[Trebor1966]

Indeed the K3003 and the FD01/02 shares a lot in common

 

[surfgeorge]

read all the pages in the dark site as rec'd
leaning towards the ex800st because i do like neutral with clean bass emphasis.

without the mod .is the upper frequency honky or nasal or thin? or if it just really bright with a lot of sibilance?

all the discussions i read sounds a lot like the sound signature of the akg k3003

IMO the FD02 has no sibilance issue, even in stock condition, it just has a lot of mid-high frequency energy in stock tuning that get easily too much when turning up the volume. With the mod that is no issue any more. I also didn’t hear anything nasal about it. The B&W recording of “Long after you’re gone” sounds quite nasal with the Mondrop Kanas Pro, but no hint of it with the FD02.

 

[tompaz909]

Does anyone have the nozzle width? I'm hoping these are smaller than Noble's which don't fit for me.

Thanks!

 

[blacksesame]

IMO the FD02 has no sibilance issue, even in stock condition, it just has a lot of mid-high frequency energy in stock tuning that get easily too much when turning up the volume. With the mod that is no issue any more. I also didn’t hear anything nasal about it. The B&W recording of “Long after you’re gone” sounds quite nasal with the Mondrop Kanas Pro, but no hint of it with the FD02.

so.. i think you are right. was listening to long after you're gone .

kpe: sub bass is loud and great (possibly a bit much.. but it also brings a smile. haha) but the detailsin the plucking is not as detailed (or lost in the sub bass) and a bit slow. his voice has a slight nasal sounding to it. ... hmmm....

so you're saying jvc sounds real good?
how does the ex800st sound with this song?

 

[surfgeorge]

Does anyone have the nozzle width? I'm hoping these are smaller than Noble's which don't fit for me.

Thanks!

6,4mm
I have small and narrow ear canals and small conchas and am using the smallest included tips with 11mm diameter.
Works very well for me

 

[surfgeorge]

so.. i think you are right. was listening to long after you're gone .

kpe: sub bass is loud and great (possibly a bit much.. but it also brings a smile. haha) but the detailsin the plucking is not as detailed (or lost in the sub bass) and a bit slow. his voice has a slight nasal sounding to it. ... hmmm....

so you're saying jvc sounds real good?
how does the ex800st sound with this song?

Wow, that was a hard one... I had to go back and forth many times to try to nail down the differences between the EX800 and the FD02.
Also changed to other music to confirm.
They sound different, for sure, but it’s really hard to put it in words.
In terms of frequency balance, the FD02 as I have modded it now (also taped the front vent, but not sure if I will keep that) has a bit more sub bass than the EX800, more emphasis on the mids and a tad smoother treble. That brings out deep bass notes, guitar and the voice a little more. On the EX800 they are a little more embedded in all the musical elements.
The other difference is that when switching to the EX800 it feels like you take pressure off your ears and the sound becomes quite a bit more, lets call it “transparent”, like clearer and sharper. The FD02 feels a bit like you are “looking through a slightly frosted window”. But I would call it not better or worse, just different, the EX800 being more unusual, more open, the FD02 more intimate.

I don’t feel like the FD02 is giving up anything in terms of details, and the soundstage with the Nobunaga cable is also very good, almost easier to focus in on the elements compared to the EX800 which sounds like in a bigger room, with more reflections. But I’m not sure if the soundstage is actually that much bigger on the EX800.

Also, the FD02 is a little more forgiving, a bit smoother, the EX800 is (Edit: removed "a bit ruthlessly") revealing and can sound a little sharp in the treble range.

As I said, it’s really hard to draw the line, they are different but I love both.
The FD02 is a bit more relaxed, the EX800 more intense.
I hope that makes sense, was not easy to write this up...

EDIT: I think I came up with an analogy that describes the difference between these 2 IEMs!
Translating this into the world of photography:
the EX800 has a little "clarity" filter applied, meaning it has enhanced contrast between elements, which makes them clearer, but also makes the edges a bit harsher, slightly unnatural, slightly oversharpened
The FD02 is more like a "fine art print" with skillful but subtle global adjustments to enhance the effect of the image and a very fine and natural grain structure that makes the image look smoother and more natural.
Both are "photos of the same scene" with different effects applied, neither is the orignal scene

 

[HerrXRDS]

Has anyone use these on a bike? Do they catch wind?

 

[blacksesame]

EDIT: I think I came up with an analogy that describes the difference between these 2 IEMs!
Translating this into the world of photography:
the EX800 has a little "clarity" filter applied, meaning it has enhanced contrast between elements, which makes them clearer, but also makes the edges a bit harsher, slightly unnatural, slightly oversharpened
The FD02 is more like a "fine art print" with skillful but subtle global adjustments to enhance the effect of the image and a very fine and natural grain structure that makes the image look smoother and more natural.
Both are "photos of the same scene" with different effects applied, neither is the orignal scene

That's the same thoughts I had while comparing the DM6 vs KP. KP being more natural "fine art print"-with rumbly sub bass ..errr.. blacker blacks in this case? OLED vs LCD.. anywho, I'll wait more before I jump the gun on any other iems but you've definitely made me interested in FD02.

Thanks surfgeorge

 

[surfgeorge]

Has anyone use these on a bike? Do they catch wind?

I have used them (FD02) on the bike, going to work. I don't remember any wind noise, in fact I even find them a little dangerous because they isolate quite well.
My way to work is 95% bicycle trail, I would not use them in regular traffic.
The Moondrop Kanas Pro at moderate volume still allowed me to hear what was going on around me. That felt safer.

 

[Grev]

Damn sounds like I need to get the ex800 instead of all these other ones.

 

[HerrXRDS]

I have used them (FD02) on the bike, going to work. I don't remember any wind noise, in fact I even find them a little dangerous because they isolate quite well.
My way to work is 95% bicycle trail, I would not use them in regular traffic.
The Moondrop Kanas Pro at moderate volume still allowed me to hear what was going on around me. That felt safer.

I wouldn't dare to use IEMs with the traffic around here. I need something to enjoy music when I ride on the off road trails around here. What about the EX800? Have you tried those?

 

[surfgeorge]

I wouldn't dare to use IEMs with the traffic around here. I need something to enjoy music when I ride on the off road trails around here. What about the EX800? Have you tried those?

The EX800 has a big vent and are famous for being extremely sensitive to wind noise. So much so that some have stated it's only suitable for indoor use. So definitely not a good choice for the bike.

 

[surfgeorge]

Finally I found the time to do a series of test with different orientation, coverage and configuration of the MIcropore mods on the FD02

Conclusions:

1. Orientation
Contrary to an impression I had at a point, the position of the gap around the edge of the nozzle does not have an influence. I tried the 95% coverage/1 gap mod with orientation 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 when looking at the nozzle of the FD02 with the front vent hole at the 12:00 position

2. Bass boost with MP covered front vent hole
The measurements show a sliht increase of bass with this mod, but I suspect that it is not reliable in terms of actual dB increase, because it only shows 1dB gain but I can clearly hear a difference. Not a huge one, but notably, especially in the lower bass range.
It really depends on the music, sometimes I really like that additional bass, sometimes I prefer it without this mod.

3. Variations of the MP mod
I tried different percentages of coverage of the front nozzle as well as different shapes.
The single side gap with about 95% coverage looks like an excellent tuning, attenuating the 2-5 kHz range by about 5dB.
EDIT: the 95% photo below was taken earlier. That gap had a little more attenuation effect of 5-7dB —> making the gap that small or even smaller makes visual matching harder.

Reducing the coverage of the nozzle also reduces the effect as expected, but it seems to make no difference if there is one big gap on one side, a strip of MP with 2 gaps, or even 2 strips across to leave 4 holes in the MP cover. The effect seems to depend almost only on the % covered.
I also tested 100% coverage with MP tape and the effect on the fequency response is “devastating”. It is certainly possible to make needle holes into the tape before applying it to the nozzle, but I think the gap method is easier and more reliable.
Matching of the 2 earpieces:
I find that a visual match provides very good match in measurements, so the mod can be easily performed also without a microphone.

Let me know if there are any questions!

Orientation Test: no influence!


Different MP coverage:


95%

90% 2 gaps (actually rather 80%, and also shows similar attenuation as 80% single gap)

80% cross configuration



80% single gap



60% strip

 

[Mal Waldron]

Thank you for all this work, very useful! I hope I'll my pair tomorrow... Ex800 are also on the way. Have a good sunday!

 

[surfgeorge]

Thank you for all this work, very useful! I hope I'll my pair tomorrow... Ex800 are also on the way. Have a good sunday!

Looking forward to hearing about your impressions!