Fiio FP3's Review
General/Build/Comfort/Packaging
I had reviewed several Fiio’s IEM before and generally I liked most of them. The FP3 is their first planar IEM and let’s see how it puts itself with the rest . Most should be quite familiar with Fiio as they are very well known for many categories of product. The FP3 sports a 14.5mm planar driver within it, rather than opting for off the shelf drivers, Fiio went on with the R&D route to develop their own planar driver. Overall build quality is solid in my opinion, the wood panel faceplate is something refreshing in the market for this price bucket, the packaging is in fact rather similar across most Fiio’s products, the IEM itself, the storage case, cable and few sets of eartips. The stock cable does look high quality but it is slightly prone to tangling possibly due to the outer layer of the cable. In terms of comfort, I have been listening to it for a long session of approximately 3-4 hours and I did not feel any discomfort at all.
Gears used for this review
Fiio KA15
Dita Navigator
Fiio’s UTWS4 2025
FP3 Stock Cable and Eartips
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 unit has been put through the looping of pink noise for 20+ hours
The FP3’s tonality is leaning towards slight V shaped and borderline thin note weight, there’s a hint of planar timbre but other than that, in terms of price performance ratio, it is really good. If you’re sensitive to the highs, tip rolling will help, Final Type E can help to tame the treble and also slightly boost up the note weight. Prior to the burn in, out of the box impression, the FP3 is bright but somehow after the burn in, it is slightly smoother, also the pre-installed “treble eartip” doesn’t really help, switching it to the balanced eartip does smoothen the treble to a tolerable level for me
Bass
Sub bass does rumble but it doesn’t go that deep to bass head territory, sufficient to add “fun” to overall listening experience
Mid bass is punchy and has good body to it overall, speed is rather good
Thankfully, the bass doesn’t bleed into the mids
On certain tracks, the bass can be really fun, such as some low fi music or EDM, but on certain tracks, it can be slightly overwhelming, depending on your personal preferences, occasionally, i do find it quite fun and i enjoy it
Overall, the bass has quite good texture with coupled with fairly good control and clean sounding
Mids
Mids are not recessed but not too forward either
Vocal has good enough texture and body for both male and female
Female vocal somehow sounded a little bit more energetic due to slight lift from the upper mids, but never shouty
Male vocal is borderline thin in my opinion, but pairing it with a warmer source does somehow boost the weight and gives additional warmth
The mids are not thin sounding nor has a very good body overall, somewhere in between
Treble
The treble based on my listening impression, does have quite an energetic profile, with sufficient air and sparkles
They do have quite an energetic profile, but they’re not harsh nor sibilant, personally, i am a little sensitive hence i’m using it with the balanced tip to bring down the treble a little and it is good for me
Detail retrieval is good for the asking price
Imaging/Soundstage
Imaging is good as instruments can be pinpointed easily
Soundstage is good for the price, it is wide and have good depth to it, lacking height to contribute to overall in terms of sounding big, nonetheless, considered very good given the asking price
The overall technicalities is good and there’s nothing to nitpick about
Driveability
FP3 does requires a bit of power to sound good, pairing it with a weaker source will make it sound quite harsh and bass aren’t that controlled
Tried using it with Apple’s dongle and sure, it does sound loud but it is lacking in terms of dynamics, bass control and treble response as well
It does benefit with some amplification, using it with my desktop source Aune S9c, it exhibited better control overall (slightly tighter bass and bigger soundstage)
Comparison (Kiwi Ears Melody)
Melody features slightly smaller planar driver and resin shell with matte faceplate finishing
In terms of tonality, Melody is more on the V shaped sound profile compared to FP3 which is slightly V shaped sounding
Bass on the Melody is stronger and it does rumbles harder compared to FP3, but mid bass is weaker compared to FP3
FP3 has better technicalities compared to Melody
In terms of treble profile, they are more or less quite similar
In terms of packing, FP3 is definitely running circles around Melody
Final Thoughts
I have to admit, the out of the box listening impression is rather bad for me in terms of the highs, then I decided to burn in the Melody for about 20 hours +- and it does tone down a little, the bass is also tighter and slightly better in terms of control.
If you like a bit of fun or looking to get your first planar IEM without breaking the bank, get the FP3. This is not to say that the FP3 is without cons, for one, the treble might not suit everyone’s taste and also the bass quantity might not satisfy everyone, i wouldn’t say this is a con rather it is the tuning direction of Fiio, i have to reiterate sound is very subjective and differs from one person to another.
Fiio certainly hit the right spot in terms of their releases, with this planar offering from the brand, they’re set to capture more audiophiles to the brand
Fiio FP3 was sent over by Fiio for this review. I thank them for the opportunity as always.
Head over to the store if you are interested in getting one:
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