I've had the Maxell Hybrid DBA700 for a few days, I'm still deciding whether or not I like them. My thought's keep drifting along the lines of "safe mainstream signature"
I like the housing design and livable cable which resembles a
slightly more flexible version of the unpopular Sony MH1C flat cable, fans of beats tour would be pleased here. I have had problems achieving a seal with the provided stock tips, they're rather thin and would not take hold for me which is unusual. I ended up ruffling through my assortment settling on either T-Peos H-100 stock tips or Vmoda Bliss 3.0 (Large). Comfort wise they're above average however the rather large diameter rear housing feels weighty, they tend to sag resting on my ears, similar to how a Klipsch x10 would sit. The jack, I'm not really a fan of, they have made it a right angle connector but a rather big one which defeats the whole purpose using right angled jacks to minimize size.
As for the sound, I'm really undecided here about what I think, I'm not sure which of you have heard T-Peos B-100, but they sound like a slightly advanced version with a dynamic bass driver added to push a little more punch. DBA700 don't do anything really wrong, what I'd call a 'safe choice', however I can't say they really excel anywhere.
The low ends not one that shows as much punch or sub-bass as I would of liked for a Hyrbid, the entire sig is semi balanced / smoothed over without any edge to it. I'm hearing a slight emphasis on the highs which could be source related. Mids sound rather dry to me like they need some saturation over them, mids are a touch forward which shadows the low end. I'm actually having a tough time finding anything I can really praise these for. Timbre is rather natural and has some depth that draws you in at times so there's no fuss with the tone. They sound a touch warm for my tastes but everything does for some reason.
I think my main fuss is the soundstage, there just isn't much there, rather closed and congested which doesn't allow any air, layering or separation to come through properly. Detailing wise the treble has a touch of sparkle and surely stands out over the rest of the spectrum on certain tracks, which is strange because djvkool said differently. (different sources?) Mids seem limited in detail by the price tag but acceptable. I can't hear any disjointness between the dynamic and BA driver which is pleasing.
Anyway, for me to write a review on something I really must enjoy the piece of gear, that isn't happening here, I'm going to stop before the impression turns into something negative. I was listening the whole time while writing using Colourfly C3 and Hifiman HM-601 unamped. To sum my opinion on DBA700 they really don't do anything wrong, however those familiar with how some IEM's like Rockit R-50 can perform around this price won't find audio nirvana in DBA700, I'd call them a safe choice for your everyday consumer who possibly doesn't know what they're missing. Are they ok for around $100? "kind of" I guess it depends how you look at it. For the average person yes, fine for $100, for someone who knows what $119 can get you with R-50 for example, no DBA700 are not worth it imo. These simply haven't drawn me in enough yet to say I enjoy them.
Enjoyment rating overall 4/10
