[shane55]

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Ordered from Bugden Audio. Still waiting for my shipment because they were out of stock.

However they said they would ship end of July beginning of August so perhaps hopefully they ship it this week but probably next week.

I also ordered from Bugden. I assume I'll see mine in a couple weeks (I thought I heard mid-Aug)..
That would be fine as my SM3's are do on Thursday, and I'll need some time with them..... alone. 

 

 

 

[jant71]

I have a pair of DBA on loan; thanks go out to Rawrster. They do look nicer in real life than in most pics. The cable is the kind I like. Fairly supple, light, a low profile Y, and a straight plug.
 
I don't have much to add that wouldn't be redundant. They are a top level phone and true to source. Well done being perfectly cohesive and perfectly drivable. They have both unamped performance and they scale well also.
 
I always like to tip mod the skinny tube phones for some stage improvement. The DBA turn out to be very tunable with different tips so the mod brings more choice in trying to tweak them some.
 
A few findings:
Shorter tips like Ultimate Ears tips do bring more improvement in the stage top to bottom but pose a problem for those with wax issues since the tube opening is closer up and more exposed.
 
The Big bi-flanges sound good and eliminate any issues certain people may have with the housings rubbing against them.
 
My favorite thus far are the Shure E2C black silicones(the original black olives). While only a slight improvement in stage from the larger opening what they bring is a slight change in tone(darker) and more impact and feel in the low end. Unamped the most satisfying low end visceral quality I have heard in a long time with an armature based phone. This is while still keeping all the clarity, detail, and transparency. I used the same tips on the CK10 and while they did improve impact they still felt light and lacking unamped. I have to say that I prefer the DBA to the CK10. Not as open or separated as the Technica but I feel the lows/mids are more full and satisfying.
 
Here are some quick pics:
 
The adapters on them...

 With Shure E2C black silicones...

With Head-Direct bi-flanges...

 

[slaters70]

Another DBA convert. Welcome Jant71. I agree with you on the preference over the CK10s, for the exact same reason.

 

[ethan961]

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[rawrster]

I'm not sure if I like these more than the CK10 but I haven't heard either in a long time. I sold the CK10 so I can purchase my Livewire Trips so I felt it was worth it but I think I still like the CK10 better in certain areas. The bass extension is definitely something I liked more on the CK10 as is the imaging. I was pretty happy with the impact of the CK10 however so I may be in the minority there but I could see people finding it lacking. Also I like the build quality better on the CK10 but I also like the build better than every single universal I've tried except the CK100 somewhat. My only issue with the DBA-02 build is their useless chin slider and I wish they had a bulkier plug or at least one that looks stronger since the plug on the DBA-02 doesn't exactly make you feel confident about the build I think the two are close enough where it doesn't make sense to own the two of them. I'll get it back soon so I should be able to tell where it ranks in my collection pretty soon

 

[tacomn]

thanks ethan, If you had to guess you think its possible that mine could arrive before the 18 as I have to leave for business. Was hoping to use it for the trip 

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[ethan961]

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[tacomn]

Alright well thanks for that further clarification..... Hope you had a nice relaxing weekend up in canuk

 

[JosephKim]

I just took the plunge and ordered . I know a lot of people here spend much more on gear but dropping that much on IEM is a huge deal for me. Hope I like em!

 

[tacomn]

and if you dont you can turn around and sell it up here and possibly not loos anything out of the deal

 

[okur]

rawrster's comments calm me down on the eve of listening to Ck10

  Hopefully they'll be in my hands (or should i say; on my ears?) in a few days.
 
The matter is I prefered 'em to Dba-02 with a quickly taken decision, though after a long session of searching and review reading. Can really Dba's do as good as Ck10 does in detail? Also I wonder if Ck10's instrument seperation can cope with Ortofon E-q7's? I'm not a bass-lover anymore after having Cks70 for a long time, and Ortofon E-q7's bass impact made me think of it's a bit more than I expect from a "top-tier" though it was a quality one.
 
Anyway, we'll see what it can and cannot get. But I just don't want the Dba-02 spoil the game while having Ck10...

 

[DaEMoNteNTAcLe]

i sold my dba02 for ck10...

 

[David58117]

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i sold my dba02 for ck10...

Why? 

 

[ljokerl]

I think jant71 got it exactly right - the DBA-02 is fuller-sounding in the bass and mids than the CK10 is. However, the CK10 has an extremely satisfying atmospheric quality to it due to the excellent imaging/separation. In the end it comes down to personal preferences - comparing the two directly (am I the only one who's been able to do that at length

?) I still found the CK10 more satisfying so it seems that I'm willing to sacrifice the fullness of the DBA-02 for the spaciousness of the CK10. Others are not. Pretty simple, really.

 

[DaEMoNteNTAcLe]

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Quote:

I think jant71 got it exactly right - the DBA-02 is fuller-sounding in the bass and mids than the CK10 is. However, the CK10 has an extremely satisfying atmospheric quality to it due to the excellent imaging/separation. In the end it comes down to personal preferences - comparing the two directly (am I the only one who's been able to do that at length 

?) I still found the CK10 more satisfying so it seems that I'm willing to sacrifice the fullness of the DBA-02 for the spaciousness of the CK10. Others are not. Pretty simple, really.

 
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not sure if i agree on the mids...
but on the bass.. hmm.. i would not call it body, rather.. i call it richness in details. i think ck10 have fuller sounding, which of course, makes details somewhat less apparent. but quantity, dba-02 have more on the low end compared to ck10.
mids.. i would say the low mids on dba-02 is more obvious, due to the richbass as well, but i think mids on the ck10 is better bodied, in fact.. i think overall ck10 feels fatter in the sound, and dba-02 is thin but rich sounding.
otherwise, i agree on the atmosphere, ck10 feels huge in the air/space present
 
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Quote:

Why? 

 
to list it down
1. treble is too aggressive on the dba-02, it has a razor sharp edges overall.. ck10 is only sometimes sharp, and im treble sensitive. (shoud've taken eq7 instead lol)
2. dba-02 is small in soundspace, tho i do find it uniquely spacious, but not as good as ck10.
3. female vocals are not up to my standard on dba-02, prefer ortofon, or ck10's layered whisper and breath on the vocals.
4. dba-02 is still an iem, thus have brainstage. ck10 have soundstage, similar to headphone.
5. dba-02 is still nice looking, but still plastic, and dull.. ck10 have a lovely adorable killer looks.
6. dba-02 totally gets trampled in everything even amped to my under driven ATH-W10VTG on portable setup.. ck10 can still do well to compare in vocals and soundspace, and detail presentation.
 
to put it down simply.. details on dba-02 sounds too emphasized and forced out, on ck10 it comes as natural and smooth flowing.
anyways that's just a list of my opinion.