[kjk1281]

Apparently a free FAD Piano Forte comes with the latest edition of an annual Japanese headphone catalog.
 

 
Not sure about whether this is a limited time deal or if this comes with every copy.  It's interesting that this is the "Piano Forte" and not the "Piano Forte II," though I'm not sure if that makes a difference.
 
Amazon.co.jp： ヘッドフォンブック 2011 ‾音楽ファンのための最新ヘッドフォン&イヤフォン140モデル徹底ガイド‾(CDジャーナルムック): 本

 

[f4phantom2500]

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://ilovecomp.blog135.fc2.com/blog-entry-247.html&ei=GjAHTeDQF8WonQeG85jlDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbuy%2B%2522headphone%2Bbook%2B2011%2522%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DDOR%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26prmd%3Div
 
interesting
 
 
also:
 
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.livedoor.jp%2Fdigitalaudiomania%2Farchives%2F3831215.html&lp=ja_en&btnTrUrl=Translate
 

 

[kjk1281]

 
低価格でナイスなイヤホンPart79

 

[Dekimasu]

I've heard that they are different, soundwise, from the Piano Forte II. Not having listened to them, I'm not sure what the specific differences are, although the magazine+Piano Forte is 2000 yen and the Piano Forte II are generally going for around 3000 yen.

 

[kjk1281]

Quote:

I've heard that they are different, soundwise, from the Piano Forte II. Not having listened to them, I'm not sure what the specific differences are, although the magazine+Piano Forte is 2000 yen and the Piano Forte II are generally going for around 3000 yen.

That's what I would think too, but actual comparisons seem to be rare.  There are some blogs though that seem to point to them being more similar than not.
 
T.Kamo de Tokyo : 「ヘッドフォンブック2011」特典　PIANO FORTE レビュー
This review states that while there are slight differences in the sound, mainly the "I" being a bit more lively and the "II" having fuller mids and more mild-mannered overall, the overall conclusion is that the differences are related to burn-in (or lack thereof on the "I") and that they are pretty much the same.
 
あゆた屋 ヘッドフォンブック２０１１の付録、PianoForte
The blogger in this post couldn't tell the difference between the two.
 
Now these comparisons most likely weren't conducted scientifically (i.e. with a double-blind test), but it's enough for me to at least question the reports that the two earphones are different.
 
One last note: the following is a graph of the two earphones.  While a similar frequency response doesn't necessary mean the same sound, this is sufficient for me to at least consider the possibility that they use the same transducers.
 

 
Final audio design PIANO FORTE II FI-DC1550M1

 

[JeFFz]

anyone knows if we could order this magazine internationally?

 

[kjk1281]

 
I've had these for just a few days now.  First impressions: these are very unique.  Not sure what else to say at this point.