[Mightygrey]

First impressions of the EH3 NC have been posted up on Headfonia.

 

[misteral201103]

First impressions of the EH3 NC have been posted up on Headfonia.

Saw this yesterday (looking everywhere, every day for info on these before pulling the trigger) and was a little put off by the claim that they are tuned for a consumer-friendly signature.
@droid23 did not describe them this way and looking at their kit list on here, I'm pretty sure they would have picked up on this.

I don't know. I would like a pair of ANC cans for the yearly flights, and the price on this really is a steal. I'm ok if the noise cancelling is not quite as good as Sony or Bose but I definitely want a signature that is more detailed/more reference. Absolutely kicking myself for not spotting these at CanJam Shanghai (also a tiny bit peeved that the Fiio guy who was so keen to show me the M11 Pro didn't say anything about them...but then I didn't ask about any other new stuff, so....)

 

[Mightygrey]

'Consumer-friendly' isn't intended to be criticism, I just think it's a more helpful description than 'fun' - the EH3's are tuned in such a way that's likely to appeal to a broader audience than a flat 'reference' signature. I'll be giving them a good 2 x week+ of critical/commute listening before writing-up full impressions.

 

[misteral201103]

'Consumer-friendly' isn't intended to be criticism, I just think it's a more helpful description than 'fun' - the EH3's are tuned in such a way that's likely to appeal to a broader audience than a flat 'reference' signature. I'll be giving them a good 2 x week+ of critical/commute listening before writing-up full impressions.

Yeah, I didn't think it was written as a criticism (sorry, there's no way I can rewrite that and it doesn't sound like I'm being snippy! I promise I'm not being snippy ) - I guess I wanted to read something like "a signature that will appeal to casual users and audiophiles alike" or along those lines. And in fact, I think I have read that from someone that listened to them. If Sony's are south and reference is north, are they noticeably north of Sony (yet obviously south of reference) - that's basically what I want to know! I've read that the bass is less muddied, and that's good.

I could easily go ahead and just grab them, I'm not going to be buying anything other than the Fiios for this purpose, I don't want to spend more than that on something I will use twice a year. And the Sonys sound ok for Bluetooth (once you EQ the higher frequencies up a bit) but I'm so used to a more reference signature now that the Sonys really suffer by comparison. So I guess I just don't want to spend the money and then be equally displeased with the Fiios as I would be with the Sonys. Jesus, sorry, I'm wittering on!

 

[Mightygrey]

Yeah, I didn't think it was written as a criticism (sorry, there's no way I can rewrite that and it doesn't sound like I'm being snippy! I promise I'm not being snippy ) - I guess I wanted to read something like "a signature that will appeal to casual users and audiophiles alike" or along those lines. And in fact, I think I have read that from someone that listened to them. If Sony's are south and reference is north, are they noticeably north of Sony (yet obviously south of reference) - that's basically what I want to know! I've read that the bass is less muddied, and that's good.

I could easily go ahead and just grab them, I'm not going to be buying anything other than the Fiios for this purpose, I don't want to spend more than that on something I will use twice a year. And the Sonys sound ok for Bluetooth (once you EQ the higher frequencies up a bit) but I'm so used to a more reference signature now that the Sonys really suffer by comparison. So I guess I just don't want to spend the money and then be equally displeased with the Fiios as I would be with the Sonys. Jesus, sorry, I'm wittering on!

I'm getting a hold of the Sony in the next few days to do some side-by-side comparisons for my full review, I'll let you know my thoughts.

 

[misteral201103]

I'm getting a hold of the Sony in the next few days to do some side-by-side comparisons for my full review, I'll let you know my thoughts.

Thanks so much, perfect!!

 

[dbdynsty25]

Well I received my replacement EH3s and my originals were definitely defective. The new ones perform as I expect them to when it comes to turning the NC on. That said, they still sound terrible w/ the NC activated - so if I keep these I’ll be only using them with it off or wired w/ my Dragonfly Cobalt. They sound very good in both situations so I like their versatility.

Maybe a firmware update can take care of the muddy and muffled sound when NC is turned on. I guess they will be okay for flights and watching moves and whatnot w/ the NC on, but I won’t be listening to music w/ that feature turned on.

 

[droid23]

@misteral201103 Indeed someone could say that the EH3 NC are tuned to a consumer friendly sound signature, but this statement says is actually what? Aren't we all consumers? This doesn't describe anything in my opinion. Maybe we are spoiled with the marketing bla bla of SONY, BEATS, and BOSE and their reviewers also picking up on that moniker "consumer friendly sound"... and we set the mark on these sound signatures. I claim: Generally speaking, these aforementioned headphones do sound generally underwhelming for most of us here and "our" trained ears.

Not so the EH3 NC. When the ANC is off, their sound signature is real fun and engaging, and at the same time, precise enough to satisfy my audiophile side of life. Are they analytical? Certainly not, but don't forget, we are still talking about wireless headphones and for this class, I guess we should apply other rules for reviewing sound quality. I said it before, the EH3 NC are like a swiss army knife, they can do different music genres really well. When there is bass in the mastering, then they will represent it in an engaging way, when there is e.g. just vocals or classic music, then they do not lack in mid and high frequencies as well and sound quite precise. Overall they are a bit more leaning towards a warmer sound signature which is good and highly likely intended by FiiO, since they are made mostly for commuting and there you are better off with a sound producing less listening fatigue.

ANC on does unfortunately mess with this nice sound signature, but not in a way that I'd say that they become bad. It's just the sound stage which gets smaller and the bass (mid, and sub bass) gets less precise. Let's see if a future firmware update can change that!?

 

[misteral201103]

@misteral201103 Indeed someone could say that the EH3 NC are tuned to a consumer friendly sound signature, but this statement says is actually what? Aren't we all consumers? This doesn't describe anything in my opinion. Maybe we are spoiled with the marketing bla bla of SONY, BEATS, and BOSE and their reviewers also picking up on that moniker "consumer friendly sound"... and we set the mark on these sound signatures. I claim: Generally speaking, these aforementioned headphones do sound generally underwhelming for most of us here and "our" trained ears.

Not so the EH3 NC. When the ANC is off, their sound signature is real fun and engaging, and at the same time, precise enough to satisfy my audiophile side of life. Are they analytical? Certainly not, but don't forget, we are still talking about wireless headphones and for this class, I guess we should apply other rules for reviewing sound quality. I said it before, the EH3 NC are like a swiss army knife, they can do different music genres really well. When there is bass in the mastering, then they will represent it in an engaging way, when there is e.g. just vocals or classic music, then they do not lack in mid and high frequencies as well and sound quite precise. Overall they are a bit more leaning towards a warmer sound signature which is good and highly likely intended by FiiO, since they are made mostly for commuting and there you are better off with a sound producing less listening fatigue.

ANC on does unfortunately mess with this nice sound signature, but not in a way that I'd say that they become bad. It's just the sound stage which gets smaller and the bass (mid, and sub bass) gets less precise. Let's see if a future firmware update can change that!?

Thanks so much @droid23 - that was what I expected from a Fiio product and what I was hoping to read! You and I clearly also totally on the same page regarding wireless cans - these will be only my second pair, after the Audeze Mobius (which I did not intend to use wirelessly but which sound wonderful from my LG V30 with its enhanced LDAC mode. Sadly, wireless connected to anything else sounds....wireless!). I think you've sold me on them. Really appreciate your feedback in this thread. Sad about the drop in quality with ANC - as you say, hopefully @FiiO can tweak this with a firmware update. They're certainly very good in this area, as my X5III and M11 can attest!

 

[misteral201103]

Well I received my replacement EH3s and my originals were definitely defective. The new ones perform as I expect them to when it comes to turning the NC on. That said, they still sound terrible w/ the NC activated - so if I keep these I’ll be only using them with it off or wired w/ my Dragonfly Cobalt. They sound very good in both situations so I like their versatility.

Maybe a firmware update can take care of the muddy and muffled sound when NC is turned on. I guess they will be okay for flights and watching moves and whatnot w/ the NC on, but I won’t be listening to music w/ that feature turned on.

Can I check - do you mean that wired and ANC on gives a more pleasing result than BT+ANC? Or did I misunderstand?

 

[squyzz]

I'm wondering how they are comfortwise, do they offer enough space for the ears (i hate when my ears are touching the drivers).
Also, can they be driven throught USB ?

Thx

 

[dbdynsty25]

Can I check - do you mean that wired and ANC on gives a more pleasing result than BT+ANC? Or did I misunderstand?

When NC is on, they sound terrible. It muffles the sound and muddies it up badly. Both wired and wireless. I've decided mine are going back. Just so bad w/ the NC on, but so good with it off. Really a conundrum for prospective buyers.

 

[misteral201103]

When NC is on, they sound terrible. It muffles the sound and muddies it up badly. Both wired and wireless. I've decided mine are going back. Just so bad w/ the NC on, but so good with it off. Really a conundrum for prospective buyers.

Oh man, that's not good. Just ordered. I'll see for myself. Maybe if worst comes to worst I can wear them over IEMs on the flight!!

 

[domino584]

Oh man, that's not good. Just ordered. I'll see for myself. Maybe if worst comes to worst I can wear them over IEMs on the flight!!

I've heard they isolate sound fairly well without ANC anyways. There wasn't much difference between ANC on and off apparently.

 

[Lanmarcin]

I willl return mine. I can't stand hiss that produce right earcup + I tried remove earppads and i saw that driver on left side looks deformed. I think there is little problem with qc. ANC on is bad, it change sound too much. Passive isolation is not bad but my Beyerdynamic COP and DT770 isolate better.