[daveyostrow]

Im with dsnuts here, the bass phones are for EDM.
WAYNE, especially with EDM i find the highs too shrill, did you burn them in?
I read somewhere that the tweeters could benefit from long burn hours... any experience?

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

Im with dsnuts here, the bass phones are for EDM.
WAYNE, especially with EDM i find the highs too shrill, did you burn them in?
I read somewhere that the tweeters could benefit from long burn hours... any experience?

 
Yes, I did some burn in, so there's probably 100 hours on them now. But, I think a lot of it may come down to the tips.
 
I just listened to dabomb's definitive edm track again:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/633755/xba-3-overlooked-the-appreciation-thread/195#post_8861307
 
I have gravitated to using the white silicone tips (not hybrids) that came with the xba3. I have no problem listening to that tune with them. No harshness. Lots of bass. It rocks. I continued listening to a few more of those knife party videos. They all sound good to me.
 
When I switch to other wider bore tips though, while the treble gets more detailed, it also is edging towards harshness with those tracks (and lacking some bass I find). So, I'm of the impression that using other tips (and possibly wider bore tips) can cause issues for some people (myself included) with music like that.
 
Fwiw, I listened to that track also with my fxd70's (with r1 foam tips - essential), and my mh1c's, and my r1's (with large mh1c tips lol!), and on all of them the treble was less brighter than with the xba3's (with white tips) and they all sounded good, to me they weren't as good or engaging as with the xba3's. There! You get my 2 cents for nothing lol!

 

[daveyostrow]

spot on WAYNE. They sound great but that tweet is not working for me.
What white tips?

 

[DaBomb77766]

The album Sirens of The Sea by Oceanlab (project by Above & Beyond) actually sounds pretty great with these.  It's not really EDM though, but it is electronic, and is very trance-like.  But unlike most electronic music the dynamic range isn't massively compressed (even if it is still fairly compressed by audiophile standards) and the treble doesn't sound overly peaky with these.  The bass manages to have a surprising amount of slam too.

 

[waynes world]

spot on WAYNE. They sound great but that tweet is not working for me.
What white tips?

4 sets do not have foam. The inside stems are different colors. The larger (largest?) size is white, and that size offers a great seal for me, and pronounces the bass (maybe too much for some, but I like it) and tones down the highs. Good luck!

 

[daveyostrow]

yea, its a light blue i think. thats what ive been using. best tip so far.

 

[Currawong]

If the XBA-3s sound very bright, it could be whatever is amping them causing the problem. They have a very weird impedance curve that peaks at 90 Ohms in the treble, so if whatever you plug them into is affected by the wildly varying impedance (ie: has a high output impedance or is otherwise not so great) then the result tends to be a very bright treble.

 

[AnakChan]

A few hours ago I picked up the XBA-30 for USD$158. 2nd hand (there was an XBA-3 for USD$108 but the the right channel was vibrating with deep basses). I can't tell if there's a big SQ difference between the XBA-3 vs XBA-30 but there was with the 4 vs 40. I trailed all 3 reasonably & found the 40 has this really weird hard shrill in the trebles with cymbals. At first it was hearing a new instrument really forward but after awhile it was piercing.

The XBA-30 sounded more "normal" which I settled for the XBA-30 in the end. I'm somewhat curious of any big difference between the XBA-30 & XBA-3 though seeing a difference in XBA-4 vs XBA-40.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

yea, its a light blue i think. thats what ive been using. best tip so far.

 
(Very) light blue they are! And it sounds to me that even using those tips, they are still sometimes too bright. Interesting. I am not experiencing over-brightness at all with those tips.
 
Quote:

If the XBA-3s sound very bright, it could be whatever is amping them causing the problem. They have a very weird impedance curve that peaks at 90 Ohms in the treble, so if whatever you plug them into is affected by the wildly varying impedance (ie: has a high output impedance or is otherwise not so great) then the result tends to be a very bright treble.

 
That is an interesting possibility. Fwiw, I am listening on either my SGS2, clip zip or my laptop (all the while resisting the urge to purchase a Fiio amp or a bravo tupe amp etc lol!).

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

A few hours ago I picked up the XBA-30 for USD$158. 2nd hand (there was an XBA-3 for USD$108 but the the right channel was vibrating with deep basses). I can't tell if there's a big SQ difference between the XBA-3 vs XBA-30 but there was with the 4 vs 40. I trailed all 3 reasonably & found the 40 has this really weird hard shrill in the trebles with cymbals. At first it was hearing a new instrument really forward but after awhile it was piercing.
The XBA-30 sounded more "normal" which I settled for the XBA-30 in the end. I'm somewhat curious of any big difference between the XBA-30 & XBA-3 though seeing a difference in XBA-4 vs XBA-40.

Ya this is a big curiosity for me too. What is the difference if there is any between the new XBAs vs the older ones. I can imagine if I was Sony. retweeking the drivers a bit for even better response but the sound on the XBA-3s at least was so good to begin with even if there was tweeks I doubt it would have affected the outcome as much. But I suppose we won't know until 1) someone gets a hold of Sony to ask that question or 2) If someone with both can compare. 

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

Ya this is a big curiosity for me too. What is the difference if there is any between the new XBAs vs the older ones. I can imagine if I was Sony. retweeking the drivers a bit for even better response but the sound on the XBA-3s at least was so good to begin with even if there was tweeks I doubt it would have affected the outcome as much. But I suppose we won't know until 1) someone gets a hold of Sony to ask that question or 2) If someone with both can compare. 

 
Bear in mind that the ones I tested were 2nd hand (but I did listen to the new ones too). My expectations was that there will be no difference and just a cable change (to the groove cables like the MDR-1Rs). However at least for the XBA-4 vs XBA-40, the XBA-40 sounded just somewhat clearer whereas the XBA-4 almost sounded a tad veiled. Note that the XBA-4 did have the extension cable added (otherwise it would have been too short).
 
I couldn't do an XBA-3 vs XBA-30 comparison cos the only XBA-3 they had there had a dodgy right driver. They actually didn't know the driver was faulty until I told them and they had to take it off the shelf.
 
My tests are by no means conclusive and I'd like to spend more time with them. I'll try to meet up with Arnaud or Currawong next month and will ask them for their units.

 

[Dsnuts]

Look forward to it. Actually I want to hear that they are the same. lol. With the new FXZ100 and FXZ200 out that last thing I need to hear is that the XBA-30 is a clear improvement over the XBA-3..

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

If the XBA-3s sound very bright, it could be whatever is amping them causing the problem. They have a very weird impedance curve that peaks at 90 Ohms in the treble, so if whatever you plug them into is affected by the wildly varying impedance (ie: has a high output impedance or is otherwise not so great) then the result tends to be a very bright treble.

Well I'm using a Fiio E7 mostly, and sometimes a Galaxy S3.  The E7 I know has low output impedance, but I don't know about the S3 (NA version).  Either way, I think that in my case it's simply that I'm not used to the signature.  The headphones I tend to listen to are extremely dark rather than bright.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

Well I'm using a Fiio E7 mostly, and sometimes a Galaxy S3.  The E7 I know has low output impedance, but I don't know about the S3 (NA version).  Either way, I think that in my case it's simply that I'm not used to the signature.  The headphones I tend to listen to are extremely dark rather than bright.

 
You need some jvc fx40's

 

[DaBomb77766]

noooooo no more