Oriveti OH700VB Review – Full Range

Comparisons –

Oriveti OH500 ($499): The OH500 has a slightly smaller shell though subjectively the fit isn’t as good and there is more wearing pressure. The tuning is a bit more balanced on the OH500 but it has a less refined tuning overall. The bass is slightly more progressive on the OH500 which provides good structure and better balance alongside a light warm tone. It has more punch and  However, the OH700VB offers better extension and slam alongside a cleaner, more defined mid-bass. It delivers more defined notes and a more concise note attack. The midrange tuning is slightly more refined on the OH700VB too. The OH500 provides more vocal bias and larger, richer vocals with its lower peak, however, this also gives it a slightly nasal voicing on certain tracks. The OH700VB sounds a bit more natural, consistent and presents a cleaner tonality.

It Is more resolving with better transparency and separation however, the OH500 does provide a bit more body and warmth which makes it slightly more forgiving. Overall, a good step forwards here. The same goes for the treble, with the raw tuning being more linear and the technical ability taking a noticeably step up. The OH500 has a good amount of crispness and a bit more air while the OH700VB has a sharper transient response and a more focused detail presentation. The OH700VB has more defined notes and noticeably improved fine detail retrieval. The OH700VB also provides superior extension with micro detail and sparkle that isn’t present on the OH500. This yields notable benefits with soundstage performance too as the OH700VB is able to create a larger soundscape and with sharper imaging.

Moondrop Variations ($520): The Variations is a very similar IEM in terms of raw tuning, the OH700VB provides a slightly greater sub-bass focus and a bit less mid-bass. It has a bit more bass with the bass boost on and a bit less with it off. However, the upper midrange is also a bit more relaxed, and the treble is a touch more aggressive. The Variations provides a bigger mid-bass wallop and in turn, a generally warmer and fuller low-end. The OH700VB provides more sub-bass pressure and a slightly cleaner and more structured bass overall. The Oriveti showcases slightly better definition and control while the Variations offers a bit more impact and punch. The midrange is relatively similar on both. Due to the warmer bass, the Variations has a warmer tone and a bit more note body. The OH700VB sounds more neutral in tone and a touch leaner, both have a similar voicing and level of presence.

The treble presentation Is not dissimilar on both In terms of quantity either, but the voicing is a bit different. Specifically, the Variations has a slightly more delicate sound with a thinner body and less aggressive leading edge but also a bit more shimmer and decay. The OH700VB has a more defined leading edge and a bit more upper-treble sparkle and energy. This gives it a slightly more pronounced fine and micro detail presentation and it has slightly higher resolving power on top. The Variations has a bit more note texture and sounds slightly more refined but lacks the same resolution. The OH700VB also has a slightly larger soundstage. I find the Variations imaging is a touch sharper but the OH700VB also boasts greater separation due to its more neutrally orientated sound.

Soft Ears RSV ($729): The RSV offers a 5-BA driver configuration and a more typical, balanced tuning with a small sub-bass emphasis. Bass extension is better on the OH700VB, and it has a noticeably fuller, bigger bass. The RSV offers impressive kick for a BA woofer system and is noticeably tighter and faster, retrieving more detail. It also has a more neutral mid-bass, overall sounding more balanced, and similarly clean but less dynamic and engaging. The midrange tells a similar story, the RSV is also relatively lean but sticks closer to neutral in both tone and body. It also has a natural voicing with a little more upper-mid density aiding coherence. The OH700VB by comparison sounds a bit thicker in the lower-midrange and a slightly more clarity-focused voicing. The RSV has slightly higher definition and resolving power.

The treble is quite interesting too. The RSV has a cleaner transient response. It has a more defined leading edge but also less lower-treble presence. Its treble is also more linear into the mid-treble. In turn, the OH700VB sounds crisper and more sharpened. It brings lower-treble details more forward at the expense of a thinner note body with less shimmer and decay. The RSV delivers more texture and air alongside better fine detail retrieval in the foreground. However, the OH700VB has greater sparkle at the very top, offering a bit more energy and holography. The OH700VB has a more spacious soundstage while the RSV offers a tighter, smaller stage with noticeably sharper imaging and better layering.

Oriveti O800 ($799): The all-BA flagship from Oriveti provides essentially the same design and just a bit more wearing pressure (housings are still vented to some degree) but also better noise isolation. For those interested, the OV800 sounds identical but has tuning switches and a different cable. Overall, the O800 offers a more coherent, linear sound but presents very similarly to the OH700VB overall. The chief difference lies in the bass with the OH700VB providing a lot more sub-bass pressure, slam and general bass weight. The O800 has a more balanced bass presence with a greater mid-bass focus giving it a warmer and fuller sound. By comparison, the OV700VB offers greater pressure and slam with a thicker texture. The O800 is a bit faster and more separated. The midrange tuning is very similar but sounds quite different in listening due to the different bass tuning.

Chiefly, the O800 is more natural, forgiving and balanced while the OH700VB is a bit more contrasted and revealing due to its leaner nature. The O800 has a light warmth and a bit more body. Indeed, its vocals are a touch large and forward but overall, represent sensational timbre and balance. The OH700VB is leaner, and more clarity orientated. The O800 resolves slightly better while the OH700VB has better separation. The treble is also quite similarly tuned. The O800 offers a bit more insight in the lower treble. It has slightly better fine detail retrieval and its treble is a touch less peaky here, so it has a more convincing body, texture and decay. Meanwhile, the OH700VB has slightly more sparkle and top-octave energy which gives it a thinner albeit higher clarity voicing. It has a bit more background detail in return. The OH700VB offers a slightly wider but more diffuse soundstage while the O800 provides sharper imaging and a tighter, more coherent image.

Nostalgia Audio Benbulbin ($899): The Benbulbin is another interesting hybrid that offers a similar style of voicing. It too has a sub-bass bump but combines this with a more neutral mid-bass and a slightly smoother treble. The Benbulbin has a bit less bass overall even with the bass-boost off on the OH700VB. However, its sub-bass boost is executed more naturally with a neutral mid-bass and more progressive bass shelf. It sounds tighter and faster with a bit more mid-bass texture and improved separation. The OH700VB sounds thicker and more weighted but also slower and less defined by comparison. The midrange voicing sees an inverted trend, being slightly more natural on the OH700VB due to its more progressive tuning.

The Benbulbin has a more neutral tone with a bit more warmth which makes its male vocals a bit more inviting. That said, bi 3 and 4kHz humps and a 2kHz dip give it even thinner female vocals which can sound slightly metallic at times due to the less even tuning. The OH700VB executes a neutral-orientated yet energetic voicing with fewer drawbacks overall. The treble is slightly less present on the Benbulbin but is more linear into the mid-treble. The OH700VB has a slight advantage in the lower treble where it offers slightly higher definition and a bit more fine detail retrieval. The Benbulbin offers slightly more shimmer and openness. Though it shares an upper-treble bump, the OH700VB offers superior high-frequency extension to my ears alongside a larger and more organized soundstage.

Verdict –

When Oriveti reached out about their latest releases, great focus was placed on the OD200. I believe it is the more visually impressive model and this was the product we most discussed. So, I was then surprised to read that the OH700VB was the company’s new flagship hybrid model; one of their most popular product lines. While it is somewhat visually incoherent, the OH700VB turned out to be one of the most pleasantly surprising IEMs I’ve tested all year. It offers excellent ergonomics and near zero wearing pressure. While it lacks the most balanced or coherent sound, Oriveti already has the O(V)800 for that. It instead provides a super engaging, thumping sub-bass that has been meticulously tuned not to encroach upon the Harman-inspired midrange. It has a crisp, nicely extended treble and a spacious stage to top it all off. The thinner midrange body and relative lack of mid-bass do hold back versatility. So too does the typical Oriveti mid-treble darkness mean it isn’t the airiest monitor. However, for sub-bass lovers, the variable bass boost offers both bass-head and balanced interpretations realised in a nicely judged manner all in one package. The OH700VB is a prime instance where we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.  

The OH700VB is available from Oriveti (International) for $699 USD at the time of writing. I am not affiliated with Oriveti and receive no earnings from purchases made through these links.

Track List – 

Billie Eilish – dont smile at me

Bob Seger – Night Moves

Courtney Barnett – Rae Street

Cream – Wheels of Fire

Dire Straits – Communique

Dirty Loops – Next To You

Eagles – Hotel California

Elton John – Honky Chateau

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

H.E.R – I Used To Know Her

Jasen – BYE

John Mayer – Continuum

Kanye West – Ye

Missy Higgins – The Sound of White

Radiohead – OK Computer

TALA – ain’t leavin` without you

The Beatles – Abbey Road

The weeknd – After Hours

Vampire Weekend – Father of the Bride