FiiO FT1 HiFi Headphones Review – Wooden Temple Of Dynamics
FiiO FT1 is a $159 USD pair of over-the-ear headphones with wooden earcups, detachable cable and dynamic drivers, made from American walnut solid-wood cups, and today we will review the FT1 and explore where they stand in the vast world of headphones and if they’re fit to be your next music companions.
Introduction
FiiO is one of the largest companies in the whole world catering to audiophiles and their needs, having a huge catalog of products, and covering everything from small bluetooth receivers all the way to flagship IEMS such as FiiO FA9, and speakers like FiiO SP3 BT. With such a large selection of products in their catalog, FiiO is sold through all the possible electronic shop channels including Amazon, Aliexpress, the FiiO shop, but also electronic shops worldwide, currently being a staple name for being an audiophile. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to FiiO for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Excellent sonic performance, strong details, strong kick, wide and deep soundstage and exceptional build quality, with actually wooden earcups. Price / Performance ratio is through the roof, and FT1 easily kills most of the competition in the price range. Excellent passive noise isolation for the design, easy to drive, not sensitive to the source and they sound excellent with all sources. Favorite entry-level model currently.
Cons – Earpads are a bit hard, headband a bit on the hard side too.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3XSzFbf
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDhusbB
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
FiiO FT1 is the first actually interesting pair of headphones from the company that I am reviewing, as the previously reviewed EH3 NC is not sold anymore and was a bluetooth headphones with a limited sonic performance. I already know a bit about the sound of the FT1 as I heard them at high-end Munich this year, but to explore the build quality, we have a full-sized headphone made to the highest standards, with wooden earcups and thick earpads.
The wooden ear cups are made of American solid walnut wood, and inside they house 60mm large dynamic drivers with a nano wood fiber composite diaphragm, offering a promised passive noise isolation as strong as -26 dB. There is a special W-Shaped suspension gasket that offers a 25.8% improvement in the vibration area, and the headphones have an ultra-wide laboratory measured frequency response between 10 Hz and 40 kHz.
The SPL is ultra-high at 113dB, while the impedance is natural at 32 OHMs, so you can expect zero issues driving the FT1, but they are not sensitive to background noise with all sources. They come with 392-Wire Silver Plated Oxygen Free Copper cables, which include both a 3.5mm single ended cable and a 4.4mm balanced cable. The earpads have thick, but somewhat hard sponges, and they are thick in general, but my ears barely have enough space inside, so for someone with larger ears FT1 will be on-ear.
A premium transport bag is included in the package, and the headphones offer a promised 12 levels of adjustment for the headband, enough for all heads, shapes and sizes. On my medium sized head I have to size the FT1 to about 60% of the maximum size, the clamping force is on the high side, and there is a bit of a hotspot at the top of my head, but nothing too serious. The headband has padding, but it is not very thick.
There is damping inside of the ear cup and the headphones use a standard connector at the earcup side with 3.5mm size, and with mono connectors at the earcup side, so most aftermarket cables will be hit and miss if they work. Subjectively, the comfort is good, passive noise isolation is good, not quite the promised -25 dB, more like 15- dB to 20 dB, of passive noise isolation, depending on the frequency if no music is playing. On the other hand, if music is playing, even ultra-quiet, I cannot hear myself typing or sound / noise from within the house.
To drive FT1 I have paired them with a collection of sources including HIFIMAN EF600, HIFIMAN EF400, iBasso DC07PRO, Creative Sound Blaster AE-9, iBasso DX180, iFi Hip-Dac 3, KAEI TAP-1 DACs, FiiO K11 R2R, FiiO Ka11, and Shanling Onix Alpha Xi1. FT1 eats a bit of power to actually get loud and can st as high as 50% – 60% with iBasso D16 until they reach around 105 dB, but FT1 does not scale much with the source, and does not reveal source problems either, being rather indifferent to the quality of the source as long as it can offer them enough power and juice.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – FiiO FT1 sounds V-Shaped with a strong and beefy sub-bass, warm and present mid-bass, and with a pleasing midrange that is slightly recessed allowing the soundstage to develop and project nicely laterally, and with a sparkly, and bright / clean treble. There’s an excellent sense of definition and detail, with very good impulse response, natural resonance and timbre from the wooden ear cups and ear cup damping, and with excellent overall engagement factor. If you never had a pricey pair of headphones, you won’t upgrade from FT1 unless you spend 499 USD and above, they are simply a killer deal. I remember how excited the team at FiiO were at high-end munich this year about FT1, and naturally I was neither very excited nor that curious about an entry-level headphone, but after hearing them I was blown away by the performance, as FT1 is similar to what 300 USD – 400 USD gets you in performance from Ultrasone these days, considering that FT1 is fully closed-back. The FiiO Team was right, they made a killer headphone, and FT1 will be one of the most popular models, easiest to recommend, finally killing ATH M50X and similarly priced models from AKG.
Bass – Starting with the sub-bass, FT1 has extension as low as 20 Hz, with actual presence and energy starting to take shape around 40 Hz, where the bass energy and punch actually starts. There’s a strong sense of punch, rattle and kick to FT1, but they manage to keep boominess under control, and the bass has a natural – fast response, offering a super satisfying low-end extension and punch. There’s a good sense of weight to musical instruments too, as FT1 creates body naturally, and gives music a sense of depth.
Midrange – The midrange is slightly recessed, but very sweet and somewhat happy, with FT1 emphasizing female voices, sweet sounds, guitars and happy music in general. Male voices are kept slightly behind instruments, like in Queen Kona – Dreams Of Calpurnia, while in songs like Utsu-P – Cold Death, the vocaloid female voice comes forward, in front of the instruments, despite the mix and mastering pushing the voice slightly behind in general. Basically, FT1 sounds excellent for ACG, Anime music, Vtuber Songs, Jazz, and female-led songs in general, but it gives a wider soundstage and less intimacy, a bigger space to music with a male lead singer.
Treble – A sharp, bright and sparkly treble compliments the presentation as FT1 plays with an airy treble that extends easily up to 16 kHz – 18 kHz, offering a sharp, satisfying expression of the high-end without sounding fatiguing or shrill. In fact, the sound is like a professionally equalized Meze 99 Classic, a pair of headphones heavily criticized for their default sound, despite the big headroom for a good sonic performance, while FT1 squeezes everything out of the driver and earcups, being professionally tuned and sounding their best already. Overall, FT1 has a treble that is interesting and fun for both EDM and Metal, ACG and all styles I played through them.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – With a natural impulse response, the sound has excellent details, a slight dynamic compression that brings the background slightly closer to the foreground, exposing and revealing details in said background more easily, but allowing the sound to be punchy, engaging and awesome in general. Textures are generally natural, without a strong smoothing effect, but not an edgy or fatiguing presentation either, the driver shows clear square waves but doesn’t make trumpets fatiguing, generally FT1 has a musical and pleasing sound to it.
Volume Control – Volume control is excellent, there is no big change in sonics at low or loud volumes. At most, at loud volumes the soundstage becomes compressed and intimate, forward and all sound gets closer to you, while the lower the volume, the bigger and more airy the soundstage is. No extra distortion or loss of clarity could be noticed at ultra high volumes using iBasso D16, a source with high maximum driving power. The sound stays as clean and crisp regardless whether you’re using tube or solid state sources, it is pure pleasure and a sound I can say I love. I prefer the sound with a strong source and loud for rock, but quiet for atmospheric music.
Soundstage – The soundstage has a natural extension in both depth and width, with good resolution and instrument separation. In fact, FT1 has one of the highest degrees of instrument separation in the entry-level price range, being exemplary for both it and soundstage width / depth / size for a closed-back headphone, without having any weird echoes. It is basically perfect for music listening and enjoyment.
Gaming
As the sound has a strong kick and punch, FiiO FT1 is perfect for gaming, it makes game music and effects / sound effects engaging, keeping you right in the action. A strong stereo separation, and good imaging are essential for competitive 3D games like shooters.
The sound has a wide soundstage and strong instrument separation, so the atmosphere in most games will be focused and engaged, as FT1 does not create a vague sound. You can expect Visual Novels as well as strategy and historical games to feel vivid and to put you right in the action.
Value and Conclusion
For a long time I gained more and more arrogance, and I have to let go of some of my preconceptions, as today FiiO proved me wrong and showed me that you can have what could be considered excellence and pure enjoyment for a really low price. Not just sonically, but FT1 has wooden earcups, good construction quality, two cables included in the package, and feels like a proper high-end flagship, so there’s nothing holding it back from being a top choice for anyone who’s struggling with money and who cannot afford something pricier.
I never thought this day would come, but FiiO scores big points and FT1 gains entry in the Audiophile-Heaven Hall Of Fame with FT1, one of the very few entry-level products to have such a remarkable performance that you simply can’t miss hearing and having.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a pair of headphones with strong resolution and details, with an ergonomic build, closed-back design and very good passive noise isolation, and with a beefy, punchy bass, slightly recessed midrange, bright treble, and a cohesive sound that’s universally likable with all styles, FiiO FT 1 should be one of your top choices, and a fully recommended purchase in today’s review.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3XSzFbf
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDhusbB
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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