In recent years, FiiO has also begun to focus on developing earbuds products. After all, it is very embarrassing that its own players sell well all over the world, but it is very embarrassing that they do not have matching earbuds. So after several years of rapid development, FiiO earbuds have gradually climbed from entry-level products to mid-to-high-end series.

Last year, FiiO released a brand new FD series flagship earbuds – FiiO FD7. The $600 dynamic earphones are also FiiO’s second most expensive non-limited earbuds.

Accessories & Cable & Design

As a product positioned at the current flagship level, the accessories of the FiiO FD7 still continue the luxurious style of FiiO. Up to 16 pairs of eartips (balanced eartips*3, bass eartips*3, spinfit eartips*3, triple-flange eartips*2, vocal eartips*3, foam eartips*2), cleaning brush, carrying case, MMCX assist tool, 3 pairs of interchangeable sound tube, magnetic cable organizer, 1 set of 2.5mm/3.5mm/4.4mm interchangeable audio plugs, 4-stranded 224-core high-purity pure silver cable and user manual. earbuds come pre-installed with default filters and a pair eartips.

What is really worth talking about is the earphone cable that comes with the FiiO FD7. Silver is one of the fastest conductive metals, and silver wire has always been a very high-end presence in the audio field. Although there are many cables such as single crystal copper, copper silver plated and so on appearing on high-end headphones. However, there are not many earphone products with sterling silver earphone cable in the original factory. At least in the $600 price range, a sterling silver cable is indeed a very luxurious match.

This time, the original FiiO FD7 is equipped with a 4-stranded high-purity pure silver cable, which can be said to be the top configuration among the original earbud cables. It can be said that the original earphone cable has no room for upgrading. If you buy a FiiO FD7, use its earphone cable to match your other MMCX-pinned headphones, and there may be a big improvement. Of course, this cable also adopts FiiO’s new interchangeable pin structure. The package contains three different sizes of plugs, 3.5mm/4.4mm/2.5mm. Users can easily replace the plug according to their own usage habits.

Finally, as a flagship dynamic earbuds, of course, there has been a lot of progress in the core technology of the headphone itself. FiiO FD7 is equipped with a 12mm pure beryllium dynamic unit, which is different from many common beryllium-plated materials on the market. Pure beryllium material can bring lighter weight and higher rigidity to the diaphragm, which can best ensure the dynamic performance of the diaphragm unit and minimize the division distortion of the diaphragm. The metal texture black gold color used in the cavity part also highlights the texture of the product. The metal cavity, combined with the elbow design of the cable pin part, makes the user’s wearing experience even better, and there will be no discomfort when wearing it for a long time.

Reference equipment and songs

As a flagship earbuds, the reference device must also use the flagship audio source. The main reference audio sources for this evaluation are the FiiO M15 portable flagship player and the FiiO K9 PRO desktop decoder and amp all-in-one.

In terms of sound source, the Qobuz streaming media platform is mainly used as a reference. In terms of song selection, classical music is mainly selected as a reference, as well as some popular music and light music as a reference. But most of the following listening parts come from the listening experience of classical music.

The headphone is driven by a 4.4mm balanced connector, and the eartips are the spinfit eartips (M) that are more suitable for me to wear. The sound tube is a balanced sound tube in the factory state.

Sound Quality of FiiO FD7

For the sense of hearing, in fact, the first word that came to my mind when I heard this earbuds did not sound like a positive description, that is, “boring”. But its implication is definitely not negative, as the FiiO FD7 has a very comprehensive sound with no distinctly prominent aspect and style. But slowly taste it and you will find that it is a very comprehensive and balanced product, and it is difficult to pick out shortcomings in all aspects.

For the performance of classical music, the sound of the FiiO FD7 is very comprehensive and balanced. Thanks to the blessing of the silver cable, you can hear the excellent speed performance brought by the silver cable and the pure beryllium diaphragm. No matter in terms of high frequency transparency or low frequency dynamic energy, it has a very fast response speed and excellent transparency performance. And because of the hard diaphragm and excellent cable, this earbuds sounds more like a perfectly connected multi-unit armature earbuds in the mid-high frequency part. Each frequency band has excellent dynamics and density, while the low and very low frequency parts can express the unique looseness and overtones of dynamic earbuds. And all of this is based on the excellent sense of energy and speed in the full frequency range.

For pop music, the FiiO FD7 can still make users sound very “shaky” in the very low frequency part. There is no shadowing effect in the mid-to-high frequency part, and the excellent transparency is accompanied by a clear image, which is a rare and interesting and high-level performance. For a singer like Billie Eilish who likes to add a lot of little details to the music, all the interesting details in the accompaniment will be at a glance.

Conclusion

For the FiiO FD7, it is undoubtedly the most balanced and comprehensive earbuds product in the industry at this price range. Although it has no obvious prominent sound part and style features. But absolutely balanced and comprehensive, no matter what type of music you like, the FiiO FD7 can almost give you a near-perfect response. Therefore, for most audiophiles who listen to music as “omnivores”, the FiiO FD7 can be said to be the most competitive product in the price range of less than $600.

• Check price on AliExpress
• Check price on Amazon US
• Check price on Amazon Germany
• Check price on other Amazon countries