[ericp10]

 
 
 
So, this is where I'm about to step next. Yes, I will eventually hear all of the Fender (aka: Aurisonics) products to see which direction our good friend Dale has gone. I haven't heard any yet, so no initial impressions, but I can say this packaging is beautiful. I've never been disappointed with any Aurisonics IEM I've owned, so here's hoping that Dale keeps the same great sonics going under the Fender brand name. 

 

[ericp10]

 

 
 
 
So, this is where I'm about to step next. Yes, I will eventually hear all of the Fender (aka: Aurisonics) products to see which direction our good friend Dale has gone. I haven't heard any yet, so no initial impressions, but I can say this packaging is beautiful. I've never been disappointed with any Aurisonics IEM I've owned, so here's hoping that Dale keeps the same great sonics going under the Fender brand name. 

 
 
So I have been listening to the DXA1 out of the box for about 20 minutes now. While listening, I went to see what the rating was on Amazon.com. Two customers gave this earphone a combined rating of 1 and a half starts. Two things came instantly to mind: They couldn't have burned this earphone in for any significant length time, and/or the two customers who tried it don't like great clear bass that doesn't impede on the mids. 

The DXA1 - with a custom 8.5mm titanium micro driver in each earphone - is without a doubt the Aurisonics (now Fender) house sound! What is that house sound you might ask? It's deep rich beautiful bass (yes, this is a basshead earphone) that doesn't bleed into the crisp detailed mids. Treble is there but dialed back a bit in this model to let the mids and bass shine. And boy do the shine. Many of the long-time head-fiers know this sound I'm talking about. This is what the Shure 315 should have sounded like, but the DXA1 blows that sound away out of the box, and at half the price. Bass is deep and mids are a little bit behind it, but there is much clarity and rich vocals. 
 
Regardless of how these earphones sound out of the box (and they sound very good), you know these titanium microdrivers need a a very thorough burn-in. I suspect a good burn-in will reign the bass in a little bit (it's not out of control, but it will be a bit too much if you're not a basshead). No way IMHO should these have been rated a one and half stars. Are these going to compete with the U-12, Angie or DZ7? Of course not, but the DXA1 wasn't meant to compete with those to tiers. But what is clear is that you will get significant bang for the buck if you love bass and mids. And it has a decent soundstage (not too wide but not narrow by any stretch of the imagination). Also, these earphones are comfortable as heck. I'm using the Fender's (Dale's) proprietary silicon ear tips (which are kind of rubbery sticky to stay in place), and I keep forgetting that they are in my ears. Acoustic guitars are really singing through these earphones. So I would definitely recommend these for someone on a tight budget and want to spend less than $150, but burn these babies in. A very good start Fender!!!

 

[drbluenewmexico]

REALLY looking forward to your research and impressions Ericp10!!! Thanks for doing this. Helpful if you could compare this new series to any of old Aurisonics stage monitors along the way!!!. Way to go!!!
 

 
 
 
So, this is where I'm about to step next. Yes, I will eventually hear all of the Fender (aka: Aurisonics) products to see which direction our good friend Dale has gone. I haven't heard any yet, so no initial impressions, but I can say this packaging is beautiful. I've never been disappointed with any Aurisonics IEM I've owned, so here's hoping that Dale keeps the same great sonics going under the Fender brand name. 

 

[twister6]

ericp10 that's quite impressive for $150!

Add another zero to it, and you got the new W80 : https://twister6.com/2016/09/30/first-look-at-westone-w80/ expensive, but definitely a step up from W60.

 

[Raketen]

,

 

[ericp10]

@ericp10 that's quite impressive for $150!

Add another zero to it, and you got the new W80 : https://twister6.com/2016/09/30/first-look-at-westone-w80/ expensive, but definitely a step up from W60.

 
 
Actually it's being sold for $100, twister6. Very impressive for that price!! 

 

[alucard177]

I think I'm gonna pull the trigger and buy the DZ7, but I'm a little worried about the things previously said about shipping to an incorrect address and so on. Any cheap 2 pin cable recommend guys for the DZ7? Was thinking about this one:

http://s.aliexpress.com/6juqER3e

 

[roughington]

Anyone have thoughts on the vt 7 driver?

 

[Wil]

I think I'm gonna pull the trigger and buy the DZ7, but I'm a little worried about the things previously said about shipping to an incorrect address and so on. Any cheap 2 pin cable recommend guys for the DZ7? Was thinking about this one:

http://s.aliexpress.com/6juqER3e

 
HCK replied (took quite awhile due to the National Day holiday in China) and confirmed that he gave me the wrong tracking number.
 
New tracking number was given...*fingers crossed* 

 

[alucard177]

HCK replied (took quite awhile due to the National Day holiday in China) and confirmed that he gave me the wrong tracking number.

New tracking number was given...*fingers crossed* 

Oh man I hope you get them soon. I just ordered mine BTW and some spinfit tips as well. Do you think the cable I posted above should work with the DZ7?

 

[Tom22]

I think these just dropped 

 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/fiil-diva-bluetooth-noise-cancelling-headphones/reviews/16987
 

 

[ericp10]

@ericp10 that's quite impressive for $150!

Add another zero to it, and you got the new W80 : https://twister6.com/2016/09/30/first-look-at-westone-w80/ expensive, but definitely a step up from W60.

 
 
Those look very nice, but wit the Angie and U-12 (and DZ7), I doubt I'll be in the market for another multi-(all)BA IEM anytime soon. But I'm glad to read that the W60 (which is very good but a bit on the warm side) has been improved upon by the W80. 
 
So, I do have all of the Fenders now, and there is an interesting mix of sound signatures (will get more into this later). Two things strike me while giving each one a brief listen:
 
- The Fender (Aurisonics) dynamic driver produces some of the best bass and most natural sounding drums I've heard from DD. That's been's Dale Lott's trademark and still holds true. 

- I thought that probably the higher I went up in the expensive models the more the focus would be on bass (mids are always good in the Fender/Aurisonics), but I was wrong. the FXA7 might be the most balanced in the group (still with great bass.... and I think the FXA6 probably has more bass slam than it's big brother). The more neutral one is (still with good bass) is the FXA5 (a dual BA). The bass monsters seem to be the lower end modes (DXA1 titanium microdrivers and FXA2 single dynamic driver). I do expect the basses in all to tone down some with burn-in, but already it's some of the best bass I've heard in any IEM). 
 
One other thing: I wanted to compared the FXA7 to my custom Aurisonics AS-2 (which is definitely one of my favorite audiophile-basshead IEMs). The custom is still at top, but the FXA7 is very close (although it has a smaller dynamic driver in it). Also, the FXA7 is tuned somewhat differently, but I'll get into that more later. The only reason I can see why these Fenders are being slept on a bit is because not enough head-fiers have heard them yet (or not heard by enough members whose opinions some of us trust). Well, from what I'm hearing, these are some bargains (especially if you love great bass and fantastic mids with highs that aren't too harsh). Happy listening. 

 

[Tom22]

ergo monitor fit + bluetooth?
 
what do you guys think?
 

 

[Wil]

 

 
The DZ9 came today.
 
Initial impressions:

Fantastically small for a 8 BA + 1 Dynamic driver IEM.

Comfortable as hell (It's more comfortable than my CIEM - go figure). 

2 Pin connection isn't the best - too shallow, the provided cables are snug but the memory wire is horrible. 
 
I used my own Null Audio Vitesse Copper cable instead. it fits but is not as tight as i would like it to be, it works though. 
 
On to the sound (And this is from about 8 hours of continuous playing with medium spinfit tips) 
 

Flat, neutral with excellent inner detail.

Highs are fantastic, high hats have plenty of air and crispness. (A certain wetness to the sound, which i like). 

Vocals are sweet but not overly so, however, with its flat and neutral tuning, i would assume some EDM or Hiphop fans would prefer a bump in the mid bass for slightly punchier bass, but for me it is sufficient at the moment. 

Bass is well controlled but not exaggerated, again in line with it's flat tuning. 
 
Separation is very good, with inner detail retrieval (little spatial cues, quirks in the recording) all being represented without any fuss at all.
 
I've been listening to it via my iDSD so far, but will head home and listen to it on my Mojo to compare further. 

 

[Ahmad313]

 
 

 
The DZ9 came today.
 
Initial impressions:

Fantastically small for a 8 BA + 1 Dynamic driver IEM.

Comfortable as hell (It's more comfortable than my CIEM - go figure). 

2 Pin connection isn't the best - too shallow, the provided cables are snug but the memory wire is horrible. 
 
I used my own Null Audio Vitesse Copper cable instead. it fits but is not as tight as i would like it to be, it works though. 
 
On to the sound (And this is from about 8 hours of continuous playing with medium spinfit tips) 
 

Flat, neutral with excellent inner detail.

Highs are fantastic, high hats have plenty of air and crispness. (A certain wetness to the sound, which i like). 

Vocals are sweet but not overly so, however, with its flat and neutral tuning, i would assume some EDM or Hiphop fans would prefer a bump in the mid bass for slightly punchier bass, but for me it is sufficient at the moment. 

Bass is well controlled but not exaggerated, again in line with it's flat tuning. 
 
Separation is very good, with inner detail retrieval (little spatial cues, quirks in the recording) all being represented without any fuss at all.
 
I've been listening to it via my iDSD so far, but will head home and listen to it on my Mojo to compare further. 

Congratulations mate to having a great iem, 
 really nice to know that they have small housing and very comfortable ( according to Skullophile DZ9 have bigger shells to carry 9 drivers setup and fit is bit tricky)  i think the manufacturer made some more improvements in drivers management to keep the shells even smaller and more comfortable, 
how about the soundstage and instruments separation,?  
please also post some impressions how thet sound directly from a smartphone,, thanks.