Lol, just depends on design
Yeah
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I should note that with the new or higher end FM gear, they have a proprietary speaker cable system called Forcelines, thereās no binding posts on the amps, and their special system uses almost like huge ass banana plugs that Iāve not seen elsewhere. Iāve had to use a speaker tap box (simply just box with binding posts, high quality cabling and a single 3 pin for l and r, no attenuation or impedance matching stuff or resistors and whatever), since I canāt directly connect up to the amps
Hereās a good picture of it online for reference
I wish they just had normal speaker taps on them, but Iām just glad I was informed before I picked up this combo so I wasnāt left not being able to use them lol, but you have to use a headphone breakout box here. I ended up with forcelines 7 which better suit smaller speakers apparently
The interconnects arenāt proprietary, although for synergy reasons Iād highly only consider their PIT cables (and the 108 mkii are only bal while the 155 is only single ended, so I needed to get some of their rca to xlr cables anyways)
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This also reminds me that i need to catch up on the dac thread. 125+ messages behind.
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Sorry for the lack of impressions on this stack, I just havenāt had the desire to listen to it after the horizon left lol. Iāll move these to the main setup and put them through their places soon enough
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So Iāve been busy lately and havenāt has much time as I wanted to with this stack, but I might as well go over a few standouts (only as a combo driving headphones):
Iām sorry if this all seems confused and contradictory, thatās because it is, but I feel I should still at least make some sort of comment on it
Pickiness:
Why are these so picky. They can go from amazing to being so boring and unimpressive so quickly with the wrong matches, wrong music, and wrong configuration lol. Iām so incredibly mixed because on some setups they are truly amazing, and others leave me feeling like I could get the same performance for more than half the cost. You can get them sounding amazing with the right combo, but others will just be entirely non worthwhile
As an example, the totaldac vs horizon on the same stack. The horizon feels so, so much more involving than the totaldac does on that setup, and I think thatās really because with headphones I do prefer something a bit more exaggerated and involving than something purely honest/transparency focused. The stack is just so incredibly unhyped and even in most all aspects that while they are incredibly technical, they can come off as unengaging or not showy enough for my tastes with headphones. I also think it is limited by the headphones, to me this is really maxing out what most all these headphones can do, and thatās likely another reason I prefer a dac that offers a stronger lean into /something/ rather than more dead neutral.
I just canāt really figure out how this stack can go from sounding almost very hifi and technical (I donāt want to say analytical, but almost mechanical) to incredibly organic depending on the pairing, they really adapt to whatās connected to them in both source and transducer.
Even on the cables, the FMA interconnects are a must (and speaker you have no choice), other interconnects at even much higher price points just donāt make sense as they get beat out by the FMA ones for me from a technical and tonal perspective, they are absolutely designed to be paired together, the synergy there is critical.
I would highly hesitate to suggest these to anyone, because theyāre so picky with the system that you really just need to demo them somehow first (moreso than other stuff, demo everything if you can though). They have so much potential, but even the dumbest shit throws them off.
Features:
Having a mono button on a preamp is so helpful, in my case specifically for better dialing in my mysphere without having to force mono though software, pretty awesome to have. Speaking of volume, having something with one single knob and a remote is something I greatly appreciate and shouldnāt take for granted after the lamm lol.
High gain and gain matching:
I donāt really want to dick around with the gain of this system since it was already set up for ideal matching, but thatās always an option that you can change on either the preamp or power which is always great to see
Trying to figure out how it sounds:
I want to call these cleaner leaning, but without the dryness or analytical sense from other cleaning leaning pairups. Itās fast, very very fast, pretty instantaneous sound, transients are pretty overall awesome in both attack and decay, although I do think they are a bit faster than I think they should be in some case from a realism perspective. Itās also slightly rounded slightly bloomy in a way that helps balance that out, itās both super engaging and incisive. Itās insanely resolving and technical with itās lower level information, really impressive and while a bit more forward and presentation than Iād typically prefer itās so well done that I canāt really complain. Itās just confusing since it really sounds like itās taking the best from both ends of the spectrum and then forcing it in the middle without much compromise (perhaps the compromise is the pickiness lol). When it comes to dynamics unrestrained is a great word, and spatially itās extremely accurate, but also can have a sense of scale and grandness that not many amp+pre combos have really been able to match.
Iām sorry I donāt have much more to say right now, Iāll get to actually describing how they sound later when I have more listening time and have a better idea of what Iām hearing
But so far pretty awesome, better than any headphone amps Iāve heard for the 3.2 and susvara. Will spend more time with other cans later. And try and make some more helpful pairings, comparisons, and swapping it into my main setup and seeing how it fares with things itās actually made to drive instead of headphones lol
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Quick note with the Susvara and this pairing, itās really really really good, and likely the best example of balance in the susvara Iāve heard. It does an incredible job of injecting the most energy and directness into the headphone while keeping the signature of a sweeter amp pairing, basically taking almost all the traits Iāve liked about specific pairings Iāve enjoyed in the past boiled down into one stack and taking it up another notch. Really great, and really addresses my main qualm with the susvara overall in comparison to other headphones.
Basically, actually making me want to use the susvara when I havenāt because of the mysphere for awhile now lol, back to being on more even footing (for now, until the dac comes in)
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All right, the clone is in, Iāll probably be able to start listening by the end of the week lol
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Does it look and feel like itās a clone?
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Does it taste like a clone?
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My eyesight is a bit shit, from a distance I wouldnāt be able to tell it apart, but up close you can see some flaws that give it away (color seems off, some visual defects), but to someone whoās never actually seen fm gear up close, they might not know. PSU is totally different, so thatās another give away. Build wise itās not great, switches and pot donāt feel good and feel cheap, chassis is somewhere similar though although not as solid feeling and not as well built.
I should note I got a fm155 mki clone, so it is a different design than my mkiir
It smells like a clone lol
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Like inexpensive gear not refined cheap, or like this shit is a bit riggy cheap?
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Hmmmm, nothing feels high quality to use, thereās a lot of wobble, but I donāt think itās like garbage build, itās what Iād consider acceptable for 200 bucks
So far, currently have it hooked up to a sacrificial headphone amp, and so far, nothing exploded, and it does have some of the classic characteristics in terms of irritations of the original design from memory. The gain is crazy high, like stupid high, but using the -20 db button takes a sound quality hit and you still need to lower things further, so been using a LPGT as the dac with reduced output low enough to not need the -20 db button and get around middle range on the clone. Once reduced to get actually good volume, itās working without issue so far. But youād have to do this with the original as well, so this isnāt a problem of the clone but of the design (corrected in mkiir from my experience)
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Well. This is likely the best active pre Iāve heard for 200 bucks lol. Itās not really a comparison with (close enough to) the real thing so far, but for 200 bucks, man itās pretty interesting lol. Most active pre at this price point are shit to where youāre better off passive. But like, this is really surprising for the price
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The clone vs an asgard 3?
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Clone easily
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Interestingā¦
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Very ā¦
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New notes, there is a bit of noise floor, and honestly I do detect some burn in as it sounds better today than yesterday.
Itās really hard to compare differences because itās not even close to the real thing, but Iād say itās a clean and forward sound with more of a lean toward that cleanliness than the real thing tonality wise, and much less refined. Really hard to compare anything else because the real thing blows it out of the water otherwise, but I guess it does sound somewhat like an FM to some extent. I would just personally say that so far real FM gear is more characterized by itās incredible technical performance, which this doesnāt really have and almost lack of clear signature, and imo this isnāt really that. But it doesnāt have to sound exactly like a FM to sound good, and this does sound quite good regardless.
I canāt really complain for 200-300 bucks, I really hate to say it but it does have pretty awesome price to performance. Then again, thatās achievable when you steal a phenomenal design I guess, even if you cheap it out and implement it lacklusterly, itās still going to be better than most anything else you get at the price point.
I really would want to suggest this to anyone looking for a cheap preamp, but honestly, I donāt know if I could considering this is basically just blatant theft of a design lol. But I guess if you donāt care about that, then this is super impressive for the price, really want to try a matching clone power amp, or a higher tier clone preamp lol. I also hear the clone Darts are pretty solid as well. Perhaps pick up a nice used legit preamp instead at the price point, but I guess if you donāt have morals the clone is nice lol
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What a great journey! Thanks for buying the clone since I never would have. Itās an interesting thing to analyze and I always enjoy reading your impressions.
And Iām glad youāre always here to ask the important questions no one else dares to.
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āHe is so braveā
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