Fiio FT1 Headphone Review

[FTB]

There were measurements in some of those reviews.

The ones made on B&k 5128 ?

 

[ziggurcat]

The ones made on B&k 5128 ?

No idea, but likely not. And who cares. The FR responses in this review don't look dissimilar to the ones shown in the YT review by GadgetryTech I'm referencing (I won't link because I don't think I'm allowed to?).

I'll kindly ask to curb any pedantry regarding what equipment was used to measure these headphones in the review or gripe about how much of a shill any of these people happen to be. I'm to here to defend them, I'm refuting the statement that reviews up to this point have been "futile hype ... based on nothing but only subjective impressions", which isn't 100% true.

 

[FTB]

No idea, but likely not. And who cares. [...]

Yes we care : https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-targets-for-the-b-k-5128-gras-45ca-10.66704/

Gadgetry tech is one of the reviewer I like. His measurements are surely made on GRAS.
When we see his FT1 measurements we can't say that are good headphones, like the conclusions of Amir.

 

[Rincewind42]

Well, .. honeymoon is over i guess , and that youtube over the top unified shill action that made us think this is actually the best thing since the slice bread was kinda ridiculous.

Indeed. This was an important learning experience for me not to trust any Reddit and YouTube "experts". Also, buying any audio gear based on measurements alone is a fool's errand. Sure, the FR and distortion charts are useful basic metrics to weed out absolute garbage, but you have no idea if you'll like something or you'll hate it if the FR chart looks "about right". We still don't have any to measure many important criteria (bass slam, stereo width, layering, macro and micro dynamics, etc), so there's no substitute to listening to the headphone, and not just briefly, but for at least a few days or even weeks to appreciate the finer characteristics.

In my view, the best thing one can do is to listen to the subjective experiences of other enthusiasts who have developed their taste and hearing over decades listening to different equipment. Not random YouTube shills who have a product to sell, or Redditors who think the FT1 is the "best thing ever" after their crappy BOSE or Beats headphones...

I just sold mine after 3 weeks. Beautiful looking, awesome accessory pack......hated the sound. Cold, sterile, unexciting, "un-eq-able" for me. Didn't like the bass, didn't like th emids, and I found everything above 1 kHz to be a mess.

Yeah, I kinda wanted to keep it because it looks good, the accessories are nice, and it's quite comfortable. But there's nothing good about the sound. It's unlistenable without EQ for me on anything that has substantial bass content, and yeah, it's impossible to EQ, especially the high frequency region. Even if you try to hunt down all the peaks for your personal HRTF, you'll end up with a phasey/muffled mess... and the annoying "sheen" on the treble is still there, you just can't remove it.

The only impressive thing about it for me is the nice stereo width / soundstage. Surprisingly wide. That's about it.

I'm preplexed by the "value proposition", too. You can get a semi-closed Fostex T50RP mk3 for about the same price that has waaaaay better and more classy sound. It's an entirely different league, man. Especially after some very easy cup dampening mods and new Shure 840 or 1540 earpads. Semi-closed vs closed doesn't make much of a practical difference; semi-closed is certainly good enough.

So yeah, I'm gonna sell it. I also realised I hate the Harman curve with a passion; that's kinda the "vivid TV setting" equivalent for audio.

 

[Soria Moria]

I also realised I hate the Harman curve with a passion; that's kinda the "vivid TV setting" equivalent for audio.

That's interesting. A headphone EQed to the Harman curve is like a well-calibrated TV with minimal colour-inaccuracy to me. I'm surprised you «hate it with a passion» instead of simply preferring something else more.

 

[Rincewind42]

That's interesting. A headphone EQed to the Harman curve is like a well-calibrated TV with minimal colour-inaccuracy to me. I'm surprised you «hate it with a passion» instead of simply preferring something else more.

To me, it represents consumer preferences, so pretty much a smiley EQ curve. I am extremely doubtful of the Harman "research" as well; after all, their goal was to come up with something that sells the most units.

Source: producing music for 30+ years on a variety of gear and experience with better studio monitors (Dynaudios, and now I have a pair or Neumanns). To my ears, it's a hyped response, and I guess I hate it that they're trying to "normalise" a V-shaped curve under "scientific" disguise.

It's also extremely funny and dubious that the bass levels go up like crazy every two years in their "research" (check out how the curve has been changing just over a few years). I'm sure we could poke holes in the research all day.

 

[Soria Moria]

To me, it represents consumer preferences, so pretty much a smiley EQ curve. I am extremely doubtful of the Harman "research" as well; after all, their goal was to come up with something that sells the most units.

Source: producing music for 30+ years on a variety of gear and experience with better studio monitors (Dynaudios, and now I have a pair or Neumanns). To my ears, it's a hyped response, and I guess I hate it that they're trying to "normalise" a V-shaped curve under "scientific" disguise.

I have MA1 calibrated Neumann KH120 II monitors and they sound almost identical to Harman EQed headphones

 

[Soria Moria]

To my ears, it's a hyped response, and I guess I hate it that they're trying to "normalise" a V-shaped curve under "scientific" disguise.

It just seems to me that you prefer low amounts of bass (and treble?). I personally prefer a little more bass (2-3 dB) above Harman but I find the treble amount and shape perfect to me.

 

[Curupira]

their goal was to come up with something that sells the most units.

No, that was the bass aspect, and only from a indirect pov (the avg listener prefers more bass). Saying this also grossly oversimplifies the research

Harman pinna draws from another source, which is Dr. Sean Olive's conjecture that people would prefer a headphone that could get close to a well measuring speaker in a well treated (but "real-life") room, and not artificial targets like Diffuse Field (from a perfect reverberant room) or free field (a room with no reflections). When presented with EQ parameters to tune to said standard, a large enough sample size landed roughly on said Harman pinna. And that was not the end of the history, for there were subsequent papers and iterations on AES medium that all corroborated and built on each other's conclusions (this is acknowledged even by Harman critics and folks that are doing stuff on the 5128).

That is all to say that the Harman pinna is not just the average consumer preference, it's the statistical equivalent of neutral speakers on a treated room, albeit heavily smoothed over.

 

[Rincewind42]

I have MA1 calibrated Neumann KH120 II monitors and they sound almost identical to Harman EQed headphones

Hey, at least you're happy with it Probably your individual physiology is more compatible with their curve then. There's way more variation with headphones dependin on ear shape, head shape, etc. than with listening to speakers from a distance. They even acknowledged that, from memory they found about 60% of people liked the Harman curve.

I really like my HD650, for example, but with the oratory1990 Harman "preset" it starts sounding a bit trashy. Too much boom, too much sizzle.

 

[Rincewind42]

That is all to say that the Harman pinna is not just the average consumer preference, it's the statistical equivalent of neutral speakers on a treated room, albeit heavily smoothed over.

Yeah, I get all that, and I'm familiar with what they were trying to do. Problem is, I'm not a statistical average, and neither are you. That's why some headphones that are "off" according to their curve might just sound perfect to you... but horribly off to me, etc. Hence I question the validity of fixating on an average preference curve when the individual fluctuations are so wild anyway.

I guess if they're optimising for minimising the error from the ideal individual response across the largest number of people, yeah, they maybe did achieve that. It's just that the curve doesn't really help the individual getting the best experience, and people who don't understand these subtler details might just blindly follow the almighty curve...

I saw some interesting charts, the TLDR is basically there are wild individual fluctuations in the FR perception, like plus minus 10-15 dB across the spectrum. So getting "a statistical average" FR doesn't do much for maximising my enjoyment or providing a perceptually linear response to my ears. All headphones conforming to the Harman curve would be a sad day, indeed.

Anyway, you all go enjoy what you enjoy

 

[CedarX]

I am extremely doubtful of the Harman "research" as well; after all, their goal was to come up with something that sells the most units.

Source(s) please. How did you come to that conclusion?

 

[Rincewind42]

Source(s) please. How did you come to that conclusion?

Lol. Do you think they spend money and time on it just because they're bored or have nothing better to do?

 

[FTB]

Woh, saying Harman target isn't scientific is a total lack of knowledge on this subject. Did you really read about it ? This was achieved using objective and repeatable methods, the definition of sciences.

https://www.harmanluxuryaudionews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/06-2022.pdf

You like HD650 but they are headphones with no bass and no treble cutting at 6 kHz.

 

[NTK]

Lol. Do you think they spend money and time on it just because they're bored or have nothing better to do?

Since what you are attacking is the strawman you yourself built (and also the professional integrity of Dr Olive and colleagues), the statement isn't falsifiable, and therefore can't even be wrong.

 

[Curupira]

Yeah, I get all that, and I'm familiar with what they were trying to do. Problem is, I'm not a statistical average, and neither are you

We are much more likely to be close to the average than we are not to be, that's the whole point.

The target is a known reference point in a known fixture. If you know for a fact that you don't like the exact match from the smoothed target (like with the Dan Clark Stuff), you're free to EQ for your own taste/preference. The thing is that, from an objective standpoint, target compliance yields better results than following another trend; and from a personal standpoint, it's much easier to adjust from a known data point than to freehand from auditory memory.

Following this thread , you'll see that the common complaints on the FT1 are exactly those that deviate from the target: too much bass and peaky treble, the exact thing you accused the target to be faulty at.

 

[FTB]

We are much more likely to be close to the average than we are not to be, that's the whole point.

The target is a known reference point in a known fixture. If you know for a fact that you don't like the exact match from the smoothed target (like with the Dan Clark Stuff), you're free to EQ for your own taste/preference. The thing is that, from an objective standpoint, target compliance yields better results than following another trend; and from a personal standpoint, it's much easier to adjust from a known data point than to freehand from auditory memory.

Following this thread , you'll see that the common complaints on the FT1 are exactly those that deviate from the target: too much bass and peaky treble, the exact thing you accused the target to be faulty at.

Yeah but you know the guy will say Harman target isn't scientific and is made only for money etc.

 

[CedarX]

Yeah but you know the guy will say Harman target isn't scientific and is made only for money etc.

As an indirect consequence of Harman work, this is not completely wrong: Harman's research was to seek a target, or targets' characteristics, that would maximize user preference, ideally grouped by user demographics. An OEM following the Harman target maximizes user preference, ultimately generating more sales.. I don't think Harman Labs were motivated by money, but making more money when leveraging the research is an indirect way to validate Harman's work.

 

[solderdude]

The FT1 has a bigger, more luxurious and expensive brother based on a very similar driver called FT13

FT13

back to FiiOback to measurementshome Published: Nov-27-2025 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘wiggle…

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

Similar and different at the same time.

 

[Rincewind42]

Yeah, I can see why the general consumer preference curve have some value, but I'm afraid the subtleties are lost on you. Most people don't understand the details and just think "100% curve conformance == best headphones EVER". And yeah, if the >1kHz regions looks like a rollercoaster, clearly the headphone is far from great. But otherwise, if it's looks alright, it's a still a tossup whether you'll like it or not. Planar bass also sounds vastly different to dynamic driver bass, etc. I have a bass heavy modded T50RP which sounds glorious and thick and I love it because the bass sounds *diffuse* and *layered*. No charts will show you how diffuse or layered a +6db bass shelf will sound to you on particular driver. Similar amounts of bass on the FT1 just make me hurl the headphone across the room; too impactful, too in your face, too much everything. The charts won't show you this difference, and it's super important *if* you care about such bass differences. Then some people might not. The human auditory system is a not simple microphone plus some averaged compensation curves.

Another problem with the Harman research is that FR conformance is just the tip of the iceberg. Microdynamics, macrodynamics, all sorts of "feel" things that you cannot express in charts and numbers are unaccounted for. I see it as an "average curve established by people who actually don't care too much about the finer details of music reproduction".

Anyway, I know people love their charts here, so I'll leave at that. Peace

TL;DR FT1 is garbage, Harman or not, so up on eBay it goes