[RMesser9]

So, I just got Heigi Full Foams for my Sivga M200's, which I wrote a review about more than three months ago. First impressions are positive. It retains that mid-centric tuning which I enjoy, but the overall presentation is a bit warmer, smoother, and more cohesive. In comparison, the stock full foam had slightly peaky and brighter treble, though it already wasn't too bad. I will also put the Heigi's on my Alter Archer 1's eventually and give an update. I don't use it as much as my M200's due to its more shouty upper mids.

 

[samandhi]

FiiO bass foams are soft an thick. They may help bring up the perceived low end on the Cachonne as well. There’s a link in my signature to request them from FiiO as they don’t sell them on their AE page which is a shame. The regular VE Ex-Pack has some nice ones as well. They run the gamut from thin to thick. Then there also HieGi. HieGi are probably the best made foams but their density will reduce perceived treble in most cases and they are the most expensive. You do get what you pay for however.

I would agree that both are great, and you really can't go wrong with either, though they both are a tad different in their (perceived) presentation.

Love that the HieGi are white too. Do you think the HieGi may actually sacrifices detail from the Chaconne, or just makes it less direct?

This is actually what I use on mine, and since I put them on, I have not thought about switching back at all (though I have NOT tried the FF3 foams on the Chaconne). To my ears, they don't sacrifice anything, and simply balance out the sound a bit. Plus, since they are thicker, they also help grip them in your ears a bit better than thinners ones.

Thank you. It seems a better compromise. Although, I like the the protection against dust a complete foam cover brings. Will a hole in the middle make it more prone to having dust in the inside? I think I may be overreacting a about that

For what those cost, I don't think you are overreacting. Though I don't think you need worry about dust too much unless you keep them in that sort of environment. When done listening to mine, they go back into the case, so I don't see much dust getting in there unless my ears are full of it...

 

[Ronion]

So now FiiO is showing the graph for the FF5. If it’s under the same conditions as the FF3, this thing should be crazy good. LOOK AT THIS

 

[o0genesis0o]

So now FiiO is showing the graph for the FF5. If it’s under the same conditions as the FF3, this thing should be crazy good. LOOK AT THIS

They seem to know what they are doing with the midrange rather than just boosting ear-gain super high for "female poison". It's likely that they use the same HATS for the measurement. Those cat ears on the FR at 3k and 5k are a bit worrying, though not that unusual for single DD. Still, I have high hope that these would be top performers.

 

[Ronion]

Just given the FF3 measurements, I’m not too worried about the FF5 ones. Maybe a little worried, but only a little. The bass shelf doesn’t extend as deep the FF3 of course. I’m betting with the Bass foams, this little guy will be beautiful.

Also, if you look, the overall pinna gain is actually lower on the FF5, but they do have a bit more treble. Not bad decisions on FiiO’s part.
I just wish they would have equaled the bass. That’s going to be the FF7.

In fact, this tuning is exactly what I said it should be looking at the shell. Guess I’m not totally ignorant. LOL

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Just given the FF3 measurements, I’m not too worried about the FF5 ones. Maybe a little worried, but only a little. The bass shelf doesn’t extend as deep the FF3 of course. I’m betting with the Bass foams, this little guy will be beautiful.

I'm seeing brighter top end (which isn't a bad thing given the somewhat subdued nature of the FF3's treble) and bass that rolls off sooner and a bit faster (again not necessarily a bad thing). I don't think the FF5 is gonna recapture the magic of the FF3, but depending of how much brighter the treble is and in which spots, how much less bass there is, and how the driver and shell differences change the overall presentation, the FF5 looks like it still has the potential to be a very good earbud in its own right.

For those who were holding off on buying the FF3 hoping the FF5 would be the same with MMCX, you can go ahead and buy the FF3s now. Overall, part of me is glad that Fiio didn't try to "improve" on the FF3 and instead decided to make the FF5 an earbud with its own identity. I hope it has its own brand of magic in store for listeners.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I'm seeing brighter top end (which isn't a bad thing given the somewhat subdued nature of the FF3's treble) and bass that rolls off sooner and a bit faster (again not necessarily a bad thing). I don't think the FF5 is gonna recapture the magic of the FF3, but depending of how much brighter the treble is and in which spots, how much less bass there is, and how the driver and shell differences change the overall presentation, the FF5 looks like it still has the potential to be a very good earbud in its own right.

For those who were holding off on buying the FF3 hoping the FF5 would be the same with MMCX, you can go ahead and buy the FF3s now. Overall, part of me is glad that Fiio didn't try to "improve" on the FF3 and instead decided to make the FF5 an earbud with its own identity. I hope it has its own brand of magic in store for listeners.

I think a lot of can be forgiven, tuning wise, if the technical performance is outstanding and there is no harsh peak. It seems Fiio is trying to make a mid centric pair with excellent technical performance.

To be fair, FF3 can be a bit too mid-bassy and subdued with some tracks and genres, so we might see an improvement.

 

[Reebonz]

Here are the two graphs stacked on top of each other. Now take this with a grain of salt, as it is unclear if they were measured under the same conditions.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Here are the two graphs stacked on top of each other. Now take this with a grain of salt, as it is unclear if they were measured under the same conditions.

If we "align" them at 1k, it seems FF5 actually have thicker midrange and less ear-gain than FF3 , but stronger response in the mid-treble and region. Interesting.

 

[Ronion]

Here are the two graphs stacked on top of each other. Now take this with a grain of salt, as it is unclear if they were measured under the same conditions.

Thank you for that! I am assuming that they measure them under the same conditions, but you never know since they don’t state it.

 

[baskingshark]

Looks like Smabat abandoned the original prototype M4 Bluetooth module for this S1 version. Look at the size difference. Looks like S1 has a microphone hole. Maybe they made it bigger to also hold a bigger battery?

Original prootype:

Latest S1:

Err not sure if this is a good idea. The bigger and longer design is gonna shift the centre of gravity lower. I have no idea if this will be stable in the ear!

Actually for Smabat, some of their gear have ergonomic flaws - eg the X1 IEM and perhaps the ST20 Pro (former had sharp poky edges and latter kept dropping out of the ear due to weight/fit).

 

[rkw]

So now FiiO is showing the graph for the FF5. If it’s under the same conditions as the FF3, this thing should be crazy good. LOOK AT THIS

I'm going to have to wait for impressions. This is what stops me:

I don't really want emphasis anywhere, especially for classical music.

 

[baskingshark]

I'm going to have to wait for impressions. This is what stops me:

I don't really want emphasis anywhere, especially for classical music.

ACHTUNG!

Haha that is a red flag for "FEMALE POISON" AKA Banshee upper mids!

 

[mt877]

Err not sure if this is a good idea. The bigger and longer design is gonna shift the centre of gravity lower. I have no idea if this will be stable in the ear!

Actually for Smabat, some of their gear have ergonomic flaws - eg the X1 IEM and perhaps the ST20 Pro (former had sharp poky edges and latter kept dropping out of the ear due to weight/fit).

Agreed. I like the look of the M4 prototype design better. The S1 looks like it will reach out and slap you on your cheeks.

 

[Ronion]

I'm going to have to wait for impressions. This is what stops me:

I don't really want emphasis anywhere, especially for classical music.

But when you look at the graph it doesn’t look like that. Of course the bass cut combined with the steeper roll off will contribute to that and if these were measured with foams on than this would not be a tuning for me because this would be female poison.