With as much activity as there currently is in the suppressor market, it should come as no surprise that manufacturers are trying different things. Anechoic has been making suppressors for several years now, and I’ve had the good fortune to use several of their products. One of their newest models is the Fibonacci 9mm suppressor, a compact, lightweight can made of titanium and aluminum using some interesting manufacturing technology.
Why the name, you might ask? I suspect the design follows the mathematical sequence, or maybe they were just fans of the famous mathematician. Either way, it sounds cool, so we’ll run with it.
The Fibonacci 9 TI came to me with very little advance information due to its recent release. But I knew that it weighed an almost unbelievable three ounces, which is less than a deck of playing cards. I was certainly interested to see how such a thing could be done.
Once I opened the box, it started to make sense. The Fibonacci uses the same body size as Anechoic’s rimfire .22 suppressors. Inside the tube you’ll find an intricate titanium-printed core. The core has an almost unbelievable appearance, resembling a roll of fencing that has somehow been shrunk down to the size of a cigar.
In addition to the 9mm muzzle port, the Fibonacci incorporates a series of tiny holes around the tube toward the muzzle end intended to vent some of the pressure from inside the suppressor.
Like other Anechoic suppressors, the Fibonacci comes with the tools necessary to disassemble the suppressor for servicing. The mounting interface is 1/2-28, allowing it to be attached to a variety of host firearms.
One of the more interesting things about the Fibonacci is that it is designed to be used without a booster thanks to its ultra-light weight. That limits its application somewhat. According to the manufacturer, the Fibonacci can be used without a booster on some pistols, provided they meet certain requirements.
That turned out to be an important part of my experience with the Fibonacci. Anechoic has some fairly specific conditions that need to be met for it to function properly on a semi-auto pistol. These include things such as using higher-pressure ammunition and limiting the amount of additional weight on the slide, including red dot sights.
Initially, I tried the Fibonacci on a couple of different pistols. As expected, they didn’t cycle properly because they weren’t meeting the conditions laid out by Anechoic.
It didn’t take long to lose interest in trying to get additional pistols to work with the suppressor. Instead, I decided the Fibonacci might be better suited to my pistol-caliber carbines. I have several PCCs that could use a suppressor anyway, and fixed-barrel or delayed-action firearms are much less affected by the additional weight and operating characteristics of a suppressor.
For that purpose, I threaded the almost impossibly lightweight Fibonacci onto my new Taurus RPC, a roller-delayed 9mm PCC. Shooting a few rounds through it to see how the two got along produced some interesting results.
Likely caused by some remaining titanium dust inside the core, the Fibonacci sent a radial flower of sparks out through the vents. It made for an interesting — and frankly pretty cool — shooting experience. The sound was a little more than I expected, but I suppose a 9mm suppressor that’s roughly the same size and weight as a .22 rimfire can is going to have some limitations.
I also used the Fibonacci on another PCC, the Panzer USA HAN 9. The HAN 9 is a blowback-operated firearm, which I expected to be a little louder than the roller-delayed RPC. I was right. Since blowback actions open sooner, there’s generally a little more noise from the action.
When it comes to sound suppression, minimalist suppressors often give up some performance in exchange for their smaller size and lower weight. One thing I have noticed with people after they buy their first suppressor is that they often start looking for more specialized cans. A minimalist suppressor that gives up some noice reduction in exchange for being extremely short or light can become something of a luxury item.
With the Fibonacci being so small and incredibly light, I wasn’t surprised that it was a little louder than some of my other 9mm suppressors. It’s more than adequate for outdoor shooting without hearing protection, but it wasn’t as quiet as some of the larger 9mm suppressors I’ve used.
Perhaps I’m getting to the point where I can justify the “luxury” of specific suppressors that aren’t necessarily the most effective at everything. Either way, if the Fibonacci is the only 9mm suppressor you own, I think it would still be useful. I’m also curious how it would perform with something like subsonic .300 Blackout, although that’s outside the primary use case of this can.
Recoil reduction is another area where the Fibonacci takes a different approach. Because the suppressor is so small and lightweight, its effect on recoil is minimal. In fact, the difference is so small that you probably wouldn’t know it was there if you couldn’t see it.
The lack of a booster is both a feature and a limitation. Without a booster, getting a slide-action pistol to cycle can be difficult. According to the manufacturer, certain higher-pressure loads are required to make the system work properly under the prescribed conditions. I was unable to replicate that result with the pistols I tried.
Blowback and roller-delayed carbines, on the other hand, worked great with the Fibonacci. Fixed-barrel firearms are much less affected by the suppressor, and that makes them a natural fit for this design. That is an important thing to understand before buying one of these suppressors.
As far as accuracy goes, I couldn’t tell whether the Fibonacci improved or reduced the accuracy of the test guns. Nine millimeter firearms aren’t exactly precision rifles to begin with, and the difference was difficult to determine in my testing.
Normally, adding a suppressor adds enough weight to the muzzle to help settle the firearm and potentially make it easier to shoot. But with the Fibonacci weighing only three ounces, that effect is essentially nonexistent.
With an MSRP of $548, the Fibonacci isn’t what I would call an entry-level suppressor. There are plenty of other 9mm cans available for hundreds of dollars less. But as I have mentioned several times, the Fibonacci sets itself apart from those.
It’s in a weight class almost entirely by itself, and that alone could justify the price for many users. At the same time, it’s very specific as to how it needs to be used. The suppressor requires a particular setup to function well on some firearms, which makes it a more limited-use can in my mind. Many other 9mm suppressors will function across a far broader range of hosts.
With that in mind, I think the Fibonacci is a good suppressor for someone looking for a specialty application. If you’re looking for your first 9mm suppressor and plan to use it primarily on a typical slide-operated pistol, you may find it challenging. On the other hand, if you understand the requirements and have a host firearm where the Fibonacci works well, you should be very happy with it.
There are plenty of things I like about the Fibonacci. Its three-ounce weight is obviously at the top of that list, and its compact size makes it very easy to handle. I also like that it doesn’t require a booster under the prescribed host conditions, and the suppressor has a handsome appearance. Being able to completely disassemble it for service is another feature I appreciate, as is the Cerakote finish.
The biggest drawback is also obvious. It will not cycle properly with every pistol, and that limits its versatility. It also isn’t the quietest 9mm suppressor I have used. But those are tradeoffs that come with making something this small and this light.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I think the Anechoic Fibonacci 9mm suppressor is a very cool suppressor for those willing to work with it. I will most likely continue using the Fibonacci on my PCCs, where it has performed very well regardless of the host.
It’s unlikely that I will use it often with pistols, mainly because I usually shoot lightweight 9mm ammunition through optics-ready pistols, which doesn’t seem to be the combination the Fibonacci can prefers. But if you’re looking for an extremely lightweight and slim 9mm suppressor, the Anechoic Fibonacci is certainly worth your attention.
Specifications: Anechoic Fibonacci 9 Ti
Caliber: 9mm
Maximum Chambering: 9mm
Material: Titanium
Length: 6.1 inches
Diameter: 1.6 inches
Weight: 3 ounces
Sound Reduction: 26 dB
Mount: Direct thread
Thread: 1/2-28
Booster: Not required under prescribed host conditions
Construction: 3D-printed DMLS titanium core
Finish Options: Black, FDE, or raw/in-the-white
MSRP: $548