The new FT13 closed-back dynamic headphones from FiiO have ear cups made with purpleheart wood that gives the headphones a rich luster.
FIIO
The latest and most striking launch for me recently has to be the FiiO FT13 closed-back dynamic headphones. These gorgeous-looking headphones feature massive 60mm diameter dynamic drivers housed in machined wooden ear cups made from the world’s most colorful types of wood.
Peltogyne — also known as purpleheart, violet wood and amaranth — is a tropical hardwood native to Central and South America and typically used in the manufacture of musical instruments and is often found as inlay, especially on guitar fret boards.
When purpleheart is first cut, the wood has a light brown appearance that soon blooms into a bright and beautiful purple hue. H…
The new FT13 closed-back dynamic headphones from FiiO have ear cups made with purpleheart wood that gives the headphones a rich luster.
FIIO
The latest and most striking launch for me recently has to be the FiiO FT13 closed-back dynamic headphones. These gorgeous-looking headphones feature massive 60mm diameter dynamic drivers housed in machined wooden ear cups made from the world’s most colorful types of wood.
Peltogyne — also known as purpleheart, violet wood and amaranth — is a tropical hardwood native to Central and South America and typically used in the manufacture of musical instruments and is often found as inlay, especially on guitar fret boards.
When purpleheart is first cut, the wood has a light brown appearance that soon blooms into a bright and beautiful purple hue. However, extended exposure to the sun’s rays or other UV light sources can cause the purple to fade, so it’s sometimes treated with a special inhibitor to prevent the color changing and to maintain the beautiful purple luster.
The FiiO FT13 are comfortable to wear thanks to the use of breathable memory foam.
FIIO
Purpleheart For The Win
The reason why purpleheart is sometimes chosen for making musical instruments is not just it’s color. The wood is stiff and has a high density, making it ideal for applications where wood can make a sonic impact on an instrument’s timbre. That’s why FiiO used purpleheart for the FT13’s ear cups, which house the large dynamic drivers.
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The ear cups are CNC-machined and then finished with a high-gloss lacquer that gives the headphones a unique finish. No two pairs will ever look the same, as each features a unique grain and color. The ear cups lend the headphones a bespoke appearance and individual look, plus that purple color is a real talking point.
Each housing contains one of FiiO’s 60mm dynamic drivers. These transducers are designed with a diaphragm using a “W-shaped” profile. It’s the folded W-shape that increases the overall vibration area of the driver’s diaphragm, making the headphones more efficient and able to respond faster to transients. The result is a sound with a gently extending bass and clean treble frequencies. The FT13 headphones are a major step up from FiiO’s FT1 model.
The purple color of the FT13’s wooden ear cups is stunning.
FIIO
Passive Noise Cancelation
Inside each of the housings is a damping tube and a noise-reduction chamber packed with sound-absorbing cotton. The packing helps reduce the overall ambient noise able to reach the listener’s ears and creates a level of passive noise reduction that makes the FT13’s overall presentation so immersive.
Despite the fancy purpleheart ear cups and advanced acoustic engineering of the dynamic drivers, the FT13 are easy headphones to drive and can work well with almost any audio source. Thanks to their low impedance adn sensitivity, the FT13 will play nicely with smartphones, laptops and high-end audio systems.
To improve the comfort of the headphones, FiiO has used breathable memory foam with micro perforations that make the headphones exceptionally cool and comfortable to wear. The pads keep the listener’s ears cool, even during extended listening sessions.
The FT13’s 1.5m detachable cable consisting of Furukawa monocrystalline copper wires with silver-plating. The cable has a unique system of interchangeable connectors.
FIIO
The headphones are supplied with a 1.5m detachable cable consisting of twisted Furukawa monocrystalline copper wires, which are silver-plated. The cable has an interchangeable termination system enabling the user to choose almost any connector they want, such as a single-ended 3.5mm or 6,35mm jackplugs, 4.4mm balanced connector or 5-pin XLR.
The wood used in the construction of FiiO’s FT13 headphones definitely brings warmth to the music and when combined with those large 60mm dynamic drivers, these are headphones with a unique sonic personality as well as a unique look, thanks to the grain of the purpleheart ear cups. The FT13 are headphones with personality and precision that will appeal to audiophiles who appreciate the look and feel of their audio gear.
Pricing and Availability:
The FiiO FT13 headphones are available from Advanced MP3 in the U.K. and Amazon in the U.S. The price is $329 / £269.
Tech Specs:
- Style: Closed-back.
- Frequency response: 7Hz – 40kHz.
- Driver diameter: 60mm.
- Transducer type: Dynamic.
- Diaphragm: W-Shaped.
- Impedance: 320Ω.
- Sensitivity: 984dB/mW @ kHz / 1,134dB/Vims @ 1kHz.
- Weight: 356g (excluding cable).
- Earcup pressure: 4.2Ns 0.3N.
- Cable: Secondary refined Furukawa monocrystalline copper with silver-plated oxygen-free copper wires.
- Cable length: 1.5m.
- Ear cup connectors: Dual 3.5mm (TS).
- Terminations: 3.5mm / 4.4mm.
- Ear cup material: Purpleheart.
- Ear cup color: Natural wood/Black.