Fiio FT3 full size dynamic headphones

- 60 mm (!) dynamic driver with N52 magnets
- 350 ohms impedance
- Comes with two earpads and 4 different OCC copper cables
- Only costs 300$ (wtf!).



This looks VERY interesting and is already available for purchase. A headphone with a large dynamic driver that is affordable, high impedance and comes with plenty of accesories included. Hope the tuning is good.

Disclaimer: I'm not related to Fiio, just think this deserves some attention. Probably will buy one myself too if it doesn't have any kind of upper mids-treble fuckery.

 

I'll have a pair coming to me for review from FiiO. I'm a Headphonesty staff writer now...

 

Congrats @Hrodulf

RE: FT3
- Grill looks dumb. Will wait for Hrodulf review.

 

Yeah it looks somewhat cartoonish, like they designed it after binge watching Beyblade or something like that.
If it sounds good I couldn't care less tbh.

 

I will say right away that it probably won't get high marks from me for the look. The beyblade rim-style grille doesn't do it for me one bit.

 

https://www.fiio.com/ft3
The grills appear thoughtless but the marketing spiel is sexy: beryllium-played gasket, diamond-like carbon diaphragm, assymetric internal and external magnet system, japanese origin voice coil of .035mm thickness, 350ohm, and fukuwaka monocrystalline copper cable.

 

Didn't even take half a year and they're here! Preliminary impressions - they are pretty friggen good! First off the accessories package is on Focal Clear level which is insane for the asking price. Especially with Sennheiser going full Grado with their kit. Sound-wise, no they're not what everyone is asking from full-size open-backs at this price - an overall better HD650. As in - they are not as neutral as the HD650/600. There's a bit of a U-curve going on which sometimes isn't a bad thing. The good? Way better soundstage, low end, and overall THD performance. Can't tell whether they scale as well as the HD650, have only so-so electronics on hand.

 

What amp are you driving them off?
I am finding the HD660S2 very easy to drive although I didn't care for them off of a dongle.

 

why 4 cables tho??

 

Audirect Beam4... As I said, not much to write home about. With that said, I don't think the FT3 is hard to drive.

It's a 4-strand cable. Swappable 3.5mm/4.4mm/XLR connectors are pretty neato tho.

 

Any thoughts on a loaner or supporting Fiio in general?

 

Picked these up since I highly trust @Hrodulf

Note that is important to me and has not been mentioned. Finding left/right in the dark is very hard sometimes. The FT3 has a very strange way to handle it.

In the photo posted above - the left side is facing us. The spinner wheel lookn' outer grill easily hold FIVE (5) fingers in the exact way you would hold an ear cup and have easy ability to lean them forward or back.

Sonically - I'm not sure. SA5000, MA-900, not too sure what else - but a weird presentation. I'm confused if @Hrodulf mention of people not know what dynamics are pertained to the headphones. I find they have a lot of inner detail / dynamics, but there is the slight ethereal presentation that seems to not have macro dynamics. I think people who love mids should give them a chance.

I have to listen some more, but I don't think they are a replacement for anything in that price bracket. Kind of its' own thing. A yang to the hd600 yin

Going to try the leather pads tonight.

Everything else written about the unboxing is true. I think the HD800 and LCD2.1 (wood box) were peak unboxing. I'm sure some more esoteric / niche products have great unboxing also.

My ears fit pretty close to exact for the pad diameter. Some people might have issues if they have larger ears.

EQ tonight to see I want to keep them or not. YAY :\

 

Totally forgot about the cable. It is great - minus one thing. The male plugs of the headphone connection are a copy of the Focal connector - for absolutely no reason. On the focals, it acts as a strain relief. Now - it's added fulcrum.

 

Yeah, they're very symmetrical and the markings are hard to notice in darkness.

To me the complete package for the price does it. The sound signature is mostly U-curved, but there's enough oomph to mess around with DSP.

Overall - I'm pleasantly surprised and can't wait to see what FiiO can do next.

 

I've read a few places now that mention EQ being beneficial. Not ideal since they are kind of treble bothersome like the HD560S - more of a glare type of sharpness with the FT3. So I tinkered last night. All done with the 'suede' pads.

Since @Hrodulf was the one here to suggest it - I thought I'd take it full circle and install the sonarworks vst in J.River. I use a flat profile, tilt the entire frequency +3db (so 1.5 more bass and 1.5 less treble) and I add 2db to the bass boost/shelf. I thought this helped quite a bit, but still kind of an all over wall of sound. Planar like in some ways.

Next I used my Embody / Revel HRTF profile. This brought everything more of a ' | v | ' in front of your face verses " _____ "

More contained in a space with speaker in front of you type of presentation where without the HRTF, it is out in the space sort of all around your head, but still forward of the ears and not behind the head.

They are pretty comfortable, less clamp than all the Senny's. SR-007 type of setup.

They are very revealing of trash recordings. Great separation. Multiple guitars and basslines are a treat to hear individually. They lack some note weight. I'd be curious if the overall driver displacement is more or less than the Focals with their design.

I do notice that they are semi-open vs. fully open. There is the slight cup pressure that adds to fatigue if you're not careful with your volume levels. For some reason, they do beg to be turned up a little. I'm starting to believe in the macro dynamics. There were such volume swings on my tracks last night and I guess I didn't hear enough material in my first listen.

It's a strange place because they need work for me to enjoy them. I can't listen without DSP. The ETA Gen G. / Mini O2, Mini-S, they all are a safe comfortable and enjoyable place for me. FT3 can catch me with the treble if I'm not volume careful.

Too Much Rambling - sorry not sorry.

 

Feel free to check out my review - https://www.headphonesty.com/2023/08/review-fiio-ft3/

tl;dr - I think they're okay. Many things are right, a few misses, but nothing too major. Most of all - they're a decent challenge to the old guard from FiiO.

 

Nice review. Here is a question for you:

For a guy who has had many headphones and currently owns too many, are these worth buying?

Anything that really stands out?

I have been on a mission for about the last five years to try almost every headphone out there under $1K (preferably in Canadian $'s). The last several pairs I have bought have ranged from good to really good, but nothing great or "must have".
The only exception might be my newish HD660S2's.

Thanks for any feedback

 

The question is, how sensitive are you to a resonance point at circa 10kHz? It's the main reason why the FT3 is a bit glarey and fatiguing. If your mission really is to try out every under 1k can out there, by all means - get the FT3. I don't think many dynamic open-backs have bass like this. The high load impedance might make these a great match for tube amps.

 

Subjectively, how much of a bother is that 10kHz resonance compared to the oldish Sony MDR-Z1R? The treble prominence there didn't seem to bother everyone, but it was certainly... unpleasant, for quite a few folk.

Glad FiiO is taking headphones on since they do seem to make good value stuff relative to a lot of other brands, but did they HAVE to go with hubcap chic?

 

Just looking around right now. Considering these, E-MU Teaks and even ETA 02's.

Love exploring, but getting tired of being underwhelmed.