INTRODUCTION:
CCA, the brand which is based out of China is also the sister brand of the infamous KZ always does excel in terms of sound and price when compared to its parent brand. The C10 and the CST being my favourite product the CA10 also might add in this list. Everytime the KZ releases a partially cooked product to the market while the CCA waits and completes the cooking what the KZ left and delivers to the market since sister’s know how to cook better than brother’s right!? xD.. In this review lets check out how does this CA10 perform against the competitors in this price range of 50 usd.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Driver: 10 Balanced Armature
Plug type: 3.5mm gold-plated plug
Cable length: 1.25m
Connector: 0.75mm 2 Pin
DISCLAIMER:
This unit has been provided to me by HiFiGo in exchange for my honest opinion about the product. This whole review is based upon my observations of this product while using them for a good period of time and it's based on my pairings with it hence it might differ from person to person.
If interested in purchasing this, use this unaffiliated link:
https://hifigo.com/products/cca-ca10
DESIGN AND FIT:
The design of the CA10 looks really nice and that added cyan colour touch to the faceplate looks absolutely gorgeous. The faceplate has that transparent look partially while the other half has that metallic look giving a nice robotic presence. The whole construction is made out of resin which is quite sturdy and has good heft in the hands.
The connectors are again the C type 2 pin connector which is pretty common with KZ and CCA. The good thing is that the stock cable looks quite great where they have nice texture and premium feel in the hand. Thanks for getting rid of that crappy copper coloured cable ☺. The stock tips though makes the whole fitting terrible!. It would have been good if they have given the starline tips instead the stock tips are while coloured flimsy, small eartips which will never fit most of the ears!
The fit of the earphone is subjective since the shell being already at a larger size, the given stock tips doesn’t provide a good enough seal in the ears. For sure, additional aftermarket tips are necessary to get an adequate fit.
SOUND:
The sound profile of the CA10 is more of a slight V shaped presentation. The bass is boosted quite a bit with slight midrange recession especially the instruments. The treble has very good extension with above average detail retrieval in this price range. The staging is the star show here actually where the presentation is very enough giving an immense sense of space. It has its own cons like the brighter, unnatural and metallic tonality and timbre which does really affect the overall listening experience. Let's talk about the details in the following review.
BASS:
The low end of the CA10 is pretty nicely tuned here even though they are fully composed of all Balanced Armatures. The low end has a nice extension in the sub bass region giving a nice rumble like that of the Dynamic Driver. The mid bass is also presented well where the full bodied bass is seen along with that nice separation and decay.
The decay of the bass is on point giving both the sensation of rumble while also delivering enough clarity in the low end. The control of the bass is pretty good and the mid bass bleed is not seen that much hence providing a nice amount of track separation and mid range liveliness.
Overall I'm pretty impressed with the bass presence. Even though they lack the dynamic driver it never made me feel the absence of it since the bass is pretty good both in terms of sub bass and mid bass. They are not the bass head level but still the full range balanced armatures does the job pretty well.
The fullness factor like that you experience in the dynamic driver earphones can’t be experienced here but the clarity in the low end is one wonder of balanced armature drivers which you will of course experience in this.
MID RANGE:
The mid range in the CA10 is pretty good except the timbre and the tonality which is mainly because of the presence of the BA driver. The vocal is presented well and forward, having a nice body carried along from the presence of the mid bass. The tonality is another issue here where they have that bright, dry and metallic taste to it which is kind of annoying in the long run.
The background instruments in the mid range are not that recessed even though they are V shaped and that's a good thing. The imaging is the star show here where the placement is done excellent and staging being super wide enough the whole presentation feels pretty spacious. A lot of headroom is available in the CA10 for sure.
The timbre of the instruments is slightly off due to that presence of the BA which is inevitable but the people who are used to this BA sound they will not notice this. The layering is done well too since the staging is pretty good here.
The detail retrieval and the track separation are above average for the price. The piano notes, guitar strings, kick drums everything are brought out really well without any hindrance. The timbre and tone is however dry and metallic as we discussed above. The upper midrange sibilance is not observed here even though they are quite bright in the upper end and in that regard the CA10 is pretty good.
TREBLE:
The treble here is well tuned and detailed enough while also managing not to sound harsh. They are well extended giving nice shimmer and brilliance in the top end leading to nice detail and air presence. The all BA presence does make some wonders here by providing a good amount of air and separation in the treble section.
The cymbal crashes are splashy enough to entertain you while the attack and the decay are also close to realistic. The problem again is that the tone and the timbre is not realistic where the same metallic, dry and bright hint is noted again.
When it comes to the sibilant control they are done again well without any noticeable sharpness in the top end. The occasional sharpness can be felt but never to the limit of fatiguing the listener.
The electric guitar strings and the trumpets do sound very well with adequate brightness giving life to the instruments. The breaths of the singers are felt evidently creating a nice lively experience.
- Michael Fitzhenry – Andwella
- Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits
TECHNICALITIES:
STAGING: The staging of the CA10 is pretty good where the width takes the center stage by showing its immense separation and the placement of the instruments. The depth is pretty good too since the bass is also pretty neatly tuned here. The height is average but not the worst. Overall the wide staging does provide that nice spacious and grand presentation.
IMAGING: The imaging is another star aspect here where the precise placement of the instruments is done while they can be easily pointed out even in the busier tracks. The sound neatly sweeps from the extreme right to the left without any stutters. The transient response felt very smooth which makes the imaging to be the best part of this earphone.
Detail retrieval and the track separation are above average and the BA does excellent job in this area. The treble being nicely accentuated the details are nicely brought out with lively feeling due to that presence of good amount of air. Overall pretty impressed with the technicalities of the CA10 Pro.
VERDICT:
The CA10, one of the latest offerings from the house of CCA, the sister brand of the KZ has done it again by providing another value for money product in the budget segment. The C10 – a 10 driver hybrid unit and CST – a single dynamic driver being my most liked product of mine, the CA10 does a pretty good job here by complementing the sound of the previous two.
The full hybrid setup sound does provide that nice detail and clarity in the top end while also some impressive low end where those BA’ s are tuned to deliver the full range of spectrum. The low end is quite dominating here with excellent texture and control while the midrange is not affected too! The highs have excellent clarity and detail retrieval with a huge amount of air and headroom in between the instruments. The imaging and the stage width are the star aspects here where they are phenomenal for the price they quote. The major con for me is that it has that noticeable BA timbre and tonality which is kind of metallic, dry and bright.
The overall sound signature does provide that combined fun along with that detailed and crisp sound without causing fatigue during the long listening sessions. This CA10 just purely delivers a HYBRID FUN at a fraction of cost even though they do possess a full BA setup!
