Introduction

FiiO has established itself as a strong contender in the personal audio space over the 15 years since the brand was launched. Indeed, I've noticed how FiiO product reviews tend to get a lot more traffic and shares compared to most other brands, simply because of the brand presence the Guangzhou, China-based company enjoys. This includes the recently covered trio of the excellent K5 Pro ESS and K9 Pro ESS desktop DAC/amplifier units, as well as the all-BA driver FA7s IEMs.. The K9 Pro ESS in particular has found a place in my source rotation for headphones testing too—it's that good in my opinion! The very first FiiO review from my end here was that was of the FH5s hybrid driver IEMs over an year ago, with an interesting semi-open design that also was notorious in the IEM community for its stance on burn-in that seemingly improved the sound signature further over time. I still have mixed thoughts about it—especially seeing as in the months since then, pretty much nothing has changed my stance on burn in—but I was still curious as to what the next step from FiiO would be.


Today we take a look at the all-new FiiO FH7S that builds upon the base set by the FH5s, using a more common 1 DD, 4 BA configuration as opposed to the 2 DD, 2 BA set in the FH5s. FiiO also claims many additional improvements here including the "sci-fi armor" design language, a 2nd generation semi-open design, user-replaceable tuning filters instead of integrated switches, and an interesting notch filter that might well solve the higher frequency issues I had with the FH5s, which came with BA drivers located directly in the nozzle and shouting into the ears. FiiO is also debuting its own branded ear tips with the FH7S, so there is a lot to cover today in our review which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below. Thanks again to FiiO for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

The unboxing stage of a FiiO product can be almost as long as some reviews, given how much the company gives you. This begins with the product box itself with metallic printing on a semi-glossy black base that certainly catches the eye. On the front is the company logo and product name, along with the expected Hi-Res Audio logo and a render of the IEM shells with some technical drawings. The back is weirdly silent by comparison but the sides make up for it with even more drawings as seem above. All these are on an external sleeve that can be easily slid off the internal box from either side.


Unlike the habits of pretty much every other IEM company, FiiO has also customized this inner box to be specific for the FH7S, given the simple render on the front above the company slogan. Magnets hold this thick cardboard box closed and it opens from the top to reveal a booklet that serves as a generic quick start guide for FiiO IEMs. It can be handy to go over if you are new to IEMs in general, or even just those using MMCX connectors. Underneath come the IEMs themselves, snugly packed inside thick foam, with machined cutouts for the individual shells and the attached cable that goes around and underneath in a storage compartment. The carry case is alongside, making for a clean first impression.


The carry/storage case sells for $20 by itself under the FiiO HB5 product name, and is one of the better polyurethane-based faux leather implementations I have seen to date. It employs a nice two-color finish with tan sides and a front tag to contrast with the dark blue surface elsewhere, measures 94 x 87 x 47 mm, and weighs ~100 g by itself. The stitching quality is quite good, and we see FiiO as well as the same "born for music" slogan stamped in. A magnetic clasp keeps the box closed and inside we see a soft fabric and velvet lining akin to a jewelry box. There is a cutout to hold the IEMs and some accessories too, and we see a silica gel sachet packed inside. More relevant is a tool used to disconnect the MMCX connectors on the cable from the ear buds, the magnetic cable clasp with FiiO branding, and a cleaning brush. We also get a 4.4 mm TRRS plug here that we'll get to on the next page, and there are two sets of ear tips to go with the even larger collection of ear tips in a separate box placed in the bottom layer.


To say FiiO is generous on the ear tip side would be an understatement, with seven different types and a whopping 18 sets in total to choose from. The ones in the box come labeled too based on their intended application and how they differ from each other—great job FiiO in keeping things organized and user-friendly! These are also tips we've seen in the past with other FiiO IEMs such as the FH5s, so my attention was drawn more to the two other bags which contain new additions. The white silicone tips here are the excellent SpinFit CP145 pivoting tips in sizes S/M/L and the smokey gray silicone tips are the new FiiO HS18 that also come in the same S/M/L sizes but are just 0.4 mm thick, using doubleshot hot-press molding. FiiO claims the thin nature of these ear tips allows for increased comfort and a completely transparent sound.


The final set of accessories here comes in the form of a metal plate that has two sets of tuning filters/nozzles screwed in place. These also come labeled based on the color of the O-rings used and seen above are the red (bass) and green (treble) filters with the white (balanced) filters presumably pre-installed on the IEMs.


I mentioned how the FiiO FH7S IEMs come with the cable pre-installed, to where all you have to do now is select the ear tips you prefer and place them on the nozzles to get going. However, for a closer examination of the cable and IEMs separately, I did have to disconnect the cable. This is made easy with the provided MMCX removal tool as seen in this helpful video. FiiO's MMCX connectors are otherwise some of the hardest to pull apart by hand.