Edward Ng
500+ Head-Fier
I bought a pair of Thieaudio Hype 4 IEMs a while back and deemed them end-game. Still do. I love them! In order to improve convenience on the go, I purchased a pair of FiiO UTWS5 2025 wireless adapters for them, and then, much to my dismay, discovered that the recessed connectors do not allow the UTWS5 to attach securely, so I ended up going on a search for a different set of IEMs with similar (enough) sound signature and non-recessed connections to use with the UTWS5. After a bunch of research, I discovered through my Squig.link research that the Meze Audio Alba IEMs come pretty darn close from a frequency response perspective (a bit lighter on subbass), but are lighter, WAY smaller, and have flush attachment instead of recessed. I found a pair available open box discounted and rolled the dice. I figured if it even sounded remotely as good, I could keep them attached to the UTWS5 for when I'm on the go an enjoy the convenience factor, and then for more critical listening, revert to the wired Hype 4s...
Well, the Mezes came in. I plugged them in and listened. You know what? They sound freakin' phenomenal, and it gives me pause as to do I even bother keeping the Hype 4s or should I just sell them to (more than) pay for the Albas? Sure, subbass is slightly thinner, but frankly it's still plenty of it there. Everything else seems just as good-I wasn't expect a comparable level of transparency or cleanliness, but it has that in spades. On top of that, the things are so much smaller and lighter that they simply feel and fit better than the Hype 4s. Furthermore, maybe because they're smaller, but I think because they sit farther into my ears, they provide even better passive noise reduction than the Hype 4s do.
And then it even had the audacity to include a rather decent USB-C DAC cable that makes is a complete breeze to listen wired!
I didn't go into this expecting such an inexpensive piece of gear to almost completely render my much more expensive, end-game IEMs moot point. I am borderline dismayed! Anyone else having a similar experience with the Meze Albas? Or any other IEMs for the matter? Not sure if there's even much point to going with multi-driver arrays if a single dynamic driver can sound this good. What. Is. Happening?!
-Ed
Well, the Mezes came in. I plugged them in and listened. You know what? They sound freakin' phenomenal, and it gives me pause as to do I even bother keeping the Hype 4s or should I just sell them to (more than) pay for the Albas? Sure, subbass is slightly thinner, but frankly it's still plenty of it there. Everything else seems just as good-I wasn't expect a comparable level of transparency or cleanliness, but it has that in spades. On top of that, the things are so much smaller and lighter that they simply feel and fit better than the Hype 4s. Furthermore, maybe because they're smaller, but I think because they sit farther into my ears, they provide even better passive noise reduction than the Hype 4s do.
And then it even had the audacity to include a rather decent USB-C DAC cable that makes is a complete breeze to listen wired!
I didn't go into this expecting such an inexpensive piece of gear to almost completely render my much more expensive, end-game IEMs moot point. I am borderline dismayed! Anyone else having a similar experience with the Meze Albas? Or any other IEMs for the matter? Not sure if there's even much point to going with multi-driver arrays if a single dynamic driver can sound this good. What. Is. Happening?!
-Ed
