[ericp10]

I just received this today! I'm excited to hear FiiO's first full-size headphone. Initial impressions are forthcoming.

 

[Gymboy]

Ok, so landing down from honeymoon with FT3. So, I wished that it would be open version of beloved Cascade, but it cant. XL pads on Campfire makes the first, big difference, way more comfortable than small pads on FT3, which makes my rather normal size ear feeling not comfortable, kinda squeezed.
Second difference, Cascade just has more detailed sound, thicker but clearer, I am using Litz silver cable 4.4mm with Campfire and original 4.4mm with FT3.
Source is same, M17 and boy does Cascade sound powerful, big, detailed with a nice stage, just musical, I know that FT3 is way cheaper (2.5x), but cant come to that lvl.
People dont love Cascade much, think is overpriced, but in a right chain, this headphone is superb and a benchmark in impact and powerful sound, like HD800S is in stage and subtle details.

Still, I like FT3, will stay on my desk as daily driver/working horse, and for the money they are good, but cant beat 500 or 800 hp's, nope, LCD2 2021 closed back and Campfire Cascade are better, even stage is not bigger, as I dont think they are fully opened.

Who ever is on market for 300$ hp, I wouldn't say its bad, but would say try HD6XX and Sundara just for point of comparison then decide.

My 2 cents.

 

[ralphp@optonline]

Who ever is on market for 300$ hp, I wouldn't say its bad, but would say try HD6XX and Sundara just for point of comparison then decide.

My 2 cents.

Good advice. Whenever possible one should try to hear as many of the competing headphones as possible. I pretty much agre with you in that the FT3 are now the headphones to beat in the sub $500 range. Build quality alone puts them ahead of all their competitors.

 

[rprodrigues]

Examples?

Among the ones I own/owned, HD6xx despite its intimate signature, with way better soundstage but at half the price of FT3, k612 Pro/Q701, and within a price tag a bit above, Edition XS.

 

[ericp10]

Let me get this out of the way: I believe in burn-in and I believe most headphones and earphones can change drastically after 50-100 hours of the process.

With that stated, initial impressions of the FT3 are very impressive! FiiO continues on its trend upward with its sound visions! I would say the sound out of the box is somewhat v-shaped but very neutral. I think it's a mid-centric headphone with some very nice bass and decent highs. I haven't found the sound or weight of the headphones fatiguing at all. What is really being pressed upon me is great sound imaging, wonderful instrument separation and an okay width in the soundstage (I could be greater, and I think there's potential for the FT3 to open up more with burn-in). The attack is full and upfront. It likes male and female vocals alike. There hasn't been any breakdown when there are a lot of instruments playing at once. The Bass is very nice and visceral, but this is not a "bass-heavy" headphone at all. The Treble is not dialed up too high, and it seems as if the sound wants to lead you back to the mids.

So, my most recent headphone (which I got about two weeks ago) also happens to be my favorite now. It is the Focal Clear (OG) (I have a pair of Focal 826 floor-standing speakers too). Is the FT3 competing with those? No, not at all! But the FT3 is not lagging miles behind the Focal. I think it bests the HD6XX in clarity and detail retrieval. There's plenty of bass if it's called for by the recording. Great decay in the vocals, but again, I'm expecting the speakers to open up even more. will the soundstage get more expansive? Perhaps, but that's not its focus. And it doesn't bother me that the soundstage is as wide as the Clear, but I'm not sure if it's meant to be.

The sound surpasses the competitively priced Thinksound Ov21 (still one of my favorite carry-around go-to headphones), but I'm not sure yet if it beats the KLH Ultimate, which has really surprised me with its wide soundstage and clarity. There's still much to learn about the FT3 though. I'm looking for to it over the next few weeks. At $300 it's a no-brainer. It surpasses its price point. Mids are beautiful in these headphones! There's great weight and details with the playing of acoustic guitars and percussion. I would call the sound detailed but a little smooth/warmish in the mids. While the soundstage is not super wide, the vocals and instruments are tall. Don't get me wrong, the sound isn't claustrophobic either.

To get the best sound, I believe you should use the balanced adapters and plug this phone into a nice DAC/Headphone Amp combo. I'm using the Topping E50 DAC and L50 headphone amplifier. this is a nice combination. More to come, but I'm quite impressed with the headphone's sound at this price point, and of the amenities that come with it (the hardshell leather-like case is simply gorgeous)!

(Notes) I bought these headphones with my money. I listened to Hi-res Lossless files through my iMac Desktop connected to the Topping DAC and amp. Songs I sampled: Miles Davis's "So What", Steely Dan's "Haitian Divorce", Foofigthers' "Rope", the Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why", Jermaine Jackson's "You Like Me", Jamiroquai's "Half The Man", and Luther Vandross' "Don't You Know That".

 

[MaverickAH]

Let me get this out of the way: I believe in burn-in and I believe most headphones and earphones can change drastically after 50-100 hours of the process.

With that stated, initial impressions of the FT3 are very impressive! FiiO continues on its trend upward with its sound visions! I would say the sound out of the box is somewhat v-shaped but very neutral. I think it's a mid-centric headphone with some very nice bass and decent highs. I haven't found the sound or weight of the headphones fatiguing at all. What is really being pressed upon me is great sound imaging, wonderful instrument separation and an okay width in the soundstage (I could be greater, and I think there's potential for the FT3 to open up more with burn-in). The attack is full and upfront. It likes male and female vocals alike. There hasn't been any breakdown when there are a lot of instruments playing at once. The Bass is very nice and visceral, but this is not a "bass-heavy" headphone at all. The Treble is not dialed up too high, and it seems as if the sound wants to lead you back to the mids.

So, my most recent headphone (which I got about two weeks ago) also happens to be my favorite now. It is the Focal Clear (OG) (I have a pair of Focal 826 floor-standing speakers too). Is the FT3 competing with those? No, not at all! But the FT3 is not lagging miles behind the Focal. I think it bests the HD6XX in clarity and detail retrieval. There's plenty of bass if it's called for by the recording. Great decay in the vocals, but again, I'm expecting the speakers to open up even more. will the soundstage get more expansive? Perhaps, but that's not its focus. And it doesn't bother me that the soundstage is as wide as the Clear, but I'm not sure if it's meant to be.

The sound surpasses the competitively priced Thinksound Ov21 (still one of my favorite carry-around go-to headphones), but I'm not sure yet if it beats the KLH Ultimate, which has really surprised me with its wide soundstage and clarity. There's still much to learn about the FT3 though. I'm looking for to it over the next few weeks. At $300 it's a no-brainer. It surpasses its price point. Mids are beautiful in these headphones! There's great weight and details with the playing of acoustic guitars and percussion. I would call the sound detailed but a little smooth/warmish in the mids. While the soundstage is not super wide, the vocals and instruments are tall. Don't get me wrong, the sound isn't claustrophobic either.

To get the best sound, I believe you should use the balanced adapters and plug this phone into a nice DAC/Headphone Amp combo. I'm using the Topping E50 DAC and L50 headphone amplifier. this is a nice combination. More to come, but I'm quite impressed with the headphone's sound at this price point, and of the amenities that come with it (the hardshell leather-like case is simply gorgeous)!

(Notes) I bought these headphones with my money. I listened to Hi-res Lossless files through my iMac Desktop connected to the Topping DAC and amp. Songs I sampled: Miles Davis's "So What", Steely Dan's "Haitian Divorce", Foofigthers' "Rope", the Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why", Jermaine Jackson's "You Like Me", Jamiroquai's "Half The Man", and Luther Vandross' "Don't You Know That".

Stay out of my head! I could’ve almost wrote this myself!

What I would elaborate on, at this point, is the soundstage. This is an area that has shown improvement as the FT3 has burned in. It’s not the widest but it’s displaying above average depth and very good height. What has really improved is image separation and I think that this is why one can kind of forgive some of the stage width not being all the way there. You’re observations on it being able to handle complex music is spot on.

Adding one more observation about these headphones:

As of right now, I’m considering these to be more semi open than open. The overall damping behind the driver vastly reduces the output coming from the rear. I think that the design and concept of the FT3 was not casually thrown together by FiiO. A lot of thought and research went into this product. For those more industrious and adventurous than me, they are rife for experimentation. I am already wondering if playing around with the rear foam could result in a wider soundstage.

Still, I consider this to be a well designed headphone “system”. I don’t think that there’s any part, from the case to the pads to the cable, that wasn’t well thought out. A lot done right here and at a consumer friendly price.

 

[ericp10]

Stay out of my head! I could’ve almost wrote this myself!

What I would elaborate on, at this point, is the soundstage. This is an area that has shown improvement as the FT3 has burned in. It’s not the widest but it’s displaying above average depth and very good height. What has really improved is image separation and I think that this is why one can kind of forgive some of the stage width not being all the way there. You’re observations on it being able to handle complex music is spot on.

MaverickAH, we hear what we hear! I'm expecting a lot of good things from this headphone.

 

[ralphp@optonline]

Still, I consider this to be a well designed headphone “system”. I don’t think that there’s any part, from the case to the pads to the cable, that wasn’t well thought out. A lot done right here and at a consumer friendly price.

The perfect summery. Team FiiO appears to work hard on all their products and it shows. Are the FT3 the "perfect" headphones? No but they are very good headphones for their price. I think that the R7 desktop system will also follow this pattern. Not perfect but very good for the asking price.

 

[ballard3]

Whar about ft and comfort? Do you think that the earpads are small ?

 

[ericp10]

Whar about ft and comfort? Do you think that the earpads are small ?

I don't. The earpads aren't any smaller than the average full-sized cans. The Focal Clear's pads, however, are wider (for what it's worth). And there is just the right amount of clamp forth and fell somewhat light across the head and over the ears. For me, they are comfortable.

 

[xunnobi]

A while ago, I posted my impression on the ft3 and I promised to use my amp and compare it with the hd650 and ath 70x. So here it is.

R5+Topping L30 vs R6 (2020) 4.4mm
Marginal improvement on the sound. Specifically, the sound is slightly expanded, but there is no impact on how I perceive the sound and the sound signature. My impression is largely the same. The rest of the comparisons are based on r5+l30.

Fiio ft3 vs Senn hd 650
The soundstage on the ft3 is better, gives a wider view of the audio. A direct comparison gave the ft3 an advantage.

The sub bass on the ft3 is stronger, you can feel the rumbling but not on the hd 650.

The bass notes on the hd 650 is better, it gives a better body and feels less bloated. I would think that its more controlled on the hd 650.

The mids on the hd 650 is more forward and presented slightly clearer. Hd 650 edges the ft3 in terms of accuracy. On Anya Mmiri by Ckay, the female vocal 1.55 to 2.00 sounded quite digitalised on ft3 as compared to hd 650. It seemed to be heavily coloured in certain region of the mids.

The highs on the hd 650 retain a similar edge over ft3 as well. The highs is similar more forward on the hd 650 when compared to the ft3. It is also more controlled with a more matured sound. The highs on ft3 does have some weird decay to it which makes it sound a little out of controlled.

Hd 650 also edges in capturing the minute details and presenting it better. Usually I catch the harmoising vocal first on the hd 650 then the ft3.

However, I can see how the sound of ft3 can appeal to many against hd 650. If you value coherent presentation of sound where they have similar presence and authority, hd 650 is it. If you want a more fun sounding and lively option, ft3 is the one.

My comparison with the Ath r70x is similar to hd 650 and the ft3. Except I find the ath r70x has a slightly elevated bass presence as compared to hd 650. Hd 650 has a more balance presentation of the different frequency.


For the fun of it, I also test it against my hd 800s.

I would say that hd 800s is my prefer sound across all the region. Technically wise, the ideal presentation of the notes, and the sound stage is massive. It gives a very complete package and you can get those little details effortlessly and you won't feel one region is overpowering the other. I think its the complete experience that really demand the price and attention.

Even though ft3 is not close, but there is something that I feel ft3 is clearly gunning for, which is the kind of liveliness of the sound and rumbling feel of the lower notes. I get the rumbling bass feel without overwhelming bass on the thieaudio monarch mk2, and I get the liveliness with the hd 800s. The ft3 seems to have both in it a little, but the technicalities and the representation of the notes are lacking. But still, its slightly different that those that I have.

Just my 2 cents

 

[rprodrigues]

A while ago, I posted my impression on the ft3 and I promised to use my amp and compare it with the hd650 and ath 70x. So here it is.

R5+Topping L30 vs R6 (2020) 4.4mm
Marginal improvement on the sound. Specifically, the sound is slightly expanded, but there is no impact on how I perceive the sound and the sound signature. My impression is largely the same. The rest of the comparisons are based on r5+l30.

Fiio ft3 vs Senn hd 650
The soundstage on the ft3 is better, gives a wider view of the audio. A direct comparison gave the ft3 an advantage.

The sub bass on the ft3 is stronger, you can feel the rumbling but not on the hd 650.

The bass notes on the hd 650 is better, it gives a better body and feels less bloated. I would think that its more controlled on the hd 650.

The mids on the hd 650 is more forward and presented slightly clearer. Hd 650 edges the ft3 in terms of accuracy. On Anya Mmiri by Ckay, the female vocal 1.55 to 2.00 sounded quite digitalised on ft3 as compared to hd 650. It seemed to be heavily coloured in certain region of the mids.

The highs on the hd 650 retain a similar edge over ft3 as well. The highs is similar more forward on the hd 650 when compared to the ft3. It is also more controlled with a more matured sound. The highs on ft3 does have some weird decay to it which makes it sound a little out of controlled.

Hd 650 also edges in capturing the minute details and presenting it better. Usually I catch the harmoising vocal first on the hd 650 then the ft3.

However, I can see how the sound of ft3 can appeal to many against hd 650. If you value coherent presentation of sound where they have similar presence and authority, hd 650 is it. If you want a more fun sounding and lively option, ft3 is the one.

My comparison with the Ath r70x is similar to hd 650 and the ft3. Except I find the ath r70x has a slightly elevated bass presence as compared to hd 650. Hd 650 has a more balance presentation of the different frequency.


For the fun of it, I also test it against my hd 800s.

I would say that hd 800s is my prefer sound across all the region. Technically wise, the ideal presentation of the notes, and the sound stage is massive. It gives a very complete package and you can get those little details effortlessly and you won't feel one region is overpowering the other. I think its the complete experience that really demand the price and attention.

Even though ft3 is not close, but there is something that I feel ft3 is clearly gunning for, which is the kind of liveliness of the sound and rumbling feel of the lower notes. I get the rumbling bass feel without overwhelming bass on the thieaudio monarch mk2, and I get the liveliness with the hd 800s. The ft3 seems to have both in it a little, but the technicalities and the representation of the notes are lacking. But still, its slightly different that those that I have.

Just my 2 cents

Nice comparison.

From what you wrote and despite all the praise FT3 has received here, in the end, my humble conclusion that my hd6xx is better (than my FT3) wasn't so wrong (it's even way cheaper).

FT3 is indeed a good headphones, but it's not the best deal in its price tag. By the way, have you tested it with both types of supplied pads?
About your R70x, don't it and HD650 sound too close so keeping both are unjustified? (I'm interested in R70x)

 

[ralphp@optonline]

FT3 is indeed a good headphones, but it's not the best deal in its price tag.

So I take it that you've heard the FT3s and have made a direct comparison to the HD6XX, correct? Because if not then how can you make such a definitive statement?

Look that's not to say that the HD 6XX is not one of the best bargains in headphones, because it certainly is, but the FT3 offers its own unique set of plus and minus and a very competitive alternative to the HD 6XX and other headphones in the $300 price range.

 

[rprodrigues]

So I take it that you've heard the FT3s and have made a direct comparison to the HD6XX, correct? Because if not then how can you make such a definitive statement?

Look that's not to say that the HD 6XX is not one of the best bargains in headphones, because it certainly is, but the FT3 offers its own unique set of plus and minus and a very competitive alternative to the HD 6XX and other headphones in the $300 price range.

I own both FT3 and HD6XX. I've been using the FT3 for 3 weeks now, since I received it.

 

[ralphp@optonline]

I own both FT3 and HD6XX. I've been using the FT3 for 3 weeks now, since I received it.

Excellent! Then I can take your assessment with full confidence. My only concern was that all too often people make statements without having heard the item in question.
Now that you've been using the FT3s for three weeks have you noticed any changes to the sound from burn in? I haven't been using my new FT3 enough to consider them burned in. That could be because I have been spending a lot of time listening to my new Westone Mach 80s, but that's a topic for a different thread.