WoW it has been so long since the last time I visit Lowyat Forum and I am so surprised and happy so see we have so many fans of Final Audio Design in Malaysia.

Just looked through some thread over there and I think some people might have misconcepting the requirement of Amps on Final Audio Design product.

If you look at FAD line up, most of their product has very low impedance compared to others. Low impedance means that you can drive it easily with any source. However, it does not means that you can fully 100% drive it with any source. There is one BIG weakness dealing with low impedance phones.

I own FAD FI-BA-SS and Sonorous VI (Renamed Pandora Hope VI) and both of them are 8ohms impedance.

I believed that phones with such a low impedance do not need amp and indeed when I tried my FI-BA-SS with a lot of amps while I enjoying myself in Yodobashi Camera, Akihabara, I did not feel big different, with amp or without amp.

However, one day I came across an amp, I was so surprise, it gave my FI-BA-SS a big step of upgrade in term of bass. Then I started to look around trying to find the answer and I start to realize that I miss one big important issue.

Driving a low impedance phone is easy, but the source (player or amp) which is driving it, if the output impedance is > 1/8 of phone impedance, then the sound you get into your ear are actually deducted especially for low frequency range.

Look at FAD phones, some of them are having 8ohms, and actually not many players having their output impedance as low as 1ohm (1/8 * 8 ohms). Thus, if you are not using a player or amp which is <1ohm, trust me, you are not listening to its full power.

Try to find some low output impedance amp and try your FAD rigs, you will feel the different.

List of FAD phones with the output impedance:

8ohms: (Maximum player/amp output impedance = 1ohm)
Lab I
FI-BA-SS
Sonorous VI (Former Pandora Hope VI)
Sonorous IV (Former Pandora Hope IV)


16ohms: (Maximum player/amp output impedance = 2ohm)
Piano Forte X
Piano Forte IX
Piano Forte VIII
Piano Forte II
Adagio V
Adagio III
Adagio II
Heaven VI
Heaven V
Heaven IV
Heaven II
Sonorous X
Sonorous VIII


24ohms: (Maximum player/amp output impedance = 3ohm)
Heaven VIII
Heaven VII

This post has been edited by iceFrog-Hunter: Dec 25 2015, 10:23 PM