Source: Head-Fi
Introduction
First and foremost, I listen to full sized, open-back headphones. My current daily driver is a pair of ZMF Caldera open with thick earpads which I love. IEMs are a side interest for me, I am not following the latest releases. That said, I do have some experience with IEMs, just lately Meze sent me their relatively new Alba for review, but previously I also tested near $3000 IEMs from Unique Melody. I believe my extensive sonic experience with multiple headphones throughout more than a decade will compensate for my slightly less up to date stance on the current IEM market.
For this evaluation I mostly used my ZMF Aegis tube amplifier, but also my Cayin RU6 dongle DAC. The RU6 might not be the absolute best pairing with the I3, as the R2R DAC is warm, smooth and very analogue. While the I3 is neutral, it is also very smooth, so you might be better off with a crisper, more dynamic sounding portable source.
On the other hand, the ZMF Aegis is a very clean, precise and dynamic sounding tube amplifier. I also rolled clean and dynamic sounding tubes in it. The I3 scales surprisingly well with better sources, just like the Meze Alba does which later on we will use for direct comparison as a reference point.
ZMF Aegis and the chain I mostly used. Holo Cyan 2, EverSolo DMP A6 with LPS upgrade. Tubes are GEC U52, Mullard ECC35 slim base and Philips EL50/4654.
KeepHifi
I have to admit, I have not heard of KeepHiFi previously, so I did some research. They are a China based company, specialised in budget IEMs. When I say budget, I mean they even offer nice looking IEMs for only $10 (!). You can find several IEMs on their website with various driver types and combinations between $10 and $100. Some offerings between $100 and $200, and their current flagship, the TRI I3 MKIII for $219, which we are having a look at today. KeepHiFi owns three brands: TRI, KBEAR and CCZ. The sound engineer behind these IEMs seems to be one person. KeepHiFi is also a distributor of four other brands.
I wonder, if KeepHiFi was able to come up with such cool IEM names as 'Draco', 'Starsea' and 'Rosefinch', why on earth is their flagship called TRI I3 MKIII? A forgettable code name.
Packaging, design, comfort
The TRI i3 MKIII comes in a nice box with plenty of accessories. The carrying case with a magnetic lock looks cool and feels good quality. There is a generous selection of eartips included as well as a nice and good quality, light and non-tangling 4.4 mm cable. Not having a 3.5 mm cable is fine with me, most people use 4.4 mm with their IEMs these days.
Foam tips and three types of good quality silicon tips can provide a good fit for anyone.
The I3 is a 'tribrid', triple driver IEM with a 10 mm beryllium coated dynamic driver for bass, a quality Sonion 2356 balanced armature driver for mids, and somewhat unconventionally, a small planar transducer for treble. The three drivers are packed in a nicely designed, very comfortable and ergonomic, durable aluminium chassis. The solid, CNC aluminium body is anodized to reach this colour, not painted. This will prevent scratches, further increasing a premium feel and longevity. I like that KeepHiFi decided to go with a bold colour instead of a boring black or grey, even if this colour would not necessarily be my personal choice.
I often struggle with a comfortable fit when it comes to IEMs, but the I3 just sits in my ears perfectly. I never experienced any discomfort even after hours of listening. These IEMs sit quite deep in the ear canal, much deeper than the Meze Alba for instance. This helps to achieve a good seal for more people easier, which is crucial with IEMs, and also increases passive noise isolation. Overall, the I3 is nicely built, comes with a generous number of accessories, a nice cable, plus they are also very comfortable. All boxes ticked so far; how do they sound then?
Dynamic driver, BA and planar achieving coherence coming from three acoustic channels.
Sound
Tuning different types of drivers in order to provide a coherent sound is not an easy task. I have heard bad examples previously, like the UM 3DD-Ti. The three dynamic drivers in that very quickly discontinued IEM just lacked coherence and a seamless transition between frequency ranges. Luckily, on the I3 I cannot detect any issues on this front; the dynamic, BA and planar drivers work well together, the soundscape is coherent, one whole.
One of the first characteristics of the I3 that pops out is its smooth and inoffensive nature. They provide a creamy smooth and rather neutral sound without any noticeable, troublesome peaks. The sound has good texture, body and thickness, notes are rounded and have adequate weight.
Technicalities
In my opinion overall technicalities on the I3 correlate with their price point, they offer what one would expect from a $200 IEM. Soundstage is not enormous, but has a good size with pretty accurate instrument placement. The size of the stage is slightly bigger than on the Meze Alba. I would call the I3 a neutrally tuned IEM with a little sub-bass emphasis. Mid-bass is not emphasised and there is a complete lack of treble peaks which both contribute to a neutral sonic impression.
The I3 is not the quickest sounding IEM, transients are a little bit on the slower side. Attack is a bit soft and decay a bit lazy. This helps tremendously with softness, smoothness and texture, but does not help dynamics, speed and impact. Still, within this neutral and pleasantly smooth tuning the I3 offers enough detail and resolution that one would expect at this price point.
Now, let us have a look at the frequency ranges, as mostly that is where I am not entirely happy with everything I hear.
Bass is fine in general, but to my ears and taste it is slightly imbalanced. It sounds like the designer engineer intentionally pulled back mid-bass, but at the same time put some emphasis on sub-bass. I am not against a pulled-back, flatter mid-bass response, this is a tuning choice. (I also find the over-emphasised bass presentation of TWS earbuds irritating.) In a way, it is refreshing to hear a neutrally tuned mid-bass on a relatively affordable pair of IEMs, but at the same time this tame mid-bass area just lacks punch and excitement for modern music. This tuning is actually quite helpful for monitoring purposes, if not musical enjoyment is your number one objective. For musicians on a stage a flatter response can be quite handy, until we sink into the elevated sub-bass region. In a way it is good to have excellent bass extension, but the quantity below 80-100Hz is noticeably more than what you get between 100-300Hz. Ideally, I would like to see a better balance: a little less sub- and a little more mid-bass. I never thought I would write down such a sentence, as I usually prefer a controlled mid-bass and good sub-bass presence, but in the case of the I3 I think they went a bit too far.
Sub-bass gives a good foundation to bassy songs, but the mid-bass punch, bite and impact is often missing from certain tracks. With some music it is fine, with others it feels a bit unusual and imbalanced.
Lovely cable.
Mids are where these IEMs excel. The BA driver does a good job in providing a natural timbre with good texture. Detail is adequate and the overall smoothness helps to create pleasant vocals and believable acoustic instrument characteristics. The flatter mid-bass somewhat carries onto the lower-mids, putting a little more emphasis on upper-mids. This helps female vocals but is slightly less favourable for male vocals. Female vocals have a nice, open presence while male vocals occasionally can feel a little subdued. Overall, I am happy with the smooth and natural mid presentation of the I3. Body and texture of the mids are the highlight of these IEMs.
Everything is better with tubes, even better if they are clean and dynamic sounding like on the ZMF Aegis.
Treble is the area I have the most issues with. I am relatively treble sensitive and often like a smoother, darker treble versus a bright one. For example, I prefer Audeze LCD 2/3/4 versus oval HiFiMan headphones for this reason. The I3 to my ears sounds a bit like the other extreme on the spectrum: treble is so smooth and inoffensive, lacking any sorts of frequency peaks, that often it feels like the upper frequencies are shadowed. In the marketing material KeepHiFi says you can expect 'electrostatic-like' treble from this planar driver. I cannot hear that. Electrostatic sound is fast, nimble, detailed. This treble has a good body, but it's a bit dark. It is only dark on certain spots, but that is pretty consistent.
On the one hand it is good news that the I3's inoffensive and smooth treble won't cause anyone treble fatigue; on the other hand, the complete lack of treble frequency emphasis makes some treble detail and information remain so much in the background, they almost feel lost. On the frequency graphs that I found online, I can see a strong downslope from 4K upwards. My ears also confirm this pulled back treble that lacks any kind of shimmer or excitement. For some strongly treble sensitive people this could be a good thing, but I think the majority of listeners will miss a bit of a shine, shimmer and openness in the high frequencies. Tuning treble is a tricky game, as many people are sensitive to different treble areas, but in my opinion KeepHiFi just played this game too safely this time. So safely, that the lack of treble bite actually bit back.
Versus Meze Alba
The best direct comparison I could come up with was my Meze Alba, Meze's entry level, single DD IEM for $159. I call it entry level, but currently this is the only IEM Meze officially offers. Previously they had higher-end IEMs like the $600 Advar or the originally $1000 Rai Penta which are both discontinued.
So, how does the entry level Meze compare to KeepHiFi's flagship? I was surprised to realise that they actually play on similar grounds, when it comes to general performance. Despite the single DD versus tribrid configuration, detail level, resolution and overall technical performance are absolutely comparable. The I3 sounds more neutral, smoother and has a thicker body, but lacks the airiness, clarity and dynamic energy of the Alba. In fact, the only area where in my opinion the I3 has an advantage is the more textured mids. The Alba sounds livelier, with a more open treble that sparkles at the right places. For example, percussion on the Alba sounds snappy and 'shiny' while on the I3 snare drums can come across damped, almost blunt. Initially the Alba might sound a little thinner, but to my ears it is better balanced. Mid-bass is slightly emphasised on the Alba which with its quicker transients and stronger dynamic punch leads to a more enjoyable performance. Alba sounds airier, cleaner, tighter, more alive and exciting. Someone who is after a more neutral, smooth, completely inoffensive and thicker sound, might prefer the I3, but to my ears the Alba is the better tuned IEM and I find the sound more interesting, more engaging.
A handful of example tracks from the many I used
Billie EIlish - Bad Guy: good sub-bass base, but mid-bass lacks dynamics and impact. Claps sound flat and dull compared to Meze Alba.
London Grammar - Talking: nice, smooth and full female vocal but some background treble information gets lost.
Vibrasphere - Northern Sunsets: full sub-bass is nice, but almost too much in quantity versus other areas. I miss the treble openness and sparkle.
Rúnahild - Ørnedans: Nice tone and body for acoustic instruments and vocals. Treble lacks air and sparkle, resulting in a slightly claustrophobic upper end of the stage.
Elsiane - Vaporous: Drums and percussion just feel a bit soft and damped, lacking snappiness and dynamics. Nice vocals though.
Conclusion
While I think the I3 has strong points at build quality, comfort and accessories, to my ears the tuning is a bit uneven and has areas to improve. I did like the overall smoothness, rich texture in the mids and good body of the sound but disliked the uneven quantity between sub- and mid-bass as well as the shadowed treble that occasionally even lacks some information. Despite my criticism I think the I3 is not a bad sounding IEM, they actually sound alright, without significant faults. I rated them four out of five stars, which means good but not excellent. The issues I highlighted are not deal breakers, but areas to improve in my opinion. I think, if KeepHiFi wants to stand out from the ocean of budget IEMs, they need to improve the tuning balance. In a review like this I have to be critical, hopefully in a constructive manner.
If you like a smooth, neutral sound with thick body and texture and a highly inoffensive treble, these might be for you. If you like a bit more open sound, more air, better dynamics, excitement and punch, there are more attractive alternatives out there. KeepHiFi, thank you for this opportunity and I wish you all success with future releases!
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