[FiiO]

Headphones are actually a particularly large market, and I made a brief classification table of this market. I marked out some kinds of earphones that FiiO have in red. Therefore, some users think that we produce too many new products launched too fast, but strictly speaking, it is not enough.
Of course, it is unrealistic and unnecessary for us to cover every category. However, if there is a will of a earphones/headphones manufacturer that really wants to stand out in the earphone market, several models or even dozens of models are indeed far from enough.
At present, FiiO is still focusing on the earphones market. Today, I will talk about the characteristics of earphones and purchase reference, based on our market feedback, sales data and our talks with audiophiles in recent years.
Open earplugs. The advantage is that it is comfortable to wear and there is no intrusion to our ears. But the disadvantage is that due to its failure to seal well, the bass will leak, and the treble and details will be disturbed by the outside environment. Best for sleeping and enjoying old songs from 2000.
Balanced Armature earplugs. Due to the working principle of the BA driver, it has a strong sense of speed, good transient characterustics and high resolution. However, since the elasticity of its driver edge is weaker than the dynamic driver’s, so it has smaller effective vibration area. Thus it is impossible to form an air cushion in the front and back cavity just like a dynamic driver does, and it loses some charm therefore. BA earplugs are most suitable for listening to electronic percussion, metal rock and other similar styles of song music.
Dynamic driver IEMs. The advantages and disadvantages of DD IEMs are almost the opposite of those of BA IEMs. One feature of dynamic driver is that it is not easy to make bad sounds. So it is also the most widely used and the most suitable for many types of music. If there is no special listening preference, the DD IEMs are the most cost-effective choice. The only thing to note is that, limited to the working principle of the dynamic driver, it is difficult to make the frequency response very wide. Therefore, it may be slightly insufficient to play some new songs using the latest high sampling rate digital recording technology.
Dynamic driver and balanced armature hybrid IEMs. The combination of DD and BA enjoys the advantages of both drivers. And it is easy to do a good job in bass and treble, while the vocal mids is still sweet and smooth. So it is currently the most popular one. Some people will say that it is not easy to do well in terms of phase distortion, the connection is not ideal, and the tone is not consistent. But from a physiological point of view, people are not sensitive to phase distortion and the connection of each range is now mature with various crossover technologies. As for the inconsistency of timbre, I personally think that in real-world music, the timbre of each instrument itself is different. In light of this, the price of DD+BA IEMs are more reasonable. Because bass are generally sounded by all kinds of drums, and it is more reasonable to use dynamic drivers. While high frequency is generally sounded by a variety of metal musical instruments, so it is more suitable to employ balanced armature driver. For some instruments with a wide range, such as the piano, it is indeed more suitable for single dynamic driver IEMs.
Therefore, at this new product launch event, we will present two new DD+BA IEMs for you. I'll talk more about them later.
PS, the above description of the differences between various kinds of earphones is only my personal opinion, if you have different opinions, then you are right.

 

[SenyorC]

I'm confused...

 

[Vamp898]

Headphones are actually a particularly large market, and I made a brief classification table of this market. I marked out some kinds of earphones that FiiO have in red. Therefore, some users think that we produce too many new products launched too fast, but strictly speaking, it is not enough.
Of course, it is unrealistic and unnecessary for us to cover every category. However, if there is a will of a earphones/headphones manufacturer that really wants to stand out in the earphone market, several models or even dozens of models are indeed far from enough.
At present, FiiO is still focusing on the earphones market. Today, I will talk about the characteristics of earphones and purchase reference, based on our market feedback, sales data and our talks with audiophiles in recent years.
Open earplugs. The advantage is that it is comfortable to wear and there is no intrusion to our ears. But the disadvantage is that due to its failure to seal well, the bass will leak, and the treble and details will be disturbed by the outside environment. Best for sleeping and enjoying old songs from 2000.
Balanced Armature earplugs. Due to the working principle of the BA driver, it has a strong sense of speed, good transient characterustics and high resolution. However, since the elasticity of its driver edge is weaker than the dynamic driver’s, so it has smaller effective vibration area. Thus it is impossible to form an air cushion in the front and back cavity just like a dynamic driver does, and it loses some charm therefore. BA earplugs are most suitable for listening to electronic percussion, metal rock and other similar styles of song music.
Dynamic driver IEMs. The advantages and disadvantages of DD IEMs are almost the opposite of those of BA IEMs. One feature of dynamic driver is that it is not easy to make bad sounds. So it is also the most widely used and the most suitable for many types of music. If there is no special listening preference, the DD IEMs are the most cost-effective choice. The only thing to note is that, limited to the working principle of the dynamic driver, it is difficult to make the frequency response very wide. Therefore, it may be slightly insufficient to play some new songs using the latest high sampling rate digital recording technology.
Dynamic driver and balanced armature hybrid IEMs. The combination of DD and BA enjoys the advantages of both drivers. And it is easy to do a good job in bass and treble, while the vocal mids is still sweet and smooth. So it is currently the most popular one. Some people will say that it is not easy to do well in terms of phase distortion, the connection is not ideal, and the tone is not consistent. But from a physiological point of view, people are not sensitive to phase distortion and the connection of each range is now mature with various crossover technologies. As for the inconsistency of timbre, I personally think that in real-world music, the timbre of each instrument itself is different. In light of this, the price of DD+BA IEMs are more reasonable. Because bass are generally sounded by all kinds of drums, and it is more reasonable to use dynamic drivers. While high frequency is generally sounded by a variety of metal musical instruments, so it is more suitable to employ balanced armature driver. For some instruments with a wide range, such as the piano, it is indeed more suitable for single dynamic driver IEMs.
Therefore, at this new product launch event, we will present two new DD+BA IEMs for you. I'll talk more about them later.
PS, the above description of the differences between various kinds of earphones is only my personal opinion, if you have different opinions, then you are right.

My Daily Driver which i use roughly 80% of the time is the Sony IER-M9. With Memory Foam, they are extremely comfortable to wear without any air pressure issues. They disappear in the ear like nothing.

Its all BA but sounds like DD with incredible bass and very soft but crystal clear highs. It isolates just excellent and as good as possible so no matter where i am, i can always enjoy the highest sound quality because its quiet around me, even outside. The smallest details are always there, no matter the surroundings.

The only thing that gets close to the IER-M9 is the FiiO FA9 (in the Bass Boost 0-0-0 setting) which i also own and like very much because it does have its own strengths. It is not as good as the IER-M9 but for 1/3 of the price, it gets very close to it. If the bass would just be a bit stronger, tighter, punchier it would be a dangerous competitor.

If FiiO would be able to build an competitor, an FiiO FA9S that does have the Bass Quality of the IER-M9, that would be insane.

The only thing the people complain about the IER-M9 is that you have to use Memory Foam or the perfect ear, otherwise you have air pressure issues.

The FA9 can, depending on how you insert them, have the same issue. They have this issue less than the IER-M9, but they are prone to it.

If there would be an FiiO FA9S with a bigger bass that slams more and sounds tighter and you would find a solution for air pressure compensation like a tiny hole that can be closed after insertion or something like that (something that doesn't lower the noise isolation by a lot), that would be it.

All BA with awesome bass and without pressure compensation issues and i think you would leave a lot of competition in the dust. Thanks to memory foam my IER-M9 doesn't have any air pressure issues but a lot of people don't like memory foam and they sell for 1500$ MSRP.

The people only want Hybrids because the BA Bass on most IEM is not as good. But Sony did proof that it is possible. They made it using their own self-developed BAs but i think it is possible with the HODVTEC from Knowles, somehow. Maybe by a clever use of capacitors or resistors?

Im sure you'll find a way. But everyone i talked to so far didn't like All-BAs because of the Bass and loves the IER-M9 because they have DD like bass and even better bass than most Hybrid IEMs.

Give the IER-M9 and the Dusk/FA7 to people who don't know these and they will say the IER-M9 is the one with the DD bass.

When you're able to to make this happen, i think the success will be sure. FiiO FA9S where the Bass Boost actually means it does have fat and slammy bass and not just marginally more, thats it.

 

[firesign]

I love my current IEMs, and all of them have different technologies, but all of them sound great: Isabellae (DD), Timeless (Planar) and Mest (hybrid with DD, BA, EST and BC).

The technology is not the key, the tuning is the key.

 

[Toastybob]

Based on my experience so far, I don't consider buying anything with BAs anymore.

 

[whitedragem]

Based on my experience so far, I don't consider buying anything with BAs anymore.

I felt that way, for awhile. (to be fair I was mostly playing with the first BAs on the market, and then even made the mistake of buying a nice Sony bluetooth set (using BT v3(?) and SBC (with a small data pool). Whilst the ‘expensive’ (in the market, at the time) Sony wireless ones sounded nicer, the horrible Bluetooth rates, back then, made a flowing stream in the video game Uncharted (PSVita) sound like a buzzsaw. (I swapped them for a PS3 when NiNoKuni launched, so happy ending there..)

When I started to consider them again, was after a rep at a Sony Superstore who gave good honest opinion (based on insightful review); shared the opinion that the ‘one from top’ model (which only had 3BAs and not the full 4 BA drivers that the flagship had..) was the ‘better listen’.

Based on this- I took advice from my local dedicated head-fi store staff who just about outright refused to sell me ‘junk’ (that they had to clear off, and were still many many hundreds of dollars)- the list of recommended parts were by no means ‘all flagships’, and it was easy to see that it wasn’t necessary price that equalled sound quality, but tuning and ‘understanding’

The technology is not the key, the tuning is the key.

The first post gives education that the crossover modules are improving and that many ‘early implementations’ (with their inherent issues) are a ‘thing of the past’.

Technology DOES steer me but everyone has different qualifiers for what they seek.
For me, placing sound quality above most things (but NOT comfort or health), means I moved on from Planars (they all put me to sleep), and went ‘very high end’ dynamic drivers styled over ears.
To buy beyond the high quality Planar sound is expensive, but confirms that all technology, if well implemented can pay off in dividends.

The other market segment I refuse to buy is any form of bluetooth ear bud where the BT module is in the ear canal. Meaning; I buy NECKBAND bluetooth products.
As bluetooth transmission rates climb, and ‘multipoint’ is a thing - the issue for humans is that it is our BONE that reflects the ‘non ionising radiation’ (HAHA), (-but seriously =>put your phone against bone and not muscle/breast tissue!), and the ear canal is our ‘achilles heel’ to our head. In children who do not have a fully formed BloodBrainBarrier , neckband designs (or BT dongles with headphone jacks) should be the preferences.. (or ‘wired’ but that is so yesteryear...)

There are things we can do to lower the amount of ‘non ionising radiation’ (I am saying it ‘tongue in cheek’ but TONE is lost in TEXT); things like using APT X HD (which is equal to LDAC 990 for those with golden ears and kit, but with a much lower transmission rate), or the new APT X which has a much better compression rate (higher powered CPU required to decypher with no negative aspect for the end users..).

My opinions on certain product types with regards to health are my own, sure, but are based on a lot of research (when I was doing medical science at University).
The fact that 250+ ‘Doctors’ approached the World Health Organisation to get some controls in place to protect people is ‘very telling’.
(I have my doubts that this post will be left online)

so flowing this message logically forward; my preference for a multidriver Balanced Armature & a Dynamic Driver IEM would be my future in-ear purchase. (either with a great antenna module to lower RF rates, or a CODEC that allows low bandwidth transmission with great sound (APT X LOSSLESS=>APT X HD, and then, by necessity LDAC 990=>LDAC 660=>AAC=>’high bitrate‘ SBC).

The reasons APT X HD equals LDAC 990 is the notion of using clever psychoacoustics much like minidisc did. I believe it is evolution of technology used for broadcast TV (from the eighties), but now with large amount of CPU behind it.. better compression rates that do not affect total sound quality is what we should be aiming for (like ‘lossless compression’ used in our music players). LDAC 990 can be set to 16bit 44khz in Android Developer options, and then users will not get sample rate conversion pass for their CD quality files (redbook audio being 16bit 44khz).
Forcing this setting drop the data transmission rate and improves the audio quality.

Given how hard it is for tech to hold a LDAC 990 connection in crowded cities (during peak hour especially); APT X can really free our airwaves... (better sound for ALL)

PS, the above description of the differences between various kinds of earphones is only my personal opinion, if you have different opinions, then you are right.

I love the humbleness of FiiO channel postings.
Without doubt my favorite sponsor posts to read as they remind me of times when men were gentlemen and women were ladies...

The FiiO product line always looks so cleverly targetting actual consumer needs.
They lead AND follow, doing whatever is best for the end user each step of the way.

Always happy to see whichever product is releasing next.
eg as a BTA30 owner, nearly ran out and bought a BTA 30 PRO (the tech evolution bringing enough real world END USER improvements that showed attention and love for the consumer)
knowing I’d be greedy and not share or loan my older BTA30 to any audio friends (but use it in clever ways, such as talking to the other BTA30 PRO!!)

It has been tricky for my favorite headfi retailer during the shortages in FiiOs lineup. The fact that FiiO chose to be offline by not just shoehorning (poorly fit) replacement parts into existing designs, but rather taking the time to redo implementations properly (eg the 660 processor upgrade into the DAPs), has been excellent.
I can barely count the ways in which a M11+ is the SAME as an M11 (or M11 Pro), and the company having clear strategy to move forward AND communicating new product information in a timely manner, that clearly informs ‘the fans’ of what is around the corner seems helpful rather than just ‘standard marketing practice’.

I probably feel this way because of my trust in the company.
The few times (?many times?) I have bought FiiO products, the ongoing service and upgrades via firmware is some of the best found in ANY industry.

Having lived on their homepage forums and seen the same kind of sincere and exceptional service, given with the same ‘courtesy and manners’ as found here, even when angry types are jumping up and down and yelling- I see ongoing humble attitude that delivers with actions and never simply ‘lip service’/words.

Well done team FiiO

and

Bring on the new bits!!!!!! (please)

 

[Vamp898]

Based on my experience so far, I don't consider buying anything with BAs anymore.

That is exactly what i mean. There are BA only (like the IER-M9) where people in a blind test would never guess that those are BAs, but there are so many bad BA Only on the market, that people are tired of the technology.

There are even Hybrids that sound more like all BA than BA only.

What people don't like are bad BA and i can fully understand that. But if executed well (like the above mentioned), its not just that nobody notices, they exceed Dynamic Drivers in pretty much all aspects.

Its just extremely easy to build all BA earphone because you can buy the driver from Knowles for like 5-10$ each, tuck them into an shell and you're done. And that is why everyone does that but there are so many Earphone that have excellent BAs.

Pretty much every high end In-Ear that is offered by Sony does have at least one BA
XBA-N1 --> 9mmDD + 1BA
XBA-N3 --> 9mmDD + 1BA
XBA-Z5 --> 16mmDD + 2BA
IER-M7 --> 4BA
IER-M9 --> 5BA
IER-Z1R --> 12mmDD + 1BA + 5mmDD

And then there is the JustEar ones which you can buy with different tunings. "Monitoring", "Listening" or "Club Sound" or even tune the yourself (with help of the Sony Staff), and they also have 1DD + 1BA

And they are all praised for their sound, every single of them and non of them does have this typical BA timbre everyone dislikes.

So its not the fault of the technology Balanced Armature, the XBA-4 (4BA) from 2012 already sounded less BA than pretty much most BA In-Ear that exist today. Its the fault of companies who tuck them together because its easy and cheap, not the fault of the technology.

Imho FiiO is one of the few that actually take care to make All-BA Setups sound well. They are not there yet, but they are getting closer with every single release. There is just a final touch missing to make them complete and i really hope that they will able to do it.

 

[peterinvan]

I prefer wired earphones and headphones. I am enjoying the Meze Rai Solo with the clever dynamic driver design (over the Shure SE535 With balanced armature).

 

[FiiO]

 

[FiiO]

 

[FactoryStock]

My current favourites are the ASG-1Plus and AF180.

I'm wondering if FiiO has managed to experiment with 2-driver only hybrid tuned in a specific way. A DD full range and a BA full range both tuned to have the exact same FR when checked in isolation. They both play to the strength and weakness of each other instead of competing for bass-mids only on one and mids-treble only on the other.

Since they both are the same "EQ", they only differ in area focus. The BA catches every single transient and beginning part of the sound (striking, slapping, plucking), the DD focuses of the slow stuff, everything that comes after the fact (trailing, echoes, reverbs).

Since the BA only catches the fast stuff, it cannot expected to also be slow at the same time. This is already what the DD is doing, or has already done. The DD, since it's busy doing slow stuff, cannot be expected to catch every single transients. But then again, the BA is doing that, or has already taken care of it.

They have same FR, but different duration/length due to simple physics. One focuses on speed and rushing, the other focuses on the dragging. Both fire at the same time, both finish according to their own physics. So that cymbals and tambourines sound correct smack and echoes are intact, drum kicks and ensuing reverbs sound correct. The listener can hear how small the studio is, and how huge the stadium concert is.

 

[Vamp898]

My current favourites are the ASG-1Plus and AF180.

I'm wondering if FiiO has managed to experiment with 2-driver only hybrid tuned in a specific way. A DD full range and a BA full range both tuned to have the exact same FR when checked in isolation. They both play to the strength and weakness of each other instead of competing for bass-mids only on one and mids-treble only on the other.

Since they both are the same "EQ", they only differ in area focus. The BA catches every single transient and beginning part of the sound (striking, slapping, plucking), the DD focuses of the slow stuff, everything that comes after the fact (trailing, echoes, reverbs).

Since the BA only catches the fast stuff, it cannot expected to also be slow at the same time. This is already what the DD is doing, or has already done. The DD, since it's busy doing slow stuff, cannot be expected to catch every single transients. But then again, the BA is doing that, or has already taken care of it.

They have same FR, but different duration/length due to simple physics. One focuses on speed and rushing, the other focuses on the dragging. Both fire at the same time, both finish according to their own physics. So that cymbals and tambourines sound correct smack and echoes are intact, drum kicks and ensuing reverbs sound correct. The listener can hear how small the studio is, and how huge the stadium concert is.

I think that is actually a key element to make an Earphone sound good. The Sonys also don't have real crossovers. When you play a 1 kHz Tone with the 5BA IER-M9, 3 BAs play at the same time.

The same is true for the IER-Z1R. A 1kHz Sound is played by all three drivers.

I think hard cross-overs are something that is easier to do but also something that doesn't sound as good.