CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => IEM Measurements => Topic started by: Marvey on June 17, 2013, 07:32:04 PM
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See other impressions / comments: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,996.msg26042.html#msg26042 (http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,996.msg26042.html#msg26042)
My own pre-measurement subjective impressions (from my notes):
- Whoa, that's some FAT bass. You would think I hate it, but I kind of like it. It's well done and doesn't muddy things up too much.
- Still when the bass is turned up that much, it's going to mask a few things in the mids and treble. As a result, it's not as clear sounding as the UERM, etc. Bass sludges through. Not very agile, if that makes any sense.
- Reminiscent of the TF10, not the same, but reminds me of it.
- It's got some kind of slight reverb / cavern effect going on. I don't know if other people hear it. It's an interesting effect - not negative at all. Sort of like a properly implemented DSP "large Catholic church venue" mode.
- Treble is a bit rough - really no rougher than many wide-band speakers.
- A hint of glare/sibilance which builds up over time. I have the same issue with the ER-4S's treble (ER-4S's peak seems higher in frequency), but it's really not that bad. I do need to take a break after an hour. I think this extra low treble energy does help to balance out the thick bass and prevents the treble from being completely masked (still sounds detailed.)
- An "audiophile TF10." It's like those bassy speakers we hear at THE SHOW.
- Mids ~1k region is recessed. I would not describe this as mid-centric. LOL. I would not describe this as neutral or near-neutral either.
- I took a lot of time with them. Had them for two weeks now.
Although colored, I actually like this IEM - quite a lot. It's colored in a way I actually like and I don't think I would EQ except for the treble peak (and then maybe not)
Posting measurements in a few minutes...
P.S.
Up to $1400 from $1000? And they are not customs? Fuck that shit.
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FitEar TG334 Frequency Response and Harmonic Distortion
- Driver matching is superb
- Distortion is very good for a BA type.
- Looks like some peakage at 6.5-7k?
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UERM distortion for reference (please note Y axis):
(http://www.changstar.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=437.0;attach=1965;image)
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Burst Decays - Probably explains the glare/sibilance issues that I hear and also the serious treble issues Anax had with them. I do tend to listen to the 334 at a softer volume though.
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not mid-centric hmm... really feel like I dodged a something-bullet-like-thing by not buying these. heard so much about them being mid-centric and bass being LCD-2-like. (I do like the LCD-2 bass)
then anax impressions of these...
measurements do look quite nice though. but the bass seems to be louder than I thought.
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It's nice that we have some high-end universals now, but seriously... $1400 for a universal is asking for a bit too much considering how much less work goes into making a universal vs a custom.
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It's nice that we have some high-end universals now, but seriously... $1400 for a universal is asking for a bit too much considering how much less work goes into making a universal vs a custom.
Well, the reason why the 334 costs so much (aside from the fact that FitEar is expensive, regardless of construction style) is that it is made with the same amount of effort as any other custom, just sans custom ear impression. Every shell needs to be cast from acrylic, the drivers need to be hand-stuffed, and the acrylic needs to be layered on by hand. It also employs a fairly labor-intensive and complex front-nozzle design, so the human labor costs are just as high as any CIEM. So, this is not like a Westone 4 or even a Shure SE846, where the plastic molds are pressed by machine. Thus, the cost difference, both retail and labor, between a universal TO GO 334 and a custom MH334 is not a lot.
Still, FitEar is very expensive, even in Japan. They set themselves out as a premium brand using premium materials like titanium, and so they command healthy margins for their stuff. If someone in China wanted to create a bootleg 334 but at 98% the quality, they could probably do it for $550 and still make a reasonable amount of profit. But you're paying for that extra 2% of OCD attention and the Made in Japan "prestige".
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The quality is sublime. I'm not a fan of their new textured matte housings though, that looks cheap and ugly IMHO.
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The "Made in Japan" is certainly a high prestige thing over there (HK, Taiwan, even the PRC...)