Fiio FT1's Review - Solid closed back performer!

 

General/Build/Comfort/Packaging

Fiio is well known for their dac/amp products, they produce desktop dac/amp as well as portable source which are quite well received. I have reviewed their DAP and I have also tested various IEMs/Headphones from the brand and I have quite a positive experience with most of them.

Today I have the brand’s latest entry FT1, a closed back with wooden cup. I must say, the outlook, build quality, as well as packaging are very impressive. 

Let’s talk about the build quality, the whole unit is mostly made out of metal, hence it is very solid, not to mention it is also very lightweight. Packaging is also very good, very premium-ish packaging style, a storage case is included as well as both 3.5mm and 4.4mm cables

In terms of comfort, the clamping force is just right, not too tight nor loose, the earpads are also very soft and have the properties of memory foam. I have no issue listening to it for several hours.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Tradutto DAC + Earmen CH-Amp

• Fiio K9 AKM

• Fiio Q15

• Fiio FT1 with 4.4 Cable

• Aune S9c Pro

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression

The FT1 to my ears has a slight v shaped sound profile which emphasises both the lows and highs while the mids are not too recessed . The sub bass is quite linear, you can’t really hear it, but rather feel it when the track calls for it, mid bass has good enough punch without bleeding into the mids. The timbre is very natural to my ears and it doesn’t have any metallic sheen to it, it's just good

Bass

• Starting with the bass, it’s safe to say the bass has very good speed, linear sub bass extension

• It has a good punch, Slipknot’s People = Shit!, especially during the intense drumming during the opening, FT1 has no sweat in keeping up

• The sub bass has very good extension, although it doesn’t extend that deep, but for the asking price it is really good

• The bass response is not basshead kind of presentation, but to my ears, they are sufficient and will present themselves well when the track calls for it

• Bass has good texture overall and doesn’t sound thin

• The bass doesn’t bleed into the mids at all

Mids

• The mids are slightly recessed to my ears

• Vocal for both male and females has good enough textures 

• Female vocal has a bit more energy compared to male, but on certain tracks, the female vocal sounds a little unrefined (A Mei’s Vocal on 记得), not as smooth as i’d remember it to be, but this is purely me nitpicking

• Upper mids are generally safe to my ears and not shouty even on higher volume

• The mid range is good overall, but i do find it to lack a little body at times, but again, this is me nitpicking

Treble

• Treble response has plenty of energetic yet it is not harsh nor sibilant, but do bear in mind that everyone has got different level of tolerance for treble, to my ears, they are not harsh nor anywhere near sibilant

• Fast and snappy transient response

• Very good resolution

• Good detail retrieval, micro details can be picked up easily

• I noticed that the treble out of the box is a little unrefined, but after the burn in period of about a day or so, i left it there with music playing on loop, the treble is slightly smoothed out and slightly more refined

• The highs also tend to vary with source, based on my observation, pairing it with the Aune S9c has the smoothest treble and overall thicker body while the Fiio’s offering such as the K9 AKM and the Q15 does render the highs slightly more energetic but not on the realm of harsh sounding

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is not that big which to me is expected for a closed back, just slightly out of your head kind of presentation

• Instruments can be picked up easily where it is coming from

• Good separation and layering

• Very good soundstage and imaging overall

Driveability

• The FT1 is not hard to drive, but it does scale very well with amplification

• Pairing it with the Aune S9c seems to give more body overall, with mode 2 filter, the vocals and mids are slightly being pushed forward, which personally i kinda like it

• Pairing it with a powerful portable dac/amp the Q15, with AKM’s flagship dac, the imaging, especially separation and layering is excellent, same goes to soundstage

• Using the Earmen stack, Tradutto+CH-Amp, the experience is taken a step higher, better control in terms of the bass, slightly better texture, the highs are somewhat a little smoother and refined

Comparison (Sennheiser HD660s)

• First, the build quality, FT1 definitely runs circle around the 660s in terms of build quality and comfort

• Both are different headphone, one is open backed dynamic driver headphones and the FT1 is a closed back, in terms of tuning, the 660s has a somewhat more safer approach to the tuning

• Bass is light in terms of quantity, sub bass extension is not as good, it does roll off quite early, but mid bass is quite punchy and has good speed and texture

• Perhaps the strong point for the HD660s is the mids, they’re lush and full bodied, vocals for both male and female has good texture

• Treble for the 660s is also safe in general, good detail retrievals

• Soundstage is rather 2D-ish, just slightly out of your head, but separation and imaging is rather good

• At 150Ω, they definitely needs some amping, although not really hard to drive, but amping is still required to get the best out of it, compared to the FT1, the 660s definitely requires a bit more juice

Final Thoughts

The FT1 is definitely one of my recent favourite dynamic driver headphones that I have tested other than the Grados which I have owned. For an entry level headphone, they are really good and definitely up to the expectation in terms of sonic performance as well as build quality, and I'm really surprised by its capability in terms of the sonic performance as well as its technicalities. Not to mention that the price is highly competitive as well given what it has to offer. It doesn't require a beefy amp to sound good yet it does scale with better source and amplification. Priced at 150$, the FT1 offers a very good value in terms of price performance ratio, this is a highly recommended headphone from me!

*The FT1 was sent over by Fiio for the purpose of this review, I received no monetary compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review.

If you are interested in getting a pair, head over to their official store to grab one now! 

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Fiio FT1 Official Product Page