NEWS: Sony Asia Pacific announces 11 new balanced armature in-ear headphone models - Page 3

When I original bought the ex700, I too thought it was a complete waste of money.  They say unused in my desk drawer for two years.  Then my HJE 900's gave out,  had to resort to using them, after a week the harshness disapeared and maybe my brain adjusted to the sound because I enjoy these more than any prior headphone i've owned, including shure se530's

Quote:

Originally Posted by drez 

My last experience with Sony iem was the ex700 - I paid $500 for it which was a complete and utter waste of hard earned student allowance.  For $150 they are ok but not really as good as what HifiMan offers for the same or less money, although they certainly have a unique sound.

 

Would also be interesting to see if these come with more than 90 days warranty and don't start to disintegrate after 12 months...

Reviews of these are posted on a Taiwan website:

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=180&t=2351209&last=30677311

Summary:

XBA01: 

Uses special isolating gel. No brightness in treble section, and have a fake soundstage. The reviewer did not like this one at all.

XBA02:

The "flattest" response out of the 4, flavorless, but with good low end performance.

XBA03:

The reviewer recommends this the most out of the 4. Excellent vocal reproduction (clear and bright), with good reproduction of highs and lows. Bass does not cover any details, and excels at piano accompanies.

XBA04:

Less smooth than XBA03 because the super woofer covers details. Good for pop. This is probably aimed at the consumer market due to its pleasing sound signature.

Oh boy! A challenge to the W4? I doubt the sound signatures will be anything alike. Interesting.

Over three years in development.

Argh, 3 years of development for super bass heavy IEMs... Nothing to see here folks. 

Could be because Sony is big enough to manufacture their own BA drivers instead of buying off the shelf Knowles drivers like everyone else.

Oooh... I'm excited! Might be another "bang-for-buck" winner from Sony! Here's hoping! :)

@Kiteki

I'll bet you're excited too! :P

I have enjoyed their dynamic budget iems, now I think its time to give these a try....

Yes I'm excited @ Taz.

Oh lawdy these look nice. :o Might get the dual driver iem if it comes out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akasan 

When I original bought the ex700, I too thought it was a complete waste of money.  They say unused in my desk drawer for two years.  Then my HJE 900's gave out,  had to resort to using them, after a week the harshness disapeared and maybe my brain adjusted to the sound because I enjoy these more than any prior headphone i've owned, including shure se530's

Thanks for sharing that!

When you use the EX700 for an extended period of time, you can start to appreciate how great it is!

I went overseas bringing only one IEM with me, the EX700, I was forced to use it everyday, my ears did not like me for that, but now I can't let go of it, EVER.

XBA = Extra Bass Armature?

Not sure, but the reviews for XBA2 and 4 really does sound like theres a lot of bass

Applauses!

Heavy / lengthy / prolonged applauses! (just checked English dictionary)