[dpump]

I was going to order from AliExpress but none of the discount coupon codes would work. Delivery date said April 21. Normally when new FiiO products are first only available on Aliexpress, Amazon USA will have it in about 30 days. So, I'll wait since the price is the same and Amazon gives me the option for a return if I don't like it. Amazon does have the FT3 listed but no product or ordering info is showing yet. Just keep checking everyday until it shows up.

 

[vsg28]

FT3 in the house

 

[Dazerdoreal]

Can you tell me something about the comfort? I have a big head and I wear glasses. Even the AKG 702/612 is almost too small for me. How are these?

 

[StivVid]

I was going to order from AliExpress but none of the discount coupon codes would work. Delivery date said April 21. Normally when new FiiO products are first only available on Aliexpress, Amazon USA will have it in about 30 days. So, I'll wait since the price is the same and Amazon gives me the option for a return if I don't like it. Amazon does have the FT3 listed but no product or ordering info is showing yet. Just keep checking everyday until it shows up.

My delivery date was April 13, but I received them on April 1.

 

[mekap]

How are the FiiO FT3 ear pads attached to the headphone case, on magnets or on plastic latches?

 

[vsg28]

Can you tell me something about the comfort? I have a big head and I wear glasses. Even the AKG 702/612 is almost too small for me. How are these?

The only thing to note would be the self-adjusting headband can prop up the cups higher than you'd like. It was fine for my average head and the pads themselves are plenty large though. It's otherwise not too heavy (certainly not planar heavy) and the mass is well distributed.

How are the FiiO FT3 ear pads attached to the headphone case, on magnets or on plastic latches?

The pads are push-fit into plastic inserts as seen below:

 

[RainyDog]

The only thing to note would be the self-adjusting headband can prop up the cups higher than you'd like. It was fine for my average head and the pads themselves are plenty large though. It's otherwise not too heavy (certainly not planar heavy) and the mass is well distributed.

What's the inner diameter of the pads please, vsg?

 

[vsg28]

What's the inner diameter of the pads please, vsg?

~57 mm (56 x 58, slightly oval but could be assembly tolerances) and with 20 mm depth.

 

[RainyDog]

~57 mm (56 x 58, slightly oval but could be assembly tolerances) and with 20 mm depth.

Cheers. But likely too small for me unfortunately.

Tuning looks interesting though. More refined than I expected particularly in the upper mids and treble.

Looks like they've gone for a similar bass-shelf shape to most of their IEM's which should at least set it apart from most other open back headphones...

 

[Vamp898]

The FT3 has an impedance of 350 ohm, I think that these headphones should be listened to not from a DAP, but from a stationary amplifier.

They have an sensitivity of 105dB/1Vrms

Even an Walkman can drive them up to 111db, an FiiO M11 Plus ESS already pushes these to 118db.

So if you want to get deaf as fast as absolutely possible you need an stationary amp, other than that, an DAP is totally fine

 

[mekap]

They have an sensitivity of 105dB/1Vrms

Even an Walkman can drive them up to 111db, an FiiO M11 Plus ESS already pushes these to 118db.

So if you want to get deaf as fast as absolutely possible you need an stationary amp, other than that, an DAP is totally fine

the meaning is not in the volume that DAP can give, the meaning is in the sound that a good stationary amplifier can give

 

[StivVid]

They have an sensitivity of 105dB/1Vrms

Even an Walkman can drive them up to 111db, an FiiO M11 Plus ESS already pushes these to 118db.

So if you want to get deaf as fast as absolutely possible you need an stationary amp, other than that, an DAP is totally fine

It's not about how loud it can get. It's about how well controlled the driver is.

 

[Gymboy]

Got to listen FT3, and compared versus LCD2 2021 closed back.
EF400 is a source, set to High Gain in OS mode.

Impressions:
Sound is powerful, punchy, well layered, clean, good size of stage, highs are extended and emphasized a bit, mids are going to be transparent after 100h of work, bass is strong, open back with such nice slam is satisfying.
Comparing to Audeze LCD2 2021 Closed back, first difference is stage, going from Audeze to FT3, feels like removing wall and sound just spreads more and feels more holographic. Highs are bit stronger, which I dont mind as almost 40...and bass has this nice impact. Its amazing to achieve stronger slam than 105mm closed planar.

I believe this driver will show all it has after good 100h+, as Cascade did (Beryllium driver as well).

Alice in Chains - Brother (live)
I feel nice sub bass in the intro, very atmosferic, vocal is nice, guitars sound right, feeling every pluck, drums has good weight and impact.

Amazing job Fiio, for 1st fully fledged open back headphone, this one is a steal, especially for money.

My full recommendation to everyone on a fence.

And yes, only drawback I found is I wish pads were tad bigger , this ones go around ears while touching them a bit, using suede currently. XL pad for FT3 would be a killer.

 

[Mhog55]

Blind bought directly from Fiio and just got it an hour ago from DHL. I’m actually impressed, it’s one of the few HPs I like straight out of the gate with no EQ which is very, very rare (I usually always throw a SLIGHT v-shape/electronic setting curve on all my phones). Came with a headphone stand which was a nice bonus, I don’t believe that was in the official accessories description. Default is squishy suede/velour pads which are comfy but came with a second pair of leather-like pads and they are snap-on like Focal which is civilized. They look so much like Focal I got excited a second thinking I could throw a Focal pad on to experiment but Focal is more oval shaped so didn’t quite fit. A plethora of connectors including 3.5mm to 4.4 and 4.4 to XLR although I won’t ever use those on my balanced amps. Decent faux leather carrying bag too although the tan color is a bit weird for Fiio’s traditional black scheme.

Soundwise, running it off a Sony Tazzy with the velour pads, I’d say it’s a neutral-forward / mid-centric sound with a slight touch of darkness & warmth, not a whole lot of deep sub-bass and slam is non-existent, but it is also non-fatiguing without intense bright highs either. My best way to describe it is it very much resembles the Sennheiser HD6xx series with a lifted veil. I won’t say it blows my socks off but it’s a nice smooth sound. Not a lot of big dynamics compared to say Focal but that’s not a bad thing either as they can be a chore after an hour of listening. Soundstage is about smallish to medium size in height and width, not artificially wide or too constrained. Instrument separation is good though even though it’s a smaller sound stage, listening to the Castlevania Symphony of the Night soundtrack I’m able to discern slight little details in the distance at lower volumes like the ringing of a bell or whimsical flutes. I’d describe it as like being in the back of the middle rows of an orchestra.

Threw on the faux leather pads. Do not like. Unexpectedly I actually lost bass response and sound become a lot brighter and sibilant. Pass. Velours are comfier and more neutral.

Overall for a first attempt by FiiO at an overhead headphone, I give it a solid 7.5/8 out of 10. I’d say these are the kind of headphones to listen to while you’re at your computer desk working away and need some background distraction but not laser focused on music analysis. I kind of suspect the target partner product for this headphone is their new all-in-one Android desktop amp box which intrigues me. Also bear in mind my Sony amp is very warm with analog-like distortion, I suspect if you pair this with something dead neutral like a topping it will give you an equally flat-curve response. Just didn’t have time to try it with other amps right now.

Nice Fibonacci grill too above the drivers

No slam or rumble? Shame with such a large dynamic driver. Fiio states the larger drivers will produce deep reaching bass. What type of connections on the headphone cups?

 

[Mhog55]

Got to listen FT3, and compared versus LCD2 2021 closed back.
EF400 is a source, set to High Gain in OS mode.

Impressions:
Sound is powerful, punchy, well layered, clean, good size of stage, highs are extended and emphasized a bit, mids are going to be transparent after 100h of work, bass is strong, open back with such nice slam is satisfying.
Comparing to Audeze LCD2 2021 Closed back, first difference is stage, going from Audeze to FT3, feels like removing wall and sound just spreads more and feels more holographic. Highs are bit stronger, which I dont mind as almost 40...and bass has this nice impact. Its amazing to achieve stronger slam than 105mm closed planar.

I believe this driver will show all it has after good 100h+, as Cascade did (Beryllium driver as well).

Alice in Chains - Brother (live)
I feel nice sub bass in the intro, very atmosferic, vocal is nice, guitars sound right, feeling every pluck, drums has good weight and impact.

Amazing job Fiio, for 1st fully fledged open back headphone, this one is a steal, especially for money.

My full recommendation to everyone on a fence.

And yes, only drawback I found is I wish pads were tad bigger , this ones go around ears while touching them a bit, using suede currently. XL pad for FT3 would be a killer.

Already an opposite review regarding the review just prior to this. Did the sound change dramatically after 100 hours?