Background:
You can see my current gear in my signature. Usually I listen on the K702, using the Grace m902 as the amp through the Benchmark DAC1 Pre, though I often A/B the two as well (but that's another thread altogether).
Etymotic ER4P/S serves as my IEM reference. Some of the good IEMs that I have bought and got rid of, because they don't fit my taste: Shure E4, SE530 (treble roll off), Westone 3, UM3X (V-shaped presentation. vocals masked by bass), Livewires T1. The RE0 is my throw-around portable earphones.
As you can probably guess from my gear, I strive for a neutral presentation..for the most part. You will see the exception below
I listen to symphonies, strings, and Cantopop. All lossless ripped by EAC by myself.
These days I am listening to the new EP by Joey Yung so I am using this for my Cantopop impression:
Cantopop, to me anyway, requires an emphasis in vocals. The DBA-02 paints a pretty coherence picture across the spectrum. The overall sound signature is smooth, even for harsher materials. The all-important vocals do not get drawn out, but they do not pop out as much as I'd like either. The presentation is not absolutely flat across all the vocal registers. Eg. when the female singer uses the chest voice (register) there is a slight resonance. Vocal detail retrieval quite good. I want to stress that I'm hard to please when it comes to female vocals. I have yet to find a perfect female vocal presentation from IEMs. Overall, the details and oddities are within my expectations of an IEM at this price range.
On the other hand, sound stage and instrument separation is good, as the low-volume backing vocals have their own distinct space in the stereo field. The lines are easy to follow. The same can be said of other instruments. Definitely an advantage over the typical lone-driver setup.
Bass is abundant and goes low. Drum hits and snaps are impactful. Treble is smooth, so cymbal clashes don't sound as life-like as I'd like. Overall the DBA-02 makes for a good pair of IEMs for relaxing in Cantopop.
Moving on to male vocals, I happen to have The Promise by Il Divo on my Nano 5G:
Wow. If I should dedicate a pair of earphones for listening to complex male vocals, the DBA-02 would be it. Definitely sounds more coherent and linear than female vocals. Separation is still phenomenal in complex passages.
Classical string pieces are a bit disappointing for me, as it doesn't have the treble energy I'm after. I admit I'm biased here, because I play inside the orchestra so I always expect more treble than the audience. Not my cup of tea, but may be for people who don't like too much treble power in classical pieces.
The default black eartips seem to makes the bass spreads farther than it should. The grey/green tips sounds clearer, which makes the earphones' characteristics even more pronounced.
Although I might have sounded pretty harsh above, I'd personally pick this sound signature over the Westone 3 at half the price since the vocals are not recessed. Although the DBA-02 does not have a place in my stash and it should go to the FS forum soon, I'd categorize the it as a good pair of IEMs for casual and fun listening to pop and male vocal pieces.
PS. As I am packing the DBA-02 away, I put my portable earphones RE0 back on. The RE0 now sounds like a pyramid, sibilant and thin in mid-treble. Oh well, you can't have everything right. My ears will adjust to them again.
edit: caught a couple of typos and clarified a couple points
