Headphone Zone x Oriveti Blackbird review: Keep low-bitrate tracks at a distance

Conventional wisdom has mostly dictated that if you are to tune an audio system (earphones are no outliers) leaning towards bass, or the lower frequencies, it’ll immediately be ineligible for anything that would classify as high-quality or premium. Basically, the sort of proposition aficionados would rather prefer. We may be seeing a sort of rebalancing of that wisdom, at least to an extent, with the collaboration that sees Indian company Headphone Zone and Chinese audio makers Oriveti, together tune what can be classified as early buy (key here being the price) in-ear monitors. Results are impressive, with some key takeaways pointing to quality over everything else.

The Headphone Zone x Oriveti Blackbird holds a ₹4,999 price tag, but everything about how well it is put together, the robustness of the cable, comfort, even the carry case, points to a case of the finer details being well thought through. That isn’t often the case, even with premium products, that tend to leave a perceptible gap somewhere in the chain. This isn’t Headphone Zone’s first collaboration; there are more, including with Fiio, Kiwi Ears, Tangzu, and Salnotes Zero. The Headphone Zone x Oriveti Blackbird’s competition includes the Fiio FH11, and in a way, even the impressive 1More Triple Driver and the Sennheiser IE 200 (if you can find a discount big enough).

Delivering tunes to each ear is a 10mm dynamic audio driver, a size that certainly places it among the larger in-ear audio hardware of its kind, alongside two armature drivers that are dedicated to handling the mid and high frequencies. This collective, and the way it is tuned, is why these in-ear monitors have an advantage in some listening scenarios, over competition. In terms of longevity, it may be important that the Headphone Zone x Oriveti Blackbird has a swappable 0.78mm 2-pin connector cable — the one that comes as default, seems rather rugged and shouldn’t succumb to an accidental pull. Or a few, for that matter.

Every audio maker, and indeed with every launch they do, there is a different take on earpiece architecture and design. The attempt is to constantly discover what works best for acoustics, and there is no on-size-fits-all since the drivers chance as well as the placement of the internals varies. The lightweight nature, and therefore additional comfort, is also a factor of these wired earphones not having to pack in batteries in each earbud, as would be the case with any wireless earbuds.

Start listening to the Headphone Zone x Oriveti Blackbird, and you are unlikely to initially realise the lower frequency handling in the first handful of seconds. It is when the beat drops, and the way the Blackbird is able to replicate that, becomes even more impressive considering it arrives as unannounced. As you get through the playlists and genres, the layered nature of tuning comes through with ease — the sort that most earphones may not typically be able to deliver, and will inevitably blame physics for it. Vocals retain their crispness without sounding sharp, and even at high volumes, there is no perceptible distortion. The mid frequency assessment will vary based on the sort of music you are listening to, but the lower frequencies don’t overshadow the mids or the vocals at any point.

The Headphone Zone x Oriveti Blackbird’s tuning is so well done, it is one of those rare specimens which would be best served high quality tracks, and not anything else. In our experience, the Blackbird was the happiest with Apple Music’s streaming, and not so much with certain uploads on YouTube Music — unhappiness in some tracks on the latter, coming through very clearly, if you’re paying attention. It is almost as if the Blackbird is talking to you, demanding you do better. It can be subjective, but the trend is clear.

For a price tag that the Headphone Zone x Oriveti Blackbird carries, these earphones are going above that in terms of most elements of the experience. The balance here is, it’s an in-ear monitor that does better than most on bass, but still retains enough balance that (with all due respect) ‘bassheads’ would end up being disappointed. That’s the fineness of tuning that helps Blackbird appeal to a much broader audience. At this price, leaves little to complain.