Impressions: FiiO EH3 NC

I originally planned to write a 2019 eroge roundup, but my beloved Duan-ye nagged me on social media to post a shopping writeup, so that one gets pushed back.

Honestly I like writing shopping posts too. They’re fast, simple, low-effort, and they still count as a post. Who wouldn’t?

Esoteric audio stuff especially — you can bullshit freely with zero accountability, and apparently there are idiots who enjoy reading it. Perfect time for one, no?

This time it’s about: the FiiO EH3 NC over-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones.

I’ve actually forgotten when I bought these. Must’ve been the pre-order batch, and earlier than the Edifier I wrote about before. Why buy them? I needed a pair of over-ears with lossless Bluetooth support, noise cancelling would be a bonus, and I couldn’t afford Sony. Then FiiO, the spec-stuffing brand, showed up with a decent price, so I caved and bought them.

As for the FiiO EH3 NC’s looks, no need to go over that — they’re all over the internet. What I want to talk about is my personal impressions of the product.

Build

I’ve always trusted FiiO’s build quality, but this time… FiiO dropped the ball.

After the headphones arrived, the sound was weird. Not a sound-quality thing — I thought the channels were imbalanced.

The imbalance was strange: very noticeable at first, then it seemed to fade after listening for a while. But after using them many times I finally confirmed it wasn’t “fading” — I’d just gotten used to it. Eventually I contacted FiiO support, filed a repair order, and sent them in. FiiO responded quickly, but instead of repairing, they just sent a new pair.

The new pair had no imbalance at all, so it really was a defect. First time I’ve hit a build/quality issue with FiiO, for the record.

Noise cancelling

The FiiO EH3 NC has ANC, and I didn’t expect much, but in practice it’s actually decent.

ANC is toggled with a single switch. Once on, it’s not on the level of the Bose lineup, but it filters out most noise — traffic outside the window, case fans inside, that sort of thing. Voices still come through, just reduced a lot.

There are some small issues: turning ANC on makes the sound a bit “muddy,” and sometimes you get a wind-noise-like sound. If it’s not very noisy, I’d rather leave it off. Still, ANC at this price is satisfying.

Sound quality

The FiiO EH3 NC supports APT-X and even LDAC, and apparently some Huawei APT-X HD thing too.

Of course, for Linux users, LDAC support is enough. The sound itself is the usual FiiO flavor. What flavor? Plain water.

Honestly I don’t have many over-ears. The ones I’ve kept boil down to two impressions: “Grado” and “not Grado.” Maybe only Grado over-ears have that thick character; everything else aims for flat and steady.

It’s hard to give a specific verdict. I’ve been listening to a lot of hip hop lately, and all I can say is “not unpleasant.” Over Bluetooth the sound feels a bit “thin,” but it’s not a big deal. At this price, it’s fine for daily use. Maybe it won’t pass the ears of “core audiophiles,” but then again, core audiophiles wouldn’t look twice at Bluetooth headphones, right? Even though these do support wired connection.

Fit / battery life

Like the Edifier W830BT, the FiiO’s battery life is excellent. I’ve used the replacement pair on and off for a week and haven’t charged it yet.

I don’t know the exact figure; FiiO claims 50 hours. For me, a five-day work week is definitely covered, even with ANC on.

As for fit — I have a big head, and I don’t feel any clamping. But since they’re closed-back, wearing them a long time gets hot and stuffy. It’s winter now so it’s not obvious; summer might be worse.

Overall the FiiO EH3 NC over-ear Bluetooth wireless headphones are within my expectations. It’s a “bucket” product — does everything, everything is just okay, and it’s much cheaper than Sony. If you’re broke like me and don’t demand ultimate “music fidelity,” just want to listen casually, this is a decent choice.

Of course, if you’re rich like Wu Lao-er and Duan-ye, you can go buy Sony over-ears instead. And if you’re a “terminal audiophile,” Bluetooth headphones clearly aren’t your pick.