Introduction

FiiO has had a great time lately with lots of impressive product launches and new product lines, be it headphones, speakers, desktop streamers, or even keyboards. While the brand is still synonymous with its desktop DAC/amps, I'd say FiiO has also made a name for itself with its in-ear monitors. As of the day I write this review, FiiO has several product lines that comprise just IEMs—the FD series that use a single dynamic driver, the FH with a hybrid driver configuration, the new FX line with tribrid drivers, FF with earbuds, and FW with TWS IEMs. This is even before we get to the Jade Audio sister brand! One of FiiO's IEM lines has been less successful relative to others though. The FA series, which contains IEMs that only use balanced armature drivers, has been getting overshadowed by the competition not only within FiiO's own product stack but from others too. Take the FA7s, for example, which has long since been forgotten despite being around for under two years.


FiiO is hedging a lot on its latest entry to the FA series to the point where it might make or break the continuation of this lineup. The new FA19 is a flagship in this lineup, effectively replacing the older FA9 as per FiiO's somewhat convoluted naming scheme. This uses 10 balanced armature drivers per side, in addition to expensive components throughout, and—as per FiiO—some cool engineering tech to help differentiate this in a highly competitive market. There's also a switch to choose between two tuning modes and a bunch of included accessories is basically guaranteed with anything FiiO. So let's see how the FiiO FA19 stacks up in our review which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below. Thanks to FiiO for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

The unboxing section of a FiiO product can be almost as long as some entire product reviews, given how much the company gives you. This begins with the product box itself which is more minimalist than usual for the brand, although we still see the semi-glossy black base with iridescent writing on the front depicting the product name and the brand slogan. On the back is the expected Hi-Res Audio logo and a confirmation about the FA19 being a 10-BA driver set of IEMs. There isn't much else going on here, and we can slide off the external sleeve to reveal the inner box easily. Here too we see a more generic box compared to the more product-specific versions before. This thick cardboard box opens from the top to reveal a quick start guide for FiiO IEMs which can be handy to go over if you are new to IEMs in general, or even just those using MMCX connectors. Underneath come the IEMs themselves in a plastic clamshell layer with the carry case alongside.


The IEMs are snugly packed with the attached cable that goes around and underneath in a storage compartment for a clean first impression. The carry/storage case sells for $20 by itself under the FiiO HB5 product name, and is one of the better polyurethane-based faux leather implementations I have seen to date. It employs a nice two-color finish with tan sides and a front tag to contrast with the dark blue surface elsewhere, measures 94 x 87 x 47 mm, and weighs ~100 g by itself. The stitching quality is quite good, and we see FiiO as well as the same "born for music" slogan stamped in. A magnetic clasp keeps the box closed and inside we see a soft fabric and velvet lining akin to a jewelry box. There is a cutout to hold the IEMs and some accessories come placed in the case as seen above. These include a tool used to disconnect the MMCX connectors on the cable from the shells, a magnetic cable clasp with FiiO branding, and a cleaning brush. We also get a 4.4 mm balanced termination plug here that we'll get to on the next page, and there are two sets of ear tips to go with the even larger collection of ear tips in a separate box placed in the bottom layer.


FiiO continues to be generous on the ear tip front with seven different types and a whopping 18 sets in total to choose from. The ones in the box are also labeled based on their intended application and how they differ from each other—this helps keep things organized and user-friendly. These also happen to be the exact same tips we saw used in other, older FiiO IEMs such as the FH5s, with FiiO then providing two extra sets of newer ear tips in the form of FiiO's own HS18 and the SpinFit CP145 in sizes S/M/L.


I appreciate that the FiiO FA19 comes with the cable and a set of default ear tips pre-installed, thus making it easier for the customer to start listening right away. For a closer examination of the IEMs and the cables separately, I had to first remove the cable from the IEMs. A quick look here reveals the use of MMCX connectors, removing which is simple enough if you are used to them—carefully tug outwards—or use the provided MMCX removal tool as seen in this helpful video.