Fiio FD15 Review

Fiio is back with its successor to its hit FD5 earphones from 2021: the Fiio FD15. They’re a surprising successor, coming in at around half the price but offering surprisingly competitive sound with a cohesiveness that only a single dynamic driver can deliver. Just don’t go in expecting massive bass.

Specifications

Current Price: $149.99 (AliExpress) 

Fiio FD15 — First Impressions and Key Features 

The Fiio FD15 is the successor to the FD5, an in-ear monitor I very much enjoyed back in 2021. So much so, It’s part of my normal rotation of earphones even though my collection is quickly approaching triple digits. The FD15 takes a different approach to the single dynamic driver concept — the most tried and true in all of personal audio — retaining the DNA of the FD5 but pushing things in a different, more accessible direction. 

Like the FD5, the FD15 is designed for audio enthusiasts but unlike that set, which retailed for $300, the FD15 will only set you back $150 and offers a premium fit and finish and impressive acoustics. There are some areas where it’s clear that Fiio scaled back to offer a lower price, but there’s enough here to make it feel like a very good value at the end of the day.

Starting with the unboxing experience, we have a cardboard box that shows a close-up of the earphones and opens magnetically to reveal the real thing within. The earpieces are on display within foam cutouts while the accessories are hidden inside of a cardboard sleeve in another compartment. While it’s not the fanciest unboxing experience, at this price, it’s on par with what you would expect, and I would rather Fiio invest more in the buds themselves than a box that will be thrown away the same day it’s opened.

In usual Fiio fashion, there’s a generous assortment of accessories. Like the FA19, we have a wide range of ear tips sorted by their sound characteristics: Bass, Vocals, and Balanced. Fiio also includes small, medium, and large pairs of its own premium HS18 silicone tips,