Verdict
FiiO ’s first planar magnetic headphones do n’t vocalise like the competition , with a thick and rich presentation than most . Just check that you could make pacification with how the mid - bass limits transparency a little before purchasing .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
You may know FiiO for its DACs , portable music thespian , amps or itsin - pinna earpiece . But you probably do n’t know if for full - size of it headphones like the FiiO FT5 .
The troupe has n’t made many . This pair and 2023’sFiiO FT3are its first attempts at a pair of serious open - backed , full - size hifi - style headphones .
The FiiO FT5 are the more expensive of the two , at £ 429 . Such a price put option then in competition with mega performers like the HiFiMAN Edition XS and Sennheiser HD660S2 .
Do they vie ? dead . But the sound might not be what you ’d take over given the FiiO FT5 have two-dimensional magnetic equipment driver , which are often tie in with a controlled and very tight - sounding expressive style , in terms of bass radioactive decay . This is an altogether richer , thicker , and grander variety of audio recording .
The big question : is that what you require ?
Design
In almost 15 years of reviewing FiiO stuff , I can only recall one FiiO gizmo that did n’t essentially feel like a brick of upstanding aluminium . That was 2010 ’s FiiO E6 , a petite plastic earpiece amp you were meant to be able-bodied to crop to your shirt .
The FiiO FT5 have no demand for such portability concessions and feel about as close to a brick of alloy as you ’d want headphones to be . Their outer cup housings are ( as far as I can tell ) a unmarried bit of metal .
I ’m not certain the out bits of abode headphones need to be exceptionally rugged , but the FiiO FT5 indisputable do feel just that . Of naturally , unless you ’re careful you will finish up scraping off some of the black culture rouge . I ’ve managed to slenderly nick the headband arm part .
Let ’s get some of the basic principle out of the way . The FiiO FT5 are only well - suited for use at household . They let too much speech sound in for the outdoors , scant of an empty field , and leak too much out for office staff use .
These are classic , gloomy - technical school open - back headphones made with a singular focal point on sound .
The FiiO FT5 ’s figure seems roundly inspired by the Audeze reach , although the spirit here is a moment more youthful and highly strung . I think FiiO become a bit too far with this inquietude in the FT3 , which fundamentally look like “ gamer ” headphones . But these ? They get a pass , although I personally prefer the more impersonal look of the HifiMAN Sundara or Audeze MM-100 .
A lot of these two-dimensional magnetised earpiece can be quite heavy too , but I ascertain the FiiO FT5 utterly fine despite their weighty - vocalize 456 g-force heft . The hammock - style headband and pretty even press of the meek clamping force unfold it out nicely .
I ’ve put in a lot of 4 - 5 hour Roger Huntington Sessions with the FiiO FT5 : no complaints . It helps that the cup swivel a few degrees from their resting position too .
There ’s no folding these earpiece flat , though , one reason their bundled carry pillowcase is quite as large as it is . Do place headphones like this really involve a carry case ? I ’m not so sure , but the giant bastard leather semi - tough one surely stands out .
FiiO does n’t apply real leather across the case or the headphones . The default pads are synthetical leather , as is the more heavily textured upper of the head strap .
The interior part of the headband that rests on your drumhead is a feel - like material , and FiiO also includes a 2nd twain of pads with a velour cultivation . These are more breathable , and as such have a slight effect on the strait too . Plus , when HiFiMAN charges up to $ 129 for largely unremarkable replacement pad , fifth wheel are welcome .
FiiO uses a removable transmission line too . A mono 3.5 mm jack plugs into each earpiece . And despite there being a form of pass in the cable terminal , there ’s no locking organization here . You will be able to practice a “ generic ” replacement if you require to further down the line .
The standard cable has a switchable terminus , and both stock 3.5 mm and balanced 4.4 mm jacks are let in , as are 6.3 millimetre and XLR adapter .
Sound Quality
On first listen to the FiiO FT5 , I was n’t initially win over by them . They do n’t vocalize like a typical planar magnetised headphone , and I ’ve been a fan of these thing for ages .
The FiiO FT5 are thicker , richer , and altogether bolder sounding than the planar partner off from HiFiMAN and Audeze I ’ve loved in the past . However , the existent problem here was I was listen to a podcast at that tip , not euphony .
I was responding to the additional cushioning in the depleted - mids , which you could often hear adhere to spoken word sound recording like rock wool insulation . In the setting of music , though , you begin to understand why its here .
The FiiO FT5 are made to sound rich and opulent , with a sure chunkiness to them that hit my HiFiMAN Sundara vocalize a piddling anaemic in lineal comparison .
Combine that with deep and intemperately - hitting bass and the FiiO FT5 bulge out to seem more like a variety of grown - up “ fun ” headphone rather than one that might just be call in chubby - sound .
Their treble is also quite laidback liken to that of the salutary two-dimensional magnetic alternative .
These kind of observations would usually do with the caveat that a brace of headphone is n’t needfully the most elaborated . But the FiiO FT5 are big in this region . Resolution here will just stymy mostwireless ANC headphonesclose to this Leontyne Price form .
What you do n’t get is that sort of sparky brightness that like a shot telegraph a headphone isaboutbringing out detail in a very obvious personal manner . Instead its introduction of contingent is a little more subtle . You might call it a natural or realistic one , in that the detail here comes from an ability to persuasively conclude grain notably well across the bass and mids , without want to rely so much on those upper frequencies to generate that sentience of “ pellucidity . ”
A quite a little of my favourite headphones of the past , like the Sennheiser HD 800 and my current main home duet , the HiFiMAN Sundara do just that — lean on brighter treble to give the auditory sensation more peppiness . Some ears lie with that , some do n’t .
If you find your ears are very sensitive to hot , spiky , or abrasive treble , you ’ll enjoy the FiiO FT5 as there ’s just none of that here .
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Should you buy it?
FiiO has managed to make the FT5 sound like both a eminent - end phone and one with a particularly pleasing , comparatively easygoing theme song that does n’t have any of that moth-eaten , analytic sapidity of some other serious earpiece .
Rival planar charismatic headphone from companies like Audeze and HiFiMAN tend to have a brighter strait and more reserved mid - bass part , which can to some ears sound clear and more detailed .
Final Thoughts
The FiiO FT5 are my favourite planar magnetised headphones to date that do n’t mine the common benefit of this number one wood character . They sound richer , bolder and heavyset , and do so without becoming leaden or murky .
If you require hear more inert tuning , you should plausibly direct to the HiFIMAN Sundara or Edition XS or else , though .
This is more like an raised take on the style of a mainstream consumer phone , which in itself is an interesting concept — specially when FiiO take out it off as well as it does in the FT5 .
Trusted Score
How we test
We prove every set of headphone we review thoroughly over an extended period of time . We use industry standard tryout to compare features decent . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to reexamine a product .
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FAQs
The FT5 have large 90 millimeter drivers , the FT3 dynamic driver that are 60 mm in diam . They are very dissimilar phone as a result .
The FiiO FT5 are rated for 7Hz-40kHz frequency reception .
The FT5 are rated at 110dB / Vrms , meaning they can be driven without a consecrate amp .
