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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a neutral, reference-style open-back headphone for studio and critical listening, choose Avantone Pro Planar Headphones; if you need a low-impedance, high-resolution planar that plays nicely with everyday gear and reaches far beyond the audible top end, choose FiiO FT1Pro.
• Avantone Pro Planar Headphones — biggest strength: a planar magnetic open-back design tuned for flat, reference-grade monitoring, with a detachable cable and a bundled carrying bag for transport.
• Avantone Pro Planar Headphones — biggest trade-off: no noise control and no wireless anything, plus a heavier listed item weight of 3.4 pounds, so it is a desk-and-studio tool rather than a walk-around pair.
• FiiO FT1Pro — biggest strength: a 1 μm-thin sapphire-and-aluminum coated diaphragm in a 95 x 86 mm planar driver, 20-ohm impedance for easy driving, and a 7 Hz–40 kHz frequency response.
• FiiO FT1Pro — biggest trade-off: the very low impedance that makes it easy to drive also means it can reveal hiss from noisy sources, and it is still a wired, open-back headphone with no isolation.
• Who each pick is for: Avantone for the engineer or mixing hobbyist chasing a flat, uncolored reference; FiiO for the listener who wants planar detail and extended treble from a phone, dongle or laptop without a dedicated amp.
The Avantone Pro Planar is built around one idea: give the listener a flat, honest window into the mix. It uses planar magnetic drivers in an open-back, over-ear enclosure, and the listed frequency range is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz — the full audible band, with no artificial bass lift or treble sparkle added on top. That is the signature of a reference headphone. When a mix sounds thin or harsh on these, it is usually because the mix is thin or harsh, not because the headphone colored it.
The practical details reinforce the studio-first intent. The cable is detachable, which matters when a cable gets snagged or worn and you would rather swap it than replace the whole headphone. A carrying bag is included, and the enclosure is plastic in a black finish with a nylon-style case — light on luxury, heavy on function. The jack is 3.5 mm, so it plugs straight into an interface or laptop, and there are touch-based media and volume controls on board.
FiiO FT1Pro: Who It's For
FiiO's FT1Pro is the more technically ambitious of the two on paper. It uses an in-house planar magnetic driver with a 95 x 86 mm aperture, and the diaphragm is only 1 μm thick — a figure FiiO frames around semiconductor-style nano-precision coating. The diaphragm carries a dual sapphire-and-aluminum coating, and the magnetic circuit is designed to even out the field, which the brand ties to better driving power and lower distortion. Whether or not you buy the marketing framing, the engineering direction is clear: a thin, stiff, well-controlled diaphragm.
The numbers tell you who it is for. Impedance is 20 ohms, which is genuinely low, and FiiO explicitly designed it for wide device compatibility. That means a phone with a dongle, a laptop headphone jack, or a modest portable player can drive it without a dedicated amplifier. The frequency response reaches 7 Hz to 40 kHz, well beyond the 20 kHz ceiling of human hearing — useful for high-resolution source material and for keeping phase behavior clean in the audible range, even if you will never "hear" 40 kHz.
The package is generous: a dedicated carrying case, a 3.5 mm cable, a 4.4 mm balanced cable, and a 3.5 mm-to-6.35 mm adapter. That balanced cable is a meaningful inclusion for anyone running a balanced-output DAC or dongle. The listed weight is 374 g, and the headband is described as adjustable across 12 positions.
The trade-offs: low impedance means high sensitivity to source noise, so a hissy laptop jack will be audible. It is still open-back and wired, so no isolation and no wireless freedom. And the flat-field, high-resolution tuning is revealing rather than forgiving — poor masters will sound poor.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for a flat, neutral reference tuning → Avantone Pro Planar Headphones. Its 20 Hz–20,000 Hz range and reference-grade positioning point at critical listening, not coloration.
• Best for extended frequency range → FiiO FT1Pro. 7 Hz–40 kHz versus 20 Hz–20,000 Hz is not close on paper.
• Best for a balanced-output setup → FiiO FT1Pro. It ships with both a 3.5 mm and a 4.4 mm balanced cable plus a 6.35 mm adapter.
• Best for lighter weight on the head → FiiO FT1Pro. 374 g versus a listed 3.4 lb (roughly 1.5 kg) for the Avantone is a large practical difference over a long session.
• Best for on-board controls → Avantone Pro Planar Headphones. It has touch media and volume controls; the FiiO's feature list does not mention any.
• Best for studio monitoring with a detachable cable → Avantone Pro Planar Headphones. Detachable cable plus carrying bag, aimed at the engineer's desk.
• Best for the widest accessory bundle out of the box → FiiO FT1Pro. Case, two cables and an adapter are all included.
In my opinion, the FiiO FT1Pro is the better buy for most people. The 20-ohm impedance and the included balanced cable mean it works with the gear you already own, the 7 Hz–40 kHz range and 1 μm diaphragm show genuine engineering intent, and at 374 g it is far more comfortable for long listening than the Avantone's listed 3.4 lb. The Avantone Pro Planar still earns its place if flat, uncolored reference response and a detachable cable for studio duty are your whole priority — but for a first planar headphone that fits real life, I would take the FiiO.
Yes — it is the single biggest factor in what you actually hear. The Avantone Pro Planar covers 20 Hz–20,000 Hz, the audible band, while the FiiO FT1Pro extends to 7 Hz–40 kHz, which mostly benefits high-resolution material and phase behavior in the audible range rather than adding sounds you can hear.
Are open-back headphones good for mixing?
Probably not. FiiO lists 20-ohm impedance and describes the design as low-impedance for wide device compatibility, so a phone with a dongle or a laptop jack should drive it. The Avantone Pro Planar lists no impedance figure, so pairing it with a proper headphone amp or audio interface is the safer assumption.
On weight alone, the FiiO FT1Pro. It is listed at 374 g with a 12-position adjustable headband, while the Avantone Pro Planar is listed at 3.4 pounds, which is a lot to carry on your head for hours. Comfort also depends on clamp and pad fit, so try both if you can.
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