“He played the king as if afraid someone else would play the ace.” John Mason Brown
Introduction
The Fischer Audio Omega Ace is designed to be fun and adaptable to all your everyday activities. They have a recommended retail price of USD$49. Below is the description from the folks at Fischer Audio:
“About Omega Ace
A blend of fun and expression, the Omega Ace earphones guarantees powerful and thumping bass with an optimal fit. This sturdy pair of earphones is made with a new robust, braided cable design and a minimalistic one-button microphone with superb voice clarity. With the interesting semi-transparent black housing, Omega Ace will blend seamlessly into your active lifestyle while satisfying your bass demands.”
Disclaimer: This sample was provided for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.
Packaging and accessories
The Fischer Audio Omega Ace comes in a nice looking box made of smooth cardboard. On the front there is a clear image of the earphones giving you an idea of the shape and style. On the back is a handy frequency response graph along with a genre performance chart.
Music Recommendations – Omega Ace:
Hip Hop / RnB Excellent
Pop / Electronic Excellent
Rock / Metal Very Good
Classical Average
Jazz / Blues Average
There are also some specifications in four languages including English, Dutch, French and Russian. Speaking of specs here they are:
| Driver Unit | 9mm |
| Sensitivity | 88dB |
| Impedance | 16 Ohm |
| Frequency Range | 20 Hz – 22KHz |
| Max. Power | 50mW |
| Cable | 1.2 m |
| Plug | 3.5 mm stereo plug |
On the front of the box is a magnetic flap which opens up to reveal the inside cover and the earphones in a clear window. There’s a host of information here detailing the accessories, wearing instructions, a detailed breakdown of parts and phone controls.
Included in the box are 3 pairs of silicone tips, 1 dual flange tips, 1 foam tips and a shirt clip. There is also the Fischer Audio black carry case.
Anyone familiar with my reviews might remember that the included tips with most IEMs are too small for me. Again that is the case here, so for testing I had to dig something out of my personal extra-large tip collection.
I would have liked to see some kind of Velcro cable tie included to make storage a bit easier.
Build, comfort and isolation
The Ace has a very small housing, similar to the other Omega Series IEMs. They’re made of a translucent, smoky gray plastic that looks good and feels sturdy. On the outside is the Fischer Audio Logo and on the inside you’ll find Left and Right indicators.
The nozzle is a fairly standard size so tip rolling is easy to do.
The cable on the Ace is quite good. From the rather stiff strain relief on the IEM housing there’s a memory wire that holds things in place, although it’s a little stiff for my preference. The cable is a smooth plastic that is resistant to tangles and feels durable. At first it was kinked a fair bit from the original packaging but after a few days of use it became more supple and manageable.
On the left side is the microphone and in-line remote. The remote enables you to play and pause music, skip or rewind tracks as well as answer and end phone calls.
There’s a cable cinch above the Y-splitter to help with secure fit while moving about. The cinch and splitter are both made of a hard rubber material.
The cable ends in a 90-degree plug that has a decent strain relief on it.
The Omega Ace fits easily into the ear due to its small size. I can wear them for hours on end without any discomfort and most of the time can forget that they’re there at all – if not for the music coming out of them.
Isolation is a little below average for an over-ear style IEM due to the small size but with music playing these would be fine for use in transit or a noisy area.
Sound
Testing was done primarily with my Benjie K9 and XDuoo X2 DAPs, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and desktop PC paired with FX-Audio DAC-X6.
Music tested with the Ace:
Leudovico Einaudi – Islands, Essential Einaudi (full album flac)
The Pineapple Thief – Your Wilderness (full album 320kbps mp3)
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar (full album flac)
Earthside – A Dream in Static (full album flac)
Solar Fields – Random Friday (full album flac)
Jeremy Soule – The Elder Scrolls V, Skyrim soundtrack (full album flac)
The Ace has a V-shaped sound as one would expect from something aimed at the masses. The sound melds well together and maintains a good balance. The soundstage is rather good with plenty of width and the ability to project sounds just out of the head. Imaging is fairly accurate and separation decent except for the busiest of segments where things can become slightly muddled.
Bass
The bass on the Ace (see what I did there?) is exaggerated but decay is fairly fast and texture is good with only slight bleeding into the mids. Sub-bass was perceptible starting at around 15Hz and has the ability to shake you up a bit but is by no means bass head level.
Midrange
Mids are warm though a little recessed. Vocals sound natural and engaging and there’s a good amount of detail discernable throughout. There is sometimes a slight bleed from the bass but for the most part separation is decent.
Treble
Although the treble is somewhat ‘relaxed’ it makes itself heard and extends well. It never became piercing but still manages to give the sound a lift and balance things out with the low end.
Comparisons
Omega Twin
The Ace has a lot in common with its bigger sibling. They are both V-shaped and have a boosted lower end and smooth treble. The Twin comes out on top due to having a cleaner bass and as a result slightly better resolution although having said that, I do prefer the treble on the Ace which has more presence and less roll-off than the Twin.
Omega Spark
The Ace is warmer in the mids and has more bass presence. It’s actually not far behind the Spark in terms of detail and doesn’t have the hot peaks that are present in the Spark. The Ace has a slightly more engaging sound and is probably the more versatile in terms of covering different music genres.
Conclusion
The Fischer Audio Omega Ace surprised me at first because I was expecting it to be much bassier after reading the official description but the bass is actually well controlled though it is elevated. Even though the treble is somewhat ‘relaxed’ it still has enough presence to add some brightness without getting edgy. They’re very comfortable and lightweight and stay securely in place with the help of the memory wire. If you’re looking for an all-rounder for all your daily activities whether it be commuting, walking or working out these are worth considering.