[ukie]

These look really nice, and that's a good price for triple drivers!

Any thoughts of how these would compare to ath-ckr90 ? They are similarly priced

 

[KC33]

@Hawaiibadboy, Chris do you have any further impressions on the F9? I tried to order it on aliexpress but they were breaking my balls about so much info I said later.

 

[chrisba]

let me sum up my impressions after nearly one week (and for now without sophisticated elaboration):
+ sufficient bass to be energetic (possibly not enough for bassheads)
+ definitely more bass than my beloved PSB M4U 2 but less than House of Market's Zion IEMs (which are bass monsters with insufficient mids and treble - IMO)
+ wide and deep soundstage
+ nice punch esp. in the upper mids and the treble peak (see my comment regarding lacking treble of my x5 III) - can hear that in guitar of "Hotel California - Hell freezes over" - pure energy!
+ fit and comfort are great (can even lay down on my pillow without pain or sound degradation)
+ even my mobile phone benefits from these IEMs (although balanced usage at x5 III is best - Hawaii bad boy's shootout between x5 III and x7 ii makes me more than curious - how much better can x7 ii be?!)
+- maybe a little too crispy - esp. with some female voices (think I found Melissa Etheridge's Royal Station 4-16 of "Brave And Crazy" album a little bit too harsh)
+- although there is (IMO) enough bass some may even want more - be warned and better test yourself
+- if your source is leaning to treble or general analytic presentation this phone might(!) not be a good choice - test yourself
- ... currently cannot find a MINUS ... at least for this price!

footnote:
I'm a fan of closed headphones cause I travel a lot and do not want to disturb my neighbors as well as my family when at home - and also do not want to get disturbed by them!
So I'm pleased with the seal these phones provide and can live with possible limitations in airy presentation (if any, cause I have nothing to compare with but I feel these very airy for closed phones)!

 

[chrisba]

BTW: I have to praise FiiO for speed and flawless delivery via Aliexpress!!!
Many thanks

 

[Brooko]

Can those who have the F9 and a DAP capable of decent EQ try this for me please. Flat EQ, but from the 8 kHz slider (if you are using FiiO devices) take it down by 6 dB. Then if possible listen to a track with a lot of cymbal action. I just want to make sure I'm not hearing things because I know the 7-8kHz peak is there on the graphs (and what I'm hearing might be psycho-acoustic).

I'm finding that with that simple EQ I'm still getting all of the detail, nice decay, good transients - but not getting the high "tsssss" and little bit of sibilence in that region.

And please don't get me wrong - these are almost a perfect reference monitor (and for $100 they are simply amazing). Null that one single peak and they are 5 star in my opinion.

 

[Brooko]

Basslite hybrid? That's interesting.

I wouldn't call it bass-light. I'd say its almost perfect reference. And its capable of quite good sub and mid-bass. There is definite rumble there with tracks like Lorde's "Royals". It's not bass-head "heavy" sub-bass, which I think is good - because otherwise it caters for a single audience. Too many IEMs go for this sort of tuning and ruin the rest of the frequency response. By going close to reference they've given an excellent platform to further tune to your heart's content. And using EQ or hardware bass boost, you can actually make these quite bass heavy (if that's your preference).

 

[mochill]

Will the F9 LTD have brass housing , if so then my interest is 100%

 

[Radec]

I wouldn't call it bass-light. I'd say its almost perfect reference. And its capable of quite good sub and mid-bass. There is definite rumble there with tracks like Lorde's "Royals". It's not bass-head "heavy" sub-bass, which I think is good - because otherwise it caters for a single audience. Too many IEMs go for this sort of tuning and ruin the rest of the frequency response. By going close to reference they've given an excellent platform to further tune to your heart's content. And using EQ or hardware bass boost, you can actually make these quite bass heavy (if that's your preference).

That sounds very promising then. Almost exactly what I'm looking for in an IEM right now. Also ordered an X5iii to finally start using balanced out.

Really looking forward to hearing these.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

Can those who have the F9 and a DAP capable of decent EQ try this for me please. Flat EQ, but from the 8 kHz slider (if you are using FiiO devices) take it down by 6 dB. Then if possible listen to a track with a lot of cymbal action. I just want to make sure I'm not hearing things because I know the 7-8kHz peak is there on the graphs (and what I'm hearing might be psycho-acoustic).

I'm finding that with that simple EQ I'm still getting all of the detail, nice decay, good transients - but not getting the high "tsssss" and little bit of sibilence in that region.

And please don't get me wrong - these are almost a perfect reference monitor (and for $100 they are simply amazing). Null that one single peak and they are 5 star in my opinion.

It helps.

On AC/DC the cymbal crashes were very close and singer was not. Drop 7Khz -6 and it is normal. I boosted 60Hz for bass impact and it works good without any prob with bass to mid transition area

 

[JamesFiiO]

Will the F9 LTD have brass housing , if so then my interest is 100%

yes, we plan to use brass + gold plated.

 

[chrisba]

it's not psycho acoustic @Brooko, I also experience the same as HBB.
But 60Hz doesn't much and I'd prefer to lower 8kHz by max 4db.
This eliminates audible hiss in some recordings and leaves enough sparkle (for me as treble recessed x5 III owner).
Thanks for your idea!

 

[Brooko]

Thanks gents. I always end up second guessing myself. They really are a brilliant earphone with that peak nulled a bit.

 

[foba]

Thanks gents. I always end up second guessing myself. They really are a brilliant earphone with that peak nulled a bit.

These VS. LZ A4 (compare to whatever configuration you are most familiar or black/black). I´m interested if this (F9) is more neutral/balanced hybrid driver, as LZ A4 is a bit too V-shapey for me. What about detail/imaging?

 

[Dobrescu George]

Thanks gents. I always end up second guessing myself. They really are a brilliant earphone with that peak nulled a bit.

I should hear it before commenting, but lately I've been finding that I prefer IEMs and headphones having something like a peak in the higher registers, it helps them spark more and bring more details forward.

 

[Aternam]

If i had to find a issue it would be the cable strain relief is a bit lacking in the 3.5 connector and especially the Y split. Maybe some time in the future could you release a L jack 3.5 cable with some more reinforced cable strain protectors?