[slaters70]

Haven't run into this, I guess. I have just a plain old 256 rip of the Hell Freezes Over tour, and the DBAs don't hiss for me (and this is on both a Zune80 and the S:Flo2, no EQ on either). Dead silent background. So there is variation here, not the same for everyone I'd say.
 
Of course, if a track is mastered with hiss on it (James Taylor's Sweet Baby James CD comes to mind) the DBAs will reproduce it. But the Hell Freezes Over CD doesn't hiss with any of my sources or IEMs. I do agree, the better the source/rip, the better the DBAs sound.

 

[Leavenfish]

Quote:

 
 
They're extremely revealing and transparent, so prepare to have a love/hate relationship. They will butcher your tracks and make bad ones sound worst and good ones better.

 
So, I take it that these may not be good phones for much  'classic' rock and jazz CD's? Say Jass from the '58 - '66 unless perhaps they have been remastered..
 

 

[ethan961]

(removed)

 

[weibby]

Quote:

 
So, I take it that these may not be good phones for much  'classic' rock and jazz CD's? Say Jass from the '58 - '66 unless perhaps they have been remastered..
 

Shouldn't that bad, i've tried oldies like 70s pop/rock/funk with 80s disco etc.. rather dependant on the tracks itself..
I can't say for sure which presents a problem unless I've tried them.


 
Quote:

Haven't run into this, I guess. I have just a plain old 256 rip of the Hell Freezes Over tour, and the DBAs don't hiss for me (and this is on both a Zune80 and the S:Flo2, no EQ on either). Dead silent background. So there is variation here, not the same for everyone I'd say.
 
Of course, if a track is mastered with hiss on it (James Taylor's Sweet Baby James CD comes to mind) the DBAs will reproduce it. But the Hell Freezes Over CD doesn't hiss with any of my sources or IEMs. I do agree, the better the source/rip, the better the DBAs sound.

need to go find the normal 16/44.1 press.
Either the original master was fubar'ed or the people doing the remastering were noobs and did them on warm speakers..because on neutral setup like mine, it sounded annoying as hell.

 

[slaters70]

This makes sense, even if it seems counter-intuitive. For whatever reason, the DBAs make listening to much of my collection, not matter what genre, fun and musical. These words are better than mine, and I don't think it's just a MOT voice speaking. I am looking forward to more people getting these phones to check on whether or not I am on some sort of honeymoon with the DBAs, or they just sound that good.
 
Again, I find myself agreeing pretty much 100 percent with LFF's original assessment.
 
If you are reading this LFF, any changes to your original take on the DBAs?
Quote:

Well, despite the fact that they are revealing, I prefer them to my Westone 2s for poorer quality music. Why? The DBA-02 always has sparkle. The Westone 2 only has sparkle on good songs, so I always found myself skipping the lesser quality songs in favour of the higher quality songs. It's as simple as that, the sound signature makes them listenable with more to my ears. Note that what I found with the Westone 2 was when I used it exclusively before I got or had even known about the DBA-02. I can listen to my full library with the DBA-02 and not feel like there's anything missing, but unfortunately with the W2 it just didn't work like that. YMMV, perhaps you don't crave those sparkly highs all the time like I do, and in that case you would likely be fine with the W2 for the lesser quality music.
However, it's not all about the highs, that's just where it is most noticeable to me. General congestion/openness is also a factor, with poorer sources being more congested, a slightly congested earphone would just make the problem worse. Open sounding earphones would help compensate a bit.
 
This is all very subjective, but I thought it would be worth pointing out as it is a rather odd case where a transparent, revealing IEM actually sounds better than a less revealing one on poorer recordings. It's not as simple as being better overall, it's simply the different sound signatures playing with the poorer sources differently. And, of course, if I didn't make it clear enough already, this is all IMO. It's just what I found through my experience with both. I found myself skipping songs I normally love quite often with the W2, and when you stop listening to your favourite album of all time, that's a bit of a signal right there.

 

[the search never ends]

@ weibby, as an MOT........I find your comments on the FA line odd and conflicting. So much so, that you have me ready to cancel my order. I own many iem's. Many of them quite revealing. Furthermore, much of what you say contradicts what others seem to think. I am not offended, nor is it my intention to offend you, But honestly, IMO your posts, more often than not seem counterproductive. My 2 cents.

 

[weibby]

No offense taken..
 
I speak my mind and am honest.
I give credit when credit is due, but I will not be afraid to highlight the bad too.
 
No product is perfect, i'd rather people have to hear about the bad things from me and not buy it than buy it and then start claiming that it was all hype.
 
So If counter productive means unbias shilling, then sorry ain't me.
I like FA products genuinely as a music lover and not a fanboy.

 

[rawrster]

I haven't read the entire thread but what parts are conflicting? Just curious..either way I see it as a pretty simple deal for me. I already bought it so no going around that and I'm not going to cancel it. When I get it and give myself a couple weeks I'll either like it and keep it or not like it and sell it for not much loss. I'm sure with limited stock and high interest it wouldn't be difficult to sell here. That's one of the benefits of head-fi. You can "try" out products without too much loss and at the same time give someone else a better price. I will hold judgement until I get them and hopefully more reviews come out on them

 

[weibby]

Quote:

This makes sense, even if it seems counter-intuitive. For whatever reason, the DBAs make listening to much of my collection, not matter what genre, fun and musical. These words are better than mine, and I don't think it's just a MOT voice speaking. I am looking forward to more people getting these phones to check on whether or not I am on some sort of honeymoon with the DBAs, or they just sound that good.
 
Again, I find myself agreeing pretty much 100 percent with LFF's original assessment.
 

x2
 
It complete the series - Silver bullets for vocals with its silky mids/ Eterna for boom boom bass/ DBA for the transparent clear and balance sound.
 
I used to use RE0 as my reference as testing but now i've switched over to DBA as the bass is more apt with a nicer soundstage.

 

[ethan961]

.

 

[Townyj]

Funny enough i find my IE8's better for walking.. For me to keep a good seal with the DBA's i need to be up right and sitting, when i get a good seal these things sound amazing. Im listening to them right now and my smile is infectious. Lots of sparkle and everything is balanced out really well. Easily the best $170AUD i have spent.

 

[slaters70]

I use mine for walking, and the seal stays put with the Ety tri-flanges. If anyone wants to try them, they are the best tip I could find. Great seal, very comfortable (and I am not always a tri-flange fan), and never lose the seal. Anyway, just in case. They are very isolating with those flanges, so maybe the IE8 is better for that reason when out and about. I don't mind mine sealing out outside noise.
 
But yes, a lot of smiling too. I keep wondering if I am just imaging things. Like, can they be this good? Rather than a dynamic from FA, I would love to hear their triple driver BAs, if they can do this with two. Best $168 USD I've ever spent on IEMs, not even close.

 

[weibby]

He (FA product manager/VP) told me they don't think highly of BA phones because dynamics can do the the job well. They did it just to show that they have the know how, not because they're trying to compete in the market - this is evident by the low production run.
 
But given the high demand, they could rethink the decision and look into BA technology..who knows maybe a hybrid like a full range/sub system - dynamics for bass and mid range/BA as tweeters.
Now that will be interesting, however on another note FA is characterize by the fun factor and not what technology they use..
 
If you own or use most of their product, the element of fun is based upon the Eterna - VP's favourite
Quite distinct and almost immediately recognizable.

 

[chinesekiwi]

As I am lazy, has anyone compared these to the e-Q7 and FX700 yet?

 

[slaters70]

Oh well, to me, their obvious success with the DBA says they should try a triple, to see what they can do. I am not married to BA over dynamic, but I have owned dynamics and the DBAs outperform them. Never heard the FX700, which seems to be the reigning pure dynamic king (though that weird Radius phone is making some waves), but I have heard the Copper and to me, the DBAs are preferred. Just my opinion, of course.