[Gymboy]

Did anymone try FT3 with A90D or Jotunheim 2? I would like to add additional amp to it and get additional flavour.

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

I don't find it to be less detailed than either of these. Back to back, I find the HD600 and ATH-R70X to be a little more etched and crisp in the midrange--maybe dry is a better word. Treble is a little grainy on the ATH-R70X, I think. Overall, the FT3 just sounds more smooth and natural and Its timbre, to me, seems to be a little more truthful than the other 2. I haven't had them long, though, so these are fairly initial impressions.

So for me and my finances (ok... for my wife) the decision is between these and the Sundara

 

[StivVid]

Did anymone try FT3 with A90D or Jotunheim 2? I would like to add additional amp to it and get additional flavour.

Bottlehead Crack with Speedball upgrade, Xduoo XD-05 plus with AD827Q op-amp, Hiby R5 Gen 2 in high gain balanced class-a mode.

 

[StivVid]

So for me and my finances (ok... for my wife) the decision is between these and the Sundara

Haven't heard the Sundara. Can't comment.

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

the most interesting part is the optionals included. I'd pay 40 for the case, 100 for the cable, 30 for another set of pads and 30 for the xlr adapter. These headphonese basically cost 150 euro. The same cost of an hd560s that comes without all these mandatory accessories. Last but not least, Their impedance unleashes the full voltage of my macbook when I am otg! Last models of macbook switch from two to three volts when a 250 ohm headphone is plugged in

 

[Roderick]

So for me and my finances (ok... for my wife) the decision is between these and the Sundara

I had Sundara for a long time. Great headphones. It's been a while since I've listened to Sundara so I can't make a reliable comparison. Sundara has edge in better bass definition but most of that difference might disappear if fiio's bass is lowered to sundaras level with eq. Coming from planars FT3 can appear quite bassy. Same goes for upper mids that might be tad too forward for some people. Sundara is less scooped in 2khz region than most Hifimans but it's not as pronounced as FiiO is on that region. I'm fine with both presentations. Because I can't make up my mind about which I think sounds better makes choosing FiiO easy for me.

FiiO is built better than any hifiman, is equally or more comfortable and has better accessories. Can't really come up with obvious reason to go with Sundara instead. Going just by memory is of course very unreliable. I hope someone with both headphones available can comment on this too.

 

[phillycl]

the most interesting part is the optionals included. I'd pay 40 for the case, 100 for the cable, 30 for another set of pads and 30 for the xlr adapter. These headphonese basically cost 150 euro. The same cost of an hd560s that comes without all these mandatory accessories. Last but not least, Their impedance unleashes the full voltage of my macbook when I am otg! Last models of macbook switch from two to three volts when a 250 ohm headphone is plugged in

Another plus for me is that the FT3 cable works with my Focal headphones and I can now run them balanced. The case is nice (not my preferred color) and the "free" included stand appears to be tailor made for the FT3.

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

I had Sundara for a long time. Great headphones. It's been a while since I've listened to Sundara so I can't make a reliable comparison. Sundara has edge in better bass definition but most of that difference might disappear if fiio's bass is lowered to sundaras level with eq. Coming from planars FT3 can appear quite bassy. Same goes for upper mids that might be tad too forward for some people. Sundara is less scooped in 2khz region than most Hifimans but it's not as pronounced as FiiO is on that region. I'm fine with both presentations. Because I can't make up my mind about which I think sounds better makes choosing FiiO easy for me.

FiiO is built better than any hifiman, is equally or more comfortable and has better accessories. Can't really come up with obvious reason to go with Sundara instead. Going just by memory is of course very unreliable. I hope someone with both headphones available can comment on this too.

Do the sense of separation and imaging are good on the fiio? Are the transient fast enough? Is the driver capable of shorten the decay? I know the planar technology is superior in this regard but everyone here is hoping for a cheaper focal clear.

 

[Roderick]

No issues with separation and imaging. I think it's quite good actually. On transients I'm undecided. I need to do more a/b listening with HD6xx etc.

I would not say these are cheap Focal Clears though. Focals have crazy macrodynamics with cramped soundstage. FiiO's have better soundstage but presentation is more polite. Big driver kind of gives these that planar like scale, where sounds appear big and grand. I allmost want to say these sound kind of like planar hd600. I know, weird thing to say.

Anyway... Lately "worst" headphones I've been listening to is Focal Utopia so I need more time to "calibrate" my ears to less expensive headphones. I can't really give reliable impressions before that so take everything I've said with a grain of salt.

 

[LoryWiv]

Did anymone try FT3 with A90D or Jotunheim 2? I would like to add additional amp to it and get additional flavour.

I'd also like to know if anyone has tried it with an OTL tube amp., since theoretically these pair well with high impedance dynamic driver HP's

 

[Gymboy]

I'd also like to know if anyone has tried it with an OTL tube amp., since theoretically these pair well with high impedance dynamic driver HP's

I am running FT3 with Xduuo Ta 26, when listening to acoustic rock, progressive, they sound deeper and more muscular than solid state when tubed on bass guitars, vocals get that lush, warm texture, stage enlarges a bit.

 

[Vamp898]

I finally was able to listen to a pair. Not that easy because you can't just buy them in Japan for whatever reason I do not understand.

Anyway, I was able to test a pair for a day and a half.

Because this is the only thing in the same price region, I compared these to the MDR-1AM2 which are closed backs.

First of all, I prefer the tuning if the FT3, the 1AM2 is too bassy for me personally but beside that, I was surprised about the overall sound if the FT3

The 1AM2, which is completely closed, sounds more like an open back than the FT3. Especially in terms of Soundstage, imaging and separation it is the clear winner. Even the Bass sounds more tight and controlled.

If it would have been and blind Test and I would have to guess, which is the closed one, I would have guessed the FT3 for sure.

Not just is the 1AM2 soundstage wider, it can also be closer too. There is more size in both directions.

I tried to cover the earcups of the FT3 and the sound does change dramatically, and it gets worse. Absolutely horrible, don't try that. Sounds like they are broken.

So they are really open, they just don't sound open to me. But they sound sufficiently fast. Not above average, but very good.

So while I do prefer the tuning if the FT3, they are worse in all other aspects but (!) They are not bad, not at all.

Given the accessory and the build quality, they are absolutely worth their price but I hoped for an hidden gem.

Reading the FiiO Homepage it sounded like FiiO sells an high end flagship for an budget price, but they don't.

They sell am very good sounding headphones with high quality accessory that is absolute worth its price, but nothing more.

Which is not bad and of course marketing is marketing and so on, but given the marketing, I expected more which is the fault of the marketing and not the headphone.

For 300€ I can absolutely recommend these, there are ways worse choices for that money, but most things you can get for more do sound better though. But that is not an negative point imho that should not hold anyone back buying these

 

[SHAMuuu]

Wow 60mm!

First thing I thought of when I saw it. Though I think Lamborgini had a similar style rim (but can't think of it atm)

Reventon... yeah... XD

Interesting specs. And looks quite modular in context of reparability and or modding (driver swaps and what not)

Wonder what stopped them from going 70mm like Sohknee

 

[StivVid]

I finally was able to listen to a pair. Not that easy because you can't just buy them in Japan for whatever reason I do not understand.

Anyway, I was able to test a pair for a day and a half.

Because this is the only thing in the same price region, I compared these to the MDR-1AM2 which are closed backs.

First of all, I prefer the tuning if the FT3, the 1AM2 is too bassy for me personally but beside that, I was surprised about the overall sound if the FT3

The 1AM2, which is completely closed, sounds more like an open back than the FT3. Especially in terms of Soundstage, imaging and separation it is the clear winner. Even the Bass sounds more tight and controlled.

If it would have been and blind Test and I would have to guess, which is the closed one, I would have guessed the FT3 for sure.

Not just is the 1AM2 soundstage wider, it can also be closer too. There is more size in both directions.

I tried to cover the earcups of the FT3 and the sound does change dramatically, and it gets worse. Absolutely horrible, don't try that. Sounds like they are broken.

So they are really open, they just don't sound open to me. But they sound sufficiently fast. Not above average, but very good.

So while I do prefer the tuning if the FT3, they are worse in all other aspects but (!) They are not bad, not at all.

Given the accessory and the build quality, they are absolutely worth their price but I hoped for an hidden gem.

Reading the FiiO Homepage it sounded like FiiO sells an high end flagship for an budget price, but they don't.

They sell am very good sounding headphones with high quality accessory that is absolute worth its price, but nothing more.

Which is not bad and of course marketing is marketing and so on, but given the marketing, I expected more which is the fault of the marketing and not the headphone.

For 300€ I can absolutely recommend these, there are ways worse choices for that money, but most things you can get for more do sound better though. But that is not an negative point imho that should not hold anyone back buying these

It's true that the FT3 sounds more closed or semi-open than most open backed headphones. If you're looking for huge soundstage, to quote Obi-Wan, "These aren't the droids you're looking for." Spatial cues are definitely there when the music calls for it, but in general soundstage is pulled in more than most open backs and even some closed backs. For me, there's decent side to side width, but I haven't noticed much depth front to back. I'm not really a soundstage freak. For example, (and I may be struck by lighting for saying this) the HD800S soundstage sounds exaggerated and unnatural to me. It's impressive for sure, but I don't think it sounds exactly "right", whatever that is. I find myself getting more excited about tone and timbre than soundstage. That's where I think the FT3 are strong performers. My 2 cents.

 

[ralphp@optonline]

After listening to the FiiO FT3 headphones at CanJam Singapore, under less than ideal conditions mind you, I was impressed enough with their price to performance ratio to order a pair for my very own. Well they arrived this afternoon and I have been putting them their paces for the past couple of hours.

The biggest standout of me is that the FT3's bang of the buck is simply of the charts! Here's just a short list of why I feel this way.

1) The included at no extra charge metal headphone stand - WOW!
2) The included high quality cable, various adaptors, carrying case and second set of easily replaceable earpads.
3) The outstanding build quality
4) Comfort
5) Large dynamic driver which leads to...
6) A very nice overall sound quality.

So far I've been listening to FT3s using either my Oppo HA-1 desktop amp or the FiiO M11 Plus DAP, both of these with balanced output. In spite of their relatively high impedance (350 ohms) the M11 Plus drives them with plenty of room to spare. I am using Roon and have crossfeed enabled in the DSP settings.

I did a brief comparison of the FT3 with the Focal Clear MG and the Seenheiser HD800 and while the FT3 fell a little short of matching the sonic qualities of these heavy hitters, the thing to remember is that these relatively inexpensive headphones only "fell a little short". In order words I didn't switch headphones and notice a night and day difference. Sure there were differences but nothing earth shaking and nothing that made me pull the FT3s off my head while saying "well there goes $300 down the drain!" No instead I'm sitting amazed how just how much these $300 headphones are going to impact the under $500 headphone market. Yes they are that good!