well, seems like not many people are active in this thread anymore...
i just bought my pair yesterday, for only 150usd, here in the philippines (7,500 in our peso currency).... just the unit only, no case, no box, no eartips. i dont worry, coz those wont give me the sound im after.
so here goes my
FIRST IMPRESSION about this iem (note: this is not a review) :
my iems as reference:
earsonic sm3
jvc fx700
ortofon eq7
ultimate ears 700
bower and wilkins c5
jvc fxd80
apple earpods
yamaha eph100
monster miles davis tributes
my headphone reference:
nad viso
harman kardon cl
bower and wilkins p3
ath es700
325is grado
source:
iphone 5c headphone out only (320kbps mp3s)
highs: (id like to inform you guys, im using only the hp out of my iphone 5c and listening to lossy to 320kbps tracks only...if i find the treble a little hot for me sometimes, it maybe due to my set up... but ill post a new note here if i listen directly to my AK10 with the iphone 5c)
well extended, sometimes a bit hot for me, but only in 1/20 tracks ive tried. it can only be heard sometimes...
well defined, most tracks seem to be lively with energy. which i found lacking in my sm3, though sm3s are good in mids, but still the highs is one of my main problem...some songs are missing some punch.
from memory, the fx700 still has its better and controlled treble, this seems to be controlled too but its becoming overbearing (sometimes) if compared directly to my fx700. maybe its a part of final audio's signature just like what ive heard from most audio technica's reviews about their intense treble.... well this maybe be good or bad in some ways, but i definitely love it, its not really too much, and it only spiked at certain tracks, maybe its due to my source, or my track since im only listening directly via iphone 5c's hp out.
including clarity and liveliness, the presentation is among the best ive heard to date. this makes it a top tier sounding kind of iem. this is one of the reason why youre paying for a premium price, nuances, detai retrieval is excellent (not just very good), if im going to rate it ill give it 9/10 here.
mids: well, ive heard this lush and liquid mids before...
from memory, im hearing something very very similar to my grado sr325is and to the ortofon eq7.
the mids arent as thick and dark as with my sm3 and the miles davis tributes.
mids isnt too front, nor too laid back, but they are there... its the lushness and that liquid, that is there in the music that stands out... its great to hear something like this really, coz, im remembering those gears having this kind of mids.
the mids is hard to define, because its not lacking, but its not too much also, they are present, you would sense it the moment you played your music, then your track will comes alive with a dash of treble and a good bass. youll hard to find fault here, just like what most reviewers mentioned. they are right. the mids is its one of forte here.
the voice has to have a special mention here, coz, theyre very beautiful.
i repeat: vocals are very beautiful here.
they are not overly thick just like what makes the sm3 famous, but theyre on the light side, call it spiced very well. not too much of salt and pepper, nor lacking.
i find the vocals of artists very pleasant... smooth, a bit lighter than the sm3, more forward than my fx700. this is one of the best iems out there that can give you that kind of satisfaction if youre really after that VOCALs.
i listen mostly to blues and jazzs, so this helps alot really to me.
a very good mids plus a very good vocals = keeper for me.
i will recommend this if youre after that mids and vocals, theyre one of the finest out there who can give you that satisfaction/happiness.
bass: sounds like not a BA driver at all. though not as a dynamic too, its like the eq7. it defines the bass but also has its own limit, its strong and accurate, fast and controlled. it doesnt go and eats all the frequency just like most dynamic drivers when tuned wrongly.
its there just to provide that healthy thump to keep you going to your beat. i think this is better than the ue700 ive had before, because that is dual, but it doesnt go as deep and strong as this one. the ortofon may hit hard, but this hits harder than that.
the bass behaves just the way i like it. nothing really bothersome here.
instrument separation, soundstage:
well to me the yamaha eph100 is definitely better on instrument separation. the sm3 too which is one of its best quality, it gives you that 3d soundstage really.
the final audio heaven gives you half to 3/4 of those.
i wont say theyre headphone sounding (sounds big) as my fx700, that one can go up and down and deep. this one would give you a good left and right and deepness, but not as best as the three ive mentioned here.
timbre:
still the fx700 wins here.
with it you can hear real sound of instruments. but bad on vocals really.
this one will make your sax, strings shine beautifully. but the timbre of that guitar strummed, that wood sound that lingers in the air, you wouldnt find it here. but still, this one will provide you that violin cry, that sax that would make your hair stand, its here too.
but not as great as a real timbre of the fx700s. its worth noting that they perform very well, but still, ill have the fx700 to be the reigning king here. perhaps they perform differently since im comparing it to a wood bodied dynamic. and this one is BA in a steel body.
some instruments would shine beatifully here, but not all. and that wood sound cant be heard as defined here.
this ba iem is more accurate though, in many ways.
i love the vocals here. i this ill prefer this more than the famous sm3 before, if i have it both at the same time, ill choose this one.
for timbre, this is great, but id still prefer the fx700s timbre, but that lacks a good vocals, a good mids.
for mid lovers, look nowhere else, this one will give you the right amount of everything, not as overly thick as the sm3 or the hifimans iem (cant remember if that is re-262 if there is a such name, i forgot the model)
if youre looking for the right and correct spiced sm3 or re262, this is it. those mids are here, and you will find the correct quantity here, those tracks will come out smooth and alive, unlike in sm3 and re262, smooth but boring because their treble is too controlled.
through the help of that GOOD AMOUNT OF TREBLE you will immensely enjoy your music without noticing the time, meaning...youll enjoy your music more without criticising everything in your music...
and lastly, a special mention....
the vocals. and the mids.
theyre beautiful here. just like the grado sr325is. that kind of wine, that piece of heaven in that tuning (sound), its here.
lush and liquid. just like the ortofon eq7.
another thing. this is a very efficient BA iem. i think most BAs are.
they only need half volume of my iphone 5c.
this iem is very very very very very revealing. it would give you too much of that ugliness in your tracks, too much beauty in your good tracks, that would really depend on the kind of format and kind of recording you are listening.
its not forgiving to the kind of file you are listening. if badly recorded, youll hear it here clearly.
it would all depend on you... on what you are feeding in this iem. youll hear everything (not as good as my nad viso, thats the number one audio gear i purchased all my life)
feed it lossy, hear ugliness.
feed it lossless, youll hear the beauty in your music.
....so is it worth it?
for the price i got, YES. definitely.
if its 300usd in yours, i think... its ok. it will give you that kind of top tier sound. high quality.
if its above that 300usd price bracket, well, i think youll have to decide for that coz, im also aiming for that jvc fx850 that is a bit expensive for me for an iem.
the sound of the heaven is balance, not in v shape, the mids and the vocals is very beautiful.
thats all i can say. thanks for reading.
if im going to pay for 300 usd above on this, ill think twice first...and choose wisely. coz' theres a lot of very good competitors in this price bracket, and one of them is the jvc fx850 which is one of my dream iem for this year....
note: everything ive said here may change, specially in the treble part which i find sometimes a bit hot, only sometimes (remember...only sometimes).
perhaps that is due to my iphone 5c's limit, or the tracks im listening is only in mp3 320kbps (sometimes too lossy). so dont let that stop you from trying or buying this iem. i maybe at fault here.
perhaps i didnt provide the iem the right amount of juice or that kind of thing it needs, to make it shine, to put it to its best.
ill put a post again once i paired my set up with IPHONE 5C plus Astell and Kern AK10 plus the heaven 6. 
