SONY XBA-4 vs new XBA-40? - Page 4

Question to those with XBA-4/40, do you all remove the foam dampers from the earphones? Does it help in increasing the detail and resolution? Any negative side effects?

Awesome comparisons carlson. 

i'll be quick to add mine next week (both xba30 and xba40 hit tenso last night

I recall you mentioning that the XBA-40s may be more source dependent than the XBA-30s (As the xba-4s were), does it fare better with a source with lower or higher output impedence? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by canikickit1 

Awesome comparisons carlson. 

 

i'll be quick to add mine next week (both xba30 and xba40 hit tenso last night

 

 

I recall you mentioning that the XBA-40s may be more source dependent than the XBA-30s (As the xba-4s were), does it fare better with a source with lower or higher output impedence? 

Not sure, it seems to sound better when amp'd, as the XBA-40 sounds best coming out of my home headphone amp , Soloist, and work headphone amp, Objective 2.

It kind of sounded weak running out of my Cowin Z2, but better out of  my older Cowin J3.

Of my portables, it sounded best on my smartphone, a US Samsung Galaxy S3. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by aras 

is cable still different between ip and standard model?

I believe with the current generation, the iP and standard models both use Y-type cords.

that is great to know!! I honestly don't need the remote. I'm still not sure whether I should buy xba-40 or xba-30. I'm currently using Westone 4s and I really think they are flawless except the sub bass region. I think XBA-40 will fix that but I'm worried about the recessed mids on them.

Get the XBA-40. Nothing better to complement your W4 than another quad BA. Let's see how Sony stacks up against Westone.

Welp, my XBA-40's are on their way from Japan. I want to see for myself this difference between the XBA-4 and 40...

Do not bother with XBA4, horrible product, XBA3 is better, the true flagship of the series. XBA40 would really have to be a big improvement and I don't see it, that fourth driver seems to cause more issues than benefits.

So i don't see the point of bothering with the 4s, 3 and 30s are far more interesting. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inks 

Do not bother with XBA4, horrible product, XBA3 is better, the true flagship of the series. XBA40 would really have to be a big improvement and I don't see it, that fourth driver seems to cause more issues than benefits.

 

So i don't see the point of bothering with the 4s, 3 and 30s are far more interesting. 

I happen to like the XBA-4. I don't think its objectively any better than the XBA-3 (in fact, the opposite when I compared them). I still think it has an interesting and idiosyncratic sound. I agree it's horribly flawed but I would be interested to see if the XBA-40 reduces some of the worst aspects while preserving some of the flavour of the thing that I like. (Depth, holographic instrument separation, nice sound balance for synthetic music). 

Keep us posted!

Okay just got the XBA-40.

These are very very very early impressions, but I can say for sure that there HAS been a subtle but significant tuning change from the XBA-4 to the XBA-40.

Whether or not I like it is a different matter...

can you explain the changes you hear?

I think I can mostly agree with Carlsan's earlier comments about the comparison between the XBA-40 and 4.

They took the tizziness /metallic sound out of the highs in the XBA-4. The bass is now a bit deeper and tighter. Everything else sounds about the same at this early point to me. The overall effect is to make the XBA-40 even darker (!) than the original XBA-4. 

Rather than spam the thread with too many misleading early impressions though, imma going to spam on Twitter my random thoughts before I post up something a bit more comprehensive lol. https://twitter.com/lachlikesathing

Disclaimer: I've not heard the xba-4 or any of Sony's BA offerings prior to just receiving the xba-40 today...

I picked them up as well as the re-400 to keep me occupied while my Tralucent 1+2 go under warranty repair and while I wait for my Merlin order to be fulfilled (I don't make mention to be a braggart but just as a point of comparison)...of course neither the Sony's nor the Hifiman's come close to the 1+2 not to mention it is apples to oranges so I'll stop right there with that exercise...

however the xba-40 and re-400 are closer competition...and it is really no competition IMO...the re-400 blow away the xba-40 on all fronts except sub-bass, even then the sub-bass on the 40's no screaming hell...

soundstage, imaging, detail, resolution, mids, treble, bass texture all trumped by the Hifiman...the xba-40 sounds soooo veiled and muddy; the re-400 so fresh and clean...

Really disappointed with the xba-40s....I'll be seeing if a return is possible other wise you'll see them for sale here shortly...!!!