FiiO latest Flagship is probably their best

Background

I have a bit of a love and hate relationship with flagship models (from all manufacturers), while they typically have amazing packaging, accessories and build quality, they often have esoteric tunings, usually designed to show off some specific aspect of their design. This happens in all aspects of Audio, be it IEMs, Headphones, Speakers and even with components like DACs and amplifiers (which should not ‘alter’ the sound), the more expensive the product, the more the manufacturers feels pressure to make it significantly ‘different’ sounding than its competitors.

This is completely understandable, but it usually means that flagship models are not necessarily ’end game’ rather they overemphasise some particular aspects of their tuning, so for example, last years FiiO FX15 had 4 Sonion Electrostatic drivers (as well 2 Balance Aperture) and FiiO gave that IEM a tuning designed to show off those EST’s which was both amazing to hear, but it also meant that other aspects of the tuning were overshadowed. I believe the other recent FiiO flagship, the FA19 had a similar ‘flashy’ tuning and that possible meant has received some poor reviews.

Is the FH19 Flagship different?

But luckily the FH19 does not have that problem, possible because it is actually a refinement of the previous generation of hybrid IEMs from FiiO, the exceptionally well tuned FD9. So like that IEM the FH19 has many excellent attributes and could easily be many peoples end-game, though as you might guess from my rating above, it is not perfect but FiiO have updated the tuning to a much more modern one in the FH19 so while I really like it, others may still want that older ‘Harman’ like tuning.

So, priced at $599, the FH19 boasts several key enhancements which I will get too, but first every flagship should have a great unboxing and accessories so let’s get into the details.

Packaging and Accessories

The packaging of the FH19 is typical of FiiO’s high standards, offering a premium unboxing experience.

Removing the outside sleeve, reveals the box:

Opening this box reveals the manual:

Removing this reveals the IEMs themselves:

Under this you see the cable and a lovely leather box:

Within the box FiiO have store some of the eartips:

And the MMCX removal tool, a clasp, the 4.4mm cable adapter and a cleaning tool:

But there is more, as underneath this layer there is another box of various eartips:

Note: There are 22 pairs of Ear Tips included with a nice variations of sizes, types and shapes, which makes one of the most extensive set of eartips I have seen provided with a single IEM.

And this is where you find to alternative ’tuning nozzles’:

More on these in a while.

So overall you get a tremendously package with the FH19:

Cable

The cable feels premium, similar to those provided with many FiiO’s flagship models.

It is a high-purity monocrystalline silver cable with MMCX connectors and modular 3.5mm and 4.4mm plugs:

Note: The alternative 4.4mm connector for the cable is super easy to swap, simple unscrew the 3.5mm one and screw the 4.4mm alternative, making sure to line up the ‘slot’ so the balanced signal is routed correctly to right internal wires within the cable.

FH19 Shell

The build quality of the FH19 shell is immediately noticeable, with each IEM being built using a mixture of titanium and aluminium making it very robust. It is on the larger size, but it is very lightweight so for me there were no problems with comfort even on long walks:

I specifically think the angle of the nozzles has changed subtly for the better:

Here is a little video of the shells:

And as a comparison video with a few other shells - including the much smaller FiiO FD15, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite and the Truthear Zero Red:

Though similar to the FD9, I imagine some people may not like the design the grills on the outside of the shell:

Though I believe this design give a little of that ‘open back’ soundstage to the FD19, which as you will see in the sound impressions section is much appreciated.

Nozzle replacements

There are 3 sound signature variations available by swapping the nozzle, this is the ‘green’ one:

You simply unscrew the nozzle:

And screw in another one:

Features

FiiO has implemented several advanced features in the FH19, including:

• Push-Pull Dual Dynamic Driver Unit: Developed with Tokyo Onkyo Co. Ltd., featuring 13.7mm high-magnetic dynamic drivers.
• Custom Knowles Enhanced Mids BAs: Rich and delicate vocals with six Knowles balanced armature drivers.
• Titanium + 7000 Series Aluminum Construction: Durable and high-end appearance.
• Semi-Open Design: Natural and relaxed sound with a wide soundstage.
• Patented S.Turbo Design: Enhances bass performance with smooth transitions.
• Swappable Audio Filters: Allows sound adjustment according to preference.
• High-Purity Monocrystalline Silver Cable: 8-strand pure silver cable with 224 wires.

Subjective Sound

After spending a few days with each of the 3 tuning nozzles, I found the ‘green’ stock nozzle provided a bit more detail but was also the most “balanced” and was the one I mainly used for my subjective impressions. While the ‘Red’ providing a slightly more bass but maybe a little too much mid-bass for my liking and the ‘black’ was between these extremes. There wasn’t a massive difference and one minor complaint I would have is that these nozzles could have probably changed the sound profiles a bit more.

Here’s a deeper dive into the sound performance:

Bass:

The bass quality of FH19 is fantastic, more specifically the sub-bass is tremendous. I found it was providing excellent tight subbass down to 15Hz. My minor complaint with the bass response was with the ‘Red’ nozzle I felt it was starting to muddy the midrange a little. The fantastic sub-bass response was well represented with my test tracks, ‘Massive Attack’ Angel is a great track for subjectively understanding how low the bass goes as it starts with a subbass ‘sweep’ increasing in bass frequencies for the first few seconds and less than a second into that track I could feel the rumble of the sub-bass. Other tracks likes ‘Portishead’ Roads sounded suitable deep without being bloated.

But this isn’t ‘Harman bass’ so the Green nozzle is for those who like clean balanced bass response and not for ‘bass heads’, they should use the other nozzles for added bass.

Midrange:

The midrange is clean and detailed, very slightly forward, providing excellent clarity. Vocals and acoustic instruments are well-reproduced, making the FH19 a joy for vocal-centric tracks. So midrange vocal classic tracks like “Baby Plays Around” by “Anne Sofie von Otter and Elvis Costello” sounded excellent.

Treble:

The treble is probably the most interesting aspect of the FH19, it is excellent tuned where it was both smooth and extended, with a bright yet never-sibilant presentation at least for my tastes. I have been listening to “Nick Caves and the Bad Seeds” new album “Wild Gods” with the FH19 and tracks like the title have incredible levels of production detail that I did not get with any other recent IEM I have been listening too.

Soundstage and Imaging:

The soundstage on these is incredible, I believe possible because of the treble tuning and the slightly ‘open back’ design of each IEM with the grills on the back of the shells it gives a much wider soundstage than you should expect from an IEM. The imaging is also precise, allowing for clear separation of instruments. The FH19 excels in creating a realistic and immersive listening experience. Again with that “Wild Gods” album very emotional tracks like “Final Rescue Attempt” had an excellent 3D layering of instruments with Nick Cave vocals nicely on top of a wide sound stage.

Specifications and Measurements

Here are FiiO’s published specifications:

Before I get into my measurements it is worth showing some of FiiO measurement comparisons between the FH9 and FH19:

So FiiO have gone for a richer more vocal forward tuning, rather than a classic ‘Harman tuning’. While I don’t believe the FH19 is actually a ‘New Meta’ tuned IEM it does use many of the trends of those IEMs to improve the sound while preserving FiiO’s ‘rich’ house sound. But I will compare the FH19 with some of the recent ‘New meta’ tuned IEMs. It should be noted that the FH19 does follow the newer “JM-1” target than the Harman tuning which I think is an excellent choice.

Measurements

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

Frequency Response

But first lets show the FD19 Frequency response against this JM-1 target (using the green nozzle):

As you can see there is good channel matching but also that the green nozzle very closely matches this “new meta” target though I believe the treble is tuned specifically to provide some of that excellent ‘detail’ I mentioned in the sound impressions above.

Comparing the 3 nozzles next:

You can see that Black and Red nozzles mostly affect the bass but there are some other changes with the Red also increasing the treble moving it closer to a Harman tuning.

Note: I added the other recent FiiO IEM that I reviewed to this for comparison - the FD15 which does have slightly more of that ’tucked’ in harman bass.

Comparing the 3 nozzles against Harman - you can see it lacks that separation between bass and midrange that is typical of Harman but also correctly reduces the 2K-4K region that is very controversial with the Harman IE target:

Distortion

Well-controlled distortion even at high volumes:

Shown as a percentage:

Group Delay

For those interested in technical details, here is the group delay which is also excellent:

Some Comparisons

To illustrate my point about flagship tuning here is a comparison of the FX15 (with its EST drivers) and the new FA19 (with its all BA design) and even the FH15: You can see that the both the Green and Red Nozzles on the FH19 are much more ‘balanced’ that any of those other flagships. E.g. the FX15 has that extra treble showing off the EST.

Just comparing with the FA19 - you can see how that IEM has a much steeper angle with a bass boost combined with a very recessed treble but the FH19 is much more balanced response:

So don’t get these 2 flagships mixed up.

Finally, I mentioned the “new meta” and used the JM-1 Target in some of these charts but there are a few IEMs which are being talked about as compliant with this target:

Note: the above chart will not be an accurate comparison as it mixed data from different measurement rigs. I only added it as the main ’trend’ with the “new meta” is the 3K - 8K which is recessed compared to Harman IE but mostly this is now agreed to be a more preferable target for that region and the FH19 does follow a similar pattern to these other IEMs.

Rating

I have given the FH19 a 4-star pragmatic rating. It offers that flagship build quality with great bass and upper treble (technicalities), and has a tremendous accessory package. It also has some of the aspects of the “New Meta” IEMs and closely follows the JM-1 target. My only reservation is the ‘rich’ sounding mid-bass will overshadow the midrange
especially with the black and red nozzles which should get sme without some EQ. It is a pith that the nozzles would not have just added more low bass and left the mid bass performance you get from the Green nozzle.

For the price, it’s a top-tier hybrid IEM and deserves you attention and do not mix this IEM up with FiiO other new flagship the FA19, the FH19 is a richer better more balanced sounding IEM and deserves your attention.

Conclusion

The FiiO FH19 is an excellent flagship that seamlessly combines the best of dynamic drivers with high quality multiple balanced armatures, delivering a sound that has both powerful bass and detailed treble without being V-shaped. Its sub-bass performance is particularly impressive, offering deep, controlled lows that add richness to your music without overpowering the mids or highs. The treble is equally excellent, revealing intricate details that bring out the nuances in your favorite tracks, making it a perfect choice for audiophiles who demand balanced clarity and precision.

Overall, the FH19 stands out as an easy recommendation for anyone seeking a high-quality, comfortable, versatile IEM with all the flagship packaging you expect from FiiO. Its ability to deliver a balanced sound signature with the option to tailor the experience through interchangeable nozzles makes it a worthy flagship and probably the most ‘reference’ IEM in FiiO’s lineup. It’s low distortion also and easy to drive nature means those wishing to use EQ will have no problems.