[DannyBai]

These are very fun and good sounding headphones.  They are keepers.

 

[tcextreme]

Hi all, does anybody know a source where I can purchase a new set of the dark wood (reddish) FA-011s? I'm based in the US right now, and have been searching high and low for a set of these. Any leads would be much appreciated! Thank you!

 

[DefQon]

Gd-audiobase should have em.

 

[tcextreme]

Thanks so much for the quick response! Unfortunately, their site has been completely down for the past 2 weeks... any idea how to get into contact with them, or if they are still functional at all?
 

 

[Milanista]

My only gripe with this headphone is the occasional rattle from the cable inside the left housing, which occurs when your head moves quickly. I'm thinking of getting them recabled to be detachable to eliminate this. Other than that I have thoroughly enjoyed these.

 

[Greeni]

I eventually sold my mint pair, owned for a few months, to someone in France for $85, inclusive of international shipping from another pole of the globe. I could have sold for a higher price but I almost feel like guilty. My feeling is that it is not that easy to get good sound from these cans. I have not tried but my KICAS Caliente was alleged to drive the HD600 and K701 alright, but I found that the KICAS simply not sufficient for the FA-011, which before purchase I did not anticipate reading the comments in these forums.
 
It so happen, the buyer own another pair of FA-011 before, probably the old version, and he confirm my impression that my pair of new version is much more difficult to drive. My wild speculation, may be due to the less than ideal QC different batches of the FA-011 may have quite some variance.

 

[peter123]

Quote:

I eventually sold my mint pair, owned for a few months, to someone in France for $85, inclusive of international shipping from another pole of the globe. I could have sold for a higher price but I almost feel like guilty. My feeling is that it is not that easy to get good sound from these cans. I have not tried but my KICAS Caliente was alleged to drive the HD600 and K701 alright, but I found that the KICAS simply not sufficient for the FA-011, which before purchase I did not anticipate reading the comments in these forums.
 
It so happen, the buyer own another pair of FA-011 before, probably the old version, and he confirm my impression that my pair of new version is much more difficult to drive. My wild speculation, may be due to the less than ideal QC different batches of the FA-011 may have quite some variance.

 
I agree that it's been a challange to get these to sound good (I've also got a new version). I've used mine with my Little Dot 1+ and have not really been very found of this sound so I've not used the FA-011 much. However, the other day I've got my Schiit Magni and today I thought  I'd hook up the FA-011 to the Magni just for fun and FUN it is. At last I'm really enjoying these cans. I don't know if the power of the Magni or it supposedly little brighter signature that makes the difference (maybe a combination) but the way they sound now make me feel very happy I bought them. I actually regret buying the earlier.

 

[l veracity l]

Has anyone have any comparisons between these and the He-400's? 

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

Has anyone have any comparisons between these and the He-400's? 

The differences for me are quite drastic.  The clarity and instrument separation of the HE400's are much greater.  Bass end of the HE400 is much tighter and controlled.  I guess you could say the HE400's are an audiophiles fun phone.  The FA's sound just as open though and doesn't lack in enjoyment one bit.  Two quite different phones for me anyway.  

 

[l veracity l]

Quote:

The differences for me are quite drastic.  The clarity and instrument separation of the HE400's are much greater.  Bass end of the HE400 is much tighter and controlled.  I guess you could say the HE400's are an audiophiles fun phone.  The FA's sound just as open though and doesn't lack in enjoyment one bit.  Two quite different phones for me anyway.  

 
thanks I'm just wondering because I recently pulled the trigger on the He-400 but almost bought the fa-011 first. The only thing that deterred me was the reports of poor quality control, long shipping times and the fact that I might get hit with hidden charges such as tariffs, duties, shipping charges etc. I know that the he-400 is obviously going to be a better headphone overall (atleast I hope so with that price difference ) but I was just sort of curious as to how much better it's going to be

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

 
thanks I'm just wondering because I recently pulled the trigger on the He-400 but almost bought the fa-011 first. The only thing that deterred me was the reports of poor quality control, long shipping times and the fact that I might get hit with hidden charges such as tariffs, duties, shipping charges etc. I know that the he-400 is obviously going to be a better headphone overall (atleast I hope so with that price difference ) but I was just sort of curious as to how much better it's going to be

I believe you will like it a lot.  It's one of the best I've heard in that price range.  I actually prefer it over the HE500's.  Not to derail this thread but you should head over to the HE400 thread for some useful info.  Happy listening.  

 

[DefQon]

Yeah the inconsistent quality of the 011's does make it a 'less enjoyable' experience for listeners, there are slight variations with sound and build quality of the 4 different builds/versions of the 011's I've had my hands on. I was just lucky enough to have bought a unit from the early batch which are the best sounding units so far to date (excluding any latest natural coloured 011's released).
 
To be honest just for a comparison, my pair of balanced (using SE adapter) modded dual entry using Canare cables + my slightly modded Darkvoice 336SE amp schiits all over my LCD2's for the fun factor of it's sound provided. The two also sounds quite similar sort of dark sounding but the treble on the 011's is more forward than my LCD2's, the LCD2's are a tad detailed, the soundstage of the 011's is bit larger but rather than having a 3d type of soundstage the sound is more in your face close-up left and right, the LCD2's sounds to distant more like the 4-5th row but with certain vocal music, it sounds bit more intimate.
 
I've very curious as to how and what FA tuned there drivers to.

 

[mrbigsby]

DefQon, Im floored! You mystically answered a question i was too afraid to ask.  I just PMed Danny bai about it actually I have a new pair (FA11) of a batch that isnt even finished manufacture yet due some time this month. I also was about to buy the LCD2 R2, should i? So far i have the DT770 250ohm, and the High Edition Fa-002 in Karelian Birch with the regular drivers too which i swap and change with. I love bass, but i also love refinement in the other areas, and like highs but am not into thin cold sibilant sounds. Should i pull the trigger on LCD2 or be happy with my fa11 and buy a couple/few other sets of cans with the grand? If so what do you recommend? Cool that your in Melb too, may have seen you around the stores without realising it.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

DefQon, Im floored! You mystically answered a question i was too afraid to ask.  I just PMed Danny bai about it actually I have a new pair (FA11) of a batch that isnt even finished manufacture yet due some time this month. I also was about to buy the LCD2 R2, should i? So far i have the DT770 250ohm, and the High Edition Fa-002 in Karelian Birch with the regular drivers too which i swap and change with. I love bass, but i also love refinement in the other areas, and like highs but am not into thin cold sibilant sounds. Should i pull the trigger on LCD2 or be happy with my fa11 and buy a couple/few other sets of cans with the grand? If so what do you recommend? Cool that your in Melb too, may have seen you around the stores without realising it.

 
I've been saying it for a long time if you want something
 
1. Fun sounding and not really lacking in terms of sound quality, fairly balanced (my opinion)
2. Not too expensive
3. Willing to drop little bit of cash on a decent tube amp (or already have one) or a powerful Mosfet driven solid state amplifier
4. Listen to any music with the requirement of quality bass, rap, hip hop, electronic, progressive metal etc
5. Acknowledging the fact there can be slightly some imperfections with the headphone build quality itself.
6. Fairly dark sound signature sounding
 
Then the FA-011's are for you, I had a vintage JVC "Made in Japan" late 1970's JA-S10 (think it was this model) integrated amplifier with dial's for treble, bass and L/R balance with a headphone jack and for this period I was comparing my LCD2 rev.1's on my Violectric V100 amplifier at the time to the FA-011 + the JVC amp and besides a few adjustment for bass and treble to suit my needs of the music I was listening I was completely surprised how well my 011's faired up to my LCD2's. I also mentioned this a few times while ago in this thread.
 
There's a saying never judge a book by it's cover and I think the 011's (my unit at the very least) falls into this category easily in my honest opinion. Given that I have also listened to the LCD2 rev.2's numerous of times, thanks to George from A2A, I had the first hand opportunity to listen to the r2's with the V200 amp and let me tell you, the V200 offer's less than few percentage of improvement over the V100 amp I had, but sometimes people strive for that extra subtle improvement which can sound a lot better, but in this case it was not the case.
 
Heck the differences between my late batch r1's are really small (but can be a big enjoyment for some) compared to the r2's.
 
Now back to your question, should you drop a grand on a pair of r2's? Well honestly does your budget allow you to purchase both the r2's and a complementing amplifier? If you already have a good amplifier that is well regarded to powering the the LCD2's and you have the money than I don't see why you shouldn't. But before I recommend people dropping a lot of $$$ on expensive headphones, you should go to Kew where A2A is and get George to set you up with a LCD2 listening rig, George has more experience than most of us Aussie head-fier's because that is his job, selling head and amp gear so don't be afraid to ask him.
 
Given the fact that I cannot make a comment on how the natural colour FA-011's sound like (from what I see the only production 011 model in distribution) due to not hearing one, I really cannot recommend the 011's at this stage but from what I've heard the current production model lives up to it's famous hyped (in a good way) sound qualities. 
 
But right now my setup for the FA-011's + DV 336SE + the complementing tubes, it sounds absolutely freaking good to my ears as I listen to electronic, oldschool rap/hip hop music on this rig, the fun factor of the sound is extremely great. 

 

[mrbigsby]

I have a WA7 on the way, which is plenty powerful enough for any can, or so i hear. George is getting one himself im told- after all the customers who preordered are served first of course. 
Im getting the F011 no matter what. Question is now do i get the LCD2 or do i use the same cash to buy 1- 2 or 3 other sets of phones instead. Ive pretty much come to terms with dropping that cash, im not a rich man- but ive saved up a while to do this. Initially it was going to be the WA7 and LCD2, but now im not so sure. I definitely want very big bass but also a high quality thouroughly impressive sound.
 
I dont mean to derail the thread, so please feel free to PM. Would be great to organise a melbourne meet and shop crawl some time too.