Fiio Fa7s

disclaimer:   The Fa7s was sent as part of a loaner package from Fiio that also included the M11PLus Ltd and the M17 DAPs.  All of these were returned at the end of my time with them and I received no compensation for any of the reviews.   I have no financial interest in Fiio or any of its distributors or partners.

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

The packaging is what we expect from Fiio’s higher end products with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in as accessories.   The front of the slipcover has the image of one earpiece and the model name while the reverse has the specs.  The book-fold style box has 2 layers with the top housing the earpieces in foam surround and the pelican style hard case.  The lower layer has the tips (12 sets) and the adapters for the modular cable system.    The cable, tools, and a cable management strap are all hiding in the case.   There are 4 different styles of tips provided with 3 varieties of silicone tips and a set of foams.   Its a very complete kit and as mentioned not unlike Fiio.

 

Build/Fit:

Shells are made of 316 stainless using a sintered metal process.   In this process powdered metal is pressed to shape and then heated until it just reaches the melting point to bond the powder into a solid object.   Sintering has become a popular way to make precision parts because it requires less clean-up than injection molding or casting and wastes far less material than milling from bar stock.   The shells are barrel shaped with an MMCX housing at top and the nozzle exiting middle front.    Face plates have a Y shaped slot with a colored screen behind it that indexes left/right and does serve as a vent for the HODVTEC vented balanced armatures used inside.   Despite being made entirely of stainless steel, I didn’t find the Fa7s to be markedly heavier than other aluminum or magnesium shelled models.  Size is on the larger side so those with small ears will want to audition before purchase and whether you have small ears or not, some tip rolling is required to get the best fit.    Once I found the best tip for my ears, the FA7s was comfortable for long listening sessions.

 

Internals:

The FA7s is an all balanced armature model with 3 pairs of drivers per ear.   The low end is handled by a pair of Knowles HODVTEC 31618 armatures,  the mids by a custom pair of armatures that Fiio is releasing fewer details about, and a pair of 33518 armatures handle the highs.  There is a 3 way crossover so each pair operates as a single unit.  The low and mid BA’s have a single outlet port for the pair while the 33518s are separate so there are 4 sound bores that feed the nozzles.   The rear vents on the faceplate so the ported balanced armatures used in the low end do have venting to the outside.   Nominal impedance is 18Ω with a sensitivity of 111 dB/mW which puts the FA7s into a class of devices that works well with moderate power sources.  I had no issues with powering the FA7s from a Cayin RU6 or Questyle M12 dongles.   I really enjoyed the pairing of the Fa7s with the M11 Plus as well for those who wish to pair the Fa7s with a Fiio branded DAP.

 

 

Cable:

The provided cable is Fiio’s new modular design and comes with adapters for 3.5, 2.5, and 4.4mm connections.  The housing has 4 pins at the base that the adapter presses down onto and then the outer metal housing screws onto the jack to hold it in place.  They jacks are keyed so they cannot be wired incorrectly without use of excessive force.    The cable is an 8 wire braid from the straight jack housing up to the barrel style splitter.  There is a chin slider above the splitter and all the hardware (jack, splitter, slider) have a matching gun-metal gray look.    Above the splitter the wires are 4 wire braids up to pre-formed hooks and mmcx connectors in clear housings.  Connectors have a red or blue band at the base to help with indexing.   The wire inside the cable is listed as oxygen free single crystal pure copper.      Overall its a very serviceable cable and really  do like the new modular design although I find it a bit behind Dunu’s version as I like the addition of the 90º bend on the jack of their system as opposed to the straight jack provided here.    That having been said the Fiio version is one of the shortest of the convertible jacks with a straight housing so it should put less strain on the jack than something like Kinera’s system which is similar but extends the length of the plug considerably.

 

Sound:

The Fa7s is a tough one to classify because it has a warm low end and a bright top end, but mids are not scooped out and as a result it really doesn’t fit in the V or U pattern.  Nor it is purely a bright or completely a warm in-ear.   It manages to straddle the line in a lot of regards and sounds more balanced than the frequency response might suggest.

 

Bass:

The Fa7s has somewhat typical balanced armature bass.  It is not the most impactful, nor does it dig as deep as some of the better dynamics with roll-off becoming evident in the mid-30Hz range.   What it does do well is texture and clarity of bass.   The low end has good speed and the bass is more articulate than many of those same dynamic driver models as a result.   The ported BA used does give the FA7s a bit more thump than some balanced armature models and gives the lows a bit more body and warmth than earlier bass armatures.   I think the evolution of the armature is on display here as it does show a warmer, thicker tone than earlier models if not as visceral as some will prefer.     The FA7s won’t please bassheads even a little bit but for those looking for a tonally accurate bass with good detail, texture, and clarity the FA7s does a very good job for the asking price.

 

Mids:

I love good mids and so I was pleased with the FA7s.  The fact that Fiio chose to use stock drivers for both ends but customized the mid-range armatures tells us something about the focus of the FA7s and it doesn’t disappoint.    Lower mids flow cleanly from the mid-bass with no marked bleed or thickening and have good presence and detail.  Lower vocals stand on a near even footing with higher voices for a change.   Vocals have good note weight and texture and while they do cut through do not seem shouty or in-your-face as a result.   Guitar has good growl with plenty of edge to the sound and violin has good energy as we move into the higher mids.   There is a distinct lift to the upper mids that helps with vocal presence but can get a bit overly forward if the track lifts the range as well.  I found little to no sibilance unless recorded into the track at which point it is faithfully reproduced, but did find that female vocals could come across a bit nasal if over-emphasized.

 

Treble:

Lower treble starts on the same plateau with the upper mids but then drops back rather quickly and the result is a treble with good energy that balanced well with the rest of the signature without becoming fatiguing.   Snare has good rattle with a nice sharp edge to it, cymbals have good shimmer and even hi-hat doesn’t sound metallic at normal listening volumes.   This is not the in-ear to “Crank it up” though as the treble can become harsh at higher volume levels as it seems to trade a bit of control for increased output as it is fed more power.    The top end is well extended and gives plenty of air at the top.

 

Soundstage / Imaging:

Stage is quite good but is somewhat dependent on what it is being fed as the separation of the drivers into individual sound bores means that each pair exhibits slightly different stage characteristics.   The lows are centered and nearly fixed at a moderate depth while the mid-range has more left to right spread and moves a bit closer to the listener.  The top end has good depth and some width and height as well and when combined the sound stage is well rendered for small ensembles and pop/rock.   When seating a large orchestra, the deep voices tend to seem a bit narrower than the higher voices giving the effect of a stage that is almost V shaped with the timpani at the point of the V and the strings at the tops of the arms.     Layering is very good and keeps instruments from overlapping so even if positioning is not quite what we’d expect we don’t get lots of slurring or over-lap.   Movements are easily tracked and positions fairly tightly defined as well.  I found no compression or thickening as tracks got faster and more complex.

 

Comparisons:

At $340 retail the Fa7s falls into a very competitive market space with models like Moondrop’s Blessing 2, Dunu’s 2000J, and Fearless’ S6 Pro all vying for customer dollars.  Add to that the internal competition between the FA7s with the FH7, FA9, and FD5 in the Fiio line-up.

Moondrop Blessing 2  – Materials, shape, and lows separate the Blessing2 and FA7s with the FA7s using an all metal barrel shape vs the acrylic semi-custom shape of the blessing2.   The Fa7s is the more durable looking for sure and the cable system also scores points for the FA7s vs the Blessing2.   The lows on the Blessing2 dig deeper than those on the FA7s and those looking for more bass will prefer the blessing2 while those looking for tighter more articulate bass will like the FA7s a bit better.    Mids are good on both but slightly more detailed on the FA7s and treble is a bit smoother on the FA7s as well.   Overall, tonality and fit are likely the deciders between these two and you’d be hard to go wrong with either choice.

Dunu 2000J –   The 2000J is one of the older Dunu models at this point but shares a similar construction to the FA7s with its all metal barrel shape and slightly smaller size.   Internally the Dunu like the blessing2 is a hybrid only this time its a 1DD+2BA arrangement.    This gives the 2000J a bit more low end depth compared to the FA7s but it lacks some of the detail of the FA7s and the tonality is a bit better on the FA7s throughout.    Knowing that Fiio partnered with Dunu on their early models it is interesting to see some of the similarities in tuning that have remained from those days.    The 2000J is due for a refresh and the FA7s shows off the advances in armature development that have occurred since.

Fearless S6 Pro –   The S6 pro is an all acrylic shell so pretty much completely opposite the FA7s steel shell.   Both are roughly the same size but the S6 pro may be an easier fit for some.   Again the Fiio cable system scores points vs the cable from the S6 Pro as well.    Internally the S6 Pro is much more similar to the FA7s in that both sport 6 balanced armatures per side with at least most of them being Knowles.   The S6 Pro sports a 4 way crossover vs the Fa7s 3 way meaning one pair of armatures operates on 2 different frequency ranges vs the true twins of the FA7s.   Both have similar drivability as well so that doesn’t help separate them either.    Both have similar lows with the FA7s being slightly warmer, mids are good on both with a slight edge in timbre again going to the Fa7s.  Where the S6 Pro wins is its more open and spacious top end.    These two will come down to fit and preference.

Within Fiio’s own product line you have several models that all retail within $25 to one side or the other of the FA7s which begs the question of which of them is right for you.    The FH7 or hybrid uses a semi-custom shaped metal shell and a 4+1 arrangement featuring a 13.6mm Beryllium coated dynamic driver.    The low end is more visceral on the FH7 as a result but not quite as tonally accurate as the FA7s.   The big decision point between the two is how much bass you want vs how much accuracy.     The FA9 is a step above the FA7s at least on paper but the two both use very similar internals and have similar tunings.  The FA9 is not quite as warm and sports a bit more top end comparatively but the biggest separator between the FA9 and the FA7s is likely to be the shell with the FA9 having an all acrylic custom shape vs the Steel barrel design of the FA7s.   Finally the FD5 has more in common with the Shell of the FA7s as both use metal barrel shaped shells of roughly the same size.   The FD5 has more low end reach, but is tuned with less warmth in the lows and a bit more of a dip in the lower mids.  Those looking for something close to Harman target will appreciate the FD5 while those looking for something a bit closer to reference will prefer the FA7S.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

Fiio has been expanding its line of in-ears with three distinct lines the A(rmature)  series, the H(ybrid), and the D(ynamic) series all offer buyers something a little different.   The armature series tends to focus of clarity, detail, and absolute resolution and that shows in the FA7s.   Lows are fast and clean but not super impactful,  Mids are solid with good presence and vocal textures.  Guitar and violin are both well rendered, and upper voices get a mild lift to the front.   At the top there is plenty of air and sparkle and extension is quite good.   The question for many will be whether they prefer a little more impact in the lows, or a little more body to the lower mids, possibly in exchange for slightly less detail.     This will largely come down to the genre being listened to and individual preference.   I found the Fa7s superb for string quartet and small ensemble pieces, but prefer the FD5 where a bit more visceral bass is needed like EDM or blues rock.    Overall, the FA7S again proves Fiio is learning with each successive generation and is offering users more of what they want with each new model.    I wasn’t a big fan of the original FA7, but the s does make a difference and this is a better listen.