[James Shoegazer]

I bought my A3 used in 2016 by paying about $150, when it was considered an underrated IEM. It looks like overpriced nowadays.

I was implying that it's bloody affordable at just $200
It's an underlooked gem, fights head on with the Oriolus Hybrid, and definitely prefer its tonality over the EX1000

 

[Caithang]

Qudelix + XBA A3
What are you think of ?

Qudelix

• 2.0V RMS (80mW/ch) - unbalance
• 4.0V RMS (240mW/ch) - balance

 

[shay2nak]

What's up, y'all! New here, but not to world of audio. Picked up 2 of these XBA-A3s and they sound awesome. Very noticeable improvement on the XBA-3. I'd like to replace the cable and was wondering if anyone paired these with the Z1R's cables? Otherwise I'll get the MUC-M12SM1 or 2. Which one is a better cable? Guessing it has to be the Z1R. Also, the Z1R's comes with the ear hooks that the M1 or 2 do not. Is this a problem when listening?
Thanks!

 

[Sp12er3]

The stock cables have the same malleable ear hooks the Z1R cables uses, if you're comfortable with the stock one, the Z1R cable should be fine.
I didn't try swapping them tho, am just not risking mmcx and it's weakness.

 

[shay2nak]

Just received new M12SM1 cable. Kind of like the idea of the pinned connector. Also, didn't notice at first that the connector is angled unlike the M12SM2. Right off the bat, the higher frequencies come in clearer & more forward. I had to reduce the treble gain and EQ on my Walkmans. I still use the old school NW-HD5 and NWZ-X1061. They still sound great and they are small and easy to carry. Plus I still prefer ATRAC to MP3. Anyway, I have a second XBA-A3 with stock cable that I'll compare it to. Wonder how the low frequency will sound. I have an old Harman room mode eq CD that I dumped on the players.

 

[Godflesh]

I haven't been able to find anything better. I had A3 and A2. A3 - a lot of bass, A2 - a perfectly neutral sound. I sold the A3 headphones. I have A2 headphones now.

 

[daveyostrow]

My experience is the the A2 is more bassy, and the A3 is more neutral. But the N3 is a step up from both... I keep all three.

 

[Hinomotocho]

My experience is the the A2 is more bassy, and the A3 is more neutral. But the N3 is a step up from both... I keep all three.

I now own the IER-Z1R and WM1Z but one of my favourite eras of gear was when I had my ZX300 and A3, (then Z5), everything sounded so sweet. I later had the N3 for movies, but sold them. I'm now considering the N3 to bring back a bit of that classic XBA era sound.

 

[Sp12er3]

The bass quantity of the XBA Hybrids are best for movies, for anything else Z1R have them beat in all areas.