đŸ”¶ FiiO FH3 2BA 1DD

I didn’t hear any difference running it balanced from my btr5, so I wouldn’t spend much on it. I’ve tried a fair few tips and decided on the Final Type E tips, mostly because of comfort.

1 Like

Out of my budget at the moment, but thanks for the suggestion

Legacy 2/Fiio FH3 & Legacy 3 comparison
 đŸ”¶ ThieAudio Legacy 2 - #5 by Resolution

3 Likes

I would only run balanced if you are not getting enough power out of a mobile dac/amp or a digital audio player. Out of a full desktop stack you don’t really need balanced unless it is a balanced only setup.

For FH3 tips I use both the Final Audio type E tips and the AZLA SednaEarfit XELASTEC tips. You can also use foams if that is more your preference.

1 Like

How would you compare them in terms of coherency? I love the FH3, but I feel like they are not the most coherent set and sometimes it sounds just a bit chaotic. Seeing as how the L2 has one fewer driver, do you hear any difference in that?
Are they different enough to justify owning both?

1 Like

They both share the incoherent attributes.

I would not recommend both these iems. They are quite similar. The main differences being the FH3 sounds more full bodied and darker while the Legacy 2 sounds brighter, thinner and slightly more nimble since the legacy 2 doesn’t carry as much weight as the FH3.

They are more similar than they are different.

You also did not enjoy the Legacy 4 so I’d stay away from Thieaudio if I were you. Although the Legacy 2 is a departure from most of its other IEMs with it’s beyrillium dd.

4 Likes

Thanks for saving my wallet. I’ll continue waiting for FiiO, Ikko or Kinera to make an affordable tribrid then. I’ve decided against buying $200+ stuff from China, but those brands are available locally.
Or maybe try a nice warm IEM, only one I have is the bl-03.

2 Likes

So I recently gifted a friend of mine my FH3 for her to use, and she loved the sound on the spot.

Her previous use was the AirPods 2 and her recently broken Sony MDR-ZX310 headphones for music listen. She had always been curious how lossless sounded like on a proper iem or headphones since Apple Music recently released the lossless stuff. She only use her iPhone 11 and MacBook as her source. Though she and I shared the same Tidal account, she didn’t get quite the feel like I did with the gear she had, so I took the opportunity to just give her my FH3 since I already have the FD5 with me to enjoy.

Like me, she mainly listens to Kpop and Korean Drama OSTs. She also listens to other mandarin songs. So with that perspective, coming from someone who has never heard lossless or uses a headgear around the same price as the FH3 before, she was blown away by the sound of the FH3. The songs that she used to listen to for years never sounded so crisp to her before. While listening on her MacBook, she only got the volume up to 3 bars and she already felt quite loud enough.

She was quite overwhelmed by the imaging of the instrumentals and the forward vocals so she’s slowly getting used to that experience and also loving it every second. Her highlight so far was listening to Taeyeon ‘11:11’. She was overwhelmed by the acoustic guitars in this track like it was playing around her. It’s only been 2 days since she got them from me, so I told her to just sit back and enjoy it at her own pace.

What would you say is a coherent set in the $200 range? Or is it just not very possible to get a coherent set in this range unless it’s a single DD?

Ikko OH10 is impressive at that. Otherwise, maybe take a look at used units on the older Sony hybrids (XBA-A/N series).

1 Like

Any single DD will excel at coherency. TANCHJIM Oxygen comes to mind in the 200 price range. You could get any of the low end Moondrops, but I would go straight to the oxygen and skip the low end Moondrops. All of this actually was @Rikudou_Goku recommendation to me for quite a long time until I got off my ass and ordered the it.

2 Likes

Or go with a single DD or even a multi ba would be better than usual hybrids.

Audiosense DT200/DT100 would be my rec for BA iems. As for DDs, well, there are plenty and that depends on preferences.

2 Likes

Maybe legacy2?

Nope. Not very coherent just like the FH3, but it has lots of things it does extremely well for 99 dollars. Coherency is just not one of them.

2 Likes

Nvm, somehow tought l2 was a single DD


1 Like

@Rikudou_Goku @Resolution thanks yeah I’ve had a few IEM’s now (legacy 3, spring 1, tape pro, bl 01 and zsn pro) but have found myself drawn to the bl 01 no matter the qualities coming from the L3 or spring 1. If only it were possible to get a natural sounding coherent set of IEM’s that is good for most genres in the $200 range then that would be awesome. Thanks though about the oxygen’s, they look great but from the stuff I’ve listened to I’d be interested in something with the mangird teas sound but with a bit more mid bass. For now I think it’s a waiting game for what will come out in the next year or more.

1 Like

FYI
 It sounds as though you may very well prefer a single DD set. There is nothing wrong with that! There are some killers out there.

1 Like

Take a look at GS Audio, they have hybrids with sonion BAs which are well known for having excellent timbre.

(FIY; that GD3A is the OEM version (GS Audio is an OEM), the retail version is sold under the name HS Audio Ripple at 160 usd
HSAudio Ripple DD+2BA Hybrid Sonion Hifi Music Monitor Audiophile Musician 2Pin 0.78mm Earphones Headphones PK FLC8S Adonis NM2+|Earphones| - AliExpress)

But otherwise it sounds like you prefer single DDs.

2 Likes

Thanks @Rikudou_Goku @Resolution i think you’re right and will check out the GS audio you linked. Had the fdx1 on my list before but the treble looked like a risk. Nm2+ also has a good reputation I think so will read more into the single dd’s that are around.

The Nm2+ has a lot of treble, if the FDX1 is risky, the NM2+ is even riskier.


(FDX1 stock filter = most treble out of all its configurations)

2 Likes