Sound:
A source I like to use when using the Havi in between is my beloved iBasso DX90 (that I consider as the most perfect DAP made to this day due to several reasons (precise volume control, very good SNR, very low output impedance)).
Only the largest included silicone tips that are also visible in the two attached photos are used by me.
Tonality:
"Tendentially neutral to balanced with a little warmth" seems to be a fitting description for the tonal tuning of the B3 Pro I.
Compared to an in-ear like the Etymotic ER-4S or ER4SR that is diffuse-field neutral in the bass, the Havi has an emphasis of about 5 dB mainly in the upper bass as well as in the lower and middle fundamentals, which allows it to have about the same amount of bass around 100 Hz as my InEar StageDiver SD-2 or Pai Audio MR3, to in-ears that also tend in the neutral direction. Therefore my Havi has about 2 dB more quantity than my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors.
While the in-ear can still maintain this level in the upper midbass, it unfortunately rolls off a bit towards the real sub-bass, which is why the Havi lacks a little pressure and impact from the very bottom of deep extending tracks and sounds a bit lighter than neutral in the sub-bass. Thus it has a bit of roll-off, mostly known from most open-back circumaural headphones with dynamic drivers.
The lifted fundamental range is therefore also responsible for a slightly moderate warmth.
Except for the moderate and quite subtle warmth boost, the mids sound neutral and with correct timbre as far as possible, with only a slight hint of darkness in the upper mids and a small sink just before 1 kHz.
The highs are, except for a small and broad accentuation that includes 9 and 10 kHz and a little accentuated cymbals, relatively even, not annoying and have implemented a dip at 6 kHz.
Resolution:
What bothers me personally about the B3 Pro I, and what makes me feel subjectively uncomfortable with it, is that it doesn't appear quite coherent in the midrange, which is its only flaw.
Otherwise, from an objective point of view, there's absolutely nothing technically wrong with the price and the in-ear convinces with a detail resolution, speech intelligibility (<- whereby here only by 75%) and note separation that one would expect from better dynamic in-ears in the range of about $200, and has a bass range that sounds pleasantly fast, controlled and tight for an in-ear that relies on dynamic woofers, even though in terms of bass speed and control it ultimately has to admit defeat to the budget prodigy Fostex TE-02 with a very small backlog in terms of bass speed and control. Nevertheless, the Havi surpasses almost every other dynamic in-ear, especially in the price range of up to $200, and shows, like my Fostex, that with a little luck you can also find technically excellent in-ears in the budget range, the price of which could actually be a good deal higher in terms of sound performance. But this is rather an exception than the rule.
Compared to models like the Brainwavz B200 (the original with black shells, not the inferior v2 with replaceable cables), Rose Mini2 or Pai Audio MR3, there is a small veil on its presentation and although it remains very clean and well separated for a dynamic in-ear even with fast and complex titles, it does not quite reach the separation sharpness of those Multi-BA models.
Soundstage:
Famous and notorious is the B3 Pro I for its very open, large and precise spatial presentation.
The width extends almost to my shoulders, while the depth fortunately does not lack in comparison and the in-ear produces a nicely pronounced, good depth presentation, which is almost as good as the width.
Thus, the Havi definitely belongs to the in-ears with the largest spatial representation and almost reaches the level of some expensive multi-BA in-ears with a large and three-dimensional stage.
Apart from the fact that its stage is very large and open, the Havi also comes with good spatial precision which allows a quite precise lateral separation with a good localization of individual elements and also nice albeit relatively less precise depth layering.
Although the precision of the spatial reproduction is on a good level, it's not enough to achieve a "very good" - if you're used to better things, a small veil appears around individual instruments, without them merging into each other or being depicted in an undifferentiated foggy way, because the B3 Pro I is still a long way away from that. Nevertheless, the separation sharpness does not quite reach the Multi-BA in-ears or the Fidue A65, whereby the latter in-ear has a considerably (!) smaller stage than the Havi.
A very large, three-dimensional spherical image with still good precision is what the Havi has.
A source I like to use when using the Havi in between is my beloved iBasso DX90 (that I consider as the most perfect DAP made to this day due to several reasons (precise volume control, very good SNR, very low output impedance)).
Only the largest included silicone tips that are also visible in the two attached photos are used by me.
Tonality:
"Tendentially neutral to balanced with a little warmth" seems to be a fitting description for the tonal tuning of the B3 Pro I.
Compared to an in-ear like the Etymotic ER-4S or ER4SR that is diffuse-field neutral in the bass, the Havi has an emphasis of about 5 dB mainly in the upper bass as well as in the lower and middle fundamentals, which allows it to have about the same amount of bass around 100 Hz as my InEar StageDiver SD-2 or Pai Audio MR3, to in-ears that also tend in the neutral direction. Therefore my Havi has about 2 dB more quantity than my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors.
While the in-ear can still maintain this level in the upper midbass, it unfortunately rolls off a bit towards the real sub-bass, which is why the Havi lacks a little pressure and impact from the very bottom of deep extending tracks and sounds a bit lighter than neutral in the sub-bass. Thus it has a bit of roll-off, mostly known from most open-back circumaural headphones with dynamic drivers.
The lifted fundamental range is therefore also responsible for a slightly moderate warmth.
Except for the moderate and quite subtle warmth boost, the mids sound neutral and with correct timbre as far as possible, with only a slight hint of darkness in the upper mids and a small sink just before 1 kHz.
The highs are, except for a small and broad accentuation that includes 9 and 10 kHz and a little accentuated cymbals, relatively even, not annoying and have implemented a dip at 6 kHz.
Resolution:
What bothers me personally about the B3 Pro I, and what makes me feel subjectively uncomfortable with it, is that it doesn't appear quite coherent in the midrange, which is its only flaw.
Otherwise, from an objective point of view, there's absolutely nothing technically wrong with the price and the in-ear convinces with a detail resolution, speech intelligibility (<- whereby here only by 75%) and note separation that one would expect from better dynamic in-ears in the range of about $200, and has a bass range that sounds pleasantly fast, controlled and tight for an in-ear that relies on dynamic woofers, even though in terms of bass speed and control it ultimately has to admit defeat to the budget prodigy Fostex TE-02 with a very small backlog in terms of bass speed and control. Nevertheless, the Havi surpasses almost every other dynamic in-ear, especially in the price range of up to $200, and shows, like my Fostex, that with a little luck you can also find technically excellent in-ears in the budget range, the price of which could actually be a good deal higher in terms of sound performance. But this is rather an exception than the rule.
Compared to models like the Brainwavz B200 (the original with black shells, not the inferior v2 with replaceable cables), Rose Mini2 or Pai Audio MR3, there is a small veil on its presentation and although it remains very clean and well separated for a dynamic in-ear even with fast and complex titles, it does not quite reach the separation sharpness of those Multi-BA models.
Soundstage:
Famous and notorious is the B3 Pro I for its very open, large and precise spatial presentation.
The width extends almost to my shoulders, while the depth fortunately does not lack in comparison and the in-ear produces a nicely pronounced, good depth presentation, which is almost as good as the width.
Thus, the Havi definitely belongs to the in-ears with the largest spatial representation and almost reaches the level of some expensive multi-BA in-ears with a large and three-dimensional stage.
Apart from the fact that its stage is very large and open, the Havi also comes with good spatial precision which allows a quite precise lateral separation with a good localization of individual elements and also nice albeit relatively less precise depth layering.
Although the precision of the spatial reproduction is on a good level, it's not enough to achieve a "very good" - if you're used to better things, a small veil appears around individual instruments, without them merging into each other or being depicted in an undifferentiated foggy way, because the B3 Pro I is still a long way away from that. Nevertheless, the separation sharpness does not quite reach the Multi-BA in-ears or the Fidue A65, whereby the latter in-ear has a considerably (!) smaller stage than the Havi.
A very large, three-dimensional spherical image with still good precision is what the Havi has.
Conclusion:
Subjectively, the Havi is not necessarily my personal budget favorite in the category of inexpensive in-ears with dynamic drivers due to coherence "problems", wherefore I haven't used it all that often after I bought it some years ago, but objectively there is hardly anything to criticise about its sonic performance and tuning.
Besides a pleasantly fast and tight bass with some pleasantly unobtrusive warmth, however lacking a bit of sub-bass quantity, the B3 Pro I has also got a very large, spherical and deep soundstage that only few in-ears manage to achieve in its entirety, especially in this price range.
As an inexpensive, but technically convincing in-ear with a very large, open spatial imaging and balanced tonal tuning, it doesn't surprise me that the Chinese in-ear was able to win a quite large fan base for itself.
Subjectively, the Havi is not necessarily my personal budget favorite in the category of inexpensive in-ears with dynamic drivers due to coherence "problems", wherefore I haven't used it all that often after I bought it some years ago, but objectively there is hardly anything to criticise about its sonic performance and tuning.
Besides a pleasantly fast and tight bass with some pleasantly unobtrusive warmth, however lacking a bit of sub-bass quantity, the B3 Pro I has also got a very large, spherical and deep soundstage that only few in-ears manage to achieve in its entirety, especially in this price range.
As an inexpensive, but technically convincing in-ear with a very large, open spatial imaging and balanced tonal tuning, it doesn't surprise me that the Chinese in-ear was able to win a quite large fan base for itself.