FiiO F9 2019 Review

FiiO F9 Review

The FiiO F9 ups the ante from the FH1 by using a different shell – made from CNC machined aluminium. It’s an elliptical look again but features a wave-shaped design on the outside. Whether this makes a difference to the sound is a moot point – but it does like nice. The major difference from the FH1 is this model uses two balanced armatures allied to that single dynamic driver handling the low frequencies. In theory this should give a cleaner sound with slightly more definition on an in-ear monitor. I’ve always found extra drivers make a critical difference when listening, my Noble K10s proving this with 10 per side.

But that’s expensive and the F9s are just over £100. But the F9s had the same sort of coherence, sense of ease and authority. With Jarrett’s ‘The Koln Concert’ (24/96) the resonance of the piano took me aback. There is a midband presence here – much more than in the FH1. Notes sprang forward and then decayed much more naturally. On ‘Age Of Consent’ everything sounded more sprightly.

Peter Hook’s bass was not now as bloated, allowing everything above it to float more freely. Ultimately it was a much more natural presentation. Mahler’s ‘No 4’ sounded superb. Violins could be tracked, the orchestra sounded as a whole – but what the F9s did best was identify individual instruments and project them into my ear.

 

Source : HiFi World