[FiiO]

The #1 Dynamic 6 Balanced Armature Drivers IEMs FH9# comes after 2 years of accumulation, with trails of lots of acoustic design schemes by our acoustic engineers who worked hard days and nights. As a result, the second-gen FiiO-developed dynamic driver couples with Knowles classic 6 BA drivers (6 BA+1 DD driver combo). It would be a big moment for us.
On December 10, 2021, #FiiO 2021 Winter Launch Event# will straightly get to you. Let's stay tuned for it.

 

[DarginMahkum]

My new M17 + FH9 duo. Man, even with the treble filter the bass is badass.

 

[Vamp898]

I received an demo sample of the FH9 today and will try them more in depth with all the different filters and tips and so on. Lets see if this changes my first impression, im curious

 

[davidmolliere]

My new M17 + FH9 duo. Man, even with the treble filter the bass is badass.

That cable looks sleek as well!

 

[Dsnuts]

My new M17 + FH9 duo. Man, even with the treble filter the bass is badass.

This exactly. In fact it is difficult to use the other caps after using the treble caps. Though occasional bass cap is fun.

 

[DarginMahkum]

I am not an IEM person, so what I am saying might sound like BS. I don't have much IEM experience.

Lows and low mids are very good. Piano low registers sound really good. Highs are also good. I wish it had a little bit more upper-mids energy. But I guess people like warmer mids. Nothing a simple EQ cannot fix - or let's say adopt to my liking. The stage is amazing for an IEM. Depth to the front is OK but pretty wide to the sides. Height is great with good dynamics. Separation is also good. I didn't notice any peaks.

The package is excellent. Great cable with interchangeable connector, lots of tips, good carry case. Build is excellent.

All in all, it is a keeper. I might even get a second one as my wife also needs an IEM.

 

[Dsnuts]

Why get 2 of the same thing. Try the FD7 for the wife you might like them as well. Flagship dynamic to go with the flagship hybrid. Both are fantastic in how they sound.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Wow, stage and separation are really remarkable with these (+M17)!

 

[davidmolliere]

Why get 2 of the same thing. Try the FD7 for the wife you might like them as well. Flagship dynamic to go with the flagship hybrid. Both are fantastic in how they sound.

I loved FD5 so I imagine FD7 is even better... with a full beryllium driver

Wow, stage and separation are really remarkable with these (+M17)!

Yeah but to be fair everything is amazing with M17
I am still in awe of what it does especially in desktop mode with the iPower Elite

 

[Vamp898]

So i tested the FH9 more in depth today and positive things first. Changing the nozzle does influence the sound more than i thought. So there is actually quite a difference depending on the nozzle, especially in terms of treble.

And, another positive thing if you like its character, it doesn't change it. Its not changing the sound Signature or the sound of the In-Ear, its only adjusting it.

But the issue i had with them remains the same. The sound is not really authentic or realistic. If i listen to a very good recorded acoustic guitar, it doesn't sound real. It does have this typical BA timbre plastic sound even though its a hybrid.

To put this into context. The BA-Only 5 BA Sony IER-M9 sounds less like an BA In-Ear than the FH9. Its just a very plastic and unrealistic sound and when an Hybrid sounds more BAish than an all-BA IEM, thats an issue for me. The DD doesn't "merge" with the BA, they have completely different characteristics and do their own job independent.

Picking on strings, hammers on strings of an piano and so on, you don't feel them. They don't sound organic. If big Drums are played like in 和楽器バンド, it doesn't sound like there are really drums there. You hear the drums and you feel the bass, but it sounds so plastic. It sounds like the sound of drums with added bass, but there is no volume to the drums, there is no authentic impact of the sticks, you don't feel the air move. Again, it gets tiresome i know, but if an all BA does that better than an In-Ear with an DD... thats just not what im looking for.

But they don't sound like Monitors either (you may noticed that i don't call them IEM, imho you can't use them for Monitoring), so they are not flat/lifeless/monitoring like. They sound fun! That's a strong positive point, but they don't sound authentic. Nothing sound every really acoustic. It so hard to describe.

Another example: Double Bass like "And the great cold death of the earth..." from Agalloch. If you listen to the Double Bass solo with the IER-M9 (or XBA-Z5 or even XBA-N3), it sounds warm, it grunts, it rumbles, you feel the wood vibrate in your ear. The Double Bass is there, its real and playing for you.

With the FH9 you hear the double bass and you feel bass, but they are not connected. Its like two separated sounds and something in the middle between those is missing. Its not a big voluminous warm sound, its an analytic flat sound + bass.

And the treble, even when its lower in volume, sound harsher. There is this typical Knowles BA clang/clatter/rattle in the highs where Violins, when they play extremely high, start to sound metallic and, when at the same volume, they still are clear and very soft and "woody" with the XBA-Z5 or even XBA-N3.

So i stray true to my original statement. It sounds more balanced than the XBA-Z5 but other than that, i think the XBA-Z5 succedes it. The Price/Performance ratio for this In-Ear is, for my personal taste, not given.

I can understand that the XBA-Z5 is not everyones taste because it is such an warm IEM, but for 700€ you can get the IER-M7 whch is more balanced than the FH9 but also sounds more authentic/realistic. And this is the big issue here, the price tag.

For 300€ i'd say they are a competition for the XBA-N3 with a more plastic but also more detailed sound. You loose some, you get some, but they are in that price class (for me). But for 700€? Absolutely no way. I bought my XBA-Z5, new, for 480€, Made of Metal and Made in Japan with Sonys self developed/producs drivers and i don't understand how the FH9 sells for more even though its Made in China and the BAs are made by Knowles. I absolutely don't see the price tag on these.

With a different price tag my rating would be less harsh, but given the 700€.... no.

 

[Dsnuts]

Oh yea FD7

So i tested the FH9 more in depth today and positive things first. Changing the nozzle does influence the sound more than i thought. So there is actually quite a difference depending on the nozzle, especially in terms of treble.

And, another positive thing if you like its character, it doesn't change it. Its not changing the sound Signature or the sound of the In-Ear, its only adjusting it.

But the issue i had with them remains the same. The sound is not really authentic or realistic. If i listen to a very good recorded acoustic guitar, it doesn't sound real. It does have this typical BA timbre plastic sound even though its a hybrid.

To put this into context. The BA-Only 5 BA Sony IER-M9 sounds less like an BA In-Ear than the FH9. Its just a very plastic and unrealistic sound and when an Hybrid sounds more BAish than an all-BA IEM, thats an issue for me. The DD doesn't "merge" with the BA, they have completely different characteristics and do their own job independent.

Picking on strings, hammers on strings of an piano and so on, you don't feel them. They don't sound organic. If big Drums are played like in 和楽器バンド, it doesn't sound like there are really drums there. You hear the drums and you feel the bass, but it sounds so plastic. It sounds like the sound of drums with added bass, but there is no volume to the drums, there is no authentic impact of the sticks, you don't feel the air move. Again, it gets tiresome i know, but if an all BA does that better than an In-Ear with an DD... thats just not what im looking for.

But they don't sound like Monitors either (you may noticed that i don't call them IEM, imho you can't use them for Monitoring), so they are not flat/lifeless/monitoring like. They sound fun! That's a strong positive point, but they don't sound authentic. Nothing sound every really acoustic. It so hard to describe.

Another example: Double Bass like "And the great cold death of the earth..." from Agalloch. If you listen to the Double Bass solo with the IER-M9 (or XBA-Z5 or even XBA-N3), it sounds warm, it grunts, it rumbles, you feel the wood vibrate in your ear. The Double Bass is there, its real and playing for you.

With the FH9 you hear the double bass and you feel bass, but they are not connected. Its like two separated sounds and something in the middle between those is missing. Its not a big voluminous warm sound, its an analytic flat sound + bass.

And the treble, even when its lower in volume, sound harsher. There is this typical Knowles BA clang/clatter/rattle in the highs where Violins, when they play extremely high, start to sound metallic and, when at the same volume, they still are clear and very soft and "woody" with the XBA-Z5 or even XBA-N3.

So i stray true to my original statement. It sounds more balanced than the XBA-Z5 but other than that, i think the XBA-Z5 succedes it. The Price/Performance ratio for this In-Ear is, for my personal taste, not given.

I can understand that the XBA-Z5 is not everyones taste because it is such an warm IEM, but for 700€ you can get the IER-M7 whch is more balanced than the FH9 but also sounds more authentic/realistic. And this is the big issue here, the price tag.

For 300€ i'd say they are a competition for the XBA-N3 with a more plastic but also more detailed sound. You loose some, you get some, but they are in that price class (for me). But for 700€? Absolutely no way. I bought my XBA-Z5, new, for 480€, Made of Metal and Made in Japan with Sonys self developed/producs drivers and i don't understand how the FH9 sells for more even though its Made in China and the BAs are made by Knowles. I absolutely don't see the price tag on these.

With a different price tag my rating would be less harsh, but given the 700€.... no.

If you get a chance where you got that demo. You should give the FD7 a go. Seems thats what your looking for. Natural organic with some of the best timbre for earphones. Also if I can ask. What are you using for a source.

 

[Vamp898]

Oh yea FD7

If you get a chance where you got that demo. You should give the FD7 a go. Seems thats what your looking for. Natural organic with some of the best timbre for earphones. Also if I can ask. What are you using for a source.

For in-depth reviewing i mostly use the TA-ZH1ES with 4,4mm Balanced but i always compare with the M11 Plus LTD to have an achromatic reference. I personally think the FH9 sounded better on the TA-ZH1ES because it rescued a bit of the impact.

I'll check for the FD7, i have only demoed the FD5 so far and liked the XBA-N3 much better. The XBA-N3 had much better Soundstage and way more pleasing treble. I really didn't like the Treble of the FD5, it was unnatural and way to loud. When i had the FD5 at an Volume where Bass and Mids sounded well, the Treble cut holes through my eardrums.

So after that experience, i did not care for the FD Series any longer but maybe the FD7 is tuned different. But i'll have to check if they have an demo sample i can use because there is no return of In-Ear in germany. Bought means bought. There was a Demo unit of the FH9 so i was able to test it without buying, i'll check if that is possible for the FD7.

 

[DarginMahkum]

So i tested the FH9 more in depth today and positive things first. Changing the nozzle does influence the sound more than i thought. So there is actually quite a difference depending on the nozzle, especially in terms of treble.

And, another positive thing if you like its character, it doesn't change it. Its not changing the sound Signature or the sound of the In-Ear, its only adjusting it.

But the issue i had with them remains the same. The sound is not really authentic or realistic. If i listen to a very good recorded acoustic guitar, it doesn't sound real. It does have this typical BA timbre plastic sound even though its a hybrid.

To put this into context. The BA-Only 5 BA Sony IER-M9 sounds less like an BA In-Ear than the FH9. Its just a very plastic and unrealistic sound and when an Hybrid sounds more BAish than an all-BA IEM, thats an issue for me. The DD doesn't "merge" with the BA, they have completely different characteristics and do their own job independent.

Picking on strings, hammers on strings of an piano and so on, you don't feel them. They don't sound organic. If big Drums are played like in 和楽器バンド, it doesn't sound like there are really drums there. You hear the drums and you feel the bass, but it sounds so plastic. It sounds like the sound of drums with added bass, but there is no volume to the drums, there is no authentic impact of the sticks, you don't feel the air move. Again, it gets tiresome i know, but if an all BA does that better than an In-Ear with an DD... thats just not what im looking for.

But they don't sound like Monitors either (you may noticed that i don't call them IEM, imho you can't use them for Monitoring), so they are not flat/lifeless/monitoring like. They sound fun! That's a strong positive point, but they don't sound authentic. Nothing sound every really acoustic. It so hard to describe.

Another example: Double Bass like "And the great cold death of the earth..." from Agalloch. If you listen to the Double Bass solo with the IER-M9 (or XBA-Z5 or even XBA-N3), it sounds warm, it grunts, it rumbles, you feel the wood vibrate in your ear. The Double Bass is there, its real and playing for you.

With the FH9 you hear the double bass and you feel bass, but they are not connected. Its like two separated sounds and something in the middle between those is missing. Its not a big voluminous warm sound, its an analytic flat sound + bass.

And the treble, even when its lower in volume, sound harsher. There is this typical Knowles BA clang/clatter/rattle in the highs where Violins, when they play extremely high, start to sound metallic and, when at the same volume, they still are clear and very soft and "woody" with the XBA-Z5 or even XBA-N3.

So i stray true to my original statement. It sounds more balanced than the XBA-Z5 but other than that, i think the XBA-Z5 succedes it. The Price/Performance ratio for this In-Ear is, for my personal taste, not given.

I can understand that the XBA-Z5 is not everyones taste because it is such an warm IEM, but for 700€ you can get the IER-M7 whch is more balanced than the FH9 but also sounds more authentic/realistic. And this is the big issue here, the price tag.

For 300€ i'd say they are a competition for the XBA-N3 with a more plastic but also more detailed sound. You loose some, you get some, but they are in that price class (for me). But for 700€? Absolutely no way. I bought my XBA-Z5, new, for 480€, Made of Metal and Made in Japan with Sonys self developed/producs drivers and i don't understand how the FH9 sells for more even though its Made in China and the BAs are made by Knowles. I absolutely don't see the price tag on these.

With a different price tag my rating would be less harsh, but given the 700€.... no.

Interesting post. I read you also didn't like the Monarch MK2, which actually has an excellent tuning.

 

[Vamp898]

Interesting post. I read you also didn't like the Monarch MK2, which actually has an excellent tuning.

I'm a musician, i only care about how music sounds.

I play, record, mix and master music and have seen lots of if live concerts.

If I listen to an excellent live recording and it sounds plastic, flat and lifeless, I don't like it.

I don't care if the tuning is good but the music sounds crap. I want that the music sounds good, that instruments sound authentic and real. That live concerts sound live, that I can feel the vibration if the wood of wood instruments.

If good tuning isn't capable in reproducing that, I don't want good tuning.

But in case if the Monarch Mk2, it didn't sounded very special to me, but how could it. All they do is buy the same drivers as all other ChiFi companies. They tune them different, but the components keep their characteristics. I think most people who think and say that they have excellent tuning didn't listen to the music but to the IEM.

Its not like the Monarch Mk2 is a bad IEM, not in any case. Its just not authentic. Its an excellent tool in the sound studio for recording and mixing. Its a very capable workhorse but for listening at music? I don't know.

But at the same time, the price is pretty high for these for an Studio Monitor.

I personally just don't get this "Lets get as close as possible to the Studio Recording" because, as someone who records and masters myself, you mix the songs in a way that they sound good with normal headphones, not with Monitors.

It is impossible to mix/master music in a way that sounds authentic/real, you only create the base the Headphone/DAP/Amp Combo uses to interpolate an realistic sound from that.

I can understand that people like to listen to an Monitor like sound because it is so different from what it is supposed to sound, but i would not spend that much money to have a monitor sound. Studio Monitors are also pretty cheap, the EX800st sells for ~200€ new. I would never ever spend 1000€ or more for an studio monitor, nor an stage Monitor (except its custom all the way). I want to hear the music as close as possible as it sounded in real life, not as close as possible to the recording which is just a canned version of the real life.

And before anyone gets me wrong, i do _not_ dislike the FH9, nor the FA9 nor any ChiFi gear (except the Dusk, i really hate the Dusk )

They all sound good! Very good! But if FiiO prices the FH9 for 700€, i compare it to 700€ In-Ear like the XBA-Z5 and the IER-M7 and this is extremely tough competition because Sony builds and develops everything themself. They are tuned 1000% exactly how Sony wants them to Sound while FiiO does have limitations. They have to tune Hardware others made and make the best out of their characteristics while Sony can just change the characteristics of their components to their liking.

I think 700€ is just to much, for a lower price, the FH9 would be a steal and a matter of taste, but for that price, to me, its not.

Monarch sells the Mk2 for 999$, thats pretty much the street price of the IER-M9 and it doesn't have the tiniest chance against the IER-M9. The Monarch Mk II is, in no way, worth 999$ for my personal feeling.

 

[DarginMahkum]

I'm a musician, i only care about how music sounds.

I play, record, mix and master music and have seen lots of if live concerts.

If I listen to an excellent live recording and it sounds plastic, flat and lifeless, I don't like it.

I don't care if the tuning is good but the music sounds crap. I want that the music sounds good, that instruments sound authentic and real. That live concerts sound live, that I can feel the vibration if the wood of wood instruments.

If good tuning isn't capable in reproducing that, I don't want good tuning.

But in case if the Monarch Mk2, it didn't sounded very special to me, but how could it. All they do is buy the same drivers as all other ChiFi companies. They tune them different, but the components keep their characteristics. I think most people who think and say that they have excellent tuning didn't listen to the music but to the IEM.

Its not like the Monarch Mk2 is a bad IEM, not in any case. Its just not authentic. Its an excellent tool in the sound studio for recording and mixing. Its a very capable workhorse but for listening at music? I don't know.

But at the same time, the price is pretty high for these for an Studio Monitor.

I personally just don't get this "Lets get as close as possible to the Studio Recording" because, as someone who records and masters myself, you mix the songs in a way that they sound good with normal headphones, not with Monitors.

It is impossible to mix/master music in a way that sounds authentic/real, you only create the base the Headphone/DAP/Amp Combo uses to interpolate an realistic sound from that.

I can understand that people like to listen to an Monitor like sound because it is so different from what it is supposed to sound, but i would not spend that much money to have a monitor sound. Studio Monitors are also pretty cheap, the EX800st sells for ~200€ new. I would never ever spend 1000€ or more for an studio monitor, nor an stage Monitor (except its custom all the way). I want to hear the music as close as possible as it sounded in real life, not as close as possible to the recording which is just a canned version of the real life.

And before anyone gets me wrong, i do _not_ dislike the FH9, nor the FA9 nor any ChiFi gear (except the Dusk, i really hate the Dusk )

They all sound good! Very good! But if FiiO prices the FH9 for 700€, i compare it to 700€ In-Ear like the XBA-Z5 and the IER-M7 and this is extremely tough competition because Sony builds and develops everything themself. They are tuned 1000% exactly how Sony wants them to Sound while FiiO does have limitations. They have to tune Hardware others made and make the best out of their characteristics while Sony can just change the characteristics of their components to their liking.

I think 700€ is just to much, for a lower price, the FH9 would be a steal and a matter of taste, but for that price, to me, its not.

Monarch sells the Mk2 for 999$, thats pretty much the street price of the IER-M9 and it doesn't have the tiniest chance against the IER-M9. The Monarch Mk II is, in no way, worth 999$ for my personal feeling.

Frankly you kind of lost me at the point you gave the not so well produced (and played) Agalloch piece above as example. I can see why you would not at all enjoy this kind of production with a close to reference tuning, which I think it is also due to the production quality, and you have a point for expecting a HP or IEM making recording enjoyable even if the production is not at its best. Agreed. And I also agree that the mids need some EQing. My references are a bit different. For example, at no point in listening to this kind of a production did I feel lack of joy with FH9, or any problems with kicks or rest of the drum set, or the other instruments:



I think this is a never ending debate here about how music should be conveyed, and that is just considering reference tuning in general. So, I can see where you are coming from and preferring what for what reason (not forgetting, you are apparently a Sony fan). But stll I like what I am hearing (paired with M17) - though I might need a slight EQ sometimes.

Anyway, enjoy your Sonys.