Fiio FT1

In my opinion, these are some of the best closed-back headphones you can find in the $300 price range. The warmth of the wooden cup is truly noticeable in the sound. Paired with the Fiio K7, the low end is mighty with a strong and well-defined presence in the low end. Paired with the Moondrop Dawn Pro the bass still very impactful while maintaining a balanced tonality that aligns with its tuning. I absolutely love this old school sound profile. Fiio has done an excellent job creating a fun and engaging product with decent enough build quality at an affordable price. Well done Fiio, Bravo.

Disclaimer: FiiO provided me with a review unit. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Introduction​

FiiO has only started building headphones for about a couple of years, building up from their first unit, the FT3 350Ω in May 2023. Ever since then, FiiO has been quite hit-and-miss in the headphone segment, from the extremely well-received JT1, moderate success with FT3 32Ω, to mixed response to FT3 350Ω and FT5. One thing for sure, FiiO really took their consumers’ feedback very well, and this resulted in the development of FT1 ($150). So, how does it fare to the rest of my headphones collection? Let’s find out!

Packaging & Build​

The box is battered due to shipping, but fortunately, contents are fine.

When I first received the package, I was extremely impressed by the packaging and build of the headphone. I had previous headphones at this price point or more that came nowhere close in the quality of accessories and the feel of the headphone. Opening up the box, you’re greeted by the beautiful carrying case that would have easily been mistaken for Focal from the outside.




Opening up the carrying case, a waft of pleasant woody scent hit my nose. While the internals of the carrying case is simple, not custom-moulded like Focal’s, the headphone can carry itself with its looks and feel. Other than that, there are 2 sets of cables, one with 3.5mm termination (plus a 6.35mm adapter) and another with 4.4mm termination. The connectors on the headphone side are using dual 3.5mm recessed jacks, so for those who are looking into using third-party cables, please make sure that the dual 3.5mm connectors can fit inside the recessed jacks (they’re pretty big though).



The stock earpads are hybrid pads, with protein leather sides and fabric on the face touching the skin. I typically do not like fabric pads as I found them uncomfortable, but I did not have any issues with the FT1’s fabric material. The headband construction is just a metal band with soft protein leather padding. Since the headband is very light and the curvature of the headband fits right to my head, I did not experience any hot spots or fatigue while wearing it. The adjustment sliders are smooth with some markings on the length on each side so that you can always perfectly centre it. The earcups are made of solid American walnut, giving that pleasant wooden scent I mentioned before, as well as beautiful aesthetics.



The driver is advertised as using a 60mm nanowood fibre composite diaphragm, essentially a compressed paper-like material reinforced with carbon fibre. Based on the description, it does seem similar to the bio-cellulose diaphragm that was common in older higher-end headphones from the likes of Sony (the famed MDR-R10) and Fostex. In short, these drivers are an evolution of the old paper diaphragm loudspeakers, just made using different production methods. How does this contribute to FT1 sound then?

Sound Impressions​

Sources: FiiO K11 R2R, FiiO BTR13, FiiO M23, SMSL H300+D300 stack, Xduoo MT602
Setup: Stock earpads, stock 3.5/4.4mm cable
Music Sources: Youtube Music, Tidal Masters, local lossless FLACs

The headphone has undergone a 24-hour burn-in at a medium volume prior to the review.

Listening impression is a very subjective experience depending on individual ear shape, choice of eartips, music library, and personal preferences, so your experience may vary.

I personally listen mostly to pop, jazz, some rock, and very limited metal.

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Well, FT1 immediately reminded me of the late 1990s’ wooden bookshelf speakers with paper cones that I grew up with. The timbre is astonishingly natural and analogue, but without losing much of the technicalities and speed. The tuning is also pretty fun, with a slight emphasis in midbass and lower treble, resulting in a mild V-shape tuning. Out of the box, the lower treble glare did bother me quite a bit, but with a short burn-in, it was tamed to a bearable level. I believe it is also source-dependent and track-dependent.

The bass has the rumble and a fuller tone with a very natural decay. A lot of recent headphones usually tune the bass region to be very punchy and speedy to emphasise the bass texture, often to an unnatural extent. I would say that FT1 teetered very close to the line where the bass is fast enough to handle most genres, but without being too tight such that it loses the musicality. The wooden cups also contribute to a very subwoofer-like response.

The midrange is quite linear, with a subtle bleed from the midbass decay into the lower mids, making the vocal playback a tad thicker. I can feel the mids a bit recessed on some tracks (modern pop mostly), but overall the FT1 still maintains a very solid midrange presentation. I find the midrange is especially enjoyable in live recordings or older masters, something along the line of Eric Clapton’s Unplugged.

The treble has some peaks, but similarly only for some tracks and genres. It was noticeable out of the box, but after leaving it to burn in with some music playing for about 24 hours, it settled down to a more acceptable level. Still, with some sources it may be more noticeable at higher volumes due to the loudness curve (Fletcher-Munson), but nothing really major. In fact, I think the slight spiciness does add some improvement in perceived resolution and excitement, as well as a sense of airiness.

Technically, I find it pretty decent for the price. Soundstage is a tad small due to its closed-back nature, but the layering and imaging are quite excellent. I do find that entry-level planars might have better technicalities, but in exchange, FT1 excels in exceptionally natural timbre and tonality. For fun, I even put them side-by-side with Audio Technica ATH-AWKT, and I found that timbre-wise they’re pretty close.

Bass: Smooth, slightly midbass-focused, longer decay
Mids: Slightly recessed, thick, sweet
Treble: Smooth, bright, very slight sibilance
Technicalities: Decent soundstage, good resolution, great layering and imaging, natural-analogue timbre

As for the pairing, I find it to be pretty easily driven by most modern sources. Brighter sources are not really recommended if you are sensitive to lower treble. Pretty consistent performance across different levels of driving power, probably due to the low impedance and high sensitivity not preventing the FT1 from getting into its full potential even on weaker sources.

Select Comparisons​

Meze 99 Classics ($309):
While I understand that 99 Classics has its charms and is pretty dated at this point, I think FT1 ran circles around it. The 99 has a very natural timbre, excellent comfort (better headband design than FT1), and laidback tuning that is loved by many, however it is tuned too dark and therefore the staging and resolution suffered. FT1 is tuned to be more balanced while maintaining the same kind of natural timbre. The stock earpads of FT1 are also more comfortable. I think those who are considering the 99, I think FT1 might actually be a cheaper “upgrade”.

FiiO FT3 350Ω ($300):
Now, with the FiiO sibling, I personally find FT1 to be a more enjoyable unit. FT3 is tuned to be more reference-like with decent technicalities, closer to Sennheiser HD650 and its related siblings. FT3, being open-back, also excels more in soundstage and layering. However, the drier tonality and kind of stiff timbre, making it lack any kind of “special” flavour to it. I have not tried the 32Ω version of FT3, which is probably much more comparable to FT1, but given the price difference, I think FT1 is still a better package overall.

Hifiman HE400SE ($109):
The so-called “mini Sundara” has been my recommendation for newcomers to the hobby. It has many nice things about it: wide soundstage, good resolution and layering, and near-reference tuning, as well as plenty of opportunities to mod and enhance. However, it is pretty hard to drive, quite uncomfortable, and pretty subpar build quality. FT1 is far easier to recommend, being easier to drive, having more enjoyable tonality, looking better, and being more comfortable to wear.

NOTE: I struggled to find any decent comparison within the same price range of FT1 (around $150), and hence having to step up quite significantly. I guess that really shows how much of a value that FT1 represents. I brought the FT1 to a couple of meetups to those who are unaware of FT1’s release, and several actually guessed $500 for the price. No surprise there.

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Conclusion​

Within FiiO’s lineup of products, FT1 along with K11 R2R (that I recently reviewed as well) are probably the prime examples of the departure from the typical “FiiO’s house sound”, and I really welcome the change. The FT1 is indeed a truly great product and I can’t help but give it a strong 5-star. I highly recommend this, especially at this price point, I can even recommend it as blind buy.

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 = crap!, 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!

Fiio FT1 Official Store - Non Affiliated
Fiio FT1 Official Product Page