Tonality
Highs: clean and refined. The FiiO FD5 fits between the FH5 and FH7 in this aspect. No harshness, some nice boost on the upper range, notably around 8kHz, but that remains very lovable. For a sole DD IEM, that’s even more impressive, even if similar-priced multi-BA IEM manages to deliver a little more details. Yet, that remains excellent.
Good test-track: Valkyrie II Lacuna – Varien
Mediums: rich and full. Obviously, the wide soundstage, paired with the semi-open design and clean mids make for a very pleasant experience. As usual, FiiO’s done an excellent job in this regard: voices are bliss, and the IEM can fully immerse you, in just a few seconds. It lacks the 3D effect found in the FA7 or FA9, but those are quite more expensive.
Good test-track: I’ll stay – The RH Factor
Bass: deep, fast, natural. As usual, the lows are the pillar of all the great things that happens upfront. The bass is astounding and the more you listen, the more you get hooked. The big diaphragm and complex engineering really shine here and the FD5 automatically raises above any other FHx IEM, in my opinion.
Good test-track : Day Break – CYA
Associations
FiiO FD5 + FiiO M3 Pro: pretty little things. If you’re on a budget but don’t want to go cheap, the M3+FD5 is a sure choice. Sure you don’t get streaming, and all the fancy options, but you’ll get a very solid combo, able to overshadow many pricier solutions.
FiiO FD5 + EarMen Sparrow: pocket-sized bliss. EarMen DACs have become my main choice when I want to get good sound on the go. Using them daily since the day I got one, I’ve been hooked to the Sparrow and its clean balanced headphone port. Paired with the FiiO FD5, you get: beefy bass, powerful vocals, and a beautiful soundstage, that puts you in the center of everything.
FiiO FD5 + iBasso DX160: business class. The iBasso DX160 is one of the best DAP in its price range, giving the FiiO M11 and Shanling M6 a real run for the money. I didn’t get the chance to review the new DX300, but for now, the DX160 remains my top choice in this price range. It’s a great combo, even if a bit noisy, but soundstage and bass are absolutely insane for the price.
Conclusion
Once again, FiiO achieves great lengths and delivers exactly what they promised: a flagship dynamic driver IEM for a relatively low price. The new volcanic system works as intended, giving you a nice, relaxed, sound signature that should suit any genre and any source.
The new shell looks equally good, outshining the FH5 and FH3, even if some might find the FiiO FD5 a bit too glossy. It’s a robust design that didn’t neglect style and, once again, those IEMs look as good as they sound.
Again, the semi-open design comes with one big caveat, isolation, even if it’s much better than I expected it to be. But, that’s also the main quality of the FH5, openness, a feature you won’t get any soon on any other model. Kudos FiiO.
Paus
I’m listening to these right now, they are exceptional for someone like me who likes to listen to a wide range of genres, and love hearing details. They are clear and open, reminds me of a DT880 somewhat except with better bass. It really blows many other IEMs out of the water.
Dupo
FD5 is an Inears with placebo effect, yes, placebo. Will you be wondering what I mean? It comes to you with a more or less pro box, with a nice case, tool, a braided cable, and some iem that seem more designed by a master jeweler than by an engineer.
So you open the box and wow! For 200 dollars it’s not bad at all.
But you start riding and it turns out that putting on and removing the rubber bands is almost an exercise of not breaking them. You put your device in your pocket and you feel like that braided cable is going to break soon so close to the miniplug. The case there is no way to install the headphones without folding them all, it is more beautiful but zero professional and with a design made by the seller’s grandmother, nothing practical.
And now comes the worst, the sound.
Since you think you are before the design and the brand of the moment, you think that what you are listening to has quality, because it has very clear mids and highs. But it turns out that you put on some KZ of 20 usd and they almost sound the same. You think the sound is good because you want to believe it, but it’s not like that. You hear a ghost of the reality, certain frequencies that cover the rest so the track reduces it to 40% of reality. But you don’t know, because you’re still in the placebo effect.
To this we must add that FIIO’s customer service is non-existent, they can’t do anything to help you if there is a problem, such as that mine had noises and was defective and they never accepted it and now they are in the trash box, 200 usd in recycling. It is a superb Chinese company, which has complaints everywhere for cloning technology and patents. Never FIIO again, never again!