Among HiFi enthusiasts, FiiO is a well-recognized audio brand. Its HiFi players (bricks), headphone amplifiers, UTWS earhook series, and FW true wireless series have all received high praise in the audiophile community for their excellent sound quality.
Recently, FiiO launched a new product in its FW true wireless series, the FW3, which is positioned in the mid-to-high-end mainstream HiFi market. Compared to the FW5, it has fewer balanced armature drivers, thus leaning more towards mid-low frequencies while offering a better price-performance ratio.
So, how is the user experience of the new FiiO FW3? What are its sound characteristics? Let’s take a look at the detailed user experience introduction of the FiiO FW3 brought to you by I Love Audio Network.
Overview
The FiiO FW3 is a TWS true wireless earphone product focusing on sound quality. For a comprehensive testing of its various experiences, I Love Audio Network conducted a detailed test based on “Product Unboxing”, “User Experience”, and “Data Testing”.
The main logical structure of this review is as follows:
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FiiO FW3 Product Unboxing
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Packaging and Accessories
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Appearance Details
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FiiO FW3 User Experience
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Connection, Pairing, and App Operation
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Wearing Comfort
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Listening Experience
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FiiO FW3 Data Testing
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Weight Measurement
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Charging and Battery Life
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Wireless Connection Capability Testing
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Device Compatibility Testing
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I Love Audio Network Summary
You can quickly find the content you want to view based on the first and second-level headings in the review text.
FiiO FW3 Product Unboxing
Packaging and Accessories
As a TWS earphone product from FiiO, the FW3 adopts FiiO’s consistent packaging style, which is full of technological sense.
The front of the FW3 packaging features a striking gray and sand color scheme, showcasing its unique personality.
The gray section on the left side marks the brand name FiiO and the product name FW3, while the right side features an image of the FW3 product, displaying the earphones and the charging case.
The side of the packaging marks the product name FW3 and has an anti-counterfeiting label attached.
The back of the FW3 packaging contains detailed product information and marks in the upper right corner that the earphones support Snapdragon Sound technology, which can provide an excellent listening experience.
Upon opening the packaging, all contents can be seen. The packaging list for the FiiO FW3 includes the earphones and charging case, charging cable, replacement ear tips, and paper documents such as the manual and warranty card.
A look at the charging cable. The earphones use a Type-C interface for charging, so the included cable is a USB-A to Type-C cable.
The replacement ear tips overview shows that the FiiO FW3 comes with 5 pairs of additional replacement ear tips, allowing users with different ear shapes to find the most suitable fit.
Appearance Details
Returning to the product. The “Deep Space Gray” color of the FiiO FW3 charging case is shown above, which is entirely in a sandblasted dark gray color, with the FiiO logo marked in black on the top.
The front side of the charging case features four indicator lights that display the battery status of the case.
The back of the charging case features the top cover hinge and the Type-C charging interface.
The bottom of the charging case is engraved with technical information about the earphones and case.
It shows that the input power for the earphones is 5V/1A, the output power (i.e., the charging power of the earphones) is 5V/0.2A, the battery capacity of the case is 380mAh, and the battery capacity of the earphones is 65mAh.
Upon opening the charging case, the two earphones can be seen placed in the charging compartment.
After taking out the earphones, the charging compartment is shown above. Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that each earphone is connected to the charging case via three metal contacts.
The FiiO FW3 earphones are shown above. The earphones have a “bean-shaped” design, entirely in dark gray, with the sound-generating components placed inside a large volume sound chamber.
The outer side of the FiiO FW3 features three “diffusion-style” lines, which are quite eye-catching and characteristic of FiiO’s design.
The inner side of the FiiO FW3 shows the letters L and R for directional identification, with three metal contacts for charging and communication on each side.
The upper side of the earphones shows that each earphone is equipped with two physical buttons.
The bottom side of the FW3 earphones shows a microphone for calls. Unlike the dual-microphone CVC solution of the FW5, the more cost-effective FW3 uses a single-microphone CVC noise reduction solution for calls.
The appearance of the FiiO FW3 earphones and charging case is shown.
FiiO FW3 User Experience
Connection, Pairing, and App Operation
The FiiO FW3 is a TWS earphone that connects via Bluetooth. Before use, it must be paired with a phone, tablet, or other device. In our testing, we found that the overall pairing process is quite smooth and convenient.
First, in the factory state of the new device, simply opening the lid of the charging case will cause the earphones to automatically enter pairing mode, at which point you can select “FiiO FW3” from your phone’s Bluetooth settings to complete the connection.
As a product from HiFi manufacturer FiiO, the FiiO FW3 also supports the FiiO Control App. After connecting to the phone’s Bluetooth, installing and opening the FiiO Control App allows you to access more features.
After experiencing it, we found that through the FiiO Control App, you can not only see the real-time status of the earphones and charging case, such as battery level and connection status, but also make detailed adjustments for function customization.
Among these, advanced settings such as Bluetooth codec selection, EQ equalizer, and filters provide significant adjustment freedom, meeting the customization needs of HiFi enthusiasts.
In terms of operation control, the FiiO FW3 is quite special—unlike common TWS earphones, the FW3 has two physical buttons on each side. Through the “main button” and “secondary button” on both sides, functions such as volume adjustment and track switching can be achieved.
We found that although the FW3 has an additional button on each side compared to mainstream TWS earphones, thanks to the reasonable button layout and key distribution, it remains quite user-friendly and allows for more comprehensive control of the earphones.
Wearing Comfort
In terms of wearing comfort, after multiple editors from I Love Audio Network tried it on, we found that the FiiO FW3 is generally quite comfortable to wear.
Although the sound chamber of the FW3 is relatively large to ensure sound quality, the lightweight design and rounded curves still provide a good ear feel when worn, without a noticeable foreign body sensation or discomfort.
When wearing the FW3, the effect from a distance is shown above. Although the bean shape appears relatively large visually, it can still easily blend into everyday outfits.
Additionally, in terms of stability while wearing, the FW3’s in-ear design combined with its bean shape provides good stability, allowing the earphones to securely hang in the ear, even during vigorous activities like running or cycling, without being easily dislodged.
Listening Experience
As a product from FiiO, the FW3’s maximum feature is its “sound”. After conducting extensive listening tests, we believe that the FW3 indeed lives up to its “HiFi” positioning.
Like other wireless HiFi earphones such as the FW5, the FW3 adopts a “Bluetooth chip + independent DAC chip + driver unit” HiFi architecture. The additional AK 4332 DAC chip has built-in decoding capabilities, allowing it to better convert the high-fidelity digital signals received from the Qualcomm QCC5141 Bluetooth chip into analog signals.
With the default settings, after listening to several different types of tracks with the FW3, we found that its sound is quite full and vibrant, with a balanced frequency response and a natural listening experience, emphasizing the “original flavor” and focusing on restoring the true color of sound.
Thanks to the 10mm carbon-based dome diaphragm dynamic driver, the FW3 presents a rich, atmospheric sound, full of emotion. Therefore, compared to the FW5, which has additional balanced armature drivers, the FW3 focuses more on the mid-low frequency range, making it more suitable for various mainstream pop music.
If you use a Qualcomm chipset phone that supports Snapdragon Sound, after connecting via Bluetooth, a prompt will appear on the phone stating “Device supports Snapdragon Sound technology”.
The earphones not only support multiple Bluetooth codecs such as SBC/AAC/aptX, but also feature the Qualcomm QCC5141 Bluetooth chip, which has passed the Snapdragon Sound certification, supporting LHDC/aptX Adaptive high-definition Bluetooth formats, with wireless transmission rates reaching up to 96kHz/24Bit, allowing all sound details to be preserved.
One of the most critical features is the Snapdragon Sound technology—an innovative technology integrated by Qualcomm that combines audio, connectivity, and mobile domains, aimed at creating a seamless immersive audio experience for smartphones, wireless earbuds, and headphones, as well as between devices. When paired with a Snapdragon Sound-supported phone, you can enjoy higher sound quality (up to 24-bit 96kHz audio), lower latency in gaming, and clearer calls provided by aptX™ Adaptive technology.
Additionally, an interesting point is that in the FiiO Control App, you can also enable the “Game Mode” for the FiiO FW3, which can control the earphone’s sound latency to within 100ms. While it cannot compare with gaming headphones or esports headphones, it still somewhat meets the gaming needs of casual players.
FiiO FW3 Data Testing
Weight Measurement
I Love Audio Network used a high-precision scale to weigh the FiiO FW3 and found that the weight of a single earphone is 6.1g, with a total weight of 12.2g for both, which is quite lightweight and does not create a noticeable weight sensation when worn.
Including the charging case, the total weight of the FiiO FW3 is 55.7g, which is also very lightweight, making it easy to carry daily without much burden.
Charging and Battery Life
I Love Audio Network conducted a charging test on the FiiO FW3 using a professional testing device, CHARGERLAB POWER-Z, and measured the earphones’ wired charging power to be 1.56W.
In terms of battery life, the FiiO FW3 earphones have a single-use battery life of 7 hours, and with the charging case, the total battery life exceeds 21 hours.
Wireless Connection Capability Testing
The FiiO FW3 is a wireless earphone that uses Bluetooth 5.2 technology. To test the wireless connection capability and stability of the earphones, we conducted standardized wireless connection capability tests as follows.
We placed an iPhone in a fixed position in the office (to the right side of the floor plan) and played music on the phone, then walked along the following four routes while wearing the FiiO FW3 connected to that phone to test the stability of the wireless connection. Among these:
a route: passed through a colleague’s office area, which has many wireless devices such as computers, phones, and other wireless earphones working;
b route: passed through a wall and a transparent floor-to-ceiling glass;
c route: the path is close to a straight line with fewer obstacles;
d route: passed through the reception room and discussion area, with sporadic obstacles but no electronic signal devices.
Through testing, we found that thanks to the latest Bluetooth technology, the FiiO FW3 maintained a stable connection throughout the four routes, demonstrating strong wireless connection capabilities.
Device Compatibility Testing
The FiiO FW3 features rich control operations through the two buttons on each earphone. To test the device compatibility of the earphones, I Love Audio Network used several mainstream phones for compatibility testing.
The test data is shown in the above image, indicating that the FiiO FW5 can connect well with mainstream phones on the market, providing a stable user experience.
However, features such as aptX, aptX Adaptive, and Snapdragon Sound can only be activated with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset phones. Therefore, to achieve the best listening experience, it is recommended to connect with relevant models.
I Love Audio Network Summary
As a headphone from the HiFi acoustic brand FiiO, the FiiO FW3 focuses on sound and is a very pure HiFi TWS product.
In terms of appearance, it inherits the style of the FiiO FW series earphones, with a bean shape that provides ample space for the acoustic system to perform; in terms of sound, it achieves an excellent HiFi experience through the “QCC5141 Bluetooth chip + AK4332 DAC + 10mm carbon-based dome diaphragm dynamic driver” HiFi architecture combined with advanced Bluetooth codec technology.
If you are looking to purchase a cost-effective product that can provide a pure HiFi wireless audio experience, then the FiiO FW3 is a great choice.
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