[poskus]

Anything with “5” in FiiO’s product is the middle of the line. They can go higher (7) and lower (3). The number “1” is reversed for entry level. The “9” is the best of the best that FiiO believes they can do at a time. Right now, there is only FH9. There was a FA9, but I think it is going to be replaced this year.

allrigt. 1 or 5 from fiio for 700eur is too much? maybe i go for fd7 for 450eur new now sells.as like neutral tune without bass that not overshading other freequencies?

 

[jjxaker]

allrigt. 1 or 5 from fiio for 700eur is too much? maybe i go for fd7 for 450eur new now sells.as like neutral tune without bass that not overshading other freequencies?

I advise you to pay attention to Yanyin x HBB Mahina. now I don't know the prices, I took it for 500$ at the sale. in my opinion they are more interesting than FX15.
and Yanyin x HBB Mahina due to high frequencies they are better, than my favorite FH9.
FX15 will definitely not be terrible, they are just hardly worth attention if the price is 700 (800)$.

 

[andjar]

This will probably be my first iem with est drivers.I will wait for reviews first.
The fact it only has 1 BA is very attractive to me personally. I'm so done with BA heavy/only IEM's.

 

[poskus]

I advise you to pay attention to Yanyin x HBB Mahina. now I don't know the prices, I took it for 500$ at the sale. in my opinion they are more interesting than FX15.
and Yanyin x HBB Mahina due to high frequencies they are better, than my favorite FH9.
FX15 will definitely not be terrible, they are just hardly worth attention if the price is 700 (800)$.

i like only mmcx connection ,and know that low sensivity headphones with powerfull amp has more resolution vs sensivity cans. im got new fd7 for 450€ now to try on my shanling M7

 

[wiesolos]

You're right. I forgot about this moment. well, in that case, the more they are not interesting to me. it's a pity that a full-fledged top will have to wait for a very long time, in the best cases next summer, if they plan it at all... FX15 alas, well, I don't like it either in appearance or in driver configuration, they are too simple. and it's also unclear to me why they made the function of disabling EST drivers, what kind of fool would turn them off, this is the main feature of these headphones. if users turn off the EST drivers, it will be headphones for 100$)))
FA9 by the way, yes, they will soon be replaced by FA19 with 10BA drivers and a price of 1000$, this is an interesting model.

I feel in the similar way, this very first attempt of hybrid involving EST drivers by Fiio feels simply late and overpriced in the current and competitive market. Also MSRP of $800 is too much asked for the given driver configuration in my opinion. When considering the market value position of these towards already well received EST hybrid units such as Variations, Oracle under $520, the success is questionable. Tbh I didn't like its FR measured anyway.

 

[MRSallee]

FWIW, Fiio rep suggested to me that FX15 price will be $750 a month ago. I have a review going live this weekend.

Here's a graph: https://squig.link/?share=Super_22_Target,Fiio_FX15_(on)

 

[jjxaker]

FWIW, Fiio rep suggested to me that FX15 price will be $650 a month ago. I have a review going live this weekend.

Here's a graph: https://squig.link/?share=Super_22_Target,Fiio_FX15_(on)

I also thought that the price would be 650$, it would be a reasonable price. but, the price is 800$ (on Aliexpress are already available) this is a very controversial price.
on Aliexpress for 450-500$ i can buy Yanyin Moonlight and XENNS UP. I'm trying to find a reason to buy FX15, but I can't. I don't see any acceptance for this price list.
Well, let's wait for the review, maybe FX15 is such a masterpiece that it's worth the money... especially interesting is the comparison with Thieaudio Monarch MK3 which cost 1000$, maybe FX15 is breathing down their backs))

 

[cleg]

I wish I have that level of expertise to tell the sound of earphones by the driver count and confidently compare them with other models by photo and price…
Probably I'm too old-fashioned, so I need to hear IEMs before saying something about them

 

[jjxaker]

It's about the price. this is the main message.
In addition, the DD and BA driver are not new here, they are already 5 years old, this gives an idea of what to expect. FiiO focused only on EST driver. But I did not claim that the product is bad, they can't be bad in principle. let's wait for comparisons, in practice and not from memory... and I want to hear why the product is cheaper in China than in the whole world. This is the first time I've seen this, this has never happened with FiiO or others.

 

[andjar]

All iems that have 4 EST drivers are well above 1000$....so the price is more than fair.
Again...FiiO's minimalistic use of BA drivers on this model, is an approach i really dig.
If they manage to pull it off again and deliver sound quality that competes with much more expensive and complex hybrids...i'll bite.

 

[jjxaker]

Yes, of course they can be on the same level as other models with 4 EST, if so, then that's fine. I'm all for it.
Perhaps, of course, they somehow configured this single Knowles 29689 driver in a special way. I really look forward to real comparisons with competitors that are cheaper than 800$, despite the fact that there will of course be options only with 2 EST.

 

[cleg]

It's about the price. this is the main message.

Isn't fairness of price determined by the sound? We're buying not a drivers set, but a sound it gives.

P.S. Looks like marketing gone too far, and now "more is better" is a main criteria of choice. I wonder, what is exchange rate for drivers. Like… Is 1DD + 6BAs hybrids should be valued more than 1DD + Planar + 1BA (examples are purely fictional).

 

[jjxaker]

Isn't fairness of price determined by the sound? We're buying not a drivers set, but a sound it gives.

P.S. Looks like marketing gone too far, and now "more is better" is a main criteria of choice. I wonder, what is exchange rate for drivers. Like… Is 1DD + 6BAs hybrids should be valued more than 1DD + Planar + 1BA (examples are purely fictional).

But after all, the quantity and quality of drivers have a primary impact on the price of the product. and then everything else.
I repeat again. I may be mistaken, FX15 can be a masterpiece, a breakthrough for its $800. I just have big doubts about this, it's a normal phenomenon. Yes, I'm looking at the drivers, their number and their class, since there's nothing else to look at yet. the forum exists for discussions...

 

[wiesolos]

Welp I am aware of and mostly agree with the arguments like "the driver count doesn't matter", "higher driver count doesn't translate into better sound quality automatically".

But there is also a commonly spread fact that with a certain driver type, there is simply a limitation what could be achievable. Like a full range single BA cannot mostly match the sq performance of a single full range DD inherently, therefore forces the manufacturers to mount more drivers in the shell. Imo, driver count matters in some ways.

Another thing worth to noting is that not every audio company in the world possesses technological prowess like 64audio or Sony to achieve a remarkable sq performance with low driver count, hence they need to rely on high driver count by stacking especially the BAs in the housing to enhance technicalities. Given Fiio's track record solely in the IEM territory I highly doubt FX15 will justify it's $800 price tag with it's somewhat unsatisfactory driver count.

 

[cleg]

But after all, the quantity and quality of drivers have a primary impact on the price of the product. and then everything else.

I always thought it was the sound. Like 5BA Andromedas are better than many more-driver hybrids. There are single DD models that are more expensive (and sounds better) than 3-driver-type hybrids.
If drivers count was proportional to the sound quality, KZ would've been a winner
Goal of IEM makers isn't "let's fit XX drivers of Y types". Their goal is to create a sound, and drivers are just a tool to achieve that.

Yes, I'm looking at the drivers, their number and their class, since there's nothing else to look at yet.

Everyone is looking at that, as well as design. But judging the price should be after listening, not based on drivers list

But there is also a commonly spread fact that with a certain driver type, there is simply a limitation what could be achievable. Like a full range single BA cannot mostly match the sq performance of a single full range DD inherently, therefore forces the manufacturers to mount more drivers in the shell. Imo, driver count matters in some ways.

In some cases yes, in some cases it's not. One of the best sounding IEMs I owned (and still regretting letting them go) were just 2 BA drivers. Price was slightly above 1000, and it was a reason of mediocre sales. People want to buy drivers, not sound.

Another thing worth to noting is that not every audio company in the world possesses technological prowess like 64audio or Sony to achieve a remarkable sq performance with low driver count

From another hand, it's not that unbelievable secret that just Sony owns. Of course not every single company can create great IEMs, but actually lot of them did succeed in that area, including FiiO. Of course not all their model were equally good, but actually Sony did a lot of not great gear too.

Probably I've said everything I wanted, and now it's time for me to unbox and try FX15