[Nightslayer]

Hmm would a reshell drastically improve the DBA soundsig? I like the current sound but stuff like soundstage/body leave stuff to be desired, wondering if a reshell would be able to remedy it?

 

[Zoide]

Quote:

They isolate pretty well, so not sure I would use them in a work situation if you need to hear others, machinery, etc.

Well, it's not as critical for me as in a factory setting.  It's basically a cubicle area with programmers.  Could I talk with someone if I just turn down the volume, or would I have to take them out of my ears every time?

 

[iemholic]

i'm still waiting the dba-02

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

Well, it's not as critical for me as in a factory setting.  It's basically a cubicle area with programmers.  Could I talk with someone if I just turn down the volume, or would I have to take them out of my ears every time?

I don't have a problem with that but they would need to get my attention first. It doesn't  offer isolation like an Etymotic does although their housing is quite similar to the ER6i but still larger.

 

[shane55]

Quote:

i'm still waiting the dba-02

Yeah... me too. But at least I got my 'processing' email.

 

 

[David58117]

Ethan - are you out of preorder slots now?  I noticed the website doesn't allow ordering anymore. 

 

[rawrster]

So I got the Eterna today which I believe were their previous flagship before DBA-02. It does have me wondering if FA has a house sound or if it's just different throughout their various models and I'm thinking it may be a latter with a reflection of reviews some of their cans have gotten.
 

 

[slaters70]

What does it sound like? The DBA? I would think not. So house sound would not apply. But what do you think of them?

 

[rawrster]

It sounds quite different. If the DBA-02 excels where the upper mids and treble region (I do find the bass not as good as my old CK10 and if it had that it be pretty much perfect) then the Eterna is the bass area and a bit into the mids. I don't like the cable however as it has some memory but nothing compared to when I had the Shure E4 which was pretty ridiculous. It's not usually my preferred signature but I can see why people like it. It's too early but I think these should replace my Coppers as a fun phone although I do find the Coppers superior. Or I could just keep them all and after I sell my nano get a J3 and hopefully be done with it when I get my customs back after a refit which should take 2 weeks or so since I'm getting new impressions done Wednesday thankfully for free. The fact that I haven't had customs probably didn't help my wallet as these were an impulse buy.
 
The Eterna kinda give me the appreciation for the DBA-02 in a strange way. I find that the DBA-02 does cymbals better in the areas that I care about. The crash and ride with the decay is done better on the DBA-02 so far but I'll need to test it out later as this is all from casual listening.

 

[slaters70]

Thanks, interesting. I didn't buy an Eterna on impulse, but I did buy a ECCI PR300, which I got for a friend but he had already wasted, uh, spent his money on a name brand IEM. Now, I am stuck with the PR300s and don't need them at all. But they are nice, almost as good as the PR1 Pros.
 
Anyway, the DBAs still reign for me, with the ER4Ps on almost equal footing. They complement each other.

 

[rawrster]

Well luckily I don't consider them a waste of money and time which i've had for others. They won't be replacing my DBA-02 anytime soon and considering my preferences I wouldn't expect them to. I suspect they would be good for something such as running or sleeping. They are pretty low profile and similar to my PL30 but the housings are bigger than the PL30. Also for some reason whenever I hear big bass, fun earphone and low cost I automatically think of something that is similar to the CX300 or when I tried the Golds with gel tips which sounded absolutely horrible and I've never had a worse first impression.
 
My DBA-02 will not be going anywhere and still up there in my list of universals. I won't have my customs for a couple weeks since Fisher told me I needed new impressions and thankfully the place I got them done said it wouldn't be a problem to get them redone so I'll be getting them done Wednesday which validates my decision to get them done by a professional compared to DIY. The DBA-02 will get lots of listening time over the next couple weeks. I think next week I may have a chance to hear the ER4P so I might be able to see what they are about but I'm a bit more interested in the ER4S. I may have to ask some people for a loan in the not so near future to know what they are about since a short listening session can only do so much compared to a loan,

 

[Woozle Wuzzle]

Hopefully these would arrive to me before the 18th since I'll be in the airport for 3 hours and on the plane for 4-5 hours. Would love to hear these headphones on the plane although it may just be wishful thinking

 

[DaEMoNteNTAcLe]

+1 on the bass.
the bass on dba-02 lacks body, and air, but have lots of impact and texture. It also have just enough amount of bass imho. ck10 has lesser overall quantity, but better overall balance in quality. but the quantity always leaves u wanting for more. there will always be "m04r bass pl0x~!" on the ck10, but not much with dba-02.
 
as for the crash and ride with the decay, i would think the clear space in the soundstage contributes to that a lot more. since it lacks warmth, it has more space trebles.
i also think dba-02 sounds a bit emphasized tho. a lot of details can be heard clearly, but i dont find soft tones coming out as loud to be natural.
 
U can try blocking the vents in the housing of eterna, that would remove the smears in the trebles, giving better tone, positioning and clarity on the highs, but also cave in the soundstage and removes some mid-bass. when i did it on my ex-v1 (sold it off b4 dba-02 lol), the lack of soundstage and excessive boom of bass really makes me dizzy, too congested. v2 might does better since it's said to be more controlled.
 
i also noticed that ck10 has a LOT of sibilance compared to dba-02.. but very sweet and smooth sounding, never harsh at all. i like. dba-02 was always hurting whenever it spits 's'.
that's some conclusion that i came going to ck10 from dba-02. so i think that's y i can go ck10 despite being sensitive to harsh trebles.
Quote:

It sounds quite different. If the DBA-02 excels where the upper mids and treble region (I do find the bass not as good as my old CK10 and if it had that it be pretty much perfect) then the Eterna is the bass area and a bit into the mids. I don't like the cable however as it has some memory but nothing compared to when I had the Shure E4 which was pretty ridiculous. It's not usually my preferred signature but I can see why people like it. It's too early but I think these should replace my Coppers as a fun phone although I do find the Coppers superior. Or I could just keep them all and after I sell my nano get a J3 and hopefully be done with it when I get my customs back after a refit which should take 2 weeks or so since I'm getting new impressions done Wednesday thankfully for free. The fact that I haven't had customs probably didn't help my wallet as these were an impulse buy.
 
The Eterna kinda give me the appreciation for the DBA-02 in a strange way. I find that the DBA-02 does cymbals better in the areas that I care about. The crash and ride with the decay is done better on the DBA-02 so far but I'll need to test it out later as this is all from casual listening.

 

 

[rawrster]

My statement about the DBA-02 bass has nothing to do with body or air but extension. I like the extension better on the CK10 although I think the CK10 has one of the better extensions I've heard on both sides and it's pretty flat imo.
 
I did find the spike in the upper mids in the CK10 to make it have a negative effect on cymbals as well as make it border line sibilant which are two things I don't find in the DBA-02 imo of course.
 
Also I was very happy with the CK10 bass and didn't find much difference with the bass quantity of that compared to the DBA-02. It's just extension that makes me want a bit more.

 

[Zoide]

Quote:

+1 on the bass.
the bass on dba-02 lacks body, and air, but have lots of impact and texture. It also have just enough amount of bass imho. ck10 has lesser overall quantity, but better overall balance in quality. but the quantity always leaves u wanting for more. there will always be "m04r bass pl0x~!" on the ck10, but not much with dba-02.
 
as for the crash and ride with the decay, i would think the clear space in the soundstage contributes to that a lot more. since it lacks warmth, it has more space trebles.
i also think dba-02 sounds a bit emphasized tho. a lot of details can be heard clearly, but i dont find soft tones coming out as loud to be natural.
 
U can try blocking the vents in the housing of eterna, that would remove the smears in the trebles, giving better tone, positioning and clarity on the highs, but also cave in the soundstage and removes some mid-bass. when i did it on my ex-v1 (sold it off b4 dba-02 lol), the lack of soundstage and excessive boom of bass really makes me dizzy, too congested. v2 might does better since it's said to be more controlled.
 
i also noticed that ck10 has a LOT of sibilance compared to dba-02.. but very sweet and smooth sounding, never harsh at all. i like. dba-02 was always hurting whenever it spits 's'.
that's some conclusion that i came going to ck10 from dba-02. so i think that's y i can go ck10 despite being sensitive to harsh trebles.


 

Hmm...  Is there any universal IEM that gets the best of the CK10 and DBA-02 for you?