FiiO's First Ever Planar! - Fiio FT5 First Impressions

[@tvfreak7777]

I just got these. I really like them, a very good upgrade over the hd650, especially if you want a wider soundstage and more bass, while remaining a warmer tone. They sound amazing

[@zachatnca]

thanks for this comment, upgrading from the same pair, looking for exactly what you mentioned, I think ill be purchasing these.

[@amadismusic_SWORDFISH]

hey man! how is it going? happy for you if they suit you, I am right now considering them, and I am very sensitive to clamp force, how would you describe them in therms of clamp force? I also have a big head (probably why)

[@zachatnca]

@@amadismusic_SWORDFISH sorry for the late reply, clamp force seems to be average for me, and I sometimes struggle w the same thing.

[@christiancalderon8632]

Hi, I have the hd6xx, and want to upgrade to this, is it a worthy upgrade?

[@tvfreak7777]

Yes! The hd6xx is nearly identical to the 650, so the same applies in my opinion

[@fishinthejar]

I'd love to see a comparison to the Edition XS / LCD-X in the full review, great rifst impressions, been hunting for a planar that sounds appealing to me and this might be it!

[@Queefy]

Glad to see more companies making planars.

[@diana73654]

Hi ! You made it on purpose :D . I have them from almost two weeks and I just know where the second video is going . For me , this headphone, is the most pleasant touching from all my collection, with quality built on same level with Meze, with less comfort but better ergonomics than Romanian brand . FAUX ( PROTEIN ) LEATHER PADS - huge improvement in all directions . This hp, with leather pads, for me is a lighter LCD X(2021), with smaller stage and little bit less details, but better vocals . I mean the price is 1/3 of an LCD X .... Just my opinion . P.S. : it works great with FiiO daps ( I have an M17 ).

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

The lcd x is an abomination in its tuning even in its 2021 config. I sure hope it is better than that. Its not competitive in the +$1000 category.

[@diana73654]

@@En_Joshi-Godrez for you for sure. For many people is a great tunning . Exactly out of the box. Also depends of your chain and of the music you are listening, and also the qualities you like in that specific music . I always prefer Arya Organic for epic, acoustic and orchestral music. But for metal or pop, I switch to LCD X or 3 ( for me 3 sounds more prominent but less holographic than X )

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

@diana73654 it still has a Grand Canyon 4k recession which sucks vocals into the void and damages everything from timber and transience of the fundamental harmonic of almost all string instruments including the guitar. The incoherency in its balance between the upper mids and the presence region makes it sound not of its price at all. You should compare the fiio to the ayra, which though also unbalanced in parts of its treble, would completely crush it. The price difference of those is well worth its admission from a performance standpoint.

[@gabrielcolaco1094]

Great video! A comparison to the ft3 would be appreciated? Even though it's a dynamic vs planar, it would be nice to know how it stacks up in fiio's lineup.

[@SAURAV2k3]

Why not have a single review video..what’s up with LoTR kind of review divided in episodes…and second part not yet in KZbin after 2 weeks

[@sahajsb2728]

currently listening to this on my EQ'd sundaras and happily not regretting my purchase

[@_systemd]

been purchasing headphones infrequently for the past 17 years or so and enjoying music. Recently decided to up the game and tested a bunch including ft5 (nice built, great cable, nice sound), all the way to he1000. I conclude that I am either deaf or the differences aren't meaningful. Hearing is a matter of genetics and experience. Some will fall short . I assume many who buy certain higher grade products do so mostly out of confirming their own bias and internet reviews, not to get noticeable improvements in sound. equalize various headphones to the same standard swap back n forth and differences become fractional.

[@nated5355]

I've owned the Sundara for just under a year. I've wanted to try HiFiMan for years, and planar was new to me so I pulled the trigger. On my PC I've been running AKG K712's, paired with a Mayflower O2 for 8 years and I'm completely satisfying for multiplayer FPS gaming, and music. Great upgrade for me years ago and my first step into unaltered, studio-quality sound. On occasion for music I turn on bass boost under sounds, but noticed it doesn't just change the low end, but mids and highs as well. I am considering other options like an EQ for windows moving forward. When the Sundara 1st arrived, my Mayflower ARC MK2 wasn't here yet, so I ran them on my PC with the O2 to test with some FLAC music. They were clear, but had less warmth and low end than my AKG dynamic drivers. I never thought of the Sundara as fatiguing, but it may be slightly sharp. I tend to prefer my highs slightly elevated and this hit the mark, maybe too much but acceptable. I did not feel the need to turn treble down. Becuase I purchased the Sundara/ARC MK2 for my PS5 exclusively and not for music, this didn't bother me too much. I purchased them for singleplayer, immersive gameplay, mainly to pair with the PSVR2. I even ordered a custom 15 foot cable for the Sundara (so probably no returns) to match the PSVR2 cable length. When the ARC MK2 arrived, I tried the Sundara and ARC MK2 in Assassins Creed Valhalla on the PS5 and I was immediately concerned. I wondered if I made an expensive mistake. Muddy audio with a strange, almost hollow sound......like listening through a long tube or a seashell. After 30 minutes and multiple scenes in Valhalla, I tried Callisto Protocol and was completely blown away. Crystal clear, huge soundstage, creepy directional audio effects and great bass. I guess the studio invested more into their audio than AC. I was relieved, and satisfied I made the right choice. They finally shined. The AKG's have held up nicely and everything I've listened to has been great on PC with the O2. Only downside has been the retention cable but I found a simple, permanent fix on Redditt that involves 4 pieces of short, small tubing. After 8 years I just changed my earpads last month for the first time on the AKG's. The Sundara quality feels even better being that it is aluminum. Sry for a long post no one will read, but my $0.02.

[@zakyfadhlurrohman2825]

Hey man, I read it. The actual quality of the audio source itself is indeed the most important factor. I have a 2000$ setup, not including the headphone(s) prices, and for about 30% of music in my collection, I couldn't spot any remarkable difference compared to my 10$ apple dongle. Fortunately, for the other 70%, the improvement is enough to make me grin. Hope you enjoy your audio journey 🎉 (just my 2 cents too)

[@nated5355]

Agreed. When I buy, I try to only buy FLAC new because of the difference. If I'm paying for it, I might as well pay for something nice. Sounds better in the vehicles as well. It makes a difference in mainstream stuff but I really appreciate it with jazz and acoustic artists (ie: Marcus Miller, Oscar Peterson,. Tal Wilkenfeld, Gipsy Kings, etc) Josh did a review video on the Mayflower and mentioned a slight noise floor with this DAC/Amp. The owner of Mayflower chimed in and Josh pinned the comment. Windows (or the DAC) somehow forces a default in quality to 24/48 and needs to be set to 24/96 to eliminate noise floor. It was a good little learning experience on source audio. I've noticed it reverts back sometimes so needs to be checked regularly. Honestly though,. I never hear any hiss, pops, crackles, etc so can't hear much of a difference between these windows audio settings. I also never tested or intentionally listened closely for any interference either so. I've tried getting the wife to appreciate some upgrades but she's not a fan of over-ear. I upgraded her cheap RCA earbuds last Christmas to Klipsch but I wasn't a huge fan. She liked them. This year I got her the Timeless AE. I listened to the original Timeless and AE back and forth and chose the AE. I was eyeing up some Moondrop blessings, but with the added price and mixed reviews between the II and III I just kept it simple. She likes them and realizes they're better than the Klipsch, but she's not a fan of the complicated fit and large size over basic, cheap earbuds. I also need to figure out some sort of EQ since they're lacking a bit of bass IMO. No DAC/Amp so her PC audio settings do not include bass boost. She uses them 90% for movies and occasionally for music. I've bought her some AKG K92 over-ear headphones in the past to test & see how she liked them and she chose to use her cheap RCA earbuds instead. I ended up tossing out the AKG's. They were kind of crap-sounding anyways and currently run $40. I'm sure I paid closer to $70 from AKG.@@zakyfadhlurrohman2825

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

​@nated5355 eq will always make a bigger difference than source equipment in most cases. Yes they're planars that can take advantage of speaker amp topology, because of their massive substrates creating dialectic capacitance surges like the audezes and the very expensive hifimans, but you dont have them, so theres no need. People often forget that everything to do with audio is freqency response. Granted not all of it can be read on a graphical snap shot like spectral density, group delay, and transform fuctions, but they are all affected by eq to some extent. Many audiophiles believe something can't be changed by eq, but it's all related to FR. Nothing that affects sound to our ears can be something else but frequency response manipulation in some shape or form.

[@RizqiAngga]

Yeah,, im on my end game situation with sundara,, this hp blown me away

[@andrewk2756]

Thanks for the comment, really considering Sundara now. I wish someone tried and compared FT5 to them the same way. Also the difference in Assassin's Creed and Calisto Protocol may be due to 3D Audio being on/off, I've read that some games without it sound worse when it's turned on and vice versa.

[@AlexandreCunha-b5v]

Hi really hopping to see the final review ! Some more comparisons would be good as well. Right now I’m trying to decide between this, harmonicdyne Zeus elite, hd 490 pro, sivga Luan, Sony mdr mv1

[@Ziggity]

Looking forward to the review! Any plans on reviewing the new Fiio K11? I recently considered getting the DX3 pro + but the K11 looks like a good alternative

[@dacomsmentor]

yeah, im still looking forward to it as well lol

[@adtrf1]

is there a mm-100 review in the works?

[@echowoods4869]

To be fair, the cable IS fully balanced, it just doesn't have a ground section. Unless, to you, "fully balanced" means that ground is included too...😅

[@felipeaguirre2898]

Hi, Joshua. Considering these are not far in price to the Sennheiser HD6XX which would would you say is better overall?

[@ixoye56]

They look great and seems to have a much better build quality than Sundara, this can be a winner for sure.

[@shaned7793]

I am looking hard at these Hard. From the reviews I have read, the pleathers will be my pad of choice.

[@shahidyt]

Was their a second review? A quick search and I couldn’t find it

[@dustindavidson9139]

How's the imaging for gaming, Josh??

[@josephprakash4475]

They are A LOT better with the other pads.

[@dazky11994]

josh which headphones would you recommend for movie watching?

[@stevenmctowelie416]

It sound and wears much better with the other Pads, but for me still needs a bit EQ in the 200-400Hz region.

[@littlesukka6727]

Would love to see if you can compare these to Monolith M1570C. They are in the same price range, but is very under reviewed.

[@ancientalien815]

Your apos links in the description aren't working, just a heads up.

[@EliteXSaiyan]

would love to see you review an mm-100

[@mitchhifi9192]

What amp is he using at the start there?

[@TonkyTronicus]

I'm very interested in these. They seem to kind of be the FH7S in headphone form which is A-OK with me.

[@RX-rd4sc]

Please review denon d7200 and compare it with sony z7m2

[@AmbientDatabase]

Hey Josh, what's the model of your monitor?

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

im not sure, its hard to guess dap combos, think its 18pro and sp2000 or some sort, its good

[@shawnpwatsons1]

Compare to iBasso SR3 at $599 which I'm hearing is the one to beat at that price point.

[@echowoods4869]

Yes, please. A lot of people are unaware of that headphone, even though I think many would prefer it for its more musical traits than Hifimans offerings in the price bracket...

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

i prefer m17 but ibasso is more balanced

[@seethruhead7119]

lots of your links in the description for recommended gear are broken

[@FcryCola]

Got my refund a few days ago. Earpads are a way to thin an small. Very sad 😢. Love the sound from these headphones

[@nothingelse1520]

Earpads are sooooo important. I got my Audeze LCD-2 refurbed and with the tiny leather pads the fazor was pressing up against my ear, super uncomfortable. I got the non-leather pads and holy crap what a difference. Actually seals properly and I don't have a fazor digging into my head.

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

You were saved from the horrendous honk this headphone has. Get a hd600. Get some taste.

[@diana73654]

@@En_Joshi-Godrezfor me, it works great. I like it a ton over the hd600 .

[@diana73654]

I think they should increase just a little , dimensions of the pads and of the hp . My head is just at limit, but I love them .

[@FcryCola]

Earpads and band were are the problems. To small, to much pressure.

[@masterazlan6999]

1st planar headphones frm fiio.. Peace!

[@MarcLie90]

Why dont you talk about the sound with both pads?

[@Frankieadz]

will we be getting another gaming/general audio recommendations video?

[@nickthaskater]

Can't say I've ever thought Sundara sounds "artificial."

[@NikoBustos]

vs. the DT1900 PRO?

[@audie-cashstack-uk4881]

Man I loved the ft3s then I find out there’s new ft3s yesterday then today ft5s 😂😂

[@jamestorres5582]

Peace and thank you

[@louiev.3367]

A fan of phonk music i see😱

[@sarveshpuram4892]

Can some one tell me to buy which one out of audeze mm 100 and fiio ft5

[@Axiosz]

Y la review?

[@m4nc1n1]

JT1's are the deal at $69

[@rajeebdas1724]

They're not a 'deal' even at 20$

[@blackjohnny0]

Aune AR5000 and OLLO Audo S5X pls!

[@wesleyleigh4063]

What about the resolution? the detail? like who other than fidelity obsessed stage 4 audiophiles are looking at this product? it's like Where's waldo trying trying to read between the lines and figure out if you even mention it anymore, like is there a stage in your audio yt career where you're obligated to just stop mentioning it?

[@HiFiInsider]

I am not a fan of how it looks. Similar looking to Monoprice cheapo.

[@Stark_1905]

this thing have to combat the XS at that price range.

[@eriklamelakillingspree7690]

And you have never heard it?

[@jinraigami3349]

Looks a lot better than FT3. Still, looks cheap compared to the competitors

[@torukmahtomahto409]

I thing Ananda Steath at 340$ is unbeatable...

[@bogmirkovic8219]

Baited!! You purposely left out the sound description with pleather pads

[@al201103]

First impressions. Not a review.

[@bogmirkovic8219]

@@al201103 Weird. I thought I literally put the word "Baited" as the first one in my comment. I know thinking is hard.

[@Snakyy1]

Key takeaways from this video: buy the sandera

[@funkyphonicsmonkey]

I hated these. Really muddy bass.

[@lukenycz7967]

So it's design is a plainar? Lol

[@bvc318]

Damn .. first here

[@DanDhaniels]

1st

[@mosesyout]

After all...Sundara is better....next.

[@PINKFL0YD-s2h]

Nice advert

[@JoshuaValour]

Someone clearly didn’t watch the video all the way haha 😛

[@simoncoco1]

How can a score of 6/10 for its price bracket be an advert?

[@diana73654]

I have them and for this hp at least, it is not an advert... I have many more good things to say :D

[@ReverendDr.Thomas]

​@@JoshuaValour, there are no long vowels in "Sundara". 🎧

[@dessensfrederic1723]

What's the AMP displayed in this video (maybe it's a DAP or a DAC/AMP)? THX

[@admiralnorman]

Graph of Treble: Fiio FT5 |------------------------------------------------------------------------Sundara------| Moondrop Para