FiiO FD7 Review – Audio46 Headphone Store

April 30, 2022

FiiO’s flagship in-ear monitor, the FD7, is one of their most exciting new releases. The FD7 touts several innovations in its design and even more options for customization, which many claim makes it one of the most versatile IEMs on the market. At $600, the FD7 is going up against some heavy-hitters, especially for IEMs. I’m going to see if the FD7 is everything it’s hyped up to be.

What’s in the Box

FiiO FD7 IEMs with cable
Carrying Case
3 Ear Tubes (Bass, Treble, Balanced)
16 pairs ear tips (3 Balanced, 3 Bass, 2 Memory Foam, 3 Vocal, 2 Tri-Flange, 3 SpinFit)
Cleaning tool
User Guide

Look and Feel

These IEMs look great, especially the seamless integration of the semi-acoustic design into the gold trim on the back plates. They feel sturdy yet extremely light and are highly ergonomic. The box presentation is extremely well-organized and, despite its myriad of customization options, I never felt overwhelmed due to its layout. Overall the FD7 is an extremely hassle-free IEM.

Design

One of the most significant aspects of the FD7 is its wide range of customization options. It comes with 16 pairs of ear tips, each with its own unique fit and sound character, 3 interchangeable sound tubes with unique sound characters, and 3 adaptors to ensure you can get the sound for your setup right out of the box. I’m going to stick with the default configurations for this review, but after experimenting, I found the FD7 has an incredibly varied sound depending on which of these options you use. The 12mm single dynamic driver is made of pure beryllium and features a semi-open Volcanic Field acoustic design, which reduces distortion and improves wave response. The FD7’s acoustic prism design reduces time delay between sound waves, leading to a clearer overall sound. One of the drawbacks of the FD7 being so hardware-intensive is that it requires a lot of power. You’ll most likely need an external amp to power them and get the full experience. FiiO put a lot of thought and effort into ensuring these IEMs are incredibly well-designed.

The FiiO FD7 has a frequency response of 10 Hz – 40 kHz and an impedance of 50 Ohms.

Soundstage

The isolation on the FD7 lends itself to create an immersive soundstage. Despite being IEMs, these have an incredibly wide and airy sound that surprised me when I first listened to them. The imaging has a lot of wraparound which enhances the mix and the presence of its finer details. Everything sits in a nice spot and, while mixes could get really wide, the FD7 rarely overdoes it and maintains its originally intended subtlety. The dynamic range can stretch before losing detail, although the high-impedance problem still occurred when I wasn’t using an amp.

Lows

The lows on the FD7 have nice, warm tones that add a lot of detail to the sound. I did personally find them to be fairly subdued and the subs could have used more presence and feel to them, but this is mostly alleviated by switching ear tubes/tips. While it might not be ideal for bass heads, the FD7 is very supportive if you’re looking for a warmer, more organic bass sound.

Mids

The mids on the FD7 are very clear and do a great job of representing the sound. The harmonics on these sounded really good and did a great job of adding blend between the rest of the frequency spectrum. Additionally, lead instruments felt present yet rarely so in-your-face that it took me out of the experience.

Highs

The treble range shows a good balance between intensity and control. While it is enhanced slightly, it does a good job of accentuating detail and doesn’t ever feel overly bright. I was incredibly impressed with the highs and how they were able to be present but not detract from the overall sound character of the FD7.

Overall

The FD7 really impressed me. This is one of the more organic sounding IEMs I’ve heard and, despite its warm sound, it still does a great job of providing detail and sharp clarity when needed. The customization options allow for a seamlessly tailored listening experience, making these one of the more versatile IEMs on the market. If you’re looking to get into IEMs, but don’t want to commit to one sound profile, the FD7s are definitely worth getting. I really liked these and I can’t wait to see how FiiO tops this.