🔶 FiiO x Crinacle FHE Eclipse

[comfylife]

Mine arrived today, so those who were part of the first pre-order cycle should be getting them soon.

Compared with my current IEMs they remind me of a baby XENNS UP + more forward treble (not clearer or more resolved) stacked with a TON of sub-bass (even more than the Moondrop Variations as the graphs indicate), which makes them have a ridiculous amount of slam and rumble. They aren’t nearly as resolving as either obv., where they comfortably sit in their price range.

I haven’t owned anything from FiiO in the IEM space including the rest of the FHx line, but they fit pretty nicely in my ears.

I was purchasing them not really knowing how they would fit with my current collection, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at their versatility.

[Baku_Baku]

Ok, my FHE arrived yesterday.

First impressions:

• Very good build quality. I like the design, the materials, the aluminium looks and feel great. Seems very sturdy, and everything is well adjusted. I am not used at MMCX connectors, and the piece can turn in the connector, which was confusing when I want to put them again in my ears. It took me a while to get used to it. I think that the cable is really very nice. I like it better that the Thieaudio. I like how everything can be rolled and fits in the small provided bag.

• They are very comfortable. They feel small, in my opinion, maybe because I am used to the Clairvoyance, that fit very well in my ears and they are considered just on the limit in terms of size. I did no open the different tips bags. The original ones were small for me. I am more on the L, sometimes M, size. I have tried the Spinfit CP 100 and the Azla SednaEarfit standard, both worked very well.

• Sound. The bass is The King here.
  – First, in terms of quantity, I would say that it’s just perfect. This might need more listening to evaluate. But, right now, I have not found any of my usual bass songs (see above) where I have thought “this needs more bass” or “this is too much bass”. However, I consider myself a basshead, so it is really difficult for me to find “too much bass”, it has to be out of proportions. For reference, I love the Campfire Cascades, the Fostex Ebony and the Modhouse Argons MKIII. The tuning is perfect, and there’s absolutely zero bleeding into de mids. Voices sound perfectly natural, all classical instruments sound full and present, but their timber is not affected at all because of the bass elevation. Violoncelos are great. I have still to try more piano. So far so good.
  – Second, in terms of quality, this IEM have a very very good perfomance. It has very good texture and very good detail. You can perfectly notice the different kinds of bass. It can be a rumbly and distant bass, or it can be a punchy in-your-face bass, or it can be everything in between. Really excellent at everything that I have trow in them. With other IEMS i have had the feeling that all the bass has a similar texture or timber. Here every bass is different, every drum, every electronic bass has his own personality and I really have the feeling that the IEM are showing to me how the bass is recorded, without any coloration or change. Yes, it is elevated, probably over a neutral, more studio tuned headphone, but I mean in terms of texture and bass, not quantity.

• Sound. Mids and treble. They sound very natural to me. Voices are very forward, well positioned, never shouty. They have body, feel alive and are engaging. It is a pleasure to listen to voices with these. I can’t find any “but” to add. I need more time to see how they perform with voices. As I have said before, all classical instruments sound also very natural, full, alive, well textured and detailed, with very good timber. Nothing to criticize here either.
  Treble is probably the part that might be weaker to me. It is really airy and spacious. But sometimes the treble is too elevated to my tastes (I prefer warm and dark sound signatures).

• Other sound qualities.
  – Soundstage seems great to me. Wide enough. Everything has his own space to sound. Instrument separation is great. Everything that you would expect from a good IEM
  – Detail retrieval is ok, more than enough. It’s clearly less detailed than the Clairvoyance (for example, the background noise around the 1:00 in Archangel Burial, it’s much more clear in the Clairs, while the FHE it’s more a background less detailed noise). But sometimes this less detailed sound signature makes it sound more natural and pleasant. In my opinion sometimes too much detail can get overwhelming with too much information to listen, and less focus in the music. In any case, I consider that all the small details in the voices, instruments, are well shown and are naturally represented. It’s not lacking detail, but it is not a very detailed IEM, just average for a good quality IEM.

In sum, a very good purchase for 149$, very good sound quality, very well tuned. They are very fun to listen, their sound is alive and it’s engaging. These IEMS are great to enjoy the music if you are not looking for a neutral, reference sound. No one should be afraid to have too much bass, they are certainly elevated, but it’s a well tuned elevated bass, with a very good sound in the rest of the frequencies.

EXTRA: Bass songs:
Oi - 1 (Biosphere)
Angel and Unfinished Sympathy (Massive Attack)
Ageispolis (Aphex Twins)
All four tracks from Nothingness (Alignment)
A Mili (Lil Wayne)
Acid Rain (Lorn)
Brass Monkey (Beastie Boys)
I remember (Deadmau)
Consumed and Excavation (The Haxan Cloak)

[Seazer]

Bass is good, treble is a bit too aggressive for my tastes. I find myself wanting to turn the volume up more to really experience what kind of bass these offer, but i end up having to pull back because the treble hurts before i reach the point where i would like the bass to be. may try some eq.

[CTOXmas]

is this just a more V shaped FH5?

[Baku_Baku]

I have had that feeling with the Clairvoyance, not with the FHE. I still have to use them more.

I don’t find it elevated of V shaped, is more a neutral with strong bass boost.

In any case, it is interesting how the FHE has made me re-evaluate the Clairvoyance. Sound memory is really a mess. I remember the Thieaudio to be much more neutral. It really is a very similar sound signature. But it is less bass boosted, and it is more revealing in the upper frequencies. But, overall, the sound signature is really SIMILAR. I forgot how good the Clairvoyance were. Over time I used them less and less, because I remember that I find them fatiguing, but now I have not that feeling. Maybe it’s just only on long listening sessions, and when I like to push up the volume…

[Baku_Baku]

When you have had more time… Could you give more details about the comparison between the FHE and the XENNS UP?

[Seazer]

I find it’s a bit sensitive to source, what I said above was based off it being plugged into my phone. After using it on a Qudelix 5k, i find the treble to be a little less aggressive (although still might eq a bit). Unsure if it’s the amp/dac source or just the output impedance changing it.

[Baku_Baku]

What tips are you using?
ITips really make a noticiable different. They won’t make good a bad IEM, or ruin a good one. But it is clearly a very important part.

I have tried the Spinfit CP 100, but mostly I have been using the Azla SednaEarfit Standard. The Azla seem to add some openess and spark to the treble on the Clairvoyance, so maybe I have to try different tips. It’s not bad, but as yu have said, on electronic music, if you push the volume, sometimes the treble might get hot.

Normal people listen to music at reasonable levels, but a lot of times electronic music need to be pushed up, hehe. In that sense the Cascades and the Argons are really great. I think that the FHE are great, and very enjoyable on electronic music. But darker and warmer sounds make sense for a lot of music. Because of the Cascades I am tempted to try the Vega…

[comfylife]

• The XENNS UP is more of a natural listen, compared to the FHE Eclipse. The stark difference between the two is the huge sub-bass bump of the Eclipse, makes a budget XENNS + Moondrop Variations fusion more of an apt description for it.
• FHE does well with a larger selection of genres due to having more forward treble compared to the UP, which is more recessed but clearer. However, the FHE is so bass-heavy that it can make percussive elements like claps and kick-drums abnormally loud and visceral, even at lower volumes.
• UP is a lot more resolving than the FHE. Clearer mids and clearer background elements.
• They are similar in the fact that they don’t come across as very bassy unless the track calls for it. They don’t really bleed bass into the other frequencies, in my listening experience.
• FHE vocals sound closer/in-your-head while everything else sounds a bit further out. UP brings everything out just a bit more, but relative distance is mostly the same. Soundstage width is similar with both, above-average.
• Imaging is better on FHE, I find the UP sounds a bit “vague”.

[Baku_Baku]

wow, thank you very much for the detailed explanation!

I think that I would enjoy the Xenns UP, but I don’t use IEMS so much to justify the purchase. I am good with the Clairvoyance, the FHE and other more affordable IEMS like the TIN T2, Blon bl03…

[Pocok]

Harsh treble ? It’s not good

[Baku_Baku]

Not trying to be confrontational, but, has anyone in this treat talked about harsh treble?

In my case, I have said that it might be elevated for my tastes, that means, electronic music and pushing the volume. Tuning differences at this level are just a matter of preferences. Saying harsh treble, would be automatically something bad. But I don’t know how anyone could consider this treble harsh. If anything I would consider it very smooth, even to the point that it can lack some detail, but that’s different than elevated…

In fact, I was coming back to hifiguides to correct my first impressions about the treble.

After a pair of days with more use, the first impressions have changed and I find that the treble is smooth and quite balanced. It is still a neutral tuning, not dark, but the neutral on the pleasing side of neutral.

Maybe it was the music that I listened the first days (more energetic), maybe it’s what I am listening now (more relaxed, like Royksoop).

I don’t believe in burn in, at all, I just think it’s your brain getting used to the new sound. Same thing happen with taste when you try new food. All your senses need to adjust to new sensations, and earing is the same, in particular when we are trying to judge very small differences in sound quality.

So, right now, these IEMS are growing on me, making me tap, move my legs to the rhythm, and humming while listening to music. It really is such an enjoyable experience. These are not meant to be balanced or analytical. They are fun, but on the neutral side with big bass boost. So far everything has sounded fantastic to me.

[Pocok]

‘treble is a bit too aggressive’
‘sometimes the treble might get hot’
‘the treble is too elevated’

[Baku_Baku]

ok, so I have to apologize because English is not my first language, I have been living in the US several years, but it is clear that I must be wrong.

When I read harsh I understood something scratching, distorted, shrilling, uncomfortable. But I am seeing that harsh can be translated also as just “hard” or “rough”.

What I mean is: you can say that bass is too elevated, too aggressive, but it still can be clean and smooth.

So, in that sense, I would not say that FHE’s treble is rough or harsh, it is just elevated, overepresented when you listen some kind of music at specific conditions. It is elevated in the metallic clap on electronic music. It can be ok at normal volume, but when you push it up, then it is when it can become hot (in the sense of tiring after a while), or aggressive (making you taking down the volume) , but still it sound pretty smooth and well defined.

I think that I have found a very good example on Injection from Allignment. This is probably my most listened song in 2021. At 2:40 it goes down to build a drop. At 3:00 the bass comes strong, spacious, energetic. The FHE does an amazing job here. It is great. You can increase the volume a lot. Then at 3:30 the metallic clap comes and it can be a little bit too loud. It not shrill, shouty, I would not say harsh, but, again English is not my first language. In any case, it gets much better when you lower the volume, everything sounds more balanced, and the treble is just there doing its work. It’s not annoying.

If I had to be more precise, I don’t know if makes sense to say that treble can become unbalanced when you push the volume up.

[Pocok]

Fiio FHE Crinacle, very tip and source dependent,but this track on it. Jeez’s

Optical Glitch (Alphadog Remix)

[Baku_Baku]

That bass al 1:00 sounds delicious. And, overall, the song sounds really great on the FHE. Good soundstage, timber. Very good fit, hehe

What do you think about the treble? (first impressions are always subject to changes…)

I still have to do more tip rolling, because I remember the Azla tips to be on the brighter side, when I tried them on the Clarivoyance…

Also, I use a Hidizs S9 Pro. I think that it sounds cleans and powerfull, but maybe other sources make it sound more relaxed on that treble. In any case, it sounds just great directly from the headphone jack on the phone.

[iLock]

What tips are you using?

[Pocok]

I found the trebles at the first time very harsh and metallic, but than i roll some narrow bore tips like spinfit100 l and m size and now I’m pretty much satisfied with the highs. maybe the burnin process will tame more them a little.

[Pocok]

Its the Tri i3 stock tips.

[Jack]

Did anyone test it with the btr5 does it tame the highs and lessen the bass compared to other dac/amps ?