Review: Fiio F5 – Going Balanced

Sound

According to Fiio, the F5 has a highly resolving nature, mid and treble frequency response with deeper and fuller bass (compared to EX1). The difference in sound between the balanced and the regular cable is pretty big in my opinion and as said earlier, the balanced cable performs best.

Fiio’s marketing team focuses on the F5 being balanced and I do think they agree with us that is simply sounds best in that config. Their website states this about the balanced cable:

Results in a wide and open sound stage and impactful yet tightly controlled bass

Single Ended

The Fiio F5 sounds reasonably balanced with the stock 3.5mm cable and bass and treble are only slightly lifted over the mids. There’s a good level of clarity and a black background and the Fiio F5 sounds very clean as well. The level of detail at this price point is good, the same goes for its sound stage but only for the width as the depth isn’t that spectacular. The Fiio F5 does sound natural with a normal amount of space between the instruments and it has a natural and airy presentation.

Bass is fairly tight but it doesn’t go really deep. As said, with the stock cable, layering and depth isn’t where the Fiio F5 performs best. The mids section is slightly more forward sounding, and especially the voices get the focus. Detail, clarity and cleanness is good though and the mids sound fairly rich Treble is energetic and detailed but don’t expect the most extended or layered treble at all. Depending on the source used and the music you’re listening to, treble can sound harsher.The bass and treble have a good contrast though which is keeping the F5 musical and energetic sounding.

Balanced Mode

Using the balanced cable completely transforms the Fiio F5. You get improved detail from bass to treble making everything sound a lot richer and more energetic. The bass, mids and treble are also more balanced and now have the same amount of body. Besides the extra detail the Fiio F5’s depth and layering especially improve by using the balanced cable. All in all using the balanced cable really makes the Fiio F5 perform on a different, way above its price point, level. In SE mode it’s just another OK sounding IEM but in balanced mode you get this soft, musical, rich and natural sounding IEM. I especially like the softer and natural voices in the balanced setup as the SE config made them clean but too forward and unnatural sounding.

The balanced configuration is the way to go to get the most out of this IEM. Of course using different tips such as Comply and Spinfit will have an impact on the sound as well. I advise you to play around with your own favorite set of tips to tune the sound most to your liking. I sound wise quite like the Fiio F5 myself with the colored tips, sized medium.

Driveability & Sources (using a 2.5 to 3.5mm convertor for all non 2.5mm devices)

The Fiio F5 should be fairly easy to drive and it didn’t pick up any noise in single ended mode or from Fiio’s balanced AM3 module on the Fiio X7, the Fiio X5III and AK’s KANN.

From my Samsung S6 streaming over TIDAL, the Fiio X5 sounds clean but a bit thinner overall with sharper sounding treble and forward vocals. I don’t really like this combination myself as it doesn’t sound as balanced as it does on all the DAPs I tried it with. From the Cayin N3 you get a more energetic and musical sounding Fiio F5 with good balance between bass mids and treble. Bass has great impact and they’re perfectly in line with the mids and energetic treble. With some songs, treble can still a little harsh though. Voices are still slightly more forward but it isn’t annoyingly so. The N3 & F5 combo sounds detailed, clear and very energetic/musical.

Compared to the N3, the Fiio X5III has little more detail with a wider and deeper sound stage but treble still can be kind tough to listen to on some musical types. Bass is great and the mids sound rich while the voices just like on the N3 are more forward sounding. In SE mode the voices and treble “issue” get emphasized so balanced here is the way to go. On the Fiio X7 with AM3 installed (balanced module) the F5 sounds most detailed and clean/clear so far but treble with treble based music can get very lively even in balanced mode. The X7 makes the F5 sound musical and detailed with a lovely natural and musical presentation. A fully recommended combo.

My favorite DAP for the Fiio F5 however turns out to be Astell&Kern’s KANN which delivers a detailed, smooth, yet musical and detailed sound with no sense of forward vocals or harsher sounding treble. The Kann, even single ended, is a warmer and smoother player but my ears seem to like it most in combination with the F5. With other monitors the KANN can sound so smooth and warm, but here it simply works. On the balanced output you get a more spacious presentation, better depth and a richer sound.

If you’re not convinced with your phone’s or DAP’s output you can always hook it up to an external amp or DAC/Amp. Fiio’s A5 amp (the E12A replacement), of course only offers a single ended output so treble again will be a little harsher with some types of music. You do get a rich and musical sound with more power than you’ll ever need. I very much liked this full Fiio combination. You don’t really need an amp for the F5 at all but if the treble bothers you an amp could be the solution for that (or some EQ’ing).

The bad news is that Brooko/Paul and Berkhan reviewed the other Fiio IEMs for HFN but as a result I don’t have these IEMs to compare them to the new flagship. Sorry for that!

Conclusion

The Fiio F5 in balanced mode certainly punches above its price point. Depending on the DAP used or the musical style you’re listening to, treble can sound harsher sometimes but some EQ’ing or an external amplifier can help with that if you’d want that. The Single Ended mode surely isn’t bad but it’s nowhere near the level of the balanced configuration.

For the $64.99 price there is very little to complain about and with the balanced cable on a balanced source, the F5 certainly sounds better than it $80USD (TBC) price would suggest.