This and That:
Decent unboxing experience but not as special compared to the FiiO F9 Pro or FH1.
Included are two sets of different single-flange silicone tips (each set comes with three pairs in three different sizes), a cleaning brush and a nice storage case (as well as a plastic bag for the ear tips).
One BA driver and acoustic damper per side.
Ergonomic shell design (the comfort is truly excelelnt), really high build quality. I like the shell design, too.
The included storage case is spacious enough, seems sturdy and is generally very nice, however only its lower half is really protective, as its transparent lid doesn’t have any rubber cushioning. So unfortunately the design/appearance was prioritised over ultimate protection.
Very supple twisted cable. I’m a little disappointed though that no separate mic/remote cable is included (a separate mic/remote cable in a similar manner with twisted conductors as the one that comes standard would have been a really nice addition).
Sound:
I’m using the FA1 solely with low impedance sources as well as the largest included white silicone tips (the ones that were already attached).
Tonality:
Quite different from the FA7; the FA7 is warm, bassy and dark (in the midrange), whereas the FA1 sounds much more neutral, accurate. Its sound signature is excellently balanced and very natural.
The bass is less than 6 dB north of diffuse-field neutrality. Excellent extension down into the real sub-bass without any roll-off – really nice.
Just a little bit of lower fundamental range warmth.
Not as warm and bassy as the Brainwavz B100, one of my favourite single-BA in-ears below $100. Better extension (FA1 linear sub-bass extension, B100 roll-off towards sub-bass (but not nearly as dramatically as the Brainwavz KOEL with its poor bass extension)).
That said, it shows just a tad more sub- and midbass impact compared to my InEar StageDiver SD2, however without its warm, thick (lower) midrange and fundamental range.
The midrange timbre is pretty much spot-on with only a hair more warmth with deep voices. The mids appear neither intimate nor distant in the mix. The level around 2 kHz is just slightly below that of 1 and 3 kHz, so the mids aren’t exhausting but still have a correct timbre. That’s done really well.
The FA1’s midrange timbre is more correct, more accurate compared to many other in-ears (that said, while I find the FA7’s upper mids just somewhat too dark for me to enjoy them during long listening sessions, the FA1’s are fantastically accurate sounding but fortunately also lack the upper midrange glare/brightness that several Asian, although mainly hybrid, in-ears have).
The treble is generally mostly neutral, with just a slight lift past around 6 kHz when doing sine sweeps, but nothing that’s really negatively while listening to music, even though it leads to just slightly added metallicness. Ultimately, the highs are therefore not as linear/natural sounding as that of the Etymotic ER4SR or my ER-4S (both are actually even a bit recessed around 6 kHz, however a recession is perceived as less noticeable/troublesome/important in this area than an elevation), however still really good, without anything that sounds annoying or really unnatural.
Performing sine sweeps, I can spot a very mild peak just slightly above 10 kHz, but nothing that would affect the timbre (if even, it only leads to cymbals’ overtones sounding just slightly more “spread”, but to a much, much milder degree compared to the LZ Audio A5).
Super treble extension past 10 kHz is good.
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To sum it up, the FA1 is tuned almost perfectly – very balanced, highly natural.
Resolution:
The FA1 resolves really, really well, and is very close to Etymotic territory when it comes to resolution.
Speech intelligibility and midrange details are (very) high, and the treble is nicely detailed and cleanly separated.
That said, it ultimately (more or less drastically) outperforms the Brainwavz B150, B100 and KOEL, my Phonak Audéo PFE132, Logitech/Ultimate Ears UE600vi, MEElectronics A151 and SoundMAGIC PL50.
Excellent bass quality – very tight, quick and controlled, especially for single-BA standards. Somewhat beats the ER4XR and ER3XR in terms of tightness. Beats most other single-BA in-ears as well. Even beats several good multi-BA in-ears in terms of bass tightness and speed. Quite spectacular single-BA in-ear performance.
Soundstage:
Neither small/congested (Fidue A65/Shure SE425) nor large/open (Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors, Campfire Audio Andromeda, NocturnaL Audio Atlantis, DUNU Titan 1, ...) sounding. Bit wider than that of the Etymotic ER4SR and my ER-4S though.
Not flat but quite three-dimensional, although ultimately just slightly more oval than circular (slightly more width than depth).
Precise imaging and instrument separation as well as placement. Decent layering, although the Etys are a bit ahead in that area.
Definitely authentic and precise, just like the tuning and the technical performance.
Conclusion:
High comfort, excellent tuning, excellent technical performance, authentic soundstage, excellent product.