Lately, I’ve been working pretty hard to upgrade my sound experience. So with all of the hype of the Havi B3P1, I decided to check out the buzz. I purchased it from Lendmeurears on Amazon and received it 2.5 business days. After I opened the package containing the B3P1, I tried it out. At first I was skeptical for the first 5 hours, but after 5 hours I finally understood why lots of people had such a great admiration for such a unique set of earphones.
Let’s begin with the build quality:
Build Quality: The build of these IEMs are pretty durable. Compared to my MEELEC M-DUO, it’s not as strong, but it still holds on its’ own. My MEELEC M-DUO has Kevlar Cables and a half steel/half ABS housing and a mic, but that’s for more casual use for my smartphone or for casual music sessions. The Havi B3P1 may not have insane build quality like the M-DUO, but it makes up for it a super thick cables, excellent strain reliefs, a very beefy right angle plug, A chin slider, Gorilla Glass 2 Plating and with a similar ABS housing (without the steel housing involved).
Accessories: For $61, this set of IEMs has an impressive array of accessories. There are 3 sets of Havi silicone eartips (S/M/L), 1 set of Gel Foamie eartips, 3 sets of Black Silicone eartips (S/M/L) and 3 sets of White Silicone eartips (S/M/L). Not only that, there’s also a Custom Havi Glass Cleaning cloth (for the glass face plates on the IEMs) and a Hard Shell Clam Carrying Case that says Havi. The only downside is the missing shirt clip.
Fit: Now this is the tricky part. Even though I have small ears, it all comes down to the eartips. I’m using Short Double Flange eartips. These are very useful because I can fit Havi B3P1 properly and I can wear them for at least a couple of hours before a feel a tinge of pain at my outer ear lobes. I tried tugging them and they really can’t slip out of my ears, even when I walk from and to work.
Isolation: These earphones block out moderate noise quite well, but when I used it while I was on the E Train, I needed to crank the volume a bit more. I used Short Double Flange eartips and it out quite well. Larger bore eartips will block more sound, but it may not work out so well for those with small ear canals.
Before I go on to the Sound Quality, I need to tell you that I will try to decipher the sound signature to the best of my ability. Also, I burn these in for about 30 hours and I used 5 FLAC tracks.
Setup: Xuelin IHIFI 770C/CC BH2 Headphone Amp/Yongsheng Silver and Copper Interconnect Cable.
Amping: This only needs amping with weak sources. Luckily my Xuelin IHIFI 770C was plenty powerful for my B3P1. It does drain the battery on my 770C slightly faster than what the M-DUO would do. Regardless of my 770C being very powerful, I still used my BH2 enhance the clarity.
Sound Quality: Even though I was super impressed with the sound quality, I really need to explain the quality and quantity of the bass.
Bass: With my very neutral 770C and my and colorful, yet somewhat neutral BH2. I was reminded how great bass quality was rendered. It was nothing short of amazing. The Havi B3P1 demonstrates very fast and visceral bass, but it’s definitely not at bass head levels. The bass has pretty good depth and pretty decent rumble. I listened to Claiomh Solais by ETIA (FLAC lossless). And the pace is amazing with the bass. The bass just doesn’t get it the way. I can even hear the silky smooth midrange clearly, but I’ll get to that because that’s one of the best parts of the B3P1.
Midrange: This is where it gets pretty insane. The fact that the bass never EVER bleeds into the lower or upper midrange just makes the clarity of the vocals so smooth and tame. The micro detailing is fascinating. I can hear every single subtle noise at the soundstage. From the gentlest of plucking of strings to the pitter patter of the Wooden Bass. These nuances are heard very well from Greensleeves by Vince Guaraldi, Trio (FLAC lossless) and Christmastime by Vince Guaraldi, Trio (FLAC lossless).
Treble: Despite the high analytical performance of the B3P1, there isn’t really any sibilance to speak of. The treble is very smooth, yet very sparkly. There’s really no sibilance to speak of, even on the brightest and most open of soundtracks. There are two soundtracks that I have that demonstrate that well (Icicle by EXCALIpUR and Queen of the Red by ETIA) (FLAC). Those two soundtracks now have amazing intros. On my M-DUO, listening to their intros would sound closed and harsh, but now it’s smooth, dynamic and very open.
Soundstage/Imaging: This is where is gets crazy. What’s so amazing is that my soundtracks from even the most common bitrate (128 kbps) can sound almost as open and dynamic as any high resolution soundtrack I listen to (Snow by DJ Momotaro). The imaging is not only very vivid, but it can also manage to make all instruments stay separate on even moderately mastered tracks. Basically, well recorded track with a low bitrate will do as fine as well recorded tracks with at least a modest bitrate for imaging. The soundstage is typically 20% smaller than my Ultrasone HFI-450 headphones. That’s unreal.
Dynamics: It’s really great. The B3P1 can keep up with the fastest soundtracks I can throw at it and the speed of extreme shifting of instruments doesn’t get sluggish at all. Black Magic by Savant (MP3 320kbps) is the most dynamic song in my collection and it can keep up with that as if it can read the soundtrack’s movements.
Conclusion: For the price tag of $61, I must say that these earphones will have quite the mileage. It has great build quality, an incredibly amount of accessories and the sound signature is outstanding. These IEMs can run circles around my M-DUO and can give quite a scare towards my HFI-450, but it seems that when it comes to amping, that may be the only true downside. Besides all of that, it has solid and super quick bass impact. The midrange is very detailed and clear. It’s like take a breath of fresh air. Then there’s the energetic and smooth treble. It never gets out of hand and reminds you that you don’t need to sacrifice energetic treble for piercing sibilance. If you are into Rock, Jazz, Pop, Electronica and Metal, then these will really open your ears. These IEMs are mainly for those that enjoy a lot of vocal or instrumental music. Remember, bass heads will not enjoy these because the bass depth and impact will not be enough. Trust me, I was a bass head too and these will not quench your thirst.
Let’s begin with the build quality:
Build Quality: The build of these IEMs are pretty durable. Compared to my MEELEC M-DUO, it’s not as strong, but it still holds on its’ own. My MEELEC M-DUO has Kevlar Cables and a half steel/half ABS housing and a mic, but that’s for more casual use for my smartphone or for casual music sessions. The Havi B3P1 may not have insane build quality like the M-DUO, but it makes up for it a super thick cables, excellent strain reliefs, a very beefy right angle plug, A chin slider, Gorilla Glass 2 Plating and with a similar ABS housing (without the steel housing involved).
Accessories: For $61, this set of IEMs has an impressive array of accessories. There are 3 sets of Havi silicone eartips (S/M/L), 1 set of Gel Foamie eartips, 3 sets of Black Silicone eartips (S/M/L) and 3 sets of White Silicone eartips (S/M/L). Not only that, there’s also a Custom Havi Glass Cleaning cloth (for the glass face plates on the IEMs) and a Hard Shell Clam Carrying Case that says Havi. The only downside is the missing shirt clip.
Fit: Now this is the tricky part. Even though I have small ears, it all comes down to the eartips. I’m using Short Double Flange eartips. These are very useful because I can fit Havi B3P1 properly and I can wear them for at least a couple of hours before a feel a tinge of pain at my outer ear lobes. I tried tugging them and they really can’t slip out of my ears, even when I walk from and to work.
Isolation: These earphones block out moderate noise quite well, but when I used it while I was on the E Train, I needed to crank the volume a bit more. I used Short Double Flange eartips and it out quite well. Larger bore eartips will block more sound, but it may not work out so well for those with small ear canals.
Before I go on to the Sound Quality, I need to tell you that I will try to decipher the sound signature to the best of my ability. Also, I burn these in for about 30 hours and I used 5 FLAC tracks.
Setup: Xuelin IHIFI 770C/CC BH2 Headphone Amp/Yongsheng Silver and Copper Interconnect Cable.
Amping: This only needs amping with weak sources. Luckily my Xuelin IHIFI 770C was plenty powerful for my B3P1. It does drain the battery on my 770C slightly faster than what the M-DUO would do. Regardless of my 770C being very powerful, I still used my BH2 enhance the clarity.
Sound Quality: Even though I was super impressed with the sound quality, I really need to explain the quality and quantity of the bass.
Bass: With my very neutral 770C and my and colorful, yet somewhat neutral BH2. I was reminded how great bass quality was rendered. It was nothing short of amazing. The Havi B3P1 demonstrates very fast and visceral bass, but it’s definitely not at bass head levels. The bass has pretty good depth and pretty decent rumble. I listened to Claiomh Solais by ETIA (FLAC lossless). And the pace is amazing with the bass. The bass just doesn’t get it the way. I can even hear the silky smooth midrange clearly, but I’ll get to that because that’s one of the best parts of the B3P1.
Midrange: This is where it gets pretty insane. The fact that the bass never EVER bleeds into the lower or upper midrange just makes the clarity of the vocals so smooth and tame. The micro detailing is fascinating. I can hear every single subtle noise at the soundstage. From the gentlest of plucking of strings to the pitter patter of the Wooden Bass. These nuances are heard very well from Greensleeves by Vince Guaraldi, Trio (FLAC lossless) and Christmastime by Vince Guaraldi, Trio (FLAC lossless).
Treble: Despite the high analytical performance of the B3P1, there isn’t really any sibilance to speak of. The treble is very smooth, yet very sparkly. There’s really no sibilance to speak of, even on the brightest and most open of soundtracks. There are two soundtracks that I have that demonstrate that well (Icicle by EXCALIpUR and Queen of the Red by ETIA) (FLAC). Those two soundtracks now have amazing intros. On my M-DUO, listening to their intros would sound closed and harsh, but now it’s smooth, dynamic and very open.
Soundstage/Imaging: This is where is gets crazy. What’s so amazing is that my soundtracks from even the most common bitrate (128 kbps) can sound almost as open and dynamic as any high resolution soundtrack I listen to (Snow by DJ Momotaro). The imaging is not only very vivid, but it can also manage to make all instruments stay separate on even moderately mastered tracks. Basically, well recorded track with a low bitrate will do as fine as well recorded tracks with at least a modest bitrate for imaging. The soundstage is typically 20% smaller than my Ultrasone HFI-450 headphones. That’s unreal.
Dynamics: It’s really great. The B3P1 can keep up with the fastest soundtracks I can throw at it and the speed of extreme shifting of instruments doesn’t get sluggish at all. Black Magic by Savant (MP3 320kbps) is the most dynamic song in my collection and it can keep up with that as if it can read the soundtrack’s movements.
Conclusion: For the price tag of $61, I must say that these earphones will have quite the mileage. It has great build quality, an incredibly amount of accessories and the sound signature is outstanding. These IEMs can run circles around my M-DUO and can give quite a scare towards my HFI-450, but it seems that when it comes to amping, that may be the only true downside. Besides all of that, it has solid and super quick bass impact. The midrange is very detailed and clear. It’s like take a breath of fresh air. Then there’s the energetic and smooth treble. It never gets out of hand and reminds you that you don’t need to sacrifice energetic treble for piercing sibilance. If you are into Rock, Jazz, Pop, Electronica and Metal, then these will really open your ears. These IEMs are mainly for those that enjoy a lot of vocal or instrumental music. Remember, bass heads will not enjoy these because the bass depth and impact will not be enough. Trust me, I was a bass head too and these will not quench your thirst.
