Our favorite budget audio brand just launched super-cheap planar earbuds with a lovely wood finish
Wooden it be nice to own these earbuds?
- New FiiO planar earbuds come in Walnut or Rosewood finish
- The same "Tesla Valve" bass enhancer as the FD15
- Under $100 / £80
FiiO, maker of fine and affordable audio products (see our recent FiiO FT1 and FiiO FH19 reviews for headphones specifically), has announced a new set of planar earbuds with a choice of rosewood or black walnut faceplates. And according to FiiO, they sound as good as they look.
The new FiiO FP3 have been designed with an ultra-light, aluminum and titanium-coated diaphragm that's exceptionally thin and exceptionally stiff. That diaphragm is driven by 14 magnets, seven on each side of the diaphragm, to deliver what FiiO says is "a powerful, responsive sound."
FiiO FP3 Planar Earbuds: key specifications and pricing
The FP3 are Hi-Res Audio Certified and have a frequency response of 10Hz to 40kHz, an impedance of 36 ohms and sensitivity of 105 dB/mW at 1kHz. Their cables are made of 392 silver-plated copper wires, bundled into four strands that then terminate in a detachable 0.78mm 2-pin connector at the earbud end and a gold-plated 3.5mm stereo jack at the other. That's swappable for a 4.4mm plug.
One of the key selling points here is that the FP3 have the same "Tesla Valve" acoustic design as the FD15 earbuds. That's designed to deliver enhanced bass, and judging by the reviews of the FD15 the result is an impressively natural low end that's punchy without losing clarity.
The wooden faceplates don't add significant weight: the earbuds are 6.5g each.
The new FiiO FP3 are available now from AliExpress and Amazon with a recommended price of $92.85 (which makes them around £71 or AU$140, give or take) and puts them squarely in the budget sector – one for consideration in our best wired earbuds guide for sure.
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- FiiO FH19 review: a potential contender for the best wired earbud crown
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- The best wired earbuds you can buy today
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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.