SONY XBA-4 vs new XBA-40? - Page 5

that is disappointing. Thanks for the reviews. Do re-400s have enough bass punch? I thought they were kind of flat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by toads 

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...!!!

How long have you had a listen?

I might suggest you listen closely to the XBA-40's for longer before returning them... They are like the SM3's in that they are so dark the level of detail is not immediately apparent. Soundstaging and imaging is insanely good on the XBA-40 (and 4); listen to something like this: http://vimeo.com/36012332 (Grimes' Oblivion I think is the single best argument I can think of for the XBA-4/40's sound haha.)

Then again, the RE-400 could really just be that insanely good; I haven't heard it but I wouldn't put it past them. :3

Re-400 bass is well extended, taut, clean, fast, good decay and really pops...having said that be sure that the re-400's bass is certainly quality over quantity...

if the re-600 builds on and improves on the re-400, Hifiman is going to give fits to many big $$$ manufacturers, not that they haven't done that already with their HE series...lol

oh, I meant to mention that all listening via a RWAK100, so impedance mismatching is not an issue (the re-400=16 ohms; xba-40=8ohms)...

Perhaps I'll give them a bit more time....I do realize these 'phones approach different genres differently....for example when I was first posting I was a/bing with Brubeck's Time Out in hi-rez...no contest the re-400 won handily....now I'm a/bing with F Ocean's Pyramids...here no contest for the xba40s

i guess I was hoping the xba -40 to be a better all-rounder...perhaps that's for the xba-30...I recall someone posting the xba-40 best suited for electronic, rock, etc...I'm thinking they're dead on...

Is the varied likability to the xba-40 due to the fact that it is a really picky IEM ?  

Quote:

Originally Posted by canikickit1 

Is the varied likability to the xba-40 due to the fact that it is a really picky IEM ?  

Yes, both the 4's and 40's are very picky of sources.

The 40, for one, sounds excellent when combined with a decent amp, but not so good out of some mp3 players.

I did have good sound coming out of my Samsung Galaxy S3, but the best sound came out of my amp'd setups at work and home, then it was amazing. 

Yeah I don't see the pickiness aspect of the XBA-4 having changed with the 40. I can hear that it sounds different from my Shuffle than from my iPhone 5. It makes it hard to recommend because it's unpredictable. I like it with the iP5 (with something like 3.2 ohms impedance) and O2 amp (0.1 ohms) but not so much the 4G Shuffle (mystery impedance?)

Any recommendations in sources for the XBA-40? I know low zout but I'm having some varying results with the Iphone 4s vs the Ipod classic 5.5g + CmoyBB amp... the CmoyBB amp is supposedly supposed to sound better because of its <1 ohm zout, however, I can definitely hear the super-woofer kick in the in the hp out of the iphone 4gs (1.9 ohm zout)

Low Z is only one part of the equation. Synergy between amps and heapdhones is more complex. An amp with a low Z doesn't guarantee great sound. 

The XBA-4 pair very well with the Sony F, normally the output impedance is to high on this player, but I get better results with the F than with a very low output impedance in another devices. I think the maximum current (I) supported by the amp play also a role.

Again it's helpful to look a this graph I referenced in my review of the XBA-4:

Only the red and blue line are of any significance (who has an amp with a z-out of 20+ ohms lol). No such graph exists for the XBA-4 but you can see how different output impedance affects the sound. If the same pattern held for the XBA-4, the XBA-4 would end up sounding darker on lower z-out amps and more metallic on higher z-out amps. I kind of feel like that is what happens.

I for one am a xba-3 user and ex xba-1 user......

I really like it and I will side with a_recording on the fact that xba-4 is not good with all genres.....

i tried them out and i think because of the extra sub-bass BA unit the songs tend to become muddy....

xba-3 on the other hand is very clear and is good for most if not all genres....

the mids are delivered nicely in the "front", the highs have a prominent presence but not over powering, the bass is also there for most of the time....

one criticism i have of the xba-3 is that the bass is not very prominent, at least for my taste....

i hear that the xba-30 has a bit more bass what the xba-3 was lacking.......

in my opinion you should get a xba-30 and save a few bucks.....

oh and the xba-30 has tangle resistant wiring or so they say it has......

if so that's also a plus point cuz if the wires r not taken care of in the xba-1/2/3/4 they tend to tangle up.......

xba-3 fit is also excellent and i love the noise isolating foam buds they give the iem....

not only do they isolate the noise a bit more than what the normal ones do but also helps have a better fit.......

hope i could help!!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_recording 

Again it's helpful to look a this graph I referenced in my review of the XBA-4:

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

 

Only the red and blue line are of any significance (who has an amp with a z-out of 20+ ohms lol). No such graph exists for the XBA-4 but you can see how different output impedance affects the sound. If the same pattern held for the XBA-4, the XBA-4 would end up sounding darker on lower z-out amps and more metallic on higher z-out amps. I kind of feel like that is what happens.

I wonder if is the same with XBA-30/40.