FiiO FH5 Quad Driver Hybrid In-Ear Monitors

so the TLDR of this review is this earphone is pretty amazing, especially for the price. being driven from my phone on the standard cable they sound great, but lugged into an amplifier with a balanced cable and a high-quality DAC, they sound AMAZING. allow me to go into more detailBUILD AND UNBOXINGThe build of these earphones is the best i have ever had by a mile, it isn't even close and i own Sennheiser and Beyers, companies renowned for there build quality. They have an anodised aluminium and magnesium build which feels so good in the hand and is the only earphone i own that my non-audiophile friends actually ask about as they just look that dam good. the cable is really nice, the metal and gold plated right angle jack is so premium and you can tell that fiio were so proud of what they created here and they should be. i don't normally talk about unboxing experiences but this one was something else in all the right ways, the earphones were presented beautifully and all the tips were laid out in a nice grid with both a hard and soft carrying case, cleaning tool and a massive selection of tips from standard silicone to high-quality memory foam and flange tips. amazing build and magical unboxing.TIPSthought this was worth a section as the fiio foam tips with these earphones are really great, for me personally they sound great, fit me perfectly and have a ton of isolation. these earphones also have standard silicon, bass silicon, vocal silicon and balanced silicon as well as a set of flange tips if you wanna get deep insertion into the ear canalSOUNDthese are a hybrid earphone, they have 10mm dynamic and 3 balanced armatures in each ear which leads to a very deep and detailed sound, they have a VERY warm sound signature and the bass is best described as being as smooth as liquid honey, the sub-bass (even more so when balanced) is present but subtle and adds to the music you are listening to, vocals can be harsh especially on female singers but with a good vocalist they are present, forward and detailed, Michael Jackson sounds amazing on these. treble on these is fantastic, super detailed and not sibilant or bright in any way, you can hear every drum beat like you are in the room its pretty great. The soundstage on these is very narrow but the imaging is good, instrument separation, thanks to that hybrid design, is fantastic and unlike the IE80S instruments still sound like they are in the same song and do not sound disjointed or too separate. these earphones do have a V-shaped sound signature with an emphasis on bass and low-end frequencies, as a result, this is an earphone i can recommend to both bass heads and audiophiles, but if you are looking for "reference" these arent it.BALANCED CABLE AND AMP/DACso my usual setup for these files 2.5mm balanced cable connected to a studio ES100 with the flat EQ preset and to me, this is the best way to run these while maintaining the portability. running these on a balanced cable is recommended as it brings the bass under control as it can be a bit bass-heavy sometimes which some may not like and also opens up the soundstage a bit which counters the main weakness of this IEM, the lack of imaging and soundstage. i would also recommend a DAC to ensure you are getting every drop of performance out of these bad boys and an AMplifier to ensure they are getting all the power they need, they are fairly easy to drive and can easily get too uncomfortable volumes on my iPhone XS MAX but an AMP is nice to have, buying these with the studio is my recommendation.CONCLUSIONi think z reviews summed it up best when he said if you are planning on spending £100 on earphones, spend £200 if you are planning on spending £400, spend £200. these earphones are that good! as far as i know, there is not much in this price range that can compete, maybe the tin P1? but that's about it. these should be on every audiophiles purchase list without question and well-done fiio, you nailed it, absolutely nailed it

I started my IEM journey with Shure SE530's, which broke after two years heavy use. I replaced those with Shure SE425's which I thought sounded just as good, but I left them behind on a plane 3 years ago. As penance, I replaced those with SE215's, which really do have excellent sound, but which I never really found very comfortable for stretches of more than an hour or so. But when finally I felt it was time to buy an upgrade, I saw these FIIO alternatives, and was lured in by the comments about sound quality and comfort. And yes, the sound is a clear step up from the 215's, being bright, lively, rich and very precise, with a lovely balance across all the frequencies: hopeless for orchestral pieces, as are all IEM's I think, but it is wonderful to listen with precision to separate instruments in a string quartet, or to hear the harmonics on a great guitar. I THINK I'm enjoying listening on them even more than I did the 425/530's - though these days I play 320 AAC files rather than 256 MP3, and on an LG G7 (which has a superb DAC and an amplifier that is capable of driving my AKG701's with ease) so maybe they'd be about equivalent. Comfort? The FH5's are enormous, but sit surprisingly well in my ears and I've found them comfortable over more than 2 hours. The size though does mean that it is unlikely that anyone will get as deep a fit into the ears as they might do with the SE's, which means that the sound isolation is not quite as full as with smaller IEM's; but I think that also relates to the improved comfort. My quibbles are about the accessories, (though not the cable, which is excellent - and for those worrying it is not balanced, well just go and buy one, as most of us want to have normal 3.5mm connector cables out of the box....) The hard case is a really hard clear plastic, with the sort of plastic hinges that I can't imagine lasting more than a few clicks. The soft case is tiny, and I'd be worried about the zip tearing the cables with such a tight fit. And don't get me started on the supplied tips, which are presented beautifully but offer a hopeless mix. There are no large sized foams, and the rest of them don't even all have the same size of flange fitting. The best fit I could find (which was still too small) was a devil to fit on the IEM's, but slipped off the 'phones when I took them from my ears. I've bought a set of InAir1 L size, and they provide a good interference fit - hard to get on, but won't fall off!Overall, I'm happy with my purchase because they are a delight to listen to, and I can wear them the length of a short haul flight, even though their sound isolation is not perfect, and now that I've sourced decent tips. Are they better than the Shure SE425's I could have got for £30 less? I'll probably never know.

The presentation is very nice with plenty of accsesories.I own a lot of headphones, most of them good brands like Sennheiser the 560S..Pros: incredibly powerful, very clear crisp sound, bass is crystal clear and there is enough to go around, solid build overall, honestly they sound and feel like others at twice the price !Paired them with the Fiio x7 and 5III with the Fiio q5 amp and they are louder than my big boys and the bass is stronger.. very comfy to wear..Cons: the highs at high volume get a bit hissy..Overall these can replace most of my headphones.. I am simply surprised..

They sound like IEMS in a higher price range. Same price range IEMS i have / have had are - Shure SE425, Audiofly AF180 mk2, Dunu (Multiple) among others.Gun to head, i couldn't pick between these and the Audioflys.... i love both sound sigs.All IEMS tested with memory foam tips (easily best fit for me).I bought these IEMS years ago, so they are 100% burnt in etc.... I still use them, that should speak volumes!!Only reason i'd pick the Audioflys, the bass on them is so tight, punchy yet not overpowering.Playing through Multiple sources Wired to High Res Player, Streaming lossless using FIIO BTR5 & Tidal & Highres audio player.If you are on the fence... you won't regret buying them. It's been years and i still love them.