[kms108]

Has that 'tin sound' gone from yours 'cause now I'm just loving it. I'm trying to speculate as to how it has become a warmer sounding iem with detail.
Maybe I lost the higher frequency hearing or something.
Previously I couldn't wear it no more than maybe 10 mins.
I had xba-3 roughly the same time you bought yours but I haven't used in this past year and have not modified it in anyway too.

I've had this (XBA 3)  for about 2 and a half years now, looks new upto now and I'm loving it.

I'm not too sure what that tin sound that you refer to, but all I know is that the sound has become more natural over time, when at first the sound was too sharp, and vocal and bass was everywhere, but now as you stated, the base and vocal sound right where it's suppose to be.

 

[Mr Makarov]

Hi everyone! Proud XBA-3 owner here. In case anyone was wondering why they sound somewhat metallic and if someone still hear that metallic "clicking" sound - what causes it sits inside the nozzle. That little mesh that is GLUED is what causes it (or a part of it). The  material of what it is made is somewhat rigid and when it moves (in some songs) it causes a very undesirable effect which can be heard. Just remove it and you will have much more pleasant sound experience (they will sound identical to XBA-30 - my personal opinion after comparing both).
 
I have to say that after 2.5 years I love those little IEMs and I prefer them to my Shue SE-425 (much much better bass, big soundstage and more comfortable). Interesting thing - XBA-3 have noticeably wider soundstage than Shure se-846 and better treble extension.
They pair exemely well with walkman F and Fiio e11.

 

[tquickbrownfox]

Tried mine with and without the mesh, still found the treble metallic and unnatural.

 

[Mr Makarov]

Ok little clarification here. Removing the mesh improved things a lot for me because before that I was hearing something like metallic treble artifact, an annoying sound like a click or something like that, don´t know how to describe it properly. But after removing the mesh that annoying sound was gone. I probably overemphasized/exaggerated  the effect of removing that mesh sorry for that. I absolutely agree that treble is not natural and has some metallic (which I don´t find to be a fatal flaw) sound and its dry and sometimes sibilant. The overall presentation, considering all the shortcomings of these earphones, is what I like. It´s warm, deep, wide, midrange is pretty good and they pair very well with sony walkman F. I paid 80 dollars for them (new) 2.5 years ago - so I have little to no complaints.  

 

[red71rum]

My XBA-3ip stopped working on the left side(does work if I move the cable). Have any of you had this happen and were you able to repair them easily? Not a big deal, but I thought they were decent headphones.

 

[kms108]

  My XBA-3ip stopped working on the left side(does work if I move the cable). Have any of you had this happen and were you able to repair them easily? Not a big deal, but I thought they were decent headphones.

It happens if you don't treat them nicely

, all my iem usually last me at least 4-5 years.

 

[red71rum]

It happens if you don't treat them nicely , all my iem usually last me at least 4-5 years.

It happens if you don't treat them nicely , all my iem usually last me at least 4-5 years.

I did treat it nicely always kept in its case and so on. Any iem I buy these days though has the ability to just replace the cable. I have a pair of Shures from 2006 I think or earlier that are still fine.

 

[Mr Makarov]

It seems to be a somewhat common problem with XBA´s "ip" line. The version with control/mic appears to have short life expectation compared to normal version. You are 6th person to tell exact same story (one side stopped working). I remember that "ip" version of every model was priced lower than normal version (now it seems they cost the same) which was strange but probably they already knew about durability issues. Like 1 year ago a friend of mine bought XBA 4ip on my recommendation (and ip variant was cheaper) but one side started to have problems and eventually stopped working after 6 months. Then he bought XBA-1 (non "ip") and they still working. 

 

[red71rum]

It seems to be a somewhat common problem with XBA´s "ip" line. The version with control/mic appears to have short life expectation compared to normal version. You are 6th person to tell exact same story (one side stopped working). I remember that "ip" version of every model was priced lower than normal version (now it seems they cost the same) which was strange but probably they already knew about durability issues. Like 1 year ago a friend of mine bought XBA 4ip on my recommendation (and ip variant was cheaper) but one side started to have problems and eventually stopped working after 6 months. Then he bought XBA-1 (non "ip") and they still working. 

In general I avoid headphones with any mic/controls, I don't like the added weight on one side and also think it introduces a weakness to the cable.

 

[yellowbirdfly]

The XBA-300 is now official!
 

 
 
More info in this thread.

 

[RobertP]

Dissected xba-3 haha! Also removed forms from end tips and overall vocals are now more forward.