The workmanship and sound quality of FiiO FT3 are among the best over-ear headphones at the same price. Together with other FiiO audio products, it forms a desktop audio system, providing users with a complete HiFi solution. This audio system provides excellent sound quality and cost-effective for users who want to experience HiFi.
FiiO FT3 specs and features:
- 350Ω high impedance design
- 60mm large dynamic driver
- Beryllium-plated gasket+DLC diaphragm
- 3-axis swiveling design
- $299 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon countries
Excellent Workmanship – Comfortable to Wear
The first feeling of holding the headphone in your hand is lightness – the weight is only 391g. FiiO FT3 adopts an open-back hollow design, which plays an important role in reducing the weight of the headphone. The headphone use metal as the main material, the surface has been matte treated, the workmanship is very meticulous, and the overall appearance feels very tough.
In terms of comfort, FiiO has designed a 3-axis steering solution for the headphone, which allows the headphone to cover the human ear at any angle. When wearing FiiO FT3, the fit of the headphone to my ears is excellent. No matter how I turn my head, the headphone can cover my ears, almost eliminating sound leakage.
In terms of the head beam, FiiO FT3 adopts an adaptive telescopic design. This design allows the headphone to automatically adapt to the head space when wearing it – without manually adjusting the head beam, ensuring comfort and convenience. The opening and closing strength of the head beam is moderate, and the chuck will not be felt when worn for a long time. And the headphone put very little pressure on the head and will not burden the neck.
Headphone Accessories
FiiO presented a brown leather storage case specially designed for FT3. The storage case has a separate storage bag for convenient storage of headphone cables and adapters. FiiO FT3 provides two interchangeable plugs of 3.5mm and 4.4mm, as well as two plugs of 6.35mm and XLR-4 realized by means of transfer. It can be said that FiiO FT3 provides almost all mainstream headphone jacks, which are convenient for connecting to various playback devices.
In terms of earpads, FiiO FT3 adopts a snap-on quick-release design. The earpads are connected to the headphones through buckles, which is convenient and quick. FiiO FT3 provides suede earpads and protein leather earpads to choose from – I prefer suede earpads. The suede earpads give me a very premium feel and are more “tender” when in contact with the ears. At the same time, the air permeability of suede earpads is also better.
Designed Around the Sound Quality
As the most important part of headphone sound quality performance, FiiO FT3 uses a 60mm DLC dome diaphragm dynamic driver. The benefit of the large-size dynamic driver is that the sound quality of the headphones is more relaxed and natural, and the soundstage is wider. At the same time, high impedance + large dynamic driver can make the music more reproducible and less distorted.
According to the acoustic characteristics of the large dynamic driver, FiiO matched the acoustic solution of beryllium-plated gasket and DLC dome diaphragm. The beryllium-plated gasket helps to increase the rigidity of the diaphragm, while the DLC dome diaphragm also contributes to the sound quality of the headphones at high frequencies. In addition, our ears actually have a certain angle with the face – FiiO FT3 designed the headphone’s unit to be placed obliquely according to this angle. The advantage of this is that it reduces the standing wave phenomenon of the sound in the headphone cavity, making the sound more pure.
FiiO’s attention to detail is also reflected in the selection of headphone cables. The original headphone cable of FiiO FT3 is made of Furukawa monocrystalline copper wire imported from Japan, with a length of 3 meters. The wire is produced using the unique PCOCC-A process of Furukawa, Japan. High-purity monocrystalline copper has extremely strong electrical conductivity, making it less likely to lose sound details when audio signals are transmitted. And the wire is very soft, not easy to be entangled, and the life of Furukawa monocrystalline copper wire is very long.
350Ω High Impedance Characteristic
The impedance of the headphone is 350Ω – the high impedance design makes FiiO FT3 need to be used with the front end. When FiiO FT3 is used, the player needs a higher voltage to drive it – my suggestion is to use a HiFi player, or a desktop digital player – (eg – FiiO R7). Although FT3 needs to be matched with the front end when using it, the pure and natural sound of high impedance is unmatched by low impedance headphones.
Due to the high impedance design, the drive unit inside the headphone can achieve a higher sound level. This also means that compared to low-impedance headphones, the high-impedance headphones have richer sound details and a greater dynamic range at the same loudness. And the actual listening experience of FiiO FT3 is also true. The sound coil of FIiO FT3 is made of ultra-fine copper-clad aluminum imported from Japan. The diameter of the copper wire is very small, only 0.035mm – allowing the music to perceive very weak signals and respond quickly.
Acoustic Architecture – Sound Quality Review
FiiO FT3 is an over-ear dynamic headset with very good transients, a certain thickness of sound, and excellent extension at both ends. The beryllium-plated gasket+DLC dome of FiiO FT3 does bring a very fast response sound, and this sound is not obtained by reducing the density. The tri-band energy of FT3 is very strong, so it will not give people any stimulating feeling. The tri-frequency distribution ratio is very balanced, the high-frequency extension is excellent and the quantity sense is sufficient, the mid-frequency is full and solid, and the low-frequency extension is deep and textured.
The soundstage may be the only “shortcoming” of FiiO FT3. The vertical and horizontal soundstage performance of FiiO FT3 is actually very good. You can clearly hear the layers and extensions in the vertical direction, while the edge sense in the horizontal direction is obviously weakened. Only in terms of the adaptability of the song, the soundstage presented by FT3 cannot be said to be a shortcoming. For example, the solo of piano and violin, or the interpretation of pop vocals, all performed very well.
Conclusion
FiiO FT3 is an over-ear dynamic headphone with fast low-frequency, clear and bright high-frequency, wide dynamic range and just right soundstage. If you use a feeling to describe it, it is more like an upgraded version of FiiO FH9 – excellent performance in all aspects. The only thing that needs to be reminded is that please try to prepare a front-end (playback device) with a greater driving force for FiiO FT3 in order to fully demonstrate its strength.