Latest Thread Images

FitEar TO GO! & Universal Series --- Suyama's custom IEM, made universal!
Aug 13, 2012 at 8:28 PM Post #676 of 4,896
None of the phones I have render these three tracks with as much authority as the 334s. The drumming is simply spectacular. EXCELLENT midrange, too. Nothing sounds congested at all -- remarkable. Superb imaging.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXpaYa7zxgY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF752IDDqNE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0knXXImMXPQ
 
Aug 13, 2012 at 8:41 PM Post #677 of 4,896
 I have tried 4 IEM's recently and 3 IEM's that I currently own (I didn't buy the AKG K3003
not because it's not an excellent phone but because of its price/ performance that I like) :
Fitear togo 334, PF VIII, FI-BA-SB, AKG K3003.   They are all comfortable comparing to the CIEM's
that I cannot stand.  The isolation is quite good except the PF VIII.   I didn't purchase the PF IX or X
or FI-BA-SS because of the price.  If I know that the Fitear togo 111 is as good as the 334   I may go for
the 111 at that time.  Out of the 4 IEM's that I have tried I prefer the 334 and PF VIII and will keep those
because 334 fits all genre of music that I like while the PF VIII has a seducing, euphoric mid . The FI-BA-SB
and AKG K3003 are excellent with several genre of music but didn't impress me much with the rock music.
When I played David Gilmore : Live in Gdansk  the FI-BA-SB treble is much too bright for me while the 
dynamicity and the bass impact of the AKG K3003 is not enough for me.  Of course this is a comparison
between the 334 which is the top of its line while the FI-BA-SB and PF VIII are not.
 
Aug 14, 2012 at 2:12 PM Post #678 of 4,896
A few random comments:

--  Loved the very austere, no-nonsense 334 packaging. You only get what you really need.

--  The 334 comes with what I regard as the best, most appropriate carrying case for an item of this nature, a 1010 Pelican case. By contrast, my Westone ES3X came in a fairly large and impractical Pelican case. 3.5 years ago, soon after I got my ES3X, I bought the very same case (same colour even) that comes with the 334s. I use my other 1010 case for my K3003s these days.

--  The cable on the 334s is indeed microphonic and lacks flexibility, BUT build quality is simply superb and made to last many years. The headphone jack is simply the best I've ever come across. Although a Westone-type cable is a lot less microphonic and way more flexible, you can tell the 334 cable is much more expensive, and of (much) better quality

--  The housings, as noted by several people already, are very large, though not as large as those on my ES3X. They do stick out quite a bit, but not horribly so. BUT, if aesthetics is important to you, the 334s will not get you a hot date, unless that hot date happens to be a geek.

--  The 334s isolate very, very well. I think the larger housings may also help get slightly more isolation than I get with my 111s, which isolate very well already.

--  These IEMs are more comfortable than I thought. Judging by all the photos I'd seen online, I always wondered just how comfortable the 334s would be. They are indeed very comfortable. I think I have fairly average-sized ears, ie not too big or too small. I'm using the exact same tips I've been using with my 111s, the stock medium single flange tips.

--  Workmanship, as is the case with the 111s, is absolutely superb -- attention to detail is to be found in every aspect of this IEM.
 
--  The 334s are very, very easily driven.

--  Low volume listening --even at the lowest setting on my 4G Touch (1 out of 16)-- is excellent on the 334s. Hats off to FitEar in that department.

--  Having spent more time with the 334s, I can say that SQ-wise they are an exceptional IEM. These IEMs have been wonderfully, carefully and masterfully tuned.
 
--  Although I don't quite agree with a couple of people's claims that the 334s are very wide and open-sounding, they certainly do not sound that much in-your-head -- this, as is often the case, is very recording-dependent. However, detail retrieval and imaging are indeed excellent, and this helps make the whole presentation (still coming from your head) sound very, very appealing, and not 'severely' boxed-in. Please note I often find claims of a very wide soundstage and 3D type descriptions to be quite exaggerated. That said, for a multi-BA IEM, I've not heard one that comes close to the 334. Note I said "multi-BA" because I find the single-BA based FI-BA-SS to be in a class of its own.

--  Instrument realism, ie tone or timbre is, for the most part, very impressive, and certainly one of the 334's strong suits. However, I've yet to hear an IEM that renders low frequencies with the quality, refinement and realism of the one and only EX1000. The K3003 often comes close to the EX1000, and sometimes matches it, but the EX1000 is quite unique in that particular area. The FI-BA-SS also gets close to the Sonys. But, the 334's bass is very, VERY competent. At this level of refinement things may seem worse/better than they may seem from my descriptions.
 
--  The 334s may have the best mids & treble combined, ie perhaps not the best treble alone, and not the best mids alone, but the best when both combined -- absolutely remarkable balance.
 
Aug 16, 2012 at 8:52 AM Post #680 of 4,896
just tested on jaben hongkong
the 334 is amazing. i never know an UIEM could sounds like this. beware this is just an impression 
my setup was:
ipod classic
headstage arrow
and some jaben no brand silver LOD
 
the mids the bass.by gandalf's beard! they are awesome.they bass doesn't cover the mids.the mids are forward ,lush.the treble the details! 
the bass has a powerful punch and impact.but not overpowering
 
the confort.yes this factor.i thought i would be heavy and bulky.but turns out it was very comfotable.
 
sound isolation.
i listen this with 30 volume in my amp.and even as my sister is yelling to go home.i cant hear a thing.Incredible!
 
i would like to thank the jaben hongkong team for lending me the 334.
Soon i will need to stuck up money back at my pillow for this baby!
 
Aug 16, 2012 at 5:26 PM Post #681 of 4,896
Some interesting thoughts in regards to the 111 music. I would have thought that the 334 would mop the floor with the 111. I hope to be able to hear a pair of the fitears one of these days. The 334, 111 and forthcoming AS2 are the only phones on my radar these days
 
Aug 17, 2012 at 9:19 AM Post #682 of 4,896
Quote:
idsynchrono_24 said:
Some interesting thoughts in regards to the 111 music. I would have thought that the 334 would mop the floor with the 111. I hope to be able to hear a pair of the fitears one of these days. The 334, 111 and forthcoming AS2 are the only phones on my radar these days
Click to expand...

 
Contrary to what's been said in this thread (and elsewhere), I believe that, if anything, it is the 111 that needs better recordings / (re)masters to show its true potential.

The 111 is an analytic phone, and more revealing than the 334 and most other phones I've heard, or put another way: the 111 is less forgiving of poor recordings / (re)masters, so, this alone will automatically make it less appealing than the 334 to most people. Let's face it, most people, even those who buy these (extraordinarily) expensive phones, listen to poor recordings / (re)masters even when said albums are in lossless formats and they add expensive aftermarket cables, DAPs, amps, DACs, etc.

So, I can easily see where many more people will think the 334 will wipe the floor with the 111, yes -- and even, at times, with the somewhat 'vilified' K3003. But I'm quite convinced the same could be said of other highly-regarded, often hyped IEMs, in my view, (JH16, JH13, ES5, MG6Pro, Miracle, Merlin, and some of those esoteric IEMs average_joe reviews), ie "there's nothing like them, all the more when you listen to lossless files, add expensive aftermarket cables, DAPs, amps", and so on). But hey, I'd be told, no doubt --perhaps quite rightly so-- that I haven't heard such 'amazing' custom IEMs, amps, cables, etc. (though I have myself tried lossless files, several amps, cables & LODs and NOT been impressed, though obviously I've not tried those very special ones some people will say make all the difference in the world).

Having said that, the 334 is indeed a fantastic IEM --no question about that-- and performs very well with some --not all-- very good recordings / (re)masters --- I'd easily take it over my ES3X, W4, UM3X, TF10, CK100, and the not so great, IMO, SE530, SE535, and specially over the mediocre SM3. If I personally had to choose only one IEM between the 334 & 111, I might very well choose the 334 because, on the whole, it renders more music more convincingly, or put another way, it is a better all-rounder.

I believe more people would prefer the 334 over the K3003 and FI-BA-SS for the reasons stated above -- AND others not worth going into here, but equally valid.
 
Aug 17, 2012 at 10:29 PM Post #683 of 4,896
Quote:
music_4321 said:
 
Contrary to what's been said in this thread (and elsewhere), I believe that, if anything, it is the 111 that needs better recordings / (re)masters to show its true potential.

The 111 is an analytic phone, and more revealing than the 334 and most other phones I've heard, or put another way: the 111 is less forgiving of poor recordings / (re)masters, so, this alone will automatically make it less appealing than the 334 to most people. Let's face it, most people, even those who buy these (extraordinarily) expensive phones, listen to poor recordings / (re)masters even when said albums are in lossless formats and they add expensive aftermarket cables, DAPs, amps, DACs, etc.

So, I can easily see where many more people will think the 334 will wipe the floor with the 111, yes -- and even, at times, with the somewhat 'vilified' K3003. But I'm quite convinced the same could be said of other highly-regarded, often hyped IEMs, in my view, (JH16, JH13, ES5, MG6Pro, Miracle, Merlin, and some of those esoteric IEMs average_joe reviews), ie "there's nothing like them, all the more when you listen to lossless files, add expensive aftermarket cables, DAPs, amps", and so on). But hey, I'd be told, no doubt --perhaps quite rightly so-- that I haven't heard such 'amazing' custom IEMs, amps, cables, etc. (though I have myself tried lossless files, several amps, cables & LODs and NOT been impressed, though obviously I've not tried those very special ones some people will say make all the difference in the world).

Having said that, the 334 is indeed a fantastic IEM --no question about that-- and performs very well with some --not all-- very good recordings / (re)masters --- I'd easily take it over my ES3X, W4, UM3X, TF10, CK100, and the not so great, IMO, SE530, SE535, and specially over the mediocre SM3. If I personally had to choose only one IEM between the 334 & 111, I might very well choose the 334 because, on the whole, it renders more music more convincingly, or put another way, it is a better all-rounder.

I believe more people would prefer the 334 over the K3003 and FI-BA-SS for the reasons stated above -- AND others not worth going into here, but equally valid.
Click to expand...

Well reasoned and articulated. I agree with those points you put forth. I have very little experience in the area of amping myself, my only forays into the field being with the Little Dot II and the Leckerton UHA-6S  MKII, but I certainly couldn't discern enough of a difference whilst using the Leckerton over my iPhone 4 to justify keeping it. I could certainly notice a subtle shifting of the sound stage on the ES5s, it felt like perhaps there was a touch more space between instruments, and at times I felt like perhaps the bass had more presence, but I could easily chalk that up to placebo and the expectations that come with listening to a product I spent $300 on. This isn't meant to disparage anyone else's experience with higher end gear, just mentioning that I share your POV on the matter. 
 
And from your observations, I myself would likely gravitate towards the 334 myself, given that, as you stated, most of my modern recordings aren't really up to snuff. I tend to prefer a euphonic experience over a wholly technically accurate one myself, and all the more if it's a phone that wouldn't make me cringe by endlessly pointing out the glaring flaws in the bulk of my recordings. 
 
Aug 18, 2012 at 10:33 AM Post #687 of 4,896
Here's the 334s doing their thang brilliantly:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJw0fB16aM

(NOTE: to those who may think I love "prog" rock (because of some of my recent posts), please let me say that I find most prog boring --dead boring, in fact-- empty, self-indulgent and pretentious, often the works of those who may play a musical instrument reasonably well but who cannot create real music, but merely come up with seemingly good cerebral exercises which amount, to these ears, to music with absolutely no substance whatsoever. I cannot personally stand most music by ELP, The Nice, Yes, Rush, Dream Theater, etc....and even a fair share of music by Pink Floyd [I do love Animals, though]. I think punk rock was a blessing of sorts, if only to provoke a shock in what was becoming something pretty embarrassing in popular music and culture).
 
Aug 18, 2012 at 12:09 PM Post #688 of 4,896
48989aed-be01-8427.jpg

48989aed-be24-d897.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 5 (members: 0, guests: 5)
Back
Top