FiiO have been strong players in the universal IEM category for a number of years and there is no question that they know how to design high-end DAPs and some of the best Dongle DACs on the market. We have tested a lot of their products over the past 3 years and there has not been one clunker on the list.
Designing headphones, however, is a very different process and they were seemingly content with letting the larger manufacturers own that piece of the pie, as long as audiophiles continued to purchase the rest of their products.
But something changed during the pandemic; FiiO came to the realization that there was opportunity to offer dynamic open-back headphones that were under $400 and also come up with an alternative to what HiFiMAN and Audeze were offering at the entry-level in the planar magnetic category.
The FT3 and the 32 Ohm iteration are currently under review and our early takeaway is that both models are extremely revealing and that FiiO might have spent its time during the pandemic rather wisely working on its proprietary driver technology.
The FT5 share one important thing in common with the FT3 32 Ohm model — they are much easier to drive and that will make them more compatible with a wider range of DAPs and Dongle DACs.
FiiO FT5
The $499 FiiO FT5 are finally available for the big dance and have some interesting design details worth mentioning.
The FT5 adopt a nanoscale diaphragm coating process — the coils of the driver are printed onto the diaphragm using high-end technology from the semiconductor industry.
This ensures that not only the thickness of the coils are more consistent, but the weight of the coils are far more evenly distributed – resulting in a far more consistent and accurate sound.
Following extensive testing, FiiO’s engineering team have designed the FT5 with 20 N52 neodymium magnets per driver. 11 magnets are placed on the inside of the FT5’s planar magnetic driver and 9 magnets are placed on the outside – leading to 20 magnets per channel and 40 in total for the entire headphone.
The balanced placement of magnets ensures the aluminum alloy coils are evenly distributed in the magnetic field, and it also allows the driver diaphragm to be balanced between the forces of the inner and outer magnets — guaranteeing consistent movement of the driver and reduced distortion, for a higher fidelity sound.
One of the things FiiO wanted to achieve with their first pair of Planar Magnetic headphones was high sensitivity, whilst ensuring they were easy to power. Traditionally, Planar Magnetic headphones have featured low-sensitivity, meaning often powerful desktop audio amplification is required to drive them to their full potential.
The FT5 is not like a traditional planar magnetic headphone. Thanks to 20 neodymium magnets with a high magnetic density of up to 1.5T, 6μm thin diaphragm, and nano-level aluminum alloy coating technology, the FT5’s driver is both light and strong, allowing for a high sensitivity of 110dB/1Vrms @ 1kHz.
This means the FT5 can be easily driven — even by portable players — allowing them to be used in number of different scenarios.
Large 90mm planar magnetic driver
The FiiO FT5 employs a large 90mm planar magnetic driver. Compared to a traditional dynamic driver, a planar magnetic driver converts sound energy to sound waves in a more balanced way, by vibrating in a much more even way. The vibrations are distributed across the entire driver diaphragm and there is little distortion caused by the rigidity of the diaphragm material.
Open-backed design
To achieve its great sound, the FT5 features a large 90mm planar magnetic driver with 20 magnets on a single side of each driver. To further reach its max potential, the FT5 also contains a specially-designed open-backed acoustic structure. The rear of the driver housing is carefully designed to act as a sound wave baffle to isolate the sound waves in the front and rear of the driver housing.
The grille of the FT5 is scientifically designed to control and precisely accelerate the air flow when the driver is moving, with the intended goal of offering a much wider and deeper soundstage.
Specifications
| Headphone Type | Open-back Planar Magnetic |
| Driver Type | 90mm Planar Magnetic |
| Driver Material | PAR Diaphragm + Aluminum Coils |
| Frequency Response | 7Hz — 40kHz |
| Impedance | 36 ohms |
| Sensitivity | ? |
| Maximum Power Input | 2000mW |
| Earpad Pressure | 4.0N±0.3N |
| Cable Length | 1.5m |
| Cable Material | 392-wire High-purity Silver-plated Monocrystalline Copper |
| Cable Connectors | Dual 3.5mm Plugs (Headphone) + Swappable Audio Plugs |
| Weight | 456g (Excluding Cable) |
| Supplied Cable Plugs/Adaptors | 1 x 3.5mm Single-ended Interchangeable Jack Plug, 1 x 4.4mm Balanced Interchangeable Plug, 1 x XLR-4 Male to 4.4mm Female Balanced Adapter, 1 x 6.35mm Male to 3.5mm Female Adapter |
| Supplied Accessories | 1 x Leather Storage Case, 1 x Velvet Bag, 1 x Protein Leather Earpads (Pair), 1 x Suede Earpads (Pair), 1 x Headphone Cable, 1 x User Manual |
| MSRP | $449 at Amazon |
For more information: fiio.com/ft5
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