[denis1976]

Review posted

 

[hansonsc56]

Review posted

Where?

 

[Audiomaniaq]

Where?

Here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fi...id-in-ear-monitors.23184/reviews#review-20600

 

[Brooko]

My review of the FiiO FH5 quad driver hybrid IEM is now posted:
https://www.headphone-earphone.reviews/2018/07/23/fiio-fh5-hybrid-iem-review/

 

[FiiO]

Thanks for the nice review.

 

[zeissiez]

My impression:
1. The bass needs burn in. After burning in the slight thin-ish bass gets full and big. It sounds more thunderous than the iSine20 for example.
2. Airy and open sounding thanks to great treble in both volume and extension.
3. Soundstage is intimate, voices don’t sound hollow. Next to the SE846, which sounds dense and heavy, voices are less meaty. But compared to most others, they are clean and clear.
4. Treble is sparkling and clean, Fiio has done a great job in bringing the treble to edge of sibilance but managed to avoid sibilance. Kind of like an improved UM Merlin.
5. With bass and treble the stars of the show, the mid loose a bit of attention. It’s obviously a different tuning than the likes of Oriolus, 846, K10 which sound more coherent and natural. The mids are still good, but not popping up like the treble and bass. Slightly V-shaped.
6. Very good value for money. With such strong technicalities, which challenges the previous generation of flag ship IEMs, it’s evident than IEM technologies has come far and fast.

 

[hansonsc56]

H5 Review

Disclaimer: I am a Fiio-phile. I have loved their electronics since I got the X5. Upgraded to X7 and then X7 Mark II. Have the EX-1 earbuds and bought the F9 Pros. I was in line for the review tour, but when Aliexpress had them available, I pulled the trigger and ordered them. Ordered on Thursday, in my hands on Monday....from Hong Kong to New York...amazing.

I have been using my F9 Pros with my X7 Mark II using the balanced cable. Have loved it. When the FH5 was announced I was very curious/hopeful/excited that they would take this to the next level, while being much less expensive than other top-tier IEM's.

Here are pictures of the opening









I wanted to do a comparison of the FH5 with the F9 Pro and the more expensive ($500) Westone W-40's. The W-40's are also a quad driver model.



First impressions: the FH5 packaging was first rate (as all Fiio packaging is). The IEM's were a little tricky to get out of the foam (the tips came off), but everything else was solid. The unbalanced cable was impressive. Very strong, not easy to tangle and an L connection. I was glad that they labeled which tip sets were for voice, bass, balanced. They did not do this with the F9-Pro's. My preferred with the F9's turned out to be the bass model, so I installed the same on the FH5's.The fit and comfort was remarkable. I was able to forget they were there, no pressure points or sense that they were too big, especially when compared to the W-40's.



I put the FH5's on and was initially a tiny bit...underwhelmed. Somebody suggested that they may need some burn in. But, I attached them to a Fiio balanced cable that I had and...wow, what a difference. So I decided to do my testing using the balanced cable (Fiio please make available a balanced version of the standard FH5 cable that will fit the AM3A on the X7 Mark II).

I am a musician...well...I play guitar and bass. I am a stickler for tone when I play and I have a good idea what instruments should sound like. I was hoping that the FH5's ported bass driver would deliver the bottom. It did...big time. Not exactly the Beats style, but much more balanced. I "felt" the bottom without losing everything else.

Here's what I listened too/for:

Mudcrutch - Shady Grove - the acoustic tones plus the presence of Tom Petty's bass.
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing - the punch of the drums in the first minute
Emmy Lou Harris - Angel Band - her voice
Steely Dan - Peg - the whole song, but particularly Michael McDonald's tight harmonies
Jean Pierre Rampal - Mozart - the tone of the flute and strings
Snarky Puppy - Lingus - everything
Eminem - Lose Yourself - drums
Mama's and the Papa's - Dream a Little Dream - Mama Cass' wonderful vocal
Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes - the small hand drum on the left channel
Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - the decay on the notes
And a bunch of other stuff.

The FH5's were the clear winner. The sub-bass element made all of the music sound fuller without overdoing it. Mids and trebles were great. They were so much better that the W-40's. The W-40 reviews hailed their bass, but it was no comparison to the FH5's. The W-40's have a very narrow sound port compared to the Fiio products, so this probably explained a lot. the soundstage was very wide, with imaging of bands and orchestras very clear. The FH5's also handled drum and particularly cymbal sounds very well. The ride cymbal on Brubeck's Take Five sounded as real as hearing it live.

While I found the FH5 clearly better than the W 40's (anybody want 'em? I'll give you a deal), the competition with the F9 Pro was much tighter. the FH5 has an updated Knowles driver but its very close to the F9 Pro in the mids and treble. The FH5 just adds that tremendous bottom. For those wondering if the FH5 is worth upgrading to, I would definitely say yes. I will be enjoying these for quite some time (although Fiio is probably already working on an Ultra high level IEM for their next jump).

Hope this is helpful.

 

[Brooko]

While I found the FH5 clearly better than the W 40's (anybody want 'em? I'll give you a deal), the competition with the F9 Pro was much tighter. the FH5 has an updated Knowles driver but its very close to the F9 Pro in the mids and treble. The FH5 just adds that tremendous bottom.

Actually they are closer in the bass, and quite different in the lower treble - its measurable and easy to spot. What you're experiencing is the heightened treble of the F9 Pro making it seem like its bass is a lot lighter.

But - yes there is also more bass extension and sub-bass on the FH5

 

[smith]

Anyone use them with a iPhone (6) by any chance.....

 

[Vincent Do]

H5 Review

Disclaimer: I am a Fiio-phile. I have loved their electronics since I got the X5. Upgraded to X7 and then X7 Mark II. Have the EX-1 earbuds and bought the F9 Pros. I was in line for the review tour, but when Aliexpress had them available, I pulled the trigger and ordered them. Ordered on Thursday, in my hands on Monday....from Hong Kong to New York...amazing.

I have been using my F9 Pros with my X7 Mark II using the balanced cable. Have loved it. When the FH5 was announced I was very curious/hopeful/excited that they would take this to the next level, while being much less expensive than other top-tier IEM's.

Here are pictures of the opening









I wanted to do a comparison of the FH5 with the F9 Pro and the more expensive ($500) Westone W-40's. The W-40's are also a quad driver model.



First impressions: the FH5 packaging was first rate (as all Fiio packaging is). The IEM's were a little tricky to get out of the foam (the tips came off), but everything else was solid. The unbalanced cable was impressive. Very strong, not easy to tangle and an L connection. I was glad that they labeled which tip sets were for voice, bass, balanced. They did not do this with the F9-Pro's. My preferred with the F9's turned out to be the bass model, so I installed the same on the FH5's.The fit and comfort was remarkable. I was able to forget they were there, no pressure points or sense that they were too big, especially when compared to the W-40's.



I put the FH5's on and was initially a tiny bit...underwhelmed. Somebody suggested that they may need some burn in. But, I attached them to a Fiio balanced cable that I had and...wow, what a difference. So I decided to do my testing using the balanced cable (Fiio please make available a balanced version of the standard FH5 cable that will fit the AM3A on the X7 Mark II).

I am a musician...well...I play guitar and bass. I am a stickler for tone when I play and I have a good idea what instruments should sound like. I was hoping that the FH5's ported bass driver would deliver the bottom. It did...big time. Not exactly the Beats style, but much more balanced. I "felt" the bottom without losing everything else.

Here's what I listened too/for:

Mudcrutch - Shady Grove - the acoustic tones plus the presence of Tom Petty's bass.
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing - the punch of the drums in the first minute
Emmy Lou Harris - Angel Band - her voice
Steely Dan - Peg - the whole song, but particularly Michael McDonald's tight harmonies
Jean Pierre Rampal - Mozart - the tone of the flute and strings
Snarky Puppy - Lingus - everything
Eminem - Lose Yourself - drums
Mama's and the Papa's - Dream a Little Dream - Mama Cass' wonderful vocal
Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes - the small hand drum on the left channel
Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - the decay on the notes
And a bunch of other stuff.

The FH5's were the clear winner. The sub-bass element made all of the music sound fuller without overdoing it. Mids and trebles were great. They were so much better that the W-40's. The W-40 reviews hailed their bass, but it was no comparison to the FH5's. The W-40's have a very narrow sound port compared to the Fiio products, so this probably explained a lot. the soundstage was very wide, with imaging of bands and orchestras very clear. The FH5's also handled drum and particularly cymbal sounds very well. The ride cymbal on Brubeck's Take Five sounded as real as hearing it live.

While I found the FH5 clearly better than the W 40's (anybody want 'em? I'll give you a deal), the competition with the F9 Pro was much tighter. the FH5 has an updated Knowles driver but its very close to the F9 Pro in the mids and treble. The FH5 just adds that tremendous bottom. For those wondering if the FH5 is worth upgrading to, I would definitely say yes. I will be enjoying these for quite some time (although Fiio is probably already working on an Ultra high level IEM for their next jump).

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks for your review. I am owning FH1 and F9 Pro. I like bass of FH1 (but not treble), and like the trble of F9 pro (but not bass). So, how do you compare the bass of FH1 and FH5?

 

[hansonsc56]

Actually they are closer in the bass, and quite different in the lower treble - its measurable and easy to spot. What you're experiencing is the heightened treble of the F9 Pro making it seem like its bass is a lot lighter.

But - yes there is also more bass extension and sub-bass on the FH5

It was the sub-bass where I heard and felt the difference. Thanks.

 

[hansonsc56]

Thanks for your review. I am owning FH1 and F9 Pro. I like bass of FH1 (but not treble), and like the trble of F9 pro (but not bass). So, how do you compare the bass of FH1 and FH5?

I don't have FH1, so I can't compare.

 

[zeissiez]

Anyone use them with a iPhone (6) by any chance.....

I used iPhone 6 plus. It’s a decent match, but with the Cayin N8, they sound a lot better.

 

[Avenida]

Hey guys, is it too late to join the tour?

 

[dheepak10]

According to the geographical distribution of the qualified reviewers, we have arranged 4pcs of FH5 out to make the review tour start! The first 4 reviewers to kick the tour off are @soundstige, @iburdeinick, @The_headphone_guy and @denis1976, we will inform you the tracking number via PM. For other reviewers, we will notify you in advance when the unit is about to ship to you!

Any update on the review sample for the Indian sub-continent region? I see that the first sample was sent to @The_headphone_guy.