Headphone Heights

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Excellent Sounding IEM Earphones

Posted by John Elison on October 29, 2021 at 11:14:56:
I recently discovered some IEM earphones that sound absolutely stunning. I don't think there's anything better, but I haven't heard many of the very expensive headphones such as Stax electrostatics. I own Grado HP1 and RS2 headphones as well as Koss ESP/950 electrostatics. I also own a number of other IEM and earbud earphones. However, these new FiiO earphones beat them all. There are two models, the FiiO FD5 and FD7 IEM earphones.

Both of these are sold on Amazon. The FD5 came out first and cost $300. They are truly exceptional for their price. Next came the FD7 and the price doubled to $600. They are definitely better sounding than the FD5, but only slightly. However, it seems that when I hear something only slightly better I don't want to go back to the lower quality pair.

The main difference between the two is that the slightly better sounding pair have pure beryllium diaphragms while the FD5's have diamond-like carbon (DLC) diaphragms with beryllium coated surrounds. The pure beryllium diaphragms sound slightly more transparent with cleaner bass. They also use pure sliver cables rather than silver plated copper like the FD5's. Nevertheless, both are truly exceptional earphones; better than any others I've heard including my Koss electrostatics.

On the other hand, if you prefer earbud style earphones over the IEM style, the FiiO EM5 earbuds might be more to your liking. They cost $300 like the FD5's and they sound just as good to me. However, I prefer the isolation from external noise provided by IEM style earphones.

Best regards,
John Elison