[Ulti]

I've gotten the new FA-003s from Frogbeats as well as the Lindys (same design as the old FA-003) and they both sound exactly the same to my ears, I've seen somewhere that someone said the Lindys had slightly more bass and less treble but I can't hear this. Due to this I assume that the new FA-003s and the old FA-003s are exactly the same so pick whichever is cheapest/looks nicest to you.

 

[Marximus]

Quote:

How would you compare the FA-003 to the 598 and the DJ100?  I already own the DJ100, and I've been considering upgrading my HD555 to a 598, but I've been also looking at getting a pair of closed headphones for home (the DJ100s are my work headphones) and the FA-003 was at the top of the list.  But if there are too many similarities between the HD598 and the FA-003, I may have to look for something else.

I'd say the FA-003s are closer to the DJ100s in terms of sound signature, but they're still fairly different.  What I mean is that the FA-003s are typical of closed headphones, and the HD 598s are typical of open headphones.  The Fischers have more bass impact, isolate pretty well, and have a narrower soundstage.  The HD 598s don't have quite as much bass impact, and have a wider soundstage.  The Sennheisers are the more comfortable of the two, and they're less fatiguing to my ears.  There was some spike in the treble area of the FA-003s that bothered me, enough to leave them hanging on my headphone stand while I listened to other, cheaper headphones.  Even though the 598s aren't bassier (in terms of impact), they sound a bit warmer and smoother.  And they have plenty of bass, just not on the scale of the DJ100s.  I find them to be more suitable for general listening.  You'd probably be reasonably satisfied with the FA-003s, but I use my headphones pretty much always at home, so I don't have the home/work/closed/open conundrum.  I have my open, comfortable soundstagey headphones for movies (the HD 598s, although they're excellent for music, as well), and I've got my closed, bassier headphones for music (the DJ100s).  However, I've found myself using the 598s more for everything.  I've been burning in the DJ100s, but they just don't sound as natural as the 598s.  The Sennheisers are clearly the superior headphones.
 

 

[Sonic Atrocity]

Seriously though guys doesn't the frequency problem between the right and left drivers bother you? I mean, I wouldn't want to buy a pair of headphones that may not work properly. That just seems ridiculous.

 

[Nick01]

Since GD Audio Base website is screw*d and doesn't let me order, and thanks to a great head-fier who sold his and shipped it to me very quickly. Now I have a pair...yay!!
 

 

[kingpage]

Quote:

How much Fischer is there really inside? Everything I write know should be taken with a grain of salt as I cannot confirm (yet) that there hasn't been any change for or by Fischer.
 
If this Yoga headphone, given to me by Yoga, is the same headphone which you are discussing here (and judging from the technical data, it is) I cannot understand the "hype". It's a not a bad sounding headphone, but mid-fi at best. I can hear the veil that others have found to be present, although I do agree with a lot of the descriptions of it's sound signature. But I use it mainly for loq quiality sources like Youtube/Webradio because of it's forgiving character (but then I am listening to DT880s, DT770-600s and W100s normally...).
 
I will probably ask Yoga at the IFA how much change there really has been or if it is the exact same headphone. Would be good to know as Fischer has a whole lot of other Yoga-made head- and earphones in their repertoire.
 
m00h

I didn't see this post until now. m00hk00h thought lowly of this Yoga, which he equated with HD280Pro. I truly hope FA-003 and HM5 aren't just Yoga clones.
 
I have sent an email to Yoga to see if they would give an answer.
 

 

[LimeANite]

Quote:

I'd say the FA-003s are closer to the DJ100s in terms of sound signature, but they're still fairly different.  What I mean is that the FA-003s are typical of closed headphones, and the HD 598s are typical of open headphones.  The Fischers have more bass impact, isolate pretty well, and have a narrower soundstage.  The HD 598s don't have quite as much bass impact, and have a wider soundstage.  The Sennheisers are the more comfortable of the two, and they're less fatiguing to my ears.  There was some spike in the treble area of the FA-003s that bothered me, enough to leave them hanging on my headphone stand while I listened to other, cheaper headphones.  Even though the 598s aren't bassier (in terms of impact), they sound a bit warmer and smoother.  And they have plenty of bass, just not on the scale of the DJ100s.  I find them to be more suitable for general listening.  You'd probably be reasonably satisfied with the FA-003s, but I use my headphones pretty much always at home, so I don't have the home/work/closed/open conundrum.  I have my open, comfortable soundstagey headphones for movies (the HD 598s, although they're excellent for music, as well), and I've got my closed, bassier headphones for music (the DJ100s).  However, I've found myself using the 598s more for everything.  I've been burning in the DJ100s, but they just don't sound as natural as the 598s.  The Sennheisers are clearly the superior headphones.
 

Thanks for the comparison; looks like I have some more research to do on closed phones.

 

[Lorspeaker]

Quote:

 
Edit: also, I know you all have said that this headphone is good for classical, but how about really large symphonic works? I am going to be listening to mainly classical, and from what I have read here it will be good with solo instruments (piano, violin), but I am wondering how it does with soundstage.  Could it bring out a Mahler Symphony as well as a set of open cans? 
 
I'm new to hi-fi headphones, excuse the n00bishness

003 presents the sound in a "v" sort of funnel....so it works well with solo singer/violinist at the front....very captivating really.
if u are looking for music realism with 20-30 instrumentalists from left to right...hmmmm....i will look elsewhere.
 
ps: i think someone tried the 003 with the littledotMk3 and reported that the soundstage opened up further...
maybe enough for a quintet..

 
 
 

 

[Sonic Atrocity]

Quote:

003 presents the sound in a "v" sort of funnel....so it works well with solo singer/violinist at the front....very captivating really.
if u are looking for music realism with 20-30 instrumentalists from left to right...hmmmm....i will look elsewhere.
 
ps: i think someone tried the 003 with the littledotMk3 and reported that the soundstage opened up further...
maybe enough for a quintet..

 
 
 

HD 800?

 

[Lorspeaker]

For the budget I would look at dt770/600 in the resale market...
Or a brand new t50rp...all closed cans.

Hd800... Let's not stress the pocket taaaaaat much...that beast can swallow a battalion of cellists.

 

[JRG1990]

Quote:

I've gotten the new FA-003s from Frogbeats as well as the Lindys (same design as the old FA-003) and they both sound exactly the same to my ears, I've seen somewhere that someone said the Lindys had slightly more bass and less treble but I can't hear this. Due to this I assume that the new FA-003s and the old FA-003s are exactly the same so pick whichever is cheapest/looks nicest to you.

What about bass extension?, use a frequency test 100hz - 20hz , the lindys you will notice a volume drop at -3db at 25hz the fa-300's I don't know.
 

 

[Jack Nicholson]

has anyone tried the fa 003 with the fiio e10? would you please comment on the sound?
is there anything better under 100$ especially in the dac section since the cans are low impedance and I think the amp section is less important

 

[kingpage]

Quote:

What about bass extension?, use a frequency test 100hz - 20hz , the lindys you will notice a volume drop at -3db at 25hz the fa-300's I don't know.
 

 
Drivers in the same headphones can deviate more than -3dB sometimes. What's the drop relative to?
 

 

[electropop]

Quote:

Seriously though guys doesn't the frequency problem between the right and left drivers bother you? I mean, I wouldn't want to buy a pair of headphones that may not work properly. That just seems ridiculous.

What do you mean? Has this been acknowledged an actual existing issue and not just some wild throw out here?

 

[Sonic Atrocity]

There have been many posts regarding this issue made in the thread so far: 
 
Pianist wrote: 
 
"Guys, can you run some frequency sweeps on your FA-003s? Like say a 30 second sweep from 20-20. I want to know if other people have channel imbalance on their FA-003s. Mine has some very significant imbalance around 7-12 kHz area. Can't remember exactly where, but around this region, the frequency shifts from one side to the other quite noticeably and if I only listen through one cup, the sound quiets down to almost complete silence at some frequency ranges. Mostly, the left channel is affected. The right channel sounds pretty even to me. Daanish reports that his new FA-003 does not have any channel imbalance like my pair does."
 
to which Legodt responded:
"Same here, but I don't mind too much."
 
and then Little Dreamer wrote:
"Mine seem to sound best at -1 left(1 stop towards the left channel).  At that setting on my Cowon S9, they sound perfect.  
To me, not a big deal.  To others, maybe so.  It's very minor.  I actually at first just thought it was a bit of a cold I was fighting.  
I did see a frequency chart at some point in my research that showed a higher peak in the right channel, but many headphones have that, and none are equal.  I can't find that chart anywhere now, when I need it!  
Everything else about these cans I love!  Also, I never thought they were to compete with higher priced cans.  That's a bit ridiculous.  For me, what I could afford, they are my perfection.  If you read the posts here carefully, that's all that's ever been said."
 
(what concerns me most about Little Dreamer's post is that he said he has found a chart that showed a higher peak in the right channel. Meaning that someone else has apparently noticed this and posted objective data)
 
Little Dreamer then later wrote that he found the problem to disappear with burn in but he never said so conclusively. 
 
 
To make me have even less confidence in Fischer Audio; the wood cups they have been shipping out to people aren't fitting. That is just absolute incompetence and shows a lack of care for building a quality product. So it wouldn't surprise me if the 003 was defective - or at least if several pairs were defective. I'm surprised that this isn't considered to be a bigger issue. Furthermore, it seems as though Fischer Audio doesn't care to market their product to North America - especially considering all the bad reviews about GD-Audiobase (a website that Fischer Audio recommends for purchasing their products).
 
In discussions with some others it has been suggested that these peaks and channel imbalances are only occurring with the pleather pads but even so that isn't okay. Especially considering that it is being reported that the velours then cause the sound stage to become somewhat tunnel-like. None the less, pads of the same material, if symmetrical, should produce the same results. 
 
I am very, very skeptical. I don't expect my headphones to be perfect by any means and I understand that for sub-$200 these cans can be really great. However, regardless of price (unless one is going $15 dollars and below), I do expect a product to function properly and competently. Defective traits are not to be acceptable in any product as far as I'm concerned. Anyhow, call me picky but I am looking to achieve as much fidelity as possible within my budget. It is not that I am cold about this matter (there are bigger issues in the world that I am very aware of) but I am just enthusiastic about reclaiming my musicianship and I want to do so in an effective and proper manner. It has been too long that I have not been immersed in music.
 
 
 
 

 

 

[Nick01]

Frog Beats have the updated FA-003 in stock again.