FiiO FH5s Review

Technical Performance

The best feature of the FiiO FH5s is its sound stage. The stage has excellent width and depth. But layering is not the best so I think it impresses more in terms of width. Depth is pretty good for this price as well. But in terms of width, it outperforms many offerings in its price range.

Background darkness could’ve been better but when compared to the FH5, it plays cleaner with better definition. It’s easier to focus on one particular instrument or a back vocal. That was not the case with the FH5, so there’s good improvement here.

The IEM layers the sound very well which is quite impressive for that price level. However, I think the FH5 has a better timbre by a small margin. I still absolutely liked the timbre and tonality of the FH5s but I just wanted more body. In terms of coherency, FiiO still needs to work on that to improve their IEMs in that regard. Other than that, the FH5s has good balance and control over the spectrum.

Fiio FH5s

Tips

The bass tips aren’t my favorites for this IEM. The bass gets overpowering at times with those. The vocal tips provide a nice seal and they generate even more accentuated upper mids.

However, the mids get cleaner overall, as they can shine a little bit better with those tips. Otherwise, it’s almost the same as the balanced tips, which are my favorites. I certainly recommend you the balanced tips supplied in the package as they give the best possible sound for the FH5s in my opinion.

Comparisons

Freya doesn’t have the spacious sound stage of the FH5s, but it simply has a better treble which sounds more extended and sparkling. In terms of bass, the FH5s gives a better kick and rumble with a stronger performance in terms of texture and decay. Mids sound clean on both with good resolution and transparency.

So you either sacrifice the bass for the treble performance of the Freya, or you choose the FH5s and sacrifice the treble a bit for great bass performance and a huge sound stage.

Here’s another dynamic driver madness, but this time you have three of them. Well, you might think that the 3DT gives an incredibly strong bass but no, that’s not the case, In fact, the FH5s gives a more rumbling bass with more kick and oomph to me.

In the mids, the 3DT is obviously recessed and it’s certainly not an IEM for mid-centric IEM lovers. The FH5s, especially when the mid switch opens, provides a crisper mid-range with better transparency and definition.

And the sound stage, yes. The FH5s puts up a huge difference here by playing much wider and deeper. There’s no contest here in this regard. If you don’t specifically need a v-shaped sound, the FH5s is the better choice.

Fiio FH5s

Summary

The guys at FiiO know how to improve themselves in this very crowded IEM market. They get better with each new product release, such as the FH5 and FH7. This one is basically an improved version of the FH5, especially in terms of balance, bass control, staging, and stereo imaging. So if you’re wondering how it fares against the FH5, I would say it’s better in every aspect.

But is this the low/mid-fi king? Well, maybe in terms of build quality, package content, and accessories, I can put it up with the best available. For sound though, they need to fix the treble and coherency issues. You can basically get an ER2XR or Oriveti OH300 and call it a day. You won’t have this sound stage for sure though.

This is one of FiiO’s best earphones they ever created. I still think there’s much more to come through. FiiO definitely takes this business seriously. They’ll try to provide even better value to this market, which would, of course, be very desirable for enthusiasts like us.

I’m looking forward to a possible FH7s or FH9. Until that time, you can get this FH5s and experience -possibly- the best sound stage in the sub-300$ market.

Page 1: Intro

Page 2: Sound Quality

3.9/5 - (110 votes)
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A keen audiophile and hobby photographer, Berkhan is after absolute perfection. Whether it is a full-frame camera or a custom in-ear, his standpoint persists. He tries to keep his photography enthusiasm at the same level as audio. Sometimes photography wins, sometimes his love for music takes over and he puts that camera aside. Simplistic expressions of sound in his reviews are the way to go for him. He enjoys a fine single malt along with his favourite Jazz recordings.

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