[FenderP]

I was listening to my SBs at home this week in a more controlled environment than on a plane, and my impressions are still the same. I'll pop in my IE8s to do an A/B, but the SBs are much more natural sounding to me (but not neutral). I'm sorry james444 doesn't like them, but I also think that your source could also have something to do with it. I'm using my Sony NW-X1060 as well as a NW-A847, and they seem to match it well.

It's probably the same reason I thought the Grado GR-8s sucked - it just didn't have a sound signature I liked nor matched the Sony.

So I think you're wrong, iponderous. Just because james doesn't like them doesn't make them bad. There are SO many impressions here of all kinds of IEMs which are black and white/day and night that it makes you wonder if something is wrong. There isn't. Sometimes people just don't like things or it isn't a match for their systems. Unfortunately, sometimes those mistakes are expensive.

For example, I heard wonderful things about the Arcam CD players. Bought one for over $2k. Hated it. Took a loss on it when I sold it. It was a horrible match for my system at the time, and I didn't like its sound signature. Did that make the Arcam, which was well regarded, a bad player? No.

 

[james444]

^ I don't know if you read my (admittedly lenghty) posts, but I deliberately meant to avoid black/white judgement and tried to be very specific in my criticism. In fact some of my points can also be found in shigzeo's review, yet he handled them from a loving point of view. Never once did I claim that "these phones suck" because this information would have been neither true nor of any use to other head-fiers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FenderP /img/forum/go_quote.gif the SBs are much more natural sounding to me (but not neutral).

No offense, but IMO this reasoning means crossing the Rubicon from rationalism to religion/belief, and I'm going to stay on this side.

 

[FenderP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ I don't know if you read my (admittedly lenghty) posts, but I deliberately meant to avoid black/white judgement and tried to be very specific in my criticism. In fact some of my points can also be found in shigzeo's review, yet he handled them from a loving point of view. Never once did I claim that "these phones suck" because this information would have been neither true nor of any use to other head-fiers.

I wasn't attacking you at all. No worries.

It's people like iponderous that get me fired up.

All of this stuff is pretty subjective at the end of the day, and comes from YOUR experience, not mine or anyone else's. At the end of the day, this is just equipment. If it makes you enjoy your music, you use it. If it detracts from the experience, you don't.

 

[iponderous]

FenderP - Yes, it's entirely subjective, imprecise and often flawed. I keep a pillar of salt on hand when sifting through the experiences and opinions expressed by people in these forum threads. However, I do attach more weight to some than others. But as we know, the only way of really knowing how a headphone sounds is by hearing it for yourself.

In the absence of being able to audition the FADS for myself, I have to take other Head-Fier's impressions into account when considering whether or not I want to commit to a pair of expensive earphones. Having read this thread and shigzeo's review, I have formed the view that I don't want to outlay what is a considerable sum of money for me, on a pair of phones that I was initially quite excited about.

I have formed a view about these phones and what I think they represent, which I've expressed in this thread. You own a pair, which you are clearly satisfied with and disagree with my opinion. That's fine and I'm sorry if you've taken my criticisms of these phones personally, but it is a forum about headphones after all. The important thing is that you're happy with them in spite of what I or anyone else might think.

I would love to have the opportunity to listen to these phones and be as impressed with them as you obviously are, but that will not occur unless I purchase them first. And based on what I've read here, I'm not prepared to take that risk.

 

[shigzeo]

Okay, I've found it: 1601, no foams (or foams) and the Graham Slee Voyager. Simply the most amazing combination for these. Wind chimes, guitar, male vocals - amazing. There is still tiny suckouts here and there, but again, it reaffirms what I truly believe about this earphone. It is too bad that it needs the Voyager and Contour to really stride, but now, it is more dynamic and the somewhat recessed treble is replaced by more air and space.

Surprisingly, hip hop is totally doable. This amp and these earphones must have been made for each other. I am sad that missed this combination in the beginning. Amazing.

 

[james444]

^ Very interesting news, shigzeo! Coincidentally I have a Voyager too. Is it true you use the contour setting with these? Very surprised about this, it never sounded good to my ears regardless of the phone. But then again, the FADs are different in every sense. I must try this when I get home today.

 

[Anouk]

Hello Shig, What do you use as a source for the voyager?
I hope the d4 will work well too. It has a nice dac with a lineout so even if the amp part doesnt do wonders you can always connect the dac to the voyager.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Very interesting news, shigzeo! Coincidentally I have a Voyager too. Is it true you use the contour setting with these? Very surprised about this, it never sounded good to my ears regardless of the phone. But then again, the FADs are different in every sense. I must try this when I get home today.

Well, let's hope this is what will do it for you. I also don't use Contour with the Voyager unless with the CK100 - and that only on an odd time. With the 1601, it is like completely new lungs. Some people swear by the contour, but until today, I have sworn away from it.

Anouk: I am using just an iPod touch with the Voyager via ALO line out or Twisted Cables line out. Actually, I don't mind it via 3,5mm stereo mini either.

James - I hope this will do it for you.

 

[Anouk]

Shig, Not sure how often you use your computer for audio but I am very interested how it will sound if you use the ibasso dac from a laptop or ocmputer and then into the voyager and then the fads.
I must agree with iponderous htough. I am not really inclined to buy these rather expensive phones at this stage untill it has been tried by some more people.
First off because they are not true iems and second because I am worried about their durability. I would be taking them with me in my laptop bag.
Still interesting to follow this thread though.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[shigzeo]

I am not sure these work that well for portable usage. I know FenderP said he/she used them that way, but these I think are better as tiny home headphones.

My wife just said that the Graham Slee +Contour setting and FAD may be better than live music. While she isn't a dyed-in-the-wood audiophile, she did pick out a pair of HD600 for herself a few years ago and swears by a couple of high end iems.

When I get the D4, I will try the FAD and probably some EQ unless the D4 is thick.

 

[Anouk]

Shig: About eqing:
Did you use any eq when reviewing the phones? I dont use eq at all ever and this would be important to me because I am not planning on usingit. I just pay attention to the sound of the headphone wihtout eq so if you or fenderp did use e then this would be important for me.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[shigzeo]

Anouk: I have an iPod. That full stop should explain many things. One is that EQ is rubbish and another that I don't often use straight from a computer. My other sources allow me to use EQ via computer, but about 100% of the time, I got naked (non eq-ed).

I'd wait for more opinions, but to be honest, the 1601 is simply phenomenal with the Graham Slee Voyager with Contour. It is still not a neutral phone by any stretch of the imagination, but that is precisely why it is amazing - it is chillingly wide, dynamic, and layered with the Graham slee in nearly any genre. I have used it with a few amps and feel that this is the best combo.

I understand the reason some people don't use EQ, but actually, I find it doesn't make sense because the artist, recording engineers: everyone, use different equipment to the end listener. With or without EQ, music will not sound as it was meant to sound.

The 1601 is a very hard to tame (or put in its spot) earphone, but it is amazing.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd wait for more opinions, but to be honest, the 1601 is simply phenomenal with the Graham Slee Voyager with Contour. It is still not a neutral phone by any stretch of the imagination, but that is precisely why it is amazing - it is chillingly wide, dynamic, and layered with the Graham slee in nearly any genre.

I'm pleased to say that I wholeheartedly agree with you about the 1601/Voyager/Contour synergy. The sound from this combo is simply stunning. Contour makes even more difference vs. flatly amped and brings out some very nice treble and bass. Like you said, they're still far from neutral, and TBO (looking at the FR-graph) they'll never be. But they're much less mid-centered this way with strikingly better definition and transparency.

Let's look at a quick summary of my learning curve with the FADs:
- with Fuze or i9 and isolating silicon tips ★★
- with Fuze or i9 and metal tips ★★★ to ★★★☆
- with Voyager and metal tips ★★★★
- with Voyager/Contour and metal tips ★★★★★

This is at last the SQ I was hoping for from the beginning. A most unexpected, welcome and impressive transformation to say the least. Thanks so much for your discovery, shigzeo - now we're really talkin' Lamborghini!

 

[shigzeo]

Yes! Score one for the Voyager team! Yesterday I encountered shivers whilst listening to metal chimes from Jesse Cook's album "ultimate Jesse Cook" - don't remember the song. The metal body and metal instruments are killer.

Funny that I had used the Voyager/1601 combo earlier and not thought anything special. Well, I found out that I was using the rubber tips to keep them in my ears as I listened. But contour with Voyager (even without contour, it is very good) truly makes this earphone... top top class. I really want to hear the SB model though.

 

[iponderous]

So let's see if I've got this right. The FADs are earphones that have to be driven by a specific amp, namely the Graham Slee Voyager in order to reach their potential. They are earphones, yet they are quite unsuitable for portable use. What then are the advantages that these phones offer over comparatively priced full-sized headphones?