[lgcubana]

The FH3 is NOT v-shaped, v-shaped means it has recessed vocals (with boosted bass and treble). The FH3 actually has FORWARD vocals so it a more L-shaped tuning.

Exactly. This is what lead to my jettisoning the iBasso IT01 [edit] IT00 when I did an A/B (tethered to my Qudelix-5K), the IT01 was sorely lacking in the mids, specifically a lack of range. The person that I gifted the IT01 to, plugs directly into their phone; so they’re happy, happy, with the results.

 

[Apex Eight]

Dragonfly Black is also an option at $100
If you're going with a balanced cable I highly recommend to consider iFi Hip DAC at $150

Thanks for the reply. I think I'll wait until I receive the earphones to make any additional purchases. The Tripowin Zowie seems to be a fine cable, so I'll probably go with that, but I'm still unsure what amp to go with. The Hip looks good but I'm looking for something cheap and portable so the Bluetooth amps are what I'm currently focusing on. Wish the BTR5 was a little cheaper as it appears to have enough power to drive higher impedance gear if I ever get there. I just got a Pixel 4a 5G though. It's so nice having a headphone jack again. I only have my SHP9500s right now, but they don't seem to be held back from just plugging them straight into the headphone jack, and they have 32ohm impedance. Maybe the FH3 will be fine too? I'll admit that I am definitely itching to spend more on audio gear and get my first amp and balanced cable. Trying to not get ahead of myself.

 

[Hpersona]

Thanks for the reply. I think I'll wait until I receive the earphones to make any additional purchases. The Tripowin Zowie seems to be a fine cable, so I'll probably go with that, but I'm still unsure what amp to go with. The Hip looks good but I'm looking for something cheap and portable so the Bluetooth amps are what I'm currently focusing on. Wish the BTR5 was a little cheaper as it appears to have enough power to drive higher impedance gear if I ever get there. I just got a Pixel 4a 5G though. It's so nice having a headphone jack again. I only have my SHP9500s right now, but they don't seem to be held back from just plugging them straight into the headphone jack, and they have 32ohm impedance. Maybe the FH3 will be fine too? I'll admit that I am definitely itching to spend more on audio gear and get my first amp and balanced cable. Trying to not get ahead of myself.

FH3 will be just fine right out of a decent smartphone jack. amplification is not necessary with vast majority of sensitive IEMs (including FH3). DAC on the other hand can play an slightly more important part here if and only if you use real lossless files like FLAC 16/24 DSD WAV etc., (if you're going to use lossy files like mp3 just don't bother buying any DACs. there would be improvement but nothing near the price you've payed). and around $100 there are quite a lot of DAC/Amps that can work along side with the IEMs in their similar league (say sub $200-$300) very well. of course there are some IEMs in this league that have more potential and reveal more with higher-end DAPs but I don't think there is much sense in going all the way up for an slight to moderate improvement.
Also I'm recalling more models like Qudelix-5K bluetooth, Earmen Eagle and they all have no problems with driving CANs up to 80-100 ohms.
p.s: Just bear in mind that if you're going to use BL cable your DAC/Amp must have full balanced audio circuits.

 

[ev13wt]

Been listening for a combined 20h now. Pretty darn good! Does have a slightly metallic tinge to the sound in the upper mids, lower highs, not sure if it's the aluminum or the BAs or a peak. Bass is quite beautiful, mids are nice, highs non-fatiguing. Overall pretty exact headphones that are great fun to listen to. Imaging is off the charts good.
Does roll off around 10Khz, but since there is not really anything up there anyhow and I'm getting old IDC )

Stage is decent enough. Did I say imaging is off the charts? It really is.

edit: comparing to my Beyer MMX 300 (not a DT-700! MMX has more mids and much wider soundstage, no fat Beyer peak), with left FIIO IEM inserted and wearing the right Beyer cup DJ style I must say the darn FIIO gets A LOT right. almost can't tell them apart. In most regards, the FIIO is even a bit better. NEver would have thought. I have been out of the IEM game for a bit.

Unless you really want to go down into the crazy, ""audiophile" diminishing returns, this FIIO FH3 is all you will ever need.

*But what does ... sound like ... yes, my wallet will hurt

 

[morndewey]

Posted my FH3 for sale, $90:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio-fh3.951405/#post-16083252

 

[Apex Eight]

Amazon delivered a day early. Happy with this purchase. They're just so capable. Instead of focusing on one area to excel, they sound good across the range and they've handled a wide-array of genres that I've thrown at them so far. They're also a well-executed package all-around, ticking the boxes of build quality/premium feel, nice cable, good accessories, well-documented/marketed, etc. Looking forward to listening to them more and plan on getting a Qudelix 5K and that Tripowin 2.5mm balanced cable here soon.

 

[FiiO]

@FiiO Kang

What is the policy on damaged accessories?

The L-bend in the cable came loose and the dealer is insisting that I return the whole unit for a repair or a replacement.

Why can't I return just the cable alone?

I even bought another cable and a cheap MMCX IEM just for the cable as a spare, and now that expenditure is going to waste because they insist on having the whole unit back and they don't even have it in stock.

Could you kindly tell us where you purchased it before ? Please kindly contact with your seller first, we believe they will help you out, if not,please feel free to PM us here.

 

[Blokkka]

Could anyone clarify to me which the bass and vocal ear tips are??
thanks in advance!

 

[Apex Eight]

Request: listen to What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club with your FH3s. During the intro, before the vocals start, the bass line sounds good until it really hits the lower registers and sounds overpowering. Can anyone else confirm this on their set? It's pretty glaring on mine. Impressions on how the bass line sounds other earphones would be welcome too. I'm just not sure if this is actually how the song is supposed to sound or if it's the FH3 tuning style falling out of my preference.

The bass guitar kicks in at ~0:14.5 then the overpowering notes hit at 0:18.

Thanks!

 

[lgcubana]

Request: listen to What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club with your FH3s. During the intro, before the vocals start, the bass line sounds good until it really hits the lower registers and sounds overpowering. Can anyone else confirm this on their set? It's pretty glaring on mine. Impressions on how the bass line sounds other earphones would be welcome too. I'm just not sure if this is actually how the song is supposed to sound or if it's the FH3 tuning style falling out of my preference.

The bass guitar kicks in at ~0:14.5 then the overpowering notes hit at 0:18.

Thanks!

Here's the bass checker, of bass checker tunes:

 

[Strifeff7]

Here's the bass checker, of bass checker tunes:

that is the bassiest bassy bass song.

 

[Apex Eight]

Here's the bass checker, of bass checker tunes:

Sounds really balanced on this track, not overpowering at all! This is after switching to the narrow bore tips.

 

[FiiO]

Could anyone clarify to me which the bass and vocal ear tips are??
thanks in advance!

Color: Black for exterior silicon and Red for interior tube


Size: 3 pairs in small, medium and large sizes


Material: Mixed silicon


Apart from making an attractive looking, the bi-color design can also help improve the wearing experience and fasten the ear tip tightly to the earbud tube. Generally for For bi-color design, it will use two types of silicon with different hardness ranging from 30° to 60°. The exterior part uses silicon in low hardness from 30° to 40° for better sound isolation and wearing comfort, while the interior tube part uses silicon in 30° to 40° hardness to ensure stable wearing. Meanwhile, the real bi-color ear tips has a clear boundary line while the fake one doesn't have obvious boundary line with one color penetrating to the other.


The bigger tubes of the bass ear tips can result in slower transient response and less elasticity than the balanced ones. The Airflow shares the same principle as the water flow. For example, if the water volume and time is fixed, the flow is more rapid when running through the small tube than the big one. In the same way, when using the bigger-tube bass ear tips, you can feel the sound to be more moderate and a little loose.

Color: Transparent for exterior silicon and Red for interior tube


Size: 3 pairs in small, medium and large sizes



Material: Mixed silicon


Just as the bass ear tips, it also uses bi-color design. During the release of the F9, we have received many feedbacks from our customers, and based on the feedback and some reference from other brands, we have developed the Vocal ear tips, which can effecrtively improve the vocal and dental sounds.


The vocal ear tips have moderate hardness, and the spiral line design further secures the fit and comfort. Meanwhile, it spares enough space for airflow, which highlights the vocal sounds.

Best regards

 

[jsmiller58]

Color: Black for exterior silicon and Red for interior tube


Size: 3 pairs in small, medium and large sizes


Material: Mixed silicon


Apart from making an attractive looking, the bi-color design can also help improve the wearing experience and fasten the ear tip tightly to the earbud tube. Generally for For bi-color design, it will use two types of silicon with different hardness ranging from 30° to 60°. The exterior part uses silicon in low hardness from 30° to 40° for better sound isolation and wearing comfort, while the interior tube part uses silicon in 30° to 40° hardness to ensure stable wearing. Meanwhile, the real bi-color ear tips has a clear boundary line while the fake one doesn't have obvious boundary line with one color penetrating to the other.


The bigger tubes of the bass ear tips can result in slower transient response and less elasticity than the balanced ones. The Airflow shares the same principle as the water flow. For example, if the water volume and time is fixed, the flow is more rapid when running through the small tube than the big one. In the same way, when using the bigger-tube bass ear tips, you can feel the sound to be more moderate and a little loose.

Color: Transparent for exterior silicon and Red for interior tube


Size: 3 pairs in small, medium and large sizes



Material: Mixed silicon


Just as the bass ear tips, it also uses bi-color design. During the release of the F9, we have received many feedbacks from our customers, and based on the feedback and some reference from other brands, we have developed the Vocal ear tips, which can effecrtively improve the vocal and dental sounds.


The vocal ear tips have moderate hardness, and the spiral line design further secures the fit and comfort. Meanwhile, it spares enough space for airflow, which highlights the vocal sounds.

Best regards

A fantastic explanation. Thank you!

 

[Donnyme]

I purchased my FH3’s in October and I have been very satisfied with them until now. When removing the plug from my player the plug pulled out of the L shaped fitting and will not seat properly again. (See photos)
I foolishly tried to force it back in and tried to get it to stay in and it appears I may have damaged them. Doh! Has anyone else had this issue. I have always been careful when removing the cable, never pulling on the cable itself. While I am glad to know the cable is replaceable I fear that this will happen again. Maybe a set screw could prevent this happening again. This is my only complaint with these IEM’s. Just being pressed in is obviously a weakness in this particular cable. Being able to withstand the stress of multiple plugging in and removals I would think was an oversight missed here. The rest of the cable seems solid and secure. It appears to look solid and secure at first look, but after use...well, see what I’m saying. I doubt that this will be covered by warranty so can anyone recommend a replacement cable that is built to prevent this?