GEVO G3

I recently began a quest to find the best IEM under $30. I started with the buying guide on r/headphones and haven't looked back. Hellen from DTFDTW was kind enough to reach out to me to offer me their “Wired Noise Cancelling Sport Earphones” - a rebranded version of the GEVO G3 IEM. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.


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At the time of posting, DTFDTW lists the GV3 for $17.99 on Amazon. Dtech-US also has them for $8.99.

Packaging and Accessories:

The packaging DTFDTW provided was extensive for a sub-$20 IEM, which I greatly appreciate. The GV3s came in a sleek-looking box that had a clear plastic front (so you could see them) and the IEM specifications on the back.



Inside the box, the GV3s rested in soft foam padding, under which a paper cutout peeled back to reveal the rest of the accessories.



The GV3s came with three sets of clear silicone eartips (small, medium, and large), a medium set of black silicone eartips, and a set of soft silicone earhooks as well as a shirt clip. However, the part that stood out to me was the carrying bag. The bag is made of a soft black fabric with GEVO branding in the bottom right and does not have drawstrings - instead, the top is made of two slap-bracelets (yes, like the kid’s toy) that stay in place and secure the GV3 and its accessories well.



Build:

The GV3s are built like a workout IEM with a nice black-and-red color scheme. The cord is made from strong rubber and can stretch and bend easily. The L-shaped 3.5mm jack and Y-split both have excellent strain relief and seem like they can withstand lots of wear and tear. There is also a chin strap right above the Y-split; however, it can only go up to the microphone and can’t actually secure under your chin.



The button control is very easy to use and clicks easily and the microphone is pretty clear. However, the button and microphone are placed so that they are right at the level of your mouth if you wear the GV3s down; if you wear them over-ear like I prefer then the mic is too high, which is slightly annoying.



The metal earpieces are round and pretty large. They say GEVO on the back, surrounded by a ring of red (keeping the color scheme) and clearly say which ear is which on the side. The nozzle is angled, which I like, and is thin enough to support a wide variety of tips that I have.



Fit/Isolation:

These IEMs are not very comfortable. The large earpieces do not fit well in my ears - the edge hits my ear very noticeably when I wear these down and still rubs against my ear but a bit less when I wear them over-ear. However, they fit into my ears very well and provide pretty good isolation. Even so, I can only wear them for about 30 minutes at a time at most, which kills their use as workout IEMs. Additionally, the tips sometimes stay in my ears when I take the IEMs out.

Sound:

Everything about the GV3s made me think they would be a workout IEM. However, they don’t sound like they would be good in the gym at all. They are mid-focused rather than bass-heavy and the lack of bass makes many songs (especially directional ones) sound uneven.

Bass: I was excited by the prospect of a booming bass when I put these in my ears. However, there is absolutely no sub-bass (the worst of any IEM I own at this time), reducing bass to being heard rather than heard and felt. This completely neuters songs like Sail and Gasoline, making them a weird experience for listening since one ear has the highs/mids and the other has very weak bass. The remaining bass is clear but just not enough, especially for a borderline basshead like me.

Mids: Mids are surprisingly strong and clear. Especially on a cappella arrangements and songs like Hallelujah where mids are the stars of the show, the GV3s shone. Male vocals especially stand out as strong, no matter the song. However, the mids often overpower the weak bass as well as whatever treble is present in a song.

Treble: The treble is better when it’s in the background and not featured heavily. Female vocals and piano intros sound muffled and blanketed, which stands in pretty sharp contrast to mids and bass. However, when the treble is one of multiple parts of a song rather than the focus, it is harder to hear its shortcomings. Still not great, but not as bad as songs like Someone Like You.

Soundstage: The soundstage of the GV3s confused me at first. It is decently wide but very flat with almost no depth and it is very easy to tell that music is coming through the IEMs rather than from a source in front of or around you. The soundstage makes the GV3s better for pop and music that highlights vocals over background than music with lots of intertwining parts like a cappella or classical music (to use an extreme).

Comparisons:

To be completely honest, I can’t think of any other IEMs to compare this to. Almost any comparison I make would focus on the GV3’s lack of bass and how the other IEM is better overall because of that. If people want I can try to make those comparisons but I don’t think it’s fair to repeat the same thing two or three times for different IEMs that I would recommend over this one.

Final Thoughts:

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, but actually isn’t a duck, it's the GEVO G3. The build, fit, and item description suggest this IEM is made for working out and exercising. However, it has no sub-bass to speak of and has probably the weakest bass of any IEM I’ve ever listened to, which neuters its usefulness for bass-heavy workout music. It has strong mids but the weak bass and muffled treble make this better suited for casual listening than for listening in the gym.