Oriveti O800 Review – Redefine

The Pitch –

The O800 is Oriveti’s current flagship IEM and their first model utilising an all-BA design. It retails for $799 USD.

Pros –

Striking and comfortable design, Great stock cable, Smooth yet highly resolving sound tuning, Spacious soundstage with outstanding depth, Powerful yet natural vocal presentation

Cons –

Larger housings, Not for those wanting huge engagement

Verdict –

The O800 provides one of the most refined takes on a smooth and coherent sound signature I’ve experienced at far from prohibitive pricing.

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Introduction –

Though such can be had for just a few dollars in the modern day, a few years ago, AKG’s kilo-buck K3003 shook the audio world with its hybrid driver setup. With such context, a small handful of brands rose to the challenge, demonstrating that such a driver configuration could be effectively miniaturised and done so without the exorbitant pricing. Oriveti’s Primacy was one of those pioneers that, at under a third of the cost of the K3003, provided a metal-build, superlative comfort and the smooth, clean sound that has become a core character of the company. An admirable aspect of Oriveti’s approach here is that, after 6 years of operation, the company has only refreshed their product line once. They are not driven by turnover, but a desire to maximise performance for cost. Meet the O800, the company’s latest flagship. As its name suggests, this model forgoes the hybrid setup the company is perhaps most acquainted with in favour of an 8-BA setup. It targets the smooth and robust Oriveti house sound with a slightly lusher tonality and resembles the recent OH earphones in terms of design. There are definitely some interesting features at play here that justify the higher asking price and, in true Oriveti fashion, this comes across as a refined and meticulous design that has had plenty of time to mature.

You can read more about the O800 and treat yourself to a set here.

Disclaimer –

I would like to thank Marco from Oriveti very much for his quick communication and for providing me with the O800 for the purpose of review. All words are my own and there is no monetary incentive for a positive review. Despite receiving the earphones free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation.

Contents –

• Page 1: Intro, Unboxing, Design
• Page 2: Sound and Source Pairings
• Page 3: Comparisons & Verdict

Specifications –

• Drivers: 8 Balanced Armatures, 3-way Crossover
• Impedance: 15 Ohms
• Frequency Response: 10 Hz – 40 kHz
• Sensitivity: 110 dB @ 1kHz
• Cable: Handmade Class 8 SPC with 2-pin Connector

Behind the Design –

Handmade Shells

Each O800 is hand-made by Oriveti through a painstaking process similar to that of CIEMs. They are hand polished with only 2 units being made per day. This enables the company to achieve a higher level of finish in addition to tighter QC.

Custom Drivers

The O800 features an extensive driver setup consisting of 2x BA woofers, 4x BA midrange drivers and 2x BA tweeters. The woofers are from Knowles while the mid and high BA drivers have been produced in-house to Oriveti’s desired specifications. This is very rarely seen even in high-end designs and, indeed, the O800 does provide a unique and appealing sound.

Semi-Open Port

The O800 features a pressure-relief port on the face plate that reduces wearing pressure for comfort in addition to providing the impression of a larger soundstage. Oriveti assure that this does not affect noise isolation.

Diffuser Wave Guide

Aero-grade aluminium nozzles with convex ends function as a wave guide to improve phase coherence between the drivers and optimise the frequency response. This contributes to a cleaner and more detailed sound with sharper imaging.

Unboxing –

The O800 comes packaged within a small box that is a departure from the more grandiose OH and Primacy earphones. The square form factor is charming, providing the impression of a gift. Inside are the earphones within a foam inlet and below is the leather button-clasp carrying case identical to that included on the OH-earphones. There’s also a layer of accessories within foam inlets, a 1/4″ adapter, airplane adapter and cleaning tool in addition to a wealth of ear tips – 3 pairs of memory foam tips, 3 pairs of silicone tips, double flange ear tips and a container of Sedna fit Xelastec ear tips in 3 sizes. The Xelastec tips have become very popular as of late for their unique TPE construction that enables them to change shape when warmed by body heat similar to memory foam tips. They are very grippy and provide a unique sound that is well-suited to the O800 to my ears.

Design –

One surely cannot deny the charm of Oriveti’s hand-made resin shells, especially here in stunning race-car green. The O800, in particular, represents a pleasing step up from the OH-earphones with a noticeably more complex construction. The shells boast a flawless hyper-gloss finish that is perfectly even across its surface. There are no joins or seams, only smooth curves and undulations. The polished bronze nozzle is a delightful complement that enhances the premium look and feel. Meanwhile, a subtle brushed texture on the faceplates adds awesome luster under light while the subtle silver branding provides depth for some added visual intrigue. I love the way these earphones look and feel, if you’re going to forgo a metal build on your flagship, this is the way to do it.

Up top are non-recessed 0.78mm 2-pin connectors as opposed to MMCX used on previous models. Oriveti’s implementation feels sound with good tension and even tolerances inspiring confidence on both earpieces. The cable itself is similar to that on the OH-series, an 8-core SPC unit. It has a smooth and supple jacket that makes it very compliant, especially considering the somewhat larger gauge. Microphonic noise is a non-issue and the size of the cable alongside its smoothness makes it very tangle resistant. Metal connectors further enhance the feel and the cable is terminated in a nicely relieved and case friendly 3.5mm plug. The pre-moulded ear guides are comfortable and aid a stable fit.

Fit & Comfort –

Like the OH-earphones, the O800 is on the larger side, in fact, slightly more so. However, it assumes a more ergonomic profile for my ears, with a noticeably deeper fit and more solid seal than the hybrid models. In turn, the O800 caries its size well and for my average sized ears, I experienced minimal hotspot formation over time from their smooth, rounded shells. Smaller eared listeners may still experience some issues here due to the sheer bulk of the housings, especially with regards to their length as they do sit mostly within the ear – unlike some larger earphones such as the Campfire Audio Solaris that position their bulk outside of the ear. On the flipside, this does help to reduce the profile and increase fit stability.

Despite the presence of a faceplate port, wind noise wasn’t too prevalent during outdoor use. They are nicely ear-filling, providing additional passive noise attenuation and, as promised by the company, I also didn’t find the vent to noticeably affect isolation relative to my other sealed IEMs, meaning they perform very well for listening in noisy areas. In addition, there is some reduction in wearing pressure but some was still evident to me with the extra grippy Xelastec tips installed, more so than competitors such as Apex, ADEL and Atom so don’t expect a pressure-free wearing experience here. Due to their high level of isolation and stable fit, the O800 plays happy complement to commute and portable use in general and would be a great choice for noisy environments. I would consider them a prime choice for air travel given their rich voicing and semi-effective pressure-relief port.

Next Page: Sound & Source Pairings