Fully Integrated True Wireless Earbuds, FiiO FW5
Chapter 5 How can we brag about the technology when it is from the same supplier?
Someone once said that except for Huawei, the technology of mobile phone manufacturers was provided by the same suppliers, so there is nothing worth flaunting.
We don't know others. Anyway, the whole R&D process of our FW5 really tortured our engineers even with the supplier's technologies.
See, the Bluetooth chip comes from Qualcomm in the US, the balanced armature comes from Knowles in the US, and the DAC chip comes from AKM in Japan. What FiiO does is to integrate these technologies together.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, in order to reduce project risks and ensure time-to-market, the charging case used the ready-made mold of the FW1, and the ID design borrowed the FD5's. The software and hardware actually came from solutions of the UTWS5. And the 1 dynamic driver 2 balanced armature acoustic architecture is also a very mature solution in FiiO's IEM product line.
However, I think it is still reasonable for us to be somewhat proud.
Because in the actual R&D process, we found that the integration of the FW5 far exceeds the combination of the UTWS5+FH3. As a result, dealing with the quality of Bluetooth signals (this is why the FW5 adopts the FD5's appearance yet without a metal shell), and ensuring the acoustic structure (mainly due to structural and technological limitations) faced big challenges, because there are 3 drivers that have to be placed in such a tiny space.
We were making unprecedented TWS earbuds. There were many difficulties in engineering, which is the main reason why it took us almost 2 years to complete.
Of course, there is also a very simple solution to make TWS that will only take about a month. The most commonly-seen solution for making TWS earbuds that most HiFi brands would take is to develop a driver by themselves, refine the acoustic design, and introduce the tuning and diaphragm. But it will never solve issues like high noise floor and low output power that are often seen in average TWS earbuds. To be honest, they have fewer differences compared to those TWS earbuds made by mobile phone manufacturers and some other big brands with sound quality as the biggest selling point. It's more of a style difference.
From the FW5, we can see some obvious characteristics below.
1. It is definitely an innovative fully integrated HiFi TWS architecture from Bluetooth decoding to the independent DAC/Amp, and to the acoustic architecture with one dynamic driver and 2 balanced armatures.
2. Although the appearance of the charging case is not so attractive, it is completely self-designed and molded by our team (This is also the reason why we don't have more budget to invest in another mold for the charging case. It seems it's so simple, but a set of molds would cost tens of thousands of dollars).
3. The FW5 comes with an absolutely recognizable earbud appearance, ensuring that it won't be similar to other TWS on the market. I personally like it very much.
4. Although it is also an integration of supplier technologies, the ID, structure, software, hardware, and acoustics are all self-developed by FiiO, and are also produced and assembled by FiiO itself.
Therefore, if this method works, there will be a sunshine avenue in the future. We can rely on our own technology accumulation in TWS products, and use our independent R&D capabilities to develop a TWS that is clearly differentiated from mobile phone brands in all aspects. This is the only way we can think of to survive, and also the meaning that FiiO TWS and FiiO brand are qualified to exist in the market. We will fight for users who enjoy HiFi, trying our best to develop some innovative products that small manufacturers cannot do, and big manufacturers are unwilling to make.
Chapter 5 How can we brag about the technology when it is from the same supplier?
Someone once said that except for Huawei, the technology of mobile phone manufacturers was provided by the same suppliers, so there is nothing worth flaunting.
We don't know others. Anyway, the whole R&D process of our FW5 really tortured our engineers even with the supplier's technologies.
See, the Bluetooth chip comes from Qualcomm in the US, the balanced armature comes from Knowles in the US, and the DAC chip comes from AKM in Japan. What FiiO does is to integrate these technologies together.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, in order to reduce project risks and ensure time-to-market, the charging case used the ready-made mold of the FW1, and the ID design borrowed the FD5's. The software and hardware actually came from solutions of the UTWS5. And the 1 dynamic driver 2 balanced armature acoustic architecture is also a very mature solution in FiiO's IEM product line.
However, I think it is still reasonable for us to be somewhat proud.
Because in the actual R&D process, we found that the integration of the FW5 far exceeds the combination of the UTWS5+FH3. As a result, dealing with the quality of Bluetooth signals (this is why the FW5 adopts the FD5's appearance yet without a metal shell), and ensuring the acoustic structure (mainly due to structural and technological limitations) faced big challenges, because there are 3 drivers that have to be placed in such a tiny space.
We were making unprecedented TWS earbuds. There were many difficulties in engineering, which is the main reason why it took us almost 2 years to complete.
Of course, there is also a very simple solution to make TWS that will only take about a month. The most commonly-seen solution for making TWS earbuds that most HiFi brands would take is to develop a driver by themselves, refine the acoustic design, and introduce the tuning and diaphragm. But it will never solve issues like high noise floor and low output power that are often seen in average TWS earbuds. To be honest, they have fewer differences compared to those TWS earbuds made by mobile phone manufacturers and some other big brands with sound quality as the biggest selling point. It's more of a style difference.
From the FW5, we can see some obvious characteristics below.
1. It is definitely an innovative fully integrated HiFi TWS architecture from Bluetooth decoding to the independent DAC/Amp, and to the acoustic architecture with one dynamic driver and 2 balanced armatures.
2. Although the appearance of the charging case is not so attractive, it is completely self-designed and molded by our team (This is also the reason why we don't have more budget to invest in another mold for the charging case. It seems it's so simple, but a set of molds would cost tens of thousands of dollars).
3. The FW5 comes with an absolutely recognizable earbud appearance, ensuring that it won't be similar to other TWS on the market. I personally like it very much.
4. Although it is also an integration of supplier technologies, the ID, structure, software, hardware, and acoustics are all self-developed by FiiO, and are also produced and assembled by FiiO itself.
Therefore, if this method works, there will be a sunshine avenue in the future. We can rely on our own technology accumulation in TWS products, and use our independent R&D capabilities to develop a TWS that is clearly differentiated from mobile phone brands in all aspects. This is the only way we can think of to survive, and also the meaning that FiiO TWS and FiiO brand are qualified to exist in the market. We will fight for users who enjoy HiFi, trying our best to develop some innovative products that small manufacturers cannot do, and big manufacturers are unwilling to make.
Best of luck with the selling.
