So today I had the opportunity to audition the FA7 at home (with the kind loaner pair from
@xenithon), and specifically to compare them with the FH5 using the FiiO M9 and a collection of a my favourite Redbook and high-res flac test tracks as the source. I won’t bore you with the full SoC, but instead have summarised my findings below.
Build and fit
If you’ve owned or seen the FH5, you’ll feel right at home with the FA7. Same high-quality packaging, (mostly) same selection of excellent tips, same top-drawer cable (the FA7 arrived with both LC-3.5B single ended and LC-2.5B balanced cables, although I only used the balanced cable for this test), same meticulous attention to detail.
Unlike the FH5’s metal alloy shell, the FA7 is made from what looks like a single piece of extruded resin. If you’re going to use plastic in an IEM, this is the gold standard – seamless, soft, superb. I personally prefer the metallic finish of the FH5 but wouldn’t for a second feel short-changed by the FA7. Both these IEMs put $1000+ earpieces to shame with their build quality, and the overall package just exudes class.
Ever since I first bought the FH5, they’ve proven the most comfortable IEMs I’ve had the pleasure of wearing. That said, some of the tips I’d used with other IEMs were either too small to fit on the wider nozzle of the FH5, or too shallow to make a proper seal with the FH5’s shallower-than-normal nozzle length. And without a proper seal, the FH5 falls flat. (hint: if your favourite tip doesn’t work with the FH5, try one size up).
With a thinner, longer nozzle, the FA7 was said to address some of the fit issues others were having with the FH5, and so this was the first thing I was eager to test for myself. The first tip I tried with the FA7 was the medium double-flange silicon tip FiiO now supplies as standard with the FH5 (mine didn’t come with any, so this was a first for me). Combined with the longer nozzle, the double flange tip was just too long for my smallish ears with the FA7.
Switching the double flange tip to the FH5, however, was love at first fit. Not only did it fit perfectly without wiggling, it sealed perfectly too. So if you’re struggling with a tip that fits both the FH5 and your ears, give the FiiO double flange a go. It’s also the best sounding tip I’ve heard with the FH5 to date, but more on that later.
Another favourite of mine, JVC’s Spiral Dot, is sometimes hit-and-miss seal-wise with the FH5 (I’ve been using the MS size Spirals and they don’t always pass the yawn test – losing seal with a wide yawn). With the FA7 and its deeper insertion, the Spiral Dot was perfectly seated at the first time of asking. Seal was good too, but having grown accustomed to the shallower insertion of the FH5, it took a little while to get used to the FA7’s deeper intrusion in my ear canal.
In my experience the thickness of the nozzle (or lack thereof in the FA7) makes a bigger difference. For example, swapping tips is a breeze with the FA7, they just slide on with minimal pressure. With the FH5 it’s a process – turn the tips inside out, squeeze them, stand on your head and face left, and then maybe, just maybe, you’ll get them on without them popping right back off. The extra thickness of the FH5 also stretches most silicone tips and some foam tips so that the fits is quite a bit tighter with narrow ear canals. Makes it easier to seal sooner, but also easier to fall out of the tips don’t reach deep enough.
I tried a few other tips, on and off, with both IEMs, with differing degrees of comfort. Bottom line, for me, is this: it’s easier to find tips that both fit the FA7 and fit my ears, but the FH5 is the more comfortable IEM with tips that fit my ears well. At this point, there are two that make the cut every time: FiiO’s M double flange tips, and FiiO’s M bass tips. FiiO’s M balanced and vocal tips fit well too, but less well than the more ‘splayed’ bass tips. I’ve got M-size JVC Spiral Dots on order, which will hopefully mimic the fit of the M bass tips while giving me the superb Spiral dot sound. I’ll report back here when I get them.
Sound
This is probably the most contentious but also most interesting part of this type of review, so if you’ve jumped here before reading about the fit (above), I suggest you go back and do so. The reason for this is simple: the fit and seal of the tips used for both FH5 and FA7 make ALL the difference to the sound. If the fit is off by even half a millimetre, it can change almost everything you hear through these IEMs.
My experience with IEMs is very limited compared to full size headphones and speakers, but I can say this with certainty: never before have such small changes made such a big difference in what I was hearing. I mean we’re talking fractions of millimetres to shape, slight differences in material, and a millimetre or two at most of depth and angle. And yet every small difference makes such a big difference to the sound that from now on, any sound impressions I read about any IEM are going to be almost entirely put into context against the tips used, size, material and fit.
With that said, everything you read past this point is specific to how I heard it, based on the tips I used with each IEM. This means it’s likely unique to my physiology, and even my degree of hearing loss (I have mild hearing loss between 2khz and 4khz, although for the most part my impressions of headphone sound closely follows the consensus when similar gear and music is used).
Tracks used:
· Lorde – Royals
· Heidi Talbot – If You Stay
· Owl City – The Saltwater Room
· Angels of Venice – Trotto
· Carla Bruni – Raphael
· Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself
· Daft Punk – Doin’ It Right
· Brandi Carlile – The Story
· Joe Satriani – Always With Me, Always With You
Some pointers: I went into this review wanting to hear what others have been saying about the FA7’s more ‘balanced’ midrange compared to the FH5’s forward mids (especially with female vocals). The FA7 was also said to have a thicker mid-bass ‘hump’ compared to the FH7’s more linear mid-bass but bigger sub-bass.
I’ll give a breakdown of bass/mids/treble below, but if I were to summarise my overall impressions of the sound of the FH5 and FH7 it’s this: the FA7 is flatter, warmer, darker, smoother and more laid-back; the FH5 is punchier, faster, more engaging, more dynamic, but conversely skirts a fine line between crisp and edgy, forward and shouty.
Bass: one of the most impressive features of the FH5’s sound, and what won me over ever since I first heard it, is the bass. More specifically, the almost complete lack of mid-bass ‘bloom’ and generous amounts of sub-bass ‘slam’. When the track calls for it, the FH5 hits and hits hard; the size and weight of the bass is impressive, reverberating in your head as if you were standing right beside the drum hit or bass pluck. That ‘impact’ – so prevalent in Lorde’s opening keys of Royals, and the bass-heavy plucks of Heidi Talbot’s guitar in If You Stay, are significantly reduced in both size and weight with the FA7. You ‘hear it’ more than feel it with the all-BA IEM, and that could possibly be purely down to the difference between BA and DD bass.
That’s not to say the FA7 is lacking in bass, or that the FH5 overdoes it. I’d actually say the FA7, on occasion, has *more* bass than the FH5, but it’s more of that warm blanket of mid-bass that sometimes finds its way into tracks even if it’s not there in the original recording. As such, I’d say the FH5 has the more faithful or accurate bass of the two. Which presentation is preferable is entirely up to the listener. Neither IEM bleeds bass into the mids, although the extra mid-bass quantity of the FA7 does warm everything up, including the lower mids.
Mids: this leads me to the second big difference between the FH5 and FH7. Whereas the FH5 has a 2khz peak that emphasizes part of the vocal range, it follows a slight dip in the lower mids that can sometimes ‘stretch’ some female vocals, making them appear a touch thin, hollow or shouty. This is only an issue with poorly recorded material, but it’s something to be mindful of if you’re not a fan of forward vocals. The flip-side of the FH5’s forward vocals is that lower volume listening doesn’t come at the cost of vocal clarity.
The FA7, on the other hand, balances the mids much closer to the bass and treble. Vocals aren’t necessarily recessed, but listening to the FA7 immediately after the FH5 may appear to make them so. In truth all the detail is there, in smooth, silky glory. In fact, paying closer attention to the FA7’s vocals reveals just how well they’ve been tuned. Carla Bruni is at her sexy, smoky best on Raphael on the FA7, whereas the FH5 makes her far more strident and forward, whether you want that or not. Again neither is better or worse; it’s a preference. And in this case my preference is very much for the FA7’s rendition of vocals.
Treble: here’s where you’ll need to take my impressions with a pinch of salt, because I’m fairly treble sensitive. As long as the highs aren’t harsh or sibilant, and there’s enough air between notes and sparkle in the bells and cymbals, I’m good. The minute I hear screeching, it’s an instant fail.
The good news is neither FH5 or FA7 come anywhere near to sibilance, harshness, grain or brightness. Of the two, the FH5 is more extended in the highs, so poor recordings are likely to suffer more on the FH5; the FA7 is super laid back up top, notably rolled, but not to the point that the sparkle is gone. There’s plenty of detail in the FA7 treble but sibilance or harshness is simply impossible. You have to find some really crappy recordings to irritate the treble in the FA7, and I haven’t found any yet.
I personally prefer to listen to great recordings, though, and this is where the differences in treble (and overall balance) are quite apparent. Joe Satriani’s guitars have a much sharper, more distinct edge with the FH5, while the FA7 renders them as it does most guitars (and leading edges): smoothly. Those who want ‘crunch’ in their electric guitars need not fuss with the FA7 because it doesn’t do crunch. The FH5 does, and does it well.
If I had to describe the ‘shape’ of the FH5 and FA7 sound, I’d say the FH5 is a clear W, while the FA7 is a more gentle U, titled downward towards the treble. But that’s not a hard and fast rule, and tip selection can influence how you hear different parts of the FR even with the same tracks. The double flange tips, for example, fill out the lower mids of the FH5 more so than the FiiO bass tips, but without sacrificing bass heft, so you’re left with a more balanced sound with something as simple as a tip swap.
With the FA7, switching to Spiral Dots cleans up some of the ‘veil’ apparent with the bass tips. If you’re only heard the FA7 with the stock balanced tips, and find it bloomy, veiled or distant, do yourself a favour and swap in some Spiral Dots. The FA7 will be instantly transformed into the quality transducer it is.
Conclusions
FiiO has created two stars with the FH5 and FA7. Despite the numbering difference, they are both flagships of the range, and rightly so. Despute the modest pricing they are both high-end and high class.
The differences in balance and presentation can be put down not only to the tuning, but also the differences between all-BA and hybrid drivers, along with nozzle length and thickness.
Sound wise, both seem to cater for very different tastes. There’s no semblance of a ‘house sound’ here. The FH5 is big, bold, fun, punchy. The FA7 is a smooth operator; warm, smoky, laid back. With the FH5 you’re on stage with the band, while the FA7 puts you in row F, taking it all in without losing anything from the performance. Interestingly I find the stage width and depth of both to be on par; not too intimate and not too wide. Just right. Like any IEM it’s an in-your-head sound, compared to the best over ear headphones, but on occasion they’ll both surprise you with sounds seeming to come from well outside the room in your head.
And that’s not the only surprise. For less than $300 FiiO has given us a choice of two superbly made, superbly tuned IEMs that cover a very broad range of listening tastes. Both are versatile enough to do almost any genre justice, as long as you enjoy the sound profile they’re tuned for.
