[digital analog]

 
guys, I just wrote a review of my XBA 3SL and the 4SL that I tested, with pictures
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/585358/sony-xba-3sl-4sl-and-why-i-bought-the-3sl-instead-of-the-4sl-impressions
 
feel free to comment and ask!

 

[staxxx]

anyone heard the XBA-1 and how does it compare to other single BA IEMs?

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

anyone heard the XBA-1 and how does it compare to other single BA IEMs?

Yep, check this thread.

 

[RAFA]

Som thoughts from engadget on the XBAs: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/16/sonys-xba-balanced-armature-in-ear-headphone-lineup-headed-to-t/
 

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

Som thoughts from engadget on the XBAs: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/16/sonys-xba-balanced-armature-in-ear-headphone-lineup-headed-to-t/
 

Seems as if though the X4's, even though they are BA's, have a warmer sound signature with a bigger focus on the low end. Interesting, I'd love to try that.
 

 

[RAFA]

Quote:

Seems as if though the X4's, even though they are BA's, have a warmer sound signature with a bigger focus on the low end. Interesting, I'd love to try that.
 

It seems so. X4 are 350 usd, which could later on mean also 350€. Would also like to compare the bass quality and quantity to the IE8s.

 

[takoyaki7]

Picked up the X4 after an extended comparison at Bic Camera with the X3/X4. I was actually quite prepared to get the cheaper X3, and enjoyed them quite a bit! However...
 
  There seems to be some criticism of the X4, that either it is too bass-heavy, or that the mid-range is grainy.
 
First of all, both the X3 and X4 have excellent bass. The X4 definitely has a bit more extension (reaches lower and has more impact) though I do not find them unbalanced, and the X3 has more than adequate bass. In this area I did not find too much difference.
 
The mid-range is where the X3/X4 clearly differentiated themselves, and why I purchased the latter. The X3 are LIQUID SMOOTH, with a very nice presentation and were quite pleasurable to listen to. But the mids, though smooth are definitely recessed.
 
Slipping on the X4, they have a rawer edge and the mids are much more upfront. There is a slightly "grainy" or "rawness" to the mids/upper trebles that gives them a bit more aggressive and "live" sound. As a result they definitely sound a bit warmer, which is to me a huge positive. They also show a lot more CLARITY and DETAIL as I immediately heard things in the X4 I didn't hear in the X3.
 
So ultimately, though the X3 were quite a smooth, wonderful IEM, the X4 entranced me with their more impressive clarity and dynamics.
 
However, due to its smoother nature, the X3 might be better for those that want a more laid-back earphone, as the X4, IMHO, something like a more detailed W3, while the X3 are conversely more like a less detailed W4. The X3 are definitely still more colored than the W4, which is to my ears quite neutral. I have read comparisons to the TF10, which might be reasonable, as both have a similarly liquid quality and recessed mids.
 
Also, as for comfort, while the X4 is definitely chunkier, I actually preferred its fit. The X3 has a straight barrel with the X4 has angled housings, which I found to grip my ears easier!
 
 
Overall I think the X4 is an interesting hybrid of the best characteristics of the W3/W4, while the X3 is for those that like their IEMs fun but smoother and darker, while the X4 is brighter, more detailed but perhaps more fatiguing and less forgiving of bad recordings/encodings. But I may end up picking up the X3 anyways, so  I may post updated impressions of both if I do!
 
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...

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

Picked up the X4 after an extended comparison at Bic Camera with the X3/X4. I was actually quite prepared to get the cheaper X3, and enjoyed them quite a bit! However...
 
  There seems to be some criticism of the X4, that either it is too bass-heavy, or that the mid-range is grainy.
 
First of all, both the X3 and X4 have excellent bass. The X4 definitely has a bit more extension (reaches lower and has more impact) though I do not find them unbalanced, and the X3 has more than adequate bass. In this area I did not find too much difference.
 
The mid-range is where the X3/X4 clearly differentiated themselves, and why I purchased the latter. The X3 are LIQUID SMOOTH, with a very nice presentation and were quite pleasurable to listen to. But the mids, though smooth are definitely recessed.
 
Slipping on the X4, they have a rawer edge and the mids are much more upfront. There is a slightly "grainy" or "rawness" to the mids/upper trebles that gives them a bit more aggressive and "live" sound. As a result they definitely sound a bit warmer, which is to me a huge positive. They also show a lot more CLARITY and DETAIL as I immediately heard things in the X4 I didn't hear in the X3.
 
So ultimately, though the X3 were quite a smooth, wonderful IEM, the X4 entranced me with their more impressive clarity and dynamics.
 
However, due to its smoother nature, the X3 might be better for those that want a more laid-back earphone, as the X4, IMHO, something like a more detailed W3, while the X3 are conversely more like a less detailed W4. The X3 are definitely still more colored than the W4, which is to my ears quite neutral. I have read comparisons to the TF10, which might be reasonable, as both have a similarly liquid quality and recessed mids.
 
Also, as for comfort, while the X4 is definitely chunkier, I actually preferred its fit. The X3 has a straight barrel with the X4 has angled housings, which I found to grip my ears easier!
 
 
Overall I think the X4 is an interesting hybrid of the best characteristics of the W3/W4, while the X3 is for those that like their IEMs fun but smoother and darker, while the X4 is brighter, more detailed but perhaps more fatiguing and less forgiving of bad recordings/encodings. But I may end up picking up the X3 anyways, so  I may post updated impressions of both if I do!
 
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...

thanks for the review. which one has the bigger sound stage?
 
 

 

[takoyaki7]

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

 

[gaspir324]

Sony
Y U NO RELEASE THEM INTERNATIONALLY?
How do the 4s compare to W4?

 

[goodvibes]

Those results sure make it sound like there's more to Sony's descriptions than meets the eye. I bet they slightly bump up the tweeter in the x4 to offset the extra bass/lower mids of the additional low frequency driver and gain some upper mids as a result. As they all start out with the same fullrange driver that is augmented, I suspect this would be the case. My guess is that this is a matter of preference rather than quality when comparing the x3 to x4. 

 

[kiteki]

 
The X2 X3 and X4 may all use different crossovers too.
 
I'm not sure where the "no crossover" theory came from.
 

 

[goodvibes]

I think there may have been the thought of integrating xovers with the individual drivers for simple stacking/easy assembly. Not no xovers but perhaps not an obvious one. Sony's own description would allow this as individual driver responses never change by model. All the graphs only show additive effects. They'e own gtraphs show identical response through the mids and highs of the x3 and x4. That the x4 seemingly has more presence that the x3 would indicate that the tweeter has a slightly different r value in front of it. Could be internal or external. Externel would be the common method and I don't think anyone said they were internal. Just speculation.
 
http://www.sony-asia.com/product/xba-3#reasonsToChoose
 
There's also no talk of externel xover nor any shown in their cutaway. Both of which are rather informative otherwise.

 

[jant71]

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.   

 

[turokrocks]

Quote:

Picked up the X4 after an extended comparison at Bic Camera with the X3/X4. I was actually quite prepared to get the cheaper X3, and enjoyed them quite a bit! However...
 
  There seems to be some criticism of the X4, that either it is too bass-heavy, or that the mid-range is grainy.
 
First of all, both the X3 and X4 have excellent bass. The X4 definitely has a bit more extension (reaches lower and has more impact) though I do not find them unbalanced, and the X3 has more than adequate bass. In this area I did not find too much difference.
 
The mid-range is where the X3/X4 clearly differentiated themselves, and why I purchased the latter. The X3 are LIQUID SMOOTH, with a very nice presentation and were quite pleasurable to listen to. But the mids, though smooth are definitely recessed.
 
Slipping on the X4, they have a rawer edge and the mids are much more upfront. There is a slightly "grainy" or "rawness" to the mids/upper trebles that gives them a bit more aggressive and "live" sound. As a result they definitely sound a bit warmer, which is to me a huge positive. They also show a lot more CLARITY and DETAIL as I immediately heard things in the X4 I didn't hear in the X3.
 
So ultimately, though the X3 were quite a smooth, wonderful IEM, the X4 entranced me with their more impressive clarity and dynamics.
 
However, due to its smoother nature, the X3 might be better for those that want a more laid-back earphone, as the X4, IMHO, something like a more detailed W3, while the X3 are conversely more like a less detailed W4. The X3 are definitely still more colored than the W4, which is to my ears quite neutral. I have read comparisons to the TF10, which might be reasonable, as both have a similarly liquid quality and recessed mids.
 
Also, as for comfort, while the X4 is definitely chunkier, I actually preferred its fit. The X3 has a straight barrel with the X4 has angled housings, which I found to grip my ears easier!
 
 
Overall I think the X4 is an interesting hybrid of the best characteristics of the W3/W4, while the X3 is for those that like their IEMs fun but smoother and darker, while the X4 is brighter, more detailed but perhaps more fatiguing and less forgiving of bad recordings/encodings. But I may end up picking up the X3 anyways, so  I may post updated impressions of both if I do!
 
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...

OK,OK no need for more............., I am convinced, thanks man