HIFI Diary: A Quick Sound Quality Review of the FiiO Wind

I. Preface

After being recommended by the owner of HI-Player, I purchased this small earphone priced at 99 RMB. As a compact on-ear model with a price point similar to the old Audio-Technica ON3, its colorful design suggests it’s more about style than sound quality (after all, it’s only 99 RMB). But no matter what it is, everything that comes to the BLOG owner gets a test run. So, let’s welcome today’s guest—the Wind.

II. Preparation for the Review

For this review, I’m testing the FiiO Wind on-ear headphones. The testing platforms include the Lao Ban Zhang (老班长) LBZ-04 dongle DAC, the TASCAM X8 audio recorder, and the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch, so you could say I’ve given it plenty of respect. The comparison headphones are the NICEHCK Gen 3(原道可欣), though their form factors are different, so this is just for reference. The source devices include a mobile phone, a PC, and a dedicated digital audio player—basically, it wasn’t held back by its source, so I won’t go into too much detail.

III. Assessment Tracks/Scoring Method

The track selection is based on the blogger’s usual listening preferences, which are about 50% ACG music, 30% modern music, and 20% classical music. Therefore, the selection leans heavily towards Japanese music. The scoring criteria are derived from a simplified version of Liu Hansheng’s “Twenty Essentials for Audio,” with a maximum score of 10, though generally, the highest score given is 9. A score of 8 indicates a clear advantage in the scoring category, 7 signifies excellence, 6 means it can be normally appreciated, 5 means it can be normally listened to, and scores below 5 are not commented on. For a more detailed evaluation plan, please refer to here.

IV. Testing Begins

Item	FiiO Wind	NICEHCK(Gen 3/Stock Cable)	NICEHCK(Gen 2/Copper Cable)	QianYun 25 10th Anniversary
Integrity	5/10	6/10	6/10	6.5/10
High frequency	6/10	6/10	5.5/10	5.5/10
Medium frequency	5/10	6/10	5.5/10	6/10
Low frequency	6/10	6.5/10	6/10	6.5/10
Analysis	7/10	6.5/10	6/10	6/10
Sound field	6.5/10	6/10	5.5/10	5.5/10
Dynamic	5.5/10	6/10	5.5/10	6/10
Total score	5.9/10	6.1/10	5.7/10	6/10

V. Summary

So, what’s the verdict? After listening, the BLOG owner took a look and saw that the NICEHCK Gen3 is priced at $8.2 or $14 with an upgraded cable. Unless you’re particularly drawn to the Wind’s design or simply don’t like earbuds, the Wind really doesn’t have much competitiveness (especially since a used Philips SHP9500 is only around $3–5 more).

Getting back to the sound—the Wind’s strength is that its mid-range clarity is noticeably better than the NICEHCK’s. If you’re only looking at detail retrieval in this price range, it does have something to offer. But beyond that, the Wind’s highs are piercing, the mids are thin, the bass is somewhat lacking, and the dynamics are weak. Whether listening to vocals or instruments, it’s harsh on the ears. All these comments are in comparison to the similarly priced NICEHCK.

Overall, the FiiO Wind’s sound can only be described as a mess—apart from that bit of clarity, it has almost no advantages. With the USB DAC and the X8, the BLOG owner could barely make it through a single song. It was only when plugged into the Paw Gold Touch that managing one full track became possible. Compared to the entire NICEHCK series (which starts around $1.4), the Wind’s sound completeness is just… not good. So, if you’re looking for over-ear headphones in the budget price range, just buy a Philips SHP9500.