[Trysaeder]

I think they overshot the pricetag of the single armature by a whole digit.

 

[firoze]

^ We cannot judge that until we know how they sound. In any case they are targated at a very small market so economy of scale does not work here.

 

[iPhone4G]

you know what, dont judge a IEM by the price.. I think its better to buy a custom IEM, its so comfortable, and better than this..

 

[javajive]

whoops...see you guys are a step ahead of me on their new IEM as I started a thread on it earlier today. Anyways, I`ll try to find a place where I can audition these in the next few days and if so will post my impressions just for the heck of it.

 

[shigzeo]

They should be out soon, but I've not seen them in stock anywhere.

Also, Final Audio, unlike headfi regulars, are not a typical audiophile company. They are obviously marketed towards the person with more disposable dosh who is interested in natural construction and physical beauty.

Our Headfi usuals: the VW, Volvo, and Saab of earphones, do not compare to a Porsche simply because of economy. One might actually outpace a Porsche in certain tests, but it isn't the same car at all and I think that is what Final are aiming at.

There are certain things the 1601 does which gives me the shivers, but generally, it isn't priced to compete in the same market of cost/performance audio stuff like we see here.

We tend to think at Headfi that we are crazy audiophiles, but the amount we spend is often much much closer to the sane side of audiophiledom.

So judging a product like the FAD earphones purely on price is silly unless all you care about is cost/performance and happen to shop solely on Thursday. They may sound good, they may sound bad, but the point with FAD doesn't seem to be parity with anything in the market; FAD rather, want to slaughter hitherto perceptions of the word 'earphone'.

 

[Amarphael]

That's a fine post shigzeo, as much as i love full-size cans I must acknowledge that FAD's direction is the future of personal audio which is based on in-ear products. Unless someone makes a breaktrough with personal speakers or somthing like that.

 

[james444]

^ Don't fall for it, he's just buttering them up to get a review sample.
Speaking of which, on a closer look I must say Porsche don't do them justice, it's at least Ferrari or Lamborghini for me...

 

[JxK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Don't fall for it, he's just buttering them up to get a review sample. Speaking of which, on a closer look I must say Porsche don't do them justice, it's at least Ferrari or Lamborghini for me...

Ha. Just don't forget that the ultra luxury cars like your Ferrari require more than a down payment. You've also got the 4-6k/year maintenance cost, along with the insane insurance cost. Come to think of it, I wonder if Lloyds of London would insure one of these FADs...

 

[shigzeo]

FAD simply don't cater to the headfi market. We generally go for price/performance. James and I both know that they are not the easiest to use and don't sound the best in all situations. I think there isn't competition to FAD simply because FAD don't cater to midrange audiophiles.

Their speaker systems cost 600 000$! Good or not, only people with a lot of money can buy them. If FAD were competing with Westone etc., their products would probably look and sound the same.

They have a specialised sound which many don't like, but some really do. I wasn't praising them, just saying that they are about as comparable to what headfiers consider normal as a Lambourghini is to a VW. If you have the dosh and want a very tailored sound, go for it, but otherwise, FAD really are geared to a different market.

 

[Amarphael]

Did you happen to hear the W5000, Or other AT woodies, and can make a brief comparison with 1061 please?

 

[shigzeo]

I've heard all of them, but none recently and none back to back with the 1601. Again, the 1601 is an earphone. It WON'T exercise the outer ear at all though it casts a huge soundstage.

 

[mnagali]

@shigzeo

just wondering where the usual $1000+ customs fall in your car analogy

 

[FenderP]

Quote:

you know what, dont judge a IEM by the price.. I think its better to buy a custom IEM, its so comfortable, and better than this..

 
I disagree a bit. I had Westone customs (the ES2) and they just fell apart with a lot of use, and of course, right after the warranty ran out. The ES2 did not sound better than the 1601-SB to my ears, and I've used Sony players for awhile. Fit wise, you're spot on. You won't get better than customs.
 
 
Sadly, the FI-BA-SS ones tempt me. I'll probably wait until I go to Japan next year to audition them.
 

 

[yello131]

 

 

 

[KLS]

Somebody did it