[Kurdt-bada]

Time to cook some meth then xD

Meanwhile these guys... http://richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com

 

[Cecala]

  The IE800 is anything but "hifi." It's what the market wants - but our community never was about fitting in with the market. If you want to praise Sennheiser, I gladly show you the direction to Amazon, but our niche market (professionals and hifi-enthusiasts) would not seriously want to pay that kind of money for the flawed IE800.

 
I'm not taking sides here although from the many opinions I've read about these phones, to me at least, they sound like souped up IE8's which I had at one stage and in the end hated.
 

......................... It's statements like yours that make audiophiles look like elitist dou ches.

You might not like his statement although for better or worse our hobby is elitist. How many people buy stuff by brand for the bragging rights. How many people buy what ever is the FOTM so they can be with the 'in crowd'? How many people walk around and see someone else with inferior gear and think to themselves 'mine is better'? That's elitist. Then again there's nothing wrong with having pride with ones own gear.

 

[MoonYeol]

Well. If I did like most people here and bought a pair of Beats Solo I'd consider myself being part of the in- crowd. Instead I'm using iems that nobody has ever even heard of. Let alone has any idea of what they cost. Well, my closest friends know about the cost just because they're curious. But hey, they spend more money on concert tickets or collecting games.

I get a bit sad when I see all the Beats, iPhone last-gen buds and Samsung Hs330 or Skullcandy on ears. Even a single iem with cable over the ears makes me smile a bit and go "oooh, wonder what that is".

I try not to buy what's popular here for the sake of it being popular. I want to hear different things, experience multiple perspectives of music and I want to try things that are considered good value at their price point.

What is good value anyway?

I would NEVER buy the IE800. For me straight down cable is a big no. Non-replaceable cables as well. I want something that goes a bit deeper into my ears. Being able to say, "Yeah this is the best iem thay Sennheiser has ever made" simply isn't enough.

But hey, everybody is entitled to their opinion. I do however consider myself a pragmatic person who, while being moderatly conscious about appeal, value performance and usability over image. I like to believe that's one of the main reasons we hang around here; chasing whatever is supposed to give us the best listening experience at the price point, taking into consideration our own preferences. Then there are sort of the more circumstantial requests such as "need something that's absolutely not cable over ear with good isolation for my 1 hour bus ride every day" or "I need an open back headphone or earbud so that I can still hear if my kids wake up screaming, needs to have good bass and smooth treble". That's what I think Head-fi is about. Not creating hypes around "hey, Mr X, Mrs Y and that band are using that headphone, I want it too".

And yes, you may call it elitist. But if I'm going to buy a camera, I want something that's small, has exchangable lenses and a hot shoe for external flashes. I don't think most people consider that elitist or that I want to have a 17" laptop because I don't have any stationary computer. I think it's mainly considered conscious rather than elitist to say "I have $1k to spend on a laptop, I want the best performance I can get."

It's just that it's a niche hobby. Something many don't understand. Collecting art would be different, enjoying cognac would make you a connoisseur. But I'm as intrigued by how people can tell the difference between the age of a Highland Park as I assume many are about hearing the difference between Gr07, Ex1000 and Ex800.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

Dissertations apart 'to me' the fa 4e are by far the best value since I've started my iem adventure, that's why I'm so enthusiastic sometimes...another reason is that they are relatively unknown, over these years I've spent money on fotm iems like the 535, um3x, sm3v2 and ex1000 to find that one of the most unknown iems around here coming from a german brand called fischer amps really deserve the claim of top tier in their price range. 

Considering the good they sound to me with custom tips and my budget fiio cable (believe it or no they really sound much better to me than the other iems mented above), the awesome fit and isolation, detachable cables...the only thing I miss a bit  is a more luxurious build quality but with 3 years of warranty I can simply say it's the end of the road for me in some time...but it's my case, my taste my needs and my personal preference at the end, with the other iems mented above always felt something was missing in the sound but it's not the fa 4e xb case. So why don't enjoy instead of spend more money?

 

 

[esuhgb]

Just ordered a pair of these. Description of the sound signature is what I think I  am looking for. Hope I like them.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

Hope you do, not sure if you will like em as much as me but hope so too    

If you use headphones gaming also the fa 4e works great

 

[esuhgb]

Ha, me too, been looking for an upgrade to my ie80's. Was looking for an iem with less mid bass, clearer mids, more extended treble and with better isolation, and these seem to fit the bill. Now just have to wait and find out when they arrive.

 

[sect44]

By your description, I guess you are spot on. Being a former IE80 owner, I guess you made the right decision...

 

[esuhgb]

My amps got delivered today . I must say I am really impressed with Thomann's service. Ordered on Monday, posted on Tuesday, and I got them today. Really quick turn around. Plus 1 to them.
 
Listening to them now, after using the ie80's which have poor isolation, these are rather scary with how well they isolate. Comfort is pretty good so far, get a really good fit with the medium silicone tips. But have a feeling my ears might get tired after a while due to the tight fit. Time will tell. These are really sensitive, more so than my ie80's.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

try the foams in medium to me they sound better with them and are more comfortable, less isolation though

 

[esuhgb]

I just tried the medium foams, and they are less comfortable for me cause they are a bit too big and are too tight a fit. They hurt my ears. I prefer the sound from the silicone tips, its more exciting

, the foams seem to reduce the treble a bit.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

First sound impressions? XD

 

[Cecala]

 

  I just tried the medium foams, and they are less comfortable for me cause they are a bit too big and are too tight a fit. They hurt my ears. I prefer the sound from the silicone tips, its more exciting

, the foams seem to reduce the treble a bit.

 

  My amps got delivered today . I must say I am really impressed with Thomann's service. Ordered on Monday, posted on Tuesday, and I got them today. Really quick turn around. Plus 1 to them.
 
Listening to them now, after using the ie80's which have poor isolation, these are rather scary with how well they isolate. Comfort is pretty good so far, get a really good fit with the medium silicone tips. But have a feeling my ears might get tired after a while due to the tight fit. Time will tell. These are really sensitive, more so than my ie80's.

 
 
Really, how about the sound quality man!!!

 

[esuhgb]

Am no good at giving impressions, but will try, so please take them with a grain of salt. My set up is ipod touch 4th gen - venturecraft go dap dd 12v le(muses02) - apex glacier - fa4exb
 
Bass has good presence and extends deep without ever being overpowering. It is well controlled. Mids are clear and vocals are forward compared to my ie80's. Instrument separation is also better, makes rock more enjoyable.  Treble has enough sparkle without sounding sibilant. Has more presence than my ie80's but don't seem to sound as natural (could be cause they are ba's)? They are more detailed than my ie80's. Soundstage is not as wide as the ie80's.
 
Build quality of the shells and comfort are really good. Not a fan of the cable, much prefer the one on the ie80's. Please note my ie80's have been moded with the tape mod and bass dial is set to the middle.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

it seems you are enjoying them 

  
 
would you say soundstage is not as wide but also not that far?  treble is pretty well extended in the fa 4e, if you are not used to this it could sound a bit unnatural the first hours it happened to me coming from the sm3 v2