The Three Loaners: Dunu DN-18, A161P and FI-BA-SB
Thanks @
psygeist. Chances are, if you had not loaned them, I'd not have bought any of these 'phones.
First up, all three phones are distinctly in different ranges - price and sonic wise.
Dunu DN-18 "Hawkeye" v2 (or revised edition?)
I do not know much about these IEMs since I have not followed the Dunu line-up that closely (as mentioned in an earlier post). The build quality score of 5/5 made me expect something extra-ordinary, but it is decent. Better than the Soundmagics of the world with a good strain relieved thick plug and sturdy housing. The cable is not very thick, but they included a cord cinch / chin slider here - something MP4Nation does not care about.
A much more 'consumer' oriented sound with heavy bass and forward mid range. The bass is thick sounding, punchy and well extended to rumble. the bass does not have the best clarity or resolution, but there is enough quantity to take your mind off those things. The mid range is warm, forward, a touch short on detail and clarity, a bit obscured (by bass) on bass-heavy tracks, but smoother, not sibilant as far as I observed. The treble is decently extended, but very laid back, short on sparkle and lacks energy. The sound stage has good width and spaciousness. The presentation is pretty good.
I would roughly place them in a similar tier as E10, M2 etc., at this point.
MEElectronics A161P
A161 is said to be using the same OEM as Fischer SBA-03, which Joker should be able to verify at some point. The build quality is standard MEE fair - very decent all around. I hate the mic. Why not make one version without it - a simple A161? The strain relief of the housing is angled which is nice. In over the ear fit, I do not feel something is inside my ear at all. The housing in black and gold is nice looking and is much smaller compared to the other IEMs I've received in the last two days.
What about the sound? MEE has done well this time. I had tried a few MEEs in the past (M6, M31, A151, CC51), but none of them were impressive enough to last in my collection. A161P is the best MEE I have listened to so far. The overall sound is crisp, clear, neutral and is generally very fatigue free. The bass is typical BA stuff - quick, clean, well resolved. It actually has a decent extension, but it does not have the presence or the quantity in bass in the sub-bass region. The mid-bass has better presence and hence you would not be missing bass here like RE0. The mid range is slightly forward, warm, crisp, detailed and most of all engaging. It is not incredibly detailed like a DBA-02, but well detailed. Sibilance in tracks do not bite through. What I like is that it's crisp sound has the ability to convey energy, the rawness in tracks unlike EPH-100 due to better transparency. Treble is a bit recessed, has decent extension, but does not have the sparkle, remaining smooth on the ears. The sound stage size is average, but the presentation within that space is very good. It does not feel lacking in separation or imaging.
I'd roughly put it above IEMs like Silver Bullet, in the same tier as RE0, XCape, PFE. I think it competes well against them, but I may still prefer my HF2 (and may be PFE) by a margin. But, A161P is one of the better single BAs I have listened to.
Final Audio Design FI-BA-SB (Heaven S)
Everything about this thing is odd. First off, the case was big enough to pack in all three IEMs. Upon opening the zippered case, my eyes widened on seeing those big gold things. My mother who
never asks about my IEMs noticed them and asked me "Are these new?" No left, right markings except for a dot in the big joint (I don't want to call 'em strain reliefs). I actually find that dot much, much more convenient than straining to read Left and Right in the Dunu. Big, shiny housings with a vent at the back and ending in a completely unrelated flat thin joint through which the cable passes through. They don't believe in having strain reliefs or what? The flat cable is actually thick and does not feel bad at all. But every time I try to remove them, I am carefully holding the housings because I fear that the housings may choose to drop like a bomb on my feet any time.
Strangely, the FAD is also my favorite pair of the last two days despite not fitting my usual signature preferences. It is very efficient allowing me to
normally listen at -40 to -44 on Clip+ depending on the recording. As soon as I put them on (with the Sony hybrids, I've not cut them to size like James444 did - yet!), I was treated to a lush, forward mid range - a mid range that was slightly thick, rich, energetic, dynamic and simply held me hostage for most of the evening. There was slight sibilance (not sharp, but definitely present) when it is present in the recording, which is a bit of a distraction with most modern tracks. In some tracks where the vocals were recessed, they were not as engaging. But, in general, I liked most of the shuffled tracks so far, especially the symphonies that came along. The bass is pretty thick (fine details are not there), has good extension, quantity and punch, but never comes in the way of mids. The treble has more of a supporting role here. The extension is decent, details, a bit of energy and body are there, but sparkle is not quite up there for me. But, I can see that any more energy up top can disrupt the mid range, so I accept that compromise. The sound stage is spacious with good width and depth. May not be the widest or the deepest out there, but it is quite capable of portraying distance and depth. Excellent dynamic range as well.
I think they are very good. As of now, I like them better than say, something like EPH-100. At the same time, I am not sure how they fare against the likes of e-Q5. The AAA battery, I think may have sounded a bit better to my ears due to it's crisper, better balanced sound and more sparkle.
Now, I wonder how FI-BA-SS and PFIX sound..... damn! :23:
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