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Review: Fischer Audio Wicked Queen

By October 2, 2012No Comments
Fischer Audio Wicked Queen Review:


I would like to thank Fischer Audio for supplying me with this review sample, I will write as honest a review possible.

All opinions expressed are my own, others may not agree.

These received over 50 hours of burn, no real difference was noticed,

Gear Used:
IPod Classic 160gb (rockboxed) – Fischer Audio Wicked Queen
IPod Classic 160gb (rockboxed) – Fiio L3 – JDS Labs C421 (AD8620) – Fischer Audio Wicked Queen

Specs:
Frequency response: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Sensitivity: 101dB
Impedance: 40Ω
Max power input: 100mW
Price: $60


Packaging, Accessories and Build quality:
Packaging is very bright and stands out, I have these in green, and the packaging is bright green too. It has a cardboard body with a plastic inlay showing the headphones, very simple and it looks nice, but getting them out is another story, I basically had to destroy the plastic inner box to get to the headphones. Maybe an easier to open box would be better.

Accessories, what accessories? Nothing is included with these headphones, which is a shame, maybe at least a fabric carry pouch or something. Nothing is included, only the headphones and a users guide.

Build quality, well what can I say, these are more geared towards teenage girls I think, as they are called wicked queen. The headphones are basically all plastic, and cheap plastic at that, the adjustable arms are metal reinforced at least. These don’t feel like they will break that quickly, but the plastic really doesn’t inspire much confidence. The plates on the side that say wicked queen are metal, and the cable is 3M long and is of good thickness, and strain relief is fine on both jack and entry to the cups. The length is a bit longso not great for portable use as the box says portable headphones.

Comfort and Isolation:

Comfort is fairly good, the pads are a bit stiff and shallow, but may soften up after more use, the headband pad is also a bit too stiff, so you can feel the pressure on the top of your head. But these are light, so they are still comfortable for general use, but not for long listening sessions. The pads are spacious but a little shallow and these should also fit anyone.

Isolation is not very good for a portable headphone, and you can still hear things around you, but leakage is not a problem.

Sound:
I will split this into the usual 3 categories, and then write a conclusion.

Bass:

Well as these are more style over sound, I was expecting lots of muddy bass, not what I found. What these have is actually a satisfactory amount of bass, not overwhelming or anything, and to my surprise the bass is fairly well defined. Being articulate and punchy, with good extension, but not great. There is more mid bass punch than sub bass rumble.
I did notice one thing though, there is a weird resonance on some bass frequencies, I’m thinking some dampening in the cups could resolve this. Also the bass is quite slow in recovery so not very good for fast paced music.

Mids:

Well I was also expecting recessed mids, warmed up by the lows. As the lows are not as prominent as I thought they would be, there is very little warming up of the mids, and also the mids cut through the mix with good clarity. You can even hear singers take breaths whilst singing. There is a little bit of sibilance in the upper mids, but nothing serious. I am impressed by the mids from these, they are not as lush smooth and natural as I would have liked, but not bad for the price, and the type of headphone these are, the mids can be a little edgy and sharp sometimes.


Highs:
Also surprisingly present, but not the best in definition and detail. The highs become very splashy and metallic, but at least they are there. The highs really help these sound actually quite good, as no part of the spectrum is really lacking in anything. Cymbals shimmer and extend nicely, but never becoming bright or harsh.

Soundstage, Imaging and Instrument separation:
Soundstage is very average but I didn’t expect it to be large. But everything is very well positioned in the space it does have.

Imaging is very well done, with both channels working to create a very nice image of the whole sound, and placement of individual instruments.

Instrument separation is quite good, the sound does become congested on faster tracks, and it is also a slightly warm headphone, but instruments are generally well separated.

Conclusion:
Well, I must say I wasn’t expecting much of headphones that look like these, but I will say that I am surprised, based on sound only, I would recommend these actually. Not a bloated bassy mess, as most consumer aimed headphones are, these have quite a balanced sound, with very acceptable mids and highs, and bass that does not overpower the rest of the sound. They do have a slightly warm sound, but fair well with most genres, where slower acoustic music actually sounds very good.

I hope you enjoyed this review, comments are welcome.

Tracks Used:
Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox) (320kbps MP3)
Paramore – Franklin (320kbps MP3)
Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (FLAC)
Deolinda – Passou Por Mim E Sorriu (live) (ALAC)
Suicide Silence – Unanswered (FLAC)
Massive Attack – Angel (ALAC)
Eat Static – Dzhopa Dream (ALAC)
The XX – Crystalised (FLAC)
Funeral For A Friend – Bend Your Arms To Look Like Wings (ALAC)
Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (FLAC)
The Scene Aesthetic – Humans (259kbps MP3)
A Hero A Fake – Swallowed By The Sea (254kbps MP3)
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, Spring Allegro (ALAC)
Johnny Craig – Children Of Divorce (161kbps MP3)
Deadmau5 + Kaskade – I Remember (Caspa Remix) (320kbps MP3)
Black Uhuru – Utterance (ALAC)
We Are The In Crowd – Never Be What You Want (226kbps MP3)
Silverstein – Discovering The Waterfront (320kbps MP3)
Concept Of Thought – Our Thought (FLAC)
Nirvana – Something In The Way (Unplugged) (ALAC)

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