[Dobrescu George]

If that's the case it should be a vocal iem, no? But, people still use vocal tips? Does it bring out the midrange more?

Does @Brooko have graphs with various tips?

I have heard real mids rise followed by dip in the upper mids and it's most weird for those responses.

It is rather complicated, because they aren't forward enough for the whole IEM to be vocal, just more forward than balanced or than neutral. I think FH5 is more versatile and universal than one might expect, those aren't a one-trick pony for me, they can do both metal and electronic, Jazz and even classical and be fun.

Etymotic is a good example of more extreme midrange-forwardness.

I only used the tips that they came with, and Spinfit tips. Different flavor or tips are different flavor of tips, of course some people will like very mid-centric signatures, there's always Etymotic as a living, and successful proof

I tend to test a IEM with the tips that come installed on it, to take notes on its sonic performance and tuning, seems most fair

 

[SilverEars]

It is rather complicated, because they aren't forward enough for the whole IEM to be vocal, just more forward than balanced or than neutral. I think FH5 is more versatile and universal than one might expect, those aren't a one-trick pony for me, they can do both metal and electronic, Jazz and even classical and be fun.

Etymotic is a good example of more extreme midrange-forwardness.

I only used the tips that they came with, and Spinfit tips. Different flavor or tips are different flavor of tips, of course some people will like very mid-centric signatures, there's always Etymotic as a living, and successful proof

I tend to test a IEM with the tips that come installed on it, to take notes on its sonic performance and tuning, seems most fair

I agree these are good all rounder, that's what it means to be a balanced signature IMO. Vocals are the trickiest to get right as I've heard many wrongs. Also, poorly turned iems tend to have peaks in the lower treble somewhere or the bass is bloated with mids incoherent. FH5 is none of those.

This is what Tyll got when he compensated the ER4PT with the Harman curve. I recall it sounding brighter than I prefer, but based on the graph, it shouldn't due the 5-9k suck-out because that is the bright range for me. Is this more iem specific compared to full-sized headphones? Perhaps the compensation for iems should be different? Headphones have the whole ear to deal with, and the iem, the canal only.

 

[gto88]

Just received FH5 today, and listening it out of iPad.
I like it sound right out of box, but I need to work on the tip.
I couldn’t get a good seal with the default tip, will need to try other tips.

 

[JamesFiiO]

Just received FH5 today, and listening it out of iPad.
I like it sound right out of box, but I need to work on the tip.
I couldn’t get a good seal with the default tip, will need to try other tips.

sorry it is hard to balanced the ear hold size between western and eastern people.

 

[JamesFiiO]

I agree these are good all rounder, that's what it means to be a balanced signature IMO. Vocals are the trickiest to get right as I've heard many wrongs. Also, poorly turned iems tend to have peaks in the lower treble somewhere or the bass is bloated with mids incoherent. FH5 is none of those.

This is what Tyll got when he compensated the ER4PT with the Harman curve. I recall it sounding brighter than I prefer, but based on the graph, it shouldn't due the 5-9k suck-out because that is the bright range for me. Is this more iem specific compared to full-sized headphones? Perhaps the compensation for iems should be different? Headphones have the whole ear to deal with, and the iem, the canal only.

people are studying how to use objective parameter to judge the sound quality of IEM/Headphones, but there are long long way behead us. in my opinion, since we have different ears, so it is impossible to find a 100% correct sound.

 

[chupacabra314]

My 2 cents:
Now that I've spent a few months with the FH5 and a lot of tip rolling, I can say to newcomers focus on getting the best seal and comfort possible when choosing tips. Unlike most of my other IEMs, the bore diameter and length doesn't affect the sound all that much for me. Getting a good seal is far more crucial to bringing out the best the FH5 has to offer.

 

[mikroski]

I may be the only one here that prefer stock tips (balance L size) more than spinfit. When using spinfit it sound dull (Spinfit CP-145), boom bass. So I keep using balance tips. Haven't try foam tip yet, because I'm very enjoy the sound of FH5 with balance tips.

 

[gto88]

sorry it is hard to balanced the ear hold size between western and eastern people.

No worry, even my own left and right are different size.
I might end up using different size on both side, or using different character tip from the set.
It is fun to explore the differences.

 

[SilverEars]

sorry it is hard to balanced the ear hold size between western and eastern people.

Although, I really don't have much issue with fit, I can see why I prefer the memory foam with these. I think deeper insertion is warrented, and for the next iteration can improve upon what is a good iem.

Same with above poster, I'm imbalanced for how shallow of a fit I can get as well.

I recall from memory way back with a Westone 3 that I thought didn't sound so good (and my impressions disagreed with others on sound, and being a newbie at the time, it didn't occur to me or didn't know what exactly was meant by fit), and I couldn't get a deeper fit. And that turned out to be it, the fit. Fit makes a huge difference. I notice that the sound stage can come off imbalanced if the fit isn't right. Or not much sound stage at all with wrong tips and fit.

 

[neatokino]

Although, I really don't have much issue with fit, I can see why I prefer the memory foam with these. I think deeper insertion is warrented, and for the next iteration can improve upon what is a good iem.

Same with above poster, I'm imbalanced for how shallow of a fit I can get as well.

I continue to obsess about this and haven't found the perfect solution. The stock Bass and Balanced tips, size L, work for me pretty well, but their insertion depth is shallow and they don't make a great seal when I'm moving around a lot. SpinFit CP155 go in a little deeper, sound similar to stock Bass tips, and are slightly more comfortable than stock.

SpinFit CP240 go in deeper, make the best seal, sound perfectly good, but can get uncomfortable after being in the ears too long (an hour or so). Like the previous posters, I feel the difference between my left and right ear sizes, and the deeper insertion of the CP240 makes that imbalance less noticeable. If I had to choose only one tip right now, I'd go with the CP240 SpinFits.

I have Symbio tips on order, and we'll see how well they work for me. The stock foam tips don't fit me, and I'm holding off on Comply tips for now.

In years past, I simply couldn't wear in ear monitors because I could never get a good fit. Nowadays with all these tip choices, the world of IEM's is opening up to me, but it's time consuming and expensive to have to keep experimenting in order to find the right solution.

BTW, the FH5's sound great. No complaints whatsoever on that front.

 

[chupacabra314]

I continue to obsess about this and haven't found the perfect solution. The stock Bass and Balanced tips, size L, work for me pretty well, but their insertion depth is shallow and they don't make a great seal when I'm moving around a lot. SpinFit CP155 go in a little deeper, sound similar to stock Bass tips, and are slightly more comfortable than stock.

SpinFit CP240 go in deeper, make the best seal, sound perfectly good, but can get uncomfortable after being in the ears too long (an hour or so). Like the previous posters, I feel the difference between my left and right ear sizes, and the deeper insertion of the CP240 makes that imbalance less noticeable. If I had to choose only one tip right now, I'd go with the CP240 SpinFits.

I have Symbio tips on order, and we'll see how well they work for me. The stock foam tips don't fit me, and I'm holding off on Comply tips for now.

In years past, I simply couldn't wear in ear monitors because I could never get a good fit. Nowadays with all these tip choices, the world of IEM's is opening up to me, but it's time consuming and expensive to have to keep experimenting in order to find the right solution.

BTW, the FH5's sound great. No complaints whatsoever on that front.

My ear canals are also different shapes and sizes, but both are pretty shallow. So far the most comfortable and best seal for me have been the Sony hybrids. The stock Fiio tips are a little too long and a too hard for me.

 

[Nusu]

I use 4.4 because of it's stronger design and it sounds great with my Sony. Not sure if it makes any SQ difference that I could note

I read your thread about bass head IEMs. Can you call FH5 bass head earphones? How it's sub bass in FH5? I know that you was impressed with Aurisonic ASG. Can FH5 can be compared with ASG2/2.5?

Thx for the reply in advance

 

[gto88]

Ha Ha, I solved the seal issue by adding 2mm spacer as mentioned in post #717 by @mhoopes
and picture from @Titoyago, thanks for the information.
Now the music from FH5 is really good with small stock tips on me.
Bass with bass tip is rich, now I can start exploring the different SQ from different tips.

 

[mhoopes]

Ha Ha, I solved the seal issue by adding 2mm spacer as mentioned in post #717 by @mhoopes
and picture from @Titoyago, thanks for the information.
Now the music from FH5 is really good with small stock tips on me.
Bass with bass tip is rich, now I can start exploring the different SQ from different tips.

Sure thing! @JamesFiiO, it’s not that big of a deal. I think it’s a small minority of people, even including us elaphantine Westerners. I’d be glad to beta test fit in the future, representing one of those outliers.

For me the S.TURBO transmission line occupies a space next to my inferior crus that causes shallow insertion. I wouldn’t want to give that up, as I like the bass response of the FH5, so the extra 2 mm works for me. The bass tips are very comfortable for me with that mod. It may not work for everyone, though.

 

[sino8r]

I got the FH5 a couple days ago as well as TFZ Secret Garden 3. The FH5 sounds really impressive and has that rare W shape tuning which I've come to prefer. My only issue is the seal isn't great. The nozzle tips are too short which is a affects about half of Chinese iems. I ended up getting a good seal with large Comply tips and some generic triple flange silicones. I ordered some Symbio tips as recommended by some on this forum on hope it will give a medium dampening response. The build quality is very good on the FH5 and the attempt of adding alot of tips was a good idea although it makes me wonder if Fiio knew the seal was going to be an issue. The overall shape of the FH5 is very comfortable which I've come to appreciate since starting out with iems like KZ etc. that have issues with comfort and odd shaped housings. The Knowles BAs really shine on this particular iem and coupled with the nano composite DD sound really amazing! It's very tip dependent for sure. The large foam comply tips really bring out the bass while silicone spinfits make them sparkle to almost a U shape sound. I will say this about TFZ and their iems (relating to the Secret Garden comparison) ... They really have a fantastic shape, seal, and build quality on their iems. They really know their dynamic drives and the Secret Garden is their masterpiece of single DD. It has a spacious soundstage, great instrument separation for a single dynamic, sparkling highs, and fair mids. Obviously, it can't really compete with the FH5 in terms of being multi ba iems. The FH5 has a wider soundstage, much better mids and more refined treble. The TFZ Secret Garden is definitely a good contender for the price and sound though. The Fiio FH5 is definitely a fantastic product and will be my iem of choice for now on. It would be a near perfect iem is it wasn't for the short nozzle tips but after some work and trial/error, it seals good enough. Highly recommend for the unique W shape, sound quality, and great price compared to most medium line iems!