[yaps66]

Has anyone tried the tri metal LC-RE PRO cable with the FD-7?

I have. My preference is the stock cable.

Context:

(a) I am more mid and treble centric and so that is why my preference is with the stock cable;

(b) I tend to use the FD7 for more critical listening and the FD5 when I am out and about and want more of a fun tuning; and

(c) OOTB I find the FD7 more reference (neutral) while the FD5 is more V-shaped.

I therefore prefer the stock cable with the FD7 as I find that that brings out the reference nature of the iem more than the LC-RE Pro does. On the other hand, what the LC-RE Pro does is to add more warmth to the overall sound signature and smooths out the treble and this works well, and is now permanently paired, with the FD5.

I am not saying that the LC-RE Pro does not pair well with the FD7. For my use case, I find the stock cable the better pairing. YMMV of course!

 

[Ichos]

I have. My preference is the stock cable.

Context:

(a) I am more mid and treble centric and so that is why my preference is with the stock cable;

(b) I tend to use the FD7 for more critical listening and the FD5 when I am out and about and want more of a fun tuning; and

(c) OOTB I find the FD7 more reference (neutral) while the FD5 is more V-shaped.

I therefore prefer the stock cable with the FD7 as I find that that brings out the reference nature of the iem more than the LC-RE Pro does. On the other hand, what the LC-RE Pro does is to add more warmth to the overall sound signature and smooths out the treble and this works well, and is now permanently paired, with the FD5.

I am not saying that the LC-RE Pro does not pair well with the FD7. For my use case, I find the stock cable the better pairing. YMMV of course!

(c) - Very true

 

[Tomm11]

@chaz_flhr Generally very rumbly slightly darker more messy in the bass but much more mid focused with very nice electric guitars if its the same cable as the FDX. Ah if Tomm11 has the cable as well I would like to know your thoughts as I only tried the cable once and concluded that the FDX isnt for me.

@Tomm11 Personally I found that tips that go straight all the way work best with the FD7(AKA stock balanced/triple flenge/AET08) as any tip with a wider opening at the end tends to blur the treble as with the vocal and bass tips. Same thing but to a lesser extend with the spinfits but to a lesser extend strangely.

I will have to try the balanced tips again now that I have a little more familiarity with the FD7 and a frame of reference from the CP360 tips I have been using. I have some AET08's I can try along with a boat load of others. I don't think the CP360 has a larger opening than the stem but whatever the case, I may end up needing to stay with a shorter tip. The Fiio has a tendency to make my ears sore after extended listening, just like the Zen does. It's primarily my left ear. They can irritate the inside surface of my anti-tragus after some amount of time. Nothing major but enough to be annoying. I can prevent it with a small piece of foam medical tape to act as a cushion between the iem and skin surface but shorter tips like the CP360 allow me to seat the iem a little deeper which makes for less contact pressure on the area and allows me to avoid having to bother with the tape for other than longer listening sessions.

 

[fertb1978]

Hello, I would like to comment on my case to finally ask for your recommendations. After years using good iems I have decided to get rid of everything I have to start from 0. I will make a quick summary of what I have heard, (but before saying that I basically listen to metal, and it is something that I think conditions me when choosing one type or another of sound profile.)

Fiio fh5 great to start in the hobby, good value for money.

Fiio fa7 I liked them a lot for this type of music, very good separation of instruments and great bass (all BA with good bass, yes) I liked their tonality much more than in the fh5, yes, a lot of bass bleed into mids, but that was fixed by using the lc 2.5-d cable.

Fiio fh7 Super entertaining sound, metallic timbre and very high treble, but then there is the bass, THE BASS. It is in my opinion the best I have ever heard, strong, perfectly isolated from the rest of the frequencies and the layering! You can perfectly hear and feel every note of the bass guitar and the beat of the drums.

Fiio fa9. extremely detailed, everything sounds correct, but it loses dynamism and lacks power on the bass.

Sennheiser ie 300. very good for this musical genre, but far behind the rest technically.

And finally Sennheiser ie900. These are very special, how can something so small sound so huge?? They are something unique, a giant scene, detailed, fun, etc... But for my taste or for the style of music I listen to, I think they have too much sub bass, I prefer the bass resolution of the fh7. Also I think they depend a lot on the source, I think my btr5 have never gotten the most out of them.

I think that of all the ones that I have enjoyed the longest have been the fa7 (it's weird, I know)

What I'm looking for is something that sounds punchy, where you can hear the heavy hits of the drums while you clearly follow the bass notes, warm and defined mids and smooth and well-extended highs.

My options are Fd7, Fh9 or Fa7s ( very little information about them ) and accompany them with the dac ifi gryphon.

I would greatly appreciate your help and sorry for the huge post, it is the first time that I extend myself so much.

All the best

 

[Chris Kaoss]

While I really like the tonality and technicalities of the FD7, the FD5 is better for Metal, imo.
Well, FD5 with Final-E tips for me.

But as you have said, it depends on the source/ dac-amp.
There's a huge difference between my BTR5 and the Mojo.
If I've to choose, I'd say FD7 with BTR5, while FD5 fits the Mojo better.

 

[fertb1978]

While I really like the tonality and technicalities of the FD7, the FD5 is better for Metal, imo.
Well, FD5 with Final-E tips for me.

But as you have said, it depends on the source/ dac-amp.
There's a huge difference between my BTR5 and the Mojo.
If I've to choose, I'd say FD7 with BTR5, while FD5 fits the Mojo better.

This Game is complicated, jajaja.
So many options

 

[CT007]

@fertb1978 FA7s sounds like it's pretty good. But to find the best one, you'll have to buy them all at the same time, and send the losers back, like I do ;p However, this is not one of the IEMs I'll be testing next, so I won't be able to say how it compares to FD7, FD5, FH9, EJ07, EJ07KL. I also hear Moondrop Variations is a solid option, on the cheaper side of things.

 

[llysender]

Interesting

@fertb1978 FA7s sounds like it's pretty good. But to find the best one, you'll have to buy them all at the same time, and send the losers back, like I do ;p

Yeah the FA7s is a really good bright V shape iem. The only issue I have with them is that the 800hz to around 1.2khz area is abit low res and overly smooth. But its a minor nitpick that doesnt affect that much music(except REOL whose vocal range is focused around there lol) very exciting tonality. Doesnt dig as low as the FD7 but has faster treble.

Pretty much was set on the FA7s untill my dealer dangled the FD7 after I complained about that particular issue. Very good mid bass and high subbass as well, just doesnt go to 18hz. Tuned esp for synth Pop and classical chamber and jazz music. Being all BA it can keep up with breakcore and faster edm music with ease.

@Dsnuts can give a second opinion since he has heard all of fiios iems.

 

[Ichos]

I don't think that the FA7S is bright or V - shaped.
Here are the reviews of the models discussed.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh5s.25105/review/25997/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd7.25424/review/27091/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd5.24858/review/25242/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fa7s.25563/review/27860/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh9.25603/review/27536/

 

[llysender]

I don't think that the FA7S is bright or V - shaped.
Here are the reviews of the models discussed.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh5s.25105/review/25997/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd7.25424/review/27091/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd5.24858/review/25242/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fa7s.25563/review/27860/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh9.25603/review/27536/

Interesting that you said its natural. At lest to my ears the midbass and upper mids are quite boosted and agrassive. Or maybe its due to the my dap DX311mk2 and song selection.

 

[fertb1978]

I don't think that the FA7S is bright or V - shaped.
Here are the reviews of the models discussed.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh5s.25105/review/25997/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd7.25424/review/27091/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd5.24858/review/25242/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fa7s.25563/review/27860/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh9.25603/review/27536/

I don't think that the FA7S is bright or V - shaped.
Here are the reviews of the models discussed.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh5s.25105/review/25997/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd7.25424/review/27091/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fd5.24858/review/25242/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fa7s.25563/review/27860/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-fh9.25603/review/27536/

the truth is that I had not thought about the fh5s, but it seems that it looks good.
Only if it's too bright it would be a problem. having exceptional bass layering is very important to me.
I'll probably try to compare the fa7s and the fh5s.

Would it be a good idea to accompany any of them with a warm source, like I think the ify gryphon would be?

 

[Ichos]

Interesting that you said its natural. At lest to my ears the midbass and upper mids are quite boosted and agrassive. Or maybe its due to the my dap DX311mk2 and song selection.

I am not a measurement guy but sometimes they are useful for establishing a point of reference.
As an example the FD5 vs FA7S

 

[Ichos]

the truth is that I had not thought about the fh5s, but it seems that it looks good.
Only if it's too bright it would be a problem. having exceptional bass layering is very important to me.
I'll probably try to compare the fa7s and the fh5s.

Would it be a good idea to accompany any of them with a warm source, like I think the ify gryphon would be?

The FH5S is not bright per se or piercing.
It has an upper mid emphasis and it sounds quite forward and mildly agressive but I do not sense listener fatigue.

 

[llysender]

I am not a measurement guy but sometimes they are useful for establishing a point of reference.
As an example the FD5 vs FA7S

Not sure, but there is a clear upper mid boost to my ears when I demoed it again yesterday. Very fun. but not what I would call neutural.

 

[Ichos]

Not sure, but there is a clear upper mid boost to my ears when I demoed it again yesterday. Very fun. but not what I would call neutural.

Well, we all hear differently, thigs is why there are hundreds of different earphones.