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CasioPSX
152
Apr 17, 2021
the fact that every comment that says they don't like this product's sound quality is being hidden/deleted by moderators really puts me off buying this. way too suspicious.
PromNightFetus
150
Apr 17, 2021
CasioPSXI read most of those before mods made them hidden but the majority of those comments jad nothing to do with the sound quality. It was mostly people commenting on the design or your typical “weeb” hating comment. As someone who actually owns these and has had a few Final Audio products, you get your moneys worth. You pay maybe a $30-$40 premium for the collab and the custom voice recording. Also keep in mind the IEMs actual price is ¥19,800 (jp), roughly $180, so you are paying for shipping costs as well (not just from Drop). All that said: I’d say you’re still paying for a good TWS IEM with the value of about $200 (purely sound quality). So if you don’t mind spending the $50+ for the collab and its import from Japan, Id say these are perfectly fine. Also LDAC and aptX HD is not a deal breaker (not sure why it would be) as not very many TWS IEMs have then and even then not many people listen to lossless files to take advantage of it. But then again if you’re a critical listener to the extent of needing aptx HD, you probably already have a pair and probably don’t need to get these lol.
Je_Saist
163
Apr 18, 2021
CasioPSXAs one of those who took a shot at the sound quality, I feel I should respond to this. Right now Drop is also selling Anker's Soundcore Liberty Pro 2, a bluetooth earbud set that are widely considered to punch far above their price-point. Far. Far. FAR above their pricepoint. Now, my situation with headsets is complicated. I have synthetic ear canals (read: tubes were drilled). My ears don't have a "Natural" shape, with the resulting surgical scarring and tissue formations presenting a significant barrier to the soundwave generation of most common earbuds. Zolo's Kickstarted Liberty Pro's were the first earbuds I had ever used where I felt like I was not loosing anything in an audio experience outside of the transmission medium losses (read Bluetooth limitations). Thinksound's MS02, of which I dearly wish Drop would buy the rights to and make another production run on, were quite literally the first pair of earbuds I had ever purchased where I was not able to determine a significant degradation of sound-playback compared to an over-the-ear sound experience. Not quite as impressive as the Liberty Pro's by virtue of those being a wireless set and the MS02's being a wired set. Yet still, the MS02's at least gave me a wired benchmark, and I strongly suspect their strong performance for my ears is a result of it's resonance capabilities curtesy the use of real wood. Zolo, which was bought by Anker and renamed Soundcore, has produced nothing but a string of hits for me. Their Vortex and Q30 cans deliver wireless experience riding the limits of Bluetooth transmission, and a wired experience rivaling Sennheiser cans. Part of me would love to get Anker, Drop, and Razer/THX into a room for a Kitty-Themed collab... but I digress... and I've already got a post somewhere here on Drop about the wireless over-the-ear headset we'd actually LIKE to buy. Anyways, so, with this kind of background, knowing my own physical limitations, and having HRTF results that are... complicated... at best... It is with that background that I went into the Liberty Pro 2's. They weren't openly promoting the new set by touting some exotic material for earbud construction like the original set, or like the MSO2's from Thinksound. It was, from the brochure, a different approach to sound generation, titled Astria Coaxial Acoustic Architecture. Which, worked, for me. With my ears. Soundcore proved that they could improve on the performance of the Liberty Pro's kickstarted under the Zolo branding. Almost everybody I've casually run into expensive earbuds from other vendors... have all found the Soundcore Liberty Pro 2's to sound *BETTER* than their far more expensive counterparts. Which is my concern over these Final Audio. I really don't think, at least looking at a spec sheet, that they can realistically outperform the Liberty Pro 2's. Now maybe they can. I'll find out for myself when my pair arrives. The audio performance isn't why I bought my pair though. I bought mine because I want to encourage Drop to pursue these kind of collaboration concepts. $240 for a pair of earbuds that can't sound as good as a $90 pair isn't good value for money, period. $240 to encourage a manufacturing company specializing in bespoke/modified custom audio gear to more heavily invest in the bespoke/modified aspect? That's a different question. Imagine for a second if, because of these, Drop goes and talks with Anker about customizing/theming an existing Liberty Pro 2 or future Liberty Pro 3 set with another anime or gaming theme? As I referenced in my first post in this thread, I adore the idea of the LP2's with the City of Heroes Tanker emblem. That kind of crossover-collaboration is something a company like Drop can probably pull off. For that reason alone, I'd say these NGE inspired earbuds are worth the buy-in HERE, and not at another site.
(Edited)
PromNightFetus
150
Apr 21, 2021
Je_SaistTo be fair these are $180 IEMs (19,800 yen in Japan) that have been out since last year. They're available in multiple places at around the same $230-250 price tag. Taking into consideration the oversea shipping and any other fees that may be associated plus these being a collaboration item, I think the price is reasonable. Final Audio does not skimp out on audio quality for any product so at the very least you'll get IEM quality of about $180+, add a $20-30 oversea shipping, any additional fees that may have been included (licensing fees of the voices maybe?), and then the collab premium (and the voice recordings) it all comes out to be pretty close to what you're paying here. But of course there are plenty of options for pure dollar per IEM performance so if someone is looking to get the most out of their $250 and don't care much for NGE, these can be passed on. Take into account I may be slightly biased. I love NGE and I've also got several decent IEMs and cans but I also enjoy almost all sound signatures (mostly neutral) and have found a place for these IEMs so for someone who's looking for a one and done, I don't know if I would hold this in the same regard. It's definitely a fun sound signature though and if you like listening to more pop-y or upbeat mid-focused music these are great without giving a harsh sound. Also a special note about the eartips from Final Audio are awesome. It comes with 5 additional sizes (total of 6) and these tips are some of the better feeling tips that aren't memory foam. It can sit in my ear for prolonged periods and I barely feel it. So if all else, look for these eartips, they're very nice and should fit on most other standard IEMs.
PromNightFetus
150
Jun 22, 2021
Je_SaistJust take note that the msrp in Japan is much cheaper (like 70-60 cheaper, with exchange)
Je_SaistI can’t believe you would spend that much money in hopes that mass drop gave a shit about your purchase. I’m obviously a fan of this site but wow you have mad faith in them. I hope it works out for you truly.
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