Recently, FiiO has been consistent in releasing publicly well-received earphones such as the FH5 and FA7, with the intention of providing great sound at a great value. The FA1 is a new single balanced-armature IEM offering from FiiO, retailing at an even more affordable $99 MSRP.
The FiiO FA1 sample was provided by FiiO. I’d like to give thanks to Lily and FiiO for supplying the unit for review, as well as the opportunity to share my impressions on the FA1. It is available in two color variants (red/blue and smoke), the latter being shown in this review.
For more information and technical specifications on the FiiO FA1, or if you’d like to pick up a set for yourself, check out the following links.
The FA1 is currently selling at a very reasonable $99 MSRP with 2-day Prime shipping available directly from FiiO. Certainly a competitive price range with prospective buyers from many groups — let’s see if the FA1 stacks up as something wallet-worthy.
I try not to spend too much time on aspects that don’t directly tie to the product, but the packaging on the FA1 is excellent. Magnetized box, smooth matte cardboard, clean layout. Feels very high quality for a $99 earphone — the unboxing experience really builds up excitement to getting your hands on the actual product.
Inside the package, you get:
The FA1’s shells are exceptionally finished, there’s not a single smudge, bubble, or imperfection I can find in the housing. To my surprise, the shells are also completely solid, filled throughout (as opposed to hollow, like many handbuilt C/IEMs) resulting in a slightly smokey, mostly transparent housing that looks and feels premium. I’ve paid upwards of $1000 for custom-built IEMs that don’t come close to the level of consistency in the FA1’s resin shell. If anything’s to nitpick, there are vertical lines that can be seen in the IEM (byproduct of the 3D printing process), but since they’re all uniform it just looks like a design cue.
Comfort is also on the better side of things, as the shell is a ‘universal-custom’ fit. Though my ears are on the smaller side of things, I didn’t notice much pressure or any hot spots on my ears after my longer listening sessions. I would imagine that the fit is even more comfortable for those with average to larger ears. I felt isolation was also fairly good, the ergonomic shell design allowed for a more secure insertion depth. I used these IEMs on the go during my daily walks, as well as in a fairly loud gym environment and had no issue.
The stock cable is a black 4-core twist-braid terminated in a right-angle 3.5mm SE and MMCX connectors. The hardware seems to be of high quality: the right-angle 3.5mm jack and y-splitter both have ample strain relief. The y-splitter and chin-slider both seem to be made of aluminum, sporting the FiiO branding on a gunmetal tinted surface. In terms of ergonomics, the stock cable is very soft and flexible.
However, the preformed earguides are a bit hard / stiff and just slightly longer than ideal — IMO, the cable would be much better overall without these earguides. I do notice some inconsistencies in the twist-braiding of the cable, but nothing too jarring or noticeable. There is also a silicone cable tie attached to the cable that is good for organization, but kind of gets in the way in day-to-day use — this cable tie is also not removable unless you take at it with a knife or scissors.
CONCLUSION
The FiiO FA1 is a single balanced-armature IEM, and it definitely has some single-BA characteristics to its sound. It puts an emphasis on providing a clear listening experience with great resolution, highlighting vocals with enhanced clarity regions and safe yet supportive treble; however low frequency notes feel very quick and a bit light in impact as a tradeoff. At the affordable $99 price point FiiO is offering the FA1, I have little to genuinely complain about. From a sonic standpoint, I really like the approach that FiiO has taken on this earphone — the FA1 allows consumers another viable opportunity to dip their toes into a slightly different flavour of earphones. In addition to tackling the small market of entry-level balanced-armature IEMs, FiiO tops it off with prime build quality, aesthetics, and accessories.
The FiiO FA1 sample was provided by FiiO. I’d like to give thanks to Lily and FiiO for supplying the unit for review, as well as the opportunity to share my impressions on the FA1. It is available in two color variants (red/blue and smoke), the latter being shown in this review.
For more information and technical specifications on the FiiO FA1, or if you’d like to pick up a set for yourself, check out the following links.
The FA1 is currently selling at a very reasonable $99 MSRP with 2-day Prime shipping available directly from FiiO. Certainly a competitive price range with prospective buyers from many groups — let’s see if the FA1 stacks up as something wallet-worthy.
GENERAL
I try not to spend too much time on aspects that don’t directly tie to the product, but the packaging on the FA1 is excellent. Magnetized box, smooth matte cardboard, clean layout. Feels very high quality for a $99 earphone — the unboxing experience really builds up excitement to getting your hands on the actual product.
Inside the package, you get:
- FiiO FA1 IEMs
- black 4-core twist-braid MMCX cable
- FiiO HB1 hard case
- 3 pairs of translucent narrow-bore tips
- 3 pairs of red / gray medium-bore tips
- cleaning tool
BUILD & DESIGN
In terms of build quality and design, I’m very impressed. The smoke variant of the FA1 comes with a wave-embossed faceplate layered over with a smooth acrylic surface. It catches light beautifully, showcasing intricately-cut ridges and crests with a metallic sheen. Since it’s layered over with the smoke resin, it also has a neat effect where the resin layer obscures the wave-surface beneath at certain angles.The FA1’s shells are exceptionally finished, there’s not a single smudge, bubble, or imperfection I can find in the housing. To my surprise, the shells are also completely solid, filled throughout (as opposed to hollow, like many handbuilt C/IEMs) resulting in a slightly smokey, mostly transparent housing that looks and feels premium. I’ve paid upwards of $1000 for custom-built IEMs that don’t come close to the level of consistency in the FA1’s resin shell. If anything’s to nitpick, there are vertical lines that can be seen in the IEM (byproduct of the 3D printing process), but since they’re all uniform it just looks like a design cue.
Comfort is also on the better side of things, as the shell is a ‘universal-custom’ fit. Though my ears are on the smaller side of things, I didn’t notice much pressure or any hot spots on my ears after my longer listening sessions. I would imagine that the fit is even more comfortable for those with average to larger ears. I felt isolation was also fairly good, the ergonomic shell design allowed for a more secure insertion depth. I used these IEMs on the go during my daily walks, as well as in a fairly loud gym environment and had no issue.
CABLE
MMCX connectors feel pretty solid in terms of connection. Out of the box, the FA1’s exhibit absolutely no play or instability on the MMCX connectors. To clarify, the cable can be rotated to provide a more comfortable fit with the pre-formed earguides, but it doesn’t rotate on its own — very stable, but not too rigid.The stock cable is a black 4-core twist-braid terminated in a right-angle 3.5mm SE and MMCX connectors. The hardware seems to be of high quality: the right-angle 3.5mm jack and y-splitter both have ample strain relief. The y-splitter and chin-slider both seem to be made of aluminum, sporting the FiiO branding on a gunmetal tinted surface. In terms of ergonomics, the stock cable is very soft and flexible.
However, the preformed earguides are a bit hard / stiff and just slightly longer than ideal — IMO, the cable would be much better overall without these earguides. I do notice some inconsistencies in the twist-braiding of the cable, but nothing too jarring or noticeable. There is also a silicone cable tie attached to the cable that is good for organization, but kind of gets in the way in day-to-day use — this cable tie is also not removable unless you take at it with a knife or scissors.
SOUND
I would describe the overall tonality of the FiiO FA1 as a somewhat neutral balanced tuning, with a bias towards the upper midrange frequencies. Bass is generally uncoloured in quantity, sacrificing rumble / raw power for very quick BA-like speed. Vocals are forward with enhanced clarity and presence, supported comfortably by a detailed treble response. In summation, it has a leaner sound profile overall with solid detail retrieval, resolution, and focus, but can come off as lacking in emotion / musicality on bass-focused genres.
BASS
The FA1’s bass leans more towards a neutral, more agile presentation. Deep subbass extension is fair, but it doesn’t have much substantial rumble or authority behind it. Midbass sits at what I’d consider a slightly-above neutral quantity, while subbass sits just behind that. In terms of speed, the FA1 is most certainly BA-like — it’s very quick, but limp. Impact doesn’t compare to a dynamic driver; decay is very fast, what some may consider a bit unnatural. It has adequate punch for the majority of genres I’ve thrown at it, but doesn’t have the rumble to compete with other earphones for electronic music. The FA1 is not an IEM I would recommend for bassheads, or those who listen to music with heavy reliance on low frequency riffs and melodies.
MIDRANGE
The FA1’s midrange is without a doubt the highlight of the overall tuning. There’s an emphasis on the upper midrange, providing good vocal clarity and articulation. The lower midrange doesn’t feel to be overly thin, rather just making the mark for appropriate thickness. As a result, the result is a clarity-enhanced midrange balance with ample note weight, but an occasional hint of artificiality (a bit of grain) on the top octave (presence?). Resolution is rather nice, vocals have good texturing and the overall tone seems fairly accurate.
TREBLE
Treble also seems to be one of the strong points of the FA1, sitting at a neutral quantity that doesn’t come off as overly bright. It sounds pretty controlled overall, without any major peaks or dips in the treble response. Extension is pretty average — it doesn’t give off the perception of having enhanced air or sparkle, nor does it sound closed off or constrained. I’d say that the FA1’s treble response does not have any particular aspects I feel the need to criticize, it seems very safely tuned and apt in resolution.
SOUNDSTAGE / IMAGING
The FA1 is no slouch when it comes to soundstage and imaging, but it also doesn’t seem to try hard to impress with three-dimensional imaging or holographic staging. Soundstage sounds to be about average if not slightly better in width and depth. However, stereo imaging seems pretty spot on in the manner of an in-ear monitor. It has good directional cues and lacks any of the vagueness that I’ve noticed with some other IEMs (i.e. Pinnacle P1), though I would not go as far as to say it has the three-dimensional sense of space that something like a Campfire Andromeda may have. A good descriptor for the FA1’s imaging and soundstage capabilities is ‘natural’. It isn’t so big it’s overblown, but also not constrained enough to feel suffocating.
CONCLUSION