Chapter 1 Buying Advice for FiiO’s earphones in 300USD-class

Due to chip shortage, we were busy changing chip solutions for products in the first half of this year, which resulted in a backlog of new products until recently. It also leads to a series of launches piled up last month, but the promotion and marketing fail to keep up with our pace. Therefore, some people ask me that why not introduce and review FA7S.
Without further ado, let’s get back to the topic. How to choose among dynamic driver IEMs, balanced armature IEMs, DD+BA IEMs and open earplugs in 300USD-class? I remember that I posted similar content once when FH5S was launched, but it was still FA7 at that time. And now FA7 has been updated to FA7S, I shall start over again of course.
At the current price of around 300USD, FiiO has offered four completely different choices, namely, the 2BA+2DD IEMs FH5S (250USD), the collection-class DD IEMs FD5 (300USD), the uniquely designed open earbuds EM5 (300USD), and the latest 6BA IEMs FA7S (340USD)
The attached picture is a comparison table on the differences between the four products. Take an example, 911, Cayenne, Taycan and the Palamela, Porsche has provided four totally different choices in one price class. Similarly, FH5S/FD5/EM5/FA7S also have different positioning for different audience. We cannot simply tell the advantages and disadvantages of them.We’d better choose the most suitable one according to personal preference.
The listening experience in the table is on a ten point scale for your reference. It only represents some characteristics based on the comparison between the four FiiO earphones. Of course, there are some scientific evidences supported in listening experience. The following are some general rules.
1. Comparison of sound field, speaker>headphones>open earbuds>IEMs. Semi-open IEMs>closed IEMs.
2. The larger the caliber of the driver, the better performance in the bass. And the smaller the caliber, the better the treble. Dynamic driver IEMs excel in the bass and mids, while the balanced armature IEMs do a greater job in treble extension and resolution.
3. The higher the hardness of the diaphragm, the less vibration and distortion in the treble.
4. The sound insulation of the open earbuds is worse than that of the IEMs, so the resolution and bass extension will be affected to a certain extent.