FiiO FD3 Earphones in-Ear Earbuds High Resolution 1DD Bass Heavy MMCX Connector (Black)

This is the non pro version. This is a good, well rounded IEM. I give it 4.5 stars. It is light and with the right size tip there is no comfort issues. It tends to be a bit on the bright side. Sound tube and bass tips tame it down to a good level. It delivers clean and crisp sound in all genres. The vocals and treble are very good. The bass benefits from amping. I use it with a portable amp (Fiio A5), with the bass boost on, and it improves the bass definition and power. I still feel the FH3 has a better more defined and beautiful bass. I was hoping they can reproduce that in the FD3. Compared to the FH3, the FH3 was bigger and felt nicer sitting in the ear. However both are extremely comfortable. Also the FH3 felt a bit higher quality perhaps because of it’s design. The FD3 quality is very good, it’s just the feel of the FH3 was a little more upscale. The FH3 has a better more defined and cleaner bass, but the mid and upper frequencies were too thin with my equipment. It also has some weirdness in the treble of certain tracks especially acoustics. The FD3 has none of those issues. The FD3 has full bodied mids and highs, a little less detailed but still very good. With the 2 different sound tubes and the different tips you can dial the sound to the way you prefer, or to the genre you are listening to and it makes a difference. The basic cable is fine. I heard the pro cable may make the sound brighter. I don’t know how true that is. I wanted mine to be on the warmer side because the DAC I use tend to be on the brighter side. I had returned the FH3 about a month ago because I could not love the vocals and the treble. I will be keeping the FD3. Update 11/25/2021: I have upgraded the basic cable to a balanced cable. If you are not using a balanced output you are not getting the most out of the FD3. Despite using the 3.5mm with a DAC dongle and a portable amp the balanced cable was significantly better out of the DAC alone! Everything sounds cleaner and crisper. The bass is tighter, there is more separation, the stereo effect is noticeably better. So this lets me enjoy the music at a lower volume. For reference I am using a HIDIZS S9 (not pro) and Tripowin Altea 2.5mm cable which is a nice thick cable. I use the red sound tube with the bass tips and it balances out the sound pretty well. I think the sound tubes are a major selling point as you don’t to have to be stuck with one tonality.

Amazing IEMs, not just for the money but in general. I own many “audiophile” headphones and these compare with the best of them. I wanted something with lots of clear and defined bass, while retaining detailed mids and crisp highs, and these deliver. I use the red sound tubes and vocal tips because they are the most comfortable and give the best, most reliable seal, which provides the best bass and sound in general. If you can EQ, then cutting out some 2.5khz and to a lesser extent 5.5khz frequency gives an even smoother high-mid/low-treble sound, as they have peaks in that range that can become a bit tiresome with certain songs. I also add a low shelf (bass boost) for some types of music and they can handle it like a champ. However, even without EQ they sound great although a little bright, but with the many different tips and sound tubes they’re customizable enough. Great value for the money I recommend to anyone who wants better sound than what even the best bluetooth earphones can provide, casual listeners and “audiophiles” alike.

There's a lot of issues with these earbuds, but first the pros: - Nice holder case for it and all the spare parts - Extra speaker parts to replace - Lot's of ear options - A few extras in the case - The sound is pretty nice for the most part, when it works. And now the cons: Out of the box left ear didn't work. Switched the ear piece to the spare and it worked fine. Then the right ear stopped working a few weeks later. Switched to the spare no issues... Or so I thought, but I would regularly find that they unscrewed themselves constantly so I would have to search around for that spare until I eventually lost it outdoors because it wouldn't stay screwed in. So I went and started using the original and have been having a ton of issues. For one, the audio just cuts out randomly or starts going static. I think there's something wrong with the wire as out of the box I had issues where if I pressed a particular part of the wire it would stop working - Now it's the opposite where I need to press it for it to work. Also can't get them to stay in my ears but that might be more of a me issue. The audio quality is inconsistent, its louder in one ear than the other... I could go on. I've had an absolute nightmare with these. They are NOT worth $150. Very unfortunate that I basically threw away $150.

The sole qualm I have with these earbuds is a light static that can be heard when no other audio is playing, simulated tinnitus, essentially. That having been said, it's potentially a problem with my personal pair or the connection (I'm no audio professional nor expert.) Otherwise however, the fit is gloriously comfortable, the over-ear cable design was an interesting choice but it works well and the sound quality sounds better than most other audio devices I've tried. That having been said there is one clarification that needs to be said. Removable wires --DOES NOT-- mean optional wireless mode. It means that the earbuds may have interchangeable wires, as the only difference between the normal and pro versions are in fact - the wires. As far as wired earbuds go these are a 8/10 for me, would be 9/10 without the negligible static sounds when otherwise quiet.

EDIT/Update: I am changing my review to 5 stars. The Spinfit CP100 silicone eartips in XL made these earphones a perfect fit for my ear and the improved seal made the sound of the earphones even better. (If you have normal-size ear canals, you'll likely be happy with one of the included sets of eartips.) I am now extremely happy with these earphones for listening to music and practicing my bass. This won't be a surprise to most audiophiles, but the silicone or foam tips for IEMs are as important as the IEMs themselves. These earphones have excellent frequency response (flat across the spectrum with good bass and highs) and great staging. My only problem is my very large ear canal - the largest silicone tips provided are barely large enough and I have to fiddle with the earphones to get a decent seal (the memory foam tips included don't work with my ears at all). The best seal I've gotten so far is with tips off of my Samsung Buds 2 Pro wireless earphones, but they're not designed for the nozzles on the FiiO set. I have ordered some Spinfit CP100 silicone eartips in XL which will be here tomorrow and should fix my issues. Again, I believe these are excellent earphones and are heads and shoulders above the Sennheiser IE 200s I tried and returned.

Sounded great but ultimately ended up returning for a few reasons. First issue for me was the fit, I tried different eartips that cane included and also purchased other but regardless couldn't get the best fit. The other issue I noticed is that since the nozzles can be removed/switched, I'd notice they would (with the slightest adjustment/movement) start unscrewing. This might just be a me issue because of the fit but I'd always have to tighten them due to them unscrewing. And the main issues I had: is that at times when connecting them to a dongle (my phone doesn't have a 3.5) they wouldn't actually connect. Like it'd say it was connected and I would press play on a song but no audio would be coming though, neither through my phone speaker or the iem but the track would be playing. Its not the dongle; I have 4 total so and I had the issue with all of them, and I tried different earbuds and they worked well with those dongles. And lastly sometimes I'd notice that the right earbud would sound as loud as the left earbud. Not sure if this had something to do with the nozzle unscrewing with the slightest movement or it'll its something else. I still have it 3 stars as I believe some of these issue might just be due to the fit for me and may not apply to others, plus the sound when everything was working fine was great.

Highlights: Above average soundstage. More sense of depth than height. Decent imaging/instrument separation. Good sense of details - catching some details in recordings that I hadn't caught in other sets (KZ, CCA). Decent dynamics. Good texture in the mid-bass and mid-range regions. With the right tips, fit, and insertion depth - these can achieve almost 3D/holographic effect. YMMV, but I'm enjoying these with SednaEarfit Crystals and the FD3 Pro cable. Just very musical sounding, overall. Some describe the FD3 Pro as tonally warm, but I find them to be somewhat slightly warm to neutral tone. Not nearly as neutral as my Etymotic ER3SE but not as colored/warm as my CA Honeydew. Lowlights: Treble could be better, can be slightly harsh at times, but for the price? They're still very good. They're a fun set that I can wear for a few hours at a time. They're very well-made though I wish they were a little bit lighter.

Despite being a recognized brand in the audio industry, these headphones surprisingly present a quality that can be improved, they have quite pronounced bass almost that overshadow the rest of the channels so much so that you feel their absence as if something were missing, honestly it seems a product of lower price, I did not hesitate to put it to the test with several of my lists, and when you go through audios of video games and electronics the performance is fine, but as soon as you move on to more demanding musical genres you notice their great difference, I can say that the two stars are for the great variety of accessories it include, but it is to highlight their bass even more, I really have a hard time finding a balance with these; if your ear is already used to brilliant and balanced quality sounds I do not recommend them.