Open-back planar headphones aren't always pretentious — and the FiiO FT1 Pro are the everyman's audiophile cans

If you’ve never listened to open-back headphones, boy am I jealous of you. The first time I put on a pair of open-backs, it was like I blinked and could suddenly see the entire color spectrum. A good pair of open-backs feels like music born anew.

The FiiO FT1 Pro are no different — if you’re listening to certain genres. As you might be able to tell from the 3.5-star rating, the FT1 Pro are great headphones, but they’re not as good at handling heavier genres without a secondary purchase. Indie, singer/songwriter, and pop all sounded clean, faithful, and immersive, with a nice warmth rounding out the bass. But trickier genres like grunge and DnB suffered from a touch of muddiness in the lower mids that I just can’t look past, especially considering the $219 price tag.

But don’t discount them — the FiiO FT1 Pro could still be for you if you’re a new audiophile who wants to dabble in the world of planar open-backs without spending your life savings. To find out if they’re some of the best headphones, keep reading this FiiO FT1 Pro review.

FiiO FT1 Pro review: Specs

FiiO FT1 Pro review: What I like

Considering the FiiO FT1 Pro are relatively well-priced open-back planar headphones, there’s a lot to like here.

Sound quality

As open-back planar headphones, the FT1 Pro have a certain expansiveness difficult to find on closed-backs. The midrange is decadently wide, almost capable of tricking your brain into thinking you’re listening to speakers rather than headphones, and the bass is controlled without overpowering the higher frequencies.

As always, I tested the FT1 Pro with Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles. “Kill Me” by Hayley Williams is an alternative rock track built over layers of acoustic guitars and vocals. In the second verse, Williams’ lower harmony almost vibrated through the drivers — just so deftly handled. I felt it in my bones rather than heard it.

The FT1 Pro didn’t just manage the vocals well, though. The processed guitar section towards the end was dynamic and vivacious, allowing for an encompassing, immersive listening experience.

Similarly, “Jump” by Madonna sounded incredibly wide, again almost capable of tricking me into thinking I was listening to speakers. In the verses, Madonna’s vocals embraced my ears, like she was singing directly to me. Drums and keyboards were layered with slick control, and the bass pulsed underneath energetically.

Without a DAC, the FT1 Pro will impress any budget audiophile who doesn’t listen to bassier genres. However, if you’re more of the grunge/heavy rock/basshead variety, you might need to invest in a DAC — more on that later.

Comfort

Thanks to the relatively light weight — for Hi-Fi headphones, after all — the FT1 Pro are comfortable even during long listening sessions. I wore the headphones for 5 hours, pretty much non-stop, and barely noticed them.

Although 13 ounces/374g is objectively heavy, the super-soft ear cups and padded headband mitigate the weight.

Price

At just $219 from Amazon U.S. and £179 from Amazon U.K., the FiiO FT1 Pro are some affordable audiophile headphones. They’re not the most affordable — that title goes to the FiiO JT7 or the FiiO JT3, which you should definitely check out — but you can easily drop $500 on Hi-Fi headphones like the Sennheiser HD660S, $679.

$219 is considerably cheaper than the spate of premium Bluetooth headphones available, though. Although open-backs and wireless cans are intended for different audiences and purposes, the sound quality on the FT1 Pro is undoubtedly better than the Bose QuietComfort 2nd Gen ($359). Of course, you’re trading off convenience here, but for headphone users who value sound quality over Bluetooth and ANC, you might want to consider some planar open-backs (and save some money while you’re at it).

For the best of all worlds, I’d recommend the 4.5-star-rated Meze Audio 105 AER, which rock immaculate sound quality and Art Deco aesthetics to boot.

FiiO FT1 Pro review: What we don’t like

While the FT1 Pro sound great in most genres, they’re not perfect, and they’re missing some quality-of-life features.

Need a DAC for top-notch sound

As much as the overall sound quality impressed me, it’s worth noting that you’ll want to spend extra on a DAC/amp to get the best out of these cans.

Initially, I thought most bass-heavy genres sounded lackluster. But, even though the FiiO FT1 Pro are advertised as “easy to drive” from a smartphone or laptop, I had to use an external DAC/amp for top-notch sound. Low impedance headphones can struggle to fully power their drivers accurately without a decent amount of power, resulting in sub-quality sound in areas of the response curve.

Connecting the headphones to my FiiO R2R K11 was no sweat off my brow and won’t be a problem for audiophiles, but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re after your first set of detail headphones and don’t have a DAC already — especially if you like heavier genres.

The restrained bass in “flight fm” by Joy Orbison was unleashed when listening via the K11; the sub-bass rumbled with control and satisfying tension. This performs similarly to the Sennheiser HD550; a clean soundstage with well-placed instruments across the frequency range.

And while “Territorial Pissings” by Nirvana was a little repressed without the K11, with the DAC, the high-octane thrill of non-stop cymbals, ferociously scratchy guitars, Cobain’s screams, and prominent lower-mids were all isolated yet holistic.

Build quality

And then there’s the issue of build quality. At $219, there’s unfortunately not as much wiggle room as the designers up at FiiO HQ might like to believe. When you’re dropping two hundos, you’re well within your rights to expect decent materials — especially when the product literally has “Pro” in the name.

The ear cup feels quite plasticky, and the headband can twist if you’re not careful. I was pleased to see that the ear pads themselves are removable, though. This issue is also prevalent in the HIFIMAN Sundara ($179) — a “Frequently returned” item on Amazon.

There’s also no 3.5mm/1/4-inch to USB-C adapter, which is a huge shame considering the FT1 Pro are a new-for-2026 release. Surely a decent chunk of people listen via smartphone these days? Yes, even for at-home detail listening — TIDAL and Qobuz exist.

In the future, I’d like to see FiiO ship the FT1 Pro with a USB-C adaptor to account for every type of listener.

FiiO FT1 Pro review: How does it compare?

At this point, FiiO’s biggest competition is itself. Of course, there’s the aforementioned Sennheiser H550, but at the cheaper end of the spectrum, there’s also the FiiO JT7 ($119) and the FiiO JT3 ($69). You’ve also got the $179 HiFiMan Sundara and the $399 Meze Audio 105 AER — the latter of which I’d recommend if you really want to treat yourself without breaking the bank.

As much as I enjoyed testing the FT1 Pro, if you’re a totally new audiophile or someone looking for some home listening cans for as cheap as possible, I’d recommend looking at the JT3 and JT7 before dropping $219.

Both the JT3 and JT7 have a wide, faithful playback style. Similar to the FT1 Pro, the JT3 suffered from a little muddiness in heavier genres — but they’re only $69. That’s $140 cheaper than the FT1 Pro.

While the JT3 have a dynamic driver, the $120 JT7 also rock a planar magnetic driver. Naturally, the $219 FT1 Pro stretch up to 45kHz, while the JT7 tap out at 20kHz. I’d suggest sticking with the FT1 Pro. Typically, though, humans can only hear up to 20-22kHz — something worth thinking about.

Should you buy the FiiO FT1 Pro?

I can see two ideal consumers here: one, an audiophile looking to upgrade from their first cans, something like the closed-back $89 Sennheiser HD400S. And two, a brand-new audiophile looking for some first open-backs.

For the former, I’m not sure you’d be too impressed. I’d recommend investing a little more in the Sennheiser HD 599 ($239) or the Meze Audio 105 AER ($399). The forme have a flatter sound curve, while the latter are supremely warm.

If you’re part of the latter, then I’d recommend the FT1 Pro if you’re happy to spend $219. For those just starting out, perhaps check out the $69 JT3 or the $119 JT7. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed testing the FT1 Pro, but you can get similar performance for much, much less.

At the end of the day, the FiiO FT1 Pro go where few open-back planar headphones have gone before: they’re fun, shine with pop music, and are completely unpretentious. You just might need a DAC if you love grunge or DnB (and who doesn’t?).