[countryboyhk]

Well I respect the 2 camps of burn in believers versus detractors.

But I have really seen some companies advising a 200 hour burn in for their manuals for IEMs. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is a "get out of jail card" in case the consumer dislikes the tuning. They'll throw the "you haven't burned it in enough" statement on why the IEM doesn't sound good. Once the consumer really follows the 200 hour burn in recipe, a new hypetrain IEM would have come in the mail already (and the old one forgotten) or it is past the returns policy timeframe LOL.

I remebered I tried both the demo of Final A4000 and IE40 Pro in a shop few months ago, their sounds are simply scare me off with muddy bass and spiking highs. I just wondered why peoples still recommend them for the beginners !? Then, someone told me I should try the one after some burn in. That is the the true quality they are talking about. In any case, I am still not convinced. Unlike these two iems, CRA sounds pretty good for a freshly open stock. Some Chifis I bought recently like DQ6, ZEX, EDX Pro sounds also good freshly open.

 

[countryboyhk]

duplicate, deleted.

 

[unifutomaki]

I remebered I tried both the demo of Final A4000 and IE40 Pro in a shop few months ago, their sounds are simply scare me off with muddy bass and spiking highs. I just wondered why peoples still recommend them for the beginners !? Then, someone told me I should try the one after some burn in. That is the the true quality they are talking about. In any case, I am still not convinced. Unlike these two iems, CRA sounds pretty good for a freshly open stock. Some Chifis I bought recently like DQ6, ZEX, EDX Pro sounds also good freshly open.

Final A4000? muddy bass? Not in my experience..

For the record, I find the CRA to sound leaner than even the so called bright A4000 especially in the treble.

 

[Mr.HiAudio]

Got my CCA CRA pair.

And... They sound like a EDX Pro but the middle is a little smoother. essentially flattens this filter white. You can take just EDX Pro and save your money

Not the hipe train model, just level of KZ EDX Pro and EDS.

 

[SweetEars]

My brief impression for the CRA from past few days of listening. Using balanced brown cable from KBear & yellow tips from BGVP. Sources used: R3 Pro, SR25(preferred), DX160 & Go Blu. Music was mostly electropop vocals.

The CRA is warm-sounding, layered over KZ's house sound. To my ears, it's not as hard edged as the usual house sound. The bass spectrum could do with a bit more detail, and treble sounded a tad grainy to me. IMHO, it's not going to be chasing after high-dollar sounds but acquits itself rather well in the under $30 price bracket. It also scales up noticeably and, imo, has diy potential.

In summary, I think it's a gem at $15 and should have good mainstream appeal.

EDIT:
Removed nozzle filters with a needle - Reduced warmth. Added a bit more bite to the mids & treble. Improved clarity. But I had to slightly reduce playing volume change to narrower-bore tips due to being treble-sensitive. It's not a bad sound signature for $15, with or without nozzle filters.

How will the cra sound on this

 

[SweetEars]

CRA with SendaEarfit Short tips is definitely not bass light. Its mids is warm, airy and transparent with very good extention in highs, sound-stage is huge. CRA's sound is simply a big step-up from BL03 to me.

Where can we buy this tips, any AliExpress equivalent of this

 

[dimazbaik]

Everyone suggest eartips from sedna ( 10-15 usd) to sony tips

Definitely not budget tips

 

[countryboyhk]

Where can we buy this tips, any AliExpress equivalent of this

I get them from a local store and dont know any Ali's shop sell them or equivalent of this. The Senda tips provides very good bass, yet dont alter the original tuning too much, it also gives cleaner mids and wider soundstage in most case. The black one is a bit hard to wear, while the white one is softer, and gentle in sound.

 

[purplesun]

How will the cra sound on this

Comparing CRA (no filter, narrow-bore tips) vs DQ6 vs Blon-03:
The CRA had a hump in the treble region that was quite fatiguing to my ear. The DQ6 was a bit more gentle. But both were quite congested compared to Blon-03 which had better separation, air and refinement. But, of course, Blon-03 has to be fitted well to have that kind of performance. Source: Qudelix 5k (LDAC) wirelessly connected to BTA30 Pro USB-connected to a PC playing the youtube content.

 

[seanwee]

I've burned them in a bit and the peak has indeed been tamed down a little to just below the threshold of annoyance making it a lot more listenable.

I've been comparing it to my FDX1 which is tonally closer to the CRA than the IER-M9.

Bass quality wise its not really a fair comparison as they both have differing amounts so the CRA will sound less controlled as the louder bass WILL affect how you percieve bass tightness. As for preference I really dig the boosted amount of bass the CRA has, kinda reminds me of the Elysian Accoustic Annihilator's bass tuning. Yes, the $3000 TOTL one. No glaring weaknesses here on the CRA, just a fun amount of bass. Unfortunately this kind of bass tuning isn't the most revealing and this is especially noticeable on busier tracks with a heavy accompanying bass track. Yes, the Elysian Accoustic Annihilator has the same issue, its just an artefact of the tuning. Some tracks will sound GREAT but some will sound more congested.

Mids are the weakest aspect of the CRA. Male vocals can sound a bit dry making them a little raspy like the singers are singing on a dry throat. Higher pitched female vocals just sound sharper rather than dry however. On some songs the upper mid 5khz boost makes it sound congested as the music competes with the singer for the centerstage. Lady gaga songs perform particularly bad on the CRA as they have a strong bass track and lots of instruments in the upper mids.

Highs are pretty well extended, definitely more airy than my FDX1 and even competes with the IER-M9. No glaring weaknesses here, just a good extended treble.

Overall I'm still of the opinion that its criminally good for its asking price. If i were to price this I would likely put it in the $99 price category at least. Plenty of sets i've heard in the sub-100 and even sub-200 category don't come close to how well the CRA balances a fun tuning without sounding too muddy or have glaring issues but I've come to expect that, 90% of the iems released to the market just aren't tuned well imo.

Yes, the CRA has its own weakness which is the 5khz part which may be a deal breaker for some who are looking for warmer or smoother sounding vocals. Its not for relaxed listening for one unless you listen to lower volumes. I listen to music quite loudly and the CRAs will sound fatigueing after an hour or so of listening. Going back to the FDX1 and IER-M9 is a much more soothing experience more suited for long term listening.

But come on, its a $15 dollar iem. An endgame fun tuning that lacks refinement in the mids is already way more than you should be getting at this price range... and i've not even started modding it yet.

 

[seanwee]

Comparing CRA (no filter) vs DQ6 vs Blon-03:
The CRA had a hump in the treble region that was quite fatiguing to my ear. The DQ6 was a bit more gentle. But both were quite congested compared to Blon-03 which had better separation, air and refinement. But, of course, Blon-03 has to be fitted well to have that kind of performance. Source: Qudelix 5k (LDAC) wirelessly connected to BTA30 Pro USB-connected to a PC playing the youtube content.

Filterless CRA? Are you mad ? XD

 

[RikudouGoku]

Got my CCA CRA pair.

And... They sound like a EDX Pro but the middle is a little smoother. essentially flattens this filter white. You can take just EDX Pro and save your money

Not the hipe train model, just level of KZ EDX Pro and EDS.

That white filter sure looks like a tuning paper in the Y series.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002584285688.html

(they are on the way to me btw.)

 

[Mr.HiAudio]

That white filter sure looks like a tuning paper in the Y series.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002584285688.html


(they are on the way to me btw.)

Yes yes, some Kbear model used this filter

 

[seanwee]

That white filter sure looks like a tuning paper in the Y series.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002584285688.html


(they are on the way to me btw.)

Do you happen to know any particular filters worth trying on the CRA?

 

[RikudouGoku]

Do you happen to know any particular filters worth trying on the CRA?

Dont have the CRA yet.

And I have a TON of DIY materials coming, so I will make a bigger post about all of them later in my own thread.