Although FiiO FT1 Pro and FT1 are similar in model, they show significant differences in type, positioning, configuration, hearing, applicable scenarios, etc. The FT1 Pro focuses more on high resolution and open soundstage, while FT1 has obvious advantages in mid-low frequency performance and multi-scenario applicability.
FiiO FT1 Pro specs and features:
- 95x86mm self-lapping flat unit
- Uniform equal magnetic field design
- 28nm chip level process & 1μm special film sheet
- 20Ω high sensitivity and easy push design
- 374g lightweight wear design
- $199 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon countries
Appearance Design and Comfortable
FiiO FT1 Pro adopts a simple design style – the overall shape is smooth, the lines are simple, and there is no excessive decoration. The headphone is mainly black, which can be integrated into any scene. Of course, the disadvantage is that it may not be attractive enough for some young people, and it may even be a bit too “retro”.
The FT1 PRO weighs only 374g without the headphone cable, which is very light among open-back planar headphones. FT1 PRO uses a new type of rigid plastic material for the panel bracket, which is close to the strength of aluminum alloy and the density of plastic. It successfully reduces the weight while ensuring strength, greatly improving the comfortable fit.
The design of the headbeam is also quite clever – it fully considers the principles of ergonomics and can fit the curve of the head well, thereby dispersing the weight of the headphone and reducing local pressure. Wearing it for a long time will not cause excessive pressure and discomfort to the head and neck.
Also, the earcups are detachable and replaceable, which is not only convenient for users to clean and maintain, but also can be replaced in time when the earmuffs are worn or damaged, extending the service life of the headphones. The earcups and headbeam are made of durable and breathable woven materials, which effectively reduces the feeling of stuffiness.
FiiO FT1 PRO supports 3-axis rotation and stretching. The spring design inside the headphone shell gives the headphones automatic resilience, allowing them to automatically maintain the best posture when not worn. The stretching sliding structure adopts a ball design, which is the same as Sennheiser HD800S.
Hardware Configuration and Acoustic Technology
Self-developed Planar Driver: FiiO FT1 PRO is equipped with a self-developed 95x86mm planar driver. It uses a 1um PET diaphragm, which FiiO claims is the current limit thickness of thin film materials. This ultra-thin diaphragm responds very quickly to high-speed frequency vibrations of high frequency and ultra-high frequency, with rich information, while also enabling low-frequency signals to obtain a larger amplitude.
In simple terms, it helps FT1 PRO to vibrate quickly with the rhythm of the sound when playing highs. This means you can hear more highs details – for example, when listening to the high-pitched performance of a violin or some high-pitched bird calls, the sound will feel clearer and more realistic.
At the same time, this thin diaphragm has another benefit – when playing low-frequency sounds, it can make the bass signal have a larger vibration amplitude. This is like “amplifying” the bass sounds, making the bass of the drums in electronic music or rock music more powerful and full.
Double-coating Patented Voice Coil Design: Aluminum+sapphire dual-coating patented voice coil design is another feature of FiiO FT1 PRO. The weight of the diaphragm is mainly concentrated on the coil coating. By using aluminum alloy as the main voice coil conductor, the diaphragm weight and impedance are balanced, making the headphones easier to drive and making the highs performance better. At the same time, sapphire increases the rigidity of the diaphragm, and in the performance of instruments with very crisp highs, the subtle differences of each tone can be heard more clearly.
Double-sided Magnet Design: 18 high-performance strong magnets (each nine) are used to make the magnetic field strength on both sides of the diaphragm evenly distributed; the two-way vibration has the same force and amplitude, thus obtaining a better transient response. The sensitivity is as high as 95dB/mW@1kHz, and the impedance is 20Ω. It is an easy-to-push type among planar headphones – this means that it can be easily matched with various front-end devices, whether you use a mobile phone, tablet computer, or audio player to listen to songs, it can be well matched.
Uniform Equal Magnetic Field Design: Through the design of anisotropic magnets, a larger and more uniform magnetic field is obtained in the plane position of the coil, which increases the driving area and reduces the distortion caused by amplitude differences.
Interchangeable Cable Design: The FT1 PRO adopts dual 3.5mm interchangeable cable design, equipped with 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced-ended cables – oxygen-free copper silver-plated headphone cable, with a length of 1.5 meters. This design allows users to choose the appropriate cable according to their needs and front-end devices, further improving the sound quality.
Sound Quality of FiiO FT1 Pro
FiiO FT1 Pro retains the traditional characteristics of planar headphones, such as high sound transparency, delicate and smooth high-frequency performance, and also has a good sense of atmosphere. The overall sound texture is relatively thick and full, which also gives FT1 PRO a high degree of applicability and listening durability – its sound performance is better than FiiO FT1.
FiiO FT1 Pro has a very deep low-frequency extension, the low-frequency quantity is just right, and the full-frequency layers are clear, natural and rich.
However, if you are sensitive to low-frequency, you may feel a little muffled. Plus, the vocals are slightly far away, as if they are trapped in the open soundstage created by the background instruments. It sounds very three-dimensional, the music has a strong integrity, and there is little abruptness or irritation.
The brightness of the mid-high frequency is moderate, the sound is bright but not harsh, with a good sense of air and gloss. No matter what you listen to, it is very natural and listenable.
The dynamics and cohesion of the tri-frequency details are also quite good, but the high-frequency transients do not show the effect of making people want to “scream”. Especially when listening to some music with complex arrangements, this part may not be exciting enough. But other than that, its high-frequency is still very good for other types of music.
Dynamics, density, thickness, and naturalness are all very good, but the transparency can be further improved. Sometimes I hope it can “restrain” the ultra-low frequency a little more, and make the mid-high frequency brighter. The tone is neutral, rich, stable, slightly warm, not lively, and the musicality of FiiO FT1 PRO is very good.
FiiO FT1 PRO vs FiiO FT1
FiiO FT1 is easier to drive, with a higher sensitivity of 98dB compared to 95dB of FiiO FT1 PRO.
The tri-frequency distribution of the two is quite different. The low-frequency quantity and mid-low frequency of FT1 are stronger, and the sharpness and taste of vocals are relatively better – the overall hearing is slightly brighter than FiiO FT1 Pro. Whether it is male or female voice, its “emotional” expression will be more intense.
In terms of the naturalness and authenticity of the sound, the FT1 PRO is better. Plus, the high-frequency extension of FiiO FT1 is not as natural and stretched as that of FT1 PRO.
Finally, the lateral soundstage of FT1 PRO is significantly better than FT1, which allows it to handle more types of music. The FT1 PRO also has better reproduction of pure instrumental works (including large-scale tracks) and control of large dynamics than FT1 – FiiO FT1 will be relatively “crowded” when facing the same music content.
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$169 – FiiO FT1 review
Conclusion
FiiO FT1 PRO weighs less than 400g, with a relatively ideal wearing experience and actual listening sound pressure. It has many sound characteristics, such as high density, listenable, moist, warm, surging, and large soundstage. It solves the problem of poor bass extension of most planar headphones and achieves a relatively ideal ultra-low frequency response.
Check the FiiO FT1 PRO price:
- Check latest price on AliExpress
- Check latest price on Amazon US
- Check latest price on Amazon Germany
- Check latest price on other Amazon countries