Got these in this morning and walked around town all day with these and I kept muttering to myself, âWow these are great!â That bass hits so strong, I find it so satisfying.
Currently have them running off of the bottlehead crack with speedball tube amp. Chefs Kiss
Hi! I have already wrote my impressions over at head-fi, but I thought I might as well share them here as well since I was originally recommended to get this iem by Rikudou_Goku and a few others here.
Hereâs my weekly check-in with the FD5. As of this post, the burn-in period should be about 80+ hours so far ever since I got it on Friday 2 weeks ago. I have also listened to most of my music library compared to the previous week. The tips Iâm using is the Spinfit CP145 (M). The songs that I will present here will mainly be K-pop and Korean songs.
I do want to note that I am not so well versed in the sound technicality side of it but Iâll try to explain properly.
Whatâs changed since the previous week? Vocals feels much more better and detailed now. Treble peaks feels more tamed and now most of my music library with easy peaks are mostly comfortable to listen to except for a few which Iâll go into detail in a bit. I thought the soundstage and instrument separations are great on the FH3 but the FD5 really takes it to another level for me. The only thing that changed the least is the vocal sibilance in some songs. I felt that the vocal sibilance reduced a tad but not by much and itâs still present in some songs. Funnily enough, most songs in music library doesnât seem to have vocal sibilance aside for a few ones.
Iâll start with the vocal sibilance. In LOONAâs âHi Highâ, vocal sibilance (ssssâŠ) is still very much present almost throughout the entire song. It was pretty hard to listen through it a week ago and as of right now, the sibilance seems to reduce a bit but not by much. Wendyâs âWhen This Rain Stopsâ seems to have reduced sibilance now compared to before and I feel that as time go on, itâll improved. IUâs âTwenty Threeâ has some vocal sibilance in them, including treble peaks a few times but has since reduced quite a bit. If I do another check-in next week, Iâll be referring to these same 3 songs since they irk-ed me the most at the moment and they happened to be some of my favourite songs. =/
Most of my vocal focus song library fortunately, are pretty amazing. Whee In âwater colorâ and TAEYEON âFour Seasonsâ sounds wonderfully natural. No sibilance at all and their entire discography overall are just amazing.
Treble peaks seems to improve a ton. I donât have much to complain about really. Itâs very detailed without the peaking. One example is Aileeâs âReminiscingâ. I was really unable to listen to this song the first time due to that drum⊠snare? It was unbearable. As the days pasts, the peaking reduced quite a bit and Iâm able to listen to this particular song more at ease. Itâs still kinda there but I guess itâll improve as time goes on.
The Soundstage and instrument separation really is something else. Listening to IUâs âFriday (Feat. Jang Yi-jeong)â is such a damn joy to listen to. Having listened to this song for a good 7 and a half years, Iâm hearing new details that Iâve never heard before. Dreamcatcher âFly Highâ and âGood Nightâ are great examples for me to learn about soundstage and instrument separation and also imaging. While I was able to experience this the first time the FH3, the FD5 just felt more wide for me in these songs. One more to add, LOONA Odd Eye Circle âADDâ sounds amazing on it.
I canât really comment much on the bass side of things since Iâm not much of a basshead, but I can say that the bass is great on the FD5. IZ*ONE âSequenceâ and LOONA âWhy Not?â are just aces for me. No complains at all.
I think thatâs about it for now. The FD5 seems to be improving day by day. My only griped so far is the vocal sibilance. Once thatâs dealt with, this will be the iem that will stay with me for years to come. Iâll see if Iâll do another check-in in the next week or so with other songs. Thanks for reading!
The song that had very terrible lively treble during my first impressions is now happily playing perfectly in my FD5 after a week!â
Well that was an anti-climating way to begin an unboxing for me. I finally got my FD5. But the package is missing the thin nozzles and the accessory plate theyâre attached to. They must have seriously fucked up the packaging because the box was unbroken and plastic wrap was on it when I got it, so I wasnât sent a review unit or anything by mistake.
Has anyone else experienced the same? Missing accessories for the FD5?
Hi! Welcome to my weekly check-in! This post wonât be referring to Kpop music at all but other music genres that I like to listen to. I have some English, Japanese, Video game soundtracks, Orchestra, and Jazz songs. As of this post, the burn-in period should be about 110+ hours. To put it simply about overall sound changes compared to last week? Not much honestly. The treble is as tamed as it is which is good for me, vocal sibilances are more or less still there, bass is fantastic for me since it doesnât overshadowed other instruments, Soundstage is still amazing.
Maybe the overall sound has reach itâs limit due to the current DAP source that Iâm using, maybe itâll give me better sound when I purchase a better DAP in the future. Until then, Iâll continue to use my Sony A55! Current listening volume ranges from 60 - 65. For a below average power output dap, the A55 is able to handle the FD5 real smoothly.
Iâll start with Orchestra . It is decent at best for me. My main Orchestra listens are usually from âDistant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasyâ albums and the recent âFinal Fantasy VII Remake Orchestral Arrangementâ album. Most of the time, the Orchestra tracks will sound wonderful, like âTerraâs Themeâ, âVamoâ alla Flamencoâ, âLiberi Fataliâ and âMemoro De La Stonoâ. The soundstage and the choir really made it sound like Iâm there. It was amazing. On the other hand, âAnswersâ while started pretty strong, it slowly kinda felt like it can be better sound wise. I used back my FH3 and it instantly sounded better for some reason. Maybe this is where the forward mids really helped bring life to this particular track. âTorn from the Heavensâ as well, while the soundstage is fantastic, the rest felt just a tad bit grainy. As a casual orchestra listener that only listen to these albums, Iâm pretty much okay with. There were no peaks on my end whatsoever. For those who mainly listens to orchestra may need to demo more with the FD5 with your own orchestra music library before deciding as it might lead to potential âmixed bagâ situations.
Jazz is fantastic with the FD5! Itâs pretty much perfect for me honestly. Listening to âMoaninââ, âBagâs Grooveâ, and âBut not for meâ from the Sakamichi no Apollon OST is such a joyful album to listen to. Everything from the âJazz At The Pawnshopâ albums is great too! The âSoulâ OST is pretty cool too with their jazz tracks.
Some English songs that I listen to are great as well. Chvrchesâs tracks like âGraffitiâ and âWonderlandâ goes surprisingly well with the FD5. I thought iâll encounter some sibilance while listening to their songs but I guess not. Kacey Musgraves âRainbowâ really puts the FD5 to work in the midrange. Kaceyâs vocals sounded really beautiful and naturally focus feeling, better than the FH3 in fact surprisingly. Maroon 5âs âSunday Morningâ sounded wonderful but âWonât Go Home Without Youâ has a slight touch of peak and sibilance. Paramore âHard Timesâ and âFake Happyâ sounded fantastic with the soundstage, but I wish the vocals would feel a lil bit more forward and clearer. Finally, Sammy Rae & the Friends âThe Feelingâ is just perfect all around. Her vocals, background vocals, vocal dubbing, the soundstage and the instruments separations is just amazing. No sibilance and peaking at all. Everything felt natural. âWhatever We Feelâ and âKick It To Meâ are amazing highlights as well. I feel like Sammy Raeâs discography really brings out all the best of the FD5. Itâs also one of my most repeats the past week. Itâs THAT fun to listen to!
Now onto some Japanese songs. YOASOBI âăăć°ăă ăâ and â矀é (from THE FIRST TAKE)â are amazing. There are no sibilance at all and youâll be able to hear all the details that you need at ease. A highlight so far if weâre talking THE FIRST TAKE, LiSA âCatch the Momentâ is a must listen with the FD5. Her vocals really shines throughout the entire song. The funky BRADIO âćčžăăźă·ăŁăăâ is a pretty darn fun song to listen to. I get to hear minor details due to the soundstage, even more than the FH3. Cidergirlâs âé±ćć°ćčŽăŸăłăâ unfortunately took a step back for me. While I like some of the improved details from the song, it also felt grainy for me as whole. There were some vocal sibilance present as well. The FH3 makes this particular song much more fun to listen to. Finally, Necry Talkieâs âFROG QUESTIIâ is another joyful song to listen to with the FD5. When Mossa goes into her vocal highs, there is absolutely no peaking at all and she sounded wonderful. You get to hear where each instruments are playing easily as well.
Finally we get into some Video Game Soundtracks ! I couldâve put this in the Jazz section but Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 OST is just wonderful as whole. âClock Tower Stageâ and âRiver Stageâ are some of the amazing highlights. This soundtrack also gets to teach me more about what soundstage is. The Splatoon soundtrack is pretty great as well. âSplattack!â and âInk or Sinkâ are some of the highlights for Punk Rock-ish tracks. NieR Automata OST is also another wonderful soundtrack to listen to with the FD5. Everything from start to finish of this album is a journey. âA Beautiful Songâ, âDark Colossus - Kaijuâ, âEmil - Despairâ, and âBipolar Nightmareâ are just some of the tracks thatâs amazing with the FD5. It felt more engaging than the FH3 in terms of soundstage and musical details for me. Last but not least, some Sonic Mania tracks! âGreen Hill Zone Act 2â, âStudiopolis Act 1â, âStudiopolis Act 2â and âLava Reef Act 1â are some of my favourite tracks from the game. The FH3 made the Sonic Mania OST more lively but the FD5 just took it a step further for me. Once again, the amazing soundstage made these tracks feels wide and alive.
Thatâs about it for this post! I apologize for it being an overly long post! I would also like to apologize that I couldnât explain in more detail about the sound technicality part of it but I hope I managed to get most of my explanations across. My next check-in is gonna be my final one with back to being entirely K-pop, the main reason why I got the FD5 in the first place. If any of those music genres that I have explained above seems to fit your bill if youâre deciding to get the FD5 or not, I hope that helps somehow! Until then, Thank you for reading and take care!
This track makes the FD5 sings and it sings hard!â
I got mine as intended. So sorry to hear that, did you managed to get an exchange? That seriously sucks honestly.
Yeah, Linsoul has been very helpful and theyâve ordered replacement parts for me. Now itâs just the waiting game.
Thatâs good to hear. Sucks about the waiting part though. Hope youâll get it sooner than later!
Finally achieved end game for now with the FD5 and can actually use my audio equipment to listen to and enjoy music instead of listening to audio reviews xD
Nice, theyâre a decent piece of gear! Enjoy <3
I just got the FD5 and Iâm using them with the BTR5 over the balanced output. I have the volume of my phone at about 75% and the BTR5 at 22 at Low gain.
Are these so sensitive?
The Fd5 are very efficient to drive. I use mine balanced on the btr5 and am at the same levels.
I read impedance of 32Ω and a high sensitivity of 109dB/mW for the Fd5.
Really loving these so far! I am a bit worried about the mmcx connectors though (seriously why do these still exist?). The left one seems a bit more loose than the right one. Not that I can easily pull it off, but it turns more easily and it just doesnât seem as tight as the right one. Flashbacks to the Tin T2 where I had two sets where one of the mmcx connectors died 
This has been the case since the beginning with my fiio LC 2.5d cable, which I bought for the FH3.
However, after many months up to now, I have not seen any further deterioration or connection problems.
Maybe you could try this out.
I didnât because I didnât have any other problems.
Had the same issue with the left iem being loose. It was so loose when I got it, sound wouldnât play out of it. Had to use tweezers to lightly pinch and pull the contact areas and it fixed the issue. Buying a kbear rhyme cable from Ali helped with the loose spin on the mmcx connections.
Yeah I found out its the IEM, not the cable. When I swap the male connectors, the left one is still more loose.
Do you mean on the IEM side? Do you have a tutorial for that by chance?
I donât feel like itâs going to give out or anything, itâs not even loose, itâs just more loose than the other one.
For me the loose connection that would cut out audio was fixed when I used tweezers and gently squeezed the half circles together in the iem connection. For loose spinning mmcx, I think the link @Tobias.Swiss linked should help. Iâve found it hard to do personally but it does help. My left spins more than the right as well.
I used this video as reference when I had to fix the audio cutting out.
Of the tips youâve tried, did you find any of them to widen the soundstage even more?
Which Azle Sednas did you order, Iâm seeing one with a longer inner shaft, and another with a shorter inner shaft. I want to try the longer one but not sure if itâs suitable for the 4.5mm of the FD5âs balanced filter.
Deep mount did that, but its because its the one with most treble.
I got them all lol, honestly its only a difference in fit. Do be aware that their sizes are all one size bigger than average tips. So if you are using L tips normally, you should get ML sized azlaÂŽs.
I was expecting the FD5 to be fatiguing, but even after a day filled with Zoom meetings I havenât felt any fatigue so far. With my DT-880 I would go mad.
I am on the strugglebus concerning tips though. I notice my right ear canal is angled significantly different from my left one more and more.
The default ones fit really bad, the Final E tips donât seem to fit the nozzle (they keep sliding of), the Xelastec start to hurt after a bit and I donât really like the feel of the Spinfit CP100 (though itâs my best option so far).
Still need to try the Sony ep-ex10a, the included foams and the sedna earfit, though I only have the ML and L tips which are too big for me unfortunately.
I was on the same struggle bus as well. I took the plunge for Xelastec and the fit is a lot better. The ep-ex were quite good as well. Iâd be curious to know how you get on with the regular SednaEarfit.