FiiO is generally known for offering good value in terms of what you get in the box, although the FA19 and the previously released FX15 have been bumping up the price tag to where things are not as simple. Indeed, at $1000 the FA19 gives you basically the same accessories as FiiO IEMs that cost less than half as much, and I'd argue the design/build isn't that different either. Where the price tag comes from is purely from the components and engineering used, with ten expensive Knowles balanced armature drivers, good quality capacitors, internal acoustic tubing, electronic crossovers with said capacitors and notch filters etc. There are all-BA sets which cost significantly more too, in case you happened to think the driver type may not justify the price tag. Then there's the part where having this increased number of drivers is a double-edged sword with the logical reasoning being to allow more drivers to put out the desired sound with lower distortion and allowing for finer tuning of the frequency response, but of course that adds to the cost.

I'd have been more than happy had FiiO nailed the sound presentation, and I am not convinced it has. There are two tuning modes on offer, although realistically the HiFi mode feels like a party trick that some may like and most will find too bloated. The monitor mode measures like it should be highly competitive with IEMs in this price range and perhaps even those which cost more, although it is let down by the crossover from the mids BA drivers to the treble tweeters which results in the latter sounding like they were from a different set of IEMs altogether. EQ helps tremendously here and makes the FA19 a far more lucrative offering, so if you get a portable DAC/amp such as the FiiO KA17 with onboard EQ then this can be a compelling combo. There are certainly many positives too, especially if you prefer a set of IEMs that does not sound closed-off and listen to a lot of vocals. Out of the box though, the $1000 price range has a lot of attractive options to where the FA19 feels like it needs to do more to belong here. FiiO mentioned that the FA19 could be the last of its all-BA IEM lineup if it does not do well commercially, so it's weird that the brand went for its most expensive IEM to date under these pressing circumstances. I am not convinced this is the shot in the arm that FiiO's FA-series of IEMs needed, and I am unable to recommend this for the asking price unless you are a big fan of the brand or find the feature set worth it.