[Inks]

The differences in dfrost's DBAs are pretty much because of the filters and possibly to a less extent, the cabling. Burn-in wouldn't be the reason for the differences, BAs don't benefit from burn-in. 

 

[ethan961]

I wouldn't totally discredit burn-in as there are electronics in the crossovers that may experience a short burn in time, in addition to possible cable burn-in (I have no take on that having not noticed the differences myself), but yes, I'd say that any difference is most likely due to filter differences, with older DBA having the paper filter up front that could get clogged a bit easier, which would change the sound slightly (or not so slightly). And yes, dfrost's MeElec cabling made a little bit of a difference, I A/B'd them with a stock set and the MeElec cable is slightly darker. Another person who had the MeElec cable put on noticed the same thing (I A/B'd that set too), so I'd say that statement is valid. Is it something worth doing for the sound aspect? I'd say no way, but it really depends how crazy you want to go. Tips are a much easier, cheaper, and less risky way to 'tune' the sound, and probably even bring about more of a change than the cable. I'd say the only reason to do a recable is the form factor of the MeElec cable not being twisted, the less noticeable colour, and the possible mic functions. In short, nothing to do with the sound, so it's not one of those 'use silver wire! must achieve best!' sort of things.

 

[Koopa989]

 
haha it looks like i started a mini debate about burning these in...interesting.
 
 
i havent received mine yet, but i might give them a good listen before trying a 24-48 hour run to see if i notice anything different.

 

[shane55]

IIRC, no noticable break-in effect on mine...

 

[rawrster]

I didn't hear any change from out of the box to right before I sold them and it had a couple hundred hours on mine by then.

 

[tkalee]

Hi, I've been lurking here for a while trying to get a handle on whether the dba is right for me.  I'm new to this iem hobby, having bought an ie6 about a month ago.  Very v-shaped but I'm hoping it'll improve with listening.  My UM2 is in the mail and should arrive this week.
 
What I really want though is something for classical.  Having read that the UM2 is kind of bass-heavy I'm a little anxious about how it'll sound.  LFF's review, as well as a huge review of multiple iems elsewhere here that touted the dba and the ck10, have really sparked my interest.  I'm beginning to lean towards getting these from gd-audiobase.
 
Is anyone here able to compare the dba and the um2?

 

[shane55]

I have had the UM2 for years and love them. They are rich, slightly on the warm side and full-bodied. They are a tiny bit rolled-off in the upper range, but that can work with certain music or moods. Bass is fairly big, but not like the SM3... which is HUGE.
 
The DBA-02 is different in that the bass is not as extended or pronounced, and the upper mids and highs are very well presented. They might be considered bright. They have better ergonomics for me than the UM2 (but that's no slight against the UM2), in that I can insert and angle them as deeply as I want... and with these, deep is very good.
 
The DBA-02 are my daily-wear IEM's. They are clean, crisp and brilliant. For classical they are extremely good as the highs are so very important to me. The mids and lower-mids on the DBA are excellent and can really give instruments a solid body feel (not like the UM2, but close).
 
Hope that helps...
 
shane

 

[tkalee]

Thanks shane.  I'm tracking the UM2 delivery and it arrived this morning (I'm in the office now).  I think I'll delay getting the dba straight away (even though there are only two in stock) so that I can see whether my impression of the UM2 matches everybody else's. 
 
-- Most especially on big classical pieces.  I've always felt that earphones have a tough time with concertos.  But then, the sources can be so different.  I remember having an old copy of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, the one with Oistrakh, Rostropovich, and Richter, and even I could tell the mastering was abysmal.  Still one of my favourite vinyls.

 
Quote:

I have had the UM2 for years and love them. They are rich, slightly on the warm side and full-bodied. They are a tiny bit rolled-off in the upper range, but that can work with certain music or moods. Bass is fairly big, but not like the SM3... which is HUGE.
 
The DBA-02 is different in that the bass is not as extended or pronounced, and the upper mids and highs are very well presented. They might be considered bright. They have better ergonomics for me than the UM2 (but that's no slight against the UM2), in that I can insert and angle them as deeply as I want... and with these, deep is very good.
 
The DBA-02 are my daily-wear IEM's. They are clean, crisp and brilliant. For classical they are extremely good as the highs are so very important to me. The mids and lower-mids on the DBA are excellent and can really give instruments a solid body feel (not like the UM2, but close).
 
Hope that helps...
 
shane

 

[Inks]

UM2 is one hell of an old iem. Hadn't heard it about it in forever. Pretty surprising to hear about it again. 

 

[tkalee]

Heh, that's my fault.  I've just got into this hobby after buying a pair of IE6s.  I like them but thought they were missing something in the middle, so started googling around.  Westone UM2s were mentioned a lot so I bought a pair, rather impulsively.  While waiting for them to arrive, I discovered head-fi.org and the boggling range of iems.  I mean, seriously -- too many!
 
Quote:

UM2 is one hell of an old iem. Hadn't heard it about it in forever. Pretty surprising to hear about it again. 

 

[Inks]

Pretty good choice there though, W2 fits perfectly because it has good mids and because you already seem to have a good experience with the UM2. 

 

[tkalee]

Inks: Thanks, but I'm getting UM2s, not W2s.

 

[tkalee]

OK, just heard that new DBA-02s are in stock at Audiobase.  FYI.

 

[treal512]

Maybe I just want to complain.. but these are almost more difficult to get a good fit with than my CK10s. Without going back a ton of pages, is there a preferred tip for these yet besides Comply?

 

[Demonic_Pope]

I just use the smallest stock tips and push it in as far as it can go. And then, perfect seal. Weird thing is that I couldn't get a good fit with the smallest tips when I first tried it, which was why I got the Comply TX-100, which sounds good but now that I somehow got the smallest silicon tips to fit, the soundstage is noticeably wider and airier. FYI, I use the largest Sony hybrids while I was on the RE0, but since the DBA is deep insertion I had to use the smallest stock tips.