[illwafer]

Westone UM56 drilled for A3. Fit is much better but the sound is veiled. Will try to bore it out more on the ear side.

 

[Hinomotocho]

Those tips look like they plug directly into the brain

 

[Sp12er3]

If you have the chance to listen to the A3 and it suits your taste, then I'd take it without hesitation. The Z5 is the ultimate toy, but the aural differences between Z5 and A3 are marginal considering the price difference. In my book, the Z5 is certainly not twice as good as the A3.

Another option might be the XBA-N3AP, if available in your country. I've got mine yesterday, and it is too early for a profound verdict, but these combine the immense bass fundament of the A3 with a finer resolution of mids and treble. They sound a little "brighter" than the A3, though, so it is up to your preferences.

I've been looking into Sony's line of Hybrid for the last couple of days, and been intrigued enough to try them.. What do you think the strength of the N3 has over the A3 and vice versa? I don't really care much about overall comfort and ease of use as I plan on using it as kind of a deterrent so I 'm not tempted to bring out my MA900 out too much on travel, so I am more interested to hear how the soundstage and vocal (especially female) perform on each.

I think the A3 wins.

Is it really? Have you tried the Z1R directly and compare it to your A3? I was quite floored by how Z1R sounds, especially its unique characteristic of sounding quite "grand" with its expansive soundstage, rich bass. and gobs of details that doesn't jump at you.
it even manage to keep up with both my K702 and MA900 in being open despite being a closed headphone.
So, I am skeptical that the A3 can be AS GOOD, but if you did have a demo of the Z1R also and kept the opinion, I'd be really looking forward on trying out the A3 even more.

 

[sonyfan501]

Hello, I would like to know how does the XBA-A3 compare to the Sony MDR EX1000? Thanks!

 

[omchompchomp]

I've been looking into Sony's line of Hybrid for the last couple of days, and been intrigued enough to try them.. What do you think the strength of the N3 has over the A3 and vice versa? I don't really care much about overall comfort and ease of use as I plan on using it as kind of a deterrent so I 'm not tempted to bring out my MA900 out too much on travel, so I am more interested to hear how the soundstage and vocal (especially female) perform on each.


Is it really? Have you tried the Z1R directly and compare it to your A3? I was quite floored by how Z1R sounds, especially its unique characteristic of sounding quite "grand" with its expansive soundstage, rich bass. and gobs of details that doesn't jump at you.
it even manage to keep up with both my K702 and MA900 in being open despite being a closed headphone.
So, I am skeptical that the A3 can be AS GOOD, but if you did have a demo of the Z1R also and kept the opinion, I'd be really looking forward on trying out the A3 even more.

I own the A3 (demoed z5) balanced out of the Ayre pono player. I love this combo which led me to the z1r balanced out of the Ayre Codex. Ayre and Sony combo really works for me. If you like the z1r the a3(z5) is very similar.

 

[Sp12er3]

Hello, I would like to know how does the XBA-A3 compare to the Sony MDR EX1000? Thanks!

would like to know about this as well, because of its pedigree, ones for EX1000 are almost always more expensive than the A3, the thing is, by how much is it worth it?

If you like the z1r the a3(z5) is very similar

Sourcing for one! how much do you guys think the A3 is worth if its used with one cable broken? do you think $172 is reasonable? should I try to lowball it up to $135?

 

[omchompchomp]

Is it just the cable or the mmcx on the unit? You can make or buy a new cable, but if it's the connector ( which is quite fragile) then it can only be warrantied or fixed by a professional.

 

[Sp12er3]

Is it just the cable or the mmcx on the unit? You can make or buy a new cable, but if it's the connector ( which is quite fragile) then it can only be warrantied or fixed by a professional.

Ah, it's just the mic one not usable, he's a tall guy so it get tugged a lot he said, he installed the other cable and work normal will check it if it's really ok if I really take it

 

[Sp12er3]

*Update: I took the chance and bought it used for $128, with the mic cable is broken, case and box are fine with almost all tips included except M hybrid is lost and S foam is defect from factory.
Sound impression so far (+- 5 hours since it arrived) it really does remind me a lot of my time demoing the Z1R. So far very satisfied

 

[gerelmx1986]

Anyone here has the sony upgrade cable for Pono balanced? The one with dual 3.5mm TRS

 

[Intensecure]

*Update: I took the chance and bought it used for $128, with the mic cable is broken, case and box are fine with almost all tips included except M hybrid is lost and S foam is defect from factory.

Nice. Good price. Some dealers were selling the last stock off here, end of last year, for $175 equivalent, juuuust missed on getting one.. but ended up with the N3 instead, so all good. Would have happily had both though.

 

[Sam L]

Westone UM56 drilled for A3. Fit is much better but the sound is veiled. Will try to bore it out more on the ear side.

wow! I don't even know how to react to that. Like the other posters said, looks like it plug directly into your brain. lol

 

[gerelmx1986]

I ask about the sony upgrade cable for balanced because I got a MDR-Z1R cable for my z7 and they sound better

 

[Sam L]

*Update: I took the chance and bought it used for $128, with the mic cable is broken, case and box are fine with almost all tips included except M hybrid is lost and S foam is defect from factory.
Sound impression so far (+- 5 hours since it arrived) it really does remind me a lot of my time demoing the Z1R. So far very satisfied

That's a steal. At that price, I probably would of picked one up as a backup. I have a feeling as time goes on, the A3 will be hard to get.

 

[mer]

I went straight from xb90ex to N3. Did I miss something ?