Nice unboxing experience. The only thing that could be improved is the labeling of the filters on the sticker inside the package, as dark red letters on an anthracite-coloured background are difficult to read (it's quite obvious what which filter does, though).
Beautifully designed faceplates with a three-dimensional wave design; lovely rose-gold coloured bezels.
Absolutely stunning build quality of the shells.
Comfortable, ergonomic shell design.
Wouldn't mind if the nozzles were a little longer.
Threaded nozzle filters. The "reference" and "bass" filters have got an acoustic damper in the center that covers two of the BA drivers' spouts that are sitting right at the end of the nozzle.
Very beautiful, braided cable. Flexible and supple. High quality and really, really nice.
Moulded ear guides but no memory wire. Chin-slider made of aluminium.
Nice red and blue side-markers.
MMCX connectors fit nicely tight.
Nice little container with threaded holes for the two other pairs of acoustic filters included.
Great ear tip selection.
High quality, soft carrying case with magnetic lid. Looks really nice, is spacious enough and feels premium. High quality. I'm happy that it's made of PU and not actual leather.
Sound:
Low impedance sources, largest included "Balanced" silicone tips, "bass" nozzle filters.
Tonality:
The nozzle filters mainly affect the area between 4 kHz and 16 kHz. Especially the area around 5 kHz in the middle treble, the area around 7 kHz, as well as the starting super treble around 10 kHz are altered by the filters.
The "bass" filters obviously output the least treble energy, nonetheless the upper highs are still somewhat on the brighter side with them.
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Brief and straight to the point: Balanced w-shape with central midrange forwardness.
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Quite different from the FiiO FA7 - less warmth, upper midrange not subdued, generally more forward midrange, more upper treble brightness.
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Quite different from the FiiO FA7 - less warmth, upper midrange not subdued, generally more forward midrange, more upper treble brightness.
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Not fully natural timbre, but not too far off.
Somewhere around 10 dB of bass elevation compared to diffuse-field neutrality (somewhat less and a milder central midrange lift if the inner-facing vent is not covered by one's ears). Starts to rise around 500 Hz and reaches its climax around 70 Hz. Then extends flat down into the real sub-bass at 20 Hz without a roll-off.
Bit of low fundamental range warmth, but doesn't bleed into the midrange.
Central midrange elevated. Makes voices appear more intimate and close in the mix, however also somewhat exhausting over time. Mostly natural midrange timbre, only missing a bit of brightness and warmth (as only the central mids are elevated).
Presence range around 3 kHz somewhat in the background. Neutral quantity above that, with a step back at 5 kHz and brightness from 6 kHz on into the super treble. What's quite remarkable is how even the distribution of brightness is above 6 kHz, without single peaks standing out; instead everything above 6 kHz is evenly elevated and creates a broad, smoothly bright upper treble. So yeah, smooth, even brightness that is never annoying.
Cymbal crashes somewhat spread and not 100% natural because the treble brightness continues past 10 kHz (a comparable situation that is also present on the LZ Audio A5, although the FH7 is ultimately the more natural sounding in-ear when it comes to cymbals).
Treble and upper midrange (clearly) smoother and more linear compared to several other hybrid in-ears such as the UPQ Q-music QE80, Fidue A85 Virgo or DUNU DK-3001.
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So yeah, tuned really well except for the central midrange elevation that could have been left out.
Resolution:
Interesting bass character - somewhat like back-vented BA drivers or large Knowles CI woofers in character, although not entirely.
Attack and decay are are equal; neither slow-soft nor super tight-fast, although clearly closer to the latter. High control and rather close to BA standards. Slam and texture as well as control are really good. High quality bass; solely in the actual low sub-bass, I would wish for some more definition (midbass and low midbass definition are excellent). Detailed lows.
Quite high speech intelligibility and good midrange resolution.
Treble details on a high level, but separation could be ultimately a bit better.
Coherency is decent, although not perfect.
Soundstage:
Wide soundstage that clearly extends further than the base between my ears and reaches even a bit wider than my shoulders. Not as much spatial depth, although some of it is present. Therefore clearly more oval than round.
Quite precise imaging but the instrument separation could be somewhat cleaner as instruments and tonal elements have somewhat smudgy borders.
Conclusion:
Fantastic build quality and design.
Overall good in terms of sound, but could have been even somewhat better in several areas.