[FlySweep]

I might have read incorrectly but I thought people hadn't thought hybrids suitable but this is good to hear. I like the large hybrids on my RE-0 but for the DBA's wold I have to use a smaller one to get the deep insertion?

 
Depends on what you mean by small.. but yes.. smaller is what you need to get deeper insertion.  I use the green ones and couldn't imagine going back to anything.. including the complys.  The smallest ones (orange) give me very deep insertion but aren't wide enough to seal effectively.  The blue ones seal the ear hole completely but don't insert deeply.  The green ones are simply perfect.  You can in fact use all three if you want to tailor the sound.. the blue tips pulls the mids back a bit and the bass becomes more airy.. the orange turn the phones even more aggressive (the deeper fit) and bass has more punch (to my ears).
 
The Hybrids really brought out the bass on the DBAs.. quality & quantity.  They sound as balanced as I've ever heard them now, I'm hearing more details now with the best seal I've experienced & the best isolation to boot.. audio freaking bliss.  I've got an Arrow 3G amp and I was so impressed with how well the bass comes through now, I don't even turn on the (fantastic) bass boost on them!
 
Remember this was my experience and different ears - different fit/sound.. but hybrid tips are pretty cheap (and I confirm they definitely fit on the DBAs) so give 'em a shot..

 

[8xOverMsOctober]

I've used the Hybrid tips pretty much from the moment that I got my DBAs. I use the small tips to get deep insertion, but even the small tips are a little too big for my ears. They get uncomfortable after using them for as little as an hour or two.

Because of that I just recently switched over to Comply tips - the small P-Style ones. I heeded Shane's advice and trimmed the ends of the tips off. Without doing that, the Comply's took away from the highs a little bit.

How did you get your Hybrids to stay on the DBAs stem? I used some 1/8" shrink tube on the stems to get the Hybrids to stay put and to seal on the stem properly.

 

[ahmadmfz]

In the end it was a fight between the DBAs and the ER4s.
 
The er4 excelled in being what they were supposed to be, "true to the ear".
Very controlled. Very detailed. Lovely.
 
But the DBAs won me over by their slight coloration of sound. It makes them very very fun. Not as accurate as the ER4s, but definitely more fun. Nice deep thumping bass ( driven by the magnificent AD743JN op-amps..) and very clear mids and treble. Loving it, so so much.
 
AND YOU GUYS SHOULD HEAR IT WITH THE RSA SR71B!!!! WAS AT JABEN AND THEY HAD IT, IT SOUNDED SO SO SO SO GOOD. 

I can only imagine if the DBAs were driven in balanced mode. Wow.

 

[dogears]

What I gathered so far when playing with tips - bone conduction(?) is the best way to bring out the bass hence more balanced sound. I'm back to using the stock medium black tips but inserted a bit of stem (mutilated one of the stock hybrid for donor) so when I insert the DBAs on my ear, they sit snugly w/ a bit of a press on the antihelix(?).

 

[kingice10]

Oh man you were in Jaben yesterday? I heard the Hifiman HE-6 cans today and they were amazing! But can't afford them though..

 
Well I tried my DBA-02 today with stepdance and it went better overall coming from my J3 player.
 
Quote:

In the end it was a fight between the DBAs and the ER4s.
 
The er4 excelled in being what they were supposed to be, "true to the ear".
Very controlled. Very detailed. Lovely.
 
But the DBAs won me over by their slight coloration of sound. It makes them very very fun. Not as accurate as the ER4s, but definitely more fun. Nice deep thumping bass ( driven by the magnificent AD743JN op-amps..) and very clear mids and treble. Loving it, so so much.
 
AND YOU GUYS SHOULD HEAR IT WITH THE RSA SR71B!!!! WAS AT JABEN AND THEY HAD IT, IT SOUNDED SO SO SO SO GOOD. 

I can only imagine if the DBAs were driven in balanced mode. Wow.

 

 

[PretentiousFood]

Lots of people seem to have trouble with tips, myself included. I found that the Shure olives didn't sound as good as the supplied silicons, and although I didn't try the Complys since burning in the DBAs, they weren't as good sounding as I had expected either. So I decided to test the frequency response of the DBA, at first to see if it would help me figure out how to properly EQ these, but while I was at it I tested all three tips to compare them.
 

 
My setup was Audacity -> grubDAC -> Mini^3 ->DBA-02 -> Sonometer (connected to the DBA by means of a hollowed cork). I generated a tone in Audacity then run it through to the DBA so that 440Hz gives 104.5dB for each tip, then tested from 20 to 20 kHz, doubling the frequency each time, starting at 20 Hz and 55 Hz.
 
I also tried using a scope and a frequency generator as my source, adjusting the voltage output at each reading. The results were similar to these within 0.2dB.
 
The two silicone tip curves just show that the frequency response scales linearly as volume increases, give or take 1% past 5kHz.  What's interesting is that the foams have a more pronounced bass rolloff than the silicon tips. Both foam tips have a spike at 5kHz (5dB for the olives, 10dB for the Complys). It brightens the sound of the DBAs, to a point of being fatiguing. Other than that, these are remarkably flat. After the initial burn-in period I found them to be much more well rounded than I had expected based on the reviews. Before the burn-in, they matched the review to the T, but now they're much more natural. I like these a lot.
 
TL;DR: silicone tips 4 lyfe. 

 
I also tested the freq response of the M9 to compare and it's sort of funny, Those make the DBA look REALLY flat.

 

[Inks]

nice work there. I'm actually getting good results using a shure olive spacer into a M6 triflange and I may try it out with a reverse single flange tip behind the triflange like how I used it on the SM3. I'm not big fan of foam either though I will admit it's more comfortable in the long term. 
 
I actually enjoy the frequency response of these quite a bit compared to the other TWFKs I tried but the note is still a tad too sharp/fast for me. The Q-Jays are close behind but the DBA02 manage to have a bit more body while being more refined in the higher regions. The CK10s have a more impressive treble performance though but the DBA02s manage to be less fatiguing even though it gets pretty close to being so. 

 

[ahmadmfz]

I feel you. I heard the Grado G1k, senn hd600, and lots more.
For amps i tried quite a few that is in my budget, like the hifiman ef2. 
Portable amps i tried the sr71b. It's a beast i tell ya.
Tried the vulcan amp also. Sounds better than the mustang that i also tried i would say.
 
(p.s. i think i saw you. You were with alot of dudes testing high end headphones lol)
Quote:

Oh man you were in Jaben yesterday? I heard the Hifiman HE-6 cans today and they were amazing! But can't afford them though..

 
Well I tried my DBA-02 today with stepdance and it went better overall coming from my J3 player.
 


 

 

 

[dogears]

^So you highly recommend SR71B so far?

 

[ahmadmfz]

It depends. It really, really sounds good. And it can be driven in balanced mode too. It looks sleek, feels top-notch. However.. the price.. the price in singapore is over SGD$1k. If you're talking about sq only, yes i would recommend it. If you're talking if it's value for money, i would say no. Awesome amplifier though.

 

[dogears]

^Must try someday Thanks.

 

[kingice10]

@ahmadmfz, nah I am not one of those guys...I usually go alone in Jaben cause I don't want to be bothered trying phones around and since it's my only personal hobby. I once told my friends to try my phones, they were amazed but they ridiculed me because of their prices.
 
@dogears, For the SR71B, it's a little bit pricey when you only want to use it on DBA-02s (if you only have one headphone), but it's a good value if you want to drive larger headphones...but of course you can invest on having balanced cables for a slight improved in sq, and there are a lot of lesser priced options out there like Headstage Arror V2, Pico/Pico Slim, etc...if possible, you can try them out first on your local shop.

 

[ahmadmfz]

@kingice Is there any local shops with the arrow? :O

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

nice work there. I'm actually getting good results using a shure olive spacer into a M6 triflange and I may try it out with a reverse single flange tip behind the triflange like how I used it on the SM3. I'm not big fan of foam either though I will admit it's more comfortable in the long term. 
 
I actually enjoy the frequency response of these quite a bit compared to the other TWFKs I tried but the note is still a tad too sharp/fast for me. The Q-Jays are close behind but the DBA02 manage to have a bit more body while being more refined in the higher regions. The CK10s have a more impressive treble performance though but the DBA02s manage to be less fatiguing even though it gets pretty close to being so. 

Looks like you finally got to hear the DBAs and it sounds like you are hearing them pretty much how I do.  Ditto for the CK10.  Hold on to that DBA till I can send you my Arrow.
 

 

[dogears]

I'm listening PC>Musiland>C-2C>DBA here in the office. Its like listening to a headphone - the sound is so 'round'
 
Quote:

It depends. It really, really sounds good. And it can be driven in balanced mode too. It looks sleek, feels top-notch. However.. the price.. the price in singapore is over SGD$1k. If you're talking about sq only, yes i would recommend it. If you're talking if it's value for money, i would say no. Awesome amplifier though.