HIFI BOY OS V3 — breaking the rules

«All we want to do is just to conquer your ears» — this is the slogan printed on HIFI BOY OS V3 IEMs box. Pretty intriguing declaration the meaning of which promisses better sound quality in the corresponding price range. Noted, this review would be based on higher expectations 

Despite that there are only 3 models listed in HIFI BOY brand portfolio, the amount of reviews, comments and feedback from the customers is numerous and widespread. Sources are found in Asia, USA, Europe and CIS region. Either people around the globe really like it or brand is doing very good marketing. We believe it’s the first and sharing the proof in this review.

Short brand description:

«HiFi boy is a high-end hifi audio brand launched by China Chengdu Fallante Technology Co., Ltd. The company is an integrated research and development, production and sales technology company, mainly engaged in development, manufacturing and sales of hifi headphones, multimedia speakers and Bluetooth audio equipment.»     

HIFY BOY OS V3 technical specifications: 

• Drivers: 2 BA + 1DD
• Balanced armature drivers: ultra-high frequency BA + high frequency BA
• Dynamic driver: 7mm strong magnetic composite diaphragm
• Impedance: 19Ω
• Sensitivity: 109dB
• Frequency response range: 20Hz-20KHz
• Cable connectors: 2pin, 0.78mm
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Wire: 5N OFC silver-plated cable
• Plug: 3.5mm

You can get HIFI BOY OS V3 at PenonAudio store

Packaging, design and build:

OS V3 box is wrapped with the additional cardboard slipcover which provides the information about main technical specifications and box contents. Removing it would reveal black matt box with shiny silver brand name and logo imprints.

Top cover features folding design with strong retaining magnet. Inner box compartment is neat and simple — most of the additional accessories as well as IEMs are packed inside the protective case while the additional adapters has their own cutouts in soft podium insert.

Box contents:

• HIFI BOY OS V3 IEMs
• audio cable
• 9 pairs of silicone eartips
• 2 pairs of foam eartips
• protective case
• 3.5mm->6.3mm adapter
• 3.5mm->2 x 3.5mm mono plug adapter

OS V3 shells are made of plastic with transparent glossy resin layer on top. This layer makes the whole construction feel very solid. Shiny silver brand logos are also protected by the resin layer.

Sound output nozzles are protruing from shells and make a single piece. Holes on top of the nozzles have different diameters and are not protected by any filters or grills.

Compensational openings are located on the back edge of the shells. 2pin, 0.78mm connector bases are slightly recessed inside the case and have pretty tight holes for the incoming pins.

Stock cable is 1.2 meters, made of OFC silver-plated twisted cores, features aluminum audio jack housing, Y-splitter, limiter and 2pin connectors made of transparent plastic and flexible earguides. There are blue (left) and red (right) channel indicating dots on 2pin connector housings.

Fit:

We have defined several types of shapes for ourselves that are commonly used in different IEMs: bullet (like Rose Mini2), moon (like TFZ No.3), drop (like Earnine EN2J), triangle (like LZ HIFI A6) and custom (like Kinera Idun). Only two of these are highly universal and always comfortable — bullet and custom. HIFI BOY OS V3 belong to custom design type with complicated shape that’s, in fact, having a perfect fit. No problems with the choice of eartips and very good experience during different physical activities.

Sound:

Tested with HiBY R6Pro DAP (3.5mm regular output, reference mode)

Lows and midbass:

Very good performance here. Bass presence is pretty big and accented which influences entire sound and makes it warm. Although, the extension of bass is only moderate in favor of dense and controured feel. It doesn’t bleed either into higher frequencies or lowest regions and stays perfectly audible (as if we were using closed type overheads). Texturing is above the average but doesn’t surprise too much due to restrained bass extension and mostly compact delivery.

Such behavior on lows builds very good ground for midbass section. It sound powerful, tight, equilally tinted by bass and treble and perfectly controlled. Dynamics is decent, drums sound rich, lively and full-bodied. Moreover, impedance of OS V3 IEMs makes those to be an easy load for the most of audio sources (even smartphones). This also help to maintain good articulation and dynamics at higher or lower volume settings.

Mids and vocals:

Mids feel recessed in comparison to other ranges but only very slightly — just enough to have good warm influence of bass and more resolution on top provided by treble. Female vocals don’t sound harsh or shouting even with recordings that would usually suffer from that. Male voices are pretty close to stage front and pretty thick as well. Resolution on mids might have been better with larger presence of treble but this would also lead to less smooth presentation and more sibilances. In overall, we like that mids have this nice warm timbre and enough thickness — this makes the sound more enjoyable for longer time. Additionally, there is quite good instrument separation and enough distancing from the lower range.

Treble:

Treble is more emphasized than mids but still not sufficeint to make the sound feel bright. We would say that it is quite soft and thick, with moderate extension and just enough to add the adequate clarity and resolution. Such approach is much closer to dynamic drivers, rather than BA units. We’d never take the right guess about driver types in OS V3 in blind test. Hard to judge on that matter if the entire sound is on the warmer side while treble is added that much of body and little accent. Anyway, very good micro dynamics here that should have given us a clue during our guess. Some new experience with hybrid IEMs in overall and rare example of signature affiliation with dynamic models. We can think of the opposite example — TFZ King Exclusive — dynamic IEMs with surprisingly clear and emphasized treble that reminds us of balanced armature sound.

Stage:

Imaginary scene width is slightly above the average. Tight bass doesn’t let it to expand further to sides while treble doesn’t help much to define huge vertical domain. What’s really good is layering and instrument separation in mids which creates a feel of tidy depth.

Sound in overall:

HIFI BOY OS V3 sound can be desribed as only slightly V-shaped, having a warm timbre, with perfectly contoured bass, decent midbass, fairly balanced vocals with good overall resolution on mids and slightly emphasized but not that extended treble. Very good for blues, jazz, vocals, instrumentals and other slow genres with limited amount of instruments.

Compared to LZ HIFI A6Mini:

A6Mini IEMs also belong to hybrid type but feature piezo-electric driver to handle the treble range. This gives the additional microdynamics, extension and clarity to treble with brighter signature in overall. Lows and midbass are pretty similar to OS V3 while A6Mini mids sound a bit thin and distant. Although, the resolution of mids is slightly higher and caused by heavier influence of sharper treble.

Compared to Shozy & Neo CP:

CP IEMs belong to pure armature set of drivers with excellent resolution and texturing. Despite that, signature is on the warmer side as well. The only two things that NEO lacks are more bass presence and more powerful midbass. OS V3 IEMs are exposing bass and midbass better while having less resolution and texturing in overall. Timbre of both models is kind of similar. We would recommend Shozy & Neo CP for faster genres with larger amount of intruments while OS V3 would be better for slower genres and for people that are more susceptible to treble.

Conclusion:

This is the third model of IEMs in our practice that brakes the rules and broadens customer choice in corresponding type or budget. HIFI OS V3 sound differs much from its hybrid siblings by combining armature driver micro dynamics and speed with warm and mild temper mostly common for dynamic models. Such tuning results in very good vocals, pretty balanced overall perception and fatigue free long listening experience. Therefore, HIFI BOY OS V3 deserves a special treatment for its rare sound signature, interesting combination of dynamic and armature driver benefits and their will to go against modern practices of building punchy but tiring presentation.

You can get HIFI BOY OS V3 at PenonAudio store