[kiteki]

Another one:
 
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Yep, I just sold my Denon C710. I would listen to the CK10 instead so might as well sell the Denon's. Very nice with foams, either Comply's or homemade from Hearos Xtreme plugs.

A bit of clarification on the build of the CK10. The housing is stainless steel with a rubber covering. Think of of stainless steel auto rim and a tire mounted on it. A plastic disc is fused to the Rubber covering. The only plastic is the back piece.

 

[Anaxilus]

Easy to test.  See if the housing faceplate sticks to a magnet otherwise it is titanium.  I'm sure I read it a few different places including AT.  Could be wrong.

 

[kiteki]

Tested.
 
Used a magnet that can just pick up a screwdriver, on the CK10's there is a very slight attraction, I can only just feel it, so perhaps the faceplate is titanium and the housing is stainless steel underneath.
Perhaps one day I will butcher them and find out, since the rubber doesn't really do anything anyway.

 

[Anaxilus]

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Tested.
 
Used a magnet that can just pick up a screwdriver, on the CK10's there is a very slight attraction, I can only just feel it, so perhaps the faceplate is titanium and the housing is stainless steel underneath.
Perhaps one day I will butcher them and find out, since the rubber doesn't really do anything anyway.

I guessed that would happen.  i think the internals also have ferrous components.  If the backside has the same attraction then I bet its just solid plastic.

 

[ljokerl]

 
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Oh well, I thought the Stainless Steel housing made a difference on the CK10's, I suppose it's minimal then.

Titanium 

And its only the faceplate last I checked.  Most of the housing is thick solid plastic I believe.

Yeah that's what I meant. There were pictures of a teardown somewhere a long time ago.

 

[dogears]

I'll be patiently waiting. Pls post photos after you've done it
 
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You mean the black and white twisted cables on the DBA-02 make a further difference in SS from the CK10?  Yes that would make sense, bear with me while I paint my CK10 cables black and white and then twist them and I'll report back.  =p

 

[james444]

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Just because they use the same drivers doesn't mean they sound the same. There's a crossover difference..or lack of a crossover difference as well as tuning. I don't believe housing makes a difference really.

Serious?  What about James444 review of the Fi-BA-A1, Fi-BA-SB and Fi-BA-SS?  Most likely the same driver, different housing material and shape, huge difference in sound and price.

Really?
 
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 Well, apart from the $1100 FI-BA-SS they're all eerily close. You might not think so, because I've been mainly concentrating on their differences, but compared to any DD or BA based phone they sound much more different than compared to each other.

 
Might add that the e-Q5 I've been listening to lately again share the same basic sound characteristics of my other MAs. Of course they too are tuned slightly different, like improved treble vs. the e-Q7, but in the end the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. Which in this case (and in my book) is a good thing.

 

[Anaxilus]

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Might add that the e-Q5 I've been listening to lately....

Oh, you are a mean person!  

 

[kiteki]

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Serious?  What about James444 review of the Fi-BA-A1, Fi-BA-SB and Fi-BA-SS?  Most likely the same driver, different housing material and shape, huge difference in sound and price.

Really?
 
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 Well, apart from the $1100 FI-BA-SS they're all eerily close.

 
Might add that the e-Q5 I've been listening to lately again share the same basic sound characteristics of my other MAs.

I see.  I stand corrected.  Sorry James

 
Is it safe to assume then, that the Fi-BA-A1 and the e-Q5 are a steal in their price to performance ratio?
 

 

[zhuangzijian]

hey guys im gonna get a pair of dba-02. im wondering if a mini3 amp will help it. im using iphone 4 as my music player. thx

 

[Anaxilus]

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hey guys im gonna get a pair of dba-02. im wondering if a mini3 amp will help it. im using iphone 4 as my music player. thx

Depends, I prefer mine amped, others prefer portability over any perceived benefit.  Try it out of your iPhone 4 first and if you like it then that should be fine.  If you feel like you want to squeeze more out of them and grab that extra bit get a LO and amp.  Can't speak to the mini3 directly.

 

[LFF]

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hey guys im gonna get a pair of dba-02. im wondering if a mini3 amp will help it. im using iphone 4 as my music player. thx

The DBA-02 sounds fantastic without an amp. An amp will only boost the performance to another level. I usually carry the Mystify amp with my DBA-02's.
 

 

[james444]

 
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I see.  I stand corrected.  Sorry James

 
Is it safe to assume then, that the Fi-BA-A1 and the e-Q5 are a steal in their price to performance ratio?
 

No problem, I just don't want folks getting a wrong idea. Well, I wouldn't call a $250 e-Q5 or $280 A1 a steal, yet their price to performance ratio is certainly the best among MAs. That said, I haven't heard the Grados, but extrapolating from the other MAs it would be my working assumption that they perfom at roughly the same level.

 

[shane55]

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The DBA-02 sounds fantastic without an amp. An amp will only boost the performance to another level. I usually carry the Mystify amp with my DBA-02's.
 

Yeah... can't remember where, but I read somewhere... a glowing review of the Mystify (and what a great combo they are with the DBA-02). Hmm... if I could only remember....

  

 
I have to agree. I do most of my listening to these without an amp (iPod Classic or Nano). They are brilliant! Clear, clean and punchy. A wonderful forward and neutral sound.
I don't have a portable, but out of my home rig they are even better (but then again the whole chain improves, so it probably doesn't mean much).

 

 
shane

 

[dfrost]

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And I suspect the cable will add to the SS of the IEMs.

FWIW, I have two pair of DBA-02 that sound slightly different with identical tips. The first set came from Ethan's June shipment when they had a (paper?) filter out near the end of  nozzle. The newer set from his last shipment have the inset metal filters and they've been modded with MEElec cables (for the mic/remote functionality).
 
The newer DBA's sound seem ever so slightly less bright so a tiny bit more rounded, or maybe just smoother, but equally detailed. (Sorry about my inability to describe SQ better.) I compared them when I received the second set and again after they'd had 60-80 hours of use (old ones have 400-500 hours). Also, the new ones require a tiny bit more volume, and I believe the differences are still there after normalizing the volume. I continue to be blissfully wrapped into the music with either pair!
 
Is the difference because of the filters, the different cables, both or just pair-to-pair variations? Again, these differences are very small, but even these old ears can hear them after going back and forth a few times (which I'm doing now).