[wowiezowie]

What's the best way to order a pair of FT3's in the UK? Will I be stung with customs charges from Aliexpress?

 

[buckster666]

What's the best way to order a pair of FT3's in the UK? Will I be stung with customs charges from Aliexpress?

https://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/fiio-ft3-dynamic-high-res-over-ear-headphones

UK stock should be arriving soon, and no custom charges

 

[DrewVz]

Couple of hours of listening… these punch well above their price point. Closest sounding headphone I have from early impressions would be the Meze 109 Pro.

Just thought I'd throw out a request to anyone else who might also have experience with both of these cans. I love my 109s, but the FT3 sounds like it could be interesting with its large drivers.

 

[KaiFi]

How would you guys characterize the difference in sound between the two pads?

 

[Dsnuts]

In general the Suede brings out better bass presence with a better balance to the FT3. More body to the sound while the protein leather makes the FT3 sound a bit more analytical. Sounds touch more brighter with less bass impact.

I suppose it will depend on what type of sound you're looking for, but they change up the tonal qualities a bit. I think one of the aspects for Fiio to bring out a large pad for the FT3 is that the larger pad has to meet Fiios sound tuning standards which could take some extra RnD to figure out.

 

[DrewVz]

I'm surprised at the low interest in these headphones. For a new release of a quality product, I would have expected at least another 10 pages added to this thread with reviews, opinions, questions, etc. But it's been very quiet. Shocking.

 

[tombrisbane]

In general the Suede brings out better bass presence with a better balance to the FT3. More body to the sound while the protein leather makes the FT3 sound a bit more analytical. Sounds touch more brighter with less bass impact.

Yep. I much prefer the Suede, they’re a little bright in some scenarios and with the protein leather it pushes it further than I like.

 

[KaiFi]

I'm interested in them mainly because of the headband design. I know that's silly, but to me it is the most comfortable, most obviously superior headband design and I can't believe more headphones don't have it. I'm also interested because I like Fiio's amps and for the price you get a modular cable, which is really cool.

However, based on the descriptions of the sound, I would probably find these too bright, no matter which pads I use, so I don't know if I'll be getting them, but it's a possibility and I'll continue to follow this thread.

 

[Dsnuts]

I'm surprised at the low interest in these headphones. For a new release of a quality product, I would have expected at least another 10 pages added to this thread with reviews, opinions, questions, etc. But it's been very quiet. Shocking.

Ya I am in the same boat. I have no idea why these are not taking off. To me these are even more intriguing than Sennheisers new HD660S2. If graphs are anything to go by. The FT3 looks more balanced to me overall.

I'm interested in them mainly because of the headband design. I know that's silly, but to me it is the most comfortable, most obviously superior headband design and I can't believe more headphones don't have it. I'm also interested because I like Fiio's amps and for the price you get a modular cable, which is really cool.

However, based on the descriptions of the sound, I would probably find these too bright, no matter which pads I use, so I don't know if I'll be getting them, but it's a possibility and I'll continue to follow this thread.

FT3 is not a bright sounding headphone. I think they sound a bit analytical when you use them with underpowered DAPs and sources in general. Once you feed them with enough power they don't sound bright. Clean sounding but not bright. The FT3 has no fatiguing spikes to its treble emphasis as far as I can tell, treble has excellent extension however. These will sound a bit brighter with the Protein leather but I just use the Suede pads attached to them permanently anyhow.

 

[KaiFi]

^Thanks for the additional info about the sound.

Yeah, it would be nice if the YouTube reviewers started talking about these. No doubt they’ll review all 7000 revisions of Hifiman headphones (nothing against Hifiman, but some brands are in the reviewer community spotlight and some aren’t. Like Audio-Technica. I can't remember the last time anyone talked about a new Audio-Technica headphone).

 

[rprodrigues]

Ya I am in the same boat. I have no idea why these are not taking off. To me these are even more intriguing than Sennheisers new HD660S2. If graphs are anything to go by. The FT3 looks more balanced to me overall.


FT3 is not a bright sounding headphone. I think they sound a bit analytical when you use them with underpowered DAPs and sources in general. Once you feed them with enough power they don't sound bright. Clean sounding but not bright. The FT3 has no fatiguing spikes to its treble emphasis as far as I can tell, treble has excellent extension however. These will sound a bit brighter with the Protein leather but I just use the Suede pads attached to them permanently anyhow.

What amps do you pair you FT3 with?
I've been using a Sabaj A10d (claimed to output 150mW @ 300 Ohm) and the FT3 sounds a bit bright for me.

 

[Dsnuts]

It doesn't sound like you're getting good synergy from your dac/amp. I tried both the Fiio K7 and I use the K9 Pro ESS with some really good results. Both are clearly ample to drive the FT3 and dont make them sound bright.

 

[Dsnuts]

You guys want a cost effective dac/amp to drive the FT3. Just my opinion but Fiios own K7 is a killer deal for $200. Has about 4X the power of your Sabaj @ 560mW @ 300 Ohm. Not to mention its sound quality is superb. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fiio-k7.26183/review/29593/ They just recently came out with a bluetooth version but if you dont need bluetooth the standard K7 is a crazy deal for its quality and power.

 

[Kegra]

It doesn't sound like you're getting good synergy from your dac/amp. I tried both the Fiio K7 and I use the K9 Pro ESS with some really good results. Both are clearly ample to drive the FT3 and dont make them sound bright.

I suppose there will be no problems in conjunction with the usual FiiO K9?

 

[Dsnuts]

Good question. I will find out soon as I got a K9 sitting next to me. Haven't opened it yet. Lol. Will report back with how the FT3 sounds with it. It is less powerful vs the K9 Pro ESS but more powerful vs the K7 so it won't have any issues driving the FT3 at 780mW @ 300Ohm balanced.