FiiO - FT7

My unit came with two left leather earpads. Some unlucky soul is sitting there with two right pads. Hopefully HiFiGo sorts it out quickly so I can use it with the leather pads.

When I first put them on I didn't actually notice that both pads were left pads. I only noticed after I went to put the leather pads back on after trying out the fabric pads. I just kept on the fabric pads after that. But from what I remember the leather pads definitely have more body. Or maybe the fabric pads just have more treble. I'm not sure yet. I'm just letting myself get used to the fabric pads so that I can pick out the differences more easily once I have a set of leather pads. The Maxwell is a legitimately good sounding headphone so it'll be hard to find a significant upgrade. I think the FT7 will be fantastic with EQ. The Arya Stealth is a safe choice but I suspect the FT7 with leather pads is closer to most people's preferences than the other 2 without EQ due to it having a better bass profile. With EQ the HD 490 Pro is also a fantastic choice. It's a tough choice between these to be honest. I think for me personally I'd probably pick either between the FT7 or HD 490 Pro. If I were in your shoes since you already have a Maxwell I'd definitely try out the HD 490 Pro if you have the ability to, especially with EQ. If it's not to your liking the FT7 is a pretty safe choice in my opinion. It's a bit bright so I think it does benefit from EQ to reign it in a little.

u gotta try the fiio ft7's

HD600 and Fiio FT1 for when I want a closed back. Among my LCD-2 and FT7, those two keep me grounded :) I also use my Space Travel a lot when working and yes, the Porta Pro is a certified banger! Love them for watching older movies, Apocalypse Now is always good fun with them.

Thanks for the suggestion mate. I got the FT7 from HiFiGo—only had to pay an extra £18 for premium delivery to avoid VAT, so it cost me just £547 compared to £699 from a local retailer. The FT7 is on a whole different level compared to the HD550, MV1, and Maxwell for gaming —better separation, more detail, and a more spacious sound. Maybe not quite on par with your Dan Clark suggestion, but I’m really happy with it.

How’s the bass on the ft7? Does it sound well balanced? I have the edition xs and love how it sounds, more so than my Maxwell. But if for some reason my maxwell fell on my xs it would probably shatter lol.

That's not easy to answer, because people's hearing and perception and expectation is completely different one to another. I received my FT7 now six days ago. With the leather ear pads in place they sound just unbearably bad to me, while now with the fabric pads applied ....really, really nice. I found that out days later, and had almost given up, ready to pass them on... Compared to HD800S I think they(FT7) are a step forward when it comes to bass reproduction, while maintaining the rest of the spectrum so beautifully. Sennheiser so far did not manage to bring that all together in one product, that's one reason why there's that HD820 on offer - with some distinct shortcomings elsewhere. BTW Even though I never listened to the HE-1000 Unveiled ...I assume those are still better headphones. FT7 is quite similar sounding (a-b) to my closed back AH-D9200 - now with the fabric pads. But not still on par quality-wise, like 92%... AH-D9200 still more natural sounding (with voices especially and natural instruments). With all that in mind, you can expect FT7 to reproduce slightly less spacious than the HD800S overall. I used to own the K812 by AKG until recently, those are clearly inferior in every aspect to the FT7, IMO, if that helps...

I just received mine, they sound fantastic ! However I find the clamp really weak, to the point where they might fall off if I tilt my head downward. I'm wondering if that's by design or if I might have received a defective unit. How's yours in that regard ?

[My Black Myth vinyl and FT7 arrived at the same day](https://preview.redd.it/n4e1zqaqv6xe1.png?width=580&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4d42f3d2d58b558aaad2d20e0875fa43fd872ec) # Less marketing bs, more practical information. Build quality is insane. https://preview.redd.it/ulm3ik0yv6xe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=281ed9c94f3103362de14f84850d5c01d2aaaff2 The earpads have a slight tilt, but I prefer a larger angle. https://preview.redd.it/fyqwnhq8w6xe1.jpg?width=2464&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7c829c8e5e4a9e2a4f0013e091201a64393ef36 The damping on the headband adjustment buckle is still too weak, making it prone to slipping. However, Chief Engineer Joseph mentioned, "The newer batches have fixed this problem. You can send it back to us, and we'll replace it with a new one for you." It seems that over-seas customers don't need to worry about it. https://preview.redd.it/mv2t602kw6xe1.jpg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45b5239d68bb045962c61a1ad47fbf0103c26855 The design of this detachable buckle of earpads is absolutely perfect, making replacement incredibly easy without any seen air leakage. https://preview.redd.it/42ae3trqw6xe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=571f76a5b86dbfcb2881ffb1091a5af0477090b8 Both earpads are extremely skin-friendly and very soft, making them comfortable to wear even with glasses. However, it's clear that there's room for improvement in the Quality Control of the earpads—though this might be nitpicking. I do expect FiiO to have a slightly higher standard of quality compared to other brands. https://preview.redd.it/28n9yasfx6xe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4960d24e2c61fa0ef5d0e6c997dfe96d5c2c7fca The cable is excessively long (3m) and a bit stiff. I don't like it. I'm also not buying into the gimmick of nitrogen-frozen occ. In China, you might want to find a craftsman to cut this "wonderful" cable in half, make two 1.5m cables, and solder an XLR plug onto one end. Won't cost much. https://preview.redd.it/9noi2f28y6xe1.png?width=3072&format=png&auto=webp&s=b40aaf82b2fd9e016d815781b84c6e42d7f9c60e [I have to roll up part of the bundle of cable](https://preview.redd.it/kjsu2qs8y6xe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a71da8b847f445bd7766342893f392e54e959af) Headband is VERY well-crafted, made of two layers of different leather sandwiching a soft metal piece, which helps maintain its shape, but downside is that the headband's padding isn't very soft when first worn—it takes time for the metal inside to mold to the shape of your head before it becomes comfortable. https://preview.redd.it/w63ipdcqz6xe1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25eaeba696e9b4a2879d398eb079a119a5554362 [Carbon fiber is crazy](https://preview.redd.it/a6qfefzqz6xe1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2221904728ee8e818c32b73bd3392d8d24b1a2c4) # Subjective listen impressions I haven't measured its frequency response yet. Subjectively, I feel this headphone lacks bass—even with perforated leather earpads, the bass is still on the lighter side. Switching to fabric earpads makes it partly feel like an HD800. The FT7's sub-bass doesn't have the bump seen in the Harman target, but it does have bass extension, catering to some audiophiles' preference for "eye-fi" frequency response curves. So unless you're allergic to bass or prioritize maximum breathability, or is a super fan of HD800 tuning, I’d recommend sticking with leather earpads over fabric ones. I’m certain FiiO tuned these headphones with leather earpads in mind. https://preview.redd.it/d5j19u9a07xe1.jpg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4433bfdeba71928f1961244a7c87a1ff02f35240 Logically, with such a large diaphragm and good sealing (on my head), its bass extension and distortion won't be poor, so I plan to boost the bass and subbass via PEQ. Tomorrow I'll ask FiiO for a DSP profile calibrated to the Harman OE Target 2018 to test it out. Subjectively, I feel the FT7's "soundstage" is quite impressive—extremely accurate for a pair of headphones. The FT7 doesn't artificially create a sense of stage, but it feels very direct, precise, and clear. Additionally, this headphone has very little sibilance! # Let's see some marketing bs [FR on promotional leaflet](https://preview.redd.it/s7jtl1ta27xe1.png?width=2083&format=png&auto=webp&s=ebccd081d7bef42729e8a5bdf6c49bf742c773ae) When we put a Harman target on this: https://preview.redd.it/u4ec4rsk27xe1.png?width=2088&format=png&auto=webp&s=8c0fc2f7ad1defc7490100fdaeed6bc820d79817 If the general shape of the FR on the promotional materials is accurate, then the implications of this graph are: The FT7's diaphragm tension is higher than average, with some leakage during testing, or possibly both. There's also reduced "live pop concert"-like presence in the bass and mid-bass, with elevated mid-to-high in vocals. Intentional compression is applied to the sibilance range, while the ultra-high band appear exceptionally "brilliant". I suspect FiiO's tuning approach might involve extracting buzzwords from audiophile communities - seeing complaints about "sibilance"/"harshness" in FT3, they suppress frequencies above 5kHz; noticing veteran audiophiles desire bright highs without sharp high Q peaks, they let frequencies above 8kHz soar (which comes naturally given the ultra-thin diaphragm); observing that enthusiasts find excessive mid-bass muddy, they deliberately inverse the FT5's tuning by cutting around 200Hz. The resulting product does cater to veteran audiophile preferences - subjectively speaking, it sacrifices soundstage depth and ambient warmth while enhancing resolution and controlling sibilance. Could this headphone be tailor-made for late 20th-century Cantopop/Mandopop female vocal tracks? As someone without refined musical discernment, I'll refrain from further speculation. For further info, I'm waiting for FiiO to provide a series of test results to check more accurate frequency response curve of these headphones, as well as information like distortion and group delay. Human ears are only suitable for enjoying music—when comes to rigorous analysis, let's leave it to those cold, impersonal instruments. # Didn't regret buying this toy. [Some marketing bs listed](https://preview.redd.it/odgnaw3q67xe1.jpg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=958914d23105dd2929822550c4e84c2278adf2ae) **If you guys have already thoroughly reviewed the marketing materials for the FT7:** FiiO claims this headphone is a "gold diaphragm" planar, but in reality, the thickness of the gold plating on the diaphragm surface is only about 200nm, which is good of course. However, there is a much thicker layer of silver between the gold layer and the diaphragm substrate. This silver layer is the primary conductive material actually, and its thickness far exceeds 200nm. Rather than gold determining the physical properties of this diaphragm, it is actually the silver plating that plays a more decisive role. The main function of gold in this diaphragm is to protect the silver from oxidation/corrosion. **I'd rather call it "FiiO's First Premium Siver Planar".**

When I view these expensive headphones as luxury and cultural consumption items, I feel some are worth their price. But as listening tools, no pair of headphones is worth more than $400, including the Sennheiser HE-1. Otherwise, why would professional audio companies willing to spend nearly $100,000 on measurement tools like the BK5128 consistently opt for cheaper headphones as reference devices instead of those hi-fi luxuries? **This is hard to accept,** but every rigorous study on subjective sound quality evaluation under blind testing has demonstrated this point. Some headphones definitely sound "better" for a specfic person even in a blind test, but that impression varies, depending on the final transfer function generated by the coupling between the headphones and a specific human head and preference.

Yeah, I found these headphones (420g) are still too heavy for me, so I switched to dynamic headphones eventually. 😂 I recalled and realized what I missed is ft7's great bass extension, but its 9k peak is somewhat annoying.