Product Review Of FiiO Products---From James
Chapter Thirteen: F5
Today's leading actor is the 2017's dynamic earphones, F5. The F5 uses the titanium-plated diaphragm driver that was quite popular back then. I believe many users have noticed that in recent years, the diaphragm of the dynamic driver earphones is very popular with metal plating, and the reason is simple. The advantages and disadvantages of a single material are obvious, especially in terms of the frequency response which is not easy to achieve all-frequency coverage. So multi-driver scheme is one solution, while the other is to make progress on the diaphragm.
And for the dynamic driver, it is relatively easy to handle the low frequency, but for the extension of the highs, it would be difficult. Normally, the better the low frequency, the larger the driver diameter. The larger the driver diameter, the heavier the vibration system. So it would be hard to raise the vibration speed. It is a natural contradiction.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to make the diaphragm light. However, when the diaphragm is light, it may cause problems such as split vibration and deformation if there is not enough rigidity.
Therefore, one of the solutions is to specially plate the polymer diaphragm with metal materials, common metals including aluminum, titanium, gold, beryllium. Different metal materials have different physical characteristics, which also create different sound performance.
Additionally, the wearing design of the F5 is traditional non-over-the-ear which I personally prefer. Although it is not as firm as the over-the-ear way, it is much more convenient to take off and put on.
For other details, the metal shell, MMCX connector, standard single-ended and balanced cable, and other abundant accessories, I will not explain one by one. The F5 sold not bad after being released, but it did not meet our expectations. So for several years, we have left the single dynamic driver earphones behind. Reasons can be analyzed as follows.
1. In the market, there are too many single dynamic earphones of various brands and models. But for the hybrid and multi-driver earphones, the competition is much smaller.
2. Features of the F5 are not outstanding enough. In other words, everything is good but not particularly good which is a lack of hits and marketing hot spots. It acts averagely and cannot leave an impressive impression on the first acquaintance.
3. Many consumers are not just simple music lovers. They are somewhat of audiophiles. So am I. So for a product that has no new ideas in technology and no innovation in design, it is difficult to attract us.
However, the sound performance of the F5 is excellent. Especially when coupled with players or amplifiers having lightly strong driven capacity, the F5's sound is very loose and balanced, and the treble is clear and soft. Some of those experienced audiophiles often express their preference to me for the sound performance of the F5.
