FT5
90mm Open Planar Magnetic Headphones

6pm ultra-thin diaphragm | Micron-plated aluminum-silver alloy coil
Lightweight magnesium aluminum alloy construction | Open-backed design
Included 392 wires of high-purity monocrystalline copper cable
High sensitivity, easy to power

Discover micron-level
manufacturing and technology

Planar magnetic drivers are in between dynamic and
electrostatic headphones. Like dynamic headphones, there
is a sort of coil on the planar driver. Similar to electrostatic
headphones, the diaphragm is a special kind of thin,
micron-level film. The FT5 is 28m chip-scale processed,
leading to an approximately 6pm thick diaphragm. These
characteristics of the planar driver make it possible to
create a headphone that is not only highly detailed, but also
easy to power.

The FT5 is FIlO’s first set of planar magnetic headphones,
providing intense energy to your sound like a thunderstorm.

Fully sized and fully square
Large 90mm planar magnetic driver

The FIlO FT5 employs an outstanding large 90mm planar
magnetic driver. Compared to a traditional dynamic driver, a
planar magnetic driver converts sound energy to sound
waves in a more balanced way, by vibrating in a much more
even way. The vibrations are distributed across the entire
driver diaphragm and there is little distortion caused by the
rigidity of the diaphragm material. Thus, the FIlO FT5 can
truly
and accurately
express
audio signals, faithfully
reproducing every last note and truly providing you v
lossless hi-fi sound.

Thinking about acoustics in
a microscopic world

Micron-plated aluminum-silver alloy coils 

In a flat driver diaphragm with a printed coil, almost all of the weight is concentrated on the
metal-coated coils. During the development of the FT5, the R&D engineers not only needed to
consider how the coils would interact with the 6um thin diaphragm, but also the density and
conductivity of the coils themselves. Having examined and tested various commonly-used
materials* to plate planar coils, FIlO engineers determined that the lighter aluminum alloy
material was best for the coils. Also, they determined that mixing in silver metal would also
enhance conductivity of the coils, making the driver easier to power without sacrificing the
high-frequency detail and rich sound characteristic of good planar magnetic drivers.

Nanoscale diaphragm coating process

High-end sound that’s truly audible. The coils of the FT’s driver are printed
onto the diaphragm using high-end technology from the semiconductor industry,
ensuring that not only the thickness of the coils are more consistent, but that the
weight of the coils are more evenly distributed – resulting in more consistent
diaphragms ultimately for more accurate sound.

Always walking in the “Golden Hall”
High sensitivity and easy to power

Traditionally, planar magnetic headphones have featured low sensitivity, leading many
users of such headphones to employ beefy desktop audio gear to drive them to their
full potential. Planar magnetic headphones traditionally cannot be sufficiently listened to
during travel!

But the FT5 is not like a traditional planar magnetic headphone. Thanks to 20
neodymium magnets with high magnetic density of up to 1.5T, 6pm thin diaphragm,
and nano-level aluminum alloy coating technology, the FT5’s driver is both light and
strong, allowing for a high sensitivity of 110dB/1Vrms@1kHz i.e. 96dB/mW@1kHz. This
allows the FT5 to be easily driven even by portable players, letting you experience a
“Golden Hall” of sound no matter where you go..

Lightweight magnesium
aluminum alloy construction
Without comfort
There is no pleasure

The design of a planar magnetic driver includes the number
of magnets to be used and how they are stacked, with more
magnets meaning greater weight. Thus, the materials used
to construct the outer shell of a planar magnetic headphone
must be carefully chosen to balance both sound quality and
weight. The FIlO FT5 features a magnesium aluminum alloy
construction. Thanks to magnesium aluminum alloy being
only 64% as dense as that of aluminum alloy, the FT5 can be
made to be much lighter in weight for long yet comfortable
listening sessions.

Conversation with an engineer
Every detail contributes to an excellent

*In a dynamic driver, the voice coil vibrates which vibrates the entire diaphragm to
make sound. However, in doing so it is easy to produce uneven vibrations across
different parts of the diaphragm and thus leads to distortion when producing
higher frequencies. The diaphragm of a planar magnetic driver is a large flat
surface, with coils spread throughout and being moved by a uniform magnetic
field. Thus, unlike a dynamic driver, sound from a planar magnetic driver is
produced by a more even movement across the entire diaphragm, leading to less
uneven vibrations across different parts and thus reduced distortion.
The principle of how planar magnetic drivers generate sound is closest to that of
electrostatic drivers. Compared to dynamic drivers, the biggest advantage of
planar magnetic drivers is their excellent high-frequency performance, thanks to
the driver’s extremely thin diaphragm. With the FT’s only 6um thick driver
diaphragm being driven by many parallel magnets, its planar magnetic driver is
extremely responsive and dynamic, providing a truly satisfying level of detail.”

Professional design to really move you
Excellent full-range phase coherence

The FIlO FT5 is a planar magnetic headphone, with the coils of its planar
driver spread throughout the diaphragm. Unlike dynamic drivers which
vibrate at certain points, when the planar driver vibrates the entire diaphragm
surface vibrates. This leads to more synchronized movement across the
entire driver and thus better phase distortion compared to dynamic drivers.
Through simulations and analysis of a large amount of experimental data,
the coils of the FT5’s planar driver are optimally placed to ensure an evenly
distributed magnetic field for consistent phase performance across all
frequencies, for a clear and real listening experience.