By aspect — in detail
The fault line. Most sources — including three of the four benches — hear the top end as sharp, gritty and fatiguing, and reach for EQ, a damping disc or the extra velour pads. A smaller group hears it as clear and extended without sibilance, and one mainstream outlet hears the opposite problem entirely: too polite, rolled off, lacking bite. The measurements explain the fight rather than settling it — the camps are describing different octaves.
Measured
All four rigs show the same thing above 4 kHz: a response that swings roughly ±10 dB, a dip near 4 kHz, a hard narrow peak around 5 kHz (worse with the lambskin pads) and extra energy from about 10–15 kHz before a fast roll-off past 18–20 kHz. Solderdude traces it to driver break-up in the large diaphragm and finds the 5 kHz resonance short-lived enough to EQ; unheardlab's excess-group-delay plot shows matching upper-treble resonances.
⚠ vs. listeners — The single review that hears the treble as rolled off is contradicted by every bench, which measures the top end as elevated rather than recessed. The likeliest reconciliation is that the camps are naming different bands: the dip at 4 kHz reads as blunt and short of bite, while the 5 kHz and 10–15 kHz peaks read as sharp and sibilant — and with a ±10 dB ripple, one note can land 10 dB hot and the next 10 dB down, so which impression sticks depends on the music.
Where it splits
sharp, gritty and fatiguing — EQ or damping is close to mandatory68%
“EQ above 4kHz is obligatory for an enjoyable sound.”
DIY-Audio-Heaven (Solderdude)
clear and extended, not sibilant — fine as it comes24%
“I do not find the treble too harsh or too much in any way - it's totally fine for me.”
theMUKe, Head-Fi FT13 owner thread
the opposite complaint — too polite, rolled off, short on bite8%
“the FT13 are going to be altogether too polite and mild-mannered for your tastes”
TechRadar (Simon Lucas)
Sources split on quantity, not extension — everyone agrees it reaches deep and hits hard. One camp calls the low end the headphone's best trait: weighty, textured, better than the FT1's. The other says the 80–200 Hz lift tips into boom, especially with the suede pads. The pads are the named cause, and the split tracks them closely.
Measured
Sub-bass extension is genuinely excellent with a good seal — Solderdude measures down to 4 Hz on his target — and distortion in the bass stays low, with no compression until about 90 dB SPL. The quantity is pad-dependent: unheardlab measures the suede pads at roughly 10 dB above the midrange, and the B&K 5128 shows the same pads adding a broad lift from about 80 Hz to 240 Hz. Breaking the seal costs bass on every rig, so the level you hear depends on fit.
Where it splits
deep, punchy and weighty — the strongest thing it does65%
“The bass on the FT13 is excellent. It’s deep, punchy, and weighty, offering impressive impact.”
unheardlab (sai)
too much through the upper bass — boomy and woolly, especially on the suede pads35%
“The frequency range between 80Hz and 200Hz is too elevated.”
DIY-Audio-Heaven (Solderdude)
Tonality
Contested · 13 srcThe larger camp hears a U- or V-shaped tuning whose ends fight each other — bass and treble both lifted, the middle set back, the whole less cohesive than the cheaper FT1. A smaller group hears the same shape as a fun, versatile voicing that suits modern music. Nobody, including the makers of the pads, calls it neutral out of the box.
Measured
Both stock pads measure away from neutral in the same direction — elevated upper bass, level mids, lifted and uneven treble — with the suede adding bass and the lambskin adding treble sharpness. The velour HS-FT13A pads sold separately measurably pull the treble peaks down without giving up bass extension, which is why several sources treat them as the fix.
Genuinely split, and the average would hide it. One camp hears the midrange as neutral, open and naturally bodied — a strength for a closed-back. The other hears it as dark and thin, set back between a lifted bass and a lifted treble, with vocals given sharp articulation but little weight.
Measured
The benches side with the neutral camp on the raw response: the band from roughly 250 Hz to 4 kHz measures level, with a small 1.5–2 kHz bump that Solderdude credits for the open, forward character. What the darkness camp is describing is relative — the same mids sit between an elevated upper bass below and a lifted, peaky treble above, and the B&K 5128 shows a dip right where ear gain peaks.
⚠ vs. listeners — No rig shows a recessed midrange, so the disagreement is about context rather than level: measured flat, but flanked by two lifts and a 4 kHz dip, which is exactly the arrangement that makes a level midrange sound withdrawn and thin.
Where it splits
dark, lean or recessed behind the two lifted ends54%
“the upper mids (or the presence region) becomes more prominent than the lower mids, giving instruments and vocals a sharp articulation but noticeably thin body”
unheardlab (sai)
Everyone hears more detail than the FT1; sources disagree about whether it is real. The larger camp calls the FT13 genuinely resolving for the money, with easy micro-detail and clean separation. Three of the most technical sources argue the impression is manufactured by the treble lift rather than earned by the driver.
Measured
Measured distortion is inaudibly low above 100 Hz on Solderdude's rig, so the driver is not the limit; the extra perceived air maps onto the 10–15 kHz elevation that every bench shows. unheardlab does flag a slight rise in harmonic distortion between 1–2 kHz, a band the ear is sensitive to.
Where it splits
genuinely resolving — a real step up in retrieval for the price68%
“here there’s similarly impressive detail retrieval and tonal fidelity”
TechRadar (Simon Lucas)
the detail is the treble lift, not resolution32%
“this clarity feels artificial. The tuning exaggerates texture rather than naturally rendering it.”
unheardlab (sai)
Comfort
Contested · 12 srcMost sources find it comfortable for long sessions — low clamp, deep roomy cups, a wide headband — and warn in the same breath that the adjustment range runs large. The split that matters is whether that oversized headband still seals: several owners report a perfect fit at two clicks, while the most careful bench could not get the cups to angle in properly even on a large head, which for a closed-back changes the sound rather than just the feel.
Measured
Solderdude measures clamping force at 1.8–2.5 N and weight at 363 g without the cable, and notes FiiO's own 4 N clamp figure is clearly wrong. unheardlab measures little positional variation — credited to the small front opening in the pads — but every rig shows real bass loss when the seal breaks, which is why the fit question is a sound question here.
⚠ vs. listeners — Sources contradict each other on clamp: one bench measures it as low and calls the fit loose, while another review's spec table simply lists the clamping force as strong. The measured figure is the one to trust, and it is consistent with the loose-fit complaint.
Where it splits
comfortable and it seals — light clamp, big cups, fine for hours73%
“The clamping force is very comfortable with its 1.8-2.5N which is enough to get a good seal because of the large surface area with the skin.”
DIY-Audio-Heaven (Solderdude)
the headband runs too big and the cups do not angle in — the seal is a lottery27%
“The fit feels too loose, even on my massive head, which is especially an issue for a closed-back headphones where proper seal and coupling are essential.”
headphones.com / The Headphone Show (Resolve, Andrew Park)
Soundstage
Moderate · 11 srcA near-consensus strength: sources repeatedly call the stage large and well organised for a sealed headphone, with real width and front-to-back depth. The dissent is qualitative rather than dimensional — one critic argues the space feels open while the mix itself stays pressed close, an unnatural combination he attributes to the treble lift.
“The soundstage is surprisingly large, with well-defined space between instruments, providing excellent imaging and layering.”
The Headphoneer (Chris)
“the room or ambient cues may feel large and open, but the actual elements of the mix remain closed-in”
unheardlab (sai)
Imaging
Strong consensus · 8 srcThe most consistently praised aspect. Placement is described as precise and separation as unusually clean for the price, across mainstream outlets, specialists and owners alike — several sources single it out for gaming and film as much as for music.
“keep every element of the recording secure in a little individual pocket of space”
TechRadar (Simon Lucas)
“Instrument separation is mind-blowing”
Tom’s Guide (Erin Bashford)
Dynamics
Strong consensus · 8 srcBroad agreement that the big driver punches: macro-dynamics are lively, slam is real, and even the review that scores the headphone 4/10 calls the dynamics a genuine strength.
“Dynamics is strong on the FT13.”
unheardlab (sai)
“Dynamic headroom is considerable”
TechRadar (Simon Lucas)
Measured
Backed by the bench: Solderdude finds no compression up to about 90 dB SPL and only about 1 dB below 70 Hz at 98 dB, and unheardlab measures 0.5–1 dB of compression below 60 Hz at 105 dB — unusually clean behaviour at real listening levels.
Build
Strong consensus · 13 srcThe least contested thing about the headphone. Sources across every tier call the metalwork, the lacquered purpleheart cups, the case and the four-way modular cable clearly above the asking price — often the reason they wish the tuning matched. The recorded gripes are small: a creaky yoke on one unit, fragile-feeling pad clips, and a proprietary pad mount that shuts out third-party pads.
“The build quality is quite high and the headphone feels very sturdy with high quality materials being used.”
DIY-Audio-Heaven (Solderdude)
“The standard of build and finish is excellent”
TechRadar (Simon Lucas)
Isolation
Moderate · 5 srcDecent for a sealed headphone without being a travel-grade isolator, and pad-dependent — the lambskin pads seal a little better than the suede. FiiO claims up to 26 dB of attenuation; measured impressions land lower and note that people nearby can still hear the music.
“There is a decent to good attenuation of outside noises (depending on the frequency spectrum) but people around you can softly hear the music playing, even when not listening at higher SPL.”
DIY-Audio-Heaven (Solderdude)
The closest thing to a dead heat in this review. Half the weight argues the FT13 is hard to beat at the price for the whole package — build, cable, case, staging, separation. The other half argues it is a sideways step at double the FT1's money, and that the cheaper headphone is the better buy unless you plan to EQ or re-pad it.
Where it splits
little else at the price offers this complete a package51%
“compared to the closed back competition in this price range (sub $400), there is very little to compete with the complete package you get with the FT13”
jeromeoflaherty, Head-Fi showcase review (4/5)
