I tested these near-perfect entry-level FiiO wired earbuds and their tasteful, bold and beautiful fidelity blew me away

FiiO FP3 review

The FiiO FP3 wired earbuds are an entry-level answer to a luxury-bracket question: “what if in-ear monitors weren’t boomy, tinny little noise boxes?” In a market sadly defined by 10 a penny bass-boosted earbuds and wireless gym-friendly noise fodder, where’s the love for those who just want to listen to music well?

Great-sounding in-ears often come at a premium, particularly where cleverer and cleverer design is necessary to get the most out of something so small. At the extreme end of the price scale, you’ll find audiophile-grade in-ears that dwarf your current savings balance. Enter FiiO, whose in-house R&D has dramatically Aragorn-ed the doors wide open to inexpensive audio fidelity in the best-in-class wired earbud market.

At first glance, the FiiO FP3 wired earbuds are strikingly distinguished. A curvy plastic body (3D-printed, then polished and UV-coated) is adorned with a branded faceplate coin of rosewood or black walnut – it’s giving ‘executive saloon interior’, but not at all in a bad way.

This fun design, believe it or not, isn’t the star of the show here. Instead, it is FiiO’s internally developed 14.5mm planar drivers, which promise better precision, lower distortion and extended frequency response among other micro benefits befitting the drivers’ micro size. Planar drivers are a hit overall for their soundstage-y, highly responsive attributes, but FiiO’s done something especially remarkable in designing some highly capable drivers for IEMs that come in under $100. More on sound shortly, though; first, let’s try them on.

The FiiO FP3 earbuds are wired, with an around-the-ear design. The wire in question is a four-strand braided affair, which splits into two sets of twisted pairs connecting to the buds by way of a two-prong plug-in terminal. It is so, so cool that a pair of in-ears this cheap features removable wires as standard, not in the least for eliminating the biggest issue haunting less expensive wired earbuds – broken internal wires.

The FP3s’ wrap-over wear style is fun, functional and actually quite comfortable. Some clear heat shrink tubing covers the braided wires for the first few inches from the end connector, so there’s no unpleasant rub behind the ears. Once you get the buds themselves sitting correctly, you’ll start to feel like you’re wearing nothin’ at all (nothin’ at all, nothin’ at all, nothin’ at all…) – but not for altogether long, unfortunately.

A slight, but nonetheless aggravating, burn creeps in before long, even when switched down to the smallest size of ear tips supplied with the FP3s. While my undersized ear canals might not be in the 80th percentile, it’s still incumbent upon me to report this slight comfort-related misfortune. And misfortune is the word, because it’s a real shame that the FP3s don’t sit as well as they could do for long listening sessions. Why? Because they’re Actually Honestly Quite Good, Really.

The first thing that strikes me about the sound quality of the FP3 IEMs is their remarkable three-dimensionality. Where lesser earbuds unceremoniously cram you into an airing cupboard with your favorite band, the FP3s give you a wide hall; the playful guitarry arrangements of Maps & Atlas’ Beware and Be Grateful breathe freely, while Them Crooked Vultures’ roomy production sprawls out ahead.

That three-dimensionality presents not just with stereo image, but also dynamically. The toms in Sally Oldfield’s Blue Water (a secret 1980s groover your DJ friend would kill to know about) ping and bounce with delightful depth and sense of place.

The biggest bugbear I have with most less expensive earbuds is their approach to treble. Other reviews have reported an over-present sparkle, and even some harshness, with respect to the FP3s’ treble response, but I’m overjoyed to report that this couldn’t be further from my own experience. Instead, I found a remarkably well-tamed high-end, with a softness you’d normally expect to find in mid-sized speaker drivers.

Still, there’s a presence and robustness to the top end, which shines particularly brightly against the harsh noisy competition of the great urban outdoors. Big Americana arrangements such as those of Andrew Bird’s Armchair Apocrypha still carry clarity and weight, even as grumbling bus engines and caterwauling kids try to rob them of both. Listening to sparser heart tuggers, like Blood from Pile’s album All Fiction, you can hear the reedy, human quality that these drivers possess, and which works wider wonders for stand-out folky vocals and anything featuring strings.

The mid-range can occasionally be a little listless, but this does appear to be somewhat by design. Indeed, Queens of the Stone Age’s Lullabies to Paralyze is reproduced with a slightly incongruent cheerfulness, as some mid-scooping borrows urgency from ‘Little Sister’s guitars to feed the cymbals and kick instead. Bass, though, is supple and structured, supported by some nifty (and proprietary) acoustic design in the buds. Tasteful is absolutely the word – a world away from so many active earbuds' wubby flub.

As with practically any set of in-ear monitors, and even with the FP3s’ structured soundstage and carefully tweaked frequency response, you can figuratively hear the walls around your music. Despite this, the FP3s remain the broadest-sounding, least claustrophobic in-ears I’ve heard below $200.

These wired in-ear monitors are little more than they present themselves to be: excellently engineered budget IEMs, with phenomenal balance and dynamic tautness. There’s no on-device volume controls, nor a microphone to take hands-free calls with – but as someone who’s longed for a set of in-ears that do one thing well, I personally don’t miss these superfluous mod cons.

The FiiO FP3s in-ears, at $89.99 / £85.99 / AU$170 (approx.), are a fantastic value prospect for someone who wants a little more from their on-the-go listenings. For your money, you get the IEMs, six sets of silicone ear tips and a quite honestly bizarre little plastic drawer in which to store them. What you also get, though, is a listening experience at least five times more valuable.

FiiO FP3 review: Price and release date

• $89.99 / £85.99 / AU$170 (approx.)
• Launched December, 2024

The FiiO FP3 in-ears are a remarkable entrant in the best earbud space, marrying audiophilic impulses with budget-level price points. Sure, $89.99 / £85.99 / AU$170-ish might not sound ‘budget’ for a pair of wired(!), passive(!) earphones, but when you see the eye-watering prices of the in-ear monitors on which the FP3s were clearly modeled, the appellation will make absolute sense.

These in-ear monitors bring some smart driver design to a highly accessible price point, and fill what is honestly quite a large space in a market otherwise given to bulky, bass-heavy earbuds and weedy 10 a penny earphones. If you’ve ever felt let down by a gifted pair of Beats, or resented having to make space in your bag for a bulky pair of decent hi-fi headphones, the FiiO FP3s are the tonic you’ve been waiting for.

FiiO FP3 review: Specs

Should you buy the FiiO FP3?

Buy them if...

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FiiO FP3 review: Also consider

FiiO FP3 review: How I tested

• Tested for six weeks
• Tested at home, listening to high-quality audio files through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2’s headphone out
• Tested out and about, using an iPod Classic

The FiiO FP3 in-ear monitors lived in my coat pocket for a month, wrapped around a 160GB iPod Classic I’m still proud to be toting today. I used them frequently while traveling between engagements, and while gallivanting around town on errands.

I also tested the FP3s at home, using my trusty Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface for its clear and pristine headphone output. I listened to records with which I am intimately familiar, so as to build a real picture of the IEMs’ performance against other devices.

Read more about how we test.

• First reviewed: March 2025