[pietcux]

So you want us to only talk about the H1 and H3, that is your point? I don't feel like letting you censor our overall very polite discussion here. As long as nobody gets offended purposely I claim freedom of speech here.

 

[Jackson 6]

My dear Mizwa, I cannot test the H1 or H3 without buying them. I'm not prepared to do this if they do not match up to their Sony rivals. A person using at or below middle of the range iem's might think the H1 to be brilliant. I use the xb-90-ex, debatevly one of the finest in ears in the world for depth, clarity and emotion at it's level. Ergo, I need as many co owners as are out there to give their opinion. The H1 is £15-£20 more, so I'm not going to do a side step or below step. Further up the food chain, someone with a prestige CIEM like the JH 13/16 will want to know if the H3 can be an acceptable daily beater. Further, the H1 uses the same BA as the highly limited XBA-1, and the H3 use two of the BA's from either or both the XBA 3/30 and 4/40, hence the lines of comparative questions
 
Are things clearer now?. 

 

[Currawong]

Mizwa, you are being rude. If you want "... professional opinions and tests" wait until someone experienced reviews them and don't read the thread. If you continue to post as you have been you'll start getting locked out of threads. I'd rather not have to start doing that.

 

[Jackson 6]

Being a Sonyfanboy for so many years has taught me a few things.Unlike any other large or small hifi concern, what is new is not better, always, than what has gone before. Sony has mystical intrigue in this matter. Also, it, Sony, teaches you to be a research genius, because the diamonds in the mire are very shiny indeed. We are at the start of a wave of supposed top endish product from Sony, both in headphones/iem's and DAP's, and Home Hi Fi.
 
Are they telling porkies, or truth's? The angles are large. Just for myself, I'm interested in plunging into this wave on two fronts, IEM and DAP. And because what has gone before the H's is sprinkled at times with fairy dust, I'm interested in several previous IEM's as well, such as the XBA 30/40 and ex1000. It's also Sony's first dig at hybrid's, and this commands intrigue as well. Has the guy who also designed the ex1000 cheated us or sold himself short with the H3, has he used half measures, or been told to, or not?
 
So Mirza, if your not a Sony fanboy, well, there are many other single IEM topics with many more than 73 pages, some run into several hundred,, to peruse. A giant is having a sea change in it's product range; I'm surprised there aren't 7000 pages

 

[howihearit]

I

2nd LOL of the day!  


If you can't hear the difference between a decent dac/amp vs straight to a cell phone with the XBA-H1 or even more so on H3, then there's something wrong with your precious ear organ. Unless I misunderstood the somewhat broken English.
[/quote

I think that the original poster was referring to music played to loud from earphones

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I got that. Just making sure it wasn't the assumption the amp means louder.

 

[Jackson 6]

I'm getting a little worried at the deafening wall of silence from HiFiGuy, Swimsonny,Tyle and the rest re the H's. Are the damnin' em with no praise? Come on chaps....

 

[soundstige]

  I'm getting a little worried at the deafening wall of silence from HiFiGuy, Swimsonny,Tyle and the rest re the H's. Are the damnin' em with no praise? Come on chaps....

Well, 2 of those members are banned I believe....

 

[Jackson 6]

I was thinking more across all internetty thangs..there ain't a sausage anywhere.

 

[d marc0]

Dweaver seems to like the H1 and I trust his verdict. Maybe we're just expecting too much from the new Sony offerings. Let us remember that the H series are priced lower than the EX series and I reckon there's a good reason for that.

 

[Jackson 6]

It's just that sometimes Sony throw the dog a bone, and we thought/think the H might be just one such. I may have been into iem's for more years than is healthy, but I'm useless at sonic erudition. I've just about got soundstage, decay, sibilance, grain, liquidity, sub bass, but don't expect me to write paragraph's about 'em. I'm sure there are many experts on this site who can and do, I'm just getting the hang of who they are at this stage.

 

[Aelavin]

I must say, that I'm enjoying my H3 more than XBA-3. Most pros from my XBA-3 are here in H3, and most cons from XBA-3 are repaired (quite weak bass response and less annoying cymbals). And what's more important - they are less picky about the source (but it's still really important). 40 Ohms impedance doing it's job well.

 

[d marc0]

   
I must say, that I'm enjoying my H3 more than XBA-3. Most pros from my XBA-3 are here in H3, and most cons from XBA-3 are repaired (quite weak bass response and less annoying cymbals). And what's more important - they are less picky about the source. 40 Ohms impedance doing it's job well.
 

 
That is good news! 

 

[Simon T]

Hi everyone, finally received my H3 from Japan 3 days ago, and been spending the weekend listening to it while comparing it with my beloved EX1000 (Japanese version). I listened to some of my reference tracks played though the AK100.  
 
Disclaimer before I give you my impressions, please take my impressions with a dose of skepticism. I am an audio enthusiast with little experience in reviews and without professional music background.
1)    
      Design and Fit – The EX1000 design feels more prestigious (cable connectors and leather case), on the other hand the H3 design is more stylish (personally I like the metallic case and the black/red cables). As for fit. EX1000 is the winner, the H3 housing is thicker (almost twice due to the balance armatures), and thus, you have less room in adjusting the ear-canals fit, for optimal listening.  +1 for EX1000
 
2)   Portability – H3 gets the point, even though the EX1000 case is more prestigious, sometimes is a little impractical and time consuming to store the EX1000. Thus, the H3 zipper pouch and the cable with mic (if you listen music from a mobile phone) are more practical. +1 for H3
 
3)   Sound Isolation & Leakage - Sound isolation is better in the H3, probably because the air vents are smaller and placed at the inner part of the earphone housing, totally the opposite of EX1000 air vents size and placement. As for, sound leakage (my partner helped me out with this test); she said that both of them had the same amount of leakage. +0.5 for H3
 
4)   Lows – In my opinion, the H3 bass reproduction is slightly boomier, less punchy and has more bass extension compared to the EX1000. I personally prefer listening to trance and techno with the H3, but, still prefer the EX1000 for drums in rock music i.e. Dream Theater “The Enemy Inside” track. This is a tie for me, since I listen to both genres.
 
5)   Mids – The EX1000 clear mids reproduction, in my opinion are difficult to beat. The H3 has smooth and balanced mids reproduction but l still love the EX1000. When I listen to male/female vocals, I want to feel/listen to the singer’s emotions through the songs’ lyrics; the EX1000 comes much closer to those feelings. +1.5 for EX1000
 
6)   Highs – The hissing treble from the cymbals towards the end of “Hotel California” I experienced with the EX1000, is noticeable reduced in the H3. Might be because of the tweeter balance armature or the smaller air vents in the H3, kudos to Sony engineers. +1 for H3
 
Conclusion: H3 2.5 points vs. EX1000 2.5 points
 
Is the H3 an upgrade from the EX1000? For me it isn’t. Nevertheless, The H3 deserves a place in my collection and from tomorrow they will be my primary pair of portable outdoor earphones.
 
Really hope this has been helpful. 
 
Cheers
Simon T.         
 
P.S. I am waiting for the new Sony Hi-Res Audio campaign products (the Sony NW ZX1 and the Sony PHA-2), hoping that, the true capabilities of the H3 will be heard.                                                     

 

[HiFiGuy528]

XBA-H1 unboxing