TDK BA200 Thread
Feb 14, 2013 at 1:56 AM Post #722 of 1,509
Flysweep pointed me in the direction of the BA 200 and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude.  My T-peos H 100's strain relief failed.  I am giving JVC ha fxt 90's to my son.  Truth be told I would take the JVC's over the T peos mainly because of the midrange and layered depth.  Bass is a bit more textured on JVC's with less impact.  Sondstage speed and transperancy are better noticeably on the T peos.  But for sheer enjoyment it's JVC.   With the TDK there is no compromise, it does everything better.  I find when completely sealed Bass is better than either.  Speed is comparable to the Tpeos but there is so much more harmonic structure and bloom to the bass. The T-peos might have a bit more impact, but fully sealed the BA 200 is close, more than close enough with all the rest it does.  There is absolutely no discontinuity in the upper bass to midtransition and the mid range is wonderfully dry, sweet and subtely smokey with clarity that is well beyond these other buds. The others just aren't integrated in the same way and it detracts from the tonal balance and sense musical flow.  Soundstage is whatever the recording seems to provide. For me the high's are just right and the others are too bright.  You may think they lack air as a result, but I can assure you when you lock in the seal, detail is better even there.  My trick for eartips is the large stock double flanges with cut down hole punched earplugs as a core for the bottom flange.  This gives me the best seal I have ever had...my ear canals have had to adjust...I jam them in to an extreme.  You will not hear all of what these can do until you go that far....seriously.   My neco dropped a channel so I,m waiting for that to fully see what these are capable of.   But I prefer these just straight off the computer compared to running into my Neco with the T peos.  Neco was out when I did the JVC's so can only judge based on the computer sound card.  I am at 80 hrs on break in.
 
I haven't heard the Visonic GR07 Mk II, but would certainly like too.
 
Very happy with The TDK's!
 
Happy Listening,
 
Jgwtriode
 
Feb 14, 2013 at 2:00 AM Post #723 of 1,509
Flysweep pointed me in the direction of the BA 200 and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude.  My T-peos H 100's strain relief failed.  I am giving JVC ha fxt 90's to my son.  Truth be told I would take the JVC's over the T peos mainly because of the midrange and layered depth.  Bass is a bit more textured on JVC's with less impact.  Sondstage speed and transperancy are better noticeably on the T peos.  But for sheer enjoyment it's JVC.   With the TDK there is no compromise, it does everything better.  I find when completely sealed Bass is better than either.  Speed is comparable to the Tpeos but there is so much more harmonic structure and bloom to the bass. The T-peos might have a bit more impact, but fully sealed the BA 200 is close, more than close enough with all the rest it does.  There is absolutely no discontinuity in the upper bass to midtransition and the mid range is wonderfully dry, sweet and subtely smokey with clarity that is well beyond these other buds. The others just aren't integrated in the same way and it detracts from the tonal balance and sense musical flow.  Soundstage is whatever the recording seems to provide. For me the high's are just right and the others are too bright.  You may think they lack air as a result, but I can assure you when you lock in the seal, detail is better even there.  My trick for eartips is the large stock double flanges with cut down hole punched earplugs as a core for the bottom flange.  This gives me the best seal I have ever had...my ear canals have had to adjust...I jam them in to an extreme.  You will not hear all of what these can do until you go that far....seriously.   My neco dropped a channel so I,m waiting for that to fully see what these are capable of.   But I prefer these just straight off the computer compared to running into my Neco with the T peos.  Neco was out when I did the JVC's so can only judge based on the computer sound card.  I am at 80 hrs on break in.

I haven't heard the Visonic GR07 Mk II, but would certainly like too.

Very happy with The TDK's!

Happy Listening,

Jgwtriode


Like
 
Mar 1, 2013 at 1:30 PM Post #724 of 1,509
I am nearing 200 hours on my tdk's. They keep improving. Bass most noticeably improved after 100 hours. They seem to have more of a a sense of ease and transparency as they have progressed. I may be imagining it but I put a little blue tack around the nozzle base and inside edge and thought the sense of ease got better with a hair better clarity. Will have to do a subtractive evaluation at some point. I will just keep it this way for now. It may subtely improve the seal. But my earplug foam cores inside my double flange base really seals and isolates. These are amazing much more musically involving then anything I have previously owned including grado ref 1's I owned a number of years ago. The Neco V 3 adds liquidity to their subtlety dry midrange balance. The overall result is very set triode Single driver loudspeakerish in quality. So with one more addition to my desktop system Im done. An ultra fi g 41 USB dac. Found an awesome deal on audiogon, decided this could do dual duty as a source for my upcoming stereo system as well. If your looking for an ultimate USB dac check this out. A few slightly used ones at auditing at excellent prices. Anyway BA 200'S are a keeper.
 
Mar 1, 2013 at 2:54 PM Post #726 of 1,509
I have no idea exactly how much time I actually spent with my own BA200s, but I know one thing, this is definitely going to be my mainstay for the next two years at least.
 
I think the sound is exceptional. Bass is pretty tight and has pretty good impact for a BA, doesn't feel lacking in any way. Mids are wonderful, natural and with great clarity. Vocals shine in this, fitting the kind of sound signature I prefer. Treble is laid back but does come out well when called. Soundstage is really the best part of this, it is the first IEM when can truly "overwhelm" me with nice and wide soundstage with good depth and some height. Seperation is really good and imaging is great as well. I love how I enjoy the music more than listening in for the details, let the great power of vocalists shine through.
 
My experience is pretty much in line with what is described by others and I think it is very much worth what I paid for and even more.
 
Mar 2, 2013 at 2:25 AM Post #727 of 1,509
Amp or no amp shouldn't affect BA200 that much. It is designed to go well with any source.


Since the main gripe of balanced armature iems is that they are too picky with the source output impedance this TDK impedance adapter circuit looks like a quite interesting idea...

but does it work for real or is it the typical marketing ploy?

Has anybody done a side by side comparison of these iems' sound plugged to a low oi source and to a not so low oi source?

I use an iPhone 4S and a Classic 7G and i can hear a slight difference in the frequency response of my UM3x and SE420 depending on the player used.

It would be amazing if that stabilizer circuit actually overcome the linearity issue common to balanced armature iems.


You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother
 
Mar 8, 2013 at 10:44 PM Post #728 of 1,509
I'm about to buy these puppies. Just one question, how do they respond to eq-ing?
 
Coming from the hifiman HE-400, I probably like the ba200s more with a bit more bas and treble. 
 
Btw, does anyone know if this seller is legit: http://www.ebay.nl/itm/290857817051?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_1845wt_1397 ?
 
Mar 9, 2013 at 8:29 AM Post #729 of 1,509
Still enjoying these very much, I got them for a bargain price of £89 a few months ago on a price error when these where still around the £200 mark in the UK. They can be had for about £130ish now and still a bargain at that price! My extension cable in the time has broke, so replaced it with a Senn cable instead, going to warranty replace the original cable. Still love the sound of these and going to be a keeper for a while. 
 
Use it with my Voodoo's SGS, Sansa Clip+ and Nexus 4 and sounds great on all my sources to be honest. 
 
Mar 9, 2013 at 9:38 AM Post #730 of 1,509
Quote:
Still enjoying these very much, I got them for a bargain price of £89 a few months ago on a price error when these where still around the £200 mark in the UK. They can be had for about £130ish now and still a bargain at that price! My extension cable in the time has broke, so replaced it with a Senn cable instead, going to warranty replace the original cable. Still love the sound of these and going to be a keeper for a while. 
 
Use it with my Voodoo's SGS, Sansa Clip+ and Nexus 4 and sounds great on all my sources to be honest. 

Do you ever use eq, to get some more treble/bass? :) How does it work?
 
Mar 9, 2013 at 9:40 AM Post #731 of 1,509
I guess I have another question, the BA200 is very appealing, but I haven't liked balanced armatures that much. I listened to the Shure se425, and I really disliked them with a pashion.
They sounded so unnatural and tinny to me.
 
Does anyone have any experience with comparing the BA200 with the shure se425? And does the BA200 sound 'natural'?
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 5:29 AM Post #732 of 1,509
the BA200s have been my first BA iems, and i love them... i wouldnt really call them natural, but the bass goes deeper than any dual BA without sacrificing detail. 
 
would i buy it again? yes.
 
would it beat triple/quad BA? no
 
for about 150 bucks, its pretty much a steal.
 
Mar 10, 2013 at 1:19 PM Post #733 of 1,509
the BA200s have been my first BA iems, and i love them... i wouldnt really call them natural, but the bass goes deeper than any dual BA without sacrificing detail. 

would i buy it again? yes.

would it beat triple/quad BA? no

for about 150 bucks, its pretty much a steal.


I completely agree.

I sold my old pair this morning to a friend who wanted them so bad. But I will probably buy a new one in the next few weeks.
 
Mar 11, 2013 at 2:38 AM Post #734 of 1,509
Quote:
I have no idea exactly how much time I actually spent with my own BA200s, but I know one thing, this is definitely going to be my mainstay for the next two years at least.
 
I think the sound is exceptional. Bass is pretty tight and has pretty good impact for a BA, doesn't feel lacking in any way. Mids are wonderful, natural and with great clarity. Vocals shine in this, fitting the kind of sound signature I prefer. Treble is laid back but does come out well when called. Soundstage is really the best part of this, it is the first IEM when can truly "overwhelm" me with nice and wide soundstage with good depth and some height. Seperation is really good and imaging is great as well. I love how I enjoy the music more than listening in for the details, let the great power of vocalists shine through.
 
My experience is pretty much in line with what is described by others and I think it is very much worth what I paid for and even more.

 
great review, the problem just the stock extension cable spoil easily 
 
Mar 11, 2013 at 2:51 PM Post #735 of 1,509
I just got the BA200.  A great sounding headphone, and I do not include "for the price" in that.  It has a nice warm sound with just the right amount of treble rolloff that makes it easy to listen to, but not muffled or dull.  It's good to know you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a lot of headphone.
 
As others have stated, cable and splitter are just a clunky design.
 
Now I'm looking for something that sounds like the BA200, just with more bass impact and a more durable design
biggrin.gif

 

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