FiiO FT5 Open Back Planar Headphones FiiO

The FT5 90mm Open Planar Magnetic Headphones present a pinnacle of audio engineering, featuring a 6µm ultra-thin diaphragm that ensures unparalleled precision in sound reproduction. Complementing this advanced diaphragm is a micron-plated aluminium silver alloy coil, meticulously crafted to enhance conductivity and minimise distortion. These headphones are not only a marvel of technology but also a feat of design, constructed from lightweight magnesium alloy for optimal comfort during extended listening sessions. The open-backed design further enhances the immersive listening experience, allowing for a natural and expansive soundstage. To ensure the highest fidelity audio transmission, the headphones come equipped with an included 392 wires of high-purity silver-plated monocrystalline copper cable. This cable not only minimises signal loss but also enhances the clarity and richness of the audio. Despite their sophistication, these headphones boast high sensitivity, making them easy to power and compatible with a wide range of audio sources. In essence, the FT5 headphones represent the pinnacle of audio excellence, combining cutting-edge technology with meticulous craftsmanship to deliver a truly transformative listening experience.

Discover Micron-level Manufacturing and Technology

Planar magnetic drivers are in between dynamic and electrostatic headphones. Like dynamic headphones, there is a sort of coil on the planar driver. Similar to electrostatic headphones, the diaphragm is a special kind of thin, micron-level film. The FT5 is 28nm chip-scale processed, leading to an approximately 6pm thick diaphragm. These characteristics of the planar driver make it possible to create a headphone that is not only highly detailed, but also easy to power.

The FT5 is FIIO’s first set of planar magnetic headphones, providing intense energy to your sound like a thunderstorm.

Fully Sized and Fully Square Large 90mm Planar Magnetic Driver

The FIIO FT5 employs an outstanding large 90mm planar magnetic driver. Compared to a traditional dynamic driver, a planar magnetic driver converts sound energy to sound waves in a more balanced way, by vibrating in a much more even way. The vibrations are distributed across the entire driver diaphragm and there is little distortion caused by the rigidity of the diaphragm material. Thus, the FIIO FT5 can truly and accurately express audio signals, faithfully reproducing every last note and truly providing you with lossless hi-fi sound.

A Thin as a Cicada’s Wing, Zen-like 6µ Ultra-thin Diaphragm

When designing the FIIO FT5, the development team did not simply blindly chase bigger (or smaller) numbers rather, everything was designed in order to achieve strict sound performance targets. We found that a diaphragm that is too thin can easily cause the coils attached to the diaphragm to fall off, leaving users with unusable headphones. Thus, after extensive testing, the FIIO development team determined that a 6µm thickness was the ideal balance between sound performance and reliability.

For the diaphragm itself, the FIIO development team evaluated various materials for use such as PET, PEI, and PAR, and conducted comprehensive tests on dynamics, conversion efficiency, reliability, resolution, etc. Based on the acoustic goal and overall evacuation, the development team settled on using PAR for the diaphragm, which is the backbone of not only the FT5’s excellent dynamics and highly-detailed sound, but also the rich bass not typically found in planar magnetic headphones.

Micro-plated Aluminum-silver Alloy Coils

In a flat driver diaphragm with a printed coil, almost all of the weight is concentrated on the metal-coated coils. During the development of the FT5, the R&D engineers not only needed to consider how the coils would interact with the 6µm thin diaphragm, but also the density and conductivity of the coils themselves. Having examined and tested various commonly-used materials to plate planar coils, FIIO engineers determined that the lighter aluminum alloy material was best for the coils. Also, they determined that mixing in silver metal would also enhance conductivity of the coils, making the driver easier to power without sacrificing the high-frequency detail and rich sound characteristic of good planar magnetic drivers.

Nanoscale Diaphragm Coating Process

High-end sound that’s truly audible. The coils of the FT5’s driver are printed onto the diaphragm using high-end technology from the semiconductor industry, ensuring that not only the thickness of the coils are more consistent, but that the weight of the coils are more evenly distributed diaphragms ultimately for more accurate sound.

Lightweight Magnesium Aluminum Alloy Construction

The design of a planar magnetic driver includes the number of magnets to be used and how they are stacked, with more magnets meaning greater weight. Thus, the materials used to construct the outer shell of a planar magnetic headphone must be carefully chosen to balance both sound quality and weight. The FIIO FT5 features a magnesium aluminum alloy construction. Thanks to magnesium aluminum alloy being only 64% as dense as that of aluminum alloy, the FT5 can be made to be much lighter in weight for long yet comfortable listening sessions.

Better Functioning Metal Construction

The FIIO development team when creating the design of the FT5 gave special consideration to the large vibrations the massive 90mm planar magnetic driver generates. Thus, the FT5 is made of metal, which much better resists vibrations generated by the driver from music such as those – generated when playing back bass heavy tracks than a – plastic enclosure would.

Open-backed Design

To achieve its great sound, the FT5 features a large 90mm planar magnetic driver with 20 magnets on a single side of each driver. To further reach its max potential, the FT5 also contains a specially-designed open-backed acoustic structure. The rear of the driver housing is carefully designed to act as a sound wave baffle to isolate the sound waves in the front and rear of the driver housing. The grille of the FT5 is scientifically designed to control and precisely accelerate the air flow when the driver is moving. This not only allows the FT5 to have treble resolution unmatched by dynamic driver headphones, but also allows it to have a wide and vast soundstage to better immerse you in the symphony.