FiiO FT1 Pro

The FiiO FT1 Pro delivers best-in-class sound quality at a ridiculous $179 price, with a wide planar magnetic soundstage that competes with headphones costing thousands. Comfort is a major weak spot thanks to heavy weight and cheap-feeling earpads, and there's no ANC, Bluetooth, or usable mic. For critical listening in a quiet room, this is an unbeatable value. Just budget for better earpads and don't expect to take calls with them.

The sound here is the absolute best right now for this price bracket. The 95x86mm planar driver pushes a frequency response up to 40kHz, and the uniform magnetic field design keeps distortion low even when the diaphragm is moving fast. In real-world listening, that translates to a wide lateral soundstage that feels almost boundaryless. Instruments have room to breathe, and the imaging is precise enough that you can pick out where each player is standing in a jazz quartet. The bass is well-controlled and natural, not the bloated thump you get from closed-back consumer cans. It's the kind of bass that serves the music rather than showing off.

There's a slight metallic edge to the sound when you first put them on, something a few owners have noted. It's not harsh, but it's there, and it tends to smooth out as the drivers break in. The 20Ω impedance and high sensitivity mean you can drive these off a phone or laptop dongle without much trouble, but they really sing with a decent amp. The included balanced and unbalanced cables are a nice touch, though they're not particularly long. For studio use, the 62.6 score puts these well above average for critical listening tasks, and the 56.5 music score reflects just how enjoyable they are for casual listening too.

The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 is the obvious competitor if you want wireless convenience and ANC. It's a closed-back headphone with a much higher comfort score and a mic that actually works for calls. But its sound quality, while good, doesn't come close to the FT1 Pro's planar detail and soundstage. The Sony ULT WEAR is another alternative with heavy bass tuning and ANC, but again, it's a different animal entirely. Those are lifestyle headphones; the FT1 Pro is a tool for listening.

If you're considering the Apple AirPods Max, you're in a completely different price bracket and use case. The AirPods Max offer spatial audio, seamless Apple integration, and decent ANC, but they're closed-back and can't match the open, airy presentation of the FT1 Pro. The Technics EAH-A800 is a dark horse with solid sound and LDAC support, but it's still a wireless closed-back. For pure wired listening, the FT1 Pro stands alone in this group. The JBL Tune 670NC is a budget wireless option that doesn't even belong in the same conversation sonically.

At $179, the FT1 Pro is an absurd deal. The price range across vendors is wild, from $179 up to $4,661, so you'll want to shop carefully. Amazon currently has the best price we've seen for the blue and black models. When you consider that the sound quality lands in the 99th percentile, you're getting performance that competes with headphones in the $1,000+ range. The build quality is also strong at the 89th percentile, so you're not getting a flimsy chassis that'll fall apart in a year.

For context, the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 and Sony ULT WEAR both cost more and offer features like ANC and wireless connectivity, but they can't touch the FT1 Pro on pure sound quality. If you're a music-first listener who doesn't need portability or noise canceling, this is one of the best value propositions in audio right now. Just budget for some aftermarket earpads if the stock ones bother you.

The FiiO FT1 Pro is one of those rare products that makes you question why you'd spend more. It's an open-back planar magnetic headphone that lands in the 99th percentile for sound in our database, yet it starts at just $179. That's not a typo. FiiO spent two years developing a 95x86mm planar driver with a 1μm ultra-thin diaphragm, and the result is a headphone that sounds far more expensive than it is. If you're a studio rat, a critical listener, or someone who just wants to hear every detail in their music without selling a kidney, this thing demands your attention.

Now, let's address the elephant in the room. The comfort score sits at a brutal 2nd percentile, which is one of the worst we've seen. At 998g, these are heavy, and the earpads have been described by multiple owners as feeling like dry gym shorts. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement for all-day wear. But here's the thing: for short, focused listening sessions where sound quality is the only thing that matters, the FT1 Pro delivers an experience that rivals headphones costing ten times as much. One user even compared it favorably to a $3,000 pair.

This is a wired, open-back headphone with zero bells and whistles. No ANC, no Bluetooth, no microphone worth using. The connectivity score is a lowly 27th percentile, and the mic is even worse at 21st. FiiO clearly put every dollar into the drivers and the build, and it shows. The sapphire and aluminum dual-coating on the diaphragm is a trick borrowed from semiconductor manufacturing, and it's designed to give you better high-frequency resolution and faster transient response. If you're looking for a do-it-all wireless headphone, keep scrolling. If you want pure, uncolored sound on a budget, pull up a chair.

If comfort is a top priority, you should absolutely skip the FT1 Pro. The 998g weight and the 2nd percentile comfort score are not exaggerations. These are heavy headphones with pads that feel cheap, and you'll feel the clamp after an hour. Look at the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 or the Technics EAH-A800 if you want something you can wear all day without fatigue.

Also skip these if you need any kind of portability or call functionality. The mic score is a dismal 21st percentile, and the wired, open-back design means they're useless on a bus, plane, or in an office. The Sony ULT WEAR or Apple AirPods Max are far better fits for commuting and calls. The FT1 Pro is a specialist tool for seated, focused listening, and it makes no apologies for that.

If you're a studio engineer, a mixing enthusiast, or someone who listens critically in a quiet room, the FiiO FT1 Pro is a no-brainer. The sound quality is top of the charts, the build is solid, and the price is laughably low for what you get. Pair them with a decent amp and you'll hear details in your favorite recordings that you've been missing. Just be aware that the comfort issues mean you'll want to take breaks during long sessions, and the open-back design means everyone around you will hear what you're listening to.

For casual listeners who want a single pair of headphones for commuting, calls, and music, look elsewhere. The lack of ANC, the terrible mic, and the wired-only connection make these a non-starter for on-the-go use. But if you've got a quiet space and you care about sound above all else, the FT1 Pro is one of the best purchases you can make right now. Grab them from Amazon at the $179 price point before FiiO realizes what they've done.