[jbfps116]

CCA Hydro ($116)
(1x7mm DD, 1x8mm DD, 4x31736 BA)
https://www.kztws.com/products/cca-hydro

Third party graph by OBDio from facebook


Seems to follow rhapsody and trio tuning line.

seems like a similar level of boosted bass to the Symphony which has almost too much for its own good!

 

[baskingshark]

The Fiio FA19 is a 10 KNOWLES BA IEM.



Very comfortable, easy to drive, with no amplification requirements.

Accessories are fit for a king.



It has 1 tuning switch. In stock form (with the bass switch turned off), the FA19 sounds warm neutral. Very studio monitor-like, in furnishing a pleasant soundscape. Extremely technical, massive soundstage beyond the ears, with pinpoint imaging. And this is without needing to resort to a steroid boosted treble to garner "fake clarity".

Bass is nicely textured and clean with no bleed. Upper mids are only 6 dB - ie no shout - which was a complaint of the previous FX15 predecessor. Smooth treble, with minimal sibilance, but still very resolving.

Interestingly, the FA19 has a vented sub-woofer, so the bass sounds quite close to a DD bass. It isn't exactly 100% similar to a DD bass as there's just a slight lack of decay in the final tail of bass notes, but this improves on the vast majority of unvented BA bass drivers that sound unnatural in terms of movement of air.



For folks that want a bit more "fun" in the signature, toggling the switch converts the FA19 to a bass boost mode, as seen from the graphs. This is a bit warmer than the stock tuning, but the bass is more impactful. Sub-bass extension is even better with the switch on.

The FA19 does have a tinge of BA timbre, but isn't the worst offender in multi BA sets I've tried. Note weight is just right.

The FA19 uses MMCX but the MMCX seem of high quality and snap on and off without issues. BTW I spoke to a custom maker before, and MMCX comes in a variety of grades, from cheap ones seen in ultra budget CHIFI that give a bad rep to the connector type due to being too tight or spinning like a wind-vane, whereas we have higher quality ones that are rated for thousands of swaps.

I bought the FA19 at a discounted price from Fiio, but I think the full retail price is around $1K USD. This pure BA set is well suited for stage monitoring in view of the solid ergonomics and technical chops, and I do think it competes with other TOTL multi driver transducers. Think of something that has good layering and soundstage but not being overly fatiguing.

Will do some A/B testing against other pure BA sets like the Sony M9 etc and report back. Will also test out the QC of the MMCX.

 

[Redcarmoose]

I already had reserved in september ‘23.

Lucky you have more than one IEM to enjoy.

 

[CactusPete23]

Must admit I'm sceptical if Moondrop is the brand to make this work, with the removal of headphone jack from almost every phone it can be market for this.

I Remember MEIZU, a Chinese MP3 Company went from making MP3 Players, to making Phones. So Moondrop will not be the first to try this. Looks Meizu still makes phones, but don't see a 3.5MM Jack in photos or specs. https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806094713180.html I Also remember that 5+ years ago there were many Chinese phones, And LG that had good quality DACs, even QuadDAC, and good audio amps. Unfortunately almost all of them have now given up on keeping a serious audio dac/amp/jack in their lineup. Most consumers will be happy with using wireless earphones from a normal smartphone; and as LDAC, or APTX 16/44.1 True Lossless gets released, even less will be interested in having a 3.5mm JAck. Only us "audiophiles" will pay extra for a Larger, Heavier phone, with a Jack.

 

[gadgetgod]

The Fiio FA19 is a 10 KNOWLES BA IEM.



Very comfortable, easy to drive, with no amplification requirements.

Accessories are fit for a king.



It has 1 tuning switch. In stock form (with the bass switch turned off), the FA19 sounds warm neutral. Very studio monitor-like, in furnishing a pleasant soundscape. Extremely technical, massive soundstage beyond the ears, with pinpoint imaging. And this is without needing to resort to a steroid boosted treble to garner "fake clarity".



Bass is nicely textured and clean with no bleed. Upper mids are only 6 dB - ie no shout - which was a complaint of the previous FX15 predecessor. Smooth treble, with minimal sibilance, but still very resolving.

Interestingly, the FA19 has a vented sub-woofer, so the bass sounds quite close to a DD bass. It isn't exactly 100% similar to a DD bass as there's just a slight lack of decay in the final tail of bass notes, but this improves on the vast majority of unvented BA bass drivers that sound unnatural in terms of movement of air.



For folks that want a bit more "fun" in the signature, toggling the switch converts the FA19 to a bass boost mode, as seen from the graphs. This is a bit warmer than the stock tuning, but the bass is more impactful. Sub-bass extension is even better with the switch on.

The FA19 does have a tinge of BA timbre, but isn't the worst offender in multi BA sets I've tried. Note weight is just right.

The FA19 uses MMCX but the MMCX seem of high quality and snap on and off without issues. BTW I spoke to a custom maker before, and MMCX comes in a variety of grades, from cheap ones seen in ultra budget CHIFI that give a bad rep to the connector type due to being too tight or spinning like a wind-vane, whereas we have higher quality ones that are rated for thousands of swaps.

I bought the FA19 at a discounted price from Fiio, but I think the full retail price is around $1K USD. This pure BA set is well suited for stage monitoring in view of the solid ergonomics and technical chops, and I do think it competes with other TOTL multi driver transducers. Think of something that has good layering and soundstage but not being overly fatiguing.

Will do some A/B testing against other pure BA sets like the Sony M9 etc and report back. Will also test out the QC of the MMCX.

Impressive writeup bro. Vented Bass BA's hmmm sounds interesting. Have you tried the Flipears Artha? I wonder how the FA19 will compare with that beauty.

 

[activatorfly]

Yeah Hiby has been really smart with the R4. They have the quad DAC's and the discrete Class A amp to attract the "geeks". Plus the cool space age design to appeal to the mass market who don't know about and don't care about the quad DAC's and the Class A discrete amp inside.

My nephews will be all over this baby when I show it to them. But if I try to talk to them about the hardware their eyes will glaze over.

Alas imho, it needs reiterating that not offering the option to switch Class A off > AB (like the HiBy R5 II) is a missed opportunity to add 35 hour battery life.

 

[activatorfly]

Must admit I'm sceptical if Moondrop is the brand to make this work, with the removal of headphone jack from almost every phone it can be market for this.

^ Note the aesthetic design similarity to the Hiby R4 ??

 

[thaslaya]

7HZ Timeless II​

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7HZ Timeless II​

That cable. That shell design.

 

[baskingshark]

Impressive writeup bro. Vented Bass BA's hmmm sounds interesting. Have you tried the Flipears Artha? I wonder how the FA19 will compare with that beauty.

Yeah I auditioned the Artha, but IIRC there are 2 versions right? There's a metal shell version which is more technical/resolving, and an acrylic or resin version which is smoother though with some slight dampening in resolution.

I don't trust aural memory as I don't have the Artha physically with me now, so I can't really compare it via A/B testing to the Fiio FA19 as such. I think the FA19 is definitely smoother and less edgy than the metal Artha for sure. Better timbre on the FA19 also. But technicalities wise I can't recall what the Artha can do, just remembered it was quite technical with a big soundstage.

 

[superuser1]

I had no idea the Pilgrim Noir would be so much more expensive than the Pilgrim...

 

[pk4425]

Must admit I'm sceptical if Moondrop is the brand to make this work, with the removal of headphone jack from almost every phone it can be market for this.

Does anyone really want to trust the build quality of such an essential daily device as a phone to Moondrop? I sure as f*ck don't.

 

[activatorfly]

Does anyone really want to trust the build quality of such an essential daily device as a phone to Moondrop? I sure as f*ck don't.

Exactamundo !!

 

[baskingshark]

I had no idea the Pilgrim Noir would be so much more expensive than the Pilgrim...

Yes the Noir is way more expensive and less resolving IMO. But the Noir version is basshead compared to the more balanced OG version, so perhaps this caters to the basshead crowd.

Internal driver config is the same, just the tuning is different between the 2, but I would take the OG Pilgrim any day as it has superior price to performance.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Yes the Noir is way more expensive and less resolving IMO. But the Noir version is basshead compared to the more balanced OG version, so perhaps this caters to the basshead crowd.

Internal driver config is the same, just the tuning is different between the 2, but I would take the OG Pilgrim any day as it has superior price to performance.

Good to hear thanks for sharing.

 

[kaeswiss]

I had no idea the Pilgrim Noir would be so much more expensive than the Pilgrim...

Yes the Noir is way more expensive and less resolving IMO. But the Noir version is basshead compared to the more balanced OG version, so perhaps this caters to the basshead crowd.

Internal driver config is the same, just the tuning is different between the 2, but I would take the OG Pilgrim any day as it has superior price to performance.

Yea, the $400 USD price difference is a bit much between the two since it's 2x the price of the OG.

The Noir does come with the $300 Effect Audio Eros S cable, but I think the Noir should be priced at least $100 lower. They'll probably sell more units of the OG than the Noir because of this. The $400 cost of admission to Elysian Acoustics tuning is just way more manageable.

Personally, If I'm looking for basshead IEMs at the Noir's price point, I'd go with the FatFreq Scarlet Mini or pay a bit more for the Symphonium Titan.
Oh yeah.. I have the Titan and the bass is glorious!