Recently, I saw a rumor on the Internet that FD3 and FD5 are using the same drivers. I also have such doubts, so, keen to explore the truth, I borrowed an FD5 and an FD7 from the headset store to compare them together, and in order to distinguish FD3 from FD5 from the front, I also borrowed an black FD3Pro.
FiiO’s FD series iems remind me of another series of products from a famous brand: Sony’s EX series. FD3, FD5 and FD7 are just like EX600, EX800st and EX1000 ---their products of the same series have similar appearances, similar drivers, and similar sound tuning, but their pricing ranges are very different. Sony's EX1000 used to be the most distinctive iem I have ever heard.(Original Image on crinacle.com)
Back to FiiO’s FD series, when I borrowed them, the first thing I did was to remove the sound tube and check the drivers. I did not unexpectedly find that the three earphone drivers are indeed different. The diaphragm of FD3's dynamic drivers has the lowest transparency, and I can see the red coil; from FD5, I can see the beryllium-coated dome diaphragm like a mirror. Its transparency is lower than that of the FD3 drivers, which may be related to the amount of beryllium-coated. And the structure is different, more differences I found on FiiO’s official website: the texture of FD5’s diaphragm and FD3’s are also different; and the FD7 diaphragm has the lowest-transparency diaphragm, which seems to be opaque. And the diaphragm surface, which does look like a piece of metal, does not have the same smoothness as the FD3’s and FD5’s.
Of course, the difference between their drivers is not convincing in terms of appearance alone. For me, I am not willing to look at the various words in the advertisement. Its sound determines whether I will choose it. So I tested them with non-professional equipment. I have used the same sound tube (black), the same ear tips, and the same cable (the original FD7 cable) to test them.
It can be seen that the sound between them is indeed different, and this difference is not obtained by low-level tuning techniques such as damping in the sound tubes. They do change the drivers. It is commendable that FiiO's earphone products have extremely high quality control, and the left and right ears match extremely well. Speaking of the sound, the actual experience of the differences between these three earphones is more impressive than the measurements below. When I switch to FD3 after listening to FD7, I can immediately feel that the bass of FD3 is not as tight as FD7, and the treble is brighter than FD7 (the fact is that I prefer the treble of FD3). Yes, the pure beryllium drivers brings a softer sound to the FD7.
So can fd7 become a thunderous product like ex1000? I would say my answer first, I think it can. The first earphone in my memory that uses pure beryllium diaphragm is the Final a8000, but it is a pity that its price has reached 1999 USD, which is unaffordable for an average worker like me who are not rich enough, so it is a pity , I was not lucky enough to try this earphone. But the price of FiiO FD7 is less than one-third of the price of final a8000, and at the launch event, the slogan of "Young People's First Truly Pure Beryllium Earphone" even appeared on the screen. Because I haven't listened to a8000, I can only guess the sound differences between it and FD7 based on the frequency response diagram: the overall sound style is similar, but the bass of FD7 may be less than A8000, the resolution of a8000 may not be as good as FD7 as the very high frequency part of a8000 is lower than FD7. Of course, it is just a guess. Similar frequency response diagrams may have different sense of hearing. But if I pay more than three times the price, but only get a small difference in sound, even a higher price may be exchanged for weaker resolution, which will be really surprising to me.(Original Image on crinacle.com)
During this time, another new product also attracted me, Dunu Zen Pro. It has a round shape appearance similar to the FiiO FD series, a pure metal diaphragm driver, also, similar to FD7. Dunu claims the Zen Pro to be the "most worth buying earphone within ten thousand yuan" (Although Dunu may have this confidence, I don’t think it’s a good idea to say so).
Compared with FD7, Zen Pro has a richer bass, provides a stronger sense of atmosphere, closer vocals, and is more suitable for popular songs. The sound of FD7 is more flat, because it has a softer bass, I will not feel the mids and treble overwhelmed by the bass. In short, the Zen Pro sound is warmer, and the FD7 is colder and flatter, and their sound quality is comparable and are all very good, however, the price of Zen Pro is too high (Zen Pro=FD7+discounted FD5), and it does not support replacing of the sound tube, even if I used to be a fan of Dunu (from Titan1 to DK3001), it also dispelled my desire to buy.
FiiO’s FD series iems remind me of another series of products from a famous brand: Sony’s EX series. FD3, FD5 and FD7 are just like EX600, EX800st and EX1000 ---their products of the same series have similar appearances, similar drivers, and similar sound tuning, but their pricing ranges are very different. Sony's EX1000 used to be the most distinctive iem I have ever heard.(Original Image on crinacle.com)
Back to FiiO’s FD series, when I borrowed them, the first thing I did was to remove the sound tube and check the drivers. I did not unexpectedly find that the three earphone drivers are indeed different. The diaphragm of FD3's dynamic drivers has the lowest transparency, and I can see the red coil; from FD5, I can see the beryllium-coated dome diaphragm like a mirror. Its transparency is lower than that of the FD3 drivers, which may be related to the amount of beryllium-coated. And the structure is different, more differences I found on FiiO’s official website: the texture of FD5’s diaphragm and FD3’s are also different; and the FD7 diaphragm has the lowest-transparency diaphragm, which seems to be opaque. And the diaphragm surface, which does look like a piece of metal, does not have the same smoothness as the FD3’s and FD5’s.
Of course, the difference between their drivers is not convincing in terms of appearance alone. For me, I am not willing to look at the various words in the advertisement. Its sound determines whether I will choose it. So I tested them with non-professional equipment. I have used the same sound tube (black), the same ear tips, and the same cable (the original FD7 cable) to test them.
It can be seen that the sound between them is indeed different, and this difference is not obtained by low-level tuning techniques such as damping in the sound tubes. They do change the drivers. It is commendable that FiiO's earphone products have extremely high quality control, and the left and right ears match extremely well. Speaking of the sound, the actual experience of the differences between these three earphones is more impressive than the measurements below. When I switch to FD3 after listening to FD7, I can immediately feel that the bass of FD3 is not as tight as FD7, and the treble is brighter than FD7 (the fact is that I prefer the treble of FD3). Yes, the pure beryllium drivers brings a softer sound to the FD7.
So can fd7 become a thunderous product like ex1000? I would say my answer first, I think it can. The first earphone in my memory that uses pure beryllium diaphragm is the Final a8000, but it is a pity that its price has reached 1999 USD, which is unaffordable for an average worker like me who are not rich enough, so it is a pity , I was not lucky enough to try this earphone. But the price of FiiO FD7 is less than one-third of the price of final a8000, and at the launch event, the slogan of "Young People's First Truly Pure Beryllium Earphone" even appeared on the screen. Because I haven't listened to a8000, I can only guess the sound differences between it and FD7 based on the frequency response diagram: the overall sound style is similar, but the bass of FD7 may be less than A8000, the resolution of a8000 may not be as good as FD7 as the very high frequency part of a8000 is lower than FD7. Of course, it is just a guess. Similar frequency response diagrams may have different sense of hearing. But if I pay more than three times the price, but only get a small difference in sound, even a higher price may be exchanged for weaker resolution, which will be really surprising to me.(Original Image on crinacle.com)
During this time, another new product also attracted me, Dunu Zen Pro. It has a round shape appearance similar to the FiiO FD series, a pure metal diaphragm driver, also, similar to FD7. Dunu claims the Zen Pro to be the "most worth buying earphone within ten thousand yuan" (Although Dunu may have this confidence, I don’t think it’s a good idea to say so).
Compared with FD7, Zen Pro has a richer bass, provides a stronger sense of atmosphere, closer vocals, and is more suitable for popular songs. The sound of FD7 is more flat, because it has a softer bass, I will not feel the mids and treble overwhelmed by the bass. In short, the Zen Pro sound is warmer, and the FD7 is colder and flatter, and their sound quality is comparable and are all very good, however, the price of Zen Pro is too high (Zen Pro=FD7+discounted FD5), and it does not support replacing of the sound tube, even if I used to be a fan of Dunu (from Titan1 to DK3001), it also dispelled my desire to buy.
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