[ngoshawk]

@Kinera - Your H3 sure is a looker. Not too shabby on the sound front either

​

I've put a couple hours into them and besides the insanely comfortable fit, I am coming away most impressed with their detail, clarity, and airy, open sound stage. Their presentation is effortless as well. Something like that is hard to describe, so I'll toss an analogy across your plate;

You have an MLB rookie and a seasoned veteran step up to the plate against a tricky pitcher with an impressive reputation. Both the vet and rookie are capable of playing the game to a very high level and with taking this chum down. The rookie always has his coach notes in mind though; watch for this tell and expect a knuckle ball, or this tell for a slider. The vet on the other hand has met this pitcher tens of time and is well versed in his tricks and tells. This is just another routine at bat for him. The H3 is the vet.

The H3's low end is also quite pleasant with a nice balance of sub- and mid-bass. There doesn't seem to be any additional focus placed on one over the other. Mids are really detailed and crisp too. Loving them with female vocals. Haven't tried with male vocals yet as I've been listening almost exclusively to liquid drum & bass mixes My only concern so far may lie in the treble regions which feel a touch overemphasized. Not significantly so, but enough to stand out at times when it feels like it shouldn't. I'm sure I'll become accustomed to this is no time, as I've been mostly listening to darker and/ or more neutral earphones lately. Very pleased so far.

Thomas pretty much hits my initial impressions squarely with the bat (catch me ref?...). The initial clarity I heard from these bested my Pinnacle P1's, which I had a really hard time adjusting to.

Coming off the loaner Custom Art 8.2 & Ei-xx, I am extremely impressed with the clarity, and depth at which the bass can reach. I was playing some song last night (cannot remember which, might have been Daft Punk), and I actually thought I heard and felt a bass rumble...could have been my AC, too.

I'm not sure about the mids and treble, though. I get what Thomas says about the treble coming on a bit strong, but it seems to be song dependent. As for the mids, they seem to be supporting each end, but (again song dependent) seem to struggle a bit. I do think that is my Harmony 8.2 hangover, though...

But, this is a really good intro into the market, and for its price (esp Massdrop right now), this has moved steadily up the line up in a short time. I am impressed.

Well done so far, @Kinera.

 

[ngoshawk]

A bit more detailed introduction on my blog: https://ngoshawkblog.wordpress.com/

@B9Scrambler has a much better into post, though...

 

[B9Scrambler]

A bit more detailed introduction on my blog: https://ngoshawkblog.wordpress.com/

@B9Scrambler has a much better into post, though...

Great impressions! More in depth than mine and my goofy baseball analogy

 

[buonassi]

The initial clarity I heard from these bested my Pinnacle P1's, which I had a really hard time adjusting to.@Kinera.

Would you mind elaborating on this a tad? I have the pinnacles and am interested in how these compare. Do you think these have smoother treble vs the P1? I'm especially sensitive to cymbal crashes and consonants like T, S of vocals. For whatever reason my ears really like the treble of the Soundmagic E10 with the wide-bore tips (if only it had more mids). Looking for something that has the top octave air without too much mid-high energy where cymbals and consonants smack you in the face. Thx in advance!

 

[ngoshawk]

Would you mind elaborating on this a tad? I have the pinnacles and am interested in how these compare. Do you think these have smoother treble vs the P1? I'm especially sensitive to cymbal crashes and consonants like T, S of vocals. For whatever reason my ears really like the treble of the Soundmagic E10 with the wide-bore tips (if only it had more mids). Looking for something that has the top octave air without too much mid-high energy where cymbals and consonants smack you in the face. Thx in advance!

I would say the treble on the H3 is a bit smoother, but does not reach as high, to me as on the P1. Maybe understated would be a better word to describe the H3's treble. I found the Pinnacle to be quite sibilant on many songs. Coldplay's X&Y album seems to be that way on many songs through the P1, but much less so on the H3, if that helps. I did not like that sound. I too, am sensitive to higher treble sounds (too much loud rock on a car stereo as a kid...), so the Pinnacle definitely bothered me, and I eventually sold them.

I really did not like the P1 on my initial listening hours, and took a great deal of time before I could appreciate their sound. That did not happen with the H3, I liked them from the get go. That said, some interesting things have begun to show, but that will have to wait until I can understand what is going on more! Oh darn, more listening needed...

I would concur with what @HiFiChris stated about the cymbals gaining a metallic sound, which can get "energetic." His description in his fine review brought that back to me on a song I listened to last night, where that did indeed happen. I'm hoping he can explain his thoughts, better than I can paraphrase! That said, I don't find that cymbal energy anywhere near as harsh (my word) as on the P1 with energetic songs. I am muddling through complex music as we speak, but will need more listening before I can put that into words.

So far, I have not had that problem with the H3, even at loud volumes. Hope this helps, and maybe Chris can help, too.

 

[rebelstar]

Please take a photo how it fits in the ear.

 

[rebelstar]

And last, possibly, stupid question. How it sounds compare to ostry kc06a?
I had single aperture IEMs in the past, now I have ostry kc06a and hi-fi dap, and I believe I don't like ostry much compare to my old m-audio ie-10.
Want some good price/quality IEMs and price is really good at Massdrop.

 

[B9Scrambler]

They stick out of my ears a bit, but only because mostly everything ends up shallow fit for me, haha.

 

[rebelstar]

Quite nice fit. I like

 

[B9Scrambler]

Quite nice fit. I like

Yup. Comfort is sublime, though I can see them not fitting well if you have small outer ears. It's not a particularly compact design. Any larger and they wouldn't fit in my ears.

 

[HiFiChris]

I would say the treble on the H3 is a bit smoother, but does not reach as high, to me as on the P1. Maybe understated would be a better word to describe the H3's treble. I found the Pinnacle to be quite sibilant on many songs. Coldplay's X&Y album seems to be that way on many songs through the P1, but much less so on the H3, if that helps. I did not like that sound. I too, am sensitive to higher treble sounds (too much loud rock on a car stereo as a kid...), so the Pinnacle definitely bothered me, and I eventually sold them.

I really did not like the P1 on my initial listening hours, and took a great deal of time before I could appreciate their sound. That did not happen with the H3, I liked them from the get go. That said, some interesting things have begun to show, but that will have to wait until I can understand what is going on more! Oh darn, more listening needed...

I would concur with what @HiFiChris stated about the cymbals gaining a metallic sound, which can get "energetic." His description in his fine review brought that back to me on a song I listened to last night, where that did indeed happen. I'm hoping he can explain his thoughts, better than I can paraphrase! That said, I don't find that cymbal energy anywhere near as harsh (my word) as on the P1 with energetic songs. I am muddling through complex music as we speak, but will need more listening before I can put that into words.

So far, I have not had that problem with the H3, even at loud volumes. Hope this helps, and maybe Chris can help, too.

red - P1 I blue - H3 I grey - ER•4S

^^^ Measurements from my Vibro Veritas coupler that was more or less calibrated with an IEC711 coupler's response in mind, with applied diffuse-field target compensation. It compensates too much around 3 and 6 kHz, so imagine more level in these areas (about up to 10 dB more around 3 kHz and about up to 5 dB more around 6 kHz). A bit more info about the setup: http://frequency-response.blogspot.com/p/about-measurement-graphs.html


Anyway, I know several people who say the P1 has got an elevation around 8-9 kHz that can be a bit sibilant and too bright. I gotta state that I do not perceive it as that - most likely because I am inserting the P1 deeper into my ears than most people (and deeper than how it was measured in my Vibro Veritas coupler), and therefore I perceive the Mee's treble not as offensive and not overdone (not only with music but also with white noise and sine sweeps). I don't perceive it as sibilant either, and while it does have some "Sennheiser IE 800-ish" glare in the upper treble/transition to the super treble, I perceive it as less bright in the upper highs.

The H3 is therefore brighter to my ears - which is also mainly to the 6 kHz elevation that is responsible for the "zing" and somewhat metallic attack with cymbals. To me, inserting it deeper than most people, the Mee is smoother sounding while both measure comparably strong in the 8 kHz range (the Mee a bit stronger around 10 kHz). Both are tuned quite differently though, with the H3 being more w-shaped with emphasised mids whereas the Mee is fuller and overall a bit darker sounding, with a rather v-shaped tendency without concentrating mainly on the sub-bass as the IE 800, which is less full sounding, does.

 

[ngoshawk]

red - P1 I blue - H3 I grey - ER•4S

^^^ Measurements from my Vibro Veritas coupler that was more or less calibrated with an IEC711 coupler's response in mind, with applied diffuse-field target compensation. It compensates too much around 3 and 6 kHz, so imagine more level in these areas (about up to 10 dB more around 3 kHz and about up to 5 dB more around 6 kHz). A bit more info about the setup: http://frequency-response.blogspot.com/p/about-measurement-graphs.html


Anyway, I know several people who say the P1 has got an elevation around 8-9 kHz that can be a bit sibilant and too bright. I gotta state that I do not perceive it as that - most likely because I am inserting the P1 deeper into my ears than most people (and deeper than how it was measured in my Vibro Veritas coupler), and therefore I perceive the Mee's treble not as offensive and not overdone (not only with music but also with white noise and sine sweeps). I don't perceive it as sibilant either, and while it does have some "Sennheiser IE 800-ish" glare in the upper treble/transition to the super treble, I perceive it as less bright in the upper highs.

The H3 is therefore brighter to my ears - which is also mainly to the 6 kHz elevation that is responsible for the "zing" and somewhat metallic attack with cymbals. To me, inserting it deeper than most people, the Mee is smoother sounding while both measure comparably strong in the 8 kHz range (the Mee a bit stronger around 10 kHz). Both are tuned quite differently though, with the H3 being more w-shaped with emphasised mids whereas the Mee is fuller and overall a bit darker sounding, with a rather v-shaped tendency without concentrating mainly on the sub-bass as the IE 800, which is less full sounding, does.

Thanks, Chris! Much appreciated.

 

[rebelstar]

Well, I decided to order these IEMs. Will be my first more than 1 armature IEMs.

 

[TheMadcap]

Compared to the phonak pfe232, where would this one stay?

 

[buonassi]

I would say the treble on the H3 is a bit smoother, but does not reach as high, to me as on the P1. Maybe understated would be a better word to describe the H3's treble. I found the Pinnacle to be quite sibilant on many songs. Coldplay's X&Y album seems to be that way on many songs through the P1, but much less so on the H3, if that helps. I did not like that sound. I too, am sensitive to higher treble sounds (too much loud rock on a car stereo as a kid...), so the Pinnacle definitely bothered me, and I eventually sold them.

I really did not like the P1 on my initial listening hours, and took a great deal of time before I could appreciate their sound. That did not happen with the H3, I liked them from the get go. That said, some interesting things have begun to show, but that will have to wait until I can understand what is going on more! Oh darn, more listening needed...

I would concur with what @HiFiChris stated about the cymbals gaining a metallic sound, which can get "energetic." His description in his fine review brought that back to me on a song I listened to last night, where that did indeed happen. I'm hoping he can explain his thoughts, better than I can paraphrase! That said, I don't find that cymbal energy anywhere near as harsh (my word) as on the P1 with energetic songs. I am muddling through complex music as we speak, but will need more listening before I can put that into words.

So far, I have not had that problem with the H3, even at loud volumes. Hope this helps, and maybe Chris can help, too.

That helps me, thank you much!