Sound
FiiO always tried to give their customers a great performance for the money spent. But as I said in the intro, they lacked that certain flavor to sound somewhat special. There were some good products nevertheless, yet I expected a little bit more from them. FH7 provided a better experience to many users out there, and it has been FiiO’s best work in the IEM field in my view.
I didn’t quite like the FH5 to be honest. It was a bit too bassy, coherency was far from ideal, mids didn’t sound lively, and the treble was rolled off. While the new FiiO FH5s is finally in my hands for testing, I need to say from the start I have better expectations. FiiO keeps improving continuously but they haven’t proven themselves in terms of sound tuning in my book. That includes their entire portfolio so far and I’m sure they can reach new heights.
From the bat, the FiiO FH5s sounds more balanced, more realistic, and airier than the FH5. Its bass is nicely controlled, mids & treble have more bite and crispiness with good tonality in an expansive sound stage.
Bass
There’s a good amount of bass presence with the FH5s and that means it can satisfy the bass lovers with the switch open. I’m not a fan of the tuning switches and I don’t like to play around with them. But when the switch is closed, the FH5s gives a well-balanced bass presentation with good texture and decay.
Fiio FH5s
However, the best part here is that it doesn’t have the uncontrolled and boomy bass of the FH5. That one gave too much sub-bass for my liking, and certain genres certainly punish that approach, especially Jazz. FiiO in this model has managed to give a good bass kick and rumble but this time they successfully made the bass much more controlled.
With the “balanced” ear tips and the closed bass switch, I think it has a very ideal and technically strong bass performance overall. Of course, the semi-open design might’ve helped in this regard, creating a more relaxed and spacious feeling. I still think there’s a touch more sub-bass than ideal, but regardless, the FH5s is a very good performer in the bass region.
Mids
For the best mid-range performance, I suggest opening up the mid switch in the FH5s. With the switch closed, the lower mids are slightly recessed while the upper mids are quite accentuated. Basically the same problem with the FH5. But when the switch is open, the presentation is more coherent and mids have a bit more body, especially in the lower area. This is a more consistent mid-range.
Overall midrange transparency is very good for this price level -better than the FH5 overall- and the resolution is very nice. Instruments sound a little tinny and slightly flat though, but not to the extent to create a lifeless sound. I really liked the tonality of the FH5s overall though. The instruments play naturally and effortlessly. They’re not too intimate but not too distant either, giving them a good positioning.
Fiio FH5s
Mids could have been a little more full-bodied, but that depends on your preference. Anyway, you would be satisfied with the mid-range performance of the FH5s with the switch open. There’s a good amount of air and instrument separation, thanks to the open-back design.
Treble
The treble is crispy and it has good transparency, but it’s a bit too rolled off, unfortunately. This is the same problem with the FH5. FiiO improved the resolution and transparency in the treble region, but the extension is still not great.
FiiO IEMs generally sound crisp and they tend to go aggressive with their highs, but not so with the FH5s. It keeps treble under control while giving enough details and extension to generate a very nice and natural treble presentation. It’s a relaxed type of treble, yet you can still hear those details and the extension.
Fiio FH5s
Don’t expect to have great transparency and extension in the treble though. It’s good for this level, but not so good when you compare it to the higher tier IEMs. Extension-wise again things are pretty OK but there’s a noticeable roll-off in the upper treble. The highs are nicely articulated on the other hand.
The good thing about the FH5s’ treble is that it’s very resolving, transparent, and articulated. The only problem is the extension and sparkle. Opening up the switch helps a bit, but it doesn’t fix the whole problem.
Page 3: Technical comments, comparisons, and summary
