FiiO new Dynamic Driver is a worthy successor to the FD5

Introduction

FiiO has been steadily advancing its IEM lineup, introducing a series of refreshed and upgraded versions of their existing product lines. The FiiO FD15 is the latest entry in this progression specifically in the FD (FiiO Dynamic) range, building upon the success of the popular FD5.

Priced at $150, the FD15 boasts several enhancements and aims to provide a premium audio experience in the highly competitive mid-fi $100 - $200 market.

In summary, don’t let the price tag fool you, this is an extremely high quality IEM that deliveries on sound quality and is built better and packaged better than it has any right to be.

But let’s get into the details as to what you get with the FD15.

Packaging and Accessories

The packaging of the FD15 is both fairly unique but typically FiiO in that you a nicely premium packaging and some great accessories with within the box.

So it comes in a nice the box:

Opening up you get a small manual - mainly describing how to switch the nozzle:

Removing the manual you get the FD15 in all its glory:

One slightly unique feature of the packaging is instead of the usual carrying case, FiiO provided a clear plastic box to store the FD15:

I love this idea - it is practical (I typically never use the big leather carrying cases that are often provided) while I am already using this container to store the FD15 many accessories:

It also has lego like design and I would love to see more manufacturers providing similar boxes for IEM storage where they could be stacked onto of each other:

Sadly I can’t imagine the industry agreeing to this standard, but I do think it’s a great alternative to mostly useless carrying cases, hopefully FiiO can use this design with future IEM’s.

Inside this box, FiiO have included lots of accessories type you might normally expect in a flagship offering including:

• Eartips: Five sets of various eartips including balanced, vocal, bass, foams, and HS18.
• Other Accessories: MMCX remover tool, cleaning brush, and a set of alternate modular nozzles.

FiiO even provide a few labels for the front of the box.

Cable

The cable also feels like quality - much closer to the cables FiiO provides with their flagship IEM’s models like the new FH19. Technically it is Furukawa monocrystalline silver + monocrystalline silver-plated copper cable with MMCX connectors and modular 3.5mm and 4.4mm plugs:

It uses MMCX connectors which again is more typical of higher end IEM’s than 2-pin, and it does have some adjustability options over 2-pin connectors:

The modular cable design is practical, allowing users to switch between single-ended and balanced outputs with ease.

FD15 Shell

I was immediately struck by the weight and quality of each IEM:

If you are coming from sub $100 IEM’s one thing you will immediately notice is the build quality of the shell of this IEM. This is an IEM shell that is built to last, unlike typical plastic molded IEM shells where I am afraid I might accidentally sit on them and break them.

It is almost like in a thousand years some archeologists will find the FD15 and wonder what weird metalic objects people in the 21st century were sticking in their ears, but it will be one of the few IEM shells to survive that long.

I believe some early review units were highly magnetized but mine were only slightly magentic.

But despite its robust construction, the FD15 are relatively lightweight and comfortable for listening sessions, I used this on many long walks (I have been practising for the ‘Camino’ so out walking 3-4 hours each day) and they provided excellent and stable fit in my ears for many hours each day.

Features

FiiO have implemented some nice technical features unique to the FD15 specifically, I thought the ‘Tesla Value’ to enhance the bass frequencies seems like an excellent design and one that I definitely appreciated the quality of the bass during my subjective listening sessions.

Another innovation I thought was worthy was an adjustment in the angle of the nozzle (it sounds like a small thing) but FiiO technical description matches my own subjective features of how well this IEM fits in my ear and how stable it is.

The alternative nozzle while not unique to the FD15 is worth highlighting:

The stock nozzle (the alternative Nozzle has a red tip):

There are some other technical features which are interesting, but you can read them over on FiiO product page here

Subjective Sound

So I briefly switched between the two ‘stock’ and ‘red’ nozzles and quickly settled on the stock ones, but to be honest I didn’t hear that much of a difference between them, but I thought maybe the stock one had slightly more ‘detail’.

So I then started my deeper investigations of the sound of the FD15.

FiiO ‘House sound’ and the FD15

So having owned a few FiiO IEM (and headphones) in the past few years, the key thing to understand is FiiO are not aiming for a ‘Harman’ signature, they have their own unique tuning which is typically includes some rich sounding mid-bass. FiiO also typically like to tune their IEM to emphasise the key features of each release of their product, for example, with the new FH19 you get some very nice bass, smooth treble and incredible soundstage as those are the technical features they were aiming for.

But with the FD15 I was immediately impressed with the clarity of midrange and bass (probably this ‘Tesla’ value provided this benefit and helped with the nice ‘separation’), so pretty quickly I knew this IEM was not the FiiO “house sound” but had a subtly more balanced midrange than in my previous experience with FiiO IEMs.

In short, I love the sound of the FD15.

But let’s get into the specifics:

Bass:

The FD15 delivers a textured and resonant bass with a slight mid bass emphasis, though considerably less than other FiiO IEM’s. The bass is never overwhelming, making it suitable for those who prefer a balanced sound signature. While not exactly Harman there is a separation between the bass and the midrange making both clearer. So, songs like Bjork’s Hunter still has a driving bass thump but left enough detail to not overwhelm the song.

Midrange:

Clean and detailed, the midrange is slightly forward, providing clarity and speed. Vocals are reproduced with sweetness and precision, making the FD15 suitable for vocal-centric genres. The upper midrange is energetic but remains controlled, avoiding the harshness often found in other IEMs.

For me, the midrange is the star of the show with the FD15, I found the FD15 tonally very accurate, vocals and acoustics instruments sounded appropriately and slightly forward in the mix. Once I find a midrange focused IEM ( like last year’s Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite) I usually spend some time listening to lots of tracks that I know can tease out the subtlies of that tuning so with this IEM with lots of classic 1970’s tracks from people like Nick Drake (with the gorgeous orchestrations), Elton John ( for the
Piano centric tracks) and some classic Bowie (like ‘Life on Mars’) - all these midrange centric tracks sounded fantastic with enough details to really pick apart these classic recordings.

But it would be a perfect tuning for most genres of music, but if you are a ‘basshead’ then this is not the tuning for you.

Treble:

The treble is smooth and well-extended, with a bright yet non-sibilant presentation. I would say the Treble sounded appropriate giving instruments an accurate tonality but not in an overall distracting way (that you can get with some IEM’s in this price range trying to justify their ’technicalities’). This is probably the weakest part of the FD15 and stops it from having a flagship level sound but at this price it is still excellent treble.

Note: The red tuning nozzles allow for some customization of the treble response, lower its response a little.

Soundstage and Image:

While the soundstage was not that wide as some flagship models I thought the imaging was tremendous with FD15, that midrange clarity means you can separate out individual instruments with a fantastic sense of depth. I got the feeling from orchestral music, that you can clearly hear different notes from the piano in slightly different distinct places within the soundstage.

Specifications and Measurements

Here are FiiO published specifications:

Measurements

These measurements were taken with my 711 clone coupler and are available on my measurement DB here

Frequency Response

Here is the frequency response, the overall frequency response is balanced (with less sub-bass) mostly aligned with a slightly relaxed treble and a little (though less than usual) mid-bass emphasis, but for me the most obviously aspect of the sound was that upper midrange / lower treble balance:

As you can see in this comparison this is very similar to that Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite presentation:

I was a little suspect of my own measurements, so I actually checked Gizaudio measurements of both these IEM and they are mostly similar:

Here is the channel balance, I actually measured this with the provided ‘foam’ ear tips which have slightly relaxed treble but I believe this is the relative change you can expect with the ‘Red’ nozzle:

Distortion

This shows well controlled distortion ( less than 40dB ) even when playing at over 90db.

Group Delay

For those interested this is the group delay:

Some Comparisons

As I mentioned, earlier when I started my subjective listening I was immediately impressed with the midrange and the imaging provided, providing a very similar sonic profile to one of my favourite IEM’s from last year the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite. My 2 minor complaints with the Orchestra lite was sub-bass was a little light and as an all BA design there was a pressure build up requiring some ‘adjustments’ every so often during long listening sessions especially out walking with that IEM. The FD15 has better bass and given it’s a DD design, it does not suffer from any pressure build up, so I was very happy with this IEM for very long listening sessions.

Another IEM in the $100-$200 range, that I have recently reviewed would be the Aful Explorer and while I loved the Explorer also, I found the FD15 is better, with better packaging and an overall better treble, where the Explorer had some weaknesses. The Aful Explorer does try a slightly different tonality tilt (more bass / less treble) in the frequency response which itself is interesting but may not appeal to everyone.

One other comparison, though unfair given the price differences, is with the Truthear Zero Red (since it is also a DD design), while that also has an excellent tuning, there is no comparison with the FD15. In a comparison the Zero Red just seems ‘cheap’ and it’s large shell is not as comfortable as the FD15, I would also take the FD15 over the Zero Red in just subjective listening but the Zero Red is also very pragmatic and a great IEM for its price.

Here are the frequency response comparisons of these IEMs:

Rating

I have given the FD15 a 5-star pragmatic rating. I think this FiiO is the most pragmatic IEM they have ever produced, it sounds great, comes in a great package with great accessories and it’s extremely comfortable. I think for the price you are getting an amazing IEM, and it is hard to believe it is a single DD configuration.

Conclusion

The FiiO FD15 is one of the best mid-fi IEM’s you can get, offering a well-rounded audio experience with excellent all round sound signature. Its build quality, generous accessory package, and innovative design elements like the Tesla valve make it a very strong contender at sub $200 market.

It gets a big recommendation from me, if you like a balanced sound from an excellently designed, quality IEM the FD15 is a great buy at its price.