[maverickronin]

Quote:

Definitely the X4. Very airy and spacious sounding.
  The X3 has a more closed or intimate sound

Any thoughts on how the X4 might do with movies?  I'm looking for an IEM that will project a credible soundstage for that sort of thing.

 

[james444]

Quote:

But to summarize, to my ears:
 
The X3 is more colored/dark, good bass/treble, less extension, recessed mids, non-fatiguing...
The X4 is colored, warm, good extension, more forward mids, slightly more bass impact, more airy, with a "live" sound like the W4...

Dark + warm = no danger (for my wallet) Thanks for your impressions, takoyaki, very much appreciated.

 

[burtomr]

Quote:

I'm looking for an IEM that will project a credible soundstage for that sort of thing.

Notorious for Grand Soundstage > Sennheiser IE-8 + Bass <

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Notorious for Grand Soundstage > Sennheiser IE-8 + Bass <

Thanks for the endorsement, that's something else I'm considering.

 

[goodvibes]

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Sony uses mechanical filters instead of traditional crossovers. The Super Woofer description...
 
This driver features even finer pores than the woofer unit to improve playback of very low-range frequencies that are lower than the woofer's range. The result provides a full, rich bass sound.

 

So these should change the sound as well. Physically filtering the treble out even more is bound to increase the bass decay a bit. It's hard not to effect the other frequencies filtering after the speaker with screens. A traditional crossover cuts before reaching the driver and really shouldn't alter as much.
 
I don't like the way they designed these things actually. My EX600 was darker than others and never had the treble that other users reported till I took the foam out. If my EX600 can have less treble due to more foam inside the tube, why can't these filters have some variation as well with some 3's and 4's sounding somewhat different than others? The exploded diagram also shows foam in the tube again as well. Some might find they need a bit if adjustment similar to my EX600 did.
 
Why didn't they make a top fire drivers as well for the mids esp. in the 3 and 4? They could have had more versatility. I'm not sure they they show the bottom two of the XBA3 facing upward and the third driver facing down. Wouldn't top-fire in the middle, bottom facing up and top facing down work better? A lot we really don't know about how they designed these. 
 
Too many differing impressions on these phones already. 1st gens sometimes are better to skip. I think there may be some kinks to work out still. I don't think they will be quite "the epitome of superior sound quality" as they state about the XBA4 but in the crowd of  current phones. There draw is that they are price to sell in larger amounts compared to likes of the PFE232, CK100 Pro and others that look for the high profit/ less sales niche.   

They probably use both. The tweeter will likely have a series cap. The only practical way to low pass in an IEM is an acoustic (mechanical) filter as a cap in parallel with affect the entire system and a series choke to large. I suspect the differences in reviews are more a matter of taste and associate kit. They type of acoustic filters used here will be very consistent screen types and not prone to the sort of bunching, hollows and twisting that can happen in foam.
 
In theory, since we're dealing with pressure waves up to the treble range, the direction of fire shouldn't be a major concern until your in the top octave or 2. Of course, there's always more to it.

 

[arnaud]

I had another listen today to the xba-3 and xba-4 out of my iphone 4 (lossless). I will review my previous inpressions later on to check for consistency. But to make it short:
1. I found the xba-4 too bass heavy and with too much of a loudness curve (v shape tonal balance)
2. The xba-3 did not seem to extend as low but the bass felt firmer or at least better integrated to the rest of the spectrum.
3. The xba-3 had the same treble presence, detail and extension as the xba-4.
4. The xba-3 had a more forward midrange which felt a bit more natural / neutral sounding.
5. Neither of them portrayed a realistic soundstage. It pans from left to right and that's pretty much it.
6. Both have clean transient response with sounds emerging from a pitch black background.
7. I don't think we are anywhere close to neutraI tonal balance with either of these but the presentation is very fun with lots of impact / kick without ever sounding restricted or congested.
 
Overall, I was very pleased and walked away with a pair of xba-3sl!!
 
Merry xmas to all,
 
Arnaud

 

[ericp10]

These impressions are over the place and seem to be some of the least consistent reviews of any IEMs ever posted here. Some say the 4's mids are more forward while others say the 3's mids are, and so on and so on. Goes back to what I always state here>>>> you have to hear for yourself. These and the GR01 (if they ever come out) are on the list for early next year. Also, I may be reviewing a new product from ThinkSound. Stay tuned. Happy listening and happy holidays!!

 

[Jeremypsp]

Is the XBA-4 comparable to say the Westone 4 or Shure SE535? Or maybe the XBA-3?

 

[xatlx]

i would really love to get the XBA-4SL with quad driver compare with 2s from UE pro 4 and Westone's AC2 ?

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

These impressions are over the place and seem to be some of the least consistent reviews of any IEMs ever posted here. Some say the 4's mids are more forward while others say the 3's mids are, and so on and so on. Goes back to what I always state here>>>> you have to hear for yourself. These and the GR01 (if they ever come out) are on the list for early next year. Also, I may be reviewing a new product from ThinkSound. Stay tuned. Happy listening and happy holidays!!

Yes. You always have to hear for yourself. Unless everybody has the same thing to say 

 then always test them out for yourself.

 

[mugen3]

The varying opinions of the 3s and 4s are probably due to the fact that their impedances are really low, which renders a lot of sources sub-optimal.

 

[arnaud]

I actually reread my previous impressions after posting these (on purpose so as to not get influenced). And they were actually virtually opposite conclusions from previous time I compared the 3 and 4.
 
 
I actually was a bit concerned about this myself as I thought maybe there is large variations across a batch. 
 
However, one thing is that I previously used a tomahawk amp while I  drove them direct from the iphone this time (because this is how I will use them, the gain is sufficient at least).
 
Another thing is that I would get very different impression of the bass quality depending on how well these were inserted. For the 3s, I had to push them in as well as possible to get clean bass (sounded boomy otherwise). For the 4s, at least yesterday, I couldn't insert near as well and I wonder if the bloated bass feeling comes mainly from that. 
 
BTW, the 4s are too bulky for me (I have smaller than average ear canal size) and I couldn't insert them properly with the M size hybrid tips. AFAIK, all auditions I have made at stores were with hybrid M tips. There are also S SS and L size tips in box (in both hybrid and noise isolation version so 8 pairs total!!).
 
 I will write more on influence of tips and seating when I listen to them over the next few days. 1 quick note though, I bought comply foam tips (t200 i believe) and tried them at the store on the 3s. I liked the sony hybrids better actually, maybe because i could insert them a tiny bit deeper. More after xmas unwrapping .

 

[turokrocks]

Quote:

I actually reread my previous impressions after posting these (on purpose so as to not get influenced). And they were actually virtually opposite conclusions from previous time I compared the 3 and 4.
 
 
I actually was a bit concerned about this myself as I thought maybe there is large variations across a batch. 
 
However, one thing is that I previously used a tomahawk amp while I  drove them direct from the iphone this time (because this is how I will use them, the gain is sufficient at least).
 
Another thing is that I would get very different impression of the bass quality depending on how well these were inserted. For the 3s, I had to push them in as well as possible to get clean bass (sounded boomy otherwise). For the 4s, at least yesterday, I couldn't insert near as well and I wonder if the bloated bass feeling comes mainly from that. 
 
BTW, the 4s are too bulky for me (I have smaller than average ear canal size) and I couldn't insert them properly with the M size hybrid tips. AFAIK, all auditions I have made at stores were with hybrid M tips. There are also S SS and L size tips in box (in both hybrid and noise isolation version so 8 pairs total!!).
 
 I will write more on influence of tips and seating when I listen to them over the next few days. 1 quick note though, I bought comply foam tips (t200 i believe) and tried them at the store on the 3s. I liked the sony hybrids better actually, maybe because i could insert them a tiny bit deeper. More after xmas unwrapping .

Please do, will be waiting...............
 
 

 

[Kejd]

Anyone knows when they will hit the american soil?

 

[mugen3]

 
Quote:

Anyone knows when they will hit the american soil?

Sometime next year. Sony will announce the official date at the next CES.
 
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/16/sonys-xba-balanced-armature-in-ear-headphone-lineup-headed-to-t/