As I said in the headline, $800 is definitely pushing beyond most definitions of affordable, but it's all relative – in the hi-fi headphones world, a pair of flagship planar headphones can easily cost $2,000, so if Fiio's headphones are even close to being that level of quality, they're a bargain, of sorts.
That's been the case with products such as as the Fiio M11S and Fiio M23 audio players, which rival high-end and expensive players from the likes of Astell & Kern for quality and specs for much less – the M11S is so good, we use it as our standard source device for testing wired headphones and earbuds.
Our Fiio FT5 review gave Fiio's previous highest-end headphones the full five stars, and said "They sound great, they’re built to last from tactile and hard-wearing materials, and they have an audiophile specification at a mainstream price.".
So I'm excited to see if Fiio can step its headphones up another level successfully, especially since I've been a huge planar magnetic fan since the launch of the Oppo PM-1 years ago, which I still have in a cupboard.
The brand has taken big spots in our list of the best hi-res audio players as well as our ranking of the best wired headphones – and now, it's got a new product to bother that second list.
