In the search of Fiio FH9 IEMs alternative or the search for the best sounding IEMs in ~$1000 budget

I'm a big fan of Fiio’s sound quality, but I've been very disappointed by their physical build and technical reliability. While the audio on their devices is always superb, I've run into several issues with their products.

I love my Fiio FH9 IEMs—they were the best sounding IEMs I could find within my then $600 budget. Unfortunately, both pairs died on me after about a year on average. To be exact, one pair failed after just six months (I plan to send it to Fiio under warranty, hoping they won't claim I broke it), and the second pair stopped working after about two years. Both had the same issue: the connection between the earbuds and cables is very poor, causing either intermittent failures or complete loss of function over time. I tried three different cables and also used Fiio’s UTSW5 Bluetooth earhooks, but the problem is definitely with the FH9s themselves.

Fiio FH9

Speaking of the UTSW5 Bluetooth earhooks—they have their own problems. About once or twice a month, one earhook disconnects and can’t be paired again. It takes about half an hour of trial and error to finally reconnect and get it working.

My Fiio X7 player, which is fantastic for sound quality and output power, started having issues with its amplified output: the volume now changes randomly.

So it's time for me to move on from Fiio, at least for IEMs. To be fair, the Fiio BTR15 and BTR17 Bluetooth DAC/AMPs have been working great so far.

Since I’m searching for an alternative to the Fiio FH9 and planning to test other highly-rated IEMs, I decided to share my short reviews here.

Linsoul 7Hz Timeless II

Linsoul 7Hz Timeless II


Linsoul 7Hz Timeless II with 14.5mm planar drivers became my first alternative. I got them with some discount for $183 and have just finished testing them.

Honestly, I think they sound better than their price suggests—they outperform some more expensive IEMs, and I definitely expected less. However, the sound is quite harsh, and I can already tell it will be very fatiguing at high volumes. This is my biggest issue with them. The soundstage also isn’t as wide as on the Fiio FH9.

Some people praise their sub bass, but I didn't notice anything super powerful. The bass is present, but not especially amplified to my ear.

Maybe some equalizer adjustments can make the sound a bit milder, in which case they'd be a pretty decent option for the price.

I've experienced headphones that cost thousands of dollars, so my standards are extremely high. That's why I can't say I'm completely happy with this Linsoul 7Hz Timeless II model. Still, I can see them making a lot of people happy—especially those who aren’t as obsessive about sound quality as I am. There are definitely many worse-sounding IEMs at this price point.

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