I don’t know which friend once jokingly told the author, "The number of monomers determines the power of balanced armature headphones." Although this sentence is a bit joking, it is true that most of the High-end headphones with balanced armature monomers will all use at least a double-monitor structure; however, Final Audio Design high-end balanced armature headphones FI-BA-SS still use a single balanced armature monomer structure, but in terms of results It is a headset that subverts the impression of single balanced armature headphones.
Although having more drivers does not necessarily mean that the sound is better, why do most manufacturers that use balanced armature driver designs in headphones use multiple drivers in high-end headphones? This is also because most headphones with balanced armature monomers on the market are mostly from Knowles Electronics in the United States, and a few are from Denmark's SONION, which has self-made balanced armature monomer technology and patents. There are very few headphone fields.
Although the balanced armature monomer produced by Knowles can produce a delicate sound, there are several indispensable shortcomings in the completeness of the sound presentation. The first is the response frequency of a single monomer. The performance capability is limited, so single-balanced armature headphones that generally use Knowles monomers usually perform better at mid-frequency vocals, but have slightly worse extension capabilities at high and low frequencies. Secondly, the sound has a poor three-dimensional sense and cannot be compared to high-end dynamic headphones. The hoops also have natural layers; of course, due to the size of the general moving iron, the low-frequency dive is not ideal.
Also because Knowles' monomers are supplied in mass production, and at most they are only tuned according to the manufacturer's requirements, but I have never heard of Knowles designing a monomer specifically for a certain manufacturer; yes Therefore, most high-end balanced armature headphones use a multi-monitor stacking method, using two monomers with different response frequencies (composite dual full-range monomers are also available today) to compensate for each other's insufficient sound range, making the response frequency higher. It can be extended to high and low frequencies, and thus obtain a sense of space and layering that is difficult to express with a single unit.
In my impression, in addition to Sony, which announced the launch of its own structural balanced armature unit two years ago, the other one is Final Audio Design. However, Sony's method still uses stacking, but Final Audio Design mostly maintains Single monomer. As the author mentioned before when I interviewed the former president of Final Audio Design, Takai Kanemori, their balanced armature monomer technology was acquired through mergers and acquisitions, but was customized to meet the needs of Final Audio Design.
Before releasing the LAB I, a patented production headphone that uses metal 3D printing to manufacture the frame and uses composite monomers for the first time, Final Audio Design’s top-notch balanced armature monomer is this FI- BA-SS, although it is a balanced armature monomer earphone, its appearance is somewhat like a dynamic structure earphone, and there are even a few small air holes at the end. Among balanced armature monomer earphones, FI- The appearance of BA-SS is somewhat unusual.
However, FI-BA-SS is still a product designed based on Mr. Kanai’s unique sound theory. Its frame components are cut from stainless steel, with wire fixings, *** It is composed of four components, and the three components that make up the main body are all quite thick. This is also because Mr. Takai proposed that for good sound, the unnecessary vibration of the audio equipment must be suppressed through weight.
Although it is generally believed that the balanced armature monomer has less design impact than the moving coil structure frame because the monomer itself contains a vibrating cavity, after all, when balanced armature headphones produce sound It will still vibrate, and heavy metal is used for this reason; the front components are integrally formed with the duct, making the structure simpler and reducing the looseness of the structure caused by too many components.
The rear opening is indeed useless if it is designed with a general Knowles monomer, but don’t forget that FI-BA-SS is a monomer designed by Final Audio Design. From the description on the official website, It can be seen that this monomer has small holes opened to create low frequencies. The openings at the rear are claimed to not cause sound leakage but can create natural low frequencies. Final Audio Design patented design "BAM (Balance Air Movement"), that is, it Although it is a balanced armature, it has some characteristics of dynamic headphones.
As for the sound? This is a very unique headphone. If you didn’t tell me otherwise, you might think that it is a high-end micro dynamic driver headphone, and it is a dynamic driver with metal coating on the diaphragm; but wake up. , FI-BA-SS is indeed a balanced armature monomer headphone, and it has a single monomer structure, but it has some characteristics of balanced armature monomers and dynamic coil monomers.
It inherits the advantages of a balanced armature that is generally cold, analytical but easy to drive. It also has the low-frequency dive and spatial layering of a moving coil unit; FI-BA-SS has a slightly thinner tone. , analysis, the sound is quite accurate, and the high-frequency extension is not as high-pitched as the Knowles high-frequency dedicated balanced armature monomer, but it is smooth and coordinated; perhaps because of the unique opening design of the monomer, the overall tone has a The stainless steel frame has a cold and resolute style.
The FI-BA-SS low-frequency volume is not much, but it has better diving ability than many three-balanced armature headphones, except for a few headphones that use dynamic and balanced armature hybrids or Sony Apart from the XBA series of high-end headphones, it is quite rare to dive into balanced armature headphones. However, most hybrid monomer headphones are somewhat incongruous with Sony's XBA headphones, but FI-BA-SS does not have composite monomers. problem, because it is a simple monomer, and does not need to go through a crossover line.
Intuitively speaking, FI-BA-SS is more like a balanced armature monobloc headphone than a balanced armature monobloc headphone. I have heard several titanium-plated high-end ear canal headphones using small-size dynamic coils. It's just that usually metal-plated dynamic headphones are quite difficult to drive. After all, the diaphragm becomes hard, and it is difficult to drive even if the diameter is small. However, FI-BA-SS can easily perform to a certain level with a handheld device. It is said that it is a headset that does not require high driving force in comparison, but the better the detail performance of the front-end equipment, of course the FI-BA-SS will also be better.
As for the wearing feel, FI-BA-SS is quite heavyweight for its size. This is also because the frame is made of thick aluminum alloy for one-piece cutting, but when worn, The outlet position is just right to be stuck in the earlobe groove of the ear. Although it may fall off during intense exercise, the wearing comfort and stability are not bad when walking around; however, the wire is thin
Only However, I don’t quite know how to position FI-BA-SS. If we purely judge the price based on reputation, FI-BA-SS does have a level exceeding 10,000 yuan. However, with its price, it is also surrounded by strong enemies, such as AKG K3003, Sennheiser IE800, Shure SE846, Ultrasone IQ, Weston W60 and several small-scale headphone manufacturers that launch customized headphones all have quite excellent products; I believe that the value of FI-BA-SS also depends on its insistence on using metal. The one-piece cutting structure and the uniqueness of using a single balanced armature monomer to create sound are the conditions for measuring it. Perhaps in addition to appreciating the wonderful sound it brings, you should also regard it as a piece of metal art.