[shakur1996]

BTW, I bought the C5, because I literally could not find any other decent portable amp that's sold in europe.

Marlebob, why you limit your searches just to Europe? After some reading I think that Lecketon UHA-4 would be a good, very portable, companion.

BTW, it is so obvious and other hand a little bit odd how different tastes are. Marleybob, as I understand you correctly C5 is maybe too warm for yours BA4f but it gives you much fuller sound. For me I would never want to add a warm amp to my BA4r which by definition I would expect is less fuller than yours BA4f because for me BA4r has already full sound
Moreover, BA4r were compared to Etymotic ER4s...hmm...yes, they have something in common but my initial impressions (although I have to admit that I've listened my BA4r maybe just for 3 hours) are that BA4r have fuller sound and lacks a little bit this treble sparkle which Etys have, so I'm a little bit confused whether they are actually similar.

Despite the above, I'm very pleased with my BA4r. I like the cable very much. I was afraif a little bit that the acrylic CIEM will not be comfortable (until now I only had silicone custom sleeves for my Etys), but for me they are actually comfortable.

Thank you Phil for making this interesting CIEM.

 

[Marleybob217]

Marlebob, why you limit your searches just to Europe? After some reading I think that Lecketon UHA-4 would be a good, very portable, companion.

BTW, it is so obvious and other hand a little bit odd how different tastes are. Marleybob, as I understand you correctly C5 is maybe too warm for yours BA4f but it gives you much fuller sound. For me I would never want to add a warm amp to my BA4r which by definition I would expect is less fuller than yours BA4f because for me BA4r has already full sound
Moreover, BA4r were compared to Etymotic ER4s...hmm...yes, they have something in common but my initial impressions (although I have to admit that I've listened my BA4r maybe just for 3 hours) are that BA4r have fuller sound and lacks a little bit this treble sparkle which Etys have, so I'm a little bit confused whether they are actually similar.

Despite the above, I'm very pleased with my BA4r. I like the cable very much. I was afraif a little bit that the acrylic CIEM will not be comfortable (until now I only had silicone custom sleeves for my Etys), but for me they are actually comfortable.

Thank you Phil for making this interesting CIEM.

When I said a fuller sound, I meant a fuller sound paired with the BA4f than with the DX50. And yes, in some cases I actually liked the thinner sound of the DX50 a bit better.
 
And I'm afraid the leckerton is just too thick man. That would make my setup more transportable than portable. And why I limit my searches to europe is simple, dutch customs suck b*lls. Even if I get the seller to tag the package as a gift, the customs will hold the package for a month. 
However, if I find an amp that's perfect for my needs, I will order it outside europe. But it's very hard to predict synergy!
 
I'm glad you're happy with your BA4r, I also find the acrylic way more comfortable than I expected it to be.

 

[shakur1996]

When I said a fuller sound, I meant a fuller sound paired with the BA4f than with the DX50. And yes, in some cases I actually liked the thinner sound of the DX50 a bit better.

And I'm afraid the leckerton is just too thick man. That would make my setup more transportable than portable. And why I limit my searches to europe is simple, dutch customs suck b*lls. Even if I get the seller to tag the package as a gift, the customs will hold the package for a month. 
However, if I find an amp that's perfect for my needs, I will order it outside europe. But it's very hard to predict synergy!

I'm glad you're happy with your BA4r, I also find the acrylic way more comfortable than I expected it to be.

I assume that this should apply to Netherlans as well - IMHO if you are purchasing a product not for your business purposes there is no basis for adding VAT. Morever, as far as I'm concerned electronic products constituting amplifiers are covered by 0% rate of custom duties. I know that typically (this is common in Poland as well) tax/customs authorities levy custom duties and VAT on the import of electronicts, but one may wonder whether this is actually legitimate in some cases.

 

[Marleybob217]

I assume that this should apply to Netherlans as well - IMHO if you are purchasing a product not for your business purposes there is no basis for adding VAT. Morever, as far as I'm concerned electronic products constituting amplifiers are covered by 0% rate of custom duties. I know that typically (this is common in Poland as well) tax/customs authorities levy custom duties and VAT on the import of electronicts, but one may wonder whether this is actually legitimate in some cases.

Lol I wish. They add taxes, on everything. For instance I had to pay about €70 on import taxes for the audinst hud-mx1 from south-korea. Which costs about ~$170. I actually forgot to precise number, but they always add almost %50 of the total price as import taxes.

 

[Ultrainferno]

I had to pay over 300€ for my LCD-2

 

[Marleybob217]

 

[Marleybob217]

My current portable setup:

 


(Stacked on homework)

 

[blueangel2323]

Finally! The fit is now fine. The right side is slightly tighter than the left, but I used them on my walk home and never once did I lose the seal.
 
And an extra blue case (the newest kind) was thrown in as a bonus. Thanks Phil!
 
I will work on a full review once I've gotten used to them.

 

[gorman]

Could somebody please explain the difference between BA4r and BA4f?

On the website I can't find any reference to these two different models.

TIA

 

[neozecat]

My current portable setup:


 




(Stacked on homework)

Can you detail it ?

 

[AmberOzL]

Can you detail it ?

iBasso DX50 + JDS Labs C5 + CE BA4F. I am not marleybob but don't worry there is no mistake

For interconnects, I think he better name them himself.

 

[project86]

Could somebody please explain the difference between BA4r and BA4f?

On the website I can't find any reference to these two different models.

TIA

 
The original BA4 was meant to be a neutral reference, to take on the UE Reference Monitor while undercutting it in price. After some people (myself included.... ahem) mentioned it was too bass light for some situations, Phil tweaked it and separated the model into two options. BA4R is the original Reference, while BA4F is the Fun version which has a modest bass boost. 

 

[mingz]

Hi Guys, I am very new here. I have plan to move from universal item to ciem. I have been using sfi-5 pro for almost 6 years. I love its sound charactor. However, I was suggested that to go ciem is worth compare to quality that I would get. So, Iam here to find it

I am in Thailand , an Asian country. As per my understanding, there is no issue for me to purchase the stuff internationally, right? In term of shipping and tax at origin side.

Also, can you please suggest me for a model from Cosmic ears which have bass outstandingly and still keeping detail of vocal. My music style is quite wide and various but majority are rock and pop style.

Your kind comment and suggestion are fully welcome.
Please feel free to share me.

Thanks in advance guys

 

[powasky]

Hi Guys, I am very new here. I have plan to move from universal item to ciem. I have been using sfi-5 pro for almost 6 years. I love its sound charactor. However, I was suggested that to go ciem is worth compare to quality that I would get. So, Iam here to find it

I am in Thailand , an Asian country. As per my understanding, there is no issue for me to purchase the stuff internationally, right? In term of shipping and tax at origin side.

Also, can you please suggest me for a model from Cosmic ears which have bass outstandingly and still keeping detail of vocal. My music style is quite wide and various but majority are rock and pop style.

Your kind comment and suggestion are fully welcome.
Please feel free to share me.

Thanks in advance guys

I didn't know that Thailand was in Asia...hmmmmmm...

 

[shakur1996]

The original BA4 was meant to be a neutral reference, to take on the UE Reference Monitor while undercutting it in price. After some people (myself included.... ahem) mentioned it was too bass light for some situations, Phil tweaked it and separated the model into two options. BA4R is the original Reference, while BA4F is the Fun version which has a modest bass boost. 

In addition to what project86 wrote, recently Phil tweaked the bass in R version a little so that it does nos sound so thin as reported by the users; according to Phil's words despite this bass tweaking R version is still a reference monitor