[Cecala]

 
 
 

 
Very proficient and well written review. Thank you.
 
"If I could only own one of these iems, I think I would pick the UE900. Not because it sounds better but because it's just effortless. Plug it in, raise the volume (because of the impedance adapter) and enjoy. Enjoy a fantastic, boring, sort of bland sound that makes you focus on what's in the music and not what you just shoved into your ears. Because that's really what all this is about isn't it?"
Very wise words spoken. People here are in this constant race to get the latest gear (and be part of the cool crowd)that they forget to listen and enjoy after all the music.
 
 
I think from what you're written and from what I've read about the Fishers, is that you might very much in the end prefer the Fa 4 above all else. Time will tell.
Just speculation on my part.
Nice pictures by the way, small and strategically placed for effect.

 

[shotgunshane]

I received the loaner FA-4 over the weekend.

I really like the design of these to sit flush in the ear and while they are comfortable, the raised area that goes into the concha never lets me forget it is there. It kind of reminds me how the original ASG-1 was formed but to a lesser extent. Other than smoothing that raised area down a bit for greater comfort and forget-ability, I think the shell design is a great idea and would love to see it become more popular with multi-armature designs.

Sound wise, the first description that popped into my head was- crisp, clear and clean, like a cool drink of water. The frequency response is kind of a large shallow U for me. Perhaps a baby 1+2 if you will but the 1+2 has a much bigger bass and treble emphasis in comparison. The FA-4 has a 6db bass boost around 100hz and below. It’s very tastefully done and since it is so low, there is no coloration on the midrange and no enhanced warmth like a Westone or Earsonics universals. Then there is a modest treble boost up top, around 6k, that gives it that sense of crispness and clarity. It also has very nice treble extension beyond 10k. Due to the treble articulation and clarity, I find detail retrieval to be very good.

Soundstage wise, I find them to have adequate or average width for a multi-armature; wider than many dynamic drivers too but not as wide as the multi-armature W4 and TF10. Height is well proportioned to width and depth is adequate as well; nothing lacking and nothing overly grand to my ears. Perhaps my only real criticism is in the treble timbre- while having great clarity and articulation, its timbre can seem a typical of many armature designs. It’s certainly not a deal killer but worth noting.

I could easily recommend the FA-4 over universals like the W4, SM64, SM3 and other similar offerings, especially if someone is looking for something that’s not as warmed up as those mentioned, with large midbass and/or scooped upper mids. That being said, those do have their fans due to the lush and euphonic vocals they can offer and the FA-4 can certainly seem somewhat cool in temperature next to them but the balanced and open sound of the FA-4 is more accurate and revealing over the broader spectrum.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

Thanks for your impressions!
 
 I agree the fa are more revealing than any of my other iems, they also keep a touch of fun(in the bass and highs) than iems like the 535 doesn't have or iems like the um3x or sm3 v2 do but not as good. But as you said to me  sound is principally detailed, clean and crisp anyway bass is no lacking in anyway with great punch when needed and very deep.  Fischer amps have found the best balance between clarity, detail, extension and fun that I have heard.
 
Quote:

Soundstage wise, I find them to have adequate or average width for a multi-armature; wider than many dynamic drivers too but not as wide as the multi-armature W4 and TF10. 

To my ears soundstage is wide with great instrument separation, I've spent two years using daily the sony ex1000 and the sm3 v2 and still think the fa are not far to the ex 1000 in spaciousness, but I have to say that separation is far better in the fa and  without a doubt more spacious and coherent than iems like the sm3 or westone's um3x in fact i find these balanced iems lacking in many regards compared to the fa 4e, perhaps my brain is too intoxicated by the fa 4e sound, on the other hand I'm not as good as you guys describing iems 

 

 

[MoonYeol]

Damn you.. stop making me want to buy them so much..

 

[Kurdt-bada]

I think from what you're written and from what I've read about the Fishers, is that you might very much in the end prefer the Fa 4 above all else. Time will tell.

Cecalla dropped the bomb xD

 

[Cecala]

................Cecala dropped the bomb xD

 
 

 

[Kurdt-bada]

I'm going to temp you a bit more 

 
 
If I could only own one of these iems, I think I would pick the UE900. Not because it sounds better but because it's just effortless. Plug it in, raise the volume (because of the impedance adapter) and enjoy. Enjoy a fantastic, boring, sort of bland sound that makes you focus on what's in the music and not what you just shoved into your ears. Because that's really what all this is about isn't it?"
 
Comparation between ue900 and fa 4e xb by sect44:


These IEMs are growing on me everyday. Just made an A/B comparison with UE900 using only AK120 and flac as the source and can surely say they are clearly superior.
I'll only describe the differences briefly because there's plenty of information about the general sound signature in the respectives threads.

At first listening the first impression is that their sound signature is very similar, but the Fischer does everything better, more bass and highs and more pronounced mids, more detailed and overall better soundstage.
It seemed Fischer is UE900 bigger brother
I'm not saying UE900 is a bad phone all, on the contrary, is the clothest to the Fischer"s sound to date, just not so engaging, I just dont feel so connected to the music as with the FA-4.
I always thought UE900 bass was lacking and the Fischer seems to solve it.

 

[MoonYeol]

Hmm. I just hope that it wasn't a pair of stock UE900. Because I would almost pick Vsonic VC02 over UE900 stock purely because of the sound signature. I don't like the veiled mids and kind of bloated bass on stock UE900. But if Shotgunshane described the FA-4E as a glass of cold water, that's exactly what I'm looking for. But I'm really, really, really curious as to how they sound. And given the very generous 30 days return on Thomann I'll give these a try for sure. Just need to save up some cash.

 

[Ultrazino]

The sound signature is not similar at all.
 
UE900's bass is among the tightest, quickest and most linear I have heard from all universals. You definitely need to use an EQ to get the bloat out of FA4 and even then I am not sure if it matches the same quality. The UE has some very precise and non-overpowering subbass.
The mids of UE900 are sadly veiled. They take some energy and life out of female voices - but they are still front row where they belong. FA4 has them put in the back. They are basically warm with accentuated presence peak and overtones. Male voices sound warm and female voices sound bright. To my ears, neither UE900 nor FA4 sound either neutral or natural.
Whereas UE900 has recessed treble, FA4 brings them to the front. It's what you continue to call "clean and crisp", but I think your mind tricks you there. FA4's treble sounds much better if you EQ it down.
 
Even though FA4 have a wider soundstage, I would say that UE900 were the bigger brother of FA4 because it sounds much more mature, drier and relaxed. The FA4 is quite aggressive next to UE900, without sounding less BA-like or more cohesive.
I don't think sect's findings are worth quoting, IMO.
 
The UE900 is a very good IEM - it suffers from the unsteady quality control and mostly from a "new is always better" mentality. The UE900 really deserved some more attention.

 

[Ultrazino]

bloated bass on stock UE900

 
Oh, yes, I almost forgot about the weird bore design. Yes, that's probably a deal killer for some.

 

[MoonYeol]

I actually think it's rather brilliant. Let people who have the time and energy cover that hole up and add the airline adapter get a neutral sound, And let the others have a mainstream, bassy, soft sound.

 

[shotgunshane]

UE900 has linear bass? I guess after the 10db boost at 500hz it stays fairly linear until 60hz, when it gently rolls off. But then that boost isn't my idea of linear. However it appears of you block the pinhole and add 100ohms of resistance, it will have very linear, non boosted bass. Treble extension looks very nice too and should be much more audible after those mods. I wouldn't mind hearing it with those mods in place.

 

[MoonYeol]

  The sound signature is not similar at all.
 
UE900's bass is among the tightest, quickest and most linear I have heard from all universals. You definitely need to use an EQ to get the bloat out of FA4 and even then I am not sure if it matches the same quality. The UE has some very precise and non-overpowering subbass.
The mids of UE900 are sadly veiled. They take some energy and life out of female voices - but they are still front row where they belong. FA4 has them put in the back. They are basically warm with accentuated presence peak and overtones. Male voices sound warm and female voices sound bright. To my ears, neither UE900 nor FA4 sound either neutral or natural.
Whereas UE900 has recessed treble, FA4 brings them to the front. It's what you continue to call "clean and crisp", but I think your mind tricks you there. FA4's treble sounds much better if you EQ it down.
 
Even though FA4 have a wider soundstage, I would say that UE900 were the bigger brother of FA4 because it sounds much more mature, drier and relaxed. The FA4 is quite aggressive next to UE900, without sounding less BA-like or more cohesive.
I don't think sect's findings are worth quoting, IMO.
 
The UE900 is a very good IEM - it suffers from the unsteady quality control and mostly from a "new is always better" mentality. The UE900 really deserved some more attention.

 
I would say stock UE900 is bloated, rather slow for a BA and not AT ALL linear. However with adapter and blocked pinhole it's not bloated at all but pretty linear. Still not the fastest but instead sounds pretty natural and a bit less clinical. The sub bass on UE900 takes a back seat to the mid bass if you don't have an adapter and blocked hole. The mids are indeed veiled if unmodified. But I don't really agree on opinions on bass. If you're referring to modded UE900 then I agree but with stock that's far from what I hear.

 

[MoonYeol]

UE900 has linear bass? I guess after the 10db boost at 500hz it stays fairly linear until 60hz, when it gently rolls off. But then that boost isn't my idea of linear. However it appears of you block the pinhole and add 100ohms of resistance, it will have very linear, non boosted bass. Treble extension looks very nice too and should be much more audible after those mods. I wouldn't mind hearing it with those mods in place.

What I should've written. Yeah, it's actually pretty nice with the mods. Very boring. In a good way.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

sect has his own opinion as valid as yours is that you prefer that kind of sound and sect prefer the other kind of sound, as I said I'm not as good as you describing iems but my ears tell me that the fa4e sounds quite better than my other expensive gear and i don't need to describe using frequencies or audiophiles terms... is as simple as this
 
 On the other hand I share with zino that the amps are full of energy he says quite agressive, i also share with shotgunshane that the fa has less coloration in the sound due the detail and clarity and to me they are more loyal to the recording and real sounding than other iems in the price range... but they also hit hard in the bass when neeeded and have more treble presence than those...