After five continuous days of burn-in, I believe the FS has fully settled in. The following are my initial impressions without comparing it to others in my collection, so please consider these observations as of yet non-definitive until I do a comparison.
First, a little background. Here are my top 3 artists so you get an idea of what music I enjoy although my tastes truly span from bebop in the 50s to the British invasion in the 60s to progressive rock in the 70s to new wave in the 80s to grunge in the 90s and indie/edm in the 2000s:
Male Artists…………….Female Artists…………..…Bands
Matthew Ryan………….Kate Bush…………………Talk Talk
Neil Young……………...Tori Amos………………….New Order
Israel Nash…………..…Sinéad O’Connor…………Massive Attack
I’m currently using a Sony ZX300 with MrWalkman’s custom firmware that elevates the sound to a WM1A level. I also own an SA700, but I cannot use it with the FS due to the 4.4mm connector. I’m actively trying to sell my SA700, but if I don’t, I’ll buy a PWA AK adapter as recommended by
@bluestorm1992. If I do sell it, the jury is still out on its replacement.
Being relatively new to flagship IEMs, I don’t have the vocabulary yet to go into detail about the Mason FS (
@Deezel177, I would love to read a review by you on the FS since your detailed observations in your reviews are quite excellent and informative, no doubt due to your experience as a musician and recording engineer), but clearly it is a reference level IEM as would be expected for its price. As I hear it, the midrange is the most glorious frequency range with a sweetness that is addictive and fully engaging. Traveling upwards, before burn-in, the trebles are very warm sounding but I was happy that this tonal quality changed after about 75 hours of play to a more extended, detailed sound with good shimmer and decay. The bass performance is pretty neutral to my ears, and I do find myself adding a couple dB around 120Hz, similar to what I do with my Odin. I like mid-bass presence finding too much sub-bass detracts from long listening sessions due to ear fatigue.
All sounds good so far, but the FS does have an upper midrange bump that reminds me a little of the Odin. Not as pronounced for sure, but like the Odin, the FS really shines with well recorded material, especially hi res files. I would love to see a graph on the FS; perhaps
@UniqueMelody can post one so I can confirm my observations.
Like
@F700, I‘m not too fond of the term,
technicalities. I’m not sure why … perhaps it’s due to my high end home audio experience where we never used this word for soundstage and imaging description. Anyway, staging/imaging is the most unique aspect of the FS. I commented in an earlier post it feels like I’m on stage with the performers instead of in the audience. Additionally, on some recordings, a strange phenomenon occurs where the imaging reaches behind one’s head, really spooky to hear when it happens! The z-axis is very different from what I’ve heard before. The stage is not in front of you, rather, it’s on the same plane as one’s head, very intimate sounding. The x-axis is very wide although I’ll have to do a comparison with the Odin and V14 at a later time to see how it compares. The y-axis is very good, so all together the term,
holographic, is appropriate here (I do believe this is often overused in comments and reviews).
OK, that’s it for now. Is the FS worth its asking price? To the experienced audiophile who has slowly graduated up the ladder to flagships, I believe it is although the premise of diminishing returns applies here, but in my case, the music listening experience has become
immersive.