[mochill]

DO NOT REMOVE the white filter.... Only the foam and all is well

 

[chib]

Quote:

Yes the XBA3 is a direct upgrade from MH1c. XBA3 has better bass control unlike the boomy MH1c.

I don't think the mh1's are even close to my xba 3's...


I love my xba 3's to death, I put my mh1's in and I just feel sad

 

[d marc0]

I don't think the mh1's are even close to my xba 3's...



I love my xba 3's to death, I put my mh1's in and I just feel sad

The difference that you're hearing is how BA's differ from Dynamic drivers. BA drivers have outstanding clarity and faster speed. Dynamics are more natural, better timbre and decay. Otherwise, IMHO they sound similar in terms of signature, warm and balanced.

 

[jmotyka]

 I personally think these sound awesome since i bought them. BUT.....It still isnt the type of sound im looking for. Im looking for something like the klipsch s4 but with a better sound stage and more power and more pronounced midrange. Anyone have any recommendations. 

 

[d marc0]

   I personally think these sound awesome since i bought them. BUT.....It still isnt the type of sound im looking for. Im looking for something like the klipsch s4 but with a better sound stage and more power and more pronounced midrange. Anyone have any recommendations.

 
Try researching on KEF M200 or Philips Fidelio S2. Goodluck!

 

[d marc0]

The onkyo ie-hf300 also seems promising, check them out. First impressions have started to come out at the "discovery thread".

 

[spurxiii]

Made some DIY tips for the Xba3. Sounds even better than it did.

 

[jneong]

I love my XBA-3.. now. 
 
When they first arrived the detail was stunning and the bass amount and detail leave my Etymotics in the dust. But they were not easy to listen to, do to the annoying sharp hiss in the 16khz range from high hat and even hard vocal 's' sounds.
 
After burning in the XBA-3's for about 50 hours the sharpness was tamer but still not quite to a comfortable level for long (full workday) listening. The rest of it was completely removed (while still maintaining great high range clarity) with a pair of Comply Comfort TS-200 memory foam tips. The tips not only increase the isolation to amazing levels, they are much more comfortable and have a positive effect on the sound signature (they even have a larger bore to match the output, better than the sony tips).
 
Just my 2 cents, hope it helps some!

 

[Magdumper]

I just picked up my xba-30s from post office today and as this is my first mid-high end iem I have ever heard, I did not know what to expect. Before this I had only used 8320s as far as iems go, but for at home listening I have HE-500s. My first impressions are very positive, and it is very hard to find things I dislike about these. I guess they might have slightly less bass than my HE-500s (~ -.0.5 db), but it doesn't bother me at all all. They also have a similar sparkle to the highs that my he-500s have. I am using a nfb11.32 amp/dac (2 ohm output impedance) and will try them with my iphone 4 and clip+ later to see if it changes sound at all. I listen to mostly high bpm electronic music like hardcore, happy hardcore etc and they keep up wonderfully. So far I am loving them!

 

[Jakkal]

^ With your iPhone 4 they should have a bit more bass and less highs. Right?

 

[Magdumper]

From the time I posted last until now, I've listened to the XBA-30s for 15-20 hours with my iphone 4, clip+, and iphone 4 lod -> fiio e6. I would have to say that yes, they have more bass and less highs when going from 2->1 output impedance (when compared to my nfb 11.32) but the 1 -> 0.25 impedance difference between my iphone and iphone -> e6 does not make a huge difference, and is difficult to tell them apart from each other. I do think that overall though, with the drop of impedance they do sound slightly better, although they lack the sparkle to the highs that they have with my nfb 11.32 (im pretty sure this will be fixed with better tips though). Thus far, the clip+ sounds very slightly better than my iphone, but it not to the extent that i would carry my clip+ with me like I used to. Btw, my clip+ has a 32gb sd with 90% lossless files, and the battery dies rather quickly, while on my iphone I converted all my music to 400 vbr nero aac. (I did a blind test on computer and with xba-30s was not able to tell the difference between lossless and 400 kbps aac.) Overall, I am perfectly happy with just using iphone 4 -> xba-30, and these iems were exactly what I was looking for... I think they sound pretty amazing for price (i MUCH prefer them over my m50s that I used to use as a portable headphone). The only gripe I have is I don't think the stock sony hybrids bring out the most of the xba-30s, and I ordered some replacements someone here on head-fi recommended off ebay. Do you have any recommendations for tips to buy?

 

[goodvibes]

I've talked about 400 cbr in the past and it's VG. Once I got the AK120 and jh13s I could hear that lossless and wav were better on my portable but it's transparent for most setups.
 
Is your clip+ rockboxed? If so, try no extras except dither on and see what you think.

 

[Magdumper]

I've tried to rockbox my clip+ before, but for whatever reason it didn't work (tried both automatic and manual installation). And about 400 aac, what do you know about it? I pretty much randomly found out about it when I was trying to find a better solution to 320 mp3 for my iphone (don't have room for apple lossless). And I can hear the difference between flac and aac 400 with my nfb 11.32 -> he-500s, just not with my xba-30s.

 

[RochRx7]

  Do you have any recommendations for tips to buy?

 
I prefer them with the TX200 comply's... the stock tips suck.. including the hybrids.
 
If you like a little more sparkle up top (which I really wanted with the XBA3s to hit my sonic pref).. there is a irreversible mod you can do.. by taking out some of the foam from the opening.. that + the TX200 (which has a filter) to help tame the change.. makes it worthwhile.. (hats off to d_marc0 for the tip)

 

[d marc0]

   
I prefer them with the TX200 comply's... the stock tips suck.. including the hybrids.
 
If you like a little more sparkle up top (which I really wanted with the XBA3s to hit my sonic pref).. there is a irreversible mod you can do.. by taking out some of the foam from the opening.. that + the TX200 (which has a filter) to help tame the change.. makes it worthwhile.. (hats off to d_marc0 for the tip)

 
You're welcome mate! Glad you're enjoying the XBA3's.
I have another mod that involves the inner sleeve of the TX200 + Meelec double flange tips.
I'll post the instructions within this week. Kinda busy at the moment, so stay tuned...