This and That:
Three drivers per side - 2x BA, 1x dynamic driver.
Nice carrying case.
Nice cable - supple and beautiful, with proper strain relief and y-splitter. Not as premium as my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors' cable, but it doesn't have to be at the price point. Quite comparable to the Rose Mini2's cable. 2-pin connectors.
Potential build quality and quality control problems - perfect build quality on the red H3 but dynamic driver bass imbalance, so-so build quality/finish on the blue H3 replacement but with accurate driver matching.
I like that the crossover components are visible.
I like the red shell colour (prefer it over the more generic looking blue coloured shells).
Sound:
Largest included silicone tips, low impedance sources.
Tonality:
W-shaped, but not in a natural or good sounding way - nice sub-bass elevation; strong, controversial central midrange bump; bright and peaky, unnatural, sharp, unpleasant middle and upper treble elevations.
Ca. 9 dB bass elevation by diffuse-field compensation standards with a main focus on the true sub-bass and midbass, with an upper bass and lower fundamental range that are less elevated and therefore lack unnecessary thickness and warmth as well as any bleed.
Quite comparable to the iBasso IT03's bass elevation, by the way.
Quite strong (upper) central midrange elevation at 1.5 kHz. Definitely close, present and "in your face", as well as telephonic and a bit honky. No typical upper midrange/presence range brightness/glare commonly found implemented in hybrid Asian in-ears, though. Nonetheless, the midrange lacks a bit of vocal warmth counterweight.
Rather strong, bright and peaky middle treble emphasis at 6 kHz. Another one (less narrow and peaky) around 8 kHz.
Good super treble extension past 10 kHz to about 14 kHz.
That 6 kHz peak is bright, unnatural and unpleasant and leads to a metallic, somewhat sharp treble timbre.
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Ultimately there's clearly a lack of realism.
Resolution:
Slow and soft, muddy bass coupled with decent treble and midrange details.
Soundstage:
Rather wide than deep. Still a bit of depth, though.
Decent imaging.
Bit blurry edges due to soft bass response.
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Compared to other Hybrid In-Ears:
iBasso IT03:
Quite comparable bass quantity and implementation.
IT03 clearly more even and realistic in the mids and treble.
IT03 upper mids/presence range at 3 kHz bit brighter but lacks the H3's strong central midrange bump. H3 brighter and more metallic treble.
IT03 much faster, tighter bass. Higher midrange and treble resolution as well as cleaner separation, too.
H3 larger soundstage. IT03 audibly more precise soundstage.
Fidue A73:
A73 warmer, thicker lows and fundamental range/lower midrange, therefore more body.
H3 audibly more forward midrange.
Fidue brighter around 8 kHz (may be perceived as somewhat sharp by some) but lacks the Kinera's unpleasant and unnatural 6 kHz elevation (the A73 has even got a headroom-generating dip here).
A73 sounds cleaner with fast and complex recordings. Somewhat higher midrange resolution on the A73. Slightly better separation and resolution on the H3 when it comes to upper treble.
Fidue also on the soft side on the bass, but audibly better controlled, textured, detailed and defined compared to the Kinera - and not as soft or slow.
H3 larger stage. Comparable separation.
1More E1001:
1More more v-shaped with stronger bass and audibly recessed vocal range. Flatter in the midrange despite brightness in the presence range, and lacks the nasty 6 kHz peak of the H3 (the E1001 is even quite recessed here).
Kinera higher midrange resolution. Comparable treble resolution and separation.
Neither is tight and fast in the lows, but the 1More is ultimately ahead.
Both have a fairly wide stage while the H3 sounds even a bit wider. H3 more spatial depth. H3 cleaner instrument separation and more precise imaging.
Conclusion:
So-so. There are better alternatives at this price point.