FiiO FD5 Review (IEM)

[Azathoth]

I have it still, it's a really good IEM, the best one I have so far. It's also the most expensive ha. I've listened to it first, and it already sounded great, like, the bass to the highs were just right for me. Glad to see that even under @amirm's scrutiny it is still recommended.

 

[nobodynoz]

FiiO FD5
Volcanic field system
Copper clad aluminum coil made by Daikoku Company, Japan.
Magnets N52
Beryllium coated DLC membrane

 

[ZolaIII]

@Earfonia that's just it you really don't understand. You can not influence how loud (some mid point progeme loudness of let's say 85~86 dB [from where slope of ±12 dB will stay in ±3 dB difrence range for most listening devices, did mixing - tone mastering when I whose younger] is recommended for mixing and as you can influence that well that's the target when mixing down) or with what (bad equipment/deficit space in over 90% cases) someone will really listen to your mix but you need it to translate good to anything and anyone, won't tell you how to get there either. Frequency response in lows will change with different loudness level's (equal loudness normalization in ISO 226 [last revision preferably]).
Please do this part (equal loudness normalization) thoroughly (regarding both learning about it and implementing it at both ends separately [RBA 128 on pre baked material and ISO 226 regarding actual analog listening device you use]).
I didn't call you anything, every uncomplete - lacking measurements are delusional.
I have three pairs of Aurvana Air (old one that died, pair I use last two years so far and spare new ones), which are far better made (craftsmanship/material's and cable). They are my favorite on the go (when I really don't need good sound isolation) but of course I won't use them for mixing (it's possible when you really know them and there for what you are doing and as speakers instead of hedaphones replacement but they are very fit - placement dependant) and goodbye.

 

[nyxnyxnyx]

Can anyone remind me what are the benefits of using beryllium both as the material for diaphragm/driver and as a coater?

 

[Vini darko]

Can anyone remind me what are the benefits of using beryllium both as the material for diaphragm/driver and as a coater?

It's light and stiff.

 

[someguyontheinternet]

From Wikipedia:
The modulus of elasticity of beryllium is approximately 50% greater than that of steel. The combination of this modulus and a relatively low density results in an unusually fast sound conduction speed in beryllium – about 12.9 km/s at ambient conditions.

Beryllium - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Not sure how much of an audible difference this makes to "traditional" diaphragms though.

 

[ZolaIII]

Can anyone remind me what are the benefits of using beryllium both as the material for diaphragm/driver and as a coater?

To stiff it up, they even showed animation of it in promo material and already posted hire. Of course except obvious positive side's (more control - less distortion...) there are and some down sides as time domain (so you bias between how stiff cone should be and how long response it would have in lows [that's why coted only in this case]).

 

[xaviescacs]

The FD7 is more expensive and has 100% beryllium diaphragm, but they don't provide the FR of this model, perhaps it performs worse than the FD5.

 

[Zim]

The FD7 is more expensive and has 100% beryllium diaphragm, but they don't provide the FR of this model, perhaps it performs worse than the FD5.

The FD5 is the closest to the Harman curve based on Crinacle's measurements. But unsure about other aspects of it.

 

[Luke Lemke]

I was about to purchase the Moondrop Blessing 2. Maybe I should get this one instead?

Has anyone compared the two?

 

[danadam]

Rather beefy jack connector. I saw the same for the 64 Audio earlier. Is that usual for IEMs? I always assumed that IEMs are designated more for mobile applications, where, I thought, smaller connector would be more convenient.

 

[Earfonia]

@Earfonia that's just it you really don't understand. You can not influence how loud (some mid point progeme loudness of let's say 85~86 dB [from where slope of ±12 dB will stay in ±3 dB difrence range for most listening devices, did mixing - tone mastering when I whose younger] is recommended for mixing and as you can influence that well that's the target when mixing down) or with what (bad equipment/deficit space in over 90% cases) someone will really listen to your mix but you need it to translate good to anything and anyone, won't tell you how to get there either. Frequency response in lows will change with different loudness level's (equal loudness normalization in ISO 226 [last revision preferably]).
Please do this part (equal loudness normalization) thoroughly (regarding both learning about it and implementing it at both ends separately [RBA 128 on pre baked material and ISO 226 regarding actual analog listening device you use]).
I didn't call you anything, every uncomplete - lacking measurements are delusional.
I have three pairs of Aurvana Air (old one that died, pair I use last two years so far and spare new ones), which are far better made (craftsmanship/material's and cable). They are my favorite on the go (when I really don't need good sound isolation) but of course I won't use them for mixing (it's possible when you really know them and there for what you are doing and as speakers instead of hedaphones replacement but they are very fit - placement dependant) and goodbye.

Please don't 'Goodbye' me yet. We are not finished yet.
Let's get back to the point of confusion here, I shared my own measurement of Aurvana Trio and you said the measurement is uncomplete and delusional. And I'm trying to understand why.

FYI this is my IEM measurement methodology and the standards that I follow:

Earfonia IEM Measurement Setup & Methodology

One of the main objectives of In-Ear Monitor measurement (as well as other audio equipment measurements) is to understand the correlation of the perceived sound quality with the numbers and graphs. I’ve been doing IEM measurement for a while now, just as a hobby, to learn how to correlate what I...

www.audiosciencereview.com

As for the measurement level for frequency response measurement this is the standard that I follow:
IEC 60268-7 test level: 94 dB SPL @ 500 Hz

You mentioned the equal-loudness contour ISO 226 which I believed we are all familiar with. It is correct that we have to do our mixing in consistent loudness as our hearing is affected by loudness. But that is our human hearing, it is not relevant to IEM frequency response measurement.
Which standard that is saying that frequency response measurement at 94 dB SPL @ 500 Hz as per IEC 60268-7 is incomplete?

Are you suggesting that IEM frequency response measurement that Amir posted in his review is also incomplete because it is lacking the simulation for the perceived FR at different loudness?

Please help us to understand what do you mean by incomplete / uncomplete (and delusional) measurement. Thank you!

 

[Nathan Raymond]

Rather beefy jack connector. I saw the same for the 64 Audio earlier. Is that usual for IEMs? I always assumed that IEMs are designated more for mobile applications, where, I thought, smaller connector would be more convenient.

The cable is replaceable, it uses MMCX connections to the earphones, so you can use whatever cable you want, terminated however you want. Not uncommon for higher-end earphones to come with cable terminators that are a bit fancier/bulkier though.

 

[Rick63]

Now we want to know how close the FD3 is for 1/2 the price.

I've owned the FD3 (Pro version) since last fall and I absolutely love them and think they are great for the price paid. I was originally considering the FD5 but didn't want to spend that much money, so I read all the reviews on Head-fi and many folks there say the FD3 is very close in sound to the FD5, and some even preferred the FD3. Before getting them I tried the popular Moondrop Aria and iBasso IT00 and didn't much care for either and both were returned quickly.

To me both the Aria and IT00 were boring and not particularly engaging to listen to, and the FD3 Pro is much more pleasing to my ear. I'm powering mine with a Topping L30 and the results are quite stunning to me for having under $300 invested in both pieces.

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but personally I think the FD3 looks better than the FD5. The marbled look plates look much better to me than the art deco look of the FD5. Another big plus for me is that the FD3 is way more comfortable in my ears than any IEMs I've owned with the possible exception of the Westone W20.

 

[Tks]

Nicely sized, decent price, performance top notch. Good stuff from Fiio it looks these days.

 

[brandall10]

It could be great if Amir reviews the Shure KSE1200 someday.

Their FR is terrible, unfortunately, but w/ PEQ they're unbeatable. Best audio experience I've heard by a sizable margin.

I've used these as my daily drivers for the past 3.5 years and when EQ'ed and compared against the Monarch II, which is one of the most compliant IEMs (like the IEM version of the Stealth), they are significantly better.

 

[Robbo99999]

I really don't know much about the IEM market, but that looks like a nice frequency response (the FiiO FD5 reviewed here) that is easy to sort out with EQ, and is close to start with anyway. Nice distortion measurements too. Nice.

 

[Leiker535]

I've always preached to my friends that it is much easier to find top tier sounding products in the IEM space, specially after the Chi-fi boom, than on full-size headphones. These just further demonstrates it.

I'm very eager for amirm to review the actual holy trinity of Moondrop Aria, Tin T3 Plus and the Dunu Titan S, as I think they are just giant killers for their FR and price (and maybe the thie audio monark 2, as it is very harmanish too, albeit the pricetag).

Spoiler

 

[RichT]

Fantastic review Amir for a fantastic product. I don't think we've seen anything with this low distortion and compliance to the Harman curve. Great work, regards

 

[50°F=Hellfire]

This looks amazing. Now, if only their bread-and-butter products were this good...