N**.
The Havi B3 Pro 1 (B3P1). The Sub $100 Cream of the Crop IEM.
Lately, I’ve been working pretty hard to upgrade my sound experience. So with all of the hype of the Havi B3P1, I decided to check out the buzz. I purchased it from Lendmeurears on Amazon and received it 2.5 business days. After I opened the package containing the B3P1, I tried it out. At first I was skeptical for the first 5 hours, but after 5 hours I finally understood why lots of people had such a great admiration for such a unique set of earphones.Let’s begin with the build quality:Build Quality: The build of these IEMs are pretty durable. Compared to my MEELEC M-DUO, it’s not as strong, but it still holds on its’ own. My MEELEC M-DUO has Kevlar Cables and a half steel/half ABS housing and a mic, but that’s for more casual use for my smartphone or for casual music sessions. The Havi B3P1 may not have insane build quality like the M-DUO, but it makes up for it a super thick cables, excellent strain reliefs, a very beefy right angle plug, A chin slider, Gorilla Glass 2 Plating and with a similar ABS housing (without the steel housing involved).Accessories: For $61, this set of IEMs has an impressive array of accessories. There are 3 sets of Havi silicone eartips (S/M/L), 1 set of Gel Foamie eartips, 3 sets of Black Silicone eartips (S/M/L) and 3 sets of White Silicone eartips (S/M/L). Not only that, there’s also a Custom Havi Glass Cleaning cloth (for the glass face plates on the IEMs) and a Hard Shell Clam Carrying Case that says Havi. The only downside is the missing shirt clip.Fit: Now this is the tricky part. Even though I have small ears, it all comes down to the eartips. I’m using Short Double Flange eartips. These are very useful because I can fit Havi B3P1 properly and I can wear them for at least a couple of hours before a feel a tinge of pain at my outer ear lobes. I tried tugging them and they really can’t slip out of my ears, even when I walk from and to work.Isolation: These earphones block out moderate noise quite well, but when I used it while I was on the E Train, I needed to crank the volume a bit more. I used Short Double Flange eartips and it out quite well. Larger bore eartips will block more sound, but it may not work out so well for those with small ear canals. Before I go on to the Sound Quality, I need to tell you that I will try to decipher the sound signature to the best of my ability. Also, I burn these in for about 30 hours and I used 5 FLAC tracks.Setup: Xuelin IHIFI 770C/CC BH2 Headphone Amp/Yongsheng Silver and Copper Interconnect Cable.Amping: This only needs amping with weak sources. Luckily my Xuelin IHIFI 770C was plenty powerful for my B3P1. It does drain the battery on my 770C slightly faster than what the M-DUO would do. Regardless of my 770C being very powerful, I still used my BH2 enhance the clarity.Sound Quality: Even though I was super impressed with the sound quality, I really need to explain the quality and quantity of the bass.Bass: With my very neutral 770C and my and colorful, yet somewhat neutral BH2. I was reminded how great bass quality was rendered. It was nothing short of amazing. The Havi B3P1 demonstrates very fast and visceral bass, but it’s definitely not at bass head levels. The bass has pretty good depth and pretty decent rumble. I listened to Claiomh Solais by ETIA (FLAC lossless). And the pace is amazing with the bass. The bass just doesn’t get it the way. I can even hear the silky smooth midrange clearly, but I’ll get to that because that’s one of the best parts of the B3P1.Midrange: This is where it gets pretty insane. The fact that the bass never EVER bleeds into the lower or upper midrange just makes the clarity of the vocals so smooth and tame. The micro detailing is fascinating. I can hear every single subtle noise at the soundstage. From the gentlest of plucking of strings to the pitter patter of the Wooden Bass. These nuances are heard very well from Greensleeves by Vince Guaraldi, Trio (FLAC lossless) and Christmastime by Vince Guaraldi, Trio (FLAC lossless).Treble: Despite the high analytical performance of the B3P1, there isn’t really any sibilance to speak of. The treble is very smooth, yet very sparkly. There’s really no sibilance to speak of, even on the brightest and most open of soundtracks. There are two soundtracks that I have that demonstrate that well (Icicle by EXCALIpUR and Queen of the Red by ETIA) (FLAC). Those two soundtracks now have amazing intros. On my M-DUO, listening to their intros would sound closed and harsh, but now it’s smooth, dynamic and very open.Soundstage/Imaging: This is where is gets crazy. What’s so amazing is that my soundtracks from even the most common bitrate (128 kbps) can sound almost as open and dynamic as any high resolution soundtrack I listen to (Snow by DJ Momotaro). The imaging is not only very vivid, but it can also manage to make all instruments stay separate on even moderately mastered tracks. Basically, well recorded track with a low bitrate will do as fine as well recorded tracks with at least a modest bitrate for imaging. The soundstage is typically 20% smaller than my Ultrasone HFI-450 headphones. That’s unreal.Dynamics: It’s really great. The B3P1 can keep up with the fastest soundtracks I can throw at it and the speed of extreme shifting of instruments doesn’t get sluggish at all. Black Magic by Savant (MP3 320kbps) is the most dynamic song in my collection and it can keep up with that as if it can read the soundtrack’s movements.Conclusion: For the price tag of $61, I must say that these earphones will have quite the mileage. It has great build quality, an incredibly amount of accessories and the sound signature is outstanding. These IEMs can run circles around my M-DUO and can give quite a scare towards my HFI-450, but it seems that when it comes to amping, that may be the only true downside. Besides all of that, it has solid and super quick bass impact. The midrange is very detailed and clear. It’s like take a breath of fresh air. Then there’s the energetic and smooth treble. It never gets out of hand and reminds you that you don’t need to sacrifice energetic treble for piercing sibilance. If you are into Rock, Jazz, Pop, Electronica and Metal, then these will really open your ears. These IEMs are mainly for those that enjoy a lot of vocal or instrumental music. Remember, bass heads will not enjoy these because the bass depth and impact will not be enough. Trust me, I was a bass head too and these will not quench your thirst.
S**Z
Don't buy these unless you've worn them and know that you like them.
Got these to replace a set of Klipsch S4i Ruggeds that finally lost their will to continue.Though I don't have them here to compare side-by-side - these Havis were not an adequate replacement. The odd shape made it difficult for me to get a good fit. The square shape just doesn't work with my ears. I tried a few of the included tips and the only ones that were close to being decent were the foam ones but even with those the sound was disappointing and the fit was uncomfortable. (Either one of those problems is a deal-breaker for me).I used to have a pair of Etymotic ER-4Ps a few years back and was always happy with those (until I lost them). After hearing what the Havi's have to offer I'm returning them and have just ordered the Etymotic ER4XRs. That's a significantly larger investment but I need a pair of IEMs that can keep up with me, and give me accurate, clear, full sound without being uncomfortable. Sometimes you can get a good deal on a cheaper product.....but this is not one of those times.
J**E
The Hype is Not Real
UghSo disappointed.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I decided to purchase this pair after Head Fi gave this raving reviews. They haven't steered me wrong before so I went ahead with this purchase.I've listened to it for about two days and I can say that these headphones are not for the average folk looking for a "plug n go". I say this because I've been using these on my computer on my phone and through a cheap amp a friend lent me. And from what I've heard and others have heard, they don't sound nearly as good as they should and fall short of their $60 price range. I would give this a lower rank but I'm giving this headphones the benefit of the doubt that I'm just not powering it correctly.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~REVIEW TIMELOOKS-Average/Below AverageThese look pretty cool in pictures and other people online have said that they look more expensive for their price. But, I disagree.After seeing these in my own hand, I can say that the glass cover on the back was probably a good idea on the drawing board BUT they are fingerprint magnets. This is a bigger deal than I thought. Just pressing your finger against the glass leaves an ugly mark on them which makes them look pretty awful. There is an included wipe but who wipes their earphones?While I think the design is okay, I've had friends tell me that it looks cheap. While I disagree, I can agree that these do not look LUXURIOUS. They just look average.FIT-AverageThese earphones are designed to be worn over ear (cable goes over your ear). After fiddling around with them, I can say that the fit is not that great. They are indeed a bit bulky and while the smoothed out interior helps fit into your ear, I can definitely feel them shoved against my ear. They are big and you can tell. If you have small ears, I would highly recommend against getting these. The nozzle is okay and fits alright.ACCESSORIES-Above AverageWow these have good accessories.3 sets of oval earbuds (small, medium, large) with the medium pictured in the product review.3 sets of wide bore double flange (like two flat earbuds stacked on top of each other)3 sets of wide bore "tube" buds (long and wide)1 set soft foam buds (used to have maximum noise isolation. Are not Complys)1 Hard case1 Soft Bag1 HandkerchiefNote: My small oval earbuds was broken :PGood stuff here. After testing every single earbud out with multiple sound samples, I ended up just using the medium oval buds. Also the first ones I also used...LolTHE SOUND-Below AverageI really wanted to like these. I really did. But these either are too picky or they just aren't as good as I thought there were.THE GOODThese are really clear. Like wow clear. I could hear each instrument clearly and identify it. A problem that some earphones have is that they muddle sounds together so if a violin and a piano are playing, it sounds like a viopiano. These separate the sounds so if you try to focus on the violin, you can hear it clearly and vice versa.Another thing that was hyped on these was the soundstage and I can say that these have pretty darn good soundstage. I wasn't wowed by them because I just came from listening to a full size pair of headphones to these. These have soundstage on par with my full size headphones. Amazing. I could feel the sounds coming from all directions and at times, I would forget that I had a pair of IEMS instead of just listening to a pair of speakers.But that's all I could find about the good...THE BADExtremely picky on your setup. Do not use these without getting an AMP/DAC or a high end DAP. Without these, the experience is relatable to someone shoving rough wooden toothpicks into your ear. God it HURTS at times. Yes, these earphones HURT. The sound is SO SIBILANT. RIDICULOUS. The highs are as bright as the SUN.To compound the issue, the earphones also sound really thin. Makes the piercing sound even more piercing. For electronic songs and other songs with more treble, the earphones just cannot handle them and hurts your ears.I personally think the bass is alright. There is a slight roll off but you still get the thump. Sub bass is weak though. But expecting a pair of IEMs to produce amazing sub bass is kind of unfair. A friend who listens to rock a lot did say that these "have no bass at all".So for the sound, sometimes it really shines on some songs but on most songs they just sound painful.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SUMMARYThese earphones are so split its funny. The imaging and soundstage is SUPERB. Just amazing. They make you forget that they are a pair of IEMs and you can almost fool yourself into thinking you're wearing a pair of more expensive headphones...Until the treble comes around. Sibilance is plenty and the highs just hurt your ears.Design is ehh.Lots of nice accessories though!I'm going to return these headphones in the end. I'd advice against getting these if you don't know what an amp or DAC is. BUT if you want to experience the ACTUAL sound of these, then I'd check out other reviews. Apparently, with the right amp/DAC/DAP these are simply world class. Until then, these are just a pair of headphones that are too demanding.
H**R
These are great earphones for the price
These are great earphones for the price. I would say they rival my Westone W3 except in the bass region. They are light on bass but it's not horrible just less than I am used to compared to other IEM's I have and have heard. They are not less bassy than the RE-600 though which good! They are very neutral and need time to settle down the treble. Great reference IEM.Update: After sitting in a headphone case not used, the right side shell is cracked next to the screw housing!? WOW. Never buying Havi again. Hopefully can return them. After critical listening the Ostry KC60A is way better and better built.Update: Returned to Amazon for refund.
B**E
Hard to explain but GOOD
Weirdest sonic state which creates elusively huge sound stage. Very rare yet pleasant to listen to. Hard to explain thus made my purchase and I do J not regret the purchase. Still, hardline earbuds produce much better sound than Bluetooth enabled earbuds.
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