Well, maybe not everyone finds the vsd3s superior just because you do. The only thing I found better on the VSD3S is bass impact the B3's are superior in every other way to me. If you've got channel imbalance you've got a faulty pair and should try to get them changed or a refund. Pretty pointless to try to make some kind of statement about them if they're not working properly.......
It's not a matter of opinion. The VSD3S simply outperforms the Havi, whether you prefer its sound signature or not. And no, I don't have a faulty pair. I've heard 4 pair to date, and either it's simply how the headphone sounds, or terrible quality control. I've inclined to believe the former. Not only that, but they sound identical to how a "correct" pair measures.
+1. I've listened to both and they trade punches on technical excellence. I think it comes down to sound sig preference between the 2. In my case, I liked both sound sigs, but I got the VSD3S first and had some connection troubles. I swapped them out with Penon for a set of the B3s and found no real reason to go through the hassle to doing it all over again. I've had these for several months now and don't have any problem with them. Probably the best things I've ever put into my ears
You must not have a lot of listening experience if the Havi are the best IEMs you've ever heard.
I had the VSD3S for 2 weeks and sold it.
I feel very genuinely sorry for you. They perform far better than a $50 IEM has any right to.
While I don't own the VSD3s (I have the VSD3), I find your experience with the Havi Pro 1 surprising. I actually did have some channel imbalance and am waiting for it to be exchanged by penon. My experience with the Havis have been completely opposite of yours (and this is coming from a major basshead). Are you sure you do not have a defective unit? Are you driving it well? Have you tried tip rolling?
The Havi's are weak in the subbass area but honestly I found them capable of handing almost anything I threw at them. While I recognize that well have different preferences, but the experiences shouldn't vary this much, right?
Also comparing the VSD3 to the Havis, neither one is better IMHO. For one thing they have wildly differing sound signatures. Some days I would prefer the Vsonic and others the Havi. But I feel the detail retrieval and soundstage was more noticeably better on the Havi but the VSD3 had rumbling bass that is also hard hitting and is more fun to listen to.
I always thought that I would be a basshead but the Havi has made a believer out of me and I find myself liking more balanced headphones now and am starting to appreciate analytical sound signatures as well. Crap it seems I have gone too deep down the rabbit hole
They're not defective, and my ear canals are not only too large for all but the largest tips, but I've never experienced meaningful sonic changes by changing tips. I'm not new to this, though, and I did try several different pair of B3's with several different tips, to no avail. I drive them from a number of sources, including my on-board laptop out, my phone, a Schiit Magni and an Asgard 2 and there was no improvement. Nor should they have been; they're plenty efficient.
In comparing the VSD3S and Havi directly:
- The VSonics have deeper, tighter, more impactful and full-bodied bass. The bass on the Havi is light on impact, doesn't extend deep, and was very loose and flabby.
- The midrange on the VSonics is much, much smoother with a fuller, more natural tone that is just a hair warm of neutral. The Havi, by comparison, were cold and shrill in the midrange, lacking organic body.
- The treble on the Havi is a mess. It doesn't create a clean image, it's considerably elevated relative to the bass and midrange, and while it extends well enough, it's so piercing that you can't appreciate it. The treble on the VSonics is a bit hard and can be sibilant, but it's more well-integrated within the spectrum and is far less offensive.
- The Havi have major distortion issues from bass-midrange. Thankfull, the treble performs better in this regard, but that's not enough to save it. It's most noticeable in the loose character of the bass, and a lack of transparency in the midrange. The VSonic's perform spectacularly in this regard, and aside for some ringing in the lower treble, are incredibly clean.
- The Havi have a fair amount of bad ringing. It's short-lived, thankfully, but it's rather harsh until they decay fully.
The Havi is definitely not analytical. The ER4 are analytical, the Havi try their hardest to not analyze any part of the music and just "shove it out the door" at you without even trying to figure it out.
Most likely you have a faulty pair, specially since you mention about channel imbalance as well. It might be worth it if you can replace.
In my opinion the VSD3S and the B3 PRO I are in the same league in terms of technical performance, just different in terms of sound signature. VSD3S has a fun oriented sound that works well with most things, specially modern music due to its generous bass presence and overall natural frequency response. On the other hand the B3 is treble oriented and has a boosted upper mid that gives it the sense of clarity and detail that everyone here seems to love.
Both sounds awesome and are great values at their respective price points. I slightly prefer the VSD3S but in no way are they massively superior to the B3's.
They aren't. I've heard several pair that have all sounded the same, and the sound mirrors exactly the measurement of a correct pair.
The VSD3S is closer to neutral than it is to "fun." It's very slightly north of neutral in in bass, and has a slightly withdrawn upper midrange, but is otherwise very close to a neutral response. The Havi isn't detailed. It has "fake" detail. That is, it boosts the presence range to make what detail it does reveal stand out more, but they aren't very revealing.
I can only assume that the majority of Havi fans don't have a lot of listening experience, because I can't see any other way why anyone would think that they are even an acceptable pair of headphones.
.......why to become deaf and buy a thing that we hate the softness that sounds.....
