[shigzeo]

It's pretty fair to say the writer didn't like them:

S/he likens them to radio with boomy bass that disappears suddenly, weak vocals, poor separation. The list goes on and on, but it is very fair to say the tester does not like them at all!

 

[firoze]

Hmm... These earphones seem to provoke polarized opinions from users... They either love them or loath them.. There's no in-between.

 

[firoze]

@ KLS and javajive, do Yodobashi or Dyna5555 or Audio Union have a return policy? I'm asking because I've had extremely bad luck in buying headphones! My original pair of ER4P's was defective and Ety replaced them. Same with my SE530's - had to return them to Shure twice before I got a satisfactory pair. But if I buy the FAD's, its going to very difficult to return them to the manufacturer for replacement considering the language problem and the fact that I don't travel to Tokyo all that often. Also, from the widely polarised views people have of the FAD's, I wonder if there is a wider sample-to-sample variation with them compared to other makes. So I'm worried about spending $700 or more and ending up with a duff pair that I can't return.

 

[javajive]

Quote:

Originally Posted by firoze /img/forum/go_quote.gif @ KLS and javajive, do Yodobashi or Dyna5555 or Audio Union have a return policy? I'm asking because I've had extremely bad luck in buying headphones! My original pair of ER4P's was defective and Ety replaced them. Same with my SE530's - had to return them to Shure twice before I got a satisfactory pair. But if I buy the FAD's, its going to very difficult to return them to the manufacturer for replacement considering the language problem and the fact that I don't travel to Tokyo all that often. Also, from the widely polarised views people have of the FAD's, I wonder if there is a wider sample-to-sample variation with them compared to other makes. So I'm worried about spending $700 or more and ending up with a duff pair that I can't return.

If you end up with a duff pair, they will replace it. service is generally very favorable to the customers. I bought some E3Cs quite a few years back that ended up with cracks in the wire from Dyna5555 and there was no trouble getting a replacement pair.

But for the best price you dont want to be buying from any of these places unless you decide to go for the e-q7 which you should be able to get from audio nion at a good price. For the FADs, Amazon.com has the best prices.

I purchase everything through kakaku.com and quite a few of the discount on-line shops are located in the Akihabara area and you can buy OTC from them. However, the ones I have used like Outlet Plaza have only a 3 day return policy.

 

[KLS]

I have tried my best to translate the article, if it is difficult to understand then I am sorry...Please forgive my poor English.

Quote:

俺イヤーによるひとくち感想： なんといってもまず特徴的なのはその筐体の重さ。 片方のchの筐体だけをデジタルスケールで実測すると17gもあり（ケーブル除く）。 ちなみにTriple.fi10Pro、Westone3、SE530、e-Q7、ATH-CK100（それぞれ片chで3～4g程度）の5つの合計の重さが概ね17gであることから、このFI-DC1601SBの重さを想像していただけるかもしれませぬ。 ただし自分の場合は外耳（耳甲介）に筐体が上手くフィットしたせいか、歩いたり階段を上り下りした程度では 落ちなかったです。 遮音性は金属パッドでもゴムのパッドでも悪い部類。ただし音漏れは遮音性の悪さから予想した程で無いように も思われ。 次に音質。 全体としてはどちらかと言えば低音寄りで、高域～ハイエンドが控えめなためか、有り体に言わせていただくな らば、若干ラジオ風のLo-Fi調に聞こえます。 低域は小型の密閉型スピーカー風でローエンドがストンと落ちている印象。バスドラムの迫力は割合と出ている とは思うけれど空気感が物足りないという感じ。 中域には比較的大きなクセを感じ、ボーカルがあまり目立たず、かつ声質はやや太めで、抜けがあまり良くなく モコモコとして明瞭さが比較的良くない印象。サ行などの歯擦音は基本的にはキツさが殆どないが、不意にキツ さが発生する場面がある。（「シ」の音で発生する確率高し。） バイオリンの音色は高域の抜けが悪い点と、中高域の一部の帯域だけ目立つような不自然さを感じ る。 高域、特に5kHz以上は量が明らかに少なめな印象。アコースティックギターは野太い感じで、高域の鮮度や 立体感はあまりよくない。 シンバルやスネアの音は太めで、金属的な倍音の伸びや粒状感が乏しくノッペリとした印象。 製品や音の狙いなど、全体的に謎多きイヤホンな気がします。・・・大きなお世話な気もしますが 。

My brief impressions based on my ears (using the metal tips on the 1601):

The weight of the housing strikes me the most when first trying them.
According to the digital-scale, it weights 17 gram for a single housing (excluding the cable).
By the way, the weights of total single-channel housing of TF10, W3, Se530, q-Q7, CK100 (which each of them weights around 3-4 gram) is about 17 gram, so you can imagine how heavy is the DC1601SB.
However, I think that the 1601 fits into my ears well, as they don’t fallout even if I walk or climbing the stairs.
Isolation is bad with either the metal or silicone tips. Despite of the bad isolation, there is less sound leakage than I have expected.

Next I will talk about sound quality.
Overall the 1601 is oriented to the lower frequencies, treble’s amount is about moderate/low in quantity, and to be honest, the sound is something like low-fi radio quality.
As for the bass, it is something like small closed speaker with thumping in the lower frequencies. There is impact in the bass drum, but I feel that it is somewhat lacking of air.
Midrange is very coloured/unnatural, vocal doesn’t stand out, and it is a little thick sounding, lacking of clarity (muddy). There is almost zero sibilance, but sibilance does occur at times.
The tonal of a violin sound unnatural because of the veiled treble and some exaggeration on the higher midrange/lower treble.
Treble, especially from 5kHz onwards, seriously lacking in quantity. Acoustic guitar sounds hoarse, clarity of treble is low and stereophonic effect in treble is not good.
Cymbals and snare sound thick, lacking metal-sounding feel but smooth.

The 1601 to me is a very mysterious phones (in a negative way).

 

[KLS]

@ firoze, just like what javajive said. However, if you were not satisfied with their sound and wished to return them and have your money refund, they just won't accept this request.

 

[firoze]

^ Thanks very much for the translation KLS. Like I said earlier... very polarised opinions on these earphones... I guess that is the nature of these beasts... one has to put in effort to get the best out of them, unlike 'phones like the Ortofon's which are easy to get the best out of straight away.

 

[firoze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by javajive /img/forum/go_quote.gif I purchase everything through kakaku.com and quite a few of the discount on-line shops are located in the Akihabara area and you can buy OTC from them. However, the ones I have used like Outlet Plaza have only a 3 day return policy.

Thanks! I didn't know that some of these online shops have OTC locations. Do you know which of the online shops have OTC outlets around Akihabara? I'd certainly like to buy from them if their prices are cheaper.

 

[KLS]

@ firoze, if you have a Voyager or Sony DAP, better audiotion the FADs with them, as earlier people said that they have very good synergy with the 1601.

But, in my opinion (by no means offencing other happy 1601's owners, and I have just tried the 1601 for some mere 5-10 minutes), the e-Q7 is a better buy. Anyways, audition them and Welcome you to Japan!

EDIT: Yes as javijive said in the next post, try the FX500 too. Don't forget the CK10 or CK100. Just try anything you can!

 

[javajive]

@firoze You might also want to give the FX700 a listen. The e-q7 was going to be my next purchase but now I am not so sure.

 

[firoze]

@ KLS & javajive, thanks for all that info and encouragement. I have tried the FX500 but found the treble to be too strident for my tastes, but am looking forward to trying the FX700. I heard the Ortofon briefly and liked it a lot. Will certainly audition both these and others before deciding. However since I already own and love both the SE530's and the Stax Sr-001's, I have to keep in mind whether the FX700, E-Q7 etc are going to be a substantial improvement.

Any idea about the locations of the OTC outlets of the online shops javajive mentioned?

 

[KLS]

For FADs, other than Amazon.co.jp, you can get them cheap from e-TREND.

Shop: e-TREND
Address: 東京都千代田区外神田5-1-15KSKビル1 (Try search this on Google Map to locate)
Homepage: e-TRENDbƒC[ƒgƒŒƒ“ƒhƒIƒ“ƒ‰ƒCƒ“ƒVƒ‡ƒbƒv
Link in Kakaku.com: ‰¿Ši.com - ƒC[ƒgƒŒƒ“ƒh ƒVƒ‡ƒbƒvî•ñ

 

[KLS]

@ firoze, any other products you are interested in, I can help you find the lowest price and shops. If you have an address in Japan, you can buy it online which I find it is much more convenient, but have to sign-up for an user account for the certain shop. Delivery is around 3 days or less, if the item you ordered is in stock. Or you can try Amazon.co.jp because they have some of the IEMs in the cheapest price. However, if you buy online and get a faulty pair, then...It's your bad luck, as you have to send them to the shop, and wait for a few days for the shop to examine the item before they decide to accept your return and refund.

 

[iponderous]

Thank you for translating the review KLS. You are a very helpful Head-Fier.

 

[KLS]

I am glad that someone like me can be useful