Is it just me that has found the H3 jack connector gold plating has worn off in a surprisingly short time? I use mine maybe 2-3 times a week plugged into an extension on my desktop computer (Jack never moves) and I've almost lost the plating on the middle ring.

XBA-2 didn't get very good reviews as far as I remember, neither has the XBA-H2 (from afar) - I suspect they're too much of a compromise for either end.

Absolutely nothing harsh about my H3's, they're buttery.

Not sure if it's just ear burn-in or some other issue but I feel a little like the H3 has, over the last 2 weeks listening, dropped the volume of the low end frequencies. Seems more smooth now and a little less "impacty". Could just bbe that I've got used to it, but I had a couple of days not...

Tried the tape mod; it certainly dips the low end response and tightens it up a little, pretty much exactly what you would expect based on the physics of it, but personally I don't like it. Tried the h3 on my Sony mp3 player and it doesn't sound as good, lows and mids get muddy distortions...

Strikes me that people are reviewing TOTL earphones as TOTL IEMs? I don't believe these are sold as professional grade flat response monitors? Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Fwiw the xba30s sounded worse on my Sony mp3 player than my smartphone. It was somewhat "mushy". Not tried the h3 yet. Also I'm amused to see that apparently people who enjoy warmer sound profiles are apparently "wrong" :) funny. Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I can physically hear and feel down to 20hz on the mobile phone output at 1/3 volume. Xba30 stopped around 35hz at 50% vol. Not sure what the limits of the output is. Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I've had a couple of hours with the H3 too now, and while I'll hold off on getting too detailed until I've had more time with them...   The fit is very comfy - I was expecting something of a nightmare. In reality I oddly feel like I can't even feel them - I think it's due to the over-ear wires...

Just got word my h3s are in post. I will review when I've had them a while.

F11?

Just bought some xba-1 while waiting for my h3s, since I returned my xba-30s. Seem nice enough for £22 uk. Lacking low end and struggles with poorly encoded music but on high quality files it's fine except for lacking low-to-mid punch without eq. Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Fortunately in the UK your returns are handled by the retailer and all items have a basic 12 month coverage so if it goes wrong you just send them back. Tbh on a 300 quid set of iems I'd like longer but that's life. I have tried a fair few lower priced offerings from other companies but found...

H2 got poor reviews from the start iirc, there was never a chance. Most of the reviews seem positive to my mind. I loved my xba30s but they have no bass to speak of. I'd rather have an item I can eq the low end down if needed than one that just can't produce it. I'm worried about Sony quality...

Let's be honest, the only way this will ever be answered specifically and correctly is with a full analysis on a test head. Everyone has differing ear fits and hearing frequency response (I'm very bass sensitive and can hear low freq noise when others can't) so personal opinions only go so far...

Bah all of this is making me worry that id prefer the 7550! Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I'm not too worried about having ordered the H3, yet, as I have been told I won't even have them dispatched until Nov 15th! Someone get a proper scientific analysis done please :)

H3 is at 222 in amazon preorder

Not really surprising that 3BAs work better than 1 and a DD in certain ways. Remember the xba3 was effectively the flagship (with the 4 being apparently a low level booster rather than a better version. Compare h1 to xba 1 if you want fair comparison?

The H3 release date is later than H1 according to Sony.

Pre ordered the h3. Can't be too bad and there's only one way to tell! Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I've just had to return a set of XBA-30s, which I loved except for the slight lack of both low and high end. I'm seriously tempted by the H3s as I tend to ramp up the outsides of the EQ on almost all music systems I have to get more from those regions. Seems like the H3 might be the way forward...