HifiHear F30 In ear

Hello everyone,
in this review i'm gonna take a quick look on the HifiHear F30, a new product from this new-sounding brand that was sent me free of charge.

Even if this was provided as a free test sample, my opinion is based on my experience with the product and it's not influenced by the fact i got these for free.



The IEMs has been tested with:
- S7 Edge with Neutron Player and Neutralizer
- Benjie S5 (AGPTEK m20)
- Presonus AudioBox iONE
Tracks were for the most part 320Kbps mp3 and WAV, and a few of them were FLAC ones.

PACKAGING
The package is the one in the photo. What's inside?
- 2 packets of tips: S,M,L sizes. Wide bore tips in one packet, spinfit clones in the other one
- 1.2m lenght MMCX cable
- zipped case (maybe a bit tiny for these IEMs) without any logo printed on
- IEMs

CABLE
Sincerely, i wasn't expecting so much quality speaking about the cable, considering that the majority of brands just put bad sticky cables with the IEMs.
The cable is a twisted silver plated cable, with a rubber layer. Touching it is a pleasure, it is lightweight and it is really hard to tangle the cable.
The upper part of the cable has a pre-made hook that is way better than the memory foam hook provided with the classic cheap sticky cables in my opinion.
On the other side of the cable we have a gold plated 90° angled gold plated 3.5mm connector: again, imho, a better choice instead a straight one.



CONSTRUCTION AND BUILD QUALITY
The shell is transparent with colored faceplate (Blue, Red, Black, you can choose while buying) that has the HifiHear logo printed on.
Everything seems ok and doesn't feel cheap in the hand as this is very well built as a plastic shell.
We find L and R indications on the shell and the MMCX connectors are gold plated: the cable has to be connected like this --> after the cable splits you have two cables, one for the left and one for the right. The one with the blue stripe goes in the left IEM while the one with the red stripe has to be put into the right IEM.
There are 1 DD and 2 Bellsing BA (can be seen through the shell that they have the classic "b" painted on). As they are not in the nozzle and that the shell is not metallic, i expected less brilliance than IEMs like the ZS6, but we're gonna speak about it in a few words.
There's the usual grill at the top of the nozzle, and even a nozzle lip in order to secure the tips.



COMFORT
IEMs shape is the one of the BGVP DS1 (which i don't own but i'm really curious to hear as the driver configuration is the same), similar to the KZ ZST one.
The IEMs are not huge but not for who has very small ears, but that's just my opinion as this is a very personal thing: every ear is different!
Anyway i find them comfortable and lightweight and they stay in my ear pretty well.
Isolation by external noises without music playing is ok, not excellent but not bad.
People around you won't notice a lot about what you're listening as isolation In-->Out is good.




SOUND
Now the critical factor that decides if something has to be tried or not: how do they sound?
I listen mainly EDM subgenres, Dupstep, Future Bass, Euphoric Hardstyle, Bass House, Midtempo and downtempo, darkwave, drum'n bass, but i even listen to many vocal tracks, moreover female ones.
I always search for IEMs that have a little bit of emphasis in the lower region, and can sacrifice mids with some recession if they still sound clear and natural. I love vivid and sparkling highs if they're not at a headache level. Soundstage has to be at least average with a bit of air. V-shape signature is my favorite.

STOCK STATUS --> plug'n play
Sub bass: it is there, the extension is not amazing but precise, i usually prefer a more emphasized sub-bass.
In some tracks i miss some body, moreover when some 30hz-40hz 808 comes on the way and the mid-bass is forward leaving the sub-bass "body" back.
Mid bass: we have a little lift here, at first listen i felt everything was congested. Kickdrums play well and controlled, with fast and well managed transients. This kind of lift adds warmth to the sound.
Mids: recessed but i expected way more recession. The lift in the mid-bass puts male voices in the front leaving some synths in the back and making female voices a bit veiled by a strange warm feeling that i usually don't like so much.
Highs/Treble: enough airy but not enough vivid. Upper treble is not well extended in my opinion, but everything sounds natural and precise keeping a good level of detail (not great anyway, i would have preferred more brilliance here). Probably a metal shell could improve this.
Soundstage: the lift on the mid-bass and the "early" roll-off in the upper region makes me feel a little reduction in the soundstage. Sound is a bit more intimate and positioning is not well presented around, i would say many instruments sound like if they're near the ears. Height and width are on par with some competitors, i would say average. Depth is a bit disappointing, maybe a bit below average.

I wasn't blown away by my first listening session so i decided playing with the EQ could have been a good idea.
I got another surprise: the drivers react very well when equalizing. I wanted a more fun experience while my friend said he was ok with them as he listens Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5 mainly.
After some EQ:
Sub-bass gained more presence, coming out in a strong way that puts me in the rumble when needed. The lift in the mid-bass gets less noticeable, making the sound less warm and a bit more brilliant and airy.
Soundstage gained some space making the separation a bit more defined.

I have to say i was surprised by this, i even find a good preset on the DAP which is the Dynamic Bass Boost when i want some energy on the lower region (this anyway increases warmth but sometimes is ok).

If we try to change the output, the IEMs play in a different way: for example they sounded congested when plugged in the smartphone while they sounded vivid and refined when connected to my Presonus AudioBox iONE.

SUMMARY
Even with many strong competitors in the same price bracket, HifiHear distinguished his F30 with a good package overall: a good cable, two sets of tips, a coherent and linear sounding IEM that i personally recommend moreover to people who like to play with the EQ.
It's lightweight, comfortable, sounds good with some tip rolling and can be great applying an EQ (they're very capable just like many people say about the ZS10 that i still haven't tried enough).
What can i say is that it is really hard to push this product against the competitors when they have many awesome reviews (es. BQEYZ, KZ flagships at this price tag) and hype around.
Price/quality ratio is not outstanding if we speak about the IEMs themselves, as there are many technically superior IEMs at a lower price, but this is ok as HifiHear provides a good package with a good cable that is really hard to find in this category.
Overall, a good start for this brand that seems enough prepared to compete with bigger brands.
Can't wait to listen to their next products, waiting something that can replace my obsession with my beloved ZS6, which were returned to amazon but still my favourite IEM.

I purchased the F30 through Amazon, but was reimbursed by the Vendor for doing so via paypal. Thoughts posted are my own and no preview or requests for alteration was provided to or by the vendor.

Unboxing / Packaging:

The F30 comes in an unassuming black cardboard box with the HifiHear name and logo emblazoned in gold on the front. Inside the box is a small square soft case with a foam surround. All the accessories are hiding within the small case (a cramped fit). There are 6 sets of tips included, 3 black silicone in S,M,L and 3 gray and red spinfit like tips that were all roughly the same size in my kit. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be different sizes or if they are simply provided as an option to tune signature. Product literature did little to clear that up as I was able to find no reference to the tips. Underneath the case is a card thanking you for your purchase and requesting that you rate the company on Amazon’s review system.



Build/Fit:

The earpieces themselves are a clear shell with a choice of black, red, or blue faceplates. The Nozzles and mmcx connectors appear to be gold plated and are well fitted as no gaps or glue can be seen at the junctions. Nozzles have a fine screen at the face and a pronounced lip to hold tips firmly in place. L/R designations are clearly marked on the inside of the shell just below the connector. Earpieces are mid sized and similar in size and shape to the Kz Zst.





Internals:

I have seen the F30 listed as both 2 DD + 1BA and 2BA+1DD. Once you have one in-hand to look at, it is clearly a single 10mm dynamic driver that handles the bass duties and two small bellsing BA drivers that handle the upper frequencies. As can be seen in the photo below, the two BA drivers are mounted immediately behind the nozzle next to the Dynamic driver. A single sound tube can be seen if looking down at the nozzle from above. The overall impedance is listed as 22Ω with a sensitivity of 116dB. As a result, these do not benefit from an external amp and actually pick up a notable hiss when run at high gain on my Opus#1s. They are very easy to drive and will pair well with most low powered sources like phones and tablets.



Cable:

The cable starts with a 90° 3.5mm TRS jack with a brushed aluminum housing and gold plated Jack. As the cable exits the jack, strain relief is good and the cable itself has a very pliable rubber like casing without being tacky or tangle prone.. The cable itself is a twisted pair braid of silver plated copper up to the splitter which is brushed aluminum as well. A chin slider is mated to the top of the splitter and the cables exiting the splitter are single strands of the same materials used below. The upper end of the cable terminates with a 3 inch pre-formed earhook followed by a brushed aluminum mmcx jack with blue and red rings to identify L/R. Overall the cable is well made and finding a silver plated copper cable in a <$50 iem package is somewhat uncommon.





Sound:

All sound impressions were done using the supplied large tips. As a side note, I did have to struggle a little to get a proper seal even when using the largest of the supplied tips and found that Foams or Auvio wide bores did seal a bit more easily than the provided tips.

Bass:

The F30 has limited sub-bass reach with roll-off beginning at around the 50Hz mark and being very pronounced by 40Hz. Mid-bass by comparison is pushed forward giving the f30 a small amount of bleed into the mids and a bit of added warmth. The mid-bass while pushed is not bloated and speed is good. Overall bass is well controlled and texture is good. Bassheads won’t be satisfied with the F30 but most looking for controlled bass will be happy to see a well rendered bass line that is only mildly pushed forward.

Mids:

With the V tuning we’d expect mids to take a backseat and they do but not by as much as one might expect. The mid-bass is elevated and falls as it enters the lower mids leaving the lower mids somewhat forward while the true mids and upper mids are behind the rest of the signature. A bit of Eq work and the mids are back to near balanced as the f30 does react well to EQ unlike some of its direct competitors that struggle with mids regardless of Eq.

Treble:

The lower treble climbs back forward of the mids and reaches a higher level than the mid-bass at about the 5kHz mark. Presence is good and vocals feel intimate like front row seat at the concert. Treble falls back a bit above about 7kHz but still retains some air and sparkle. Cymbals are well rendered for the most part by high-hat does have a bit of a metallic edge to it.

Soundstage / Imaging:

Soundstage is wider than deep with some height but no dimension is particularly large. The F30 gives a fairly intimate portrayal and is best used for individuals or small ensembles. It can feel a bit crowded with large orchestral pieces especially during particularly busy passages. Imaging is reasonably good but breaks down as tracks get busy. I found that I didn’t notice the congestion with Classic Rock or Pop but began to see the issue with larger ensemble pieces and full orchestra performances.



Comparisons:

With a large number of hybrid designs being introduced to the market in 2018, the F30 has plenty of competition to contend with. Build quality is good but the F30 is plastic and with the proliferation of metal shelled IEMs in the same price range the F30 will need to compete on sound quality and cable quality in order to win votes.

Luckily, I find the F30 to have a more pleasant signature than the Revonext QT3 as its treble is not as forward and harsh. Low end extension is slightly better on the QT3, but honestly close enough that in real world listening I don’t think the difference would be noticed.

The BQEYZ KB1 is another competitor to the F30 with a similar signature. The F30 has a bit better detail in the lower mids and the bass is a bit better layered and textured when compared to the KB1.

The ZsN shares a very similar shape with the f30 but a very different signature. Those looking for V will like the F30, those looking for balanced lows with a bit more treble emphasis will probably opt for the ZsN.



Thoughts / Conclusion:

The HifiHear F30 falls into the category of sub-$50 hybrids that have exploded in the last year. The configuration of 1 DD and 2 BA being probably the single most popular configuration in that category certainly puts the f30 in with a lot of company competing for the buyers dollars. The f30 does a lot well. It has a mild V signature that does not let bass get too far ahead and get bloated or treble get too far out front and get shouty or sibilant while still bringing enough energy to not feel congested or constricted when listening to most popular genres. For lovers of rock and pop, the f30 will do well. The faults of the F30 are some congestion with larger orchestral pieces, and a sub-bass that rolls off a bit higher up than some competitors in the class. I don’t see this being the in-ear for bass heads and it likely wont satisfy those looking for an in-ear for classical music. Overall the F30 is well made, sounds good, has a better cable than many at its price point, and offers the user a lot of for the price. I look forward to seeing what HifiHear comes out with next as this is a great early effort.

INTRO
So far I had not heard about the company HIFIHEAR and so I was curious about what awaits me here. From the configuration, you get a dynamic driver and two balanced armature drivers. The F30 has this in common with the HIFIWALKER A7, KZ ZSR, BGVP DS1, or HILL AUDIO S8. In addition, his price is around 40 €, where he is in the midfield compared to the above.

HANDLING
Externally, the F30 has strongly oriented itself to the BGVP DS1, bad tongues would claim it is exactly the same case In addition, it is noticeable that they also share the driver configuration. I can't judge if they have anything in common in terms of sound, but I can read more and more that the DS1 is more a bass-heavy in-ear. So are the F30s, but in a different way, but more about that right now.
Included is a really good silver-plated cable with MMCX connector, as well as some tips and a transport case.

Form and material can be compared e.g. with the KZ ZST. Quite solid, but also nothing earth-shattering. However, the wearing comfort is very good and positive.
The isolation is also convincing because the F30 radiates only minimally into the outside world and hardly lets anything in.


SOUND
The F30 is a relaxed representative of its kind with a warm, bright signature.

The bass is very smooth, controlled and with a good texture.
However, the emphasis here is very much on the mid-bass and the sub-bass is not really perceptible below 40 Hz. This is almost a KO criterion for hip-hop songs like "Feels Like Summer" by Vince Staples and fans of this genre won't be very happy with the F30. The same goes for Elektro. It's different for example with Rock, or Pop, like Jason Mraz - "Might As Well Dance". Here the drums sound crisp and the kick drum also kicks. In addition, you get clean bass lines and generally have a good resolution with everything buzzing around 80 Hz upwards.

The mids are very warm and slightly reduced. Since the bass is more in the middle region and pushes into the mids, the opposite is felt. One could almost say that the F30s are mid-heavy. With strong bass support, they sound a bit bloated and hollow. The voices seem slightly unnatural, especially for women, as there is too much warmth. Nevertheless, the mids are by no means mushy, or too overloaded, because the separation works quite well, even as far as the details are concerned.

The heights are bright, but there is a lack of liveliness and expansion. Yes, they do a very good job in their limited possibilities, appear airy and lie well in the room, but there is a lack of brilliance. From time to time unpleasant peaks appear, but this is a rare exception. Basically, they are very soft and unobtrusive.

You can't expect a particularly wide stage from the F30. Very average, there is better in the price segment, as well as in the depth!

UPDATE: With songs like "Junior High" by Baka Not Nice I got suspicious and took an equalizer to hand. Behold, there is sub-bass! You can also easily adjust the whole signature by increasing the sub-bass and simultaneously reducing the mid-bass. The mids look lighter, more detailed and much more natural. You can also tickle a lot out of the highs. However, I don't rate this, because it's important to me how the original in-ears sound.


OUTRO
For me, the F30 is too warm and mid-bass heavy. They are suitable for pop, jazz, and some rock, as well as classical music, but even there they can't score with naturalness. The F30 is by no means bad in-ears and for people who prefer a soft and relaxed sound with a good substance, these in-ears are certainly worth an ear. However, there is a lot of competition in this segment in terms of configuration and price.
With an equalizer at hand, the F30 offers a completely different side, as it reacts extremely well. Actually, you could make a new review once you've set it right. However, this requires some experience and is not always an option in everyday life. Therefore, this is not included in the rating.

Songs:
Feels Like Summer - Vince Staples
KWAYE - Straight Lines
From Cousteau's Point Of View - Florian Weber
Confitebor tibi Domine: I. - Jakub Józef Orlinski
Might As Well Dance - Jason Mraz
Junior High - Baka Not Nice
Better Boat - Kenny Chesney
Blinding My Vision - K. Roosevelt

BUY HERE:
AMAZON
ALIEXPRESS

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