FiiO F9 PRO Full review

The FiiO F9 PRO. FiiO’s 1st real Approach to Audiophiles

The FiiO F9 PRO is a shot at Audiophiles who enjoy a detail filled listen with tuning that resembles the classic Sony EX1000 among others. Did they hit the mark? Lets check it out.

 

 

 

 

The F9 Pro uses

(x1) Dynamic 9.2mm PEK Polymer nanocomposite driver

(x2) Balanced armature drivers. the “Knowles” TWFK-30017-000

 

 

Impedance is 28 Ohm

Max input rated at 100mW

 

 

 

 

Design

 

 

 

FiiO has made an all metal design with an MMCX connect and mesh covered nozzle with a lip for securing the eartips. The interior is lined with plastic to secure the driver and reduce resonance.

 

It feels like an aluminum peanut. It fits like a piece of hearing protection which is to say it fits really really good with the proper eartips which depend on your ear size.

 

 

 

Inside the Box

 

 

Inside you find 

As mentioned above:

 

Hard shell case

Soft carry case

(x1)  2.5mm balanced cable

(x1) 3.5mm single end  (SE) cable

(12) sets of ear tips 6 bass enhancing sets and 6 balanced sound sets

 

 

 

 

 

Sound impressions:

 

STAGE

 

Foreplay/It’s been such a long Time

 

The wide spacey intro “Foreplay” is the kind of stadium rock anthem the the F9 PRO shine on. The treble clarity and peaks create a great sense of space. There is no perceived restriction on the virtual playback stage. Live recordings or those with large presentations from Classic to live 70’s arena rock shine on these

 

 

 

 

MIDS

Gold Dust Woman

 

Male and Female vocal Fundamentals are stretched across the entire mid range.

Stevie Nicks and at times Lindsey Buckingham and others sound well balanced and well placed. The mids would be slightly forward or proper. There is no recess detected to my ears. The mid to early treble is one of the strong points of this set. Guitar also sounds very good both electric and acoustic.

 

 

BASS

Dazed and Confused

The opening notes of John Paul Jones Bass guitar are clear and extend into the harmonic range nicely. The lower sub-bass seems to be somewhat lacking. These are not basshead in any form nor were they advertised as such

 

According to FiiOs own advert it is a relatively neutral bass tuning with no real increase or recess along it’s range.  It sounds that way. Some folks may want to add roughly +3dB or more/less depending on tastes for a fuller sound in the lows with more impact. An EQ will work a hardware bass switch would be ideal for many.

 

 

 

 

TREBLE

 

Shorty Wanna be a Thug

 

 

There is a ton of studio deck mixing going on on this track and the better the treble the more you will hear. Everything comes through loud and clear. The F9 has a peak at 7-8Khz. The PRO has one at close to the same point according to their graph. it seems less harsh than the F9 to me? They could graph out identical but while it sounds like a bright IEM it does not grate on me like the F9 did initially. I got used to it or this is just a bit better in resolution, clarity and no worse than the F9 peak perhaps better. This could be my brain getting burnt in though so take that with 2 grains of Salt

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

Did FiiO do what they set out to do?

 

Well, if the graph they made was what they wanted then yes. It sounds very detailed with a large presentation and a tame bass region. No noted recess in mids. That is what they showed in their own graph and that is what they did, to these ears.

 

If you like the Sony EX1000 like I do ( I fracking love em’!!) then you would like these and they fit much much better than the Sony.

 

 

Initial unboxing video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy at:

AMAZON

https://www.amazon.com/Headphones-Earphones-Detachable-Monitors-Compatible/dp/B077L3S4MQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1512140121&sr=8-2&keywords=FiiO+F9+PRO

 

 

 

 

FiiO provided this sample to me for free.

Thank you to FiiO and thank you for reading

 

 

http://www.fiio.net/fiio

 

 

EDIT:

 

 

With the bass boost on the Q1mkII I fully rec these. They are great without but they are to my taste with so I rec. They sound fantastic now.

 

Happy Holidays!