FiiO FH5 - Quad Driver Hybrid In-Ear Monitors || Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers
Jul 9, 2018 at 10:28 AM Post #286 of 2,258
So what’s your take on Oriolus Mk2 vs FH2?

Apologies for the late reply. I wanted to be able to give a proper response, so here are some quick impressions comparing the two.

https://accessibleaudio.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/fiio-fh5-impressions-fiio-fh5-vs-oriolus-mk2/

fiiofh5orioluscompare-1.jpg


I received the FiiO FH5 today, so I quickly got to work comparing this new contender to the highly popular Oriolus Mk2.

Both IEMs were tested at around 65-75% volume from an iPad Pro.

First off, there are definitely some similarities between them – probably what attracted me to it in the first place when I was first struck by it at CanJam SoCal 2018. Both of them are hybrid designs, both have the configuration of 1 Dynamic driver 3 balanced armature drivers. The overall sound signature is extremely similar, with a slightly soft impact, very realistic sounding bass, and slightly forward mid-highs that gives an intimacy to the vocal range.

The FH5 has a slightly more intimate bass impact, while the Oriolus is ever so slightly wider. The FH5 also has a slightly more prominent high frequency presentation, making the highs more obvious than the Oriolus. As a result, people who found the Oriolus to not be extended and exacting enough in the high frequencies may find the shimmer of the FiiO FH5 to be preferable.

The FH5 hes a slightly more resolved upper midrange that gives it a tad more fullness in vocals over the Oriolus, but comparatively a little less room for subtler low frequency notes to emerge.

fiiofh5orioluscompare-2.jpg


In terms of physical attributes, you can see the shape and size of both of them are also very similar with a kind of ear concha blob form, with the only difference being that the Oriolus is slightly thicker so that it protrudes out from the ear more)

In summary – the FH5 is a little more intimate, has a slightly narrower soundstage, and renders vocals with more upper mid and high emphasis. I would be hard pressed to pick a winner here, but if you prefer a more intimate sound and don't want shell out so much for an Oriolus, the value of the FH5 is undeniable if you want to fulfill your desires at less than half the price.
 
Jul 9, 2018 at 10:56 AM Post #287 of 2,258
Apologies for the late reply. I wanted to be able to give a proper response, so here are some quick impressions comparing the two.

https://accessibleaudio.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/fiio-fh5-impressions-fiio-fh5-vs-oriolus-mk2/

fiiofh5orioluscompare-1.jpg


I received the FiiO FH5 today, so I quickly got to work comparing this new contender to the highly popular Oriolus Mk2.

Both IEMs were tested at around 65-75% volume from an iPad Pro.

First off, there are definitely some similarities between them – probably what attracted me to it in the first place when I was first struck by it at CanJam SoCal 2018. Both of them are hybrid designs, both have the configuration of 1 Dynamic driver 3 balanced armature drivers. The overall sound signature is extremely similar, with a slightly soft impact, very realistic sounding bass, and slightly forward mid-highs that gives an intimacy to the vocal range.

The FH5 has a slightly more intimate bass impact, while the Oriolus is ever so slightly wider. The FH5 also has a slightly more prominent high frequency presentation, making the highs more obvious than the Oriolus. As a result, people who found the Oriolus to not be extended and exacting enough in the high frequencies may find the shimmer of the FiiO FH5 to be preferable.

The FH5 hes a slightly more resolved upper midrange that gives it a tad more fullness in vocals over the Oriolus, but comparatively a little less room for subtler low frequency notes to emerge.

fiiofh5orioluscompare-2.jpg


In terms of physical attributes, you can see the shape and size of both of them are also very similar with a kind of ear concha blob form, with the only difference being that the Oriolus is slightly thicker so that it protrudes out from the ear more)

In summary – the FH5 is a little more intimate, has a slightly narrower soundstage, and renders vocals with more upper mid and high emphasis. I would be hard pressed to pick a winner here, but if you prefer a more intimate sound and don't want shell out so much for an Oriolus, the value of the FH5 is undeniable if you want to fulfill your desires at less than half the price.

great insight. thanks man.
 
Jul 9, 2018 at 11:13 AM Post #288 of 2,258
Just got my fh5's this afternoon. Snip................................................................................. My favorite iem is the Jays Q-Jays V2 followed by the Rose Mini 4, followed by the Earsonics ES3, then the Fidue A83, LZ A5, Hifiman RE600S V2 and a few others in no particular order............................Snip.........................

As the Jays Q-Jays v2 have also long been one of my favorite IEM's while other so-called flagships have come and gone, it would be most interesting to hear some of your comparisons between the FH5 and Q-Jays!
 
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Jul 9, 2018 at 11:18 AM Post #289 of 2,258
Just got my fh5's this afternoon. I purchased these from Penon Audio completely blind, as here in Cebu Philippines there is no one who has them. I had two concerns going in, first concern was the fit because they looked fairly large in photos I've seen and the second concern was sound. I like a sound signature that is bright without sibilance and harshness, sub bass that has rumble, moderate mid bass that doesn't bleed into the mids, mids that are neutral that lean a little cool and finally, I like treble that is airy, crisp and detailed. My typical music is acoustic guitar, classic rock, folk rock, and some classical now and then. My favorite iem is the Jays Q-Jays V2 followed by the Rose Mini 4, followed by the Earsonics ES3, then the Fidue A83, LZ A5, Hifiman RE600S V2 and a few others in no particular order. As of this afternoon the Fiio FH5 is king in my house. Simply put, for "MY" taste they cover all my sound requirements I stated earlier and the fit is like Fiio made these for me. The cable is fantastic, the earphones come with a pair of black silicone tips installed and in the box are 1 pair of small and large silicone tips marked balanced, 3 pairs of medium foam tips, 1 pair of small, medium and large silicone vocal tips, and 1 pair of small, medium, and large silicone bass tips. The box also contains the typical fiio plasic hard case and 1 very pocketable soft padded zipper case. I don't do graphs or photos, I leave that up to Brooko and HiFi Chris, but if any body has any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.


Should have mine is a couple of days (thanks for your early impressions). How does the sound compare to the LZ A5 (which I also own)? Thanks again.
 
Jul 9, 2018 at 11:57 AM Post #290 of 2,258
Apologies for the late reply. I wanted to be able to give a proper response, so here are some quick impressions comparing the two.

https://accessibleaudio.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/fiio-fh5-impressions-fiio-fh5-vs-oriolus-mk2/

fiiofh5orioluscompare-1.jpg


I received the FiiO FH5 today, so I quickly got to work comparing this new contender to the highly popular Oriolus Mk2.

Both IEMs were tested at around 65-75% volume from an iPad Pro.

First off, there are definitely some similarities between them – probably what attracted me to it in the first place when I was first struck by it at CanJam SoCal 2018. Both of them are hybrid designs, both have the configuration of 1 Dynamic driver 3 balanced armature drivers. The overall sound signature is extremely similar, with a slightly soft impact, very realistic sounding bass, and slightly forward mid-highs that gives an intimacy to the vocal range.

The FH5 has a slightly more intimate bass impact, while the Oriolus is ever so slightly wider. The FH5 also has a slightly more prominent high frequency presentation, making the highs more obvious than the Oriolus. As a result, people who found the Oriolus to not be extended and exacting enough in the high frequencies may find the shimmer of the FiiO FH5 to be preferable.

The FH5 hes a slightly more resolved upper midrange that gives it a tad more fullness in vocals over the Oriolus, but comparatively a little less room for subtler low frequency notes to emerge.

fiiofh5orioluscompare-2.jpg


In terms of physical attributes, you can see the shape and size of both of them are also very similar with a kind of ear concha blob form, with the only difference being that the Oriolus is slightly thicker so that it protrudes out from the ear more)

In summary – the FH5 is a little more intimate, has a slightly narrower soundstage, and renders vocals with more upper mid and high emphasis. I would be hard pressed to pick a winner here, but if you prefer a more intimate sound and don't want shell out so much for an Oriolus, the value of the FH5 is undeniable if you want to fulfill your desires at less than half the price.

Wow...did not expect such a detailed reply! Thank you!! By the way, I belong to the people who never thought that Oriolus sounds recessed in the highs...maybe it’s just my ears. But the FH5 sounds more than a worthy contender for that price and that build quality!
 
Jul 9, 2018 at 2:17 PM Post #291 of 2,258
I love my es3, but the fh5 has much better bass, crispier treble and just sounds much airier and in my opinion the fh5 has a much wider sound stage. I have not heard the NP, but I've heard other people describe it as "neutralish" and not dark but darker than some other earphones i was familiar with. I hate dark sounding earphones and I was pleasantly surprised that the fh5's had no darkness to them at all. I actually don't find the Fiio F9's too bright or the blue filter LZ A5's. I just couldn't be happier with my purchase. Hope I helped you.
Can you give us some words between the F9s and the FH5, mostly the changes (im happy with my F9s)
 
Jul 9, 2018 at 8:30 PM Post #298 of 2,258
Marco Angel: The FH5 has much better premium cable, deeper and cleaner bass, cleaner highs and better detail retrieval mids.
My wallet had been hesitant about it, and now i find this mini-review (duno if some post it earlier here) but again the graph and your feedback confirms my suspect. this is the sound i would had if someone asked me to design a inear or headphones
Super-deep bass, clean energetic mids, clear highs. all with a lot of micro-details and resolution:
https://everydaylistening.net/2018/07/05/fiio-fh5-simgot-em3-impressions/
Ohhh poor of my wallet
 
Jul 9, 2018 at 11:47 PM Post #300 of 2,258
Wow...did not expect such a detailed reply! Thank you!! By the way, I belong to the people who never thought that Oriolus sounds recessed in the highs...maybe it’s just my ears. But the FH5 sounds more than a worthy contender for that price and that build quality!
Hey, I wouldn't say the Oriolus is really recessed in the highs, but everything is relative, right? The FiiO FH5's highs seem more prominent to me compared to the Oriolus, that's all! :)
 

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