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Are dual BA driver IEMs getting their proper due?

post #1 of 21
12/19/11 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 

Is the dual driver BA the industry's way of delivering cost-effective high-end sound? Many of these IEMs are regarded to be right up there in terms of sound quality and detail with the top-tiers, but ultimately seem to be overlooked when people go for 'the absolute best' in universal IEMs, as the seduction of an extra driver or two seems to be strong, even when people profess not to believe in the 'driver wars'. There's also competition from vastly improved dynamic driver designs. What do you guys think?

 

Lately the market has been filled with a number of excellent dual BA driver universal IEMs. If we look at the line of succession for dual driver IEMs, we see that they seem to have improved significantly in sound quality over the years, and yet, have dropped significantly in price as well; most of them now hover at around $200, versus $300 just a few years ago. I've listed some here (this is by no means a comprehensive list, feel free to suggest more):

 

  • Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro (discontinued)
  • Shure SE420 (discontinued)/SE425
  • ADDIEM
  • Klipsch Custom 3 (discontinued)
  • Klipsch Custom 2 (discontinued) (no crossover)
  • Westone W2
  • Westone UM2/RC (custom-derived)
  • Earsonics SM2v2/DLX (custom-derived)
  • Audio-Technica ATH-CK90Pro/MK2

 

Knowles TWFK-based

 

Newest Generation?

 

Not purely dual-BA...

  • AKG K3003 (sans the dynamic driver) (exchangeable filter system)
  • VSONIC GR08 (sans the dynamic driver) (not yet released)

Edited by tomscy2000 - 4/9/12 at 10:01am
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post #2 of 21
12/19/11 at 6:22pm

you forgot dba02s which imo is top tierd i am blind


Edited by rangerid - 12/19/11 at 6:49pm
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post #3 of 21
12/19/11 at 6:23pm

^ It's actually already included

 

I think dual BAs certainly have their strengths, especially in speed and accuracy. Here's a nice article from Headfonia comparing some of the mentioned dual BAs.


Edited by kckc - 12/19/11 at 6:26pm
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post #4 of 21
12/19/11 at 6:35pm
Thread Starter 

Mmm, yeah, that article was part of the reason why I brought this topic up. I decided not to write more because I hoped there'd be a more open-ended discussion, but my impression has been that the newest dual drivers improve even more upon the (mostly) TWFK-delivered offerings of just a year ago. The PFE232, although expensive, is getting good praise, and my TDK BA200 has really impressed me. These newest models seem to get even more out of their dual drivers than ever before with respect to body and texture.

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post #5 of 21
4/9/12 at 4:17am

Bump, I think this will be a useful thread for future reference... how about Westone 2?

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post #6 of 21
4/9/12 at 5:12am

My favorite dual-balanced armature is the DBA-02MKII and BA200. Also, there are some customs with dual balanced armatures too like the ES2, UM marvel, JH5, which are known to be quite good. So I don't think they are that much overlooked. 

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post #7 of 21
4/9/12 at 6:18am

UE700 is a good dual driver.  I was going to say CK10 but its listed too.

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post #8 of 21
4/9/12 at 7:21am

Well I have the W2 and Creative Aurvana IE3 and I'm thinking of getting either the Sony XBA-2 or Rockit Sounds R-50 so I still like dual BA's a lot.

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post #9 of 21
4/9/12 at 7:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Techno Kid View Post

Well I have the W2 and Creative Aurvana IE3 and I'm thinking of getting either the Sony XBA-2 or Rockit Sounds R-50 so I still like dual BA's a lot.



I didn't like the XBA-2 however, dark, cold, unnatural. I much prefer the XBA-1s to it, but hey, that's just my opinion. 

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post #10 of 21
4/9/12 at 7:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeremypsp View Post



I didn't like the XBA-2 however, dark, cold, unnatural. I much prefer the XBA-1s to it, but hey, that's just my opinion. 



I thought about the XBA-1 and if the XBA-2 is dark then I might try thoughs but I'm leaning towards the R-50 as its a warm sounding TWFK which fits my needs.

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post #11 of 21
4/9/12 at 7:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Techno Kid View Post



I thought about the XBA-1 and if the XBA-2 is dark then I might try thoughs but I'm leaning towards the R-50 as its a warm sounding TWFK which fits my needs.



I never heard of that brand though O_o, doesn't seem very popular... 

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post #12 of 21
4/9/12 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeremypsp View Post



I never heard of that brand though O_o, doesn't seem very popular... 


Rockit Sounds is very new, theres a small thread I started on it and a few people have bought some of the IEM's.  The R-50 that one person bought sounded like a warmer version of the DBA-02 and CK10.  He said they were still very detailed just with a warmer presentation and quite liked them so I'm going to give them a shot.

 

Heres the link to the site.  http://rockitsounds.com/shop/category/?id=11

 

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post #13 of 21
4/9/12 at 8:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Techno Kid View Post


Rockit Sounds is very new, theres a small thread I started on it and a few people have bought some of the IEM's.  The R-50 that one person bought sounded like a warmer version of the DBA-02 and CK10.  He said they were still very detailed just with a warmer presentation and quite liked them so I'm going to give them a shot.

 

Heres the link to the site.  http://rockitsounds.com/shop/category/?id=11

 



I see O_O, that sounds pretty cool 

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post #14 of 21
4/9/12 at 8:17am

OP, I suggest listing some missing Dual-Drivers in the first page, like the W2 for instance

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post #15 of 21
4/9/12 at 8:31am
W2 is the 10th iem on the list.

Where is Rockit Sounds based? I couldn't find anything on their site.
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