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XBA-3/ XBA-30 thread.
Feb 24, 2013 at 9:11 AM Post #497 of 1,196
If anyone owns/owned both the TKD IE800 and the XBA-30, would you post a comparison? Please and thanks 
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Feb 24, 2013 at 5:29 PM Post #498 of 1,196
xprovidence said:
If anyone owns/owned both the TKD IE800 and the XBA-30, would you post a comparison? Please and thanks 
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I had the ie800 and the xba3 (actually bought both from amazon in the same order)

Compared to the xba3, the ie800 has better detail and mid extension. Soundstage and imaging were a bit better as well as instrument separation. I recall doing a/b/c tests between the er4p,ie800, and xba3 and would always mark the ie800s as havin very smooth vocals and mids. Highs are well controlled. However, even for dual dynamics, the bass was a bit anemic for my tastes. It definitely had detail, and more body than er4ps (who doesnt lol) but not the body I was looking for that the xba3s had.
 
Feb 24, 2013 at 6:10 PM Post #499 of 1,196
Originally Posted by xProvidence /img/forum/go_quote.gif

If anyone owns/owned both the TKD IE800 and the XBA-30, would you post a comparison? Please and thanks 
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Click to expand...

 
I currently own the XBA-30 & owned the TDK IE800 (sold the latter a few weeks ago)..
 
I prefer the 30 over the IE800.  The IE800 is excellent.. it's got a bit more energy in the upper mids/lower treble vs the 30.. but the XBA-30's treble seems more refined & smooth to my ears.  I'd put the 30's treble quantity somewhere north of the BA200 & south of the IE800's treble.  In terms of quality, it sounds like a more energetic take on the BA200's (smooth, laid back) treble.  I read quite a bit about the XBA-3 and the most common issues people had with the sound (namely, the sometimes sibilant, 'metallic' treble).  I don't sense any of that with the XBA-30.  It's detailed in the treble.. but pretty forgiving, too.  It certainly won't spotlight harshness in the treble frequencies the way a more neutral IEM might.. but you'll still hear the grain and dullness that poorly recorded treble typically exhibits.. it just won't appear as obvious.
 
Midrange performance is a toss up between the IE800 & XBA-30 in that both are excellent and voiced similarly.  The 30's mids (and whole fq response, in general) has more depth, leading to a more spacious soundstage vs the IE800 (whos stage is wide but comparatively shallow).  The XBA-30's mids have a degree of smoothness and refinement that reminds me of the BA200 more than the IE800.  The IE800's mids might be a tad faster, more neutral, & better separated.. but the 30 textures better and sounds have better weight & body.  Mixing technicalities & personal preference, my order for midrange performance would go: BA200, XBA-30, then the IE800.
 
The XBA-30's bass is more punchy than the BA200 & IE800's bass.  It's also very tight and well extended.  The BA200's bass is more linear & neutral than the 30 & IE800's bass.. the XBA-30's bass has slightly more midbass emphasis than either of the TDK phones.  In terms of speed, the XBA-30's bass is faster than the BA200's bass & on par with the IE800's bass.  IMO, the XBA-30 has an excellent mix of speed and body in the bass.
 
The XBA-30 has the most "mass consumer"-oriented  tuning of the three phones... but it's also got a surprising degree of refinement and possesses many qualities that would appeal to the 'mid-fi' audiophile who's in search of a balanced sound that's got a carefully added dash of warmth & fun.  One thing that impressed me is how natural & cohesive the triple-BA driver, XBA-30 sounded.  It seemed quite "dynamic driver" like in its ability to texture and decay naturally.. something many multi/BA-driver based phones (that I've heard seem to) struggle with.  It doesn't texture as well as something like the GR07 MKII or RE262.. but it certainly holds its own.  Taking into account technical ability & personal preference, I'd put the XBA-30 near the top of my pile of favorite universal IEMs under $400 (next to the GR07 MKII, BA200, H-100).  I got it mainly as a holdover until my custom IEMs arrived.. and despite one of them arriving, I've found myself still using the XBA-30 quite a bit lately.
 
I'll soon be sending my XBA-30 to Rin & Inks for measurement & (objective-oriented) analysis.  They'll have an XBA-3 on hand as well so we should get some comparisons between the two.
 
Feb 24, 2013 at 10:08 PM Post #500 of 1,196
flysweep said:
I'll soon be sending my XBA-30 to Rin & Inks to have measured.. they'll have an XBA-3 on hand as well so we should get some (objective-oriented) analysis & comparison from them.
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I'd love to see this! I also wanna know how the XBA 30 compares to ATH CKN70.
 
Feb 24, 2013 at 10:20 PM Post #501 of 1,196
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlySweep /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
I currently own the 30 & owned the IE800 (sold the later a few weeks ago)..
 
I prefer the 30 over the IE800.  The IE800 is excellent.. it's got a bit more energy in the upper mids/lower treble vs the 30.. but the XBA-30's treble seems more refined & smooth to my ears.  I'd put the 30's treble quantity somewhere north of the BA200 & south of the IE800's treble.  In terms of quality, it sounds like a more energetic take on the BA200's (smooth, laid back) treble.  I read quite a bit about the XBA-3 and the most common issues people had with the sound (namely, the sometimes sibilant, 'metallic' treble).  I don't sense any of that with the XBA-30.  It's detailed in the treble.. but pretty forgiving, too.  It certainly won't spotlight harshness in the treble frequencies the way a more neutral IEM might.. but you'll still hear the grain and dullness that poorly recorded treble typically exhibits.. it just won't appear as obvious.
 
Midrange performance is a toss up between the IE800 & XBA-30 in that both are excellent and voiced similarly.  The 30's mids (and whole fq response, in general) has more depth, leading to a more spacious soundstage vs the IE800 (who's stage is wide but comparatively shallow).  The XBA-30's mids have a degree of smoothness and refinement that reminds me of the BA200 more than the IE800.  The IE800's mids might be a tad faster, more neutral, & better separated.. but the 30 textures better and sounds have better weight & body.  Mixing technicalities & personal preference, my order for midrange performance would got: BA200, XBA-30, then the IE800.
 
The XBA-30's bass is more punchy than the BA200 & IE800's bass.  It's also very tight and well extended.  The BA200's bass is more linear & neutral than the 30 & IE800's bass.. but the XBA-30's bass has slightly more midbass emphasis than either of the TDK phones (and it's faster than the BA200's bass/ on par with the IE800's bass speed).  The XBA-30 has an excellent mix of speed and body in the bass (more body and impact than the IE800, better separation than the BA200).. it isn't as flat as the BA200's bass as the XBA-30's midbass is gently boosted.
 
The XBA-30 has the most "mass consumer"-oriented  tuning of the three phones... but it's also got a surprising degree of refinement and possesses many qualities that would appeal to the 'mid-fi' audiophile who's in search of a balanced sound that's got a carefully added dash of warmth & fun.  One thing that impressed me is how natural & cohesive the triple BA driver XBA-30 sounded.. it seemed quite"dynamic driver" like in it's ability to texture and decay naturally.  It doesn't texture as well as something like the GR07 MKII or RE262.. but it certainly holds its own.  Taking into account technical ability & personal preference, I'd put the XBA-30 near the top of my pile of favorite IEMs (next to the GR07 MKII, BA200, H-100).  I got it mainly as a holdover until my custom IEMs arrived.. and despite one of my customs arriving, I've found myself still using the XBA-30 quite a bit lately.
 
I'll soon be sending my XBA-30 to Rin & Inks to have measured.. they'll have an XBA-3 on hand as well so we should get some (objective-oriented) analysis & comparison from them.
 
 
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Great and helpful comparisons, thanks a lot 
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. I've decided that i'll get my own after getting rid of my other headphones. I'm also waiting for the North American release (much easier for me and also for warranty claims). I'm glad to see that I won't lose what I love on the IE800 with the XBA-30, although a smoother treble caught my attention especially. I already find the IE800's treble to be perfectly smooth. It's detailed but never harsh. It makes the EPH-100's smooooooth treble sound non-existent, which is far from what I want. As for the mids, a bigger soundstage is always welcome as well as more body in the bass region. Hopefully the overall instrument separation and layering will be on par or better than the IE800. 
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by canikickit1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


I had the ie800 and the xba3 (actually bought both from amazon in the same order)

Compared to the xba3, the ie800 has better detail and mid extension. Soundstage and imaging were a bit better as well as instrument separation. I recall doing a/b/c tests between the er4p,ie800, and xba3 and would always mark the ie800s as havin very smooth vocals and mids. Highs are well controlled. However, even for dual dynamics, the bass was a bit anemic for my tastes. It definitely had detail, and more body than er4ps (who doesnt lol) but not the body I was looking for that the xba3s had.
 
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Thanks for the comparison with the XBA-3 
beerchug.gif
. We hear the IE800 similarly. Not quite sure what anemic (no body? if so then I agree to an extent) sounds like but it is rather light for dual dynamic drivers. Compared to the FXD80 and the EPH-100 where i'm coming from, the bass is lighter but more detailed and more neutral. It's also faster which was different for me but I do prefer it now. It's more accurate to my ears. 
 
Feb 25, 2013 at 9:53 PM Post #506 of 1,196
So... I'm listening to the XBA-30 with my portable rig: Matrix USB-SPDIF converter >> UHA-6S MKII (coax).
 
Holy smokes does it sound good!
 
Feb 26, 2013 at 2:46 AM Post #508 of 1,196
Quote:
flysweep said:
 
I currently own the 30 & owned the IE800 (sold the later a few weeks ago)..
 
I prefer the 30 over the IE800.  The IE800 is excellent.. it's got a bit more energy in the upper mids/lower treble vs the 30.. but the XBA-30's treble seems more refined & smooth to my ears.  I'd put the 30's treble quantity somewhere north of the BA200 & south of the IE800's treble.  In terms of quality, it sounds like a more energetic take on the BA200's (smooth, laid back) treble.  I read quite a bit about the XBA-3 and the most common issues people had with the sound (namely, the sometimes sibilant, 'metallic' treble).  I don't sense any of that with the XBA-30.  It's detailed in the treble.. but pretty forgiving, too.  It certainly won't spotlight harshness in the treble frequencies the way a more neutral IEM might.. but you'll still hear the grain and dullness that poorly recorded treble typically exhibits.. it just won't appear as obvious.
 
Midrange performance is a toss up between the IE800 & XBA-30 in that both are excellent and voiced similarly.  The 30's mids (and whole fq response, in general) has more depth, leading to a more spacious soundstage vs the IE800 (who's stage is wide but comparatively shallow).  The XBA-30's mids have a degree of smoothness and refinement that reminds me of the BA200 more than the IE800.  The IE800's mids might be a tad faster, more neutral, & better separated.. but the 30 textures better and sounds have better weight & body.  Mixing technicalities & personal preference, my order for midrange performance would got: BA200, XBA-30, then the IE800.
 
The XBA-30's bass is more punchy than the BA200 & IE800's bass.  It's also very tight and well extended.  The BA200's bass is more linear & neutral than the 30 & IE800's bass.. but the XBA-30's bass has slightly more midbass emphasis than either of the TDK phones (and it's faster than the BA200's bass/ on par with the IE800's bass speed).  The XBA-30 has an excellent mix of speed and body in the bass (more body and impact than the IE800, better separation than the BA200).. it isn't as flat as the BA200's bass as the XBA-30's midbass is gently boosted.
 
The XBA-30 has the most "mass consumer"-oriented  tuning of the three phones... but it's also got a surprising degree of refinement and possesses many qualities that would appeal to the 'mid-fi' audiophile who's in search of a balanced sound that's got a carefully added dash of warmth & fun.  One thing that impressed me is how natural & cohesive the triple BA driver XBA-30 sounded.. it seemed quite"dynamic driver" like in it's ability to texture and decay naturally.  It doesn't texture as well as something like the GR07 MKII or RE262.. but it certainly holds its own.  Taking into account technical ability & personal preference, I'd put the XBA-30 near the top of my pile of favorite IEMs (next to the GR07 MKII, BA200, H-100).  I got it mainly as a holdover until my custom IEMs arrived.. and despite one of my customs arriving, I've found myself still using the XBA-30 quite a bit lately.
 
I'll soon be sending my XBA-30 to Rin & Inks to have measured.. they'll have an XBA-3 on hand as well so we should get some (objective-oriented) analysis & comparison from them.
Click to expand...

Excellent review. It seems like XBA-30s fixed all of XBA-3s issues. Overall I feel like they are BA version of Yamaha eph-100s. I'm certainly buying them once they come over to US.
 
Feb 26, 2013 at 2:54 AM Post #509 of 1,196
mugen3 said:
I bought some CKN70s and I will write up a comparison with the XBA-30 when I get them.
Click to expand...


Awesome! Looking forward to it...
 
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