Fidue A83 Hybrid triple driver in-ear earphone: High-end hybrid triple driver technology that comes cheaper
When In Manila, the war for audio quality keeps raging on. For the past years that people seek for better audio quality, technology advancements is the battle ground. From dynamic driver tuning and dynamic driver size as the original developments, to moving to balanced armature drivers and multiple balanced armature drivers, and now to a hybrid set-up of multiple armature drivers and a dynamic driver for bringing out both accurate and natural sound.
As technology advances though, of course costs and consumer prices also rise. Getting the premium technology for a product always certainly assumes a larger price tag. This is no different with personal audio, specially when venturing to the HiFi/Audiophile grade quality of sound even in earphones. Lately, a handful of companies has brought out their flagship in-ear earphones using hybrid technology. This is rivaling those multi-balanced armature and even hybrid set-ups of the great custom in-ears. One very well known example of this is the AKG K3003 which has 2 balanced armature drivers and 1 dynamic driver that sets you back at around a whopping Php54,000.00!! It may be that expensive, but pair it with a great source or a good source with an amazing portable amplifier, and you’d have a really great resolving on-the-go set-up. If you can drive it well, it is worth the price tag. But that’s the thing here, see? Not all of us are willing to shell that amount of money, and moreover, not willing to add additional expenses for a HiFi portable player or a portable amp. We may be searching for a great in-ear that resembles this quality of sound, but one that is fairly easy to drive and still screams sound quality. Fidue, a fairly new audio company trying to enter the audiophile and standard consumer scene for personal audio, has their own flagship in-ear earphone that is equipped with the same dual balanced armature and single dynamic driver set-up, the Fidue A83. The great thing about this is that, it is much more easy to pair with any source and is around 1/4th of the AKG K3003‘s price tag! How does it sound? Let’s continue dissecting its quality below.
Build/Packaging: Packaging is very nice and compact, designed all around with Fidue‘s colo scheme. Upon opening of the package however, what surprised me is the included waterproof and airtight case! The waterproof and airtight case included is very very similar to the included case of my Advanced Acoustic Werkes W300AR custom in-ear monitors that are almost more than half the Fidue A83‘s price, and which is a custom in-ear monitor already. This case makes it feel more premium overall compared to other in-ears in this price range that gives simple cases and sometimes even none at all. Great generosity from Fidue to included a premium case! Moving to the build quality of the Fidue A83, the braided cable is built well too and resembles yet again, custom in-ear monitors by its braided design, quality, and even the MMCX type of socket that it uses to detach and attach to the earphones themselves. Oh and yes, cables are detachable. Giving the user freedom to upgrade cables for better sound quality. Heading to the in-ear earphone quality and design, I feel that the design could have been better. This is my personal preference though, but a classy design or a more minimalist design would give it more attraction. Quality of the earphones are really good, very clean and crisp looking, light but feels durable in hand. Cable terminations and cable plug has a very durable feel and also machined well. Fitting needs a little adjustment with the over-the-ear cable hooks so that they fit you well, fit is a little loose normally, but once you are able to adjust the hooks to your preference, it pretty much fits average.
Sound Quality: Being a dual balanced armature and single dynamic driver hybrid, bass will most likely be evident. Bass is very much noticeable here, but the thing is that, the bass is very natural and very smooth with good depth and rumble. Not as strong as other hybrid multi-driver in-ears, but is very well extended and very neutral. The mids are also neutral and not overpowered by both the bass and treble. The upper-mids though are a little “weird”. I feel like there is some dip in around the 4k range. The mids may not be the smoothest, but they are indeed very clean compared to others in this price. Treble suffers slightly from the area of the dip of the upper-mids. There is a slight peak in the lower-treble region around the 8k zone coming from the dip from the 4k zone of the upper-mids. Just a slight peak in that area, but overall, the treble is very sparkly, analytical and clean. No harshness as all with the treble, so expect no treble fatigue. Soundstage is overall good, very wide but imaging isn’t able to match the goodness of the soundstage.
Overall: The Fidue A83 really does well for its price range due to the dual balanced armature and single dynamic driver set-up that it is equipped with. With a natural, wide, and clean sound, the Fidue A83 is well worth the around Php16,000.00 price tag. Just adjust the over-the-ear cable to fix that loose fit, and you’re A-OK.
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Fidue A83 Hybrid triple driver in-ear earphone: High-end hybrid triple driver technology that comes cheaper
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How about a HiFi/audiophile music player? Check-out my review of the Shozy Alien here:Â https://www.wheninmanila.com/shozy-alien-portable-music-player-where-hi-fi-meets-simplicity/
