FitEar TO GO! & Universal Series --- Suyama's custom IEM, made universal!
Apr 15, 2012 at 3:43 AM Post #151 of 4,881
Hi all, I must say that I've not followed this thread much as when I first got into CIEMs last year, I couldn't understand why FitEar would charge so much in comparison to UE, UM, etc. & just assumed that it was typical overpriced Japanese brand. I didn't pay any attention to it till now that the Fujiya Avic Headphone May Festival is round the corner and heard there may be some sales on the MH334 universals.

So today (an hr ago, & I'm still in the vicinity typing this away at the closest Starbucks before I forget!!), I popped my head into Fujiya to have a listen at these UIEMs to see what the fuss is all about.

Whilst commuting to Fujiya, I was pretty much listening to my UM Merlins off my DX100 most of the day. I asked for the MH334 universals & spent a short but good 20-25 mins listening to them. For the immediate reaction (i.e. first 10 seconds), it was like, meh...these are warm and somewhat treble recessed. But of course judging within 10 sec is the silliest thing anyone would do & I had just popped the Merlin's off my ears.

What cam after was a jaw dropping awe. So the treble extensions aren't what I'm personally used to (Merlin's & Ed8's for a start) but then the soundstage, the imaging, & the detail all 3 hit me at the same time! The soundstage was not just w-i-d-e but deep too! And instrument separation & placement also clearly defined. I closed my eyes & I felt like I was in a hall with the stage something like 10 row in front of me. The vocals were coming from the front rather than inside my head.

Ok,my noobness about to show here but I felt like I was listening from a tube amp - warm, natural. But this is off my DX100 & I didn't think earphones could even present such kind of sound since usually it's the amp that does it.

The bass was pretty much approaching the Merlin's; which I highly respect, but didn't think BA's could get to that level. So that impressed me too.

One thing though, I will say that at least to me, these IEMs aren't all genre. I listened to Bill Joel's The Stranger & Just The Way You Are (24/192 FLAC ripped off my recently purchased SACD), Buena Vista Social Cub (24/96), & Dave Brubeck's Blue Rondo a la Turk (24/192) & they sounded brilliant. Switching over to Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow & Kenny Login's Footloose, the MH334 didn't do too well in my ears. But I think the MH334's are most comfortable with Jazz & some rock (if you classify Billy Joel as Rock). I wished I tried some Classical but didn't have time.

I should say something aout the fit. These things are big. But their isolation was better than my CIEM Merlin's. In fact for my left ear I was a little concerned it was sucked into my ear canal. I actually tried putting it on 3 times. But once in,they were comfortable. The workmanship was impeccable (but that's to be expected from Japan :wink:). To be honest, I probably prefer to save some ¥¥¥ & dispense of the Pelican-like durable case.

I usually try not to get too excited & try to present what I hear more calmly but with theMH334 off the DX100, it was hard not to get excited - especially as presented initially, I had no enthusiasm with FitEar at all. This has been a surprising but pleasant trip. Now I'm curious if they will have these on some kind of sale in the Headphone Festival in May.
 
Apr 15, 2012 at 4:01 AM Post #152 of 4,881
Thanks for posting your very interesting impressions, AnakChan, too bad you couldn't try some classical music. Since I'm a soundstage junkie, my wallet can already see the black clouds gathering on the horizon.
wink.gif

 
What exactly was the problem with Black Eyed Peas btw?
 
Apr 15, 2012 at 4:18 AM Post #153 of 4,881
I tell ya what, if I wasn't recently in-between jobs, I would have bought these on the spot. Now I'm just waiting for next month's Fujiya Festival hoping to pick these up at a discount.

I think I'm used to my Merlins that have extended highs (if you're familiar with Boom Boom Pow, it's at 10 sec onwards into the track) & the 334's just felt it was holding back there. Bear in mind I'm coming from a background of Merlin's, Ed8's, & SR-009 (driven by Benchmark DAC1) so I'm somewhat comfortable with what some would say to be "bright" headphones/dry detailed DACs.
 
Apr 15, 2012 at 6:50 AM Post #155 of 4,881
Thanks for these impressions, AnakChan! I've added a link to your post to the front page, if you don't mind!
 
Would you say the TO GO! 334 is oriented toward professional applications (like it's advertised to be)? You do seem to think it is enjoyably musical, at least with Jazz and Soft Rock... perhaps it's similar to the UERM in that it has a slight measure of dryness but can sound very good with music as well?
 
Apr 15, 2012 at 10:38 PM Post #158 of 4,881
Thx for the link to the front page @tomscy2000.
 
I have to admit that I don't know what are the qualifying factors for a pair of headphones/earphones to be classified as for professional use. As such I can't say if 334 is oriented towards professional applications, or not. If the UERMs are used as an example, I personally found them to be neutral/flat and accurate (my friend's UERMs surprisingly fit in my ears with a decent seal if I hold them in). If these are the technical factors that qualify a pair of headphones/earphones to be for professional use, then then I personally wouldn't place the 334s in that category as I personally didn't find the 334 to be considered as dry but somewhat more involving. On the other hand, if a wide soundstage and accurate instrument placement (from an audience a couple of rows from the stage) are qualifying factors, then maybe the 334 could be for professional applications.
 
 
I'm very much looking forward to Muppet's impressions of the 334's. He/she is much better and descriptive, especially in standard audio terms which most of you can relate to.
 
 
Apr 19, 2012 at 9:28 AM Post #164 of 4,881
Hahah...yes so did I :D. However, seems PriceJapan doesn't list the FitEar in their catalogue anymore. I'm patiently waiting till the May Headphone Festival & hope to pick it up there.
 

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