[-y0-]

Hey how's the fit? The housing seems large, can anyone post a pic of the XBA-4 worn?

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Hey how's the fit? The housing seems large, can anyone post a pic of the XBA-4 worn?

Housings are large, but light...  Wearing them up is kinda hard since the strain relief is so long and stiff (no jokes about the wording here please).  You're lucky you asked this now.  I'm sending these back to Sony tomorrow (loaner sample).  I apologize in advanced about the flash and blurryness.  These were taken in a rush. 
 

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Wearing them down.​

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Wearing them over the ear.​

 

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[-y0-]

Quote:

Housings are large, but light...  Wearing them up is kinda hard since the strain relief is so long and stiff (no jokes about the wording here please).  You're lucky you asked this now.  I'm sending these back to Sony tomorrow (loaner sample).  I apologize in advanced about the flash and blurryness.  These were taken in a rush. 

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Hey thanks for the pics, they look pretty snug in the ear. How's the comfort level overall?
 

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Hey thanks for the pics, they look pretty snug in the ear. How's the comfort level overall?
 

Besides the long strain reliefs for over the ear, they are extremely comfortable. 

 

[-y0-]

Quote:

Besides the long strain reliefs for over the ear, they are extremely comfortable. 

Nice! I might have to invest when the ip version comes out in March. Thanks for the info man.
 

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Nice! I might have to invest when the ip version comes out in March. Thanks for the info man.
 

No problem.  I will be having a full review in the the coming weeks on them   It feels bad to be letting them go, but what must be done must be done

 

[david1978jp]

Quote:

No problem.  I will be having a full review in the the coming weeks on them   It feels bad to be letting them go, but what must be done must be done

Thank you in advance. Can you please also compare to other earphones (not better or worse, just for reference)? Trebles of Sony top lines were often too hot (SA5000, EX700); I loved them, but my ears burned (sometimes I regretted and felt I should go with 2nd tier.)
 

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Thank you in advance. Can you please also compare to other earphones (not better or worse, just for reference)? Trebles of Sony top lines were often too hot (SA5000, EX700); I loved them, but my ears burned (sometimes I regretted and felt I should go with 2nd tier.)
 

I would be willing to do comparisons, if I still have them.  My Phonak 232s are packaged to be sent out while my Westones are already sent off.  On top of that, my Sony's are boxed up and ready to be shipped (once I get the shipping address). 
 
Also, regarding the treble on these, they are slightly more laid back. 

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

 
So, right off the back I have to say that the Sony XBA-4 is the most interesting  universal balanced armature IEM I've ever heard. 

Thanks for that write-up. I'd tried a crapload of IEMs in-store from my iPhone (with or without Pico Slim) and, so far, the 3s and 4s seem to do the least wrong of any I've tried.
 
Someone PM'ed me about sibilance recently and there were some comments earlier about the sound. I am listening with my pair of 3s from my iPhone and there is definitely a treble peak somewhere, as Fatou is a tiny bit sibilant, but not annoyingly so. I've confirmed this out of my home rig as well. The sound is very pleasant out of that! 

 

[david1978jp]

In Sony website, it explains that the double layered housing is made of magnesium and ABS plastic.
Those two materials are supposed to be light weight and durable. I certainly hope so.

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

Someone PM'ed me about sibilance recently and there were some comments earlier about the sound. I am listening with my pair of 3s from my iPhone and there is definitely a treble peak somewhere, as Fatou is a tiny bit sibilant, but not annoyingly so. I've confirmed this out of my home rig as well. The sound is very pleasant out of that! 

Oups, it's time for a checkup, I don't hear this treble peak (I do hear an overall elevated treble from 8kHz or so though), maybe my ears are shot at that frequency if there's indeed such narrow peak! Sibilance... So it should be in 4-6kHz range most likely. 
 

 

[cassiohui]

i'm glad someone talks about the 1! i've very roughly tried the 1,3 and 4 and i'm afraid the 1 interests me the most!
 
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They have no problem keeping up with complex tracks. The soundstage does lack some depth(not in its price range) but it's quite wide with good separation. They are good. Prettaaay, prettaay, pretty good. And comfortable!
 


 

 

 

[Selenium]

I hope the XBA-1 doesn't get overlooked just because the others have more drivers. It's really good! I'm thinking of doing a Klipshc X10 vs. XBA-1 write-up this weekend, but I can already tell you I prefer the XBA-1 by a New York mile.

 
Quote:

i'm glad someone talks about the 1! i've very roughly tried the 1,3 and 4 and i'm afraid the 1 interests me the most!
 


 

 

 

[gduck]

wow, they are in good company if you prefer them over the x10, i really didn't set out to try them because of the price of the 3 and 4's, but if you say the 1's are that good, i might give them a try down the road. I'm worried about the bass quantity tho since i'm a bit of a basshead, how do they measure up against the x10 ?

 

[Selenium]

They definitely have a less weighty low-end than the X10s.