[JAnonymous5150]

Just checked the price. I imagine Fiio is coming after this one with the upcoming FF5.

Honestly, if the FF5 is actually a step up from the FF3 it's going to be epic! The FF3 is already quite capable of competing shoulder to shoulder, note for note with some of the best buds out there, IMO. I mean, I haven't been doing the earbud thing long, but I have purchased and tried some of the best, most highly regarded buds out there and the FF3s are amongst my favorites for sure. I can confidently say that they won't be leaving my collection any time soon no matter how good the FF5 or any other earbud is because I like them that much.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I can't say I have a lot of knowledge about the various models out there. The 2 that I have are the Sharp mt877 and the very last pinnacle minidisc player, the Sony MZ-RH1. The problem with most old tech is finding batteries. Fortunately replacement Ni-MH replacement batteries are still available for the Sharp, but you have to be sure to get a player with the charging base and wall wort power supply. The Sharp also has an AA battery adapter which can be used as a backup power source or to extend play / record time in combination with the Ni-MH battery.

When the MD format was coming to a close due to CD audio and DAT recorders coming into vogue, Sony made a last heroic effort and released the pinnacle MZ-RH1 player / recorder and of course I had to get one even if it was the most expensive and last MD player to be produced. Skip to the present... You can't get batteries for this player anymore, but no fear I have a DIY solution posted on head-fi for a replacement battery build for this wonderful player.

Since the Sharp mt877 and the Sony MZ-RH1 MD players are the only ones I have experience with, they'll be my recommendations too.

Now to bring this post back on topic...

Here's the buds that came supplied with the Sharp mt877. Unfortunately the voicecoil of the right side is open. I thought it was the cable, but I measured the voicecoil directly and it was open. I have a couple different 32 ohm drivers on order and will try to get these buds running again, well at least reuse the shells and upgrade the cable.

I have been looking around at some players and all that and I just might snag one.

I have two earbud topics for you: 1) What drivers did you get to throw in the shells from you sharps? Anything special or snazzy you want to share?

2) I somehow ended up on a pic of you FF3s with a silicone ring on them and no donut. I haven't gotten a chance to do this with them yet because I can't find the rings I have stashed somewhere and my order with a bag of them in it hasn't come yet so I have to ask: What effect if any did it have on the sound? Any significant differnces/benefits over the foam donuts for example.

 

[earmonger]

I bought the Qian39 too and only yesterday did I realise literally anything with pinna gain is unlistenable to my ears.
I can't stop thinking about it and how common it is in literally every portable audio device
it makes me think "are my ears weird" or is everyone else just not used to anything different.
Did you try and eq down the 3khz area at all?

No. Frankly I gave them 10 minutes and heard boring bass and indifferent treble and decided, OK, my IEMS are better.

I've also listened to some of the heavily hyped VE (Monks, Monks +) and thought, are you kidding?

I don't like the intrusiveness and irritation of IEMs. I was hoping an earbud might fix that. But I'm not willing to spend over $100 to find out that those were hyped too.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

I just measured them again to be sure, 32 ohm. Left side that is, the right side is open. They're 14.8mm drivers.

Curious... maybe there were various impedances then. I'll update the timeline with such. Thank you for checking that. Cheers.

Edit: I went through my notes and discovered that I indeed had mistakenly entered the wrong impedance value in the timeline... it was in fact 32Ω and not 16Ω Apologies.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Question: Did you recognize those just by sight, or did you have to look it up in your (apparently) endless notes?

Those I knew... the MDs are quite recognizable and along with the Docomos were heavily modified and a favorite of DIYers back in the day.

 

[samandhi]

Okay so of your list, I only have listening experience with the Chaconne, RW-2K, RW-3K, and about 5 minutes on the Yinman 600s. The FF3s are quite different from the first three and I heard so little of the Yinmans that I'm not sure how much of the similarities it shares are attributes versus a something heard on tracks from a specific genre.

Here's my best take: To me the RW-3Ks are the most analytical and overtly detailed of the three. They present the most balanced signature from end to end that comes off clean and without much emphasis on any one part over the other. The RW-2K has a pretty clear mid range emphasis and a good helping of the warmth a musicality that generally comes with that style of tuning. That's not to say that they don't have bass or treble because they do, but both take a noticeable step back or a backseat, if you will, from the mids. You can still hear much of the detail in the bass and treble if you listen for it, but the natural effect of that mid focus and a bit of rolloff is that the details aren't right up front like they are with the 3k, if that makes sense.

Now the FF3 takes a completely different direction. Of the three it has by far the most powerful and dynamic low end. The bass is punchy, articulate, and detailed. The mids continue with the detail and presence with a clean powerful finish. The treble is very liquid smooth and on some tracks it can come off dark in a very synergistic way that plays right into the power and presence put out my the bass and mids, but on other tracks where things are bit less bass reliant and more delicate (not sure if this is the best word choice) the treble shows off some nice extension and is up to the task of reproducing airy details on brighter tracks. It's important to note that either "version" of the treble still gives you a detailed performance and the dark sound is not meant to be indicative of a recessed or heavily rolled off treble.

The last and most important thing I want to mention is that the FF3s have this huge, powerful presentation to it. I don't just mean a big soundstage. I mean everything it does is authoritative and powerful in a way that is definitely not something I hear in either of the RWs, or many other buds to be fair. The RWs have decent staging and the like, but when you hear the FF3s, I suspect you'll understand what I mean much better. I'm not criticizing the RWs with this, I'm just calling attention to it as a wonderful, even captivating trait that the FF3s possess in spades.

I have tried the FF3s on multiple DACs, DAPs, etc and I think they sound great through almost anything, but they take very well to very clean, even clinical sources/DACs that provide black backgrounds, sharp edges, and let the drivers in the FF3s move some air and show off their agility, especially in the low end. My ifi Gryphon has been great with them as has my A&K Kann Alpha (I'm so glad I have been reunited with my Kann!) and I'm going to be giving it a try on my Burson and the JDSLabs El Stack 2+ at some point just for kicks.

I hope this was helpful and I am looking forward to hearing what you think of the FF3s when you get them. I think you're in for a treat!

WOW! Excellent write-up on the matter! And it makes perfect sense. And, from the sound of it, I will like them a lot (like most have also implied or said outright). As mentioned earlier, I love them all for differing reasons. It sounds like the FF3 will have a place in my camp as something different yet again (which is my desire).

I will be listening to these (mostly) with my DX160 or the DX300. I will have to do the usual amp card test to see which one(s) they sound best with on the DX300, but it sounds like, from your take they will sound best on the Amp12 card (the most power, neutral, widest, best attack of the bunch I have available to me).

On another note, those Yinman have taken the current No.1 spot on my list because of their full sound, excellent overall bass retrieval, warmth, yet clarity. However, this is also contingent on having 2W or better available (IMHO). They got plenty loud out of 400mW but were pretty lifeless and flat in comparison to a source with (much) more power available. Even with 1.2W of power, they were noticeably worse sounding than with the higher power offering. Now keep in mind this could also (even probably) be due to differing signatures of the different amp cards.

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Tuning is being finalized.

Model name: Panorama Ridge
Driver: Planar magnetic
Cable termination: 4.4mm

Wow! Sweet! So no longer a hybrid coupled with a 6-7mm DD? Planar = 14.2mm?

 

[earmonger]

i have been affected by misinformation on the internet.

Haven't we all?

 

[Shizdan]

thank's

 

[tgx78]

Wow! Sweet! So no longer a hybrid coupled with a 6-7mm DD? Planar = 14.2mm?

Nope. DD actually muddied up lower mids too much and couldn’t keep up with planar speed. Single Planar driver per channel now. Cheers

 

[Shizdan]

Contact him directly.

 

[samandhi]

2) I somehow ended up on a pic of you FF3s with a silicone ring on them and no donut. I haven't gotten a chance to do this with them yet because I can't find the rings I have stashed somewhere and my order with a bag of them in it hasn't come yet so I have to ask: What effect if any did it have on the sound? Any significant differnces/benefits over the foam donuts for example.

I know you didn't ask me, but in my experience with the silicone rings, it (potentially) creates a better seal than with foams, so the quantity of bass is perceived as more, and if you weren't getting a bud close enough to your ear drum, it might also tame upper mid (banshee) scream. It could also potentially give the perception of more airy presentation. The caveats (IMO) are that soundstage might be reduced, and imaging/layering might also seem more intimate by comparison.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

WOW! Excellent write-up on the matter! And it makes perfect sense. And, from the sound of it, I will like them a lot (like most have also implied or said outright). As mentioned earlier, I love them all for differing reasons. It sounds like the FF3 will have a place in my camp as something different yet again (which is my desire).

I will be listening to these (mostly) with my DX160 or the DX300. I will have to do the usual amp card test to see which one(s) they sound best with on the DX300, but it sounds like, from your take they will sound best on the Amp12 card (the most power, neutral, widest, best attack of the bunch I have available to me).

On another note, those Yinman have taken the current No.1 spot on my list because of their full sound, excellent overall bass retrieval, warmth, yet clarity. However, this is also contingent on having 2W or better available (IMHO). They got plenty loud out of 400mW but were pretty lifeless and flat in comparison to a source with (much) more power available. Even with 1.2W of power, they were noticeably worse sounding than with the higher power offering. Now keep in mind this could also (even probably) be due to differing signatures of the different amp cards.

Thanks for the info on the Yinmans. Thankfully I have options with plenty of power when the time comes for me to try out my own pair!

 

[samandhi]

Nope. DD actually muddied up lower mids too much and couldn’t keep up with planar speed. Single Planar driver per channel now. Cheers

That is excellent! Have you had issues trying to tune the treble with the ortho driver?

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I know you didn't ask me, but in my experience with the silicone rings, it (potentially) creates a better seal than with foams, so the quantity of bass is perceived as more, and if you weren't getting a bud close enough to your ear drum, it might also tame upper mid (banshee) scream. It could also potentially give the perception of more airy presentation. The caveats (IMO) are that soundstage might be reduced, and imaging/layering might also seem more intimate by comparison.

Nice! I have tried the rings on a couple buds so far, but I only have 2 pairs that came with something and I seem to have misplaced them for the moment. I was going to try them with the FF3s because I like to experiment, but I might end up having to wait until my order shows up.