FLC Technology FLC8

General Information

A Hybrid Sound adjustable In-ear earphone

Description

FLC Technology is one of the earliest companies in China to explore the hybrid balance armature and dynamic driver technology. In 2011, it is the first company to launch a hybrids customs. The FLC 8 is the first universial hybrid balance armature and dynamic earphones by FLC technology. Due to FLC Technology's extensive experience in the hybrid technology, the FLC 8 features excellent cross over technology which creates a coherent sound between the dual balanced armature drivers and the dynamic drivers.

FLC 8 recongises that there is no one size fit all sound signature for all users. Hence, it is designed to be highly tuneable so that users can tune it according to their sound preference. While tuneable earphones are not new in the market, the FLC 8 represents the pinnacle of this technology as it allows for 36 variations of sound unlike most tuneable earphones which allows only 3 different sound signature at most.

Accessories:

3 pairs of silicon tips (S,M,L)
One pair of silicon ear hook
One small leather bag
1 pair tweezers
Low frequency tuning plug: nine (three groups, one group of three)
ultra-low tuning plug: nine (three groups, one group of three)
Tuning catheter: eight (four groups)
tuning accessories box: one
Specification:

Driver unit: 8.6 mm dynamic drivers+ dual balanced armature
Rated Impedance: 11 Ohm
Sensitivity: 93 dB/mW
Frequency response: 20Hz- 20KHz
Plug: 3.5mm gold-plated plug
Cable: 1.30 mm TPU cable

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Latest reviews

jk47

100+ Head-Fier

4.50 star(s)
Apr 23, 2015

Pros: “high performance/price; customized tuning for your favorite signature or experimentation; very comfortable; only moderate isolation [sometimes pro]

Cons: only moderate isolation [sometimes con]

Pros: high performance/price; customized tuning for your favorite signature or experimentation; very comfortable; only moderate isolation [sometimes pro]
Cons: only moderate isolation [sometimes con]

i refer you to ljokerl's theheadphonelist to get the background on this iem. the list is at: http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone-list/# and this iem is described at: http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone_review/flc-technology-flc8/

if you sort ljokerl's list by sound quality instead of average rating, you'll see that the flc8 is the highest rated iem [9.4] which is neither custom nor over $1300. in fact, the flc8 is currently selling for $343. its average rating is lower because of its mediocre isolation, 3.5 out of 5. for me this was an advantage- i have ety4's with custom tips if i want isolation. otoh, i can wear the flc8's out and about, and have a better chance of not getting run over. also, if i'm in a quiet place, i think the flc8 has richer tone than the ety's.

the tone is rich across the full spectrum. i listened to some test tracks with the neutral settings it arrived with, and then exchanged one of the tuning plugs to boost the highs - i listen to classical and jazz, and the first violin in melos' performance of 'death and the maiden' sounded thin with the default settings. but for my music, acoustic music, the neutral settings for low bass and upper bass were fine. the cello in the string quartet sounded good, and the iem's gave a good rendition of charlie hayden's double bass in 'first song-for ruth' [from his album with pat methany], which i use to test bass performance. the bass was full, tight and without bloat. to listen full spectrum, i then played a piano sonata [schubert's 20th, uchida] and it sounded very, very good.

if you're more interested in pop, edm, electronica, etc - you can alter the signature to taste. see ljokerl's review for details of the tuning system.

these are not deep insertion iem's, so they will never be as isolating as ety's. they have rather short nozzles, almost like earbuds; they insert just a bit into the ear canals. although offering less isolation, the supplied single flange silicone tips are more comfortable than the comply's. i haven't tried the MEElec M6 single flanges recommended for the flc8 by ljokerl, but they look virtually identical to the supplied tips.

the set is ultra-comfortable, it can be worn cable down but its shallow insertion is likely to make such a setup less stable than you'd like if you're on the move. the over-ears setup, with the provided rubber over-ear guides, is incredibly comfortable and feels quite stable.

these iem's a bargain for the sound quality you get, provided you can live with its mediocre isolation.

btw- i just did a little experiment, and you can use comply 400 series tips to get more isolation if you want. the flc's are NOT listed as "officially approved" by comply, but it works. thus you can choose your degree of isolation, within limits.

in sum, along with the flc8's bargain sound quality, as a bonus you get their flexibility in adjusting to the signature you prefer.

bstrkr

Thanks for your review! This brings me one step closer of buying these to replace my GR07's that died yesterday :-(

However; one detail is holding me back still, no info on wind-noise.. I intend to use these while riding a bike, so I am wondering how they are affected by wind blowing past them.

jk47

i went for a walk with these, in winds up to 20mph. i was listening via a dx90, which has 255 digital steps in its volume control. i chose to try the supplied single flange silicone tips - the least isolating choice. it was a noisy city environment, lots of traffic including trucks and buses. listening to a piece that i would play at 185 in a quiet place, i had to up the volume to 210 in order to hear. wind noise was definitely present, too, when it got up to its [assumed] 20mph. i later walked in the same conditions without headphones to see how the wind sounded to my naked ears.

briefly, with the supplied silicone tips the wind noise was about the same as when i used no earphones at all. the earpieces are low profile and small - they don't stick out much, if any, beyond the ear itself. so i don't think there's anything there to amplify wind noise. otoh, with the low isolation supplied single flanges, there isn't much to attenuate wind noise either.

i'm sure i could have reduced ambient noise, and been able to listen at somewhat lower volume, by using comply tips. and i'm sure the wind noise would have been commensurately reduced.

i think using any earphone when bicycling will present you with a dilemma. you don't want profound isolation because you want to maintain situational awareness, especially of any vehicles which might be overtaking you. otoh, if you have too little isolation you have to crank up the volume to hear, which will obscure situational noise in a different way. the comply's that i have tried are the "comfort" model, because i didn't want extreme isolation. i would suggest that if you get these you experiment with the comfort 400's [s series] and the isolation 400's [t series] to see which better fits your needs.

jk47

i forgot that there are 2 other series of comply tips. it might be worth experimenting with the other 2 types as well to find which gives you the most desirable trade-off.

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FLC Technology FLC8

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Latest reviews

jk47

100+ Head-Fier

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