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XBA-3/ XBA-30 thread.
Dec 12, 2012 at 12:08 AM Post #316 of 1,196
I tried the XBA-3 a while back.. Vocals had a slight metallic tinge to them, but that was probably because of the poor fit with the tips. With the new pricing I definitely think they are being overlooked.

Can't say I like the asymetric cable very much, though.
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 12:22 AM Post #317 of 1,196
Quote:
peculier said:
I tried the XBA-3 a while back.. Vocals had a slight metallic tinge to them, but that was probably because of the poor fit with the tips. With the new pricing I definitely think they are being overlooked.
Can't say I like the asymetric cable very much, though.
Click to expand...

In my experience it is not the tips.  It is the headphones  Very metallic on some sources, a little metallic on other sources, but always metallic.  Besides the metallic-ness, if the source doesn't have a high impedance they will sound pretty good.  WIth high impedance these things stink and I wouldn't touch them.
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 12:23 AM Post #318 of 1,196
Quote:
peculier said:
I tried the XBA-3 a while back.. Vocals had a slight metallic tinge to them, but that was probably because of the poor fit with the tips. With the new pricing I definitely think they are being overlooked.
Click to expand...

 
An interesting article about impedance can be found here (thanks to luisdent):
http://www.head-fi.org/t/608553/review-comparison-two-flagships-pass-in-the-night-sony-xba-4-review-vs-the-mdr-ex1000
Search for "PSA: A Small Word On Tip Selection and Impedance".
Of relevance (which seems to relate to the xba3 as well):
 
"What we can gather from this is that the XBA-4 would sound quite different coming out of a Fiio E9, than say, an iPhone 4. Even when using Sony’s own players with impedances of around 3-4 ohms, there would be a difference in the highs compared to a low output impedance amplifier. Even an iPhone 4S with a ~ 2 ohm impedance would sound a little different from an iPhone 4.
 
There has been many complaints of the XBA-4 sounding somewhat disjointed, especially in regards to how the high frequencies do not mesh well with the lows. The XBA-4’s low / variable impedance could go some way (but not all the way) towards explaining some of these impressions. It could be expected that the XBA-4 would sound like garbage coming out of most of the listed desktop amps, with a gigantic 10k frequency spike. Besides simply changing the frequency balance, as I mentioned above, it would be expected that a 90 ohm spike in impedance would produce a challenge for some weaker headphone amplifiers, resulting in possible distortion.
 
When reading my impressions of the XBA-4 and thinking about how they might sound on your source, this is an extremely important consideration. For reference, the O2 amplifier and iPhone 4 I have been using have a relatively low output impedance of 0.5 ohms and 0.97 ohms respectively, with a great deal of power overhead for the XBA-4. The Objective 2 amplifier in particular is well regarded and is what I will be using for the critical A/B comparisons that follow."
 
But, I play my xba3 off of my samsung galaxy S2 which is 49 Ohms, and when using the light blue tips, they sound amazing.
 
Quote:
Can't say I like the asymetric cable very much, though.
Click to expand...

 
I didn't at first either. But now I like it much better than the non-asymmetrical cables. By using a cable clip, and by having the right driver cable around the back of the neck, it means that when I want to pull out the drivers, I can do so and they just lay on the chest (or I can quickly throw them inside my shirt if I want to hide them), And they are ready to throw back in the ears at a moments notice. I can't figure out nearly as good a system with the symmetrical cables.
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 12:49 AM Post #319 of 1,196
Quote:
peculier said:
I tried the XBA-3 a while back.. Vocals had a slight metallic tinge to them, but that was probably because of the poor fit with the tips. With the new pricing I definitely think they are being overlooked.
Can't say I like the asymetric cable very much, though.
Click to expand...

it wasnt the fit. the metallic sound can get in the way of busy/noisy songs. for other things they can be truly amazing.
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 3:51 AM Post #320 of 1,196
Well, it seems I can't place an order with Groupon:
 
http://i.imgur.com/VcEQz.png
 
I'm living in NY and they can't ship it to me? Guess I'll save the trouble of selling my TF10s...
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 4:42 AM Post #321 of 1,196
I listen to jazz quite a bit, which may be much of the reason I like them. I had TF10s years ago. I'm not sure if anything changed since then, but I had issues with the fit (I had to use smaller-than-usual AT tips with them) and the cable was causing distortion. 
 
I reckon I'll just ask Sony directly about the XB-30s. Better to get an authoritative answer I reckon. 
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 6:12 AM Post #322 of 1,196
Quote:
daveyostrow said:
well im very interested in hearing if they tuned the tweeters away from that metallic feeling. they worked well for strings, but strangely unnatural for voices/symbols. 
Click to expand...

 
Woops...sorry, I met Currawong just now but forgot about the XBA30 vs XBA3 test. Having said that, his is 'customised'.
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 6:17 AM Post #323 of 1,196
How does xba-3 compare with Westone 3?
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 7:17 PM Post #326 of 1,196
Does anybody have any comments on how these compare against the TDK BA-200?
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 7:46 PM Post #327 of 1,196
Dec 14, 2012 at 9:30 AM Post #330 of 1,196
Looks like XBA-3s are getting overlooked again, now that the leader of this hype train is moving onto JVC HA-FXZ 100/200s. 
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