Fiio EH11: bt retro on-ear with EQ and Ldac

[teddyursidae]

I have both the transparent with orange pads and black with black pads, and the transparent one seems to have better sounding results with the Kemar DF PEQ, while the black seems boomier and darker sounding on the same EQ. Strange. It could also be that the black is the latest revision, as the transparent one was from an earlier batch.

That's interesting. How early was the early batch? Are we talking pre-production early?

Yeah I tend to agree. I only very recently bought the liberty 4 as I hadn't had a pair of nc buds for a while and thought they'd be good for work, walking the dog etc. They're quite good but I'm already feeling like i don't really need or particularly like active nc in the majority of casual listening situations

I think they're a perfect set of headphones for walking the dog probably a little too bulky still for using at a job if you have to move around a lot though.

 

[DevilSShadoW]

longtime lurker first time poster, surprised to see a thread on these cans here since they're basically cheap toys. Not to diminish fiio's achievement here, I ordered mine as soon as I saw the transparent/orange model simply for the aesthetic. I also got a pair of Moondrop Old-fashioneds which are... astonishingly good-sounding for the 30bucks I paid for them. Plugged into my ifi zendac v2. I Also got these because they looked cool and the old man in my heart required both the fiios and the moondrops for nostalgia.

Anyway, back to the fiios, yeah they sound relatively fine, on both my S24 Ultra and on my desktop PC, volume is plenty. Speaking of desktop, I'm using the alternative A2DP driver on windows to get LDAC working, in case anyone's interested. I'm also using Mark's (super review) EQ and it does improve sound quite a bit, as they are fairly middling out of the box.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned anywhere is the atrocious "lip" at the edge of the driver housing that buries into my ears if I wear them for too long. Whoever at fiio thought it was a good idea to put literal razorblades hidden by foam onto a product that sits on top of your ears should be shaken most violently. I actually went back to the Oldfashioneds to re-check comfort since they are also over-ears and, yeah, night and day on my ears, especially for prolonged sessions. That being said, I got the fiios for short burst activities, dishwashing, roaming around the house, work videocalls, and for that, they will serve me well. The wooden knobs on both sides are a nice touch.
At some point I might have to look into modding them to get rid of that sharp lip around the driver housing but im worried it might impact sound signature. Ah well, nothing EQ can't fix.

 

[IsaacOscar]

They are very light, what makes up for the crude ergos. Have you never used a set like this? You are probably very young

I personally do recall putting something like this on my head once as a kid... The wirey frame wasn't particularly tight so that was nice.

However, you just can't compare these kind of headphones to the comfort and sound quality of a good pair of circumaurals with soft pads (unless it's hot, then a lightweight on-ear like this is probably more comfortable)

 

[DevilSShadoW]

unless it's hot, then a lightweight on-ear like this is probably more comfortable

another reason why I got both these and the Moondrops: I love my FT5's to death but they microwave my head slowly during summertime.
I had a pair of Bose QC45's (well, still have but barely use, they sit in their case most of the time, and guess what, even with little to no use and sitting in a case, the pads have started to peel) and they are atrocious when it comes to heating up my ears. Bluetooth audio quality isn't anything to write home about either, so one more point for the FiiOs.

 

[teddyursidae]

longtime lurker first time poster, surprised to see a thread on these cans here since they're basically cheap toys. Not to diminish fiio's achievement here, I ordered mine as soon as I saw the transparent/orange model simply for the aesthetic. I also got a pair of Moondrop Old-fashioneds which are... astonishingly good-sounding for the 30bucks I paid for them. Plugged into my ifi zendac v2. I Also got these because they looked cool and the old man in my heart required both the fiios and the moondrops for nostalgia.

Anyway, back to the fiios, yeah they sound relatively fine, on both my S24 Ultra and on my desktop PC, volume is plenty. Speaking of desktop, I'm using the alternative A2DP driver on windows to get LDAC working, in case anyone's interested. I'm also using Mark's (super review) EQ and it does improve sound quite a bit, as they are fairly middling out of the box.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned anywhere is the atrocious "lip" at the edge of the driver housing that buries into my ears if I wear them for too long. Whoever at fiio thought it was a good idea to put literal razorblades hidden by foam onto a product that sits on top of your ears should be shaken most violently. I actually went back to the Oldfashioneds to re-check comfort since they are also over-ears and, yeah, night and day on my ears, especially for prolonged sessions. That being said, I got the fiios for short burst activities, dishwashing, roaming around the house, work videocalls, and for that, they will serve me well. The wooden knobs on both sides are a nice touch.
At some point I might have to look into modding them to get rid of that sharp lip around the driver housing but im worried it might impact sound signature. Ah well, nothing EQ can't fix.

You're totally right about that lip, it doesn't personally hurt so badly for me, but I don't really know why they designed the driver like that. The best theory I have is that the lip is intended to raise the foam a tiny bit to seal them a little better, but honestly, I don't know why they wouldn't just set the driver further back.

Have you ever owned a pair of Porta Pros? I was deeply considering grabbing a pair of old fashioneds but couldn't really see the point, considering I've modded my Porta Pros to have a detachable cable anyway.

 

[DevilSShadoW]

You're totally right about that lip, it doesn't personally hurt so badly for me, but I don't really know why they designed the driver like that. The best theory I have is that the lip is intended to raise the foam a tiny bit to seal them a little better, but honestly, I don't know why they wouldn't just set the driver further back.

Have you ever owned a pair of Porta Pros? I was deeply considering grabbing a pair of old fashioneds but couldn't really see the point, considering I've modded my Porta Pros to have a detachable cable anyway.

yeah, I've tried porta pros but never owned them myself, just grabbed them off friends heads to give 'em a listen via a DAC dongle plugged into my phone. Never considered buying them tho because they were too expensive for what they offered. Koss hates countries that aren't in the 1st world. I paid around 25~ euros for the Old Fashioneds and they were basically an impulse buy, next to the EH11's. I ended up liking them a lot, they fit me like a glove, there's no fatigue, the pads on the drivers is deep and soft and they sound great out of the box. On desktop I use the "truebass" feature of my amp to give them that extra bit of oompf that they're missing by nature of being on-ears.

Now, obviously if you own a pair of porta pros that you've poured some effort into, there's no point in getting the Moondrops, unless you just like the way they look (they remind me of sony walkman headphones and I love them for that).

In my case, I love amassing cheap-ish~ (around 100eur or below) headphones that I can recommend to friends while also offering them listening sessions via relatively cheap hardware, like from a phone, using a usb-c DAC dongle. A lot people who aren't into the hobby love music and can tell the difference between good sound and bad, but because they lack awareness of the market and its offerings, they end up buying crap that sound atrocious, usually for inflated prices. I fell into this trap myself when I first got into the audiophile hobby, buying DT770 PRO's (the 80ohm version!) and a decent amp. The 770's are a terrible piece of kit for casual music listening; all the EQ in the world can't make them sound pleasing to my ear.

 

[teddyursidae]

yeah, I've tried porta pros but never owned them myself, just grabbed them off friends heads to give 'em a listen via a DAC dongle plugged into my phone. Never considered buying them tho because they were too expensive for what they offered. Koss hates countries that aren't in the 1st world. I paid around 25~ euros for the Old Fashioneds and they were basically an impulse buy, next to the EH11's. I ended up liking them a lot, they fit me like a glove, there's no fatigue, the pads on the drivers is deep and soft and they sound great out of the box. On desktop I use the "truebass" feature of my amp to give them that extra bit of oompf that they're missing by nature of being on-ears.

Now, obviously if you own a pair of porta pros that you've poured some effort into, there's no point in getting the Moondrops, unless you just like the way they look (they remind me of sony walkman headphones and I love them for that).

In my case, I love amassing cheap-ish~ (around 100eur or below) headphones that I can recommend to friends while also offering them listening sessions via relatively cheap hardware, like from a phone, using a usb-c DAC dongle. A lot people who aren't into the hobby love music and can tell the difference between good sound and bad, but because they lack awareness of the market and its offerings, they end up buying crap that sound atrocious, usually for inflated prices. I fell into this trap myself when I first got into the audiophile hobby, buying DT770 PRO's (the 80ohm version!) and a decent amp. The 770's are a terrible piece of kit for casual music listening; all the EQ in the world can't make them sound pleasing to my ear.

Tell me about it!!! Getting Koss cans sent to Australia was a huge pain in the ass! Amazon charge too much for what they are, and shipping from pretty much everywhere else was prohibitively expensive. The only viable option I had was Drop.

If I were shopping for the first time nowadays, I'd definitely go for the Moondrop, they're just easier and cheaper for equivalent quality here.

Do you find yourself using the Old Fashioned or the EH11 more? I think, once EQd, the EH11 can absolutely hold its own against Porta Pros (It might even have slightly better bass extension), it's just a bit of a shame that they're not quite as comfy - they're so close to making PPs "obsolete"

 

[DevilSShadoW]

Lucky you, having access to Drop over there in the down under, no such luxury here in Romania
In terms of usage, I now use the Old Fashioneds for the most part when I'm stationary/at my desk. I switch to the EH11 when on the move around the house, when I need to be in daily meetings at work but I haven't finished making my coffee yet, and obviously when out and about. I take both the EH11's and the Moondrops with me in the bag when I (rarely) go to the office. I also have a pair of zero blue 2's in my bag and I just switch between them depending on what I'm doing. If I lock in for extended periods of time, I'll put the IEMs in, block the outside world and get to work. If I'm just semi-working while talking to colleagues, I'll keep the moondrops on. If I'm semi-working while having to go to and fro' between desks or for repeated smoke breaks, that's when the EH11's come into play, since comfort is no longer an issue when you're in scenarios where you have to take them off/put them back on a couple of times per hour. Bonus is that since they're wireless and light, they hang nicely around your neck.

Regarding that stupid EH11 "lip", I'm sure it can be modded/fixed if someone puts their mind to it. I agree that it seems they might have done it to dome the inside a bit when the cans sit on your ears, but their approach is the worst. We can probably just sand that edge down, or add some extra foam or whatever to bulk up that edge a bit.

 

[BoysRBackinTown]

My pair finally showed up and I’m fairly impressed at the price. It has flaws but it’s also like 35 bucks so on some level who cares.

FiiO definitely needs a less clicky stepped rotary encoder for their next revision because the click is a little too loud. I am unsure a stepless one would work but the issue is it’s just way too close to your ear so if you’re sensitive to noises like that that it’s gonna be an issue or take some getting used to. That said it feels very fun to fidget with so if your brain is a specific way it’s a land of contrasts. Half tempted to take mine apart and see if I can put a different encoder in there, I’ve done a bunch of mouse and trackball modding and it’s all similar parts after a certain point.

Agree about the ridge but in practice I’ve not had an issue with it as long as the foam is on.

Out of the box sound is exactly what you’d expect from this, nothing to write home about, but the actual app itself is quite impressive. AutoEQ is built in as an optional tab although I did not get good results with it so I wonder what measurement they’re pulling for these. There’s a section dedicated to user uploaded profiles and so you can just go download the SuperReview profiles. I would really like to see more measurements of this and more people take a stab at EQing it because your can get it to a very nice place even just with the SuperReview profiles.

Fit is fine although I’ve not been on ear person. It’s nice to have an option for out and about that doesn’t block out the world when I want that. I have not tested latency because I just don’t have the gear to do that authoritatively but I have seen people flag that as a potential issue. I wonder how much the EQ could potentially impact that.

Overall the takeaway here is that focusing on robust on-device EQ can let an otherwise middling product really punch above its weight. Also, despite the slagging the FT1 got on here (which I disagree with but that’s a different post), FiiO continues to punch above their weight and make interesting trade offs with their products to be budget kings. The same attitude taken with a slightly better designed pair of headphones would make for an all timer. Maybe in another revision, but this really a lesson for everyone.

 

[bunkbail]

I have both the transparent with orange pads and black with black pads, and the transparent one seems to have better sounding results with the Kemar DF PEQ, while the black seems boomier and darker sounding on the same EQ. Strange. It could also be that the black is the latest revision, as the transparent one was from an earlier batch.

i wish i had seen this comment before i bought my pair. i have the black ones and all eq presets in the app sound dark to me. im still playing around with eq but cant make it sound neutral as of right now.

 

[Saponetto]

Actual price on Amazon Italy is 137,90€.
Hope other countries fellows could afford it at lesser price.

 

[bunkbail]

Actual price on Amazon Italy is 137,90€.
Hope other countries fellows could afford it at lesser price.

i bought mine for $26 via the taobao app, you need to enable english translation within the app though. they ship to worldwide for peanuts.

 

[Saponetto]

Good to know!
Thank You!

 

[Human Bass]

Actual price on Amazon Italy is 137,90€.
Hope other countries fellows could afford it at lesser price.

You can easily buy them for around 35usd in Ali using coins and coupons. Even if you py heavy taxes it will be less than half than that.

 

[DevilSShadoW]

Actual price on Amazon Italy is 137,90€.
Hope other countries fellows could afford it at lesser price.

don't buy chi-fi from amazon, always check aliexpress prices. Here in Romania we have dedicated physical audio stores that are authorized fiio/moondrop/truthear resellers. If these sellers don't stock what I want, I always buy from shenzenaudio, aliexpress, or order from hangout (dot) audio. I don't really care about warranty for cheap audio.
Got the EH11's straight from amazon for 34~ euros, including shipping, think it auto-applied a 3% coupon at checkout. Bought from a authorized fiio seller.

Never tried taobao but I might give it a chance next time I wanna impulse buy some cheap audio!

 

[IsaacOscar]

i bought mine for $26 via the taobao app, you need to enable english translation within the app though. they ship to worldwide for peanuts.

Wow thanks for the idea! I just bought a cable from Taobao now, as I was being very picky with what I wanted it to have, and I couldn't find one on AliExpress.

It was a nightmare getting it to work: first it wouldn't let me create an account because of this page, but the "Allow Once" button doesn't do anything (other than Android asking me if I want to give location permission to it).

I eventually got it to work by registering with my phone number. But when I viewed too many products, it gave me this annoying message and I had to wait:

I've also got other annoying messages, but I seemed to be able to ignore them by going back and loging in again:

On the plus side, they gave me free international shipping as it was my first order....

 

[Selkirks]

I'd recommend the Koss KPH30 Wireless and Moondrop Old Fashioned to hobbyists looking for other products like the EH11. Even with SBC the Koss is surprisingly good and you can make the Old Fashioned wireless with Bluetooth earhooks or cables.