[ozkan]

@yangian thanks for the recommendations. The ie80 is def a bit expensive for my tastes at nearly £300 here! The Kef sounds interesting tho it doesn't sound like a great option for those who wear glasses like myself...I'll keep looking into it.

I couldn't go back to the compromise between bass/mid presence and soundstage with the Havi after having used the CKR9's all this time: they have supernaturally quick, responsive bass plus they don't require an amp. Most folks were able to get good Havi results with particular tips but that just never worked out for me.

I guess I'd like the best of both worlds but I don't think that's possible really. I think you've confirmed what I expected: no-one has made a "better Havi" in the last year. I remember they announced a sequel (not v2) but I guess that got stuck in development hell! :devil_face:

May I ask which tips are you using on the CKR9? Also the second gen Havi has more bass than the old version but both require good amping and warm source to shine. Maybe you can check the new **** 4in1 which recently gets some rave reviews.

 

[yangian]

@mixolyd I ordered 4in1. I can give a comparison with B3 after I get it.
 
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20160902133532&SearchText=****+4in1

 

[mixolyd]

May I ask which tips are you using on the CKR9? Also the second gen Havi has more bass than the old version but both require good amping and warm source to shine. Maybe you can check the new **** 4in1 which recently gets some rave reviews.

The silicone tips that came stock. I don't remember if I tip rolling the ckr9's very much, certainly not for days and months like I did with the Havi. The jvc spiral dots were recommended but I was happy with the sound at the time. Maybe I should get some now. That wouldn't fix the annoying hump around 4khz though.

Yeah the Havi most def requires an amp, I picked up the standard head-fi choice for a cheap amp can't remember the name now. Once I got the amp I spent hours lying in bed listening to recordings and imagining the musicians' studio setup in my head. Only the Havi's let you do that, in my experience. As for source I've never moved beyond iPhone and Clip+ since the £/performance ratio is a lot less attractive than in getting a cheap amp.

 

[ozkan]

​

The silicone tips that came stock. I don't remember if I tip rolling the ckr9's very much, certainly not for days and months like I did with the Havi. The jvc spiral dots were recommended but I was happy with the sound at the time. Maybe I should get some now. That wouldn't fix the annoying hump around 4khz though.

Yeah the Havi most def requires an amp, I picked up the standard head-fi choice for a cheap amp can't remember the name now. Once I got the amp I spent hours lying in bed listening to recordings and imagining the musicians' studio setup in my head. Only the Havi's let you do that, in my experience. As for source I've never moved beyond iPhone and Clip+ since the £/performance ratio is a lot less attractive than in getting a cheap amp.

Stock silicone tips are awful in my opinion and once you start tip rolling, you will understand what I mean since the tips can change the sound too much on CKR9. My favorite tips were JVC Spiral Dots and UE600 tips. Now I can see why you don't love your CKR9 as much as I do.

Also Clip+ and iPhone aren't good enough for both CKR9 and Havi B3 as they deserve better DAPs. I'd suggest checking Newsmy A33 or Xduoo x3 for better experience.

 

[Midgetguy]

 

 ​

Stock silicone tips are awful in my opinion and once you start tip rolling, you will understand what I mean since the tips can change the sound too much on CKR9. My favorite tips were JVC Spiral Dots and UE600 tips. Now I can see why you don't love your CKR9 as much as I do.

Also Clip+ and iPhone aren't good enough for both CKR9 and Havi B3 as they deserve better DAPs. I'd suggest checking Newsmy A33 or Xduoo x3 for better experience.

New enough iPhones are perfectly capable sources IMO regardless of which level of portable audio you're at. Stuff from VSonic all the way up to my current JH16 Pro FP sounds great out of my iPod Touch 5g (essentially an iPhone 5). Amping on the other hand.....

 

[mixolyd]

Yeah the iPhone (5) and Rockbox'ed Clip are doing me fine. In A/B tests that I've read the difference between the Clip and a £400 unit like the Mojo is pretty small in SQ. not worth it on those grounds though I may get a new DAP at some point for capacity and UI. Things seem to be more mature for streaming and local content in high quality so I'll look into that, though my Clip does FLAC no problem.

CKR9's are super easy to drive, I often use an amp because I like having a physical volume control but it makes zero difference to the sound.

Ah looking at the CKR9's I see I'm actually using the large tips from the Havi! They're not wide bore tho, so may be some room for improvement there.

Edit: that X3 does look sweet.

 

[fredhubbard2]

Good to see people are still digging these great iems.

They were my first "audiophile" iems when I was sent some for free on here. Used them every day until they broke then was recommended the CKR9's which I've been using every day for the last year. They are still working great but now I feel I want something more...

Is there any rival to the Havi in terms of 3D presentation these days? I love the sheer power and dynamism of the CKR9's but they don't have that 3D quality and are a bit "blurry".

Btw on the subject of bass for the Havi's I found that this came down to which tips I used. The sponge tips gave much more bass and lower mids presence at the cost of 50% of the awesome clinical 3D placement. I kept switching back and forth in the time I used the Havi's because I wanted both, but this just wasn't possible with any of the tips I had. It may be different for someone with smaller earholes than me as I really needed the sponges for best fit and isolation.

Try vsonic vsd5s. I cannot decide which I prefer love them both. I use jvc spiral dot tips. The vsonics also have very wide airy soundstage. £50 on ebay .

 

[peter123]

Personally I've never understood the hype for the Clip+, to me it's average at best and even $100 amp/dac's are on a different level imo.

Ymmw as always but I'd suggest try for one self rather than believe other comments and I for one would not trust a person that cannot here any difference from the Mojo and a Clip+. Either that person have bad hearing or more likely bad IEM's /headphones and/or poor listening conditions.....

Just my 2c

 

[H20Fidelity]

Personally I've never understood the hype for the Clip+, to me it's average at best and even $100 amp/dac's are on a different level imo.

Ymmw as always but I'd suggest try for one self rather than believe other comments and I for one would not trust a person that cannot here any difference from the Mojo and a Clip+. Either that person have bad hearing or more likely bad IEM's /headphones and/or poor listening conditions.....

Just my 2c

 
Wanna watch out the Sansa Army doesn't come for you Peter.

 

[peter123]

Wanna watch out the Sansa Army doesn't come for you Peter.

Ha ha, I'll take the chance

The B3 on the other hand I still love it

 

[Wokei]

Wanna watch out the Sansa Army doesn't come for you Peter.

 

[Podster]

Is that the Poncho Sansa army you know once you rockvox that baby it will take down an AK380

You know my Havi's have been lonely of late with all the Hybrid's,KZ and Trinity's I've been listening to so I put them on with my X3ii/C421 combo and they are still one of the best iem's I've got period. If you have a good DAP/AMP rig the B3 is a no brainer

 

[Midgetguy]

Is that the Poncho Sansa army you know once you rockvox that baby it will take down an AK380

You know my Havi's have been lonely of late with all the Hybrid's,KZ and Trinity's I've been listening to so I put them on with my X3ii/C421 combo and they are still one of the best iem's I've got period. If you have a good DAP/AMP rig the B3 is a no brainer

Still a fantastic IEM. Good thing Havi realized the Pro 2 wasn't a replacement and kept the Pro 1 around.

 

[yacobx]

Good to see people are still digging these great iems.

They were my first "audiophile" iems when I was sent some for free on here. Used them every day until they broke then was recommended the CKR9's which I've been using every day for the last year. They are still working great but now I feel I want something more...

Is there any rival to the Havi in terms of 3D presentation these days? I love the sheer power and dynamism of the CKR9's but they don't have that 3D quality and are a bit "blurry".

Btw on the subject of bass for the Havi's I found that this came down to which tips I used. The sponge tips gave much more bass and lower mids presence at the cost of 50% of the awesome clinical 3D placement. I kept switching back and forth in the time I used the Havi's because I wanted both, but this just wasn't possible with any of the tips I had. It may be different for someone with smaller earholes than me as I really needed the sponges for best fit and isolation.

Get the pai audio DR1 or rhapsoidy clipper. Both very good and easy to drive.

 

[mixolyd]

All right gents, you've got me considering DAP's. Which can drive the Havi's optimally without additional amp? The Xduoo X3 and Fiio X5ii? I read that the first gen X5 comes up short for this.