@surfgeorge Ok, finally have some time for a short review. It's my first time writing a proper impression post longer than a few sentences so bear with me.
Construction & Accessories:
I was first surprised by how compact the packaging was; it was literally just a palm-sized square box with everything packed in tightly. And by everything, I mean a set of tips, a carrying case, and the earphones themselves. You certainly don't get an abundant amount of accessories, and I'm not exactly a fan of the metal carrying case that comes with the Major--it's just too heavy for me. The cable, called the "Black Sprite", feels very solid. They are claiming that the cable is a 24AWG UPOCC cable, which retails separately for around $400; The only complaint I have about the cable is that it feels a bit shorter than some other stock IEM cables I've used before.
Overall the earphone has a very solid construction, and the finish is in fact more of a Champagne color than gold. Another notable highlight about this IEM is that it can be worn very comfortably, which is surprising given that it doesn't have the smallest or lightest profile as the Xelento has. I have not once had to take the Major out of my ears because they started getting uncomfortable, and I only have medium-small sized ears. I can confidently say that out of all the IEMs that I owned/tried, the Major is the one that fits the best.
Sound:
Now for the more important part of this post. How does the Major sound? Well, first of all, I have to admit that it's not the earphones that I'm looking for classical/classical vocals. But it doesn't mean I dislike these brilliant earphones.
The bass on the Major has good depth and a slow roll-off, but it doesn't attack as much or bleed into the mid-range as the Xelento does; it's somewhat diffused so that it doesn't sound as aggressive as a tighter bass can be. The mid-range vocal is definitely not forward, and my impression of listening to operatic vocal tracks with the Major is that the singer is no doubt singing behind the orchestra.
Ok, now I have to talk about the soundstage of the Major. I mean holy **** this is some serious holographic imaging we're talking about here. It's simply a ridiculously open soundstage that spreads the music in the air; I think live-recordings will really benefit from the Major's ability to produce such an incredible stage with just a single DD. Nevertheless, the soundstage can also be a problem when listening to studio recordings, as the Major can create a feeling of space and distance whereas there shouldn't be. I think this may be why the vocal is recessed with the Major, as the voices are not focused enough due to the diffusion of sound.
I wouldn't say the Major is a very detail-oriented or "reference" level IEM because it's just too smooth, and some of the details are sacrificed to achieve that level of smoothness. I think when the people at FAudio designed the Major, they tuned it specifically in such a way that it's more fun and casual to listen to, rather than giving it a serious analytical sound. The Major is, therefore, able to produce a very "emotional" sound that I think is maybe better suited for pop-music, just not classical if you're looking for BA like details and analytical tuning.
In the end, even though the Major is not exactly the earphones I'm looking for, I will definitely keep it over my Xelento and Andromeda for casual listening/listening to relax. If I have to rate it out of 10, I think it deserves a solid 8 out of 10. I'm taking off two points mostly because I ended up paying a little more for these than what it retails for, but overall a very nice IEM (better if you can get it cheaply
).
