FiiO EH11 Bluetooth On-Ear Headphones

The FiiO EH11 are compact Bluetooth on-ear headphones that bring back the look of 1980s mini headphones: a see-through frame and small real-wood earcups that double as control knobs. Inside, it’s thoroughly modern: a 40mm long-throw driver, a semi-open acoustic design, Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC hi-res wireless, connection to two devices at once and about 30 hours of battery. At about 92g with a gentle clamping force, they’re made to wear all day.

Retro-futurist design with wooden knobs

The EH11 is FiiO’s take on retro-futurism: classic shapes from the era of the personal cassette player, made with today’s materials. The transparent headband and housings show off the internals, and the earcups are finished in real wood. Those wooden cups are also the controls, so changing tracks or volume means turning a knob, just like on vintage hi-fi.

There are five finishes: Transparent, Black (transparent black), White (off-white), Burgundy and Cyan. Each comes with two pairs of foam pads in different colours, so you can change the look as well as the pads.

A 40mm driver that fixes the thin bass of classic on-ears

Small on-ear headphones have always struggled with bass, because so much of it leaks out around the pads. FiiO tackled this with a 40mm long-throw driver whose high-damping composite diaphragm pushes the resonant frequency down to 60Hz. The result is bass that reaches down to 17Hz, with a full frequency range of 17Hz–40kHz. FiiO says this brings sharper attack and decay on drums, and better separation and layering when you’re listening to more intricate music such as classical pieces.

Semi-open: airy sound with little leakage

Ventilation ports and damping filters make the EH11 semi-open. That removes the “stuffy” feeling of closed-back headphones and gives a more open soundstage, clearer mids and treble, and more natural, transparent vocals. Compared with fully open-back headphones, the damping system controls the airflow, so less of your music escapes to the people around you.

LDAC hi-res wireless and two devices at once

Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC carries up to 990kbps, roughly three times the data of standard Bluetooth (SBC or AAC), for near-lossless sound. LDAC is one of the few Bluetooth formats certified as Hi-Res Wireless. It needs a phone or player that supports LDAC output, and uses a little more battery because it sends more data. It’s on by default and can be switched off in the FiiO Control app. Other devices connect over SBC.

The EH11 stays connected to two devices at once, such as your computer and your phone, so you can move from a film on one to a call or a game on the other without pairing again.

Tuned for games and calls

FiiO has added sound effects tuned for gaming, which bring out footsteps and gunfire, and a low-latency mode; you turn both on in the FiiO Control app. Together with the open, semi-open soundstage, they help you place sounds precisely. The built-in high-definition microphone picks up your voice and reduces background noise, for clear team chat and calls.

Easy controls, a long battery life and all-day comfort

One button handles power, play/pause, calls and your voice assistant. Turn the left wooden knob to skip tracks and the right one to change the volume, and an RGB light shows pairing, charging and battery status. The FiiO Control app adds sound profiles for pop, classical, jazz and rock, alongside the gaming mode and the LDAC switch.

A 2-hour charge gives up to 30 hours of playback. At about 92g (FiiO compares this with about 150g for a typical compact Bluetooth on-ear) and with a clamping force of only about 1.7N, the EH11 is light enough to forget you’re wearing it. The foam pads come off easily for cleaning or replacing.

Good to know

• LDAC needs a source that supports it (most Android phones do). iPhones connect over SBC.
• Semi-open means some sound escapes and outside noise gets in, and there’s no active noise cancelling. If you need quiet on the move, look at FiiO’s EH13 over-ears or the SNOWSKY Anytime on-ears, both with ANC.
• Spare and replacement pads: earpads for the FiiO EH11.
• No audio cable is included; the USB-C cable is for charging.
• In the box: headphones with one pair of foam pads fitted, a spare pair in another colour, USB-A to USB-C charging cable and quick start guide.