Fidue A83 – initial impressions
I must admit, until recently I was not massively aware of Fidue and their offerings, bunching all of their IEMs together with the mid-range A71 and A65 models in my mind as some nice looking but middle of the road Chinese IEMs not really worth looking into. I came across the Fidue A83 being mentioned in a few threads I frequent here on Head-Fi in a very favourable light against some of my current favourite in-ears, and after more thorough research and a bit of self-enlightenment, decided to arrive fashionably late to the party and pick up a pair of their former flagship IEM. These were bought through the For Sale boards in “as new” condition, so all views expressed here are my own.
About me: newly minted audiophile, late 30s, long time music fan and aspiring to be a reasonably inept drummer. Listen to at least 2 hours of music a day – prefer IEMs for out and about, and a large pair of headphones when I have the house to myself and a glass in my hand. Recently started converting my library to FLAC and 320kbps MP3, and do most of my other listening through Spotify or Tidal HiFi. I am a fan of rock, acoustic (apart from folk) and sarcasm. Oh yeah, and a small amount of electronica. Not a basshead, but I do love a sound with some body to it. My ideal tuning for most IEMs and headphones tends towards a musical and slightly dark presentation, although I am not treble sensitive in general. Please take all views expressed below with a pinch of salt – all my reviews are a work in progress based on my own perceptions and personal preferences, and your own ears may tell you a different story.
Tech specs
Drivers: 2 balanced armatures + 10mm dynamic driver
Frequency Response : 9-31kHz
Impedance: 11 Ohm
Sensitivity: 104dB
THD : <1%
Cable ： 1.3m Silver-plated copper wire (MMCX)
Unboxing
The Fidue A83 has until recently been the “flagship” IEM from this manufacturer until the launch of their new Sirius model, and sits squarely in the $200-$300 price bracket at current street price. The packaging is a simple but elegant affair, with a black and lime green box listing some product features in English and a picture of the IEMs on the front, and similar designs on the back and sides, repeated in Chinese and German. Opening up the box, you find some foam inserts and a Fidue branded hard carry case containing the IEMs and the silver-plater copper cable, cleverly wrapped around a foam winder insert cut to fit the waterproof case perfectly. It is a very sleek and practical presentation, and while the case is a little too large to be pocket-friendly, the foam insert will go a long way to ensuring that the A83 can be transported safely in all possible situations. Unfortunately the foam insert doesn’t leave any room for any additional items apart from the IEMs and the attached cable, but it can be removed if the additional space is required. Completing the load-out is a selection of tips (including some Comply foam) in a variety of sizes and shapes, a 3.5mm to 6.3mm plug adapter and a plane adapter, all cunningly concealed in a cutout in the bottom foam packing block. All in all, the packaging is neutral enough not to be too gaudy, but classy enough not to look out of place in its price bracket.
Build quality and ergonomics
On popping the case and getting a first look at the A83s, the first thing that catches your eye is the unusual clamshell style outer half, in what appears to be a champagne coloured metal coating. On closer inspection, the casings are actually mainly composed of plastic, but the effect is very stylish nonetheless. The left and right buds are marked with the standard “L” and “R” markings, but also have an unusual visual indicator – the ear-facing side of the right shell is made of a translucent red plastic, with the left ear having a blue inner shell. This lends an almost custom look to the A83s at first glance, and is sufficiently unusual and practical to make me wonder why more manufacturers don’t do this. The overall shell shape also mimics the standard custom IEM form factor, filling the main bowl of the ear nicely. The A83 are designed for over-ear wear, and have a slim enough profile to lie flush with your outer ear when properly inserted, giving them a very sleek look. From a practical viewpoint, the IEMs fit well enough to allow me to wear them while laying in bed without any major issues, which is always a bonus. The fit is good without being excellent, with the universal shape fitting my ears nicely and allowing for a reasonable insertion depth without any discomfort.
The MMCX connectors used on the A83 are almost standard – the cables can be swapped out for any of the normal aftermarket MMCX options, but also has an additional tab built in to the cable and housing to lock the cable in place once connected, stopping the annoying cable rotation that normally happens when you are trying to fit some MMCX in-ears with one hand. Like the dual colouring on the shells, this is a simple yet practical idea that I am surprised other manufacturers haven’t come up with already, so kudos to the Fidue design team for being willing to think a little outside the box as it seems like a very logical solution to one of the audiophile life’s little irritations. There have been various comments in the forums here regarding the robustness (or lack of it) of the earlier A83 MMCX connections (both from a cable and IEM side) which I believe Fidue have subsequently addressed – I don’t know if I have one of the later production run models, but I can say I have experienced no issues in the time I have had mine so far. The cable itself is also noteworthy, being an aesthetically impressive and tightly braided silver plated copper hybrid with great build quality and a nice rubber strain relief. Microphonics are also at a minimum on the cable, which remains pliable but almost silent in day to day use. The overall quality is such that if effectively negates the immediate need for any after-market cable upgrade to make the A83s look or sound any better. One criticism is the lack of a neck cinch on the cable, but as the memory-wire ear guides work pretty well for me, it hasn’t caused any day to day wear issues.
Overall, the shells feel lightweight and comfortable, with a secure over-ear fit and cable locking mechanism. The unusual colouring and design give the impression of a product that has had some serious thought put into it, and again leaves you feeling quite happy that it belongs in the price bracket it currently occupies.
Sound quality
Test gear:
Xperia Z3 Compact (via Neutron Player)
Cayin C5 amp
Sansa Clip+ (Rockboxed)
Microsoft Surface Pro 2 (straight from the output jack)
Main test tracks (mainly 320kbps MP3 or FLAC/Tidal HiFi):
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B. / Wasting Time
Blackberry Smoke – The Whipporwill (album)
Slash – Shadow Life / Bad Rain (my reference tracks for bass impact and attack, guitar “crunch”)
Slash & Beth Hart – Mother Maria (vocal tone)
Richie Kotzen – Come On Free (bass tone)
Elvis – various
Leon Bridges – Coming Home (album)
The Chemical Brothers – Go (EDM tester)
Emile Sande – Our Version Of Events
Rodrigo y Gabriela – various
Mavis Staples – Livin’ On A High Note
Foy Vance – The Wild Swan
ZZ Top – La Futura
Chris Stapleton – Chris Stapleton
Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane
The Winery Dogs – The Winery Dogs
General impressions on the sound signature
On first listen, the A83 struck me with an overwhelming impression that my brain could only really describe as “zestiness”, like the aural equivalent of sticking a freshly cut lime into each ear (maybe it was the packaging?). The sound signature claimed on the front of the packaging is a “reference” tuning, and to my ears there is certainly enough detail and clarity to lay claim to that title, but for a strictly reference tuning, there is too much bass and treble presence to be called ruler flat, being more of a warm shallow V. The bass presence is certainly impressive, with excellent extension down into the sub-bass arena - 9Hz is claimed on the packaging, and unlike some headphones I have heard with similar specifications on paper, I am more than inclined to believe the marketing people in this instance. The midrange is detailed without being harsh, and sits just behind the bass and treble, imparting good emotional impact to the music. Treble presentation is bright and clear, with plenty of sharpness but managing to steer clear of the usual sibilance hotspots to keep it enjoyable and pretty non-fatiguing. Overall impression is of a highly detailed V, with plenty of bass presence and air and bite in the treble, leaving an instant impression on the listener.
Highs
My usual preference for headphones and in-ears is towards darker tunings, so ideally I look for something that is clear and clean without being too sparkly or aggressive. At first listen, I was concerned that the A83 would be a little too sharp in the high registers to be a long-term keeper, with the initial buzz of the high notes definitely knocking some dust off the higher shelves of my audio furniture. After my ears adjusted, I find the treble just on the top end of my personal threshold, but still very enjoyable. There is a higher than neutral overall presence, with a great sense of impact and energy, and extension up as high as you will ever need unless you are listening to a Rosetta Stone recording on how to speak canine. Cymbals sound crisp and etched, fizzing into life and decaying with excellent control. This is an excellent ‘phone for rock and metal, with high notes on electric guitars in particular being very well represented with sufficient definition and crunch to really move the music along. That being said, I never found the A83 to be too sharp or overbearing, and in general it is not a sibilance magnet, with sufficient control over the normal hotspots in the frequency range to prevent fatigue on longer listening sessions. Pulling my usual testers for sibilance and screechiness out of the bag, both Slash (“Starlight”) and Chris Stapleton (“Whiskey And You”) manage to pass the test, with the hotspots on their recordings feeling more “etched” than with my normal gear but still inside the bounds of enjoyability. Overall, an airy and defined treble with energy to spare and just enough slack in the right places to avoid sibilance on most recordings. Pushing some System Of A Down and Slash and Myles Kennedy through their paces on the A83, the guitars and vocals scream where they need to, pulling details to the fore but not sending the listener running for the volume control in some of the more bombastic passages. Resolution in the high frequencies is very apparent, with the sharper tuning helping bring more micro-details into focus for the listener. Compared to some of my usual listening gear like the Audioquest Nighthawks, the A83 can sometimes feel a little bit “hyper-real”, but does add a nice sense of resolution to the music that is very enjoyable without treading into harshness or overcooking the sound.
Mids
The midrange on the A83 is tight, well defined and carries a nicely textured sound due to the high detail level drifting down from the overlapping treble frequencies. To my ears, it sits somewhat behind the bass and treble on the soundstage, adding a gentle V shape to the overall sound without ever sounding particularly recessed or lacking. The midrange is a little thicker than neutral, with a warmth due to the prominent lower end that adds to the overall tone and body of the sound nicely. With rock music, this slightly thick and warm tone works very well, pairing with the crunch from the treble to add some real attack to heavy guitar passages. Playing “World On Fire” by Slash, the main riff roars along across the middle of the sonic landscape, crunching and crashing through the song with definition and bite. Led Zeppelin also sounds excellent through these, with the uniquely dissonant tone of Jimmy Page’s guitar cutting across the textured basslines and Robert Plant’s signature howl nicely. Switching to “Coco” by Foy Vance, the grit in his voice and the percussive sounds of his guitar playing in between chords is easily accommodated in the ears of the listener, adding to the main acoustic riff and layered backing harmonies to fill the ears of the listener with detail and a “feel” that really brings the song to life.
Switching focus to vocals, the A83 acquits itself well with the rasping falsetto of Myles Kennedy, keeping it just far enough forward to grab the audience among the pounding drums and high-pitched guitar. Putting the more sedate “Whiskey And You” through its paces on the A83 is another good example of the excellent tuning, with the detail around the single guitar and vocal fleshing out the track in the listener’s head without distracting from the smokiness and timbre of Stapleton’s voice, which sounds absolutely fantastic. I find this track is also quite good for exposing harshness on the vocal ranges, as some of the lines can sound a little spiky with poor earphones due to the way they were recorded. The A83 handles these with aplomb, portraying the light and shade and smooth and gravelly interplay within the vocal without grating. To be clear, this isn’t the silkiest or most grain free vocal presentation you will ever hear, so if you are looking for something that is like buttered marble, these won’t be 100% perfect for you, but the overall tone and clarity just seems to feel right, and is excellent at bringing the feeling out of the music for me. The sound reminds me of running my fingers over the sort of paper they use for school certificates and important legal documents, with a physicality and texture you can feel compared to a normal smooth sheet of A4, adding a layer of substance to the sound to complement the smoothness. Female vocals are similarly well looked after, with the Fidue working its way through Emile Sande and Beth Hart’s differing vocal styles without losing anything in the process. One thing the A83 are excellent at capturing is the emotion of a vocal, with the high detail level and “just right” warmth and grit of the sound really bringing a sense of vitality into the track being played, making it very easy to really embrace the sound.
Bass
The bass is one of the highlights of the A83 – deep, thick and plentiful while never getting too overblown or sloppy. The main focus in terms of sheer volume leans slightly towards the mid-bass area, but there is also a strong sub-bass on these IEMs which plays excellently with EDM and some rumbling rock music to add a level of physicality to the playback that is difficult to achieve with an all-BA setup. Compared to some other 3 driver hybrids currently on the market, these are certainly not the most bassy offering you will find, but are definitely a bit north of neutral, and no poorer for it. In fact, as an Aurisonics ASG 2.5 owner for some time, I can comfortably say that the A83 certainly don’t lose anything major in comparison with the 2.5s in terms of texture and extension, just losing out on final quantity and detail due to the unique adjustable porting design of the 2.5s (and their gigantic 14.2mm dynamic driver). To be clear, this isn’t a basshead IEM, but it does do bass very well when it is present in the track being played, and is definitely above neutral in amount, lending a nice warmth and solidity to the rest of the soundscape that works beautifully with the overall tuning.
My usual bass tester tracks all score well on the A83 – “Bad Rain” by Slash is textured and deep, the driving bassline kicking in with growl and menace. “Hello, It’s Me” by Sister Hazel fills the soundstage with the smoothly shifting bassline nicely, the airiness and clarity of the higher registers playing very well against the liquid basslines sitting at the bottom of the sound. I have heard more bass in both songs through my other gear (specifically the ASG 2.5), but unlike some presentations, these don’t feel lacking in any way. There is enough presence to flesh out the sound but not too much that it obscures the texture and detail underneath.
EDM and electronica are handled particularly well with this presentation, with the capable sub-bass underpinning my favourite tracks from Rudimental and Sigma (don’t judge me) with a nice sense of fullness to the sound, balancing against the sharpness of the treble nicely to avoid leaving the sound feeling too thin or etched. One of my new favourites for testing EDM on a headphone is “Go” by The Chemical Brothers, and the A83 gives a good account of itself here as well. The song is built around a rapped vocal sitting in the middle of the track, with driving bass and sub bass firing underneath and the standard electro-synth effects and euphoric keyboards moving around the soundstage like a Tasmanian Devil on crack as the song progresses. The Fidue handles everything with ease, the bass pounding along with real depth and impact, but not obscuring the clarity of the vocals or the swirling keyboards.
Overall, the bass is an excellent example of a consumer audiophile tuning – technically good, impactful but never overpowering and only present when called for. Without a slight bass boost, the sharp tuning on the rest of the frequency range may have tipped over into harshness for some, but the slight boost down low helps bring these into balance for me, and leaves the overall sound again feeling “just right” for an enjoyable and slightly coloured audio experience.
Soundstage/separation
The soundstage of the A83 is wide for an IEM, but not excessively so. It sits somewhere outside your ears in terms of width, and keeps a realistic sense of height. I have heard more spacious presentations (the ASG 2.5 again – it really is that good), but this certainly takes you slightly outside the confines of your own head when the track or the source calls for it. Separation is similarly good but not great, with instruments spreading themselves across the musical backdrop and making themselves easily distinguishable from each other without ever pulling the music too far apart. For the overall tuning of the IEM, this is preferable for me – there is a fine line between musical and analytical, and there is enough detail in the main wall of sound to let you enjoy the nuances of the songs without fully dissecting them and taking some of the soul away in the process. “Everybody Knows She’s Mine” by Blackberry Smoke is always a good indicator for me – there is an acoustic guitar lick that comes in over the main electric riff about 20 or so seconds in that can get swallowed up in the overall sound with some lower-fidelity IEMs, and can jump a little too far out of the main song with some hyper-detailed IEMs I have heard. The A83 gets the balance just about right, with each acoustic note clearly defined and audible, without sitting apart from the riff it is supposed to be accompanying.
Isolation
Due to the size of the shells and the reasonable insertion levels, isolation is good on these IEMs, but not stellar. It will do well enough on public transport for me using my tip of preference (SpinFit), but if I was going to be heading off on a long plane journey then I might consider packing on some Comply foam tips to give it a little boost at the expense of some of that wonderful airy treble. As with all decent sealing in-ears, it is easily isolating enough to have to remove them if you want to talk to someone without the medium of sign language/instant message or avoid getting hit by a truck, so you have been warned.
Tip Choice
As I am coming late to this particular party, I had read enough about the standard tip choice provided to work out that I would most likely need to indulge in some tip-rolling in order to find the perfect sound and seal for my cavern-sized ears. After experimenting with various included tips (poor seal for my ears), I settled on some Comply foam tips and a pair of SpinFits I had laying around as my two final contenders. The Comply allow for a more isolating seal, and are my normal tip of choice on almost all of my IEMs, but in this instance I found the SpinFit tips to provide a seal that was almost as good, while allowing a little more air into the overall sound, retaining more of the excellent treble definition and spark which can be lost with the foam solution. As mentioned, my ears have particularly wide canals, so the standard tips will most likely be fine for most, but for this particular IEM, I find SpinFit has allowed me to get the most personally enjoyable sound out of it. Another close contender for sound and fit on the A83 are the new "Kombi" tips launched by Trinity Audio (a hybrid silicon/foam tip like the Sony Hybrids) - these only arrived as I was finishing the writeup on these so I haven't had masses of time with them yet, but they definitely ran the SpinFits close in terms of overall enjoyment. There is quite a lot of recommendation on the forums for JVC Spiral Dots as the “end-game” tip for these IEMs, but I don’t have any of these miracle Japanese super-tips in my audio toolbox at the moment to verify, unfortunately.
Amping
The overall sensitivity and resistance of these IEMs make them pretty easy to run off an average audiophile setup (mobile phone, standalone DAP) and sound pretty amazing while doing so. Adding in something with more torque to the chain like the Cayin C5 amp and the A83 will quite happily make the most of the extra headroom, with a small but noticeable boost to the fullness and impact of the bass being the most obvious improvement. Verdict: amping not required to get great sound out of these, but more power will squeeze the last few drops of juice out of the lime in terms of sound quality and impact.
Comparisons
Echobox Finder X1 – This IEM is a filter based dynamic driver retailing for around $200, with excellent build quality and a sharp “audiophile” U-shaped tuning across all three filters. Using the “bass” filter as my preferred reference, The Finders come across as a more pronounced version of the tuning that the A83 has gone for, with a slightly leaner overall sound and more pronounced sharpness in the high registers, with a bass tuning that leans more towards mid bass thickness and volume compared to the more even split of the Fidue between mid and sub bass. Both IEMs are very detailed in terms of overall presentation, with the Finders just coming across as slightly smoother by a hair in the midrange compared to the more “textured” feel of the A83, but losing out a little to the Fidue in terms of conveying emotion in a track due to the slightly deeper setting of the voices compared to the bass and high end. One area where the Finder does have an advantage is the sheer speed of the bass in the dynamic driver, with the German-designed PEEK diaphragm really providing some pace and slam to the low notes that feels a little quicker and more pronounced. Treble is a matter of preference, with both providing a nice airy presentation but the Finders coming across as the hotter and more “etched” of the two presentations, even though neither cross the line into sibilance. From a personal preference, the A83 has the better treble tuning for me, although both are good. Build quality is a split decision – the solid titanium bell shape of the Finders look and feel absolutely beautiful, and are about as durable as you could ever want from an IEM. In contrast, the cable battle is won by the A83, with a thicker and more importantly detachable cable (both are made from silver plated copper) with memory wire to enable over-ear wear. On a straight shootout, the A83 just edge ahead for me if I had to choose just one IEM as my daily driver purely on tuning, but the Finder do present excellent value for money and a comparable level of quality to make it purely a preference call.
FLC8S – The tuneable marvel from Forrest Wei and his team has 36 different tuning configurations available for the listener, so for the sake of sanity and a review that doesn’t run into 50,000 words I am comparing them using my preferred tuning of red-black-gold with Comply comfort tips. This configuration allows for more sub-bass and mid-bass presence in the basic FLC tuning, which brings it more into line with the tuning of the A83. The A83 has a slightly higher mid-bass presence than the FLC, with similar sub bass tuning (if a little more “rumble factor” for me). Both are good, with the FLC feeling lighter and a little less dense than the A83's more substantial overall bass presence. In terms of midrange, the FLC8S has a more forward and velvety smooth midrange presentation, with vocals more towards the forefront of the soundstage. The A83 mids are a little further back overall, with more texture and a little more substance and raw emotion to the sound than the smoother and silkier heartstring-pulling stylings of the 8S. In the high frequencies, both tunings offer plenty of air, with the FLC going for a more diffuse and airier take compared to the more focused “zest” of the Fidue. Build quality is similar on both models, with the pseudo-metal faceplates on the A83 looking a little nicer to the eye than the all plastic industrial design of the FLC that makes them look more like a plumber’s U-bend than a mid-tier IEM. The cables are similar, with the edge going to the A83 both in terms of ergonomics and build quality. These are too different in tuning to pick a clear winner, with the infinitely tuneable FLC providing more tinkering options, but the A83 providing a more enjoyable basic tuning and a touch more rawness to tracks than the smooth and ethereal FLC.
Campfire Audio Nova – with a current RRP of $500, these sit in the price bracket above the A83, but share a similar sense of freshness and clarity so I have included these as a reference for people thinking of stepping up (or down) a bracket. When I first put both these IEMs in my ears, they gave off a feeling of clarity that was quite unmistakeable, despite having drastically different basic tunings. The Nova is a dual-BA setup, with a tuning that reminds me of an old vinyl record being played on a really good sound system, giving a sense of realism to the sound, compared to the more classic but similarly clear “Hi-Res” tuning of the A83. Overall, the Nova is a darker affair than the A83, with the treble lacking the sense of air and freshness that the A83 portrays. The tuning of the Nova is more along the lines of a slightly bassy take on neutral, comparted to the more V shaped Fidue. In terms of detail, the level is actually pretty similar, the more closed off treble containing the detail a little further back into the overall sound than the more prominent A83. Compared to the A83, the Nova is slightly more forward in the mids, with a nice substance and clarity to the sound. The A83 has a more detailed feeling midrange, with the vocals in particular feeling slightly more textured and conveying more depth of emotion. In terms of bass, the A83 has a higher sub bass presence than the Nova, which rolls off quite early on down the frequency range, and a stronger mid-bass presence with more defined slam due to the use of the dynamic driver compared to the all-BA setup of the Nova. The one area the Nova clearly wins on is in power requirement – it is much easier to drive. Overall, the A83 wins quite comfortably for me in terms of sound preferences – the Nova has unique and “real” tuning that I have an enormous respect and technical admiration for, but for sheer enjoyment, the A83 wins me over with its bigger sub-bass rumble and fresher treble tuning.
Overall conclusion
It almost feels churlish to write a recommendation on these IEMs, considering they have been in circulation for over 2 years now and reviewed (and praised) by some of the most prolific reviewers on Head-Fi already. On my part, I would just say that the previous high marks are still thoroughly deserved – these IEMs present a beautifully coherent and enjoyable sound, with just the right amount of bass texture and impact to go along with the “fresh enough to be royalty in Bel-Air” treble tuning and emotive vocals. There isn’t an area that you listen to the A83 and think the designers really missed the target, which is pretty rare with a tuning that dares to pump the bass and the treble. Up until this review, my “go to” IEMs for listening when I have time to really sit back and enjoy the music and don’t feel like wearing over-ears have been the Aurisonics ASG2.5 – my experience with the A83s so far has pretty much pushed the 2.5s into semi-retirement, with something that keeps drawing me back to the excellent tuning and raw emotion they can convey. To sum up the whole review in five words: just right, Fidue. Just right.
