[o0genesis0o]

Last year, I had a chance encounter with the modern flathead earbuds in the form of Fiio FF3. That unassuming piece of head-fi gear ended up receiving the first ever “seal of approval” from me thanks to a combination of headphone-like presentation, unmatched comfort, and affordability.

Still, FF3 was far from perfect. Great DIY earbuds such as TGXear Serratus showed that earbuds can match the bests of IEMs, and Fiio’s earbuds still have quite a bit of work ahead of them.

After many delays, Fiio’s answer in the form of FF5 is finally here. Can it surpass the great FF3? Can it reach the lofty standard set by DIYers?

Let’s talk about FF5. The review is available on Head-Fi and my blog

FF5 is a high-achiever from an old guard in the earbuds world dominated by DIY products. It has a natural, lush, balanced tonality. The big, fun bass of the predecessor FF3 has been tuned down, trading intensity for snappiness and clarity. The resolution has been improved across the board. FF5 is more than a match for many IEMs and some of the most excellent DIY earbuds.

Should you get FF5? Well, can you find a quiet listening space? If the answer is yes, then yes. IEGems seal of approval and highest recommendation.

Pros:

• Natural, lush, balanced tonality
• Excellent resolution
• Excellent soundstage imaging
• Snappy, clean, impactful bassline
• Replaceable cable
• Price

Cons:

• The lush midrange can reduce perceived resolution with some tracks
• The sub-bass rumble is only adequate
• No isolation

 

[Ceilidh]

For about $12 more than your listed max, you can get the FiiO FF3. They have some of the best bass in an earbud (IMHO). You might be able to get them a bit cheaper if you search AE hard enough. I trust this store on AE.

yeah, the FF3 is a bit above my projected budget, after adding the taxes, but I guess it's a good option and I don't mind waiting a bit to increase my budget.
I guess that I should also keep an eye on the FF5 too, if I am to increase my budget.

 

[samandhi]

yeah, the FF3 is a bit above my projected budget, after adding the taxes, but I guess it's a good option and I don't mind waiting a bit to increase my budget.
I guess that I should also keep an eye on the FF5 too, if I am to increase my budget.

If that is the case, then I might also suggest the Yincrow RW2000, RW3000, FiiO FF5, and the Yincrow 2.0 600. These all have bass (and sound) beyond what mere mortal earbuds normally dish out. Well, maybe not the RW3000 as it is still pretty up there in price (comparatively speaking of course) at over $200 still; even though I feel them to be worth the cost (for me that is).

 

[Mr.HiAudio]

(IA-PL1-YUI)
14.2mm planar

 

[samandhi]

(IA-PL1-YUI)
14.2mm planar

Shame you have to put a foam on those. They are gorgeous without foams on.

 

[291079]

Shame you have to put a foam on those. They are gorgeous without foams on.

They do look pretty great

 

[citral23]

So without surprise, the yincrow X6 is a decent v-shaped earbud for 10$

Has probably been said about 1000 times by now but just adding my 2 cents lol

Bass is quite textured and well done but it's too much for me, I'll keep it though just for the occasional giggle, while the 60$ smabat m3 pro is such a dud I'm throwing it away, nothing can fix that

 

[Surf Monkey]

Shame you have to put a foam on those. They are gorgeous without foams on.

Some day we’ll get a set that works without foam. Some day.

 

[Tromick]

I'm so glad that I found out about earbuds, I just didn't know such good quality could be had for such a good price.
So thanks everybody for writing in this thread in such detail, i probably never would have found out about them without it.
I recently bought the Yincrow X6 and really like them. The comfort sadly isn't the best for me and I'd like to try a different shape.

Here comes the problem though, many earbuds like the Qian39 are what I would described as "Geoblocked" in Germany on Aliexpress.
When you search for them they don't appear in the results and when you have a direct link there are various error messages such as "Sorry, this item's currently unavailable in your location.".
Same is true for all FAAEAL products for example.
I found no explanation why it is like that that makes sense.
It can't be that they want you go through local distributors because many of those products aren't even available here.
Another explanation I thought about would be a newer EU packaging law, but that also doesn't make sense because I can order many things from the NiceHCK store but some products are just filtered out. I tested it with a VPN to see what's available normally.

It's such a weird problem I can't find an explanation and worse no workaround for.
Does anybody have an idea how i could get the Qian39?
I tried to find it on TaoBao to potentially buy it through Superbuy or similar, but i couldn't find them.

When you P.M. the seller with "Contact Seller" button. They sometimes send you $0,01 link to pay it manually.

 

[Sam L]

So without surprise, the yincrow X6 is a decent v-shaped earbud for 10$

Has probably been said about 1000 times by now but just adding my 2 cents lol

Bass is quite textured and well done but it's too much for me, I'll keep it though just for the occasional giggle, while the 60$ smabat m3 pro is such a dud I'm throwing it away, nothing can fix that

you're sounding a bit shy? The x6 is more than decent, it's a phenomenal bud. I thought they were discontinued? When that rumor went around, I bought 4 or 5 pairs immediately. I think I'm set for life now.

 

[Sam L]

just got the FF5 in. Quick question -- how on earth are you supposed to tell right side from left???

 

[feverfive]

just got the FF5 in. Quick question -- how on earth are you supposed to tell right side from left???

Your first pair of earbuds? hahaha.... It's like earbud makers go out of their way to make it impossible to quickly tell R from L. It'd be more annoying to me if I didn't find it kinda funny.

 

[o0genesis0o]

just got the FF5 in. Quick question -- how on earth are you supposed to tell right side from left???

The cable has L and R engraved on them.

If you tilt the earpieces up and look under the mmcx connector, you would see red colour on the right earpiece and blue on left. Yes, Fiio screwed up the L-R recognition here. Completely forgot to complain about it in my review

 

[mt877]

just got the FF5 in. Quick question -- how on earth are you supposed to tell right side from left???

Tip from @samandhi: With splitter logo "FiiO" facing forward, left cable is left, right cable is right.

 

[mt877]

Your first pair of earbuds? hahaha.... It's like earbud makers go out of their way to make it impossible to quickly tell R from L. It'd be more annoying to me if I didn't find it kinda funny.

Definitely not @Sam L's first pair of buds...