The FIIO FT5 is a planar magnetic headphone, with the coils of its planar driver spread throughout the diaphragm. Unlike dynamic drivers which vibrate at certain points, when the planar driver vibrates the entire diaphragm surface vibrates. This leads to more synchronized movement across the entire driver and thus better phase distortion compared to dynamic drivers. Through simulations and analysis of a large amount of experimental data, the coils of the FT5’s planar driver are optimally placed to ensure an evenly distributed magnetic field for consistent phase performance across all frequencies, for a clear and real listening experience. 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. 6μm ultra-thin diaphragm When designing the FIIO FT5, the development team did not simply blindly chase bigger (or smaller) numbers – instead everything was designed in order to achieve strict sound performance targets. They 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. Micron-plated aluminium-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 aluminium 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 – resulting in more consistent diaphragms ultimately for more accurate sound. 20 neodymium magnets per driver Partly to ensure greater wearing comfort, 11 magnets are placed on the inside of the FT5’s planar magnetic driver and 9 magnets are placed on the outside – leading to 20 magnets per channel and 40 in total for the entire headphone. The balanced placement of magnets allows the aluminium alloy coils to be evenly distributed in the magnetic field. It also allows the driver diaphragm to be balanced between the forces of the inner and outer magnets, guaranteeing consistent movement of the driver and thus reduced distortion, for higher fidelity sound. The power of balance The FT5 employs N52 neodymium magnets with magnetic density up to 1.5T to provide the strong forces needed to drive the large planar magnetic driver. These magnets are placed parallel to the coils on the driver, allowing for the coils to be evenly distributed among the magnetic field to maximize the headphone driving force and bring out the full potential of the planar magnetic driver. Without comfort there is no pleasure 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 alloy construction. Thanks to magnesium alloy being only 64% as dense as that of aluminium alloy, the FT5 can be made to be much lighter in weight for long yet comfortable listening sessions. 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 ...