[DrewVz]

Yeah, I thought that was weird. I saw the post from FiiO earlier in this thread that got me thinking. But nope, black was pre-installed on my set for sure.

Can someone measure the ID of their tubes? I'm curious what the actual difference is. Never mind, it's easy to see the difference by looking through them. Red is definitely smaller with a finer mesh screen. Not sure what I was thinking earlier.

 

[marklivia]

As I posted in another thread for these new killer DDs, when I first put them in w/ the red (balanced) preinstalled I found they sounded too flat, little treble top end. I told our Guru Dsnuts I thought it was my old ears.... So I switched to the black nozzles and bingo, killer sound. I was happy. Days pass and I'm finding they are getting brighter and brighter. I just used a killer test rack (Marcus Miller's "Cousin John") to compare all my IEMs on my new Cayin R01 board and yep, these were bright! Switched out to the red again and perfection again, just as Dsnuts suggested. Moral is: These are DDs and as they break-in the amount of both high and low end info increases. All DDs need to loosen the driver surrounds and I definitely don't think it's a good idea to make a frequency chart on these until at least a couple hundred hours!
I also discovered these IEMs have the MOST slam, percussiveness of any IEM I've ever heard. And I don't just mean bass- things like snare whaps, bass guitar slaps, etc. too. I think it's the super powerful 1.5 flux (whatever) magnets in the drivers. Bottom line, these are killer! Especially with any funk, or driving type tunes. I'm in love with these. Best $140 spent thus far.....

 

[DrewVz]

After tip rolling and swapping sounds tubes in various combinations, I've concluded that the FD3s just don't have the detail or dynamic range that I'm looking for in an IEM. By comparison, the Moondrop Aria exceeds the FD3's performance in just about every category. Detail, clarity, texture, accuracy, range, and tonality. Maybe it could be said that the FD3 has "more" bass, but it's not as well controlled or as accurate as the Aria. And I've got the Pros. If the cable improves the performance, then I would guess the "standard" FD3 would fare worse.

It's a very pretty IEM, and it comes with a good selection of included accessories, but the performance just isn't there for me. A simple A/B comparison made it obvious.

 

[kadinh]

After tip rolling and swapping sounds tubes in various combinations, I've concluded that the FD3s just don't have the detail or dynamic range that I'm looking for in an IEM. By comparison, the Moondrop Aria exceeds the FD3's performance in just about every category. Detail, clarity, texture, accuracy, range, and tonality. Maybe it could be said that the FD3 has "more" bass, but it's not as well controlled or as accurate as the Aria. And I've got the Pros. If the cable improves the performance, then I would guess the "standard" FD3 would fare worse.

It's a very pretty IEM, and it comes with a good selection of included accessories, but the performance just isn't there for me. A simple A/B comparison made it obvious.

Wow! Didn't expect to hear that. My FD3Pro and Aria are coming next week so I'll be able to report back what I think of them. I was assuming the FiiO would be better due to the tech ported over from the award winning FD5.

 

[PopZeus]

I'm not doing a real A/B test but I have to disagree that the Aria is a superior IEM in every category. The tuning might be more neutral and audiophile, but the FD3 is WAY more dynamic than the Aria. The FD3 slams and has a livelier presentation. The Aria is subdued and polite, with the staging flatter and pushed back. That has it's advantages in certain listening situations but I prefer the FD3 for most sessions. And to me, the bass isn't particularly better with the Aria, just quieter.

 

[KutuzovGambit]

I'm not doing a real A/B test but I have to disagree that the Aria is a superior IEM in every category. The tuning might be more neutral and audiophile, but the FD3 is WAY more dynamic than the Aria. The FD3 slams and has a livelier presentation. The Aria is subdued and polite, with the staging flatter and pushed back. And to me, the bass isn't particularly better with the Aria, just quieter.

I’m getting the FD3 by end of week, but I will be surprised if the Aria beats it in technical performance. The Aria has a nice inoffensive tuning but I found the technicalities to be pretty underwhelming. Very one dimensional soundstage, mediocre imaging, treble so safe I found it anodyne.

 

[DrewVz]

I’m getting the FD3 by end of week, but I will be surprised if the Aria beats it in technical performance. The Aria has a nice inoffensive tuning but I found the technicalities to be pretty underwhelming. Very one dimensional soundstage, mediocre imaging, treble so safe I found it anodyne.

Color me surprised as well. By no means is the Aria a technical powerhouse, but as it's the only sub-$300 IEM I have at the moment, I felt it was a reasonable comparison. The dynamic range on the Aria is far wider (on my gear) and the FD3 sounds downright dull to my ears. So much information is missing from the recording, it's actually not fun to listen to.

Without picking nits and getting into a point-by-point discussion between the two, let me just say that if someone handed me both IEMs blindfolded, I could immediately tell which one more accurately and comprehensively represents the music as it was originally recorded, as well as being more satisfying to listen to. To me, in this particular comparison, that would be the Aria.

 

[Nimweth]

I'm not doing a real A/B test but I have to disagree that the Aria is a superior IEM in every category. The tuning might be more neutral and audiophile, but the FD3 is WAY more dynamic than the Aria. The FD3 slams and has a livelier presentation. The Aria is subdued and polite, with the staging flatter and pushed back. That has it's advantages in certain listening situations but I prefer the FD3 for most sessions. And to me, the bass isn't particularly better with the Aria, just quieter.

Agree 100%.That is exactly how I hear them.

 

[rayliam80]

My FD3 Pro is arriving on Wednesday hopefully. I don’t have any recent purchases that I think will challenge it so I’m hoping that it will satisfy any more urges at least until next year.

 

[Nimweth]

As I posted in another thread for these new killer DDs, when I first put them in w/ the red (balanced) preinstalled I found they sounded too flat, little treble top end. I told our Guru Dsnuts I thought it was my old ears.... So I switched to the black nozzles and bingo, killer sound. I was happy. Days pass and I'm finding they are getting brighter and brighter. I just used a killer test rack (Marcus Miller's "Cousin John") to compare all my IEMs on my new Cayin R01 board and yep, these were bright! Switched out to the red again and perfection again, just as Dsnuts suggested. Moral is: These are DDs and as they break-in the amount of both high and low end info increases. All DDs need to loosen the driver surrounds and I definitely don't think it's a good idea to make a frequency chart on these until at least a couple hundred hours!
I also discovered these IEMs have the MOST slam, percussiveness of any IEM I've ever heard. And I don't just mean bass- things like snare whaps, bass guitar slaps, etc. too. I think it's the super powerful 1.5 flux (whatever) magnets in the drivers. Bottom line, these are killer! Especially with any funk, or driving type tunes. I'm in love with these. Best $140 spent thus far.....

I agree. Percussion is amazing on these. Listen to this:
Bhakti Point, Richard Burmer

 

[DrewVz]

Sorry guys, but I'm going to have to stand behind my original statements. For a brief moment, I thought "Hmm, maybe I'm missing something since other people seem to like these IEMS." And so I sat down for another A/B comparison session. Nope, ain't working for me. Is it POSSIBLE that with some certain music, the FD3 might be more impactful? Sure. I noticed a couple of people talking about "slam". But I'm not listening to music for "slam". For all-around music appreciation and critical listening, they just don't cut it. Not to my ears.

I will reinforce my earlier position on Aria vs FD3. The Arias are much clearer, more detailed, more accurate, reproduce texture better, and offer better dynamics across the entire FR spectrum. To be quite honest, the differences are so clear to me that it's not even close. I can't imagine anyone who hears what I hear could claim that the FD3 has superior performance in any category. Even punch and decay are better with the Aria, as note separation is much more crisp and better defined.

<shrugs shoulders>

Hey, I gave it a shot.

 

[mndless]

Sorry guys, but I'm going to have to stand behind my original statements. For a brief moment, I thought "Hmm, maybe I'm missing something since other people seem to like these IEMS." And so I sat down for another A/B comparison session. Nope, ain't working for me. Is it POSSIBLE that with some certain music, the FD3 might be more impactful? Sure. I noticed a couple of people talking about "slam". But I'm not listening to music for "slam". For all-around music appreciation and critical listening, they just don't cut it. Not to my ears.

I will reinforce my earlier position on Aria vs FD3. The Arias are much clearer, more detailed, more accurate, reproduce texture better, and offer better dynamics across the entire FR spectrum. To be quite honest, the differences are so clear to me that it's not even close. I can't imagine anyone who hears what I hear could claim that the FD3 has superior performance in any category. Even punch and decay are better with the Aria, as note separation is much more crisp and better defined.

<shrugs shoulders>

Hey, I gave it a shot.

That's the best you can ask for, really. You checked again just to be certain that what you heard wasn't mistaken and came to the same conclusion as before. So, at the very least, the FD3 suits your listening preferences far less than the Aria, which is a cheaper IEM anyway. I guess you could consider that a win if you can return the FD3 or sell them on

 

[DrewVz]

That's the best you can ask for, really. You checked again just to be certain that what you heard wasn't mistaken and came to the same conclusion as before. So, at the very least, the FD3 suits your listening preferences far less than the Aria, which is a cheaper IEM anyway. I guess you could consider that a win if you can return the FD3 or sell them on

Yeah, there are just too many issues for me to try to correct to match my listening preferences with these IEMs when paired with my gear. If I had to pick some high points of the FD3s, I suppose the soundstage is decent (pretty good width, maybe average depth), as is the imaging, but the musical notes and layers themselves just aren't reproduced well enough to suit me.

I wish the best to those who can make these work. As I said, it's a really nice piece of kit and the FD3s are really attractive. I love the gunmetal finish. Oh, and they're super comfortable as well.

 

[mndless]

Yeah, there are just too many issues for me to try to correct to match my listening preferences with these IEMs when matched to my gear. If I had to pick some high points of the FD3s, I suppose the soundstage is decent (pretty good width, maybe average depth), as is the imaging, but the musical notes and layers themselves just aren't reproduced well enough to suit me.

I wish the best to those who can make these work. As I said, it's a really nice piece of kit and the FD3s are really attractive. I love the gunmetal finish. Oh, and they're super comfortable as well.

That last point is adequate justification for me to keep my eye out for a sale. They just need to be better than my foam+filter modded CCA CKX, which really shouldn't be as big of a challenge as it is proving to be. But thanks for the heads-up about how they compare against the Aria.

 

[PopZeus]

I’m getting the FD3 by end of week, but I will be surprised if the Aria beats it in technical performance. The Aria has a nice inoffensive tuning but I found the technicalities to be pretty underwhelming. Very one dimensional soundstage, mediocre imaging, treble so safe I found it anodyne.

I really like the Aria. I use them everyday for work. But for enjoyment, I'm looking for something more than just tonal accuracy. The Aria is more like a studio monitor while the FD3 is more like the Meze 99s.