Welcome back to Golden Ears. This week, we’re looking at the Fiio FA19, a flagship pair of in-ear monitors from Fiio. Fiio has been on a roll this last year with the cadence of its releases and, according to the CEO, the FA19 is particularly important as it may decide the future of the product line.
So what does it bring? The FA19 is a full balanced armature set, featuring a whopping ten drivers per side. It’s packed to the gills with innovative features to improve its acoustics. It also includes an EQ switch to shift from a neutral reference sound that’s perfect for monitoring to a more bass-rich fun sound signature. At $999, it’s well within the purview of Golden Ears, so let’s dive in and take a close look at what $1,000 gets you in the IEM world.
Specifications
- Current Price: $999 (Amazon, AliExpress)
- Key Features:
- Flagship All-BA IEMs
- 10 High-Performance BA Drivers from Knowles
- Custom Knowles Enhanced Bass Drivers
- Negative Feedback Bass Enhancement System
- Clean, Coherent Sound With Mid-Frequency Notch Filter
- Rubycon Audiophile-Grade Film Capacitor Crossover
- DLP 3D Printed Ear Shells
- Two-Way Tuning Switch(Monitor/HiFi Tunings)
- S.Turbo Patented Acoustic Design
- High-End 8-Strand High-Purity Silver Cable
- Straight Twist-Lock Swappable Termination Plugs(3.5mm+4.4mm)
- Expanded MMCX Connectors
- Carefully Tuned For True Hi-Res Sound Reproduction
- Hi-Res Audio Certified
- Driver Count: 10 Balanced Armatures
- Drivers:
- x4 Custom Knowles Bass BAs
- X2 Knowles ED Mid BAs
- X4 Knowles SWFK Treble BAs
- Frequency response: 20Hz-40kHz
- Impedance: 10 Ohm
- Sensitivity: 106dB/mW
- Cable: 1.2m, 8 strands, 224 wires high-purity pure silver wires
- Audio plugs: straight twist-lock swappable plugs
- Weight: about 7g (each piece)
A Quick Introduction to Golden Ears…
Welcome back to Golden Ears! This is our semi-regular column dedicated to the world of high-end audio. In this series, we look at premium audio products that all promise a next-level listening experience. But what exactly do you get when you spend a little, or sometimes a lot, more? That’s what we aim to discover, helping you to find out just what’s worth investing in to upgrade your listening experience for music and gaming alike.
For this article in particular, we’re looking at the Fiio FA19, a flagship pair of all balanced armature in-ear monitors. At this price, it exists in the upper-range of the personal audio market, beyond typical consumer pricing and well into enthusiast territory. As such, discussions of value are more subjective than ever. For many listeners, that pricing is simply out of reach, and no matter how good they are, they will seem like a terrible value. For others, passionate audiophiles with plentiful expendable income who consider audio their primary hobby, may have a different opinion.For products like this, ideas of value are very subjective; one person’s steal might be another’s exorbitance, so we’ll largely be leaving that to the side today.
On the topic of scoring, it’s important to note a couple of things. First, while we wish we didn’t have to do it, it’s a reality in today’s search-driven publication space. Second, when dealing with “golden ears” caliber products that often cost great deals of money, we expect these products to be at least Good (7) but hopefully Great (8), Amazing (9), or even Masterpiece (10) level. Though there are certainly products tha aren’t very good at every price range, a quick review of web publications shows that the score range is usually a bit tighter with these next-level listening products. Fittingly so — they should sound great!
Given that expectedly tighter score range, it’s more important than ever to explore the nuances of what sets these products apart. What is their goal? Who are they for? How are they built? What are the intricacies of their listening experience? All of these things matter more and the number matters less. We are always going to be honest and forthright in all of our content, but take the time to hear the story each product is trying to tell, and you’ll understand it that much better.
Thanks for joining us again, and enjoy the article!
Fiio FA19 - First Impressions and Key Features
As usual for Fiio, the FA19 makes a good first impression. Though the box is quite simple, featuring only the name and “born for music” logo. Inside, you’ll find the IEMs artfully displayed in a custom foam cutout with a high quality leatherette case and a generous assortment of accessories. As has been the case for some time, Fiio continues to impress with how many extra accessories you receive, especially on its higher tier products.
Before examining the earbuds closely, let’s take a closer look at what you receive. To ensure a proper fit, you have a selection of premium JVC Spinfit ear tips, multiple sets of Fiio’s own HS18 tips, as well as ten pairs of different generic tips broken into Bass, Vocals, Balanced, and Bi-flange categories. You also receive two pairs of medium foam tips. No matter your ear shape, you should be able to find a comfortable fit with one or more pairs of tips; I recommend the SpinFits or HS18s, but you really can’t go wrong.
The cable that comes with this set is just as premium as you would expect it to be. It appears to be the same cable that came with the Fiio FX15 electrostatic IEMs, which are also on the pricier end at $799. It’s thick and ropelike but also soft and malleable and is resistant to tangling. It uses eight stranges of silver wire, totaling more than 200 woven wires in all. It uses MMCX connectors, which I’m usually not a fan of, but Fiio consistently does well (and includes an MMCX detachment tool if you have any trouble). The jackets for the MMCX connections and its termination are metal and shiny, and the jacks are gold-plated for enhanced durability.
The cable is also modular. This is an important feature that you typically only find on expensive IEMs; not necessarily $1,000, but it’s only fitting that this would meet that same expectation. You receive a 3.5mm single-ended jack and a 4.4mm balanced jack. To attach these, you simply unscrew the jacket while allows you to pull off the current module and press the alternative into place. With this, you can connect it to all manner of source gear. Given the price, I would have liked to have seen a 2.5mm balanced jack too, but since that connection seems to be going the way of the Dodo, it’s no big loss.
You also receive a blue and brown leather carrying case with a magnetic clasp, a cleaning tool, and MMCX remover tool, and a magnetic cable clasp. The case is very nice. Inside, it’s trimmed in soft, velvety fabric and has two slots for each IEM to keep them safe in transit. It’s too big to be pocketable but you can easily throw it in a bag for transport.
The IEMs themselves are very nice. They follow a similar design to the FX15 with a full resin shell and a simple faceplate of contrasting silver and black lines. They’re designed in a traditional Universal IEM (UIEM) form, which bases their shape on hundreds of scans of the human ear to ensure a widely acceptable fit. They’re still on the larger side thanks to the high driver count, but fit well thanks to their small nozzles.
There’s a lot going on inside of each shell. Starting with the Knowles drivers, we have four custom bass BAs. These are dual units, so each armature is actually two. There are two Knowles ED drivers for the mids, and four more Knowles SWFK BAs for the treble. These ten drivers are each responsible for their respective range with frequency division handled by a new electronic crossover consisting of low-tolerance Rubycon capacitors. No driver is even pushed beyond is range so each is able to be individually tuned with precision.
The goal of this release was to improve and upgrade the original FA9 and incorporate user feedback. The bass is noticeably enhanced in the HiFi mode (selectable with a switch on the back of each ear piece) and is higher quality than on the original. The mids are smoother and free of sibilance, and the treble is cleaner and more exacting.
It accomplishes these goals in multiple ways. For the bass, Fiio has incorporated a negative feedback system that directs airflow to a rear chamber in the IEM, filtering out resonant frequencies that previously softened reproduction in the lows. The mids and highs have been enhanced through the use of a notch filter. This filter balances out the mids so there are no errant gaps in the frequency response, removes the 8kHz peak which caused sibilance, and smooths the transition from the mids to the highs for better separation. All of this in addition to precisely printed 3D sound tubes for each driver set and the individualized tuning all Fiio IEMs undergo.
The tuning switch on the back is also important. This switch allows you to switch between a reference tuning which leans into neutrality for critical listening and a HiFi tuning with enhanced sub- and mid-bass. Charted on a frequency response graph, the differences in the low-end don’t seem that big but in real life, there’s a large jump in how full music and games sound. It’s a key example of graphs only telling half the story.
With all of that in mind, let’s get into listening impressions!
Fiio FA19 - Listening Impressions
Graph Courtesy of BaskingShark at Head-Fi
The Fiio FA19 are exceptionally easy to drive. I conducted most of my listening with the iFi iDSD Diablo 2 but you could run these on a simple Apple dongle just fine. With how revealing they are, you’ll want to make sure your source doesn’t add any background noise to your listening, however. The cleaner the better.
Bass: The bass response on the FA19 depends on what mode you have it in. In Monitor Mode, it’s very flat and in line with the other frequencies. I actually found it to be too slight for my taste but for live monitoring stage performances or mixing music at home, it hits the right notes.
In HiFi mode, the bass is immediately amplified. There’s thick body and presence here. Anyone that thinks BAs can’t produce quality bass is in for a surprise. The response is fast, which gives hits like kick drums and explosions, and realistic sense of impact. Low-end transients come through perfectly. There’s a good amount of detail in the bass (a theme we’ll be coming back to) but I do think they’re bested by a high-quality planar like the Tangzu Xuan Gate. The presentation does lack the elasticity and cohesiveness of a great dynamic driver, too. Still, it sounds very good.
Between the See Audio Bravery, DUNU SA6 II, and the FA19, all rumors of weak BA bass should be thrown out the window. When the proper drivers are chosen and tuned properly, they absolutely can produce great low-end.
Mids: The mids are, in my opinion, the star of the show. The mid-BAs are tuned exceptionally well and taken us into the realm that really is the purview of balanced armatures. Vocals sounded very good to my ears but instruments and atmospherics in games really stood out to me. There’s a great crispness to the sound that really accentuates detail in guitars, pianos, and synths.
In games, most of the auditory world creation is handled by the mids. Everything from the soundtrack, to boots crunching through the ground, to creaking castle doors and echoes through dark chambers all exist in this range. This effect, for both music and games, is enhanced thanks to its wide soundstage. It’s surprising to me how wide and deep it actually is.
This set definitely has a bit of that classic “BA” sound signature. It’s akin to a sharpening filter on a photo. Some people use the term plasticky, which has a negative connotation. I happen to like that quality because it accentuates the fine details in instruments. If you’re a fan of hearing everything instruments are doing and all of the small details that bring game worlds to life, the FA19 is destined to impress.
Treble: Treble on this set is definitely improved from the original FA9. While the overall character of the set is warm to balanced (if you’re listening on the Monitor setting), there’s a good amount of sparkle and brightness to be had here. This brings elements like cymbals and hi-hats forward, which I really enjoy. I didn’t pick up on any sibilance with my rock, prog, and instrumental test tracks (including Polyphia), but at times, its brightness could sound a touch sharp. I could see treble-sensitive listeners needing to dial back the volume but it varies track to track and isn’t a consistent issue or even frequent in my testing.
Technical Performance, Soundstage, and Imaging: The technical performance of the FA19 is excellent. Layering and separation are very good. With the soundstage being as wide (outside of the head) as it is, tracks have room to breathe, so you can hear every detail and sound source being generated. Positionality is also accurate enough for high-intensity gaming.
Overall Impressions and Final Thoughts
The Fiio FA19 is a great pair of earphones and a solid evolution from the FA9. The refinements Fiio has applied are effective, allowing it to provide two different sound signatures that are each impressive in their own right. While it could be a little hot, this is overall a win. My big concern is whether its price point will hinder it from achieving the level of success Fiio needs to continue the line. If the FA19 is a where it could potentially be headed, an untimely demise would be a shame.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes. Articles may include affiliate links from which we may earn a small commission to help support the site. Authors do not earn affiliate revenue or commissions.
