[gerelmx1986]

I can’t find a reference to those ear tips - am I correct in assuming they’re from Final Audio? Are they one of the ones pictured on the following page?
http://snext-final.com/en/products/accessories/detail/earpiece.html

So far, I’ve gotten a good fit and seal with the M bass tips. For comparison, on the FH5, I used the L bass tips, with 1.5 mm square profile o-rings added to help the shell clear the inferior crus. Noticeably deeper insertion on the FA7, but not out of the ordinary for IEMs. I found that wind noise is noticeably reduced (as compared to the FH5), and I’m having no issues maintaining a seal when running or mountain biking.

I’m still playing with EQ; the clinical presentation in the upper range is quite revealing of recording details, to the point where I could see how HBB’s preference for classic rock might steer him away from these. It’s really only noticeable when there are some issues in the mix/mastering, such as the sibilant “s” sounds in Queen’s “Under Pressure”, or the band-limited monochromatic hard-panned crash cymbals in the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Running”, for example. In other recordings, you can sometimes clearly distinguish some of the punch-ins and synthesizer fills on the FA7 that the FH5 may more euphonically smooth out. One of the interesting side effects is how much that affects perceived channel separation.

I still marginally prefer the FH5’s rendering of electric bass guitars, but that may have something to do with my current FA7 EQ settings and general acclimation, which are both works in progress.



Overall, I’m enjoying these quite a bit. I hear new things in my recordings.

I dont know whch dap are you using but I mimicked your EQ settings on my wm1A and wow

 

[tk3]

Several months later I still love these and I use them daily for hours.
Put some Spinfits on them and EQed the lowest freqs down a little and I couldn't be happier.
I'm surprised these don't get talked about much on Reddit and other places; I suppose this price segment is very competitive but I think they're a great value and score highly in performance, build quality, comfort and isolation.
Basically everything you need in an IEM outside of the few quirks with the sound.

One small demerit that bugs me is that the cable is very stiff. The cable itself is one of the nicest I've had but the wire above the Y-split is so stiff that any bends or kinks will remain and you have to physically "smooth" them out, but even then it never really gets back to fully smooth.
As a suggestion to FiiO: I hope that for future models or as an upgrade you'll consider designing a cable that is more flexible both above and below the Y-split.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Have.mine for sale within eurozone/Europe
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/for-sale-fiio-fa7.912683/

 

[397324]

I've got mine for sale on here also. They were purchased from AdvancedMP3Players.co.uk as an "Opened box" item. I've probably used them for about 20 hours, using only the balanced tips. Needless to say, they are in mint condition.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio-fa7-iem-mint-£175.912514/

 

[lgcubana]

Review up
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fa7.23413/reviews

I appreciate your feedback, as being that of a classical music lover. For myself I have no appreciation of the polar ends (only my definition): high brow (classical, opera,...) and the other end, country . But in consideration of how demanding a full orchestra would be on a set of phones, I understand your findings.

One question: Is it fair to list not having a balanced cable included as a default item, as a con ?

 

[gerelmx1986]

One question: Is it fair to list not having a balanced cable included as a default item, as a con ?

As i see some brands are including a balanced cable as accessory, but not all brands do it.

As for the orchestral works. I had a sony xba-z5 and XBA-A3 (similar pricing as FA7) had better technicalities in sound, yes they did sound bassy but also had plenty of detail retrieval.

 

[gerelmx1986]

I do admire @FiiO efforts on producing great gear and I know they are attempting. I had also bad sounding sony IEM, the XBA-H3, I would have kept the Xba-z5 and A3 if the paint used a n them didn't discolored or chipped

 

[nort ycagel]

In case you were wondering how to EQ the FA7 here's the corrective EQ settings to match harman / uSound targets.

Harman parametric 10bands: https://www.dropbox.com/s/13jx6v9c9k4drfn/Fiio FA7.pdf?dl=0
uSound parametric 9bands: https://www.dropbox.com/s/opawjb99thh6q2y/Fiio FA7 (USound Target).pdf?dl=0
(the settings above were gently provided by Oratory1990 and they are based on Crinacle measurements using what I believe to be the stock silicone tips).

Harman graphic 10 bands: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/crinacle/harman_in-ear_2017-1/FiiO FA7/README.md
uSound graphic 10 bands: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/crinacle/usound/FiiO FA7/README.md
(these were calculated by the AutoEQ script written by jaakkopasanen).

I'll try them in the following days.

I'm finding the USound curve to be quite sweet.
Honestly the FA7 never made too much sense to me. With the right EQ they truly shine and I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to call them “outstanding” given their price range.

But the stock tuning is a total mess. I truly cant listen to them out of the box. Go figure.

 

[FiiO]

Several months later I still love these and I use them daily for hours.
Put some Spinfits on them and EQed the lowest freqs down a little and I couldn't be happier.
I'm surprised these don't get talked about much on Reddit and other places; I suppose this price segment is very competitive but I think they're a great value and score highly in performance, build quality, comfort and isolation.
Basically everything you need in an IEM outside of the few quirks with the sound.

One small demerit that bugs me is that the cable is very stiff. The cable itself is one of the nicest I've had but the wire above the Y-split is so stiff that any bends or kinks will remain and you have to physically "smooth" them out, but even then it never really gets back to fully smooth.
As a suggestion to FiiO: I hope that for future models or as an upgrade you'll consider designing a cable that is more flexible both above and below the Y-split.

Dear friend,

Thanks for your kind feedback.
We will report to the engineer about that as well.

Best regards

 

[FiiO]

I do admire @FiiO efforts on producing great gear and I know they are attempting. I had also bad sounding sony IEM, the XBA-H3, I would have kept the Xba-z5 and A3 if the paint used a n them didn't discolored or chipped

Thank you!

Best regards

 

[1Q84]

In case you were wondering how to EQ the FA7 here's the corrective EQ settings to match harman / uSound targets.

Harman parametric 10bands: https://www.dropbox.com/s/13jx6v9c9k4drfn/Fiio FA7.pdf?dl=0
uSound parametric 9bands: https://www.dropbox.com/s/opawjb99thh6q2y/Fiio FA7 (USound Target).pdf?dl=0
(the settings above were gently provided by Oratory1990 and they are based on Crinacle measurements using what I believe to be the stock silicone tips).

Harman graphic 10 bands: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/crinacle/harman_in-ear_2017-1/FiiO FA7/README.md
uSound graphic 10 bands: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/crinacle/usound/FiiO FA7/README.md
(these were calculated by the AutoEQ script written by jaakkopasanen).

I'll try them in the following days.

How do i use this if my dac doesn't have a pre amp? I am using the fiio btr3. I am aming for the u -sound. Thanks

 

[nort ycagel]

How do i use this if my dac doesn't have a pre amp? I am using the fiio btr3. I am aming for the u -sound. Thanks

Simply ignore the preamp part. I also use those settings on a BTR3. I don’t think my FA7 ever played any better than this

 

[1Q84]

Simply ignore the preamp part. I also use those settings on a BTR3. I don’t think my FA7 ever played any better than this

Wow I don't know if its placebo effect or they just sounded really better now.

The bass punch became tighter, also less mid bass bleeding, and the mids just became reccessed, which is more acceptable, instead of the veil/blanket in the stock tuning. The soundstage became a bit bigger since there seems to be better layering now. Still comparing some tracks...

If its possible, can I request an EQ that will make this similar with the fearless S8f?

 

[nort ycagel]

Wow I don't know if its placebo effect or they just sounded really better now.

The bass punch became tighter, also less mid bass bleeding, and the mids just became reccessed, which is more acceptable, instead of the veil/blanket in the stock tuning. The soundstage became a bit bigger since there seems to be better layering now. Still comparing some tracks...

If its possible, can I request an EQ that will make this similar with the fearless S8f?

if you mean correcting the S8f sound to match the USound target:
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au.../crinacle/usound/Fearless Audio S8F/README.md

 

[1Q84]

if you mean correcting the S8f sound to match the USound target:
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/crinacle/usound/Fearless Audio S8F/README.md

I mean to EQ the FA7 to make it sound like the S8F XD
But no worries, I can use this as a reference. Thanks!