I returned my FD1 immediately. It’s a treble cannon. Horribly sibilant. I was heartbroken because the cable is beautiful and I’m a big fan of beryllium dynamic drivers and the Fiio fit. I love the FH7.
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Ok, so they do get a little more bass with final tips, not a bad combo. I’m happy with them either way. They are harsh with stock tips outside of the foams they include. Just like the FH1s, but less so.
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These look lovely. Now I’m torn on what to get, I’ve been eyeing the Moondrop Starfield for a while, but these seem pretty nice as well. Sadly the official retailer doesn’t have them in stock or listed. So it’s going to be an Amazon or Aliexpress run for me if I decide to get either.
Has anyone done any direct comparisons between the FD1 and Starfield, or have experience of both?
I had both the Starfield and the FD1. The FD1 went back and I still have the Starfield. If you don’t want to spend the money, for 60 bucks, you can get the beryllium dynamic driver Urbanfun. I prefer it to the Starfield, but they have had quality control issues in the past.
Of all the IEMs I’ve purchased, the FD1 is the only one I returned. It is that bad.
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I was looking at the Urbanfun for a while too but decided against them. I just wanted something “more” if that makes sense. Besides the Urbanfun are too similar to the BL-03 in shape and look. The BL-03 actually fit me perfectly, so it’s not a shape issue. But visually the Moondrops just speak more to me. I just hope they sound as pretty as they look.
I’m fairly sure I’ll dip into the Starfields at the end of next month, they look amazing and the reviews are making me want them even more.
I didn’t expect to hear anyone slam FiiO this hard on a pair of IEMs though. But maybe this set is just the odd one out of their lineup. I’ve had an interest in FiiO for quite some time, but never pulled the trigger because the ones I’ve wanted have always been a bit too expensive to justify (FH5, FH7). I might dip on the FD1 just for curiositys sake later, but for now it’s going to be the Starfields.
I hated IEMs until I heard the Starfield. It made me fall in love with them. It’s a fantastic IEM. It’s one of the best fitting IEMs I have.
Ha ha! Honestly not trying to be a bad guy, just trying to help others not make the same mistake I did. I’m not bashing Fiio. I have the FH7 and consider it one of, if not the most detailed IEMs I own. I also own a Fiio Q5s.
Here BGGAR compares a bunch of IEMs. You can hear what he thinks of the FD1… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhh_CSTtLXo
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Haha, it’s all good. It’s good that people give recommendations on what to avoid though. Just curious, what about them didn’t you like? How are they in sound signature compared to the FH7? Are they really that stark in contrast when it comes to treble? I’ve listened to some painful gear over the past two decades or so, but rarely do I come across something that’s too much.
There are odd ones out there though. Grado GS1000 was a pair of headphones I could never get used to. My brother owned a pair for a year or so before he sold them off. The soup bowl sized earpads wouldn’t stop itching and the treble was piercing. This was on a Meyer Audio amp I forgot the name of and on a Harmony Design Ear90. So yeah those are my treble cannons.
The FD1 has sibilant treble. I was listening to Paramore’s Crush, Crush, Crush and every consonant out of Hayley Williams mouth that could be sibilant was. The FH7 is at the threshold of what I can stand for treble. None of my other IEMs are harsh in this area and I would never put the FD1 in my ears again for any reason so it went back.
I had really high hopes for the FD1 since I really enjoy the FH7, but I guess you can’t expect much for 60 bucks. Treble is one thing, but when it makes vocals sibilant, I won’t deal with that. EQing the FD1 helped but what’s the point when the Blon BL-03 is so much better tuned and only costs 26 bucks? The Urbanfun sounds amazing for the same price as the FD1.
I’ve heard that in general, different regions of the world desire different tuning. I hear that Japan prefers treble, and the west want bass. This is why Fiio tuned the FD1 the way they did.
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I think the FH1s is an avoid since its a bit too much the BA placement or something make it a no go unless you just want that kind of sound. FD1 is good enough for a recc, but can be sibliant. It didnt hurt me, but it is there. Less harsh and a bit better bass. It sounds exciting, but it is a step behind in details overall compared to like the L3 and the Starfield etc.
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Couldn’t agree more. I do love the FD1 cable tho. 
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Agreed. Mine was a bit finicky with the 3.5 mm plug, but the FH1s is the same cable and it was just fine. Best stock cable under 100 so far that I’ve tried.
Maybe I should give the FH1 a try.
Which one is the Fiio FH1 you’re referencing?
EDIT: Nevermind…
“The punchy bass, sharp and edgy character made it so.”
“What I hear is a reasonably well balanced earphone with a w-shaped signature beset by a prominent upper midrange that skews the tune into being overly bright and quite fatiguing, at least for me.”
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I’m with you on that. This is what made me question a lot of the higher end IEM’s I have heard. Granted this was way back. But I had a pair of Shure IEM’s that went for like 180-200 bucks back around early 2000’s. Since then I’ve had a bit of everything amongst IEM’s, but once I found Hifiman RE-0 I stuck with those until they broke. Then I couldn’t find a pair to replicate that sound signature. It felt like I was using a pair of HD600 as IEM’s and nothing else could replace them.
It wasn’t until recently that I only used a pair of Denon IEM’s that came really close to that good old RE-0 sound, which I kept around till I got the Tin T2’s and later the BL-03. Now those two are the only IEM’s I ever look at and use amongst those that I still have around in the house.
It’s only now that I’ve started looking around for some other flavor and fit. Now it’s Starfield has me with stars in the eyes.
Can’t say enough good things about that IEM for the price.
Have to agree. The FiiO FD1 is not very good. The highs are harsh and not detailed. Very splashy and sibilant. Someone on YouTube said that you have to burn them in, but I have many other IEMs and I can usually tell the character of the IEM before burn-in. I doubt that burn-in will improve these much. The one outstanding thing of the FD1 is the soundstage, but the highs just ruin it. I recently received the new Tin HiFi T2 Plus. Better balance and detail than the FD1 but with a little less bass and less soundstage. As others have said, the Urbanfun and BLON 03 have better tuning than the FD1. Even the BLON 05 is better to my ears. And if you want to spend a little more, the Moondrop Starfield and the ThieAudio Legacy 3 are a step above and worth the extra $50.
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I’ve been waging a war with that guy on YouTube. He even made another video titled “Fiio FD1 Crybabies Need to Chill Out & Burn in Their IEMs Before Bashing It”. I am the crybaby.
I completely agree with you about burn in. I burned-in the FD1 for a few days before coming to my conclusions, but the YouTube guy refused to listen to my opinion, probably because he had been hyping the crap out of the FD1 for weeks even before he heard them. Break-in did not help the FD1’s sibilance problem. That guy needs to realize other people may have differing opinions about gear than him. If he likes the FD1, great for him. I don’t. He doesn’t have to disrespect those that don’t agree with him.
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yea for the lower end Fiio 60$ options tip selection was the only thing that helped me. I think the lack of a BA makes the FD1 better than the FH1s, but its not better than the Blon or the T2 etc. Its a good package where you dont need to spend money on extras except for tips LOL.
Yeah, the guy on YouTube seems to really hate Blon for some reason. He dissed the Blon 03 and reviewed the Blon 05 against the Tanchjim Hana (which costs 3 times more) and the Fiio FD1 (which is slightly more). His conclusion was that the Hana and FD1 are much better than the Blon 05, even in looks. While I will admit that Blon 05 sound is “meh”, it does have its good points and it definitely does not have the harshness and sibilance of the FD1. To each his own I guess. None of them are perfect for us audio addicts 
