Fiio FH3 Lumi Review : Nicely Balanced, Seamless & Warm

Fiio, one of the biggest makers of portable audio equipment has been launching a lot of products lately. So much so that it’s not easy to keep track if we take their sister brands into account. They are channeling products into Jade audio and Snowsky Sub-brands. I recently reviewed their Oak Nano, the successor of FD7 with a bigger driver and that’s an excellent single DD IEM under $500.

What I have with me is their latest lower mid range IEM, successor of the FH3, named slightly differently as FH3 Lumi. It comes in only one color and termination but definitely looks a class apart from the competition. Housing a single DD and two BA drivers in each earpiece it has a 3D embossed deer motif, giving it a unique look. I am comparing this beauty with Juzear Nebula and Dita Prelude.

Get one from here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005012875988284.html

UNBOXING AND ACCESSORIES:

Placed as a budget offering this comes in a small, basic type of package. Paper cover, hard carry case, IEM and cable are placed inside it while 2 set of ear tips, smoky balanced tips and white red core tips are placed inside a paper box under the carry case. Nothing fancy but definitely enough to get started.

BUILD AND ERGONOMICS:

Build quality of this IEM is fantastic. Made out of metal this is an excellent hybrid IEM with a semi custom like ergonomics. We get a small wing like structure with very good nozzle depth and they offer excellent stability and comfort inside the ears. It has a set of vent on the sides that looks nice. Yes, these earpieces are slightly on the heavier side but they definitely are on the smaller side and will fit most ears without any issues.

CABLE:

FH3 ships with a 27 awg oxygen free copper. No SPC and I think that’s a great thing. This is a decent cable I must say but it’s not the most supple or soft cable by a good margin. It has a bit of memory bur isn’t bouncy. Fiio has used decent parts here, they don’t look premium but does compliment the earpieces. Its 90° 3.5mm jack and Y splitter have a low profile and are lightweight too. We get a metal cable slider that works nicely.  The cable guides are slightly on the stiffer side but offer good grip so.. I am not complaining.

PAIRING WITH SOURCES:

Pairing this hybrid IEM is not difficult..use whatever you have and this IEM will barely complain but just like every other situation, these IEMs can scale with better sources so if you have a good one, use that, or else, don’t bother much. Its overall resolution and stage size take a small hit when paired with basic sources but this IEM doesn’t whine. I drove it out of my mobile phone’s 3.5mm socket and FH3 Lumi sounded good.

SOUND QUALITY:

FH3 Lumi uses a 10mm Beryllium coated Cashmere wood fiber composite diaphragm along with two custom tuned BA drivers that take care of the mids and highs and the custom tuning shows. This is easily one of the best mid forward IEMs and doesn’t sound like the tones are coming out of  BA driver. We get very effortless type presentation with very good technical capabilities too. There is literally nothing missing and this stage too is one of the biggest in this price. We have a warmish overtone but that doesn’t blunt out the nature energy. It’s colored but this coloration is there to offer excellent immersion.

I am using Hidizs AP30 Music Boy as source and stock smoked balanced tips for this review.

BASS:

I have heard a handful of IEMs in this price range and most of them are good. FH3 easily puts its name as one of the top performers thanks to its class leading dynamics and control. This has very good feel to the notes but is not a bass heavy IEM. It can hit variety of notes, placing them in different directions with different weight and body without sounding uni-dimensional or boring and it’s particular capabilities of moving the notes in X-axis is something not common in this price. This is an IEM that offers excellent contrast of back and foreground instruments while offering very good layered delivery. FH3 lumi fires the notes in and downward yet the directional projections are very good. Decay is dynamically paced, letting the notes gain weight when needed while keeping things tight depending on the track. I have no problem in stating that this is one of the most technically capable IEM under $150.

It has very good sub-bass depth and rumbles with very good definition. Mid bass is full and has very good body behind the notes. FH3 Lumi moves good amount of air and the notes have meaty presentation with good weight behind them but the area of impact isn’t exactly big. Upper bass is clean and precise with no softness to worry about. 

MIDS:

What makes this IEM stand out of the competition is it’s flawless transition from upper bass to lower mids. There have been IEMs with mid forward signature but they were either overdoing it a bit while ignoring the rest of the spectrum or were a bit on the bland side but none of this is true for the FH3 Lumi. It’s got one of the smoothest progressions under $500 with very good clarity and energy.

Vocals are the main attraction here. They have tall notes with very good grounding and definition. Both male and female vocals have fantastic texture and natural bite to them. Male vocals have the right amount of body and weight with nice air emphasis while female vocals are aptly tight and precise with nice depth. We get a neutral tonality but the timbre is a lot more organic and analogue, offering an exceptional balance, making it sound interesting and cohesive. Instruments are slightly less forward but they too have very good resolution and finishing definition. The best thing here is the stage depth. FH3 Lumi can stack layers of instruments one behind another with very good air between them. Upper mids are aptly clean and clear and have good textural bite but no sharpness to worry about.

HIGHS:

Highs of FH3 Lumi are clean, clear and aptly agile. It has no aggression or any sharpness yet it offers very good details and definition. This treble range is basically tuned for a calmer and fatigue free experience. It has good energy and resolution up till the mid treble range. We get good treble extension too but the upper treble is a bit on the darker side. This IEM offers very good tonal accuracy with percussion and wind instruments. It’s layering and separation is good too but not the cleanest. It has decent stacking of instruments in Z-axis. Air between instruments is good while the positional accuracy is very good too.

This treble range is fantastic if you aren’t looking for a lot of energy, precision and transparency. It has good technical capabilities too but doesn’t have a lot of resolution.

STAGE AND IMAGING:

This IEM has a beautiful stage. I love it. It has very good height, nice width and depth. It’s a filled in 3D like stage where most of the bass notes and some mid range instruments are placed inside the head, most of the vocals and mid range instruments are placed just outside the head while the treble notes are placed further away from the head. Its sonics are fantastic too. We get very good subtlety with background instruments, creating an excellent contrast. We get good accuracy with cue placements too. Its imaging capabilities are very good with nice density and even distribution.

COMPARISON:

VS Juzear nebula:

VS Dita Prelude:

This single DD IEM was hyped up because of the brand name and comes with a similar set of accessories and metal shell. This is a lean sounding IEM with a neutral tonality throughout the spectrum. Its Bass is tighter and drier with decent dynamics. FH3 Lumi on the other hand has a more natural and nicely rounded lower with fuller body, slightly better layered delivery and similar dynamics. Mid range of the Prelude is more V shaped with a leaner tonality. I am not disappointed but it’s not as effortless or easy going as the more comfortable and organic sounding FH3 Lumi. Instruments have slightly ore finishing energy but aren’t tall. Vocals too are on the precise side. FH3 Lumi is more cohesive. High is where the Prelude sounds cleaner but it is slightly more aggressive. FH3 Lumi lacks upper treble energy but is more relaxing. Strangely, FH3 Lumi has nearly 20% bigger stage. It’s wider and has better Z-axis depth too.

CONCLUSION:

FH3 Lumi in short is simply outstanding. It’s easily one of the best IEMs under $100 along with the Hidizs MS2 pro. MS2 pro too has a similar kind of presentation with better set of Accessories yet if you are looking for a mid focused IEM, there is no beating the FH3 Lumi. We get very good lows, fantastic mids and slightly relaxed yet aptly relevant highs.

What impressed me the most is its imaging capabilities and the clarity of background instruments. They are subtle yet make the scene sonically stupendous at just $100. If you want to break out of the new Meta tuning with a mid forward IEM, just go for this excellent IEM.