In this feature. Louis reviews the FiiO FH19, the company’s latest flagship hybrid dual 13.7mm dynamic and 6 BA driver semi-open universal IEM. It is priced at $599.99.
Disclaimer: This was sent to me as a sample in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or services. I thank FiiO for their support.
You can click here to learn more about the FiiO audio products we have previously reviewed on Headfonics.
Note that this post follows our current scoring guidelines which you can read in more detail here.
We have another FiiO IEM review for you and this time it’s from their hybrid line. The recently launched FH19, priced at $599.99, currently takes the top spot as the flagship model within the hybrid FiiO lineup.
The FH9 previously held that spot and has been one of FiiO’s best-selling IEMs. It takes bold decision-making to replace one of your best-selling IEMs but FiiO has an energetic R&D setup to help them in this endeavor.
The FH series of FiiO IEMs are designed to produce a balanced output, a wide soundstage, and a sound signature suitable for most music genres. In other words, the FiiO FH19 was designed to be a versatile IEM.
Features
There’s a lot to take in here since FiiO incorporated many of its patented IEM implementations within the FH19 starting with a semi-open-back design along with a push-pull dynamic driver setup exclusively developed by FiiO and Onkyo Japan.
They also incorporated their notch filter, S Turbo technology, and a list of drivers, mostly from Knowles which have been customized in heavy collaboration between FiiO and Knowles.
Knowles and FiiO have been fiddling and tweaking the BA driver’s casing ventilation to improve transient response, tonality, and distortion reduction. They’ve managed to gain more volume output capability while simultaneously reducing distortion.
Driver configuration
The FiiO FH19 uses a total of eight drivers with a four-way crossover consisting of dual dynamic and six BA drivers, four of which are customized.
The highlight here is the dual 13.7mm push-pull combo drive. If you know what an Isobaric driver mounting is then you’ll get the concept here.
The dynamic drivers themselves are composite cones made with PU plus DLC. FiiO also implemented a suspended voice coil design which avoids unnecessary contact with the frame and ensures free, uniform, and linear diaphragm movement.
To get into the rest of the specifics on the driver configuration, of the six Knowles BA drivers, two custom Knowles drivers handle the mid frequencies and two handle the highs.
There’s also a pair of SWFK-31736 BA drivers that handle ultra-high frequencies and seem to be the only off-the-shelf drivers.
Design
FiiO stepped up their game with the overall design of the FH19 and used a different color scheme in comparison to the FH9 which came in a monotone finish. The FH19 looks more luxurious this time around but the design remained modern-industrial.
Their exploded view diagram of all the FH19 internal pieces shows a total of at least 20 individual components that make up the finished product. It’s one of the most advanced models I’ve seen for individual assembly components.
Most of the shell or at least the portion that touches the ear is a one-piece shell. There’s only one visible hole in the shell which I assume is used for venting and that’s about it.
This model has no switches or any other such feature on the shell. The only artistic angles are on the backplate and a metal grille completes the overall appearance upfront along with metal output nozzles and the expanded MMCX connectors.
Comfort and Isolation
I’ve never had comfort issues with any of the FiiO IEMs because they commonly use a universal mold that fits the average ear, and that’s what I have.
The nozzles are just the right length and you get good insertion without an excessive amount of contact from the inside of the shell. They’re set at a 10-degree angle which seems to work well for me.
Isolation is almost non-existent, however, and could be improved upon. I was expecting just that since this IEM does have a semi-open backplate but some of their other semi-open back IEMs did better in this area. The FH9 was better in this area.
Ear Tips
FiiO includes a generous amount of tips, a total of 22 sets that include some of their HS18 which are some of my favorite tips because of their pliability and comfort level.
The FH19 is slightly sensitive to tip selection so it’s safe to say that you will spend lots of time experimenting with the tips and the sonic changes. Overall, the changes are minimal between tips and mostly within the bass region.
But the combinations are almost endless here and I’m sure you will find a set that will wow your senses. I stuck with the conventional black rubber tips. These tips are pre-installed and although I did experiment quite a lot with tip selection, I always went back to these, probably out of habit.
Swappable Audio Filters
I will not get too much into the intricacies of the FH19’s swappable audio filters and their sonic effects because we’ll be here for weeks. That will entail combining all three sets with all the tips that FiiO included with this set which are plentiful.
According to FiiO, the red filters enhance low frequencies, the green enhances treble detail, and the black is considered the most balanced of the three.
There is a slight audible change in bass response but it seems to be because the treble is attenuated when using the red variant. However, if you look at the FiiO website posted graph, the bass doesn’t seem to change with any of the three tips which is odd.
The green tip should be used by those who want a sonic signature that seems more sterile, but my favorite was the black filter because it was the one that brought forth the best sonic qualities to my ears and was the most balanced sounding of the three.
Stock Cable
The stock cable is the LC-RD 2022 cable offered by FiiO as an upgrade option. It’s also the same cable included with their recently released 1K class FA19 flagship all BA IEM. It uses the same MMCX connectivity.
The assembly itself is custom-made by FiiO but the tip system is from Fabrilous and is one of the best to me because of the flexibility you get by swapping the tips to either a 3.5mm TRS or a 4.4mm Balanced connector.
The cable is made from high-purity Monocrystalline silver strands. The cable is an 8-cable Litz braid, each consisting of 29 strands for a total of 234 strands of silver, and each cable is wrapped in transparent TPU according to FiiO but it doesn’t look transparent to me. It seems to have a light copper hue.
Packaging & Accessories
FiiO always includes a generous amount of accessories with each IEM. But I thought the day would never come that FiiO would change the included storage case but this time they did. But now I’m unsure which one I prefer.
This storage case gained some weight but is sturdier and the quality seems to be improved. This one has a pull-off top, contrary to the magnetic strap and flap door of the previous design.
The other accessories consist of 22 tip sets, an MMCX tool, a magnetic cable strap, a small eyebrow brush, the cable with two Fabrilous tips, two extra audio filters mounted on a metal plate plus a 3-language quick guide.
The box size has been reduced and FiiO has taken an efficient approach in that the box is smaller, it holds the same amount of product inside. But to be honest, the box doesn’t scream Flagship at you.
Sound Impressions
I used a wide range of amplifiers and source gear with the FiiO FH19 such as the SMSL SU-X and SH-X combo, the FiiO KA17, and the Q11. I also used the THX-powered FiiO’s M11 Pro and the iFi Audio GO bar Kensei.
The black rubber tips were used alongside the black audio filter since this filter’s frequency response seems to run in between the other two and is a middle-ground tuning sonically.
Summary
I would have thought, reading the driver array description that I was in for a head-bashing evening, contrary. The bass itself is one of the highlights here, second is the midrange. And although the bass is forceful and omnipresent, it’s well controlled.
The FiiO FH19 has all the sonic characteristics of the common FiiO house sound which includes an ample amount of neutral but deep bass, lower midrange shelving with a slightly bright upper midrange output, and a high-frequency response that is reproduced with weight and very well-defined notes.
The overall sonic character is neutral in general with a slight bias to a tastefully done U-shaped signature with a balanced streak. There’s a touch of forwardness, especially in the lower bass and the upper midrange area where the largest frequency spike resides, around the 2 to 3kHz region.
The FiiO FH19 is best described as a dish that doesn’t need salt and pepper or any extra seasoning to taste great. The stock tuning doesn’t need any adjusting and it seems just right to me.
Bass
The lows of the FiiO FH19 are fast, responsive, well-textured, and can dig deep down into the lowest notes. In a tone generator sweep, to my ears, the bass was effective down to 17Hz and was fully represented at and above 20Hz.
The bass performance of this push-pull array can take lots of increase in output utilizing DSP or an equalizer. They can hit hard, bring on the slam, and then some, and can venture into bass-head levels of performance.
I would say the bass is almost exceptional here with a minimum amount of overhang effect. FiiO managed to place the two drivers to work in conjunction so that their transient response would be improved over the predecessor, the FH9, and it sure is.
Midrange
The midrange is nicely done and it displays an ability to quell the lower mid frequencies while producing a more lively upper midrange region. This gives way to the FiiO sonic signature which to me warmly presents male vocals, and female vocals with a small raise in the overall pitch.
Not to say that pitch is off because the overall mid frequencies are produced not only distinctly, but with a natural tone and a minimum amount of veiling. They’re quite revealing.
I am hearing high levels of detail on simple tracks that I’m familiar with, nuances, and background intricacies. Most of the details seem to come from within the midrange frequencies and the FH19 does a good job of extracting what’s there.
Technically, the FH19 is, well, highly technical and can paint each element on a separate canvas it seems. That’s on top of having a smooth, controlled midrange, and a tamed sonic characteristic overall.
Treble
The treble response is quite revealing and sharply produced with some meat behind each note. There’s a hefty amount of high-frequency representation and it’s produced with ponderosity.
Some people prefer a lighter presentation and could consider this set bright. The high frequencies do stage well but it seems FiiO set their emphasis on bass and midrange presentation over high-frequency production.
FiiO used the SWFK-31736 Knowles tweeters that have been installed on some of their previous releases, like the FH7 and FH7s which are lower-budget models.
These units produce good highs but feel that if FiiO had worked on the highs a bit more, the overall sonic qualities of the FH19 would have taken this IEM to another level.
The bottom line on the highs is that they’re beyond good enough for a mid-tier IEM and most in this price tier can’t compete.
However, they are highly recording quality dependent, and when a recording has bad highs you will notice, but when well recorded, heaven’s gates open.
Staging and Dynamics
The overall size of the soundstage is not very large but it focuses on the elements it’s producing and this gives way to a highly dynamic overall character.
There seems to be another FiiO characteristic sonic signature here. There’s a nice amount of width and depth, but the overall height is not too tall and remains right at the top of one’s head level.
However, one can’t discard the FH19 for soundstage preferences because there are tips that change the dimensions overall, but the amount of detailed placement doesn’t diminish.
But all that aside, the FH19 can impress with accurate placement and micro-imaging. It’s a technically capable IEM, especially in this price bracket.
Click here for my recommended pairings and selected comparisons.
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