[shotgunshane]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/676919/lear-luf-4-series-will-also-available-in-mmcx-plug-version

 

[Kurdt-bada]

Thanks agree

 

[music_4321]

If people only knew just how good the FA-4s are...

 

[davidcotton]

Quote:

 
Yes, they do look quite similar.
 
FWIW, though, I'm not a fan of those Shure-like (MMCX) connectors (hated them on the SE535 & SE215), but they seem to be becoming the new standard as evidenced by the new Westone UM series announced only a few days ago. Wonder if those Lear & new Westone connectors will be as fiddly as the Shure's.

Not just me then, hated them on the shure 215's. 

 

[esuhgb]

Quote:

If people only knew just how good the FA-4s are...

Not sure if serious...

 

[music_4321]

Serious.

 

[AmberOzL]

Quote:

Serious.

music, you don't make fun posts or things like that anymore. I found them very detailed and informative. Sure you have a very nice taste man.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

music, you don't make fun posts or things like that anymore. I found them very detailed and informative. Sure you have a very nice taste man.

 
Grumpy ageing sparrows cannot entertain people 100% of the time — there's got to be a balance between humour and grumpiness.

 

[AmberOzL]

Quote:

 
Grumpy ageing sparrows cannot entertain people 100% of the time — there's got to be a balance between humour and grumpiness.

Both ways are welcome

 

[sect44]

Ok. Here's my A/B findings with CK100PRO. My english is not perfect and I'm not an audiophile so...

BUILDING: Although both are well built CK100PRO seems to be more robust in the cable and shell department which is partially mettalic and simply seems it will last longer. FA-4 shell are plastic and cable is similar to W4 and UE900 which is very good.

COMFORT/FIT/ISOLATION: You can run a marathon with FA-4 and forget they are in you ears. Or you can shake your head for one hour that it wont move With CK100PRO although the excellent isolation I find myself constantly trying to find the best fit. Not sure if my ears are the problem but my guess is the fat shell somehow interferes when inserting the phone in the ears.

SOUND:

CK100PRO: Very detailed, brighter, bigger soundstage, extended highs (may be slightly sibilant or harsh for some), unforgiving for poor source material, better mids and definetly a not a basshead phone (some may find it weak). More suitable for classical, vocal and ambience music and quality recordings. In a way, it reminded me FI-BA-SS.

FA-4: Warmer, shier mids in comparison but not recessed for my taste, excellent highs not so extended but never sibilant. Bass is deeper but controlled. Overall an amazing overall phone that should please most people. More suitable in comparison to dance, pop, rock etc.

My source was AK120 no amp and flac songs. In my opinion they are different sounding phones but very good in their respective sound signatures.

Cheers..

 

[music_4321]

Thanks for your comparison, sect44.

I'd like to make a few comments, though.
 
First, as noted already, I don't own, and never have heard, the CK100 Pros, but do own the FI-BA-SS which apparently seem to share a few sonic characteristics with the ATHs.

I'm generally reluctant to speak of genres for phones and, instead, often prefer to speak of recording and/or mastering quality. Also, and kind of related, I always find it wrong and rather amusing that people tend to recommend bass-heavy phones for bass-heavy music/genres — aren't we adding extra bass to an already bass-heavy genre? Funny we don't see people recommending bright-sounding phones for bright-sounding music.

Anyway, I find that the FA4s won't always be that suitable with some classical orchestral works, but it will be fine with others (again, this largely depends on recording/mastering type and chosen volume levels). However, on chamber music and solo works (violin, piano, etc.) I find they do extremely well. They also perform brilliantly with jazz.

The FA4's layering is superb and this allows for a sound that is not congested, something phones like the W4, UM3X, SE530 / SE535, the old CK100, and even the SD-2 can exhibit. This layering presents a very believable soundstage, the sound is full, with authority, but not excessive which might easily lead to fatigue after 20-30 mins—this is an IEM I find it remains consistently exciting and engaging.

Fischer Amps have tuned this IEM really, really well. This is not a musicians' monitor (though I guess it could still be used by some musicians, too) or a so-called reference type of IEM; this is a great IEM that presents music very realistically and sounds remarkably close to $1,000+ TOTL IEMs; ordinary, no-nonsense people—people who have not been contaminated by plenty of audiophile nonsense, BS and silly biases often seen in forums of this nature—would even choose the FA4s over some of those much more expensive IEMs — people who also love music and good sound (more likely people who love / appreciate music more than gear and fancy audiophile jargon).

If I personally could only have one IEM and could spend 500€-600€ max, today the FA-4 would be my number one choice, without a doubt: comfort is second to none, and SQ is absolutely brilliant—and it comes with a standard Westone-type removable cable, which only after FitEar's removable cables, are still my favourite (and even FitEar cables are more microphonic and unruly!).

 

[sect44]

Music

Just to clarify: When I suggested that FA-4 would be more suitable to bassy songs, I did it exclusively in comparison to CK100PRO and not as a general rule which definetly is not the case.
And thanks for your observations which are much more deep and detailed.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Music

Just to clarify: When I suggested that FA-4 would be more suitable to bassy songs, I did it exclusively in comparison to CK100PRO and not as a general rule which definetly is not the case.
And thanks for your observations which are much more deep and detailed.

 
Just to clarify, too, I wasn't referring to you. I was thinking more of the hundreds of times, for instance, I've seen people recommending the IE8 or other bass-heavy phones for things like rap / hip hop.

 

[Cecala]

Thank you sect44 for that comparison, food for thought.
Would you say as others here have said that the mid bass ever so small creeps into the mid range and if so to what extent?
(That was a mouth full).
 

 

[Kurdt-bada]

Thanks for your impressions sect44 and very good post by music too, i have to agree that coming from balanced iems the soundstage of the amps is unique.