FIIO F9 Pro Triple Driver Hybrid Earphones - Black

I'm what you might call an aging pseudo audiophile. My HiFi reflects this, it's a complete separate set of last century Pioneer Reference/Urushi units to include reel-to-reel. I had them updated with all new custom made capacitors (£££) and etc. For speakers I've hade my B&W PD1's uprated (to virtually Maserati spec). I do have a rather large and extensive collection of half-speed master albums. I do like a wide variety of music (not noise), if you like 'Dark Side of the Moon', and know someone that has it on half-speed and a reasonably good system, I can only say you 'thought' you heard it before...Let us not deviate, I used to record my albums on reel-to-reel then put them away until the tape wore out. If you take care of your things they do last awhile, still playing tape from early eighties...Now fast forward to the 21st century...portable music systems...Yes, my Samsung Notes play music...but not quite to a standard as the home unit. So I treated myself to a Pono Player (thank you Neil Young) which is definitely better than your average MP3 player. This Christmas I treated myself to a Cowon Plenue 2, advertised as 'the worlds best DAC player'...I tried a lesser brand of 'balanced' in-ear bud, but wasn't impressed. I then did some homework on better 'balanced' ear buds. I decided that the ProF9's were an improvement over the F9's.And, I am delighted to say that they (to my hearing ability) make the Plenue 2's balanced mode sound like an album compared to a 45, or FM compared to AM (I did say I'm aging). So when it's not convenient to play the HiFi, I can reach for seriously good music, without spending ludicrously amounts of money for curious bragging rites - the human ear can only hear so much, why have a separate electric pole installed just for your HiFi or a system that is good for 0.0005% distortion on frequencies that you cannot possibly hear...I can only vouch for how impressed I am with the aforementioned combination. I have listened to a set costing £3k-ish, I am well and truly satisfied with this product! In the event I wish to acquire another set or upgrade, I would have absolutely no hesitation but to seek what this supplier/manufacturer has to offer!!!Case closed!

At first I was massively disappointed...I put the foam tips on knowing that they should give enough of a good seal but they just didn't want to stay put in my ear and I split one of the foam tips within 12 hours of owning these. I also was disappointed in the lack of noise isolation that they gave even with experimenting with a couple of the tips (and to some extent I still struggle with the lack of noise isolation). HOWEVER, when full-bodied music plays, the noise isolation isn't actually all that bad and it depends on how it sits in the ear (it takes a lot of fiddling for me though). I was previously using Bose SoundTrue which I have enjoyed - particularly for the noise isolation - but since getting a hi-res player (Astell & Kern), the trebles on the Bose were much too harsh when I played 16 bit flac files. Since using these for about a week now, I have realized that the Bose actually is incredibly heavy on the bass and it bleeds and distorts into the other ranges whereas I find these deliver a much more balanced sound. Bass is punchy but not bloated like the Bose (which is what gave the SoundTrue better "noise isolation" in my opinion - I have only discovered this yesterday when I switched back to see what I really preferred and I much prefer the Fiio F9's) and the trebles are clear and crisp with these. I am hearing pieces of music I could never hear with the Bose. Microphonics are VERY minimal with both cables which is also fantastic.ETA: I have had issues with the left monitor and the connector cable. It is definitely the monitor as I've tried it with both the regular and balanced cable as well as the right connector cable. It is driving me MAD. Fiio was fantastic and refunded me my money despite me having these for so long. I will invest in another pair of Fiio's but probably not the mmcx type.

Ok, so I've never written a review on Amazon ever. I've never felt the need.This is the first time I've literally felt compelled to. I've been using a combination of Bose on-ear's, Denon AH-360's for quite a while with my MacBook pro and iPhone's to go to work, use at work e.g. for phone calls and constant spotify listening in the office. The problem I felt I had was the Bose and Denon's were too big to lug daily, and because of their size would require a portable amp to power to their full potential etc, ergo I wanted something that sounded as good as possible with as little fuss as possible and as portable as possible.Suffice to say, I think these might just be my nirvana. In my MacBook Pro, quite simply wow. Spotify premium on extreme, just amazing. The bass is clear, tight, and like listening to a proper set of speakers. With the right track, it just feels and sounds right. Obviously depending on the recording quality, you actually feel like you're either there or a part of it (this is commonly referred to as the soundstage, i.e. that percussion sounds really over there on the left etc)In my iPhone via the lightening to 3.5mm adapter, using the equaliser settings in the Spotify app (as there is non on OSX) it really can bring these to life. I have felt no need to use a portable amp, at all, what's the point when they sound this good?I'm not going to bore who-ever reads this with loads of technical bable, like soundstages, bass response etc. Just know this, they sound obnoxiously good for the price, they are a steal!I've only had them a few days, so I can't comment on the build quality, just the sound quality thus far and I currently feel they were worth it