THE PLUS:
-smooth natural balance
-can go from warm punchy neutral to lean bright neutral
-fast round punchy bass
-good bass line and kick drum layering
-tactile presence
-rich timbre
-full mids with great focus
-beautifull male and female vocal with proper fullness
-fast crunchy treble
-good imaging
-versatile tonality
-beautiful construction
-switch that work
-good accessories
THE MINUS:
-lack of crispness, air, brilliance and sparkle
-compressed spatiality
-not cleanest bass and mids separation
-treble roll off
-average resolution
-mature musicality mean some might find those boring (i dont)
-not the most competitive technical performance for 1K$
-3.5mm single ended cable is a bit anachronical nowadays….
TONALITY: 8.5/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.8/10
TIMBRE: 8.5/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 7.5/10
IMAGING: 8.5/10
MUSICALITY (subjective): 8.2/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8.8/10
ACCESSORIES: 8.5/10
SOUND VALUE: 7.8/10
INTRO
Oriveti is a well established IEM company from Hong Kong, China. It was founded in 2015 and since then they have launched launched hybrid IEM like the OH700VB I’ve reviewed and tremendously enjoy, as well as multi-BA driver OV series I will discover with you today. They began launching single dynamic driver IEM too with their OD series, OD200 receiving quite good praise among the audiophile community (haven’t tried this one though).
Today I will discover the OV series by testing the top of the line OV800 which is an 8BA IEM with 2 switches to offer 4 different tuning choices.
Oriveti has designed their own balanced armature drivers for mids (4BA) and highs (2BA) while they use the very capable knowles BA woofer for bass part (2BA). In fact, I’m really fond of these knowledgeable BA woofers especially when using 2 and this is what pushed me in first place to test the OV800 (as well as the overwhelming love I have for the OH700VB).
As well, this IEM uses a 3 way active crossover, which is a must to achieve proper tuning with that many drivers.
The sound ideal Oriveti pursued with OV800 is described as ‘’sophisticated, balanced, natural with a luxurious low-pitched sound’’. If you noted OV800 uses half of its BA for mid range, you can expect fullness without lower mids compromise with those.
Priced 999$, the OV800 has been launched 2 years ago and can be put into the high end multi BA market that include 64audio, Aroma Audio and Unique Melody offering.
Let’s see in this review if the OV800 offers a sound quality and musicality that is worthy of attention in 2024.
CONSTRUCTION-ACCESSORIES
The OV800 is a handmade resin earphone, it uses medical grade resin plastic of excellent quality that feels thick and sturdy. The plastic is dark green and half transparent, so with some light you can see 8 balanced armature hidden in its belly.The finish is very smooth and the beautiful wooden back plate has intricate wood texture and pattern, its dark green has an earthy feel to it, it’s sober and elegant, not flashy and bling bling. As I like. At the top we have a female 2 pin connector, it’s non recessed and aligns flatly with the rest of curvy housing that has an organic shape without any hard angle that could poke the ear cavity.
The back has 2 switches, deeply embedded in the body. You need a tool to change position which is a bummer but very common. I wish we can get these switch designs with just 2 mm extra length so we can change position with our nails. Oriveti tries to solve this with their OH700VB but goes to another extreme making a too long and flimsy single switch…that you can swap accidentally.
Anyway, the OV800 uses a common switch used with 99.999% other IEMs on the market.The housing is at the big, long and chunky size, so people with very small ears should take note, the nozzle is very thick too, among biggest in my collection, very same size as OH700, this make ear tips fit complicate as well as making it risky bet for people with small ear canal. No problem for my elephantine ears.
The included cable is quite good, it’s a 8 wire silver-plated copper cable that looks very luxurious. The cable splitter is made of sculpted metal and a real looker. While this cable screams quality and durability, it comes in 3.5mm single ended format, which is a bit odd nowadays with all these balanced portable sources. But I understand it’s an older IEM, the cable included with OH700 is more practical in that regard since it’s modular with 3 different changeable plugs. I wish the OV800 had this very cable.
When it comes to packaging, I’m the kind to enjoy the smallest , most minimalist one in terms of vain package material yet highest accessories quantity and quality.
Oriveti seems to dislike over the top packaging, which is a plus. OV800 comes in a small cubic box which is elegant and well made. It’s fully packed with various ear tips types, we have 8 pairs of silicone eartips in 3 models, 2 pairs of memory foam tips and unexpectedly: 3 pairs of Azla Xelastec.
As well, we have an excellent carrying case, beautiful and sturdy, made of leather and round and deep, very elegant too.
We have a nice cable and a cleaning brush, a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter plug and a 3.5mm to 2 pole adapter I don’t know the name of nor the use.
All in all, very satisfying construction and accessories, and adequate for the price range of this product (some more rubbish luxurious IEMs companies should take Oriveti as an example in that regard).
SOUND IMPRESSIONS
The overall tone of the OV800 is neutral, balanced and smoothly bright with 2 switches that can increase the intensity of the bass and treble, which influences the liveliness of the rendering and the energy as well as the abrasiveness of the attack of the harmonic and rhythmic.
Both downward switches deliver a flatter musicality devoid of any coloration.
The 1 towards the top adds a touch of warmth, density, palpable roundness and especially bass impact.
The 2 upwards is the most aggressive in the treble, the sharpest in the cutting of instrumental definition and the least focused on the bass, it would be the ideal choice for analytical listening such as mixing or sound mastering.
Both towards the top offers the most lively balance over the entire range and could be considered W-shaped where the presence and body of the bass, mids and highs are pushed the most forward, without becoming incoherent or too excited in their dynamic and tonal cohabitation.
The OV800 are IEMs delivering a mature and highly articulated intimate musicality without being harsh, clear without being garish and neutral without falling into the clinical. They are energetic because the impression of speed of the music is not attenuated by the performance limits of its 8 balanced transducers or muffled by the coloration arising from overly amplified bass resonance.
These IEMs do not offer a very warm or sweet musicality, even if the balance of textures and colors is not dry and artificial.
Unlike the OH700VB which are more bassy, colorful and warm, the OV800 aims for a reference sound reproduction with amplified resolution in its expressiveness without becoming eccentric or caustic.
Neither bassheads nor treble heads will find their dose of guilt with these IEMs with their mature and polymorphous tone. So, who knows, maybe the extra bass or treble that the 2 “tuning switches” allow would please a wider audience.
The BASS has a medium impact intensity with a slightly cut extension in its sub bass release duration. It’smore boosted and focused on mid bass punch and roundness than sub bass extension and rumble which cut short.
Due to the fact that we have two BA woofers for this section, the articulation and separation of the bass lines (infra bass) and kick drum (mid bass) is excellent.
The downward extension is not very dense or rumbly, it is a little compressed which thickens the bass lines and amplifies their vibration speed, making them more opaque but also more tactile and well defined into the macro dynamics.
What is impressive is that the bass lines do not swallow up the kick drum which is also round, fleshy and fast. The mid bass are focused, they are fast and a little softened in their cutting angle, the transition in the mids is not the cleanest.
The kick shell blends into the lower mids without clean air that will widen the sense of separation with kids, it in fact makes it more intimate and cohesive as a whole.
I’m often underwhelmed by acoustic kick drum sound envelope with most IEM, this isn’t the case here since we have a whole BA woofer for this purpose, it mean the kick is round and weighty in it’s impact, it’s dynamic isn’t flatten nor just about static brighten presence, the texture is subtle but realist and the speed is impressive, even drum rolling have their attack accent well articulated in busy track, this mean the OV800 deal well with jazz and rock.
But it doesn’t mean it can present whole fullness of double bass note release that vibrate down to 20hz but feel compressed in it’s natural air flow here, it’s not boomy though and fast player bass line are easy to follow, it do better for electric bass that tend to preserve their grunt.
Don’t expect big or deep rumble, but well articulated layering and speedy bass with just a notch of warmth into mids transition, this isn’t thin bass, mid bass being round and tactile and felt in punch but it’s not a fun bass either, thus the mature tonality.
I tend to prefer wider headroom and heavier slam, but find this bass presentation excellent for rock and jazz as well as IDM. Surprisingly, it’s due to its effortless speedy nature that it doesn’t struggle to keep up with fast rhythm pace.
Overall very good bass quality, but like all multi-BA i’ve try (and I try a lot) their sub bass roll off going on, some try to add resonance to mimic fake rumble here it’s not boomy, its presence of bass line and flesh of kick drum that can cohabit together with docility.
Keywords: Fast, thumpy, warm mid bass, good bass line presence and cue, well rounded and good note weight.
The mid range is the main focus of these and offer effortlessly good resolution with a great focus on center stage, which is intimate and near the listener without going anamorphic in instrument presence in the sense nothing feels bigger or smaller in physical size.
It’s not super spacious and hall like with recessed center stage that add sense of openness, in fact we have a hint of warmth going on that add hint of lushness and coloring to instrument and vocal which are dense but not stretched in presence, it act like a smooth monitoring IEM, in that regard it make me think of Hifiman Audivina (which is a bit strange since it’s an headphone).
These are smoothly bright mids with polished attack edge, instrument loudness intensity is controlled, their no shouting nor sibilance with OV800.
It’s very versatile in tone so both male and female vocals sound realistic and full in harmony, with just a hint of dark texture. Upper mids aren’t too energetic and in fact some treble heads will ask for more, but the dynamic isn’t dull nor do mids feel recessed. I can’t handle thin or shouty vocals and the OV800 avoids this gloriously, those are safe but highly informative mids.
The piano sound sweet and have good note weight, it’s not thin nor cold which prove we have enough lower mids presence too, it’s not sharply define yet have speedy attack with dense sustain release and natural airy resonance, i find resolution a bit warm sometime especially when fast not playing happen, we get interphasing of their sustain-release that affect readability slightly. Tone color wise, as a pianist I find it irreprochable but limited in fine details and natural extension which is part of realism of restitution too.
Saxophone and brass instruments sound very good, the slight lack of definition edge is a benefit for this instrument, we don’t have boosted lips or blowing texture details here that can distract from tone and timbre goodness, trumpet don’t sound boxy or piercing too.
To be noted, lifting switch 2 (treble) adds upper mids, so this makes vocals more upfront and bright, without going harsh, while lifting just switch 1 (bass) adds warmth but affects intensity of presence dynamic, making it darker and more mellow.
Keywords: Full sounding, colorful, good balance between harmonic and fundamental, natural timbre, unforced resolution.
The treble is smoothly bright, lean and balanced in extension but a bit lacking in terms of ultra-high air, brilliance and sparkle. This is very common with multi-BA whatever the number, even 64 audio U18T lack as much sparkle and brilliance as OV800.
This is the type of highs that don’t attract (or distract) attention yet don’t miss sound info which is plenty here, just not force on the listener. Passive listeners as well as treble heads will feel OV800 lack excitement and energy in attack, as well as boost in micro details.
This is a safe but well articulated treble that offers full restitution of percussions, each sound envelope of those cymbals are densified with sustain-release, with a soft attack lead that doesn’t affect attack speed delivery but doesn’t add a lot of snap, bite or brilliance to it either.
Whole macro dynamic and tonal balance of OV800 feel cohesively rounded and even homogeneous as a whole, it’s no spiky or shouty highs here, nor super crisp, clean and airy one. Sens of air around instruments is limited since they are close to each other within compactly layered soundscapes that make the musical experience intimate and engaging.
I find the lower treble very appealing and well done, instrument like violin sound tonaly full with a warm timbre to it and tactile presence, it’s balanced in texture and not prompt of unwanted timbre artifact like overly loud bow stroke presence nor overly high pitched note that will sound oddly intense compared to other, it’s all smooth and well carved in presence.
Then when we go with acoustic guitar using metal string, the attack lead will feel a bit scooped and overly softed, we can’t ‘’see’’ the string being pull and release crisply, then the release is a bit densify with euphony which affect proper readability of fast playing.
We could say the same for harp, it will lack brilliance and long airy clean decay.
Keywords: Fast, more crunchy than snappy and sparkly, full sounding, rich in sound info, smooth and safe.
The soundstage is intimate and closed on the listener, acting like a musical cocoon and puting you near center stage. It’s taller than wider and deeper, we have good stereo perception at our side of our head, not in a airy and distant way.
The imaging is quite great, which is surprising for this type of spatialization, it’s not very wide in instrument separation space and we don’t have lot of air around instrument for analytical positioning but the sound layers aren’t mixed togheter and we can easily perceive presence of each instrument in polyphonic ensemble.
SIDE NOTES
At 15ohm of impedance and 110db of sensitivity, the OV800 aren’t hard to drive nor overly sensitive but it’s better to be cautious with multi-BA and use a source with output impedance lower than 1ohm, this will avoid unwanted harmonic distortion that can warm the bass and overall clarity. A crisp and dynamic sounding source is suggested to add a bit of air and honor the technical performance potential.
The the ear tips are very important and like with the OH700VB, quite capricious and hard to find perfect one due to very chunky nozzle. I use very same short wide bore ear tips so the nozzle hole don’t get blocked which avoid unwanted reflection of sound projection as well as compressions of all BAs in mass inter-phasing.
OV800 are sensitive to cable, which is quite common with multi-BA. The stock one is excellent but limited to 3.5 unbalanced purpose. OV800 worth the balanced cable upgrade and my go to is Simgot LC7 which improve imaging and sens of spatial openess.
COMPARISONS
VS LETSHUOER EJ09 (1DD4BA4EST-1000$)
The EJ09 offers clearer, brighter tonality with a more U-shaped balance and more analytical and technically capable treble.
The bass is cleaner with a deeper and linear extension, less striking dynamics, the kick drum is more faded and less rounded and felt and defined in its impact. The bass and sub bass lines are more boosted, flexible and dense and transparent in their extension but even if the OV800 seems more boomy in the dynamic projection, the superposition of the bass lines, kick drum and mid frequency is better cut and therefore more easy to read.
Mediums are more open, transparent and recessed. The resolution is higher but the dynamic is more restrained apart from the intensity of the high harmonics which tends to make the timbre more grumpy and the vocals more prone to sibilance. The OV800s are warmer and less sharp in the envelope contour of presence, the instruments are less aggressive in their projection, more fleshy and colorful in their timbre which is less amplified in texture, less transparent, more centered on the scene which is closer to the listener.
The highs are more pointed, sparkling and put forward. Percussion is more vivid and precise with a faster and more controlled attack speed, less affected by the euphony of high-velocity sustain-release. There is more air and the extension past 10 khz is greater. The timbral cohesion is not as organic as the OV800 due to a more varied diversity of drivers.
Spatiality is broader and deeper.
Instrumental separation and positioning is more precise and analytical.
The EJ09 offers superior technical performance to the OV800, particularly high frequencies which are more brilliant, defined and detailed. In terms of tonal balance, the OV800s are more cohesive and neutral, with more natural and muted mids.
VS LETSHUOER CONDUCTOR (1DD+3BA+4EST-900$)
The Conductor is crisper and more U shaped in balance with notably sparklier and snappier treble.
The bass is less thick and punchy but more boosted in sub bass and digging deeper, it delivers longer rumble sustain and has a cleaner separation.
Mids are more open and airy, more transparent, a notch thinner especially male vocal and female vocal are a bit sharper as well as upper mids, timbre wise OV800 is darker and lusher, smoother, but struggle more to keep macro dynamic readability with fast busy track, their a notch more warmth.
Treble deliver higher amount of micro details, feel more analytical with faster attack that has sharper definition, snappier attack lead as well as notably more brilliance, it’s easier to follow complex speedy percussions, this make the COnductor feel W shape in balance too even if main focus is bass and treble.
Soundstage is wider and deeper, cleaner too.
Imaging is superior in both layering transparency and instrument separation space.
All in all, tonality wise the OV800 is more cohesive as a whole due to more uniforme timbre sharing between BA drivers, but musicality is leaner, warmer and a notch more mid centric too. In terms of plain technical performance it can’t compete against the Conductor which offers better extension in both low and high end as well as higher resolution and superior imaging and attack control.
VS ORIVETI OH700VB (1DD+6BA-700$)
These are big crushes of mine and the music is very different even if in terms of mids and treble we have the Oriveti smoothness going on.
OH700VB is warmer and notably bassier, it’s more U shape with greater sub bass boost, these seem basshead compared to more neutral with slight mid bass boost OV800 which are brighter too.
The bass is more dense and tactile, ticker and lusher and less opaque too, the slam hits harder with wider headroom and rumble digs way deeper with more vibrancy and appealing realism. Cello, double bass, electric bass all sound more lively and natural, with a meatier presence that is richer in colorful texturing. Bass line can feel compressed and scooped in a natural way more with OV800, yet the acoustic drum kick has rounder and punchier presence, which OH700 can dominate with bass line or rumble. Nonetheless, both quality and quantity is superior with OH700VB and without bass boost it’s cleaner in separation.
Mids are more upfront and focused with OV800 yet smoother and lusher and thicker with OH700VB don’t have recessed mids, just not as bright in presence boost and a notch darker overall. Both male and female vocals are wider but more laid back, creamier, hint more natural with OH700VB. OV800 mids are more compressed in presence size and centered in the stage, it doesn’t trigger as much emotional response though male vocals are a bit thicker and more realistic.
Treble of OH700 is darker and more foggy, less snappy and well defined in attack, it offers less articulate percussion as well as lower micro details retrieval. Attack is more snappy and crisp with OV800, it’s cleaner on top too even with no end game in that regard. There is no doubt it uses superior BAs for highs.
Soundstage is wider, deeper and taller with OH700, no competition here, OH800 sound in your head and very intimate compared to its bassier lil brother.
Then for imaging its OV800 that is superior, without being endgame it offers greater layering speed and articulation, vocal will not over shadow as much other mid range instrument too, making spatial cue more accurate overall.
All in all, no doubt I personally prefer the bassier and lusher musicality of the OH700, but technical performance goes to the OV800 even if just slightly superior in terms of treble response it’s not lifting as much sound info in the dark.
CONCLUSION
The Oriveti OV800 are excellent all-arounder IEM that can be consider as ”Jack of all trades, master of tone” since whatever instrument or vocal and music style I throw at them, they render it in a balanced dynamism with top notch timbre fullness and very focused mid range.
To say i’m enamoured of an IEM fullfill with balanced armature is even suprising for myself, other one that come to mind is NightOblivion Butastur but OV800 is less warm and laid back in musicality, as well as a notch superior in imaging and clarity.
The OV800 offer a mature and refined musicality that don’t over favor any frequencies to the detriment of other, it aim for musical fluidity without spiky asperity that will affect immersivity contentment. It’s an intimate cocoon you hide in for hours of music enjoyment with rich holographic layering that you are part of.
Sure, in term of plain technical performance for the price, it lack a bit of ultra highs extension, sparkle and air, but this would perhaps affect the great mid range focus we got.
The fact you have 2 switch that can add bass, warmth or offer flatter neutrality that is adequate for monitoring purpose raise the overall sound benefit of this marvelous IEM.
Unless your on a tight budget, those OV800 are
Recommended!
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PS: I want to thanks Oriveti for sending me this review sample. As always, i’m not affiliated nor take part of any marketing or promoting strategy. These are my subjective sound impressions and opinions.
You can order the OV800 from Oriveti official store here:
https://www.oriveti.com/shop
No Borders Audiophile 