Originally Posted by arnaud /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I could swing by the Sony permanent showroom in Ginza tonight and sample the XBA prototypes for an hour or so. I am glad I did as I came out with more firm impressions than at the Fujiya festival last months...
Sampled music:
- Tuna Fish Emiliana Torrini Love In The Time Of Science
- Caramel Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega Close-Up, Vol 1, Love Songs
- El Pajaro Lhasa De Sela La Llorona
- Anyone and Everyone Lhasa Lhasa
- Zoom Giovanni Mirabassi Trio Out Of Track
- Too Old To Die Young Bushman's Revenge Jitterbug
- Puppet Yael Naïm She Was A Boy
- In The Flesh? (2011 - Remaster) Pink Floyd The Wall (2011 - Remaster)
- Money (2011 - Remaster) Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon (2011 - Remaster)
- Farewell My Love (Featuring Archie Shepp) Charles PAsi Uncaged
- Moonglow Salvagnini Quartet Giant Moon
- Paper Tiger Beck Sea Change (HD tracks 24/96 > 44.1)
- Gérard Les Têtes Raides L'An Demain
- 11-Heartbeat HeadFi and HDtracks Open Your Ears
Listening gear: iPhone (lossless) > Moon Audio Blue Dragon LOD > RSA Tomahawk (High gain, typically listening at 8-9AM with these). Note that I also tried direct from the iPhone and got pretty similar results (volume halfway) except for bit more loose bass.
Listening impressions in chronological order:
XBA3:
- Well extended in the highs (similar to XBA4) with good sparkle but neither shrill (Money from Pink Floyd 2011 remasters sounds just right) or artificial sounding.
- On the other hand, bass was too emphasized, even boomy sounding through the Tomahawk (bit less forward driven straight through the iPhone but still too much for me) so I quickly moved up the ladder to XBA4
XBA4:
- Very pleasant sounding with a rather "loudness" type equalization curve which makes it preferable for moderate to low level listening.
- I quickly realized that unfortunately, the demo unit had the woofer busted so I had to switch to the version with built in mic.
- It was extended at both ends (could hear all Hearbeat samples clearly from the HDTracks/Open yours ears sampler).
- Soundstage was nowhere near convincing with more left to right panning than anything which may be due to a combination of source / iem / universal fit / phase shift across the drivers.
- Tonal balance was very good (but clearly deviating from neutral). Drivers are very well blended together and I could not pick up any resonances or harshness.
- Detail / low level resolution was excellent baring in mind that isolation isn't perfect and source is pretty limited so it's not home rig type of detail retrieval but nevertheless totally satisfying.
- Prat is excellent, I was tapping the foot the whole time.
- Overall, my impressions is that it kills se315 (unfair comparisons since the Shure is a single driver unit but price wise they're not that far in Japan) and I might actually prefer it to my Sensaphonics 2xs (which unfortunately or not died on me again a week ago or so).
- Issues: bulky, sticks out , poor isolation (maybe because I have small ear canal and couldn't seat them in fully). Cable is flimsy so I am not sure about sturdiness.
XBA2:
- These reminded me much more of the SE315 (and price wise they're similar) with more emphasis on the midrange and the treble very rolled off compared to XBA3 and XBA4.
- However, its bass extends lower and/or is more forward than that of the SR315. For instance, I can't really feel the last heartbeat sample on se315 but it may be a touch firmer than the Sony.
- The SE315 feels like midrange only and dynamically compressed so the XBA2 (same price in Japan I believe) is a no brainer.
- Overall, I liked the XBA2 better than XBA3 as I thought its bass was more natural sounding to me (not as forward and not boomy). I wish Sony did not shelve down the highs as much but fortunately I can turn to the XBA4 for this.
- Very compact (but still sticks out a little bit compared to an angled driver like Shure's SE series), it fits perfectly in my (small) ears and I could get reasonable isolation.
Conclusion:
- It is a bit difficult to decide between the XBA2 (not as extended low / highs but very compact and most comfortable for my small ears) and XBA4 (much better listening experience but at the expense of bulkiness and somewhat poorer fit to my ears).
- I believe I will go with the XBA4 though as the price is still reasonable in light of the sound it delivers (does not replace my home rig but I could probably live happily with just that!).
