FiR Audio VxV Review

Today we review the FiR Audio VxV (5×5) universal IEM which is selling for $999 USD, and even $799 on DROP!

Disclaimer: The FiR Audio VxV monitor was sent to us free of charge in exchange for this review. FiR audio is not related to Headfonia in any way.

Intro

This isn’t the first time we’re looking at FiR Audio, as we have already covered their M4 and M5 monitors several months ago. As a result you might recognize the chapter on FiR Audio. You can check out the previous FiR Audio reviews here:

In today’s review we’re looking at the VxV universal IEM which was released a few months ago. We’re certainly not the first to publish the VxV review, that’s for sure. That being said, I really have been enjoying the VxV a lot on a daily basis after work. I just didn’t get round to posting this review earlier. So apologies for that.

FiR Audio

The company FiR Audio has been in the market since 2018. But their owner and founder has been in the game far longer. Bogdan Belonozhko has been heavily involved with the operations of 64 Audio. Before he left 64 Audio he was their CEO.

In 2018 Bogdan decided to do his own thing and to develop products that fill a niche market in the already niche audiophile segment. He started out building vacuum cleaners for IEMs before he moved on to cables to finally land on IEMs. Which he introduced at 2019’s CanJam Singapore. Here his first creations have been shown to the public.

Unlike the majority of IEMs out there in the wild, his products are completely tube-less. It’s a design that we have already seen with 64 Audio’s Tia Fourté and Tia Trió. However, Bogdan went a step further and announced that his units are also available as tube-less custom IEMs. Something many people, me included, have been requesting from 64 Audio for a long time.

FiR Audio also produces a set of dry cleaners and a cable tester. A complete suite of IEM care and maintenance products to keep your monitors alive and at their best performance. For many weeks FiR Audio also teased a new measurement device to check for faulty drivers. Personally, I’m looking forward to that one myself, but sadly it hasn’t made it past the prototype stage yet.

Aside from IEMs and IEM accessories, FiR Audio also puts very interesting technologies into their own IEMs. Like Atom – Air Transferring Open Module – a module similar to Apex and Adel technologies, where a secondary eardrum is placed within the audio path to prevent the user from listening fatigue. This module helps reduce pneumatic pressure caused by conventional C/IEM designs.

FiR also equips their monitors with a linear impedance curve. This works similar to Custom Art’s FIBAE or 64 Audio’s LID technologies. Usually multi-driver IEMs are prone to partially big impedance swings across the audio spectrum. Here the output impedance of the source can have a massive impact on how a monitor sounds in the end.

With a linear impedance curve you can almost guarantee that there won’t be an effect of the output impedance on the signature of the IEM. The sources still have an impact on the sound of the IEM with their own signature, but the output impedance won’t cause for any unusual behaviour of the IEM itself. For pro-users this is an important feature, as they often switch production or performance gear with their IEMs. A steady signature across the board is vital for them.

FiR Audio VxV

If you’re into personal audio and you’re active on Facebook, then it’s almost impossible that you missed the teasing and launch of FiR’s newest universal IEM.

The VxV or Five x Five has a fresh secondary branding using a super cute bunny (named Firry) as main character. The VxV branding uses bold minimalist monochrome graphics, while maintaining the classic silhouette of FiR Audio IEMs. What’s not to love about a bunny named Firry which has its own cartoon, toy and even snowman? I absolutely loved FiR’s marketing campaign, and I look forward to see what they will come up with in the future.

The new Five x Five, according to FiR Audio, is designed solely for musical enjoyment: They call it “the earphones you reach for and that sound good with everything”. Of course we’ll get back to that later in this article.

You can find out all about the Fir Audio VxV / 5×5 on its dedicated web page here: https://www.firaudio.com/5×5

Configuration-wise the VxV logically has 5 drivers on each side. It’s actually a hybrid monitor and it has the following setup:.

• 1x Dynamic Driver
• 2x Mid-driver Balanced Armature
• 1x High-driver Balanced Armature
• 1x Ultra-high Driver Balanced Armature

The FiR Audio Five x Five packs these 5-drivers into a modified FiR Audio Chassis with modified Direct Aperture Technologies (sound reactor) from FiR Audio’s flagship M-series. For the Five x Five, the Direct Aperture Acoustic technology has been tweaked to make the construction more accessible, hence, the more accessible price of the VxV. The VxV makes use of two Direct Aperture Technologies from FiR Audio’s flagship M-series: The Direct Bore and Tactile Bass.

Five by Five’s implementation of a modified ATOM module also provides a natural, pressure-free experience similar to open-back earphones. The FiR Audio Five x Five will be limited-production, made in small batches to ensure better quality control.

Specifications

• 1x Dynamic Driver
• 2x Mid-driver Balanced Armature
• 1x High-driver Balanced Armature
• 1x Ultra-high Driver Balanced Armature
• MMCX connectors
• 2.5mm TRRS balanced connector
• Chassis: Hybrid 6000 aluminum and DuPont ® engineering plastic.

The review continues on the second page. Click here or use the jumps below.

Page 2: Packaging, Price, Accessories & Build quality, Ergonomics, Sound

Page 3: Sound & Comparisons, Conclusion