FiiO FT3

Sound comes from the vibration of material – thus, the choice of the driver is quite important in determining sound quality. The FT3 features a large 60mm dynamic driver, uncommon in its class. Compared to a smaller driver, the FT3 can push more air and convert energy into the sound more efficiently – resulting in a more natural yet robust sound with an expansive soundstage.

The FT3’s large dynamic driver also has other benefits. For example, due to its large size, the diaphragm is capable of bearing higher output power, leading to less distortion under large dynamic signals. Also, the larger driver is more easily able to produce lower frequencies for deeper reaching bass.

The diaphragm is one of the most important parts of a dynamic driver. And not just any diaphragm material can meet the demands of the FT3 due to the large driver size. After countless testing at FiiO, a beryllium-plated gasket + DLC diaphragm was chosen.

The FT3 driver gasket is plated with beryllium. This not only results in a lighter gasket (and thus a lighter driver), but also a more rigid gasket better able to handle the movement of the large dynamic driver for less distortion.

The diaphragm of the FT3 is made of DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon), – which is both highly sturdy and lightweight compared to other diaphragm materials. This means that the FT3 driver is less prone to breakup and thus nonlinear distortion, while also having an extremely extended frequency response and improved soundstage.

The FT3 was designed with great sound as the primary goal, and features 350Ω impedance to achieve that. Compared to lower impedance headphones, higher impedance headphones more effectively filter out noise to the listener resulting in a purer sound with higher signal-to-noise ratio performance.