I had another chance to listen to the e-Q7 and the heaven a together today. The Final Audios just couldn't compare with the Ortofons for me in terms of soundstage and bass. It's a shame because the design is classic and weight/comfort is much preferable on the heaven a. (And some of the paint was coming off the Ortofons, which worries me.)
 
Where before I was trying to decide between the heaven a and the e-Q7, now I'm leaning more towards deciding between the e-Q7 and the cheaper/lighter Klipsch X5 or Audio Technica CK10.

 
Hmm that's interesting. I'll admit I didn't compare them side by side enough, but I just found in my chance to compare that the EQ-7's came off too mid/ mid-bass heavy for me - and of course they cost more. With hybrid tips, there is quite a lot of bass with the A1s. I went back to using Head Direct bi-flanges with them though. I'm really enjoying them...
 

 

[shigzeo]

Wow, lots of good talk going on here. I think the A1 is a fantastic earphone, but nothing is perfect. The SB, too, has its moments of glory, but they are more specific and if you step outside of their perfectly practiced dance patter, they might lose step.
 
I also love the SOUND of the DDM. The A1 and SB kill it for actually using whilst out and about. The A1 has a very good cable in one regard: it is silent and light. I wish it was of higher quality, something like the CK10 - then it would support the price of the A1 fully and be a full on KISS rating. As for details, I think A recording is pretty spot on - the DDM really pull out bass and lower midrange details so well that going to anything else afterward is quite hard. The DDM's treble isn't exactly recessed because it extends very high, but it just somehow doesn't slam out the door.
 
The A1 IS a better earphone than the SB for Broken Social Scene, honestly. That band, lovely and local (for me), happens to ride on this side of sibilance, so say goodbye to the CK100, the SB, and even the 1601 which can tend to get wild at times.
 
Again, I think FAD finally (see what I did there?) nailed the formula. All they need is a better cable. From what I understand from Musica Acoustics, however, these are not easy to find now. Whether FAD made too few of them, or they simply sold out all over is really a question for the gods.