FiiO FD7 – The Spirit of Beryllium

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging of the FD7 can be summed up in one word, GLORIOUS! It is simply the best unboxing experience of any earphones I have ever experienced and only the FDX is better due to their limited edition packaging that comes in a wooden box. The FD7 is boxed in a rather large box that feels rather premium and the insides are packaged ever so neatly. The package is well stocked with all the necessities like 15 pairs of eartips including 3 pairs of spinfit, a manual booklet, a HB5 leather case, 2 pairs of tuning nozzle, magnetic cable clip, a small brush, a MMCX remover tool, a 4 core pure silver MMCX cable with replaceable plugs including 2.5mm and 4.4mm plugs. FiiO truly has been very generous with all those extras included and it truly reflects a high end, top shelf product.

Design

The design of the FD7 is inspired or taken from the FD5 that was released late last year and it has a semi-open back design with replaceable nozzle for tuning. It is very comfortable to wear for long listening sessions and due to it’s semi open back design, no build up pressure will occur. It has a black glossy shell with the air vents in gold colour.

The package includes 3 pairs of nozzles where 1 balanced nozzle is pre-installed, a thin nozzle for a more bass response and a wider bore nozzle for treble enhancements. They have a significant difference in their presentation especially the bass nozzle where the bass has a larger quantity while the treble nozzle gives a slower roll-off in the treble but I would prefer the balanced nozzle as I find them the most accurate sound presentation that the FD7 provides. Inside is FiiO’s houses a sound acoustic prism that disperse sound accurately and is one of FiiO’s engenuity that they claimed provides a more accurate sound reproduction with a lower distortion.

The FD7 driver is a pure beryllium driver, not the usual beryllium plated drivers, that is used on high end earphones like Final Audio’s A8000, Dunu Luna and Kbear Believe. They are 6 times stronger than steel, 50% more dense and 30% lighter than aluminum making it a very suitable material for dynamic drivers as they can handle high sound pressure. They are very hard to work with and they are a rare material, thus the cost of these drivers is usually very high.

Cable included is a 4 core braided that FiiO stated is a high-purity monocrystalline silver that houses an interchangeable plug design. The plugs are easy to replace and they have a great solid connection as they are designed very well. The MMCX plugs are angled and only suitable for over-ear wearing. Also worth noting that I have burned in the FD7 for an approximate 100 hours and above for a more stable sound reproduction.

Gears Used for Comparisons

• FiiO M11Plus LTD
• Audio GD 28.38, dual clocks, Amanero USB
• RHA L1 Dacamp
• Hidizs S9 Pro
• Beyerdynamics Xelento
• Intime Kira
• JH Audio JH13V2 Pro
• KBear BElieve

Songs list

Tone and Presentation

The tone of the FD7 is very well balanced in all frequencies with a sound profile that is velvety smooth, inoffensive and it possesses a top notch clarity worthy of a flagship status. It is slightly warm and bright in its sound signature with details from top to bottom with a superb transparency for a dynamic driver. They have just the right amount of sound thickness that is just natural to listen to while also having a joyful feel to it’s presentation. The FD7 possesses no extra added colouration to their signature and they gave out a truly organic sound and they are able to faithfully express the true nature of the music played. Attack is fast and snappy making it has an energetic but not overly aggressive sound profile.

Soundstage

Soundstage that the FD7 pushes out is well above average for an in-ear monitor partly due to their semi open rear vents and the tuning as well. Height and depth perceived by these earphones is truly something that I enjoy as they sounded very deep, wide and tall in their presentation with positioning all on point especially on live performances, acoustics or classical music. They are also very airy and spacious with a big head room that feels almost to the level of a pair of earbuds.

Separation and Timbre

The FD7 being a single dynamic driver doesn’t incur any major problems in their coherency and they are a strong criteria of this earphone as their cohesiveness is top of the line. It sounded very well layered in my listening experience with all instruments and vocals sounded crystal clear without any hint of congestion. They do handle busy and fast tracks such as EDM or metal very well without any struggle. Timbre’s performance is also sublime as everything I played sounded tonally correct and accurate with great clarity.

Drivability

Rated at 50 ohms, FiiO’s FD7 seemed easily driven on paper but make no mistake as they are indeed somewhat hard to drive as smartphones and laptops or any low powered sources may struggle to drive the FD7 to their full potential though loudness is ample. They scale up very well with good and powerful sources especially with dedicated digital audio players or DAC/ amplifiers such as the FiiO M11Plus LTD on high gain or the Audio GD 28.38 on lowest gain settings. Simple dongles will suffice in their loudness but I do feel that their dynamics in sound is kind of restricted. They are not as hard to drive as the notorious TinHifi P1 but they do appreciate the extra power from a good source and they will reward you generously.

The Bass (Low)

Bass that the FD7 portrayed is a neutral type of bass with great details and a balanced performance. The slam it gives out is not an earth shattering type that a bass head would enjoy but rather a high quality bass that is accurate, airy and polished. It does have a deep sub-bass extension but I would prefer it to have more body and impact. For genres such as EDM, the bass is just adequate for an enjoyable listening  and it has all the details needed here. Though being slightly lacking in quantity, the bass on the FD7 surely is a high quality for being accurate and transparent at the same time without any fatigue occurring. If users wanted a bigger bass performance, you can simply change the nozzle to the bass nozzle and it does increase the quantity quite significantly, but I do feel that the soundstage suffers a little making it slightly unnatural to listen to.

The Mids

The mids present in the FD7 is the main attraction in my opinion as it is truly sweet, detailed and intimate at the same time. It is not recessed in any manner nor too forward sounding. It sounds energetic and a true pleasure to listen to. It does not have any dips or peaks in their midrange presentation but rather a velvety smooth and balanced midrange performance. Clarity and details are amazing with micro details present in most of the music played. Vocals sounded very intimate and it performs well on female or male vocals as it has a very balanced signature. Resolution is also top notch rivaling earphones well above its price range such as the Beyerdynamics Xelento.

The Highs

High range of the FD7 has a neutral type of presentation while having a slight emphasis on the lower region making it a slightly bright earphone. It has a mild politeness to it and does not have any peaks to it making them a smooth earphone to listen to for long sessions without any fatigue. The highs have a great clarity with plenty of details embedded in their presentation. Clarity in the treble is simply amazing with superb accuracy and extension is simply sublime making the high range performance very airy. Treble has a slightly crisp tone to it and virtually no sibilance or hissing is present in any music I fed it with. If users wanted a slightly more aggressive treble, you may want to try the treble nozzle and it does increase the treble slightly while still sounding smooth and amazing without any unwanted peaks.

Comparisons

VS Beyerdynamics Xelento

Xelento is one of the best tesla dynamic driver based earphones from the legendary German producers, Beyerdynamics. They are aggressively priced and cost almost twice the asking price of the FD7. They are slightly more comfortable to wear but it does have some driver flex. While FD7 has a balanced performance, the Xelento has a mild V shaped tuning.

High region of the Xelento has a more forward and energetic sound signature with a more sparkly performance. Highs on the FD7 are smoother to listen to while the Xelento highs are more enjoyable and crisper. Extension and accuracy on both are almost similar with FD7 having a slight edge in their airiness.

Midrange on the FD7 has a more linear performance without any peaks while the Xelento is slightly recessed but they sounded thicker. Both had the same emotional feeling to their performance and both sounded very sweet on vocals. Accuracy on the FD7 is slightly better but the Xelento sounded more intimate.

Bass on the Xelento has a more forward and a bigger presence versus the FD7. Bass impact on the Xelento is way bigger and the sub-bass has more body but extension on sub-bass on both are similar. Xelento bass is simply more enjoyable but on high volume it might incur some fatigue for long listening but not the smoother bass performance of the FD7.

Soundstage on the FD7 is slightly wider and airier but the height perceived on both are similar.

VS JH Audio JH13V2 Pro

The legendary newest version of the well received multi BA by JH Audio. It houses 8 balanced armatures inside with a great crossover system. The JH13V2 Pro has a warmer sound signature with a slight boost in their bass performance. Coherency on the FD7 is better and they sounded more well layered than the balanced armature based JH13V2 Pro but they are not far apart. The JH13V2 Pro retailed at almost twice the price of FD7.

Highs on both units has the same approach of being slightly polite and they both are smooth to listen to

Mids on the JH13V2 Pro have a more forward approach to it . The JH13V2 Pro has the edge of being more detailed and accurate on their treble and their highs have a more crisp tone.

Midrange on the JH13V2 Pro has a thicker and more intimate presentation to it while the FD7 has a more natural feel. Details in the midrange of the JH13V2 Pro are better but clarity of the FD7 is slightly better. Vocals on the JH13V2 Pro are better by being more intimate and more soulful.

Bass on JH13V2 Pro has a better overall performance by being very present in their sub-bass and impact. The body of bass has a very thick and meaty feel to it while being very detailed. Side by side the bass of the FD7 sounded thinner but it sounded slightly more natural for genres such as acoustics or rock songs.

Soundstage in both units has a similar height and width to it but the FD7 sounded slightly airier.

VS Intime Kira

Intime Kira from Japan is one of my favourite earphones to listen to due to their amazing treble performance and they possess treble crispiness that is found nowhere in this price range. They cost only a third of the asking price of the FD7.

Bass on the FD7 is clearer and cleaner than the Kira. Kira bass is slightly leaner and sounded less airy than the FD7. Bass extension on the FD7 is better while sub-bass on the Kira is slightly more present.

Midrange of the FD7 is simply better by being more organic and sweeter sounding. Clarity on both are on the same level but Kira sounded slightly brighter in the midrange.

High range on the Kira has the edge in quantity, crispness and extension. Kira sounded very sparkly versus the polite treble of the FD7. Kira has the flashy sound that sounds energetic but FD7 is smoother and they are more suitable for long listening sessions.

Soundstage in the FD7 has the edge by being wider and taller than the Kira.

Synergy

FiiO M11Plus LTD

The M11Plus LTD is my current go-to portable digital audio player and they are equipped with 2 pieces of AK4497eq DAC chips with THX amplification. They are warm, silky smooth and neutral sounding DAP that sounded brilliant. Matching on the FD7 is fantastic and it does feel that they are made for each other. High range on the FD7 seemed slightly more forward and thicker while retaining their smoothness. Midrange has also become thicker and slightly more forward making their midrange performance more fun to listen to. Bass on the FD7 has more body and sub-bass has a more present performance making them a more enjoyable bass performance. Soundstage on the FD7 now has a deeper performance and has a slightly better headroom while retaining their height and width. Overall they are very enjoyable and one of the best synergy.

Hidizs S9 Pro

The Hidizs S9 Pro is a powerful dongle DAC/ amplifier that is ultra portable and it is my go-to dongle for portability. On balanced 2.5mm they have a slight noise in their background with the FD7 but they are not prominent and they have ample driving power for the FD7. High performance has a slight aggression to the FD7 making the treble a little more aggressive in their presentation. Midrange has better details but mostly sounded the same. Bass has a better impact and has some body added to them while sub-bass has is slightly more present. Soundstage remains almost the same but with airiness added to their performance. Overall they are great for easy portability versus the likes of simple cable dongles that barely show the true potential of the FD7.

Who Is It For?

FiiO has created a more accurate and a smoother performancing earphone that is derived from the FD5. For those who don’t like the aggressive bass and the slightly peaky treble of the FD5, the FD7 is truly a worthy upgrade for you. For those who are looking for a true flagship and want the beryllium experience without needing to spend a fortune from the likes of Final Audio and Dunu, the FD7 is truly a suitable pair of earphones for you. With their top quality midrange and their big soundstage, the FD7 truly performs like a top of the line earphones.

Final words

FiiO has always been very innovative in their products and the FD7 is an earphone that showcased their ingenuity in producing high end flagship products. The FD7 truly possesses a flagship spirit with their excellent performance in sound along with a great design and their excellent presentation of the package. The midrange and soundstage are one of the best in their price range but the bass and treble region is too polite for my taste and they lacked the ‘wow’ factor that makes heads turn. Though the FD7 sounded supreme, the price range they are on is truly competitive and they have a stiff competition from other brands that have a variety of drivers but as a pure beryllium driver, they are rather cheap compared to the likes of Final Audio and Dunu’s beryllium driver based earphones. FiiO has a true flagship product now and they truly deserve the crown of being one the best products FiiO has produced.

I would rate this product a solid (4 / 5)