[FlySweep]

Thanks LFF.. exactly what I was looking for.. will report back..

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Thanks LFF.. exactly what I was looking for.. will report back..

 
Sounds good! Be careful with that Holst track. It has been known to blow things up.

 

[matbhuvi]

Quote:

The track you want is track no. 3. Only 3...that's right...3 headphones have been able to play that track correctly and accurately. A 4th headphone could dish out the bass but the rest of the spectrum was seriously lacking in quality.

Just curious...what are those 4 headphones?

 

[gavinfabl]

Sure. If you really want to test bass quality as well as extension, you only need one disc!

 
The track you want is track no. 3. Only 3...that's right...3 headphones have been able to play that track correctly and accurately. A 4th headphone could dish out the bass but the rest of the spectrum was seriously lacking in quality.
 
If you want something more forgiving, try this one.
 

 
The hard track here is track no. 4. See if your headphones can accurately separate the bass drum hits from the electric bass guitar...in other words, they should not sound similar at all. Not that easy to do it correctly.
 

LFF - Telarc have produced some incredible recorded material. Check out Chiller by Telarc

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Just curious...what are those 4 headphones?
 

 
Passed on bass but failed elsewhere: HD-650's
Passed completely: HE-6, HE-500 and my modded T50RP's.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

So... got my FA-011s today. They have a surprisingly similar sound signature to my M50s, except.. you know, better. As in completely superior in sound quality (bass quality, bass quantity, detail, less recessed mids, and similar but more detailed highs) comfort, build quality, and NO PLEATHER. Oh and this is all unamped and without burn-in Also its pretty obvious that these need an amp. So really, why don't I see more recommendations for these? Obviously open causes problems, but where that's not a concern these are a great value, especially if the far inferior M50s are still considered a good value.

 

[ziocomposite]

AMEN Raven!  Part of the problem I believe is that they are not as accessible as the m50, retail-wise.  I <3 mine so much I'm looking for a closed version with similar sound signature.  The mids are liquid with the FA-011 and the sound stage/airy presentation is awesome.

 

[DefQon]

Unfortunately these are often missed for there bad comfort and availability. The velour pads are too hard and thin. Fischer would've done better with softer and thicker velour pads.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

AMEN Raven!  Part of the problem I believe is that they are not as accessible as the m50, retail-wise.  I <3 mine so much I'm looking for a closed version with similar sound signature.  The mids are liquid with the FA-011 and the sound stage/airy presentation is awesome.

I did a bit of the same. If its any help, the only thing I can find that matches that description are the Ultrasone Pro 900s, but those are obviously a different price category.

AMEN Raven!  Part of the problem I believe is that they are not as accessible as the m50, retail-wise.  I <3 mine so much I'm looking for a closed version with similar sound signature.  The mids are liquid with the FA-011 and the sound stage/airy presentation is awesome.

Comfort issues? These are no less comfortable than the M50s as far as the pads, and they feel a lot better on the head IMO. Weird. I'm sure the pads can't be too hard to mod.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

Okay, I borrowed a no name "custom" amp of no repute from a dormmate. Not sure how I feel about the amp (I think it introduced some channel imbalance), but with an amp the M50s are a joke in comparison to the FA-011s. My god. Oh and LFF was telling the truth: woe to the recording with imperfections.

Edit: Nope the channel imbalance was in the recording. Wow these tear apart bad recordings!

 

[firgoe]

Yes I agree, the availability is the biggest trouble for fischer audio. When I purchased mine from gd audio, dmitry didn't respond very well. I would say their support to be 3/10. I wish I can purchase this headphone in the future but definitely not from gd audio.

 

[dougie]

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Quote:

I've never owned the uDAC-2 (NWAVGuy's reviews turned me off), but from what I understand, they should be able to handle the FA-011s just fine.  Of course, if you spend more you will likely get more, but that's a very deep rabbit hole.  There isn't much in that price range (US$120 +/-), especially with a nice user experience (from what I could discern). 
 
I went with the E7($90, or $200 for the E7/E9 combo), which also handles them well, though I'm not so happy with the user interface for my purposes (primarily desktop use).  I also considered the FUBAR III($230), Fireye II($100), EF2A($160), and at one point considered the Music Streamer II($150) paired with a Little Dot MK II($125) or MK III($200).  Also considered the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD USB ($100) briefly.  If I had a hard limit of the uDAC price, I think I might go with the X-Fi, which should drive the FA-011s while still providing a hassle-free user experience and hopefully without the channel balance issues of the uDAC.
 
Though my E7/E9 combo sounds very good and provides oodles of power, I don't like having to turn on my E7 independently, every time I turn on my computer. Then remember to turn it off independently as well. The little power button on the side is a pain to use while it's docked, and I don't always hold it long enough (since my hand blocks the screen when I do it, I can't tell).  I also don't like that every time I turn my computer on, I'm recharging its internal battery.  That thing is sure to be useless within a year or so, because of that.
 
If I could do it all over again, I think I'd suck it up and spend the money on a Music Streamer 2 and a stand-alone amp.
 
As an aside, I also picked up the Behringer UCA-202($30) and a Bravo V2 ($30-50) mini tube amp off of ebay.  No complaints about the UCA-202 as a basic DAC, but it's anemic on its own.  The Bravo amp is... cute.  The sound's pretty good unless I do a head-to-head with better equipment.  Definitely coloring, quite powerful, somewhat inconvenient input and power switch placement, but for a $40 amp, I'm not complaining.
 
Standard disclaimer: I'm more of a mid-fi than hi-fi guy.  I mostly listen to 256-320kbps MP3s, in a relatively noisy environment, with no single piece of audio equipment costing more than $300, and am perfectly happy.  I'm not rich enough to ignore the "diminishing returns" issue and would rather have my 80% of perfect for $150-300 than 90% for $1500.  Since you're looking at the uDAC-2, I have to assume you're in the same camp!
 

Thanks a lot for the help Justinicus. You helped me achieve a better understanding for what I was dealing with. I went ahead and got the uDAC-2. I can always upgrade when I have the money available, but for a university student, I think this setup should be fine for now.

 

[Justinicus]

Glad I could help -- I'd love to know how you like them with the uDAC-2!

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

Glad I could help -- I'd love to know how you like them with the uDAC-2!

Glad you liked the sound of that Bravo V2, I myself have one, have modded it to the limits, and trust me its a huge improvement over the stock.

 

[Justinicus]

I'm back to using it with my FA-011s at the office... there's only one thing I don't like about it.  It's practically an antenna around my cell phone! Thought about building a faraday cage around the thing .  Knowing me, I'll probably end up modding it eventually... how did you get started?