Review: FiiO FD3 Headphones – Born for Music

Today, we introduce the new FD3 wired headphones from the FiiO brand. FiiO’s motto is “Born for Music and Happiness,” and has been successfully implemented since it was founded in 2007, The headphones come in a good-looking, well protected black packaging. The packaging has a colorful, mirrored surface on which you can see the headphones. This is very nice and gives a pleasing start to the overall unboxing experience. Well done FiiO.

After opening the packaging (the lid is held by magnets), you can start by opening the Quick Start Guide.

The headphones, beautifully inserted as a heart in a perfectly shaped foam construct.

FiiO has compartmentalize lots of ear tips in sizes S, M or L in a separate box. You’ll also get 2x extra sound tubes, tools, and a brush.

The headphones can be detached from the “mmcx connector” in order to be able to replace for a better or broken cable.

The ear tips included are available in the following versions

–        Vocal (S/M/L)
–        Bass (S/M/L)
–        Balanced (S/L)
–        Memory foam (2 pairs M)

This is a lot of accessories for your ears.

Sound is a very personal matter. Thankfully, FiiO guarantees excellent sound by allowing their users to decide what is the best sound for them personally by including two interchangeable sound tubes. The users get to decide for themselves. Excellent forethought by FiiO!

The thicker of the two tubes (the red version) is recommended for all lovers of lively, rather bass-emphasized sound. The thinner tube (the variant in black), on the other hand, ensures a clear, precise sound quality.

General information

The headphones are wired, with a 3.5 plug and a metal gadget directly on the cable. The cable is braided and kept in a brown casing. The headphones (left and right) themselves were also marked with the colors red and blue. This makes it easier to insert correctly into the left or right ear. On the back of the headphones, the company logo is shown.

Appearance and structure of the FD3

The membrane itself consists of “diamond-like carbon,” i.e. carbon that is almost as hard as a diamond. On the one hand, the membrane is firm and resistant to distortions, but on the other hand, it is extremely light and reacts to pulses in a flash to faithfully reproduce the musical signals. The membrane is driven by a magnet with 1.5 Tesla magnetic power and a voice coil by the Japanese specialist Daikoku. Thus, power is abundant and clear, structured and powerful sound quality is guaranteed.

Portability / feel-good factor

The wearing of the headphones initially felt strange, but this could also be due to the wired version (personally I’m an Apple AirPods Pro user and fond of the style). After familiarizing myself with the insertion of the headphones, they felt very soft in the ear. No pressing or slipping out. I enjoy listening to music when I go to bed. The FiiO headphones are excellent for placing your head on pillows without disturbing the FiiO headphones.

The cable itself serves as an ear hook to keep the headphones in position. It definitely looks a little weird at first, but you do get used to it. The cable is already supplied from the factory like an earpiece.

Options to repair

The following can be replaced / repaired on the headphones.

–        Ear tubes
–        3.5 plug
–        Tips
–        Cable

Sound experience

The Hi-res audio headphones have a good sound. The bass is reasonable and well balanced. At maximum volume while using Apple Music and an iPhone 11 Pro with the 3.5 plug on lightning adapter, the headphones do not tolerate very well, they start creaking in the higher areas. However, the headphones have mastered volume of up to 80% at any time.

It may be on my ears, but from time to time I felt that the sound changes when I move my head. It is possible that the cable changes the position of the headphones in the ear a little as soon as you perform stronger movements with your head.

After more than 20 hours of pure music enjoyment, I can say that the headphones have quite good quality. You have a huge advantage from the beginning, since FiiO has them fully charged and ready to use out of the box. The processing I’d give a good rating and the scope of delivery is excellent.

The highlights at a glance

Diamond-like carbon – high-strength and light membrane
Acoustic prism integrated – For optimum time behavior
Semi-open housing design – low, clean bass guaranteed
Elegant and robust housing – Made of magnesium and aluminum
Sound is customizable – With two sound tubes and a lot of accessories

The price

When this review was released, the FD3 in the European FiiO store cost 99.00USD. A reasonable price for this kind of high-quality headphones.

My conclusion

Anyone looking for a great quality pair of headphones to listen to music in bed or (like me) to place sound effects in the correct position of a video in Final Cut Pro, then the FiiO Fd3 will be a great choice.

For more information look here: https://www.fiio.de