[REVIEW] Phonak Audéo PFE 121

First, I will like to take the chance to thank Phonak for providing the the review sample. For those who don't know about Phonak, it is a very well known Swiss based hearing aid and wireless communication company with over 60 years of history.

In late 2008, Phonak decided to branch out a new product line called Audéo Perfect Fit Earphone (PFE) targeting the ever growing IEM market. Though the original PFE (v0) was quite a hit in many places, problem struck as some users started to complain about build quality issues to the early batches. To address the problem, Phonak took the old PFE back to drawing board and reformulated it to a new PFE (v1) with improved build quality and materials. As the new version has been sold in the market for several months now, this is perhaps the perfect time to give it a review.



SPEC
Driver: Single balanced armature
Sensitivity: 107 dB @ 1 mW
Impedance: 32 Ohm @ 1 kHz
Frequency range: 5 Hz – 17 kHz
Cable: Y-cord, 110cm
Connector: 3.5 mm gold-plated straight mini plug
PFE 12x comes with iPhone / iPod compatible microphone.



Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories
PFE comes with a packaging that can be described as the great blend of elegant and simplicity. Though taking the earpieces and the mic out requires the removal and undoing of some paper pieces, everything else is very much plain in sight in their own compartment.



Now before we go into the build quality, you should know there are 4 version of PFE, each with its own model number. The 111 is a pure IEM, mic-less version with white color, 112 is the black version of 111, 121 is the mic-supported white version while 122 is mic-supported black version. As far as sound quality is concerned, all four should sound the same. The iPhone / iPod compatible mic is about 8 inches down from the right earpiece with a single button. The PFE 111 and 112 are retailed around $140 while PFE 121 and 122 is around $160.

So let’s talk about build quality. Bad news first: for those early batches (v0), there are mainly two problems: First is that some of the plastic earpiece develops hairline crack after a while. In severe cases, the plastic might even crack a hole on the edge where two part of the earpieces meet. Second is the hardening of the cable after they exposed to sweat. This mainly happens on the section where the cable comes out from the earpiece and loops back over the ear. This is similar to the problem on very early batch (pre-2008) of Shure SE530 where the plastic agent on the cable reacts to certain kind of chemical in the sweat and harden up. The early sign of these problems in the v0 batch showed up as soon as the first 5 months after the IEM was released back in 2008. Now comes the good news: After Phonak realized the problem, they began to reformulate their manufacturing procedure as well as the the materials. The improved PFE, known as the v1 batch, hit the market around June to September 2009 to replace the original PFE v0.



So how can you tell which batch belows to v1? The simplest way is to look at the bottom of the PFE's box where the bar code stick is. It should read 'Audéo PFE 1xx ... V1' if it belongs to the newer v1 batch. You should also find the manufacturing date there as well. If you have lost the box and uncertain about which batch your PFE belongs to, a simple visual inspection is required. To better deal with stress on the joins, there are a few more strain relief on the Y-splitter and as well on the mic (if applied). You can take a look in the pictures of the v1 posted here and compared it to your PFE. If you have a v0 batch, don't worry. PFE does come with a lengthy 2 years warranty and Phonak will replace any PFE with cracked earpiece or cable under warranty as long as you have the receipt. As far as the PFE v1 build quality is concerned, I think it is safe to assume that Phonak has fixed the problems since there is little to none complain about build quality regarding PFE v1 for over half a year since v1 was released.



Accessories wise, PFE doesn't come short of anything. There are the three different sized single flange, a pair of Comply foam tip, the earwax cleaning stick with a metal loop at the end, a small hard plastic case with 6 spare filters and filter exchanging tool, a pair silicone ear guide, and a two compartmented soft pouch.

The filters serve two purposes on PFE. Like any filter, they stop earwax from getting inside the earpiece. More importantly, they also provide the acoustic impedance to tune the sound. In the case with PFE, two kinds of filter, grey and black, are provided (and replaceable). We will discuss their effect in detail on the sound quality section.



A pair of silicone ear guide is a pretty standard inclusion in many IEM package these day. One thing that worth noting is that it is PFE that began the trend back in 2008, and PFE ear guide is still better made than many other ear guide I have seen so far. Since PFE is meant to be worn over the ear, microphonics is very low. The cable itself is pretty much tangle and memory-effect free. You can coil it up for days and it will just return to straight. The overall design of the earpiece and the silicone ear guide make PFE a great fit in my ears, worthy of the name 'Perfect Fit' in every sense. In fact, most of the times I don't even notice it in the ear.

You might also want to know that PFE shares similar nozzle design as JAYS, so exchanging eartips is not a problem though I do find the stock more than adequate and have no complain about them. Isolation is about average with the stock silicone, but you can improve it by using the supplied Comply foam tips.

The zipped, two compartments soft pouch is also a really good idea. It is not crash-proof, but you can store the IEM, plus spare eartips and the filter box in a separated space. I must say, Phonak's accessories are simply top-notch, nothing lesser (and perhaps better) even compared to some of the most expensive universal IEM out there. Overall I am quite happy with what I have seen.



Sound Quality
Let's talk about the filters first. In total you will get 4 pairs, two grey and two black. Since one pair of the grey filters has already been pre-installed on the IEM, there are only 3 pairs of filters left in the filter case (two blacks and one grays). The grey filter is the brighter of the two variations, giving better detail and more peaks / forwardness on the vocal region. The black filter is the smoother, warmer, and more laid-back of the two. While I won't say the black filter gives more bass quantitatively, the warmness it carries add better body and depth to the bass and in a lesser extent, to the mid. The lesser / smoother treble of the black filter also tunes down the detail centric aspect of the IEM and make the overall sound more musical.

The overall sound signature of PFE with grey filter is balanced, toward neutral yet analytical, clean and great in resolution. Treble is very well extended, highly detail, sparkly yet not overdone. Mid is decent with a slight forwardness but not to the level of being sweet. Bass has a good sense of speed, quality and low extension, but lean in quantity, body and depth. Soundstage is slightly above average with a good sense of airiness and instrument separation.

The overall sound signature of PFE with black filter is smooth, warm and musical. Treble is still fairly well extended, but sparkles without the edge in a smoother fashion. Mid is well bodied, sweet with good texture. Bass is not big, but has good speed and impact with decent body and depth. Soundstage is average.

By selecting the filters, PFE can switch between a more analytical sound and a more musical performance. With grey filter, PFE is able to compete with RE0 on treble presentation with PFE edging out on speed and separation while RE0 still holding the crown on overall detail. With black filter, PFE easily gives UM2 a run for its money by maintain a higher level of resolution though it is not nearly as hard hitting. In between the two kinds of filter, I think it is hard not to acknowledge that the single balanced armature based PFE is quite a performer.

Conclusion
With versatility in sound, improved build quality, generous 2 years warranty, great customer service and an amazingly high price/performance ratio, the new Phonak Audéo PFE v1 is a great IEM whether it is the mic or mic-less version. Recommended with a Sonic Diamond Award™.

A quick sum-up can be found here. 

This rating is for Phonak Audéo PFE only and may change without notice. Please refer to the list for a complete listing.

Sleek Audio SA7 - The Revelation

If you know nothing about the world of IEM, then the name 'Sleek Audio' perhaps is not the kind of brand name that you will recognize as innovative and groundbreaking. Telling the world that audio can be sleek seems to be more in-line with companies that make bass heavy, ill-detailed and low resolution 'gangster-style' headphones that marketed toward the youth or those are looking for street credit. However, that is where you are most definitely wrong. Being one of the most forward-looking company IEM maker in the market, Sleek Audio first introduced us the concept of personal sound customization (VQ system) in universal IEM back in 2007~08. They are also one of the first to integrate the hi-fi level wireless audio technology 'Kleer' into their IEM product line. If anything, Sleek Audio defines innovation itself - forever pushing the limit of technology in the IEM world. 

Here is Sleek Audio latest creation, the SA7. With housing machined from a single block aluminum, dual balanced armature transducers wrapped in shock absorbing silicone (up to 14000Gs!), carbon fiber outer cover hold by titanium screw, plus the same treble- and bass-port equipped  VQ system found on their previous model SA6, the new SA7 is not only a pinnacle of design, but may also prove to be the perfect marriage of form and function. Price estimated around $350~400. Not cheap, but still within reason. ETA is 'soon', perhaps with in the next few months.

[Picture modified from the May 2010 issue of Popular Science]

[UPDATE] More pictures of SA7 have been released by Sleek Audio.

[REVIEW] Audio Technica ATH-CKS70 - Solid BASShead

Yes, you know this is the model for those who are unashamed to call themselves basshead - but not just any basshead. This is for the most hardcore of them all, the SOLID BASShead, the kind of people who pump massive SPL and vibration into their ears just to cure hangover. If you are not that kind of people, be warned of what you will get yourself into.



Spec
Transducer: 12.5mm dynamic
Sensitivity: 106dB/mW
Freq. Response: 5Hz ~ 24kHz
Max input: 100mW
Impedance: 16ohm
Weight: 8g
Connector: 3.5mm gold plated L-shaped mini plug
Cable length: 1.2m
Two position nozzle



Packaging, Build Quality, and Accessories
The packaging is simple but nice. It looks like typical heat sealed blister pack at first, but it is actually not sealed at all. The blister pack has bend / clip on both sides to hold the package together tightly, but still able to open up with minimum effort.



At first look, build quality is decent. The cable is fairly soft yet tangles free. The earpiece is mainly made out of plastic but the cover of the bass chamber (where the logo is) is aluminum. The L-shaped mini jack is a bit on the small side, but the strain relief is soft, bendable and does its job well. It seems well at first, but I did have problem with the build quality. As I spent some time with it, I noticed there was a slight bass imbalance between the two channels. The left side seems to have just a tad less bass than the right. Well I could send it back or even exchange one with the dealer, but at the end of my investigation into the problem I ended up fixing the problem myself. There is a hidden vent under the aluminum cover for bass reflex, and apparently some glue that used to attach the cover to the bass chamber overflow into the vent and sealed it off, causing the imbalance. Overall it is a small problem and relatively easy to fix. But given this is Audio Technica, I think I am expecting better.

Functional design wise, CKS70 is not something of special. It is similar to Sony old EX85/90 by marrying an earbud size dynamic transducer with a nozzle. What AT has done better is further refined the overall shape and make it even more comfortable than other similar design. AT also claims that the secondary bass chamber helps deepen the bass. As I mentioned above, there is a hidden vent in the bass chamber which basically makes it a bass reflex system. It does help build up the bass quantity and widen the soundstage, but it also makes it much less isolated and more prone to wind noise. CKS70 also feature a two positional nozzle that allow the user to select whether (s)he want the eartip to mount more upfront or recessed on the nozzle. The recessed position gives a tad more isolation, but still not quite enough. It also tends to kill off more treble, detail and soundstage by giving a warmer sound. The little increment in isolation doesn't really justify the cost of SQ, so the upfront position is what I choose in the end. Microphonics isn't too bad, but either really good as well. Because of the design, wearing the earpieces over-the-ear is pretty much out of question.

Accessories wise, there are four pair of silicone single flange eartips (XS, S, M, L), user manual, and a small soft pouch. Overall I am happy with the package. Lemon does happen sometime and I do believe it is just a a stroke of bad luck. At least it is nothing major enough for me to worry about the over quality of the product.



Sound Quality
As always, the IEM has been given a standard 50hrs burn-in before the audition. No noticeable change had been detected. As mentioned before, CKS70 utilizes the bass reflex design to deepen its bass. I can hear as low as 5~10Hz in frequency swept so the quantitative improvement is there. However, bass flex also known to be not quite as good as a fully sealed system on bass speed, decay and resolution, which it is also true to a certain degree in CKS70 when you compared it to other bass heavy IEM with sealed design, such as Atrio and SE-777.

The overall sound signature is very warm and fairly musical toward the fun side, with a full sounding mid and bass. Treble is decent and smooth, but lacks sparkle and roll off a little early. Mid is warm, forward with a thick, slightly rough vocal. Bass is also warm, big, slow, impactful, ever present and full of resonance at the lower end. Soundstage is fairly wide but lacks a sense of airiness. The ever present of strong bass can be considered a weak point if you are not a very dedicated basshead.

Mod
A simple mod can be done to tune down the lower end bass resonance for a slightly more balanced sound. Simple use a tiny bit of blu-tack to seal of the vent and turns the bass reflex to sealed system. You will lose a bit of soundstage as well. Since this mod is easily reversible, no harm for trying out.



Conclusion
As I have warned you before, CKS70 is really a basshead IEM in its very core. It is a fun IEM to listen to with a unique outer look, but lacks the best resolution and detail in its price category, even for a bass heavy IEM. For those who are looking for a more balanced yet still bass strong performance with good detail and resolution, the similar priced Sherwood SE-777 might better fit your need. A lesser and cheaper, yet still very good choice will be the upcoming Brainwavz M2 (a.k.a. ViSang R03). As for CKS70, it is reserved for those who need an air pump to squeeze the last drop of brain juice out of their eyes - and rock on!!!

A quick sum up can be found here. 

This rating is for Audio Technica ATH-CKS70 only and may change without notice. Please refer to the list for a complete listing.

[Short Review] HeadStage USB DAC cable

I have always wanted a small good quality USB DAC. Since most of my music collection has been digitized and I do own a pretty good small desktop amp (FireStone Little Country II), an USB DAC makes most sense. 

In case you have no idea what an DAC or Digital-to-Analog Converter means, it is a device that convert digital data into analog signal that can be amplified. Sometime DAC also refer to the actual chip that do the conversion. Quite often, the typical computer sound card is nothing more than a DAC coupled with an amp section (more advanced sound card might also comes with a decoder chip). A pure DAC should output only line-level signal for amping, but some DAC do comes with its own built in amp section. In any case, an amp is needed because line-level signal is too loud to be connected to anything else. You might wonder why we need to amp the signal since it is already loud enough - well, just because it is loud enough doesn't meant it can drive a speaker or headphone well. An amp not only amplifies signal depends on the gain setting, it also (should) have enough current reserve to feed the voltage swing on the transducer. Simply said, an amp provides the control of power so the headphone / speaker can performance at their best.

HeadStage USB DAC cable has been in the market for a while now, but recently it got a full hardware update from the previous simple Texus Instruments' PCM270x* solution to the better Wolfson WM8740 with PCM270x solution. If you have read my FiiO E7 impression, you will notice both E7 and HeadStage use the same WM8740. So what is special about the WM8740 chip? Well, it is one of Wolfson best DAC for portable usage, and simply a better sounding chip than a PCM270x chip.

*PCM270x is a series of USB DAC chip includes PCM2706, PCM2707, etc.

Build Quality

While it is well made, but I can't say I am impressed with what I got for US$69. First of, the cable itself comes with nothing more than bubble padded envelop that it was shipped in. I am not expecting anything fancy, but given the design of the cable I think a little reinforcement won't hurt. Second, as you can see in the picture, the circuit is sealed in what seems to be heat shrink tubing. While the actual USB cable are thick and fairly durable the circuit area is a real weak spot. There seems to be some metal clip / frame holding the cable and the circuit together, but you can probably break it in half with hands. I would think a small hard plastic enclosure would be much safer. Given the quality components used in this DAC cable, the build quality does seem a bit too DIY-ish.

Sound Qaulity

For SQ, I compared it to the built in DAC section on both Meier Audio's Corda 3MOVE (PCM270x solution) and FiiO E7 (WM8740 solution) by simply switching between the built in DAC and feeding the HeadStage to the analog input of 3MOVE and E7.

I think it is needless to say that HeadStage sounds quite a lot better than the internal DAC of 3MOVE. I have other PCM270x based DAC but none sounds quite as good as the one in 3MOVE. While it is probably one of the best sounding PCM270x solution around, it does come short compared to WM8740. Being also the USB controller chip, there is a limitation on how well  PCM270x can be in multitasking. The compression of the overall sound and the lost of fine detail are very obvious in the ears.

The real interesting comparison is between E7 and HeadStage. They both uses PCM270x to handle USB data and WM8740 for decoding, but they have different opamp for buffer (to line-level) and output capacitors. By feeding HeadStage into E7 line-in, I have to say HeadStage does sound better than the internal DAC by a very small margin. The main differences are that Headstage has a more expensive soundstage and a slightly crispier treble.

Conclusion

For almost US$70, I can't say it a cheap gear to have especially since you will need an amp to use it. I certainly won't recommend any of you out there to pick one up if you only have a $25 FiiO E5 or even a $60 CMOY. However, if you already have a decent amp, this might be a simple yet worthy upgrade that let you listen to high quality music from your PC. If you haven't had an amp however, the upcoming FiiO E7 will probably be the smarter choice. Yes, the E7 DAC is a little under (though not by much) compared to HeadStage USB DAC cable - but for $80, you also get a fairly decent amp with E7 instead of the pure DAC from HeadStage. It is a simple consideration of practicality and bang-for-the-bucks factor.