HiFi Boy OS V3

Introduction: HiFiBoy is a company that came out of nowhere about five years ago and seems to have disappeared just as quickly. Nevertheless Penon Audio recently reached out to me offering a review sample of the OS V3, a 1DD+2BA hybrid that garnered some fairly positive reviews back in 2018. I was curious not only to hear the IEM, but also to get a glimpse of the state of the industry several years before I dove down the IEM rabbit hole (in 2018 I was pretty much exclusively listening to full size cans). I will offer a brief spoiler: I came away extremely impressed with the HiFiBoy, which continues to more than hold its own despite the intervening years with all the substantial progress that has been made throughout this rapidly moving industry.

The OS V3 is priced at $159, situating itself in the entry-midfi price bracket. You can purchase a copy for yourself here. The specifications are as follows:

• Drivers: 2 Balanced Armature & 1 Dynamic Driver (Ultra-high frequency Balanced Armature + high frequency Balanced Armature + 7mm strong magnetic composite diaphragm Dynamic Driver )
• Impedance: 19 Ohm
• Sensitivity: 109 dB
• Frequency response 20Hz-20KHz
• Cable: 5N OFC silver-plated cable
• Connector: 2pin 0.78mm

Packaging & Accessories: The packaging is fairly nice for the price point; after removing the slip-cover and opening the black cardboard enclosure, we are greeted by a nice hardshell carry/storage case and two adapters (one 3.5mm-6.35mm and one airline adapter) encased in black foam. Inside the case we find the IEMs themselves with stock cable, along with a fairly wide selection of miscellaneous tips.
The choice of accessories more than anything else dates the OS V3 to my mind: both adapters have become increasingly rare these days, and the stock cable is clearly a relic of older days before manufacturers began to throw in much nicer cabling even at lower price points than this. There’s nothing wrong with the cable, mind you: it’s perfectly functional, sounds fine, and is relatively free of microphonics, but it’s fairly chintzy feeling and prone to tangling and makes heavy use of plastics rather than metal in the various junctures.



I tried the stock red tips but didn’t bother with the others, as I switched fairly quickly to JVC Spiral Dots which are my go-to tips for bass-heavy earphones.

Build & Comfort: The OS V3 are probably the first earphones I have ever encountered wherein the right earpiece is a different color than the left! For those preferring a more understated look than the semi-translucent red and blue pairing I received, there is also an all-black version available. The ergonomics themselves however are indisputably excellent: the semi-custom resin fit my ears perfectly, providing excellent isolation and great long-term comfort despite the vent for the dynamic driver.



Signature: But what about the actual sound? The OS V3 instead immediately impresses with an undeniably full, weighty bass and lower midrange. The slower decay of the DD-powered bass creates a rich atmospheric tonality, one which the somewhat dark treble region steps away in favor of, yet to which it still lends its light accents when called upon. This L-shaped IEM is unabashedly colored, but not at all to the degree of becoming unnatural; instead, it brings the sonic qualities of the recording to maximum fullness and richness.



Bass: While the low end of the OS V3 might not quite reach the levels needed to satisfy dyed-in-the-wool bassheads, nevertheless the excellent extension, substantial heft, and good texture combine to produce an extremely meaty and enjoyable experience which I cannot get enough of. The boost is applied in a linear fashion, favoring neither the sub-bass nor the mid-bass, opting instead to go for a cohesive presentation, reaching out well into the midrange but doing so in a manner which imparts a sense of fullness rather than bloat. Yes, those yearning for tightness and speed will want to look elsewhere, as the slower bass on offer here prioritizes a sense of atmospheric richness above all else. Nevertheless there is inexpressible addictive quality here that technical powerhouses are quite capable of misheeding entirely; musicality is the name of the game for the OS V3.

Mids: The emphasis is clearly on the lower midrange, which attains a euphonic degree of fullness which few IEMs can equal. The note weight of male vocals and instrumentation are on the thicker side, yet once again the organic richness does not preclude naturality (although certainly this is very far from neutrality). The lower midrange is also reasonably well-textured and detailed despite deprioritizing openness and clarity. The effect of this is that the emotional pull of the midrange is enhanced to a high degree, and this makes the OS V3 particularly well suited for lo-fi recordings and sparser arrangements which can benefit from such an enriching presentation. I am particularly fond of the rendition of pianos on this IEM. Meanwhile female vocals and strings take a step back in the mix, and although they are not quite energetic yet neither are they buried; rather, the priority is a smooth and fatigue-free sonic experience.



Treble: The treble continues this theme, being on the darker side although it is decently well-extended even so, and there is just enough air to avoid a sense of stuffiness. Sometimes I did find myself missing a bit of sparkle and shimmer, yet at the same time this relaxed musicality has its own charm and appeal. Again, HiFiBoy is targeting a rich, dense tonality centered on the bass and lower mids, which is only lightly accented by the treble region when called upon. Nevertheless I did find a surprisingly decent amount of detail present despite these tonal choices.

Soundstage & Technicalities: The technicalities are entirely in service to HiFiBoy's tonal vision: while it is not a detail monster by any stretch of the imagination, and the warm tuning precludes any vast reaches of space between the instruments and voices, nevertheless the two balanced armatures provide sufficient definition and clarity to prevent the atmospheric warmth from collapsing into mere syrupy congestion. HiFiBoy weaves quite the deft musical tapestry here, with rich hues and colors which entwine one another closely while still keeping every form clear and distinct. The stage possesses very good width and height and there is some depth as well, while the imaging is proficient enough to produce a well-ordered layering of instruments and voices despite the lack of air separating them. BA timbre is of course somewhat present, although it is far more well-controlled than I initially expected.



Conclusion: Tl;dr: want atmospheric bass, a euphonic midrange, and smooth fatigue free treble with competent technicalities at a very reasonable price? Buy the HiFiBoy OS V3. Even to this day, there are very few IEMs featuring such a full and rich yet natural tonality. I can give my full recommendation to this forgotten gem of an IEM.

I did like them in 2019.
Today it's just D-tier.

First of all: Sorry for the bad english...

One Note: This may be somewhat redundant, but this analysis is based on my subjective impressions about the handset and my experience, in general, with other IEMs/Headphones.

1- Accessories:

The HiFi Boy OS V3 comes in a very well finished package. The experience of Unboxing is quite satisfactory and makes you realize that it is not a bad product. Inside the box, you find a 1/4 TRS adapter and another for airplane; as well as a case, which will contain the IEM, already connected to the cable and A LOT of eartips. Being very demanding, I have as criticism the quality of the case, which, although not bad, is very simple, not very different from others that comes in cheaper models. Another point is that, although the earphone comes with several ear tips, including foams, there is no silicon tips. Instead, you will get common rubber eartips, like those found on most in ears of the market, besides the ones of foam. I also missed a cleaning tool. It is not very common this type of accessory in in ears in general, but I think it is essential for those that are built in this way (semi-custom), since there is no kind of mesh or protection screen on the nozzle.

2-Build Quality

The construction of this IEM is simply flawless. It is a hybrid IEM, with a dynamic driver and two balanced armatures. The manufacturer claims that they handmade, like the the custom IEMs. Its doesn't looks like a exageration...
We have here the use of acrylic resin, which apparently is the same used on the Custom IEMs from famous brands like Unique Melody, Ultimate Ears, Westone, Noble, JH Audio... The IEMs are very well polished, with no apparent imperfection. In addition, you can see the PVC tubes connected to the drivers, as well as the sound filters inside the tubes. There are two Tubes: one connected to the Dynamic Driver and one connected to the two balanced armatures.

Regarding to the cable, it is also of very High Quality. It is detachable, braided, very flexible and appears to have great resistance. I didn't notice any microphones while using the OS V3 on the go.

Ergonomics is also great. Although not the smallest size, I had no difficulty fitting it into my ear; On the first attempt I have already succeeded. The Sound insolation is also far above average.

3-Efficiency

With only 19 ohm of impedance and a sensitivity of 109 db/mW, the HiFi Boy OS V3 is quite efficient, and ia smartphone can run this IEM very well. I didn't notice any improvement in Sound Quality with amplification (fiio A5).

4-Sound

Now, the most important part of this review. I can describe the sound as very natural, organic, coherent, and relaxed. There is a good presence on all frequency bands and no excess in any of them. The sound signature is a very mild V-Shape, or almost an L-shape, with emphasis on bass, and with mids and treble almost at the same level of quantity, with a very small amount of treble more than the mids.

Lows: The bass of this IEM, for me, is the best aspect of its sound. It is noticeable the capacity of the dynamic driver, wich produces Sub-Basses with great presence, extension and control. The same can be said of Mid-Bass, which have great impact and definition and also very controlled. The low requencies of the OS V3 have enough presence and quantity to give you fun with musical genres that depend on bass, like EDM, for example; and at the same time they do not feel exagerated or interfere with the other frequencies. You will also not feel any lack of Bass. The Bass of the OS V3 are definitely one the best bass I've ever heard on a IEM/Headphone.


Mids: The mids are quite natural, velvety, warm, and a little dark. The most notable feature about the mid frequency of the OS V3 is the weight that they have. There is a small rise on the low-mids, which makes the general mids very meaty, palpable and gives considerable weight to musical instruments and voices, making the sound experience very pleasant. There is a small dip on the high-mids, which give a slightly darker character to the mids and favors more male voices than female voices. The positive side of this is that even the female voices are very pleasant and natural to listen, and there is no discomfort, sibilance or hashness on this frequency region. It makes the OS V3, a very safe-sounding IEM and great for long-listening sessions. Regarding to the "details" in this region, what I can say is that the Hi Fi Boy OS V3 will deliver all that are present in the recording, without any exageration or without creat "fake details".

Treble: The treble here is almost on the same quantity as the mid frequency, maybe a small amount more, in comparison. Despite this, they are quite relaxed, without any kind of exaggeration and complete absence of hashness or sibilance. I can consider the OS V3 treble as quite natural, and organic. Regarding the treble extension, I do not have anything to complain about: they are not the most extended treble I have ever heard, but they do the work very well and don't feel lacking on this regarding. The details produced by the treble are also excellent. Once again, here is applicable what I said about the detailing of the media: "what I can say is that the Hi Fi Boy OS V3 will deliver all that are present in the recording, without any exageration or without creat "fake details"". Overall, this relaxed character of the treble, as well as the slightly darker and meaty character of the mid frequency makes the sound of the OS V3 very musical, enjoyable and fatiguing-free.


Sound Stage: The sound stage of OS V3 is not much different than ones produced by almost all (good) IEMs on the market. Of course, because of physical limitations, it will not be like that of some Headphones. I prefer to describe it as having a natural Sound stage. Because it has a great stereo image, it exposes the instruments with very precise locations and will give the amount of stage provided by the recording.


5-Comparations (Sound):



Sony MH1C:

Although this IEM is in a price range totally different from the HiFi Boy OS V3, its sound quality is so high, that this comparison is appropriate.

The lows on MH1C are more emphasized than the ones of the OS V3, especially on the sub-bass region. In addition, there is a bit more definition (detailing) on the bass of OS V3, in comparation.

Regarding the midrange, The one of Sony has very distinctive personality in relation to the one of the OS V3. Since the MH1C has a frequency curve similar to the Harman IE target, it has less, body onthe midrange, however, it doesn't have thin-mids, there is enough body that are on a more neutral quantity, in comparation. The weight, brightness and linearity of the MH1C mid-range are more realistic, more neutral, natural than the ones of the OS V3. For example, guitar crunchs, trumpets, are more alive on the Sony than on the HiFi Boy. Despite this, there is no exaggeration on the high-mids of the MH1C, they basically are more neutral on this frequency range than OS V3. The good side of OS V3 by having darker and more relaxed mids is that at the same time it makes them softer and polite, against the the more linear, but "raw" mids of the Sony MH1C.

Regarding the Treble, although also quite controlled and non-exaggerated, like the OS V3, the treble of MH1C are a little higher in quantity than one of OS V3 and a little more correctly, in terms of timbre. We have here again the dichotomy: the greater naturalness of the treble of the MH1C as opposed to the greater refinement of the treble of OS V3, despite the small difference in quantity. About the sound-stage and imaging, they are very similar.

Tanchjim Cora:

Because it has a frequency response curve close to the Harman IE target, just like the Sony MH1C the two (Tanchjim Cora and Sony MH1C) have a very similar sound in terms of timbre, but with differences on the balance of the frequencies (Lows and Treble mainly).

The lows of the Tanchjim Cora are VERY similar to the ones of the HiFi Boy OS V3, both in terms of quantity and quality. I can not point out a clear difference between the two headphones. Both have similar emphasis and control, with great extension on the Sub-bass, great punch on the mid-bass and a lot of definition.

In terms of mids, the differences are remarkable. Tanchjim Cora's mids are very neutral and have more presence (in quantity) than the mids of OS V3. The naturality of the midrange of Tanchjim Cora amazing, with similar timbre to the one of Sony MH1C. The guitars have more "crunch", the voices have more (natuaral) brightness and at the same time much control. The difference here is that, although there is a lot similarities between the midrange of the MH1C and the Cora, I hear the mids of tanchjim more full-bodied, warm, refined, creamy and at the same time a little more present. I do not feel the mids of the Tanchjim "raw" as in MH1C. The HiFi boy, OSV3, compared to the Tanchjim Cora, will also have very soft and warm but also with a little more weight, because of the small rise of low-mids and less presence on the region of the high-mids. It makes the OS V3's mids more "dark" in comparison to the ones of the Cora. Like i said, the OS V3 has very natural and organic mids, however, do not reach the same naturality level of the ones of the Tanchjim Cora.

Talking aboud the to Treble, In terms of quantity, I see a lot of similarity between the treble of Tanchjim Cora and the OS V3. Both have more relaxed treble and details exposed in a natural and organic way, without exaggeration. In neither of the two i found any trace of hashness or sibilance. Both have very similar Sound -Stage.

Westone UM PRO 50:

I tested this IEM side-by-side with OS V3 for 3 days, on the final of the last year. I no longer have it in hand, so the impressions are according to what I remember at the time. Both have the very similar sound: soft, warm, relaxed and a little dark.

In terms of Lows, the OS V3 has a little higher quantity of sub-bass, You feel the OS V3 moving more air, due to the Dynamic driver wich produces the low frequencies, rather than the balanced armature used on the UM PRO 50 to this frequency range. About the mid-bass, both have similar punch as well as the definition.

Regarding the midrange, again, there are many similarities. The two have plenty of body, with a small lift on low-mids. Smoothness and detailing are also very similar. The difference that I noticed on the mids of the two is that although both are on the dark side, the ones of the UM PRO 50 are a little darker, with a slightly higher diponthe mid-high. The difference is very small, but on an attentive listening it is noticeable.

Talking about the the treble, once again, there is a lot of similarities: both without exaggeration, well controlled, detailed and relaxed. The difference is that the OS V3 has a little more qantity in treble than the UM PRO 50.
In terms of Soundstage and imaging, once again, both are very similar, with a small advantage for the UM PRO 50, in which I noticed with a bit more spatiality.

5 - Conclusion:

Great IEM for those who want a more natural and relaxed sound. There is the exchange of the "audiophile" standard with emphasized treble and highlighted details, for the musicality and fatiguing-free musical experience.

Specification:

• Brand: HiFi BOY
• Model: OS V3
• Drivers: 2 Balanced Armature & 1 Dynamic Driver (Ultra-high frequency Balanced Armature + high frequency Balanced Armature + 7mm strong magnetic composite diaphragm Dynamic Driver )
• Impedance: 19 Ohm
• Sensitivity: 109 dB
• Frequency response 20Hz-20KHz
• Cable Length: 1.2 m
• Plug: 3.5mm rhodium-plated
• Wire: 5N OFC silver-plated cable
• Connector: 2pin 0.78mm

Link where i Bought (Penon Audio): https://penonaudio.com/hifi-boy-os-v3.html

Price: 160 USD.