My 4.A and 8.A arrived yesterday, and have had a day to play with them (not enough!) I thought I would share a few quick impressions:
Of course, the build quality is top-notch. Everything about them is solid, smooth and beautiful. Better than I could have hoped for. The customer service from Heir was superb throughout the entire process. Wizard was more than helpful on the creative side, answering all my ridiculous questions and after all that settling on a plain wood design. (His original suggestion - lol) Then Brannan and Sunny kept things moving along really smoothly on the business end of things which was probably a bit more complicated than normal since I made a change to my order (adding the 4.A) and needing to redo my ear impressions.
The fit on both pair seems to be spot-on. They isolate, keep a seal really well, and are comfortable. Really happy about this. The only thing I am struggling with is they can be a bit challenging to get out! But it will get easier with time...
The 4.A sounds fantastic. I previously had the 4Ai universal, so that was to be expected. Everything is evenly presented and very "natural" sounding. The only thing that surprised me is that the bass on the custom version seems to be more present. This is not a bad thing, as when I had the universals, I would bump a few db boost in the bass range to get them to my liking. Not here, they seem "just right". Perhaps it has to do with better isolation or something, I don't know but It's good. Mind you, it's still not a bass monster but if it's in the track you get it evenly presented along with the rest of the spectrum.
The 8.A. Wow. I'm going to need more listening time before I can make any sensible remarks...but I like it. Basically anything else you may have read about it already is true. Great bass...but not overpowering. It's just there and strong but kept in it's place. The whole presentation feels a touch dark at first but as you listen you quickly realize how much detail is in then mids and highs as well. Every tone has a warmth and lushness to it but it doesn't affect the detail. Every little detail is right there for the taking. A quick and simple impression is that it sounds BIG. Big and smooth.
I won't get into much more listening impressions right now, but after a couple weeks I plan on writing up a bit of a review of the 8.A and will get some comparisons to the 3.Ai. The 8.A is kind of like a grown-up, mature 3.Ai....both have a really fun sound....young and scrappy vs. old and distinguished.
One other thing I wanted to comment on is the Magnus cable. It is just perfect. It is everything it needs to be, and has nothing that it doesn't need to be. Does that make sense? The construction is solid, it just feels great, perfect weight and very flexible. Some may think it is not "flashy" enough, maybe? That is the only thing that some people may see as a drawback...but remember my comment "nothing it doesn't need'? Well it doesn't need to look flashy. It's bad-ass just the way it is.
One other thing - I'm not too crazy about the memory wire. I don't think it's really necessary on the customs..I have removed it from other headphone cables and I may do the same here. That's just my personal preference, however..not a criticism of the Magnus cable.
**EDIT** - Wizard PM'd me and said it is not recommended to remove the memory wire on the Magnus cable, as it acts as a strain relief. So please don't!
I am afraid I made a horrible mistake by not upgrading my 4.A with the Magnus cable. I really should have. Really. If anyone is on the fence about getting it, just do it. It's so worth it. The upgrade price is cheaper than buying it outright, which now I must do!
A couple quick pics:
8.A
4.A
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