For larger views of any of the photos (1200 x 800) - please click on the individual images
INTRODUCTION
This is the fourth Fidue product I’ve been fortunate to review, and the second hybrid IEM after reviewing their flagship A83. This time the A73 is a single dynamic and single balanced armature. I’d been looking forward to this particular IEM, mainly due to my expectations from past models, and also due to the numbering scheme. I reviewed their A81 TOTL single dynamic driver, and came away very impressed with its overall performance despite being too bassy for my own preferences. Next came their A71 (dual dynamic) which unfortunately for me was far too bassy – and really didn’t have a lot of standout properties (sonically or otherwise). The A83 is their flagship triple hybrid, and I was highly impressed with almost everything about it – especially the tuning (more balance and better detail). So following the progression (numbering), I was hoping that the A73 would be tuned similarly to the A83.My thanks go to Vic (djvkool) for facilitating the review samples, and also to Michael Lin from Fidue for giving us the chance to review their products.
For those who aren’t aware, Fidue Acoustics is a Chinese earphone company founded by Benny Tan (who has more than 20 years design experience – developing earphones for other global branded companies). The name Fidue is simply an acronym of the principle design points that the company strives to implement in their product range
- Fidelity
- Inspiration
- Durability
- Uniqueness
- Enjoyment.
Fidue’s product catalogue to date has included mainly dynamic driver models ranging from the sub $50 bracket, all the way to their current triple driver hybrid A83 flagship.
The A73’s arrived almost 5 weeks ago, and while I haven’t been using them every day (you’ll see why as you read further), I have used them as much as possible to get used to the signature so I could post a fair review.
It has been an interesting experience as there are some parts of the A73 I like very much, but there are others (which many people may love) that I find not to my ideal tuning, and others that leave me scratching my head a bit as to what Fiude were thinking. I have genuine mixed feelings about them – hence the review title.
DISCLAIMER
I was provided the Fidue A73 as a review unit from Fidue. I am in no way affiliated with Fidue - and this review is my honest opinion of the A73.
PREAMBLE - 'ABOUT ME'. (or a base-line for interpreting my thoughts and bias)
I'm a 48 year old music lover. I don't say audiophile – I just love my music. Over the last couple of years, I have slowly changed from cheaper listening set-ups to my current set-up. I vary my listening from portables (Fiio X5ii, X3ii, LP5 and iPhone 5S) to my desk-top's set-up (PC > USB > iFi iDSD). I also use a portable set-up at work – either X5ii/X3ii > HP, or PC > E17K > HP. My main full sized headphones at the time of writing are the Beyer T1, Sennheiser HD600, and AKG K553. Most of my portable listening is done with IEMs - and at the moment it has mainly been with the Dunu DN-2000J and Trinity Delta (although this is likely to change with newly arrived Adel U6, Jays q-Jays and Alclair Curve2). A full list of the gear I have owned (past and present is listed in my Head-Fi profile).
I have very eclectic music tastes listening to a variety from classical/opera and jazz, to grunge and general rock. I listen to a lot of blues, jazz, folk music, classic rock, indie and alternative rock. I am particularly fond of female vocals. I generally tend toward cans that are relatively neutral/balanced, but I do have a fondness for clarity, and suspect I might have slight ‘treble-head’ preferences. I am not treble sensitive (at all), and in the past have really enjoyed headphones like the K701, SR325i, and of course the T1 and DT880.
I have extensively tested myself (abx) and I find aac256 or higher to be completely transparent. I do use exclusively redbook 16/44.1 if space is not an issue. All of my music is legally purchased (mostly CD – the rest FLAC purchased on-line).
I tend to be sceptical about audiophile ‘claims’, don’t generally believe in burn-in, have never heard a difference with different cables, and would rather test myself blind on perceived differences. I am not a ‘golden eared listener’. I suffer from mild tinnitus, and at 48, my hearing is less than perfect.
For the purposes of this review - I used the Fidue A73 straight from the headphone-out socket of my iPhone 5S, X3ii, and also X3ii + E17K. In the time I have spent with the A73, I have noticed quite a big change in overall sonics – but I am pretty sure this is simply me becoming more used to the signature of the A73 as I use them more often (brain burn-in).
This is a purely subjective review - my gear, my ears, and my experience. Please take it all with a grain of salt - especially if it does not match your own experience.
THE REVIEW
PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIESThe A73 arrived in Fidue’s normal attractive green and black packaging – but this time in a 2 piece box and lid arrangement. The box is medium sized 180 x 110 x 45mm. The box is essentially the same size and layout as their A71 – and has an image and main descriptive points on the front of the box, and specifications on the rear.
Removing the lid reveals cut-out hard foam (on top of softer foam padding) with the Fidue A73 nestled safely inside the provided cut-outs. There is also a small zippered carry case, ear guides, a shirt clip, IEM tips and a single warranty document / QC card.
The carry case is oval, about 90mm long, 65mm wide and 30mm deep. It has a semi rigid exterior, with padding on the inside, and should be sturdy enough to provide protection, whilst remaining small enough to comfortably fit into a front shirt or pants pocket. It’s a perfect for the A73, and has an inner webbed pocket for spare tips.
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Accessories - ear hooks my not be Fidues | Tips in profile | The A73 with cable nicely tied up |
The accessory pack includes 3 pairs (S,M,L) single flange silicone tips, and 1 pair of dual flange silicone tips. I was a little disappointed in the overall tip selection – especially as there was no foam tip included.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
(From Fidue’s Packaging)
Type | Dual driver inner ear monitor |
Drivers | 10mm dynamic driver and single balanced armature |
Frequency Range | 13 Hz – 27 Khz |
Impedance | Not stated |
Sensitivity | 107 dB |
Max Input Power | 20 mW |
Distortion | <1% |
Plug | 3.5mm gold plated, 4 pole |
Cable | 1.3m silver-plated copper, fixed – with microphone and single button |
Weight | 19g |
IEM Shell | 2 piece molded plastic shell and faceplate |
FREQUENCY GRAPH
The graph below is generated by a new measuring system I’m trialling – using the Vibro Veritas and ARTA software. I don’t have the calibration 100% correct yet – but the graphs I am getting are relatively close to Innerfidelity’s raw data (on other earphones), and I think are “close enough” to get a reasonable idea of the frequency response for the A73. Over time I am hoping to build a pre-set compensation curve so that I can get the graphs more consistent with Tyll’s curves.
What I’m hearing though is:
- Elevated bass response over neutral with good extension
- Warm and slightly forward mid-range
- Some energy in the upper mids and an unfortunate 9kHz peak which does tend toward sibilance.
BUILD QUALITY
The Fidue A73 has a molded shell designed to be worn with the cable over the ear, and the body of the A73 sitting inside the outer ear – similar to a Shure or custom type design. When I’m wearing mine, the shell sits relatively flat against my concha with the nozzle protruding on an angle into the ear. As stated in the specifications, the shell is a molded plastic (deep red colour) which is very smooth and seamless, with an attractive faceplate (designed to look metallic). The A73 is approx. 18mm long and 14mm deep at its widest point. It is approx. 10mm from the faceplate to the base of the nozzle, and the nozzle itself extends approx. 7-8mm from base to tip. The nozzle has a mesh filter built in, is angled, and is completely smooth (no lip). Because of this tips slide right off (more often than not lodged in your ear), and the number of tips you can use with the A73 is severely limited. This is a huge design flaw, and I’m really puzzled as to why they would have introduced this.
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Inside view - note small vent adjacent to nozzle | Good build quality and quite seamless join | Rear port and strain relief |
There are two ports / vents for the dynamic driver (and presumably tuning) – one adjacent to the nozzle, and one at the rear of the A73 (at the join between body and face plate).
The cable is silver-plated copper with a synthetic rubber sheath which is a little grippy, but not overly microphonic – especially worn over ear. It does appear quite well made, and although it was a little unruly when taking photos, generally stays out of the way when wearing. There is no chin slider (mainly due to the microphone / control unit), but the added shirt clip should also help with cable management. My pair also came with over ear hooks – or at least I think they did. I’m not 100% sure anymore – and I’m wondering if I managed to somehow mix a pair of hooks in before I took the photos. If I have, I apologise in advance.
The Y split is a nice metallic tube with “Fidue” printed on it. It looks elegant, and has good strain relief at both ends. There is also good strain relief at the microphone / control unit, IEM exit and the 3.5mm straight gold plated 4 pole jack. Fidue also included a snap on cable tidy / tie – which works pretty well, but can come off if bumped.
From the right earpiece there is a combined mic and single button control device (1 click pause/play, 2 fast clicks track +1, 3 fast clicks, track -1). This hangs (when worn over ear) just above my shirt collar. The microphone is a good one for phone calls and in my testing voice came through loud and clear. The control button was unrecognised by the Fiio X1 and X3 (I regard this as more of a Fiio issue than Fidue), but worked well with the iPhone 5S. My one issue was that the control was really fiddly to use though – simply because it is cylindrical. Trying to multiple press the button often ended up with the control rotating in my hands, and turning into a single click. In the end it got frustrating so I stopped using it. A flat control unit would have been the much smarter choice.
Overall the build quality is a good standard for the cost – but there is one major (nozzle lip) and one minor (cable control) design flaw. Mixed feelings.
FIT / COMFORT / ISOLATION
I have one ear canal slightly different to the other one (my right is very slightly smaller) - so I tend to find that usually single silicon flanges don't fit overly well. I initially tried the included large silicone tips, and whilst they fit OK, I was unable to maintain a seal. The same happened with the dual flanges. From there I was forced to go to my tip collection. I tried my Comply tips, and T400s pretty much slid off (no lip on the nozzle), as did spiral dots, DUNUs dual flanges, Ostry tips, and even my Sony Isolation tips haven’t been consistent. Spinfits did stay on but I had issues getting a seal with them as well. Eventually I managed to find a relatively new pair of Sony Isolation tips, and so far they’ve stayed on – but I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve fished tips out of my ears. It is a fairly major design flaw – and baffling because I haven’t seen it on any of their other IEMs (which I’ve tested). Anyway – with the Sony tips I got a good seal.
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Sony Isolation tips finally works | Ostry tips didn't stay on, Spinfits did | Dunu dual flange and Spiral Dots were both too loose |
The angle of the nozzles is very good (better than the A83), and comfort for me is extremely good. They don’t extend past my outer ear, and sleeping with them in would be easy.
Isolation with a good insertion and correct seal was average for an IEM, mainly due to the 2 ports. With music playing, most ambient noise is well and truly filtered out. They wouldn’t be my choice for a long haul flight, but probably OK for general public transport.
So very comfortable, reasonable isolation, good fit – but tricky, and limited in choice because of the nozzle. Mixed feelings.
SOUND QUALITY
The following is what I hear from the Fidue A73. YMMV – and probably will – as my tastes are likely different to yours (read the preamble I gave earlier for a baseline). Most of the testing at this point (unless otherwise stated) was done with my Fiio X3ii as source, E17K (not needed but it helps with battery life with the X3ii and I like the volume control), no EQ, and Sony Isolation tips.
Tracks used were across a variety of genres – and can be viewed in this list http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks.
Thoughts on General Signature
If I was to describe the signature in a few words – I’d choose the words “warm”, “clear” and “occasionally peaky”.
I’m finding the Fidue A73 to be a very difficult IEM to try and categorise. On one hand there is a beautiful midrange, with good body and really good with female vocals. On the other hand, the bass can be bordering on too warm at times, and there is some unevenness (doesn’t appear often) I’d estimate at around 4-7 kHz, and a quite hot spike at around 8-9 kHz which really sparks sibilance if it’s present in the music.
I wouldn’t call the A73 a dark earphone – but it is certainly warm.
Overall Detail / Clarity
My go to tracks are Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” and Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” as there is a lot of micro detail in both tracks, and the recording quality for both is excellent.
Both tracks are very good with the A73, and although my preference would be for a little less bass guitar dominance – the A73 was able to deliver a very coherent, smooth (for the most part) and very enjoyable rendition with good dynamics, detail retrieval and transition. Guitar and vocals were both very good – and the one issue I’d have with “Sultans” was a little excessive heat in some cymbal hits, and tiny bit of masking with the bass guitar. Overall though – very good, and definitely enjoyable.
Sound-stage & Imaging
Up first was Amber Rubarth’s binaural recording “Tundra”, simply because it’s a pretty simple way to get comparative data on sound-stage.
It’s usually difficult to get a reasonable stage size from an inner ear monitor. The stage is often quite small / close – with an average impression of space. The Fidue A73 has a reasonable stage size with this track (at the outer edge of my head space), and there is very good directional imaging. It isn’t expansive (few IEMs are in my experience), but it was realisitic.
Switching to Loreena McKennitt’s “Dante’s Prayer” and the Fidue A73 gave the first hint that it would be quite good with female vocals. Not quite as sweet as some of my other IEMs, but really enjoyable, and having wonderful presentation of both piano and cello. Imaging is really good once again – but for this track, the staging is a little more intimate.
In this track, the applause at the end is so well presented that with some headphones (HD600) I can actually close my eyes and imagine myself in the crowd. With the A73, the applause doesn’t take me into the audience, and I feel more of an observer than a participant.
The last track I usually use for testing staging is Amanda Marshall’s “Let It Rain”. The opening few bars were extremely promising until I got to the vocals, and then the sibilance hit – and it was like needles. I had to stop. This is a test track I normally enjoy – not this time.
Bass Quality and Quantity
Fidue’s A83 was really good with bass impact and aggression whilst retaining clarity – so I was looking forward to similar from the A73. “Muddy Waters” by Mark Lanegan is a track that I usually use to test impact and also bass bleed. The A73 was really good – striking a perfect balance between impact, and detail, and although the bass is normally more than I’d like, I found it really enjoyable. Mark’s vocals were really clear with good texture. My one small critique would be that very occasionally the thump would slightly mask some of the mid-range – but all-in-all I really enjoyed the presentation.
Lorde’s Royals was next (sub-bass test), and the A73 was effortless in its delivery. Ella’s vocals were again very clear, and I do think that bass lovers will enjoy this presentation.
Female Vocals
60-65% of my music revolves around female vocals – be it jazz, pop, rock, electronic, or even opera. I’m an unabashed fan. For me the sign of a successful IEM is how successfully it conveys emotion and timbre with my female vocalists. The A73 has proven to be quite versatile up to now – would it continue?
First up was Agnes Obel – as some of her recordings can become quite strident or shouty if the mids aren’t quite right. With the A73, the euphonics are there, and overall I have no real complaint with the vocals – but this time instead of the cello adding some beautiful contrast, I found it a bit overly warm. A lot of IEMs struggle with this track – so it’s not a real slight on the A73 – just something to note. London Grammar was next, and this time the overall sonic presentation as much better. Great vocals, good balance and a really nice overall coherence.
I then proceeded to play a medley of other tracks from artists including Christina Perri, Gabriella Cilmi (the track Safer was stunning), Florence and the Machine, Feist and Norah Jones (very smooth). A stand-out was Leanne La Havas – as good as I have heard with other IEMs – but again bordering on sibilant. The A73 definitely does female vocals extremely well – a little warmer than I’m used to, but also quite enjoyable.
Male Vocals
Kicking off with 3 Doors Down “Away from the Sun”, and the vocal presentation is really very good – deep, with good timbre. Some of the upper end detail is a little subdued, but bass is enjoyable, and dynamics are overall enjoyable. With Breaking Benjamin’s “Diary of Jane” there was the tendency for the drivers to be overwhelmed with really complex music – a wall of sound presentation, and it would be fair to say I didn’t enjoy faster music as much with the A73 as I did with acoustic. I can’t help feeling this is probably my preference at play – as with some rock, I was simply finding the warmth of the bass a little too much. But the A73 definitely do male vocals well – and this was readily apparent with my litmus test – Pearl Jam. Vedders vocals were glorious and the PJ tracks were an ideal vehicle to show the strengths of the A73. Good detail throughout as well.
Genre Specific Notes
Again for tracks, albums, artists – please refer to this list: http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks. Once again these are short subjective impressions.
Alt Rock – Unfortunately not a big fan – tended to be a little too dark and some of the minute details were lost. Especially apparent in PF’s Money. Porcupine Tree was pretty good though – although again, I’d prefer a little more contrast.
Jazz / Blues / Bluegrass – Jazz was generally good, although the double bass could get a little boomy at times. Brass was very smooth. Cymbal detail was pretty good. Blues was also very enjoyable – though I did miss some of the really sharp crunch of Bonamassa’s guitar riffs. His vocals were great though.
Rap / Trance / Electronic – Very good hard hitting bass and mostly clear vocals. Little Dragon was particularly good – but I could see myself getting a little fatigued if I listened for too long. Again bass lovers will really enjoy the A73 for this type of music. For me – it’s better in small doses.
Pop / Indie. Sadly my first choice for this was Adele – and it was a sibilant and uneven mess at times. I know this is poor mastering, but at the same time, other IEMs don’t trigger sibilance the way the A73 does. With Coldplay it was some of the unevenness in the treble – not bad, but not perfect. Indie was a lot better (Band of Horses), and Wildlight was fantastic – and better if the bass was dialled back just a little.
Classical / Opera – Surprisingly very good with standouts including solo piano and Lakme’s Flower Duet with Netrebko and Garanca.
AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
The Fidue A73 is easily powered straight out of the portable devices I have, and I haven’t experienced any issues with any source I’ve used. As a reference with a typical rock track (Seether’s Immortality from One Cold Night), I’m at around 28-30/120 on the X311, and I wouldn’t want to go much higher. With the iPhone 5S it would be around 4-5 click, so around 30% volume. There was no obvious advantages in sonics if using EQ.
RESPONSE TO EQ?
My first aim was to remove the sibilance, so I dropped the 8 kHz meter to -6dB (on the X3ii), and then also gave the bass a slow roll-off from around 250 Hz down. The result was much more pleasing for my tastes, and I was able to play Amanda Marshall’s “Let It Rain” without cringing. The A73 responds reasonably well to EQ. I’m just still puzzled why the peak is there in the first place.
QUICK COMPARISON OTHER IEMS
This is completely subjective and mainly to give my thoughts on comparable IEMs. For something different I chose the track “Don’t Leave Home” by Sola Rosa (an NZ funk band). I tried to use the same tips (Sony Isolation) with all Iems and volume match using and SPL meter and test tones to level the playing field.
A73 ($150) vs Dunu Titan ($90-135)
Both are built well with care and attention to details. I’d give the nod to Titan thought for avoiding A73’s design flaws. Titan has better balance, cleaner and clearer sound. A73 has more bass impact and warmth. Titan has better dynamic contrast and sound staging. A73 has better isolation. Both are good IEMs but unless you need the isolation or crave a much warmer signature, the Titan beats the A73 hands down IMO (it’s not close).
A73 ($150) vs Trinity Delta ($140)
Again both have very good build and the only issue is again the nozzles. The Delta has better overall build though (materials) and a wonderful cable. Sonically they are closer than they are different. Both are quite clear with the A73 being a little thicker and warmer in the mid-range,a nd the Delta being a little cleaner and leaner. I actually think the A73 might have the better bass overall as the Delta can occasionally get a little boomy. The Delta has better staging, imaging, and also isolation (for my preferences). If you prefer a warmer thicker sound – you may like the A73 more – or for a leaner cleaner sound, the Delta. My preference = Delta.
A73 ($150) vs DN-1000 ($175-180)
This time both have the same issues with the smooth nozzles, but again both have very good builds otherwise. Comfort is much better with the A73 due to the ergonomic fit. I think the DN-1000 has the better staging and imaging, and also slightly better isolation. The DN1000 has a more balanced frequency response, with better bass extension and sub-bass. It is a little leaner comparatively in the mid-range. Both are very clear. The A73 is a little warmer, a little thicker, and much boomier overall in the bass (I like the DN-1000s cleaner bass presentation a lot more). Again this one comes down to preference. If you like a warmer, thicker, presentation, the A73 may suit well. If I had my choice, I would spend a little more and buy the DUNU.
A73 vs A83
This is simply a comparison, as it’s unfair to rate based on value. Both have good build quality – with the A73 having its nozzle design issue and the A83 having its cable issues. The A83 has substantially better sound stage, imaging, and isolation. I give comfort to the A73 though – it really is an improvement on the A83 as long as you can find a suitable tip.
Comparatively the two IEMs have similar overall bass, but it varies in overall quantity comparative to mid-range, and I guess this is what disappointed me with the A73. I was hoping for similar to the A83, and got a warmer sound more similar to what I remember from the A71. The A83 is more balanced, clearer, cleaner, more engaging. The A73 comparatively is warmer, thicker, and sounds slow and sluggish next to its older brother. Both have a similar treble peak – but the A83’s is closer to the 10 kHz mark, and doesn’t trigger sibilance for me, where the A73 definitely does.
CSD PLOTS
I’ve included some of these for the first time, after discovering that the Veritas and ARTA can quite handily produce these. I was primarily looking for any evidence of slow decay or ringing that might have been causing some of the issues with occasional jangly treble issues with female vocals (I think Vince may have mentioned it in his review of the A73). What I found was quite a few resonant peaks from 4-10K which were a lot more apparent than the likes of the Titan’s CSD. I need to do more research on this to learn how to interpret them correctly.
But I leave you with the CSD from a very recent arrival – the Alclair Curve (2nd gen) – which I measured today “because I could”. You can see how much cleaner the plot is. The Curve is a dual BA – but about $100 dearer than the A73. It is clean and clear, with a stellar build, good bass response, superior isolation and is one of the most comfortable IEMs I’ve had the pleasure of wearing. But the plot was the telling part for me – and I wonder if this is where some of the A73’s issues lie.
FIDUE A73 - SUMMARY
When I first listened to these, I really didn’t like the A73 from first listen. I thought they were too warm, and the treble peak was just plain annoying. Over time, as I got used to them, I came to appreciate their very good mid-range, and I can understand why a lot of people really like them.But for me personally they present a lot of mixed feelings. Their build and comfort is very good, yet they are so hard to find tips for because of the nozzle fail. They have a very good mid-range, but they have sibilant peaks. They have warm smooth bass which is very good for some music, but (for my tastes) overpowers other music.
The A73 could suit:
- Fans of Rap, Pop and EDM who like a warm and slightly bass heavy presentation
- People who prefer a warmer signature while retaining clarity
The A73 may not suit anyone who looks for:
- Good balance across the frequency
- Smooth and sibilance free treble
The question is now how to grade this. It doesn’t suit my personal tastes – but I can see where others would like it. But it has some very real flaws including design issues and a pretty bad sibilant peak. Putting my own preferences aside (if it were based solely on my tastes, I’d give it a 2.5 at best), I’ll stick with a 3.
My thanks once again to Michael and Vic for allowing me the opportunity to review the A73.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO FIDUE
I’d love to see you do a dual BA and return the A83 type signature. And please correct the nozzle.