11 New Sony BA IEMs
Dec 5, 2011 at 2:08 AM Post #361 of 845
LOL, x-Jays... the very definition of vaporware.
 
It's true that 4 drivers at under 300 is pretty unheard of, but then again, there's probably a reason for that. The more I learn about the XBA line, the less I really care about it. The XBA1 should be a nice one to explore, as would be the XBA3, but the XBA4 seems a bit unwieldy in the ear.
 
While I've yet to hear the K2 SP, we can't really fault it for being "flat and lifeless" --- it was designed for that purpose.
 
Dec 5, 2011 at 2:16 AM Post #362 of 845
Quote:
That was almost 2 years ago. Time flies.


2 years, and still no release? 
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Dec 5, 2011 at 3:47 AM Post #363 of 845
Quote:
2 years, and still no release? :blink:


I highly doubt it will ever see the light of day. Right between then and now, JAYS already released 8 IEM, but no x-JAYS.
 
Dec 8, 2011 at 8:23 PM Post #364 of 845
I received mine, XBA-4 yesterday and I would just like to share some thoughts.
 
I have never posted before, so I'm not sure if I am any good at doing this.
 
I am comparing the XBA-4 with the other iems I have; Miles Davies, FX-700, IE 8, IE 7, Ortofons EQ-7. I am not a fan of BA as I don't like their sound sig. Hated the CK 100's but the Ortofons made me decide to keep a pair of BA on hand. The price and the hype made me pre-order a pair but not before I tested the XBA-3 at a Sony store nearby. I enjoyed the XBA-3 during my 5 mins of testing, so I decided to order the XBA-4. Seems reasonable for the price.
 
Packaging: Reasonable, came in a nice box and 2 types of tips. I prefer the regular tip to the noise reduction ones.
 
Built quality: Excellent. Sturdy and all but the little dots on the back of the housing seems to be just printed on, so I'm sure those little dots will be gone after 1 month of usage or so. Not a big issue for me.
 
SQ:
 
Bass: They are very clear with good quality bass. They better bass quality and quantity wise than the Orto's, although not as much as the FX-700. The lows are rather similar to the FX-700 which is rather surprising for a BA.
 
Mids: Not as good as the Miles Davies, but not far behind in that regards.
 
Highs: Natural without roll offs and sibilance.
 
Clarity: They are clear. Even more so than the Orto's which I found to be grainy at times.
 
Overall: There BA's are surprisingly good. For the price, these will be keepers. They are pretty easy to drive. I ran them through my T3 at first but found no big differences when I plug them into my iphone 3gs. Isolation is quite good as well. I don't think they are the best thing since slice bread but for the price, they are definitely worth a try. I also like the XBA-3, especially since it is much smaller and lighter. I will try to compare the XBA-3 to the 4 again when I have the time, but for now, I would recommend these iems to others based on the price to performance ratio.
 
Hope this helps.
 
 
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 5:45 AM Post #367 of 845
Brief session with XBA-3 and XBA-4 today...
 
 
Contrary to several things I have read, I definitely preferred the 4s. 3's were nice and punchy, but mids sounded a bit recessed. 4s had a more airy sound, a bit similar
to my old Westone 4s, but with more bass.
 
 
Also, as for the fit...
   I was a bit concerned the 4s wouldn't fit well as they look pretty tubby in the pictures. Well, I found the fit of both to be quite good. The 4s are definitely chunkier, but the fit is almost exactly the same, cord-down, and I found both to fit surprisingly well in my average-sized ears. More interestingly, I found the 4s to be more secure for me cord-up, so I actually preferred their fit a bit more overall!
 
Both were pretty impressive and I plan on listening to them again, and perhaps picking up the 4s...
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 6:33 AM Post #369 of 845
Well, its been awhile since I listened to the TF10, though my impression is the XBA-3 struck me as a quite similar sound, V-shaped, but
with less of a mid-bass hump than the W3. their high end didn't seem quite as aggressive as the W3, or have as much sparkle as the TF10, so I
would say they are similar, but the politest of the 3 in their sound. 
 
My problem with the TF10 was always their size, and by comparison the XBA-3s are absolutely tiny. They aren't much bigger than the original CK100 and fit
me quite easily, which was always my problem with the TF10!
 
They are very impressive for the 16,000-17,000yen asking price, and quite a bit different sounding from the XBA-4, enough that I could -almost- justify
picking up both.
 
 
 
Also, it might be worth noting that they come with a VERY short flat cable (.6m) and extension. The cable is actually made even shorter by the fact it is a large
J-cord. Personally I sort of like this, as it is ideal for wearing in a breast pocket. They lack a chin-slider though, so with the extension could get a bit cumbersome...
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 6:47 AM Post #370 of 845
Thanks Takoyaki for your thoughts, however I find XBA-3 and XBA-4 impressions are too confusing.
 
I hope my local Sonystyle store gets them so I can listen before I decide.
 
 
I have read that a 10 ohm output impedance causes a measured 6dB variation in a 21 ohm IEM, so let's remember, the variations will be even worse in the XBA-3 and XBA-4.
 
Lucky me I have the Teclast T51 which has 0.4 ohm output impedance.
 
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 8:28 AM Post #371 of 845


Quote:
Thanks Takoyaki for your thoughts, however I find XBA-3 and XBA-4 impressions are too confusing.
 
I hope my local Sonystyle store gets them so I can listen before I decide.
 
 
I have read that a 10 ohm output impedance causes a measured 6dB variation in a 21 ohm IEM, so let's remember, the variations will be even worse in the XBA-3 and XBA-4.
 
Lucky me I have the Teclast T51 which has 0.4 ohm output impedance.
 



Probably not from the line out. Something to remember for those impedance matching is that it's not flat over the frequency band and commonly drops in the bass and rises in the highs. There's no absolutes here but the effect on bass response can actually be greater than the impedance may have you believe.
 
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 8:43 AM Post #372 of 845
I can't follow your post...
 
 
I'm just sayin', a single-driver 21 ohm BA distorts 6dB from the [typical] 10 ohm output impedance of an amplifier, so let's not rule out that a multi-driver BA of 8 ohm could become catastrophic. I'm no expert on this impedance jazz, just looking at the data I can find.
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 10:12 AM Post #373 of 845
One thing for you to consider is that you use your t51 from it's line out which generally has a much higher impedance than the headphone out. The OPA2604 line amp that the t51 uses has an output impedance of 25 ohm or higher in circuit so when you claim to be in good shape regardless of IEM, it's not true for the way you use your DAP. You're actually in bad shape regardless of headphone used. Bad impedance match or not enough gain (V) available at line out for inneffecient  >200 ohm headphones. 
 
The other part was that iem impedance is generally given at 1khz but may be less than 1/2 that value at 50hz. Maybe not but you can't be sure of compaibility just by looking at specs and multi driver units are are prone to variation.
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 11:13 AM Post #374 of 845

How much are the 4s in USD, takoyaki7?
Quote:
Brief session with XBA-3 and XBA-4 today...
 
 
Contrary to several things I have read, I definitely preferred the 4s. 3's were nice and punchy, but mids sounded a bit recessed. 4s had a more airy sound, a bit similar
to my old Westone 4s, but with more bass.
 
 
Also, as for the fit...
   I was a bit concerned the 4s wouldn't fit well as they look pretty tubby in the pictures. Well, I found the fit of both to be quite good. The 4s are definitely chunkier, but the fit is almost exactly the same, cord-down, and I found both to fit surprisingly well in my average-sized ears. More interestingly, I found the 4s to be more secure for me cord-up, so I actually preferred their fit a bit more overall!
 
Both were pretty impressive and I plan on listening to them again, and perhaps picking up the 4s...



 
 
Dec 9, 2011 at 6:47 PM Post #375 of 845
Quote:
One thing for you to consider is that you use your t51 from it's line out which generally has a much higher impedance than the headphone out. The OPA2604 line amp that the t51 uses has an output impedance of 25 ohm or higher in circuit so when you claim to be in good shape regardless of IEM, it's not true for the way you use your DAP. You're actually in bad shape regardless of headphone used. Bad impedance match or not enough gain (V) available at line out for inneffecient  >200 ohm headphones. 
 
The other part was that iem impedance is generally given at 1khz but may be less than 1/2 that value at 50hz. Maybe not but you can't be sure of compaibility just by looking at specs and multi driver units are are prone to variation.

 
 
I still don't know what you're talking about, firstly I think you have me confused with someone else since I've said several times I almost always use the HO, depending on IEM synergy, why am I in "bad shape regardless of IEM used" ?
 
Second, I can't see your point, if a 21 ohm single driver IEM can fluctuate 6dB why wouldn't a 4-driver 8 ohm be even worse? I'm writing this as precautionary advice to reviews, and not "looking at specs", do a search and you'll find the dScope measurments I'm referencing in this example.
 
 

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