Techno Kid
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2012
- Posts
- 2,029
- Likes
- 70
I've listen to these enough to go ahead with a small review so here you go.
Specs,
Price - $62 Amazon
Driver - Sony's new Full-range single balanced armature
Impedance - 24 ohm @ 1kHz
Sensitivity - 108 dB
Frequency Response - 5 Hz to 25 kHz
Accessories,
4 sets of Sony hybrid tips
3 sets of noise isolating tips
1 shirt clip.
1 carrying pouch
Build Quality - The housings are made of a strong plastic and the inside is layered with they're
"Liquid Crystal Polymer" and special ABS outer housing all in an effert to reduce distortion and
it seems to work. The cord is pretty flat which I like because they don't tangle up to much. The
all important L jack and I'd say these are very solid.
Fit - They XBA-1 fits really well because of its size, its not a big housing so people with small canals should have no problem with these. They're quite comfortable so long listening sessions
will be fine. The cords spliter is high up on the left side so the left is much shorter than the right
but the way its made makes it a non issue.
Sound Quality,
Bass - I've read a few reviews that stated theres no bass which is not true at all, I think thoughs people don't have experience with BA's. The bass has good texture and depth with the impact you'd expect from a single BA, its doesn't thump like a dynamic driver or even multipule BA's but theres enough the satisfy most non bassheads. I really like the detail of the XBA-1's bass its very resolving with decent decay times for a single BA.
Mids - This is where the XBA-1 shines with forward mids that are smooth, warm and detailed so vocals sound very nice. Midrange melodies like pianos, horns and strings all sound vibrent and very smooth. To me I think the Sony's mids sound a touch better than the Creative Aurvana IE3's midrange, they sound a bit more laid back compared to the very forward Aurvana's but still nice and detailed.
Highs - Heres where thing get tricky because they're laid back to a point where I had to EQ them up a little (not to much just 2 maybe 3 notches). After I got them to have some sparkle they sounded much better with a fair amount of detail but lack some micro detail of high priced BA based IEM's.
Soundstage/Presentation - I was quite surprised how cohesive the soundstage is, it has what I like to say is above average width and depth for a single BA in its price range. I get a good sense of space and openness with these IEM's. The presentation is also very good for what they cost having good imaging and separation and also a good 3D effect which sounds quite good with edm and even classical.
Conclusion - For $62 and free shipping I don't really have anything bad to say about these, they have a good consumer friendly sound with a nice amount of detail as any BA should. The mid-centric sound always make music sound smoother to me and for anyone that thinks they don't have bass balanced armatures especially single BA's might not be what your looking for. People that want a smooth, warm and rich sound at a very reasonable price should not look past the XBA-1.
Specs,
Price - $62 Amazon
Driver - Sony's new Full-range single balanced armature
Impedance - 24 ohm @ 1kHz
Sensitivity - 108 dB
Frequency Response - 5 Hz to 25 kHz
Accessories,
4 sets of Sony hybrid tips
3 sets of noise isolating tips
1 shirt clip.
1 carrying pouch
Build Quality - The housings are made of a strong plastic and the inside is layered with they're
"Liquid Crystal Polymer" and special ABS outer housing all in an effert to reduce distortion and
it seems to work. The cord is pretty flat which I like because they don't tangle up to much. The
all important L jack and I'd say these are very solid.
Fit - They XBA-1 fits really well because of its size, its not a big housing so people with small canals should have no problem with these. They're quite comfortable so long listening sessions
will be fine. The cords spliter is high up on the left side so the left is much shorter than the right
but the way its made makes it a non issue.
Sound Quality,
Bass - I've read a few reviews that stated theres no bass which is not true at all, I think thoughs people don't have experience with BA's. The bass has good texture and depth with the impact you'd expect from a single BA, its doesn't thump like a dynamic driver or even multipule BA's but theres enough the satisfy most non bassheads. I really like the detail of the XBA-1's bass its very resolving with decent decay times for a single BA.
Mids - This is where the XBA-1 shines with forward mids that are smooth, warm and detailed so vocals sound very nice. Midrange melodies like pianos, horns and strings all sound vibrent and very smooth. To me I think the Sony's mids sound a touch better than the Creative Aurvana IE3's midrange, they sound a bit more laid back compared to the very forward Aurvana's but still nice and detailed.
Highs - Heres where thing get tricky because they're laid back to a point where I had to EQ them up a little (not to much just 2 maybe 3 notches). After I got them to have some sparkle they sounded much better with a fair amount of detail but lack some micro detail of high priced BA based IEM's.
Soundstage/Presentation - I was quite surprised how cohesive the soundstage is, it has what I like to say is above average width and depth for a single BA in its price range. I get a good sense of space and openness with these IEM's. The presentation is also very good for what they cost having good imaging and separation and also a good 3D effect which sounds quite good with edm and even classical.
Conclusion - For $62 and free shipping I don't really have anything bad to say about these, they have a good consumer friendly sound with a nice amount of detail as any BA should. The mid-centric sound always make music sound smoother to me and for anyone that thinks they don't have bass balanced armatures especially single BA's might not be what your looking for. People that want a smooth, warm and rich sound at a very reasonable price should not look past the XBA-1.
