Amateur Hour
Hey Head-Fi! I picked up the FiiO FH5 on a whim while wanting to get some better IEMs to take advantage of my Q5S. I compared these IEMs to the Tin P1, BLON BL-03, and Shure SE-215. The primary things I look for in IEMs are isolation, soundstage, good bass extension, and vocal clarity. I primarily use IEMs while listening to music with vocals and I used these against: Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, RADWIMPS, Neko Hacker, Novelbright, TOTALFAT, flumpool, and many other JPop artists. I can link to my Japanese playlist if anyone is interested in hearing a range of JPop/JRock/JPunk. I primarily powered these IEMs from a FiiO Q5S, FiiO M11, and an iPhone headphone adapter.
TL;DR
At this price point they are fantastic for what they offer -- Bottom Line: if you're looking to spend $250~ for IEMs I would highly suggest trying these! Sound, fit, easy to power!. I think the biggest "yes" for these IEMs is the shell. I wanted something that was shaped to the ear versus my other IEMs which are designed to rest on the concha and sealed with the antihelix. Of course, these aren't true to ear, custom molded so mileage will vary, but I find them to have a very *comfortable* fit whereas something like the Shure SE-215 will fatigue my ears. The IEMs are easily powered from the free, included lightning adapter on the iPhone and greatly improve in sound richness and resolving ability when powered by a clean source like the M11 or Q5S. The IEMs use a hybrid 3 BA | 1 DD. The BA are specifically used for mid, high, and ultra high frequencies while the DD provides awesome bass extension and definitely brings flavor to my music library. These are great in-ears and Amazon makes it very easy to at least demo them for a few days.
The Build
I love this shell! It's made with a 5-axis CNC machined aluminum-magnesium alloy and sits great in the ear. At first, I had an issue where the IEM didn't stay in my ear but I swapped for the foams and was able to get the fit that I was looking for. Foams definitely helped in the fit. The included cable is fantastic and I have no desire to change it. I always look to buy products that have replaceable cables as I do not trust myself to solder away on expensive products if they experience cable failure so the inclusion of an MMCX connector is appreciated. I would say the nozzle length is on part with what I've seen -- similar to the Tin T2 or BLON. The included tip selection is decent so feel free to rotate through them and find ones that work best with your ears.
The Sound
Overall
These sound incredible -- period. Not relative to the price but just in general. I will say, I am less of an analytical listener and more of a pleasure listener. I prefer songs that are happier, upbeat, and decently fast. Even so, I took my time with these IEMs and pushed up my volume pot to see what these were capable. Soundstage is decent enough, much wider than the SE215 but nothing like an open back. Imaging was decent with good instrument separation. My belief is that imaging and soundstage and greatly correlated which makes sense because with more "headspace" you can separate better. Baseline: You want good IEMs? Definitely try these.
Bass
The bass on these is pretty dang good. To be honest, I have a decent size collection of IEMs and headphones but always tend to buy more neutral products. My BLONs really elevated my listening experience because of that slightly emphasized bass. In fact, what really drew me to the FiiO FH5 in the first place was the dynamic driver which promised good bass extension. I find that the bass on the majority of the songs I listened to was present and definitely gave some coloring to the music but it wasn't overpowering and maintained impressive vocal clarity. I find that with the higher priced IEMs, you want to really get a nice clear & present bass rather than something that is tuned to just be a subwoofer. The FH5 do great in this regard and make me hesitant to try BA only headphones because of the wonderful lows that the dynamic driver provides.
Mids
The vocal clairty on these FH5s is nothing to laugh at. I can really appreciate vocal-heavy tracks and hear clear and distinct placement that they did. For example, in some bollywood songs, back vocals are coming from the left and right while the lead vocals are coming out of the center and all this detail is preserved and presented perfectly from the FH5s.
Treble
My biggest issue with some IEMs is sibilance that some exude in the highs. When I realized I was treble sensitive my first step was EQing and finding good IEMs that presented relatively neutral sound. I am happy to report that the FH5 produces high and ultra-high frequencies that are pleasant and enjoyable to listen to. FiiO claims that their inclusion of an S. TURBO acoustic structural design filters the mids and highs produced by the dynamic so you can get the full power of the Knowles 31082.
Isolation
Finally, the isolation. I use IEMs in a noisy work environment, in fact, I am almost using audio equipment to drown out the sound around me when I need to focus. I'll put the FiiO FH5 at a 8/10 for isolation. They are not the Shure SE-215 which I need to say are like putting in hearing protection -- they do not let outside sound in at all! But, they aren't open and with good foams will definitely block out sound. I love isolation because it lets me keep volumes low to prevent hearing damage and to really focus in on what I am doing. There are double flange eartips included in the box which at the time of this review I have not yet tried but I may in the future and update this review. Overall, the FH5s are fine for the price.
