KZ, or Knowledge Zenith, or Dongguan Yuanze Acoustic Technology Company Ltd., have been flooding the western markets with earphones since 2014 (and the domestic market probably much earlier).

We may remember the early ED1 and ED2 that came in plain blue boxes and cost $5, including shipping from China. These were actually quite decent iems. KZ briefly built on their early success with some more sophisticated dynamic-driver models like the popular ED9.

When balanced armature drivers became affordable at around 2017, KZ were one of the first players to catch on and cash in on a grand scale. I quickly purchased and/or reviewed 22 of their models but stopped when they started to overflow and jam the lowest drawer of my office desk. KZ exacerbated this effect by producing bigger and bigger models such as the ZS10 or the BA10.

Their first multi driver models had a V-shaped sound characterized by vocals buried behind the soundstage, like the ED16. But they were cheap, most of them sold for below $25. Their next generation was characterized by an exaggerated upper midrange that produced a sharp and shouty sound. Examples are the EDX and ZSN Pro X.

But KZ did not give up and, in collaboration with the Comical Research Interference Network (C.R.I.N.), they fabricated at least one model with mostly decorative drivers (which they may have taken over from Campfire Audio): only some in each model actually “fired”…which did not play a role as some professional YouTubers did not notice it, possibly owing to too much decorative makeup around their ears. Decorative drivers helped keeping the price down, and YouTubers are mainly decoration, too, albeit annoying ones (for adults).

KZ play the game and they play it well: cashing in on obsessive-compulsive buyers who need their weekly fix…or mail call, as they call it on Facebook. These are eternal sidegraders. Such buyers spend cumulatively way more money on their countless budget models than on a decent earphone such as the Sennheiser IE 600, which would stand the test of time.

KZ must have a sign in their conference room: Many a little makes a mickle!

Finally, the KZ AS24 is a good earphone. It is model 1199. Yes, there are slightly more KZ models than Bruce Lee karate movies, and way more than words spoken by Sylvester Stallone in his Rocky francise. Number 1200 will be released soon. Congratulations!

Until next time…keep on listening!

The post KZ To Release Their 1200th Earphone Model appeared first on Music For The Masses.

INTRO

In this hobby, if you have not heard of Knowledge Zenith these past few years then time to get educated on the KZ ESX. Recycling the shell from classics such as the KZ ZSN, Z10pro , and countless other models from TRN, CCA and others, KZ gives the faceplates a cosmetic refresh. Given inflation these budget models have trickled up in price from $12-15 and now come priced at around $19. The KZ EDX is a bassy rolled off treble listen that is inoffensive and lackluster.

DISCLAIMER: It’s hard to get excited over new budget models, but I graciously received these direct from KZ to give everyone an Audioreviews take. There are limits to budgets, and we cannot forget those folks.

GOOD TRAITS

• Common universal shell with good nozzle length and a lip to keep the eartip on
• 2 Pin cable
• Inoffensive treble, no sibiliance
• Easily driven from smartphone

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• Darker/mellow sounding treble (yes I put treble in both pros and cons)
• Technically abilities
• Better bass articulation

FITMENT / DESIGN

The rear of the KZ ESX driver is vented quite a bit, but I don’t notice it impacting isolation so much. The translucent blue is a nice color accenting the silver metal faceplate. The nozzles are long and made of plastic with a lip, they are on the larger side but not XL. Cable is the standard silver plated straight cable with a right angle plug and plastic molded earhooks.

The dynamic driver is a 12mm liquid crystal 5 micro thick diaphragm, claiming more powerful energy, faster response, and stronger vocal resolution. This reminds me of a persona that typically says things that are untrue to detract from what may be really happening.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

• Earphones
• 0.75mm 2 Pin detachble 1.2m silver plated cable
• S/M/L White starline eartips

SOUND

Tested using LG G8 and SMSL DO100/HO100 DAC/AMP

First thing you notice on the KZ ESX is the throbbing bass, I would say the boost feels centered near 40-60Hz, sub bass is covered no problem. While not articulated in precise terms, it has a boomy linger that tends to color the lower mids and sits in front of the mix.

Midrange is recessed with no harshness, but no excitement either. I sense some crowding of instruments all in the center. There appears to be a medium/normal pinna gain, guitars and horns are present, but lack any bite or edginess to them to sound realistic or exciting to listen to.

Treble roles off quickly and early after 10khz making the KZ ESX sound “polite” or even too dark at times. No real sparkle on cymbals, string instruments are present but like wallflowers. If feels as if I was around loud noises all day and my hearing has compensated for the barrage of noise.

TECHNICAL STUFF

There is not a lot to say about the technical merits of the KZ ESX. Width feels narrow, perhaps the recessed midrange gives it the essence of depth. Overall they feel claustrophobic, lacking in resolution, and congested with busy music. At least there is no sibilance or shoutiness.

FINAL REMARKS

10 years of KZ slowly defining the era of budget entries, the KZ ESX feels as if panders to collectors. This is one I don’t find particularly worthy of purchasing. It has a very 70’s/80’s vibe of big driver bass, coupled with low resolution midrange without decent tweeter output to mask the shortcomings.

This is probably not the review KZ was hoping for, but not everything is a homerun, and sometimes they strike out. Maybe it is not far to call it a strikeout, perhaps a bunt is a better classification as I am sure some people might prefer the politeness of the treble. The CCA CRA+ is a better buy at $9 more, although I do like the styling of the KZ ESX better.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right

Contact us!

DISCLAIMER

Get it from KZ direct at their Aliexpress Store or other distributors and retailers.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

The post KZ ESX Review – 10 Years of Another One appeared first on Music For The Masses.

INTRO

There always has to be a new budget offerings and the CCA CRA+ is the latest from CCA. The original CCA CRA made a splash in the budget arena, unfortunately I did not experience that particular model. This one comes in with a minor price increase and given what I have seen from other reviews, the CRA+ is a more typical tuning in the Chi-fi scene offering enhanced bass with a mild upper midrange pinna gain with a not so tame treble presence that adds a slight zing, wrapped in a familiar shell shape accented in gold all for the price of $28.

GOOD TRAITS

• Universal Fitment-familiar shell
• Tuning profile is mild pinna gain sparkly treble
• Non-overpowering bass
• Detachable cable

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

• Resolution
• Tighten up the bass

FITMENT / ISOLATION

Fitment and Isolation of the CCA CRA+ is universal with above average isolation, I find the angle of the nozzle to not agree with my right ear which tends to be more finicky than my left. Nozzle size is also above average but not extra large. There is a sharp lip to keep the ear tip in place. The shell shape dates all the way back to the introduction of the KZ ZSN and has been used in countless models from TRN, KZ, CCA and others since.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

Priced between $20-$28 depending on the store, the CCA CRA+ come in the typical white box with the typical KZ starline tips, and the standard non twisted silver plated straight cable. The cable has a plastic feeling that causes friction when untangling, but microphonics are on the low side. Tangling is still a thing that happens I don’t know if it is any less frustrating than the twisted cables that were offered as part of the standard budget IEMs from the likes of TRN, KZ and CCA, but it is less pliable.

SOUND

Tested with my LG G8 and SMSL DO100 and SMSL HO100.

We find the typical enhanced bass profile centered around 60-80hz on the CCA CRA+. Bass tones come off punchy with a dry muted finish on some tracks while droning on in more modern music that colors up the lower midrange. Vocals are enhanced by the upper midrange pinna gain up to a point between just enough to make it interesting but not enough to cause any shoutiness.

Treble sounds like someone dialed up the treble knob in the 8-10khz range to make it zing on cymbals with a Tiss sound, but not with any sibilance. EDM bathes itself in the sparkle as does pop and rock music. Jazz and Classical just sound enhanced, perhaps not for purists. Overall it is a balanced throughout the entire frequency spectrum.

TECHNICAL MERITS

The CCA CRA+ have medium sensitivity. Timbre is pretty good, I feel the depth and width are balanced well without feeling closed in and they feel rather spacious. Imaging seems to do a good job as well, I was expecting some congestion but no real issues there either. It’s not super resolving but sometimes you just want some comfort food and that is ok.

FINAL REMARKS

There is always going to be a budget category and for those that have moved on, the CCA CRA+ are probably not on your radar. For all those others either looking for a first buy, or someone who likes to collect, the CCA CRA+ is good choice if you wanted some minor bass enhanced, mild pinna gain, treble knob boosted sounding IEMs.

The color design and nozzle angle is not something I gravitate towards, but these are two personally individual areas that are hard to fault them for. I give these my “if my friend needed a set of IEMs, I would give them these to start” recommendation.

Authors note: I royally missed the boat and incorrectly though the original CCA CRA was the NRA. The CCA NRA was the model with the electret driver, not the CRA. What a n00b I was to completely miss that, but thanks to our fellow readers they caught my mistake. Thank you dedicated peeps my error has been corrected.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right
• Silicone vs foam
• Impedance Plot

Contact us!

DISCLAIMER

Get it from LINSOUL

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

The post CCA CRA+ Review – Golden Boy appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Instead of first impressions, we offer completely flavour-neutral optical treatments before following up with our exhaustive reviews of the products’ performances.

Current Photography

1. BQEYZ Autumn vs. BEQYZ Summer (Jürgen Kraus)
2. Hidizs MM2 (Jürgen Kraus)
3. IKKO OH2 vs. IKKO OH1S (Jürgen Kraus)

Vintage Photography (prior to March 2022)

1. AME Custom Argent Hybrid Electrostatic (Jürgen Kraus)
2. Anew X-One (Jürgen Kraus)
3. Blon BL-05 Beta (Jürgen Kraus)
4. Blon BL-05 Beta (Jürgen Kraus)
5. Blon BL-05 MKI & MKII (Jürgen Kraus)
6. BQEYZ Spring 1 (Jürgen Kraus)
7. BQEYZ Spring 2 (Durwood)
8. CCA CA16 (Durwood)
9. Drop + JVC HA-FXD1 (Jürgen Kraus)
10. Fidue A65/A66 (Jürgen Kraus)
11. FiiO FD1 (Jürgen Kraus)
12. FiiO FHs1 (Jürgen Kraus)
13. Hill Audio Altair • RA (Jürgen Kraus)
14. iBasso IT01 V2 (Jürgen Kraus)
15. Hilidac Atom Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
16. Ikko OH1 (Jürgen Kraus)
17. KBEAR Believe (Jürgen Kraus)
18. KBEAR Diamond (Jürgen Kraus)
19. KBEAR hi7 (Jürgen Kraus)
20. KBEAR KB04 (Jürgen Kraus)
21. KBEAR Lark (Jürgen Kraus)
22. Kinboofi MK4 (Jürgen Kraus)
23. KZ ASX (Jürgen Kraus)
24. KZ ZSN Pro (Slater)
25. Moondrop Crescent (Jürgen Kraus)
26. Moondrop Illumination (Jürgen Kraus)
27. Moondrop Kanas Pro Edition (Jürgen Kraus)
28. Moondrop SSP (Jürgen Kraus)
29. Moondrop SSR (Jürgen Kraus)
30. Moondrop Starfield (Jürgen Kraus)
31. NiceHCK Blocc 5N Litz UPOCC OCC Copper Earphone Cable
32. NiceHCK Litz 4N Pure Silver Earphone Cable (Jürgen Kraus)
33. NiceHCK NX7 (Jürgen Kraus)
34. NiceHCK NX7 Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
35. Queen of Audio Pink Lady (Jürgen Kraus)
36. Revonext QT5 (Slater)
37. SeeAudio Yume (Jürgen Kraus)
38. Senfer DT6 (Slater)
39. Sennheiser IE 300
40. Sennheiser IE 500 PRO
41. Shozy Form 1.1 and Shozy Form 1.4
42. Shozy Form 1.4 (Jürgen Kraus)
43. Shozy Rouge (Jürgen Kraus)
44. Simgot EM2 (Jürgen Kraus)
45. Simgot EN700 Pro (Slater)
46. Smabat ST-10 (Jürgen Kraus)
47. Tin Hifi T2 Plus (Jürgen Kraus)
48. Tin-Hifi T4 (Jürgen Kraus)
49. TRN-STM (Jürgen Kraus)
50. TRN V90 (Jürgen Kraus
51. TRN-VX (Jürgen Kraus)
52. Whizzer Kylin HE01 (Jürgen Kraus)

The post Photography appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Notes could be thicker, bass could have more slam, upper midrange borderline bright; cable ain’t sexy.

Executive Summary

The NiceHCK DB1 is a warm-neutral single dynamic driver super budget iem that is surprisingly engaging and musical.

Introduction

NiceHCK and I go back to 2017, when I tried to convince them to replace an iem that had failed after 5 months. They did it reluctantly asking me to write a review in exchange of the exchange….which should become my very first audio review. At the time, Loomis and I had a secret favourite, the $12 NiceHCK Bro single dynamic driver earphone.

The years went by and a lot of NiceHCK iems went through our hands, some hits, some misses. NiceHCK classics are the beautiful M6 and the NX7/NX7 Pro/NX7 MK3 series with their piezo drivers.

Spoiler alert, the NiceHCK DB1 belongs more to the company’s hits. And I am somewhat relieved as I had shredded the last three iems they had sent me.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the earpieces, three pairs of eartips (S/M/L), a cable, a shirt clip, and the paperwork. The whole set is reminiscent of my early days of ChiFi earphone buying back in 2016. The plastic shells, that basic cable etc. same old same old. You have seen it many times before.

The earpieces are of modest size and fit me well. Comfort is good, isolation is average. Cable works but that’s all I can say. It certainly ain’t pretty. The largest stock eartips were still too small for my ear canals so that I used generic ones from my collection.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: Sony NW-A55 and iPhone SE (1st gen.); generic widebore eartips.

The NiceHCK DB1 is a warm-neutral and surprisingly good sounding earphone without any major flaws – to my ears. Looking at the curve, these 4.5 and 9.5 kHz peaks do not appear to spoil the party (the latter is probably coupler resonance). Nothing is scratching or piercing.

Previously, super-low budget single dynamic driver models such as the legendary NiceHCK Bro or the more recent KZ EDX were typically tuned to a pronounced V-shape, with an overly boosted, boomy bass and an upper midrange that caused our eardrums to ring after a short while.

Not anymore. The DB1’s bass is clean, composed, and refined. It is tastefully boosted without a boom. There is a subtle rumble at the bottom, though sub-bass extension is mediocre. Slam is hard as a rock but only pf average quantity and some may wish for a bit more. All this results in a limited stage depth but a nice, subtle warmth.

The lower midrange is also slightly off neutral with a tastefully dosed tone colour resulting in organic vocals. Voices are well sculptured and well resolving, the are not recessed, not sharp, but yet a bit lean (which is the general issue with cheap dynamic drivers). There is good speech intelligibility and good midrange resolution and clarity. Note definition is better than expected but note weight could be more.

Upper midrange is not strident but also a bit lean. That 4.5 kHz peak is not as evident as the graph may suggest – and way below levels of comparable KZ iems. It can introduce brightness in some tracks. Nevertheless would I have kept it down a bit.

Treble is a rollercoaster. The lower treble is recessed resulting in a complete absence of sibilance and recessed cymbals and hi-hats. However, the boosted upper treble make these metal items sound tizzy. Treble resolution could be better and lags behind midrange resolution.

Soundstage is of average width but, as mentioned before, deserves a bit more depth. Spatial cues is good nevertheless. Separation and layering are astonishing considering the price tag. Transients are outstanding considering the low price: attack is just right: notes are neither harsh or soft. This results in a good timbre.

In comparison, the Whizzer BS1 got the driver speed completely wrong imo: it is way too fast so that it sounds almost robotic and is fatiguing. The DB1 is also superior over the aforementioned NiceHCK Bro and KZ EDX, as it is less bassy and way more balanced. And it beats the KZ ZSN Pro X imo, which is overly shouty and less organic sounding.

Concluding Remarks

The NiceHCK DB1 is another budget single dynamic driver earphone that follows the footsteps of their popular NiceHCK Bro single dynamic driver earphone. The Bro was from an era when budget meant V-shaped. After a long odyssey, NiceHCK finally brought the bottom end down to a tolerable level. Shaving some upper midrange off will be next, I speculate.

Nevertheless is the DB1 a more than decent budget iem that will serve the $$$ conscious well.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

All Our 303 Earphone and Earbud Reviews (with Links)

Disclaimer

The DB1 was provided unsolicited from NiceHCK and I thank them for that.

Get it from NiceHCK Audio Store

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post NiceHCK DB1 Review – Nice Surprise appeared first on Music For The Masses.

INTRO

KZ Acoustics is one of the more well known budget kings where they take and constantly tweak models, the KZ X Crinacle CRN Zex Pro is no exception. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a third iteration. KZ has taken liberties with marketing slang to advertise it as an electrostatic but then clearly indicate later it uses an electret microphone. Not the same thing, but seems a little misleading.

So the the original KZ Zex was sort of interesting from a driver standpoint, but sported the usual KZ style of tuning. It received mixed reviews with the CCA NRA being a slightly better take on it from what I have seen but not experienced.

The Zex Pro attempts to rectify some of the short comings by adding a balanced armature to pick up the treble. The tuning appears to be a complete departure from the KZ ZEX based on reviews I have seen of the original ZEX. Instead I believe the KZ X Crinacle CRN Zex Pro is actually inspired by the popular JVC HA-FD01 or Drop JVC HA-FDX1. So if you were curious what a JVC HA-FDX1 sounds like with a sprinkle of bass lift and a resonant treble peak around 8khz, this gets interesting.

Disclaimer: No animals were harmed in the receipt of these free earphones from KZ. I would like to thank the post office for delivering them to my mailbox without incident.

Tested at $35 with the LG G8 and Sony NW-A55, Liquid Spark DAC + JDS Labs Atom

GOOD TRAITS

• Not another KZ tuning, something different and balanced
• Fitment fits snugly
• Isolation

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• Resonance around 8Khz, not just measured. Impacts Timbre.
• Higher volume improves staging, but at the expense of the resonance.
• Misleading “Electrostat” verbage if buying based on technology is how you make decisions.

PHYSICAL COMMENTARY

After removing them from the simple KZ white box, I surprised to find the KZ X Crinacle CRN ZEX Pro does not use the ZSN/ZS10 Pro/ZEX shell. Instead it appears to use what I think is the DQ6 shell that is more contoured and offers excellent isolation for a universal shell.

I received them shortly before my workplace decided to do some concrete ceiling work with a jackhammer. Perfect time to really put these to an isolation test. While I cannot say they are OSHA approved, I did find them to be excellent isolation when seated further away in a separate room, better than the more generic shells.

The KZ ZEX Pro 2 pin silver plated flat cable is a departure from the tangling prone twisted cable, and while it looks and feels meh, it does tangle less easily.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

• Detachable 0.75mm 2 pin 1.2m long cable with or without mic depending on order
• IEM pair
• 1 Pair each of S/M/L starline eartips

SOUND

So the KZ X Crinacle CRN ZEX Pro is not a minor incremental improvement of the original flavor Zex, but what is it? I had heard this signature before initially thinking maybe the ZSN series. After a quick measurement, I realized it looks eerily similar to the Drop JVC HA-FDX1 and well sounds a bit like it to.

The difference comes from a lower centered bass boost enough to add fullness to vocals and drums and upright bass that the JVC lacks. It departs from neutral but classifies as balanced for my definition. Vocals dance along the forward line, it’s a less vivid sounding than my preferred signature, but works great for jazz and classical.

For popular music the signature presents a studio effect. It doesn’t have the suckout though that more mellow KZ iterations such as the ZSN, or ES4 had with shoutier 2-4KHz treble plateau.

Listening to drums and cymbals I am picking up some extra twang from that resonance peak, this impacts the timbre as well. The KZ X Crinacle CRN Zex Pro treble experience is a nice departure despite that zest.

I feel like there is a hand off issue between the electret and the BA driver that reminds me of an audio tape slightly boogered up. I don’t always hear it, so it depends on if the music has information in that particular band.

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

Excellent width combined with above average depth is a good fit for the KZ X Crinacle CRN Pro. While it seems unfair to keep comparing to the Drop JVC HA-FDX1, instrument spacing and overall blackness doesn’t reach top ratings for the Zex Pro, I would classify as above average.

There is not a 10x difference here though so ignorance can be bliss. As volume is increased it starts to sound a little crowded, so best to keep it mid level or a tick north of that for more liveliness.

COMPARISON

BLON BL-03 ($25) vs the KZ X Crinacle CRN Zex Pro ($35)

So I should probably compare the KZ X Crinacle CRN Zex Pro to something in the same price bracket right? The Blon BL-03 was widely dispersed so this should give an idea. Obviously fitment is better on the Zex Pro. Less punch on drums, more blended in the bass for the Zex Pro, the BLON has more natural timbre whereas the Zex Pro gives a more spacious feeling and ambient room portrayal.

There is a minuscule hint of forwardness in the BLON BL-03 only compared to the Zex Pro. Together these two characteristics make the BLON BL-03 feel closed in compared the Zex Pro. Since the treble rise occurs later and that pesky peak around 8khz, cymbals and flutes get more prominence in the the spotlight.

HAPPY ENDINGS

While the misleading use of electrostat leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the rather different tuning makes this KZ X Crinacle CRN Zex Pro a foray into experiencing what some people might view as a more natural tuning with extra low end and narrow treble boost that distinguishes it as a vivid budget HA-FDX1-esque.

Consider it a less technical version where your college roomate has turned the bass boost and treble knobs on that 1970’s vintage stereo system to make it exciting. It’s sculpted custom universal adds more secure fitment with good isolation, so if you played with their earlier KZ ZSR or DQ6 models, you will know what I mean.

I rank these as nice to have budgets way different from other KZ offerings and no issues recommending to friends, but not replacing my daily mid-tier favorites in the $150-$200 category.

I had no idea these were Crinacle branded until later when I was told by KZ to use the new ridiculously long name. I can understand that “X Crinacle” is the moniker used for models with his hand in the tuning.

I respect Crinacle’s work, it’s just too long of a name. I would have actually ditched the Zex Pro portion and give credit where credit is due, and if people didn’t like it so what. Chi-fi is a fast moving target where 6 months from now there will be other things in the market catching our attention.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right
• Zex Pro vs JVC HA-FDX1
• Zex Pro vs Blon BL-03
• Impedance

Contact us!

DISCLAIMER

Get it from any available reseller.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post KZ X Crinacle CRN Zex Pro Review (2) – Inspired By Drop JVC HA-FDX1? appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Below are the top 20 articles listed by number of views.

But, hold it, this ranking is statistically unsound as an article published in January had more time to accumulate views than one released in December. The statistics are further skewed by some manufacturers linking back to our articles.

The real measure would be the average read time of an article per visitor….which we don’t know.

Another complicating factor is the crowding starting at #8. From there on, the hits per article as so close together that they make the chart deceptive. One would have to go down to #50 to do justice.

But some observations may be allowed: First, some of the articles on this list were published before 2021, as early as 2019. Second, not all articles are reviews. Third, some ancient ChiFi is here to stay, but the big days of budget ChiFi iems are over (on this blog). Fifth, long retired Slater still has a couple of evergreens. Sixth, only one product on the below list made it onto our Wall of Excellence, and only another one onto our Gear of the Year list.

Last but not least, we started a transition last March to incorporate higher-quality gear…which naturally attracts less interest than hyped budget iems.

Enjoy the list below!

Until next time…keep on listening!

1. Tweaking Tips – A Simplified Guide To IEM Silicone Eartips

2. Apple Audio Adapter Review – The One To Beat

3. KZ ZSN Pro X

4. Conexant CX Pro

5. ifi Audio iPower & iPower X

6. Shanling UA2

7. Hidizs S9 Pro

8. KZ EDX

9. Moondrop Aria (1)

10. Sennheiser IE 300/IE 400 Photography

11. SMSL SU-9 DAC/Preamp

12. Moondrop Aria (2)

13. Tempotec Sonata HD Pro

14. HZSound Heart Mirror (2)

15. Tanchjim Tanya (1)

16. ifi Audio Zen Phono RIAA Preamplifier

17. Reversing Starlines

18. Sennheiser Comparison

19. Spinfit Eartips Roundup: A Comprehensive Comparison Between 8 Variants

20. KZ ZSN Pro

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Gear Of The Year 2021 – Our Personal Favourites

The post Our Top 20 List of Blog Articles of 2021…By Numbers Only appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Spicy and shouty midrange can be fatiguing to some.

Executive Summary

The Shanling ME80 is a single-dynamic-driver earphone with a satisfying punchy bass, well extended treble, and good technicalities that will polarize listeners over its very spicy midrange.

Introduction

Shanling, the respectable and respected Chinese HiFi manufacturer since the late 1980s, has recently surprised us with a class leading $85 portable dac/amp in their UA2. The UA2 appears to distinguish itself from its immediate competition by a relatively natural sound.

The $99 Shanling E80 iem could be a complementary earphone to this dac/amp, it could be a great earphone for everybody: it is built well, nicely accessorized, and has good technicalities. But will not have a universal appeal and its tuning will polarize the listeners.

Specifications

Physical Things And Usability

In the box you find the 2 earpieces, a silver-plated copper cable, two sets of eartips (“balanced” = bassy; “vocals” = reduced bass), storage case, and the usual paperwork. The well-built earpieces are made of aluminium. They are compact, have long enough nozzles (with a lip), they fit well and and very comfortable. The cable is old-school PVC-coated with minimal microphonics, and it is essentially tangle free. Everything works fine out of the box and I selected the bassier “balanced” eartips for my listening.

Tonality And Technicalities

Equipment used: MacBook Air, iPhone SE (1st gen.); Earstudio HUD 100, EarMen Eagle, and AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt; “balanced” stock eartips and stock cable.

TL;DR: the Shanling ME80 has some prominent midrange brightness – very bright for some. It has a13-14 dB “pinna gain” between 1 and 2 kHz, and another boost in the upper midrange between 4 and 5 kHz…which makes the vocals lean and aggressive for some ears.

This tuning is obviously intentional as it caters to regional preferences. After all, Shanling’s biggest markets in southeast Asia. Everything else is very good imo and would make the ME80 a great dynamic-driver choice in its class. If you like the very similarly tuned and very popular KZ ZSN Pro X, though, you will be safe.

Bass is beefy, rich, satisfying with good authority, impact and punch without being thumpy, boomy, or fuzzy. Fast bass lines are well defined. Very enjoyable. Sub-bass extension is average. Literally, a rock solid low end.

Back to the midrange. Yes it is sharp and pointy and forward, and it lacks note weight, but the upper midrange boost also contributes to midrange definition and clarity – and it introduces some air (together with a 10 kHz peak).

Lower treble is well defined with crisp, clear, and well defined cymbals. Good treble resolution and extensions into the upper treble..

The midrange clarity provides for good separation and a wide stage and the bass for reasonable depth. Technicalities are very good for this class. Timbre is organic plus that excess brightness added.

Bringing this all together: the bright component of the ME80 works actually well at low to moderate volumes, where it contributes to good spatial cues and three-dimensional articulation. But the sound is too spicy for my ears at higher volumes. Particularly the 4-5 kHz peak introduces harshness and grain to my ears. If you like the tuning of the KZ ZSN Pro X, you will not mind the ME80’s midrange sharpness.

As we at audioreviews.org have demonstrated with other iems how the midrange can be tamed by covering 80-90% of the nozzle screen with micropore tape (that is surgical tape you get from your local health store). In this case, I shaved 2-3 dB off the midrange and lower treble. This adds some body to the vocals but it is still rather bright for my ears. You find the modding instructions here.

Shanling ME80 Compared

The ME 80 is essentially a KZ ZSN X Pro on steroids. Both feature the same midrange tuning. The listener may have the desire to turn up the volume to get a fuller midrange, but inadvertently also increases the harshness.

$80 Moondrop Aria In comparison, is more disciplined across the frequency spectrum with a better homogeneity and a fuller sounding midrange whereas the Shanling ME80 has the punchier, “funner” bass.

The $199 Meze RAI Solo sounds more relaxed, with a much fuller midrange, and is simply less edgy and not as forward and direct into your face. The $80 Whizzer Kylin HE01 is also much richer in the midrange, and the most “fun” tuned of the lot.

You find reviews of all of the iems mentioned below here.

Concluding Remarks

The Shanling ME80 has almost all ingredients to be a universal winner: great build, great technicalities, great dynamics, but its midrange harshness and grain make it unpleasant to my ears at higher volumes over longer listening periods. Even my micropore tape mod does not really rescue the sound completely. Nevertheless, the ME80 work well at lower volumes where the “space between notes” results in great midrange clarity.

But if you like it bright, if you are a KZ fan, the Shanling ME80 may be a great choice.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The Shanling ME80 was provided by Shanling for my review and I thank them for that.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

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CCA has not impressed me (or some of my other com-padres) so far based on my limited samplings of the CCA CA16 (jumbled) and CCA C10 Pro (remix), but that finally changed with the CCA CKX. First impressions are always important and once the CCA CKX is plucked from the box the heftiness in such a tiny package will put a grin on your face. Sound is very familiar and improves upon the C10 Pro with a less aggressive midrange rise giving listeners a better balanced signature with tighter bass control, improved clarity throughout the midrange treble transition all in a solid compact form factor. A surprising feat for a $69 hybrid 6+1 configuration.

THE PACKAGE

The cable included with the CCA CKX is similar to the KZ ZSN pink color, not the smaller diameter KZ ZSN other color if anyone remembers the cable difference history of budget offerings. The eartips are white starlines instead of the typical black, so anyone familiar with what has been coined as “starlines” is an acceptable tip, firm and grips well. What had me grinning was the earphone though, the metal shell feels very sturdy and polished in the unassuming matte styling which I thoroughly enjoy. It feels heavier than other metal styled contenders such as the TRN V90 or the BQEYZ Spring 2, however the size is tiny comparatively. People who desire a smaller IEM should definitely consider the CCA CKX because I couldn’t find anything in my collection of universals that are the same sizing. Isolation is average for me since it does not fill my ear as much, but the lower provide helps with wind noise.

SOUND

CCA CKX boasts boosted powerful bass with controlled seismic capabilities maybe ever slightly dull. If I were to describe it in paint sheen I would give it an eggshell maybe satin rating. It can sound overly thick on electronic and pop music, but it provides throbbing basslines enough for those that don’t want to be considered bassheads. It sounds less bass peaky than the CCA C10 Pro leaning on thump over midbass bump. As we follow the basslines into the lower mids on the CCA CKX there is some coloration making things sound full if not a little thick. Upper mids sound snappy as if someone turned up the contrast knob, beware of poorly recorded tracks- clipped vocals will be exposed as scratchiness. Some smoothing would tame this a bit, but perhaps this is the allure of the CCA CKX and the use of the less common 30017 BA driver which was also used in the TRN STM. The CCA CKX follows the trend for IEMS tuned using a Harman curve ditching the scooped out middle treble region aka presence region and instead letting this area shine. This can go good or bad depending how much they let loose on the popular 30095 BA driver. When utilized, an IEM can sound very energetic and lively which the CCA CKX has achieved. One of my previous budget favorites the TRN V90 is overshadowed easily by the slightly smoother yet still edgy CCA CKX, there is a cost difference of course. Comparing the CCA C10 Pro, they are similar in this area but the CCA CKX does take it up ever so slightly due ot less peaky upper midrange allowing other areas to balance it out.

TECHNICALITIES

Timbre on the CCA CKX is a bit plasticy. Instrument separation is good we loose some definition in the treble, I sort of wonder what it would sound like if the extra 30095 BA in the nozzle were eliminated. Perhaps it would clean up this area of weakness. Coherency otherwise is good for a multiple driver hybrid, I think the treble is the only area that feels a little busy with cymbals sounding too splashy and washed out. CCA CKX staging is wide, depth is shallow since it is forward sounding, but layering is nice and even. Powered easily from a portable phone or DAP, amplification not needed but always appreciated. My Sony A55 powered it just fine as did my LG V30.

FIN

Well done, the CCA CKX is very mature and unassuming which is something to be appreciated for those tired of larger shaped universals. The sound signature is very familiar, bassy and energetic without sounding too recessed more V signature tuned to western ears. Value-wise they are plopped into the right pricing bracket. The size of the CCA CKX packed into a solid shell with a medium midrange rise achieve a nice to have recommendation from me.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Various eartips -Starline (blue), Widebore Silicone (pink), Foam (green)
• CCA CKX vs CCA C10 Pro
• Impedance Plot

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DISCLAIMER

CCA let me save some of my hard earned newspaper delivery funds by providing this set to me. Get it from Amazon, Aliexpress or any other option.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post CCA CKX Review – Hunky Dory appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Viscerally, nothing about the ASX suggest it’s a $100 piece—it seems shoddily built, with cheap plastics and visibly uneven seams, while the top metal plate looks garish and the printed slogan “20 BA Work Together” is unlikely to win a Clio. The thin, tangly silver cable is likewise cheap-looking but is noise-free. Oversized headshells are very lightweight (which not incidentally reinforces the sensation of cheapness) and protrude out considerably, although comfort isn’t bad and isolation is good.

In contrast to the more mature, balanced tunings of their (very likeable) KZ ZS7 or ZSX, KZ goes old school here with a loud, energetic V-shaped presentation which evokes their early hybrids like the ZSN or ZS5. This is a bright phone with no pretense to neutrality. Soundstage is narrower than expected—this lacks the expansiveness of the ZS5 or CCA-10– but imaging (usually a KZ strength) is credible and there’s enough space between instruments. Note texture, however, is unnaturally lean which lends them a clinical, spiky quality which I found exhausting to listen to.

The ASX surprises with the quantity of its bass—it’s as bass-focused an all-BA as I’ve heard, which in context is not a good thing. The low end is deep and impactful but wobbly and boomy and there’s way too much of it—like a cheap subwoofer turned up to 11, it dominates the spectrum and draws your ears away from the higher frequencies; overall effect is one of incoherence and poor tuning. Mids, especially lower mids, are lacking in presence; male voices in particular sound shrill and unnatural. Despite the ridiculous driver count, treble is pushed forward but sounds surprisingly rolled off, as if the highest frequencies are filtered out. It’s not as hot/strident as prior models like the ZST or ZSN, but it’s also not particularly revealing, and details like cymbal hits or woodwind trills are pixelated and blurry; drumbeats sound especially canned and unnatural. The ASX is also less coherent than the aforesaid, which is not high praise considering the ASX costs 7X as much. 

Especially compared to former, cheaper releases like the ZS7 or ZS10P, the ASX is a great big step backwards—it just sounds wrong. I gather there are still KZ completists and fanboys who will buy whatever they crank out, but this just doesn’t look, feel or play like a $100 earphone and it’s strange they let this one escape the lab.

Not recommended.

Got it from Jurgen, whose latest email stated, verbatim, “Throw the KZ in the trash.”

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: 10 (1*BA22955s, 1*29689s, 4*30017, 4*31736)
Impedance: 20 Ω
Sensitivity: 106 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 40,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: QDC 2 pin 0.75 mm
Tested at: $100
Product Page:
Purchase Link: Wooeasy Earphones Store

DISCLAIMER

The KZ ASX review unit was provided unsolicited by Wooeasy Earphones Store. Thank you very much. Following my review, the unit was shipped to the next reviewer.

Get the KZ ASX (or rather something else) from Wooeasy Earphones Store

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

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Gear of the Year: Just in time for Christmas we list our our personal favourites of 2020 – the portable audio we personally enjoyed most. Note, these are not necessarily the best, but the ones we…you got it. Therefore, these are highly personal, subjective listings. Please be aware we don’t offer reviews for everything we like/we list here (yet).

That Christmas tree on the right is a carryover from last year. It stood in the lobby of the Windsor hotel at the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro…and it should be a symbolism for looking forward to travelling again. Viva Brazil!

Most of our reviews would have not been possible without our 2020 cooperating partners. We thank:

Acoustic Effect, ADV, Akoustyx, Apos Audio, Azla, Bill Barraugh/Audiotiers, Blon, Cozoy, CVJ, ddHifi, Dekoni, Dunu, EarMen, Earstudio, Hifigo, iBasso, ifi Audio, KBEAR, Keephifi, Moondrop, NiceHCK, Opa Audio Store, Sennheiser, Shenzhenaudio, Shozy, Smabat, Tempotec, Tronsmart, TRN, Vision Ears, V-Moda, Wooeasy Earphones Store, Yaxi, Don’tkillusifweforgotyoujustsendusanotandwefixit. 

For the companies: you can check for your products/yourself in the search field on the right-hand side.

Note: we do not make any money (or getting compensated by products) through the gear we review. No affiliate links, trackers etc. We keep the conflict-of-interest potential as low as possible by attempting to stay at arm’s length.

As to the popularity of our reviews with you, the reader: our top-viewed BLOG POSTS for 2020 were (click to go to the respective article):

1. Simplified Guide To Silicone Eartips (~13,000 views in early Dec 2020)
2. Tin Hifi T2 Plus Review
3. Blon Bl-03 Review
4. KZ ZSN Pro Review
5. Blon Bl-05 Beta Photography
6. Tempotec Sonata HD Pro Review
7. Moondrop SSR Review
8. Drop JVC HA-FDX1 Review
9. Apple Audio Adapter Review
10. Earphones Of The Year 2019
11. Sennheiser IE 500 PRO Review
12. Reversing Starlines Eartips
13. TRN V90 Review
14. Moondrop Starfield Review
15. Sony MH755 Review

Total Number of Blog Posts in 2020: 186

Facebook Group (est. 2020-01-01)| https://www.facebook.com/groups/audioreviews: >5200 members

YouTube subscriptions | https://www.youtube.com/c/audioreviews: 660

Our most-watched YouTube Video of 2020:

And yes, this blog grew and grew and grew in 2020. We are now 8 reviewers on 3 continents. Below are our personal favourites of 2020…

Baskingshark…Singapore

My 2020 favourites in the following categories are:

Earphones

$300 – 500 USD:
LZ A7. Provides a mind boggling 10 tuning configs (or more with aftermarket tuning nozzles). It has excellent technicalities, good fit, good isolation, and the best part that surprised me is that the LZ A7 has very natural timbre for a BA/piezo containing tribid (other than the higher treble frequencies handled by the piezo). Most folks would find an ideal sound signature with it, maybe except diehard bassheads. 

$200 – 300 USD:
Audiosense T800. It has good technicalities, is “fun sounding” and excellent isolation nearing 30 dB. Even though it contains a BA bass, it sounds like a DD bass due to a vented subwoofer. The T800 may be a bit on the bright side, so it isn’t the best option for treble sensitive folks, but you can use knowles filters, warm sources or eartips to tame the treble.

@ $100 – 200 USD:
TRI I3. Smooth, balanced, grand and coherent despite the weird 1 planar + 1 BA + 1 DD config. It needs amping though, the planars handling the mids are quite power hungry. It has one of the best soundstages at the $100ish region when amped, with sweet planar mids. Treble is safe, bordering on darkish, so maybe not for trebleheads.

KBEAR BElieve. “Bearly believable” for a full beryllium set at this price? The KBEAR BElieve sports a smooth and refined U shaped tuning, great technical chops in the mids and treble areas for a single DD. It has good timbre for acoustic instruments but is very hard to drive, as per the 98 dB sensitivity. It sounds muddy, congested and slow in the bass with a low powered source, but scales beautifully when optimally amped, so those that don’t intend to get an amp best look elsewhere. With power, the KBEAR BElieve does hit about 70% of the technical performance of the famed DUNU LUNA, at 10% of the price! 

@ Sub $100 USD:
HZSound Heart Mirror. Nice mirror like shells, as per its namesake, it is a neutralish bright set, excellent timbre for acoustic instruments. I like how it manages to get a forward upper mids without going into harsh or shouty territory, a very fine line to balance. The Heart Mirror has good transients and speed on the driver. Note weight is thin and soundstage is not the best though, and it needs amping to shine, sounds meh from a smartphone. Good set for vocal lovers and timbre lovers, but maybe not so all rounded due to the lack of bass, but it takes to EQ in the bass like a champ.

Favourite earbud for the year:
SMABAT ST105 Black Gold. Neutralish set with subbass and upper mids boost. If you have always looked down on earbuds for not having subbass, think again. The SMABAT ST10S Black Gold has the best subass quantity and extension I’ve ever heard in a bud. It has excellent technicalities, is MMCX
detachable and can be worn over ears or cable down. It needs amping though, as per the 150 ohm impedance. Not to be mixed up with the SMABAT ST10S Black Silver, which is tuned differently (and has lower impedance).

Best lucky bag/Fukubukuro/Mystery bag:
Urbanfun YBF-ISS014 – it is extremely exciting to see whether u get a beryllium vs “noble metal” driver. Or a working versus wonky mmcx. Even newer batches of the Urbanfun have been reported to have QC problems in the audio forums.The Urbanfun can be summed up in this statement by Forrest Gump: “My Mom Always Said Life Was Like A Box Of Urbanfuns. You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get.”

Best price to peformance joke IEM of the year:
TRN golden ears $14,750.00 USD IEM paired with $3400 USD xiaofan ortiz “king of the gods” cable. Mere mortals cannot hope to use these gear if not you’ll be struck down by lightning! I hope the Bellsing BAs inside are also made of gold!

Biodegraded…Vancouver, Canada

Sorry, from me you get stuff that mostly hasn’t been reviewed. In no particular order; and most aren’t new this year.

Digital transports:
Pi2Design Pi2AES (+ Raspberry Pi)
For streaming (via wifi or Ethernet cable) digital music from your computer, you could go cheap and crap like a Chromecast or Airport, brutally expensive like an all-in-one streamer from Naim or PS Audio, or this $US 149 HAT for a Raspberry Pi which will produce excellent quality AES or S/PDIF digital audio to feed into your audiophile DAC. DIY aesthetic & philosophy, audiophile quality, fantastic convenience once you figure out how to set it up (variety of OS solutions, some better than others).

Amps/Preamps:
Ifi Audio Zen Phono RIAA phono preamp
$US 149 for excellent resolution and transients and the ability to work with a wide range of cartridges. Might benefit from an improved power supply such as Ifi’s own iPower, but my jury remains out on that. Audioreviews summary here.

Amp accessories:
GE JAN 5670W vacuum tube
Cheap and widely available true new-old-stock military-surplus tube that works really well as a 6DJ8/6922 preamp tube substitute (great in the Schiit Vali 2).  Nice tight lows, smooth but detailed mids, sparkly highs. 6922 to 5670 adapter required to translate the I/O pin pattern so nothing blows up.

Headphone accessories:
Yaxi pads for Porta Pro / KSC75 / PX-100
Tastefully boost bass and treble while (on the Kosses) lowering the prominent 5kHz peak. And they’re comfortable! Audioreviews summary here.

IEMs:
Drop/JVC HA-FDX1
Champion single-dynamic earphone with great DD timbre and almost BA-fast transients. Slightly boosted in the uppermost mids, heavy in the ears, intermittent availability, but huge bang-for-buck. Audioreviews summaries here and here (note that Loomis isn’t their greatest fan).

Headphones:
Fostex T50RP Mk3 with cheap angled pads and other mods
Closed or semi-open (depending on how much you stuff the cups) planar magnetic phones that with a little effort (see eg here for ideas) can be made both neutral and extended while retaining deep bass and technicalities. Need amp power to perform.

Players:
USB Audio Player Pro
Gets better with every update. Neutron is more configurable, but unnecessarily so. Put this on your Android phone, plug in a USB DAC/amp, and enjoy great lossless sound quality on the go. Equalizer plugins available. Android only though.

Durwood…Chicago, USA

CCA this year might as well been a lump of coal, it’s only two letters shy of selling your soul. If you want to talk to your boring Uncle Bob, (no offense Bob’s of the world) get yourself an iBasso IT00 or Tin Hifi T2 Plus you knob. Your uncle Bob is the guy who has lots of interesting things to say, but leaves you wondering what did you just listen to today. My only favorites this year were TRN STM who is the punk that your family doesn’t like to talk about and the Shozy Rouge as your killer looking date that likes to party but not shout. Waiting to see if Shozy Form 1.4 is in good form, only thing I decided to buy during the holiday sales storm. BQEYZ Spring 2 was a nice lively upgrade to the BQEYZ Spring 1, but fix that bass man, maybe take some lessons from the Nicehck NX7 Daniel son. Some of my friends from last year are still good folks to have around, Sony MH755, BLON BL03 for sleeping, and TinHifi T4 (I just wish you would hang in my ear longer than a few minutes of sound). Simgot EN700 is a carry over as well. I like a mild V if you can see.

Jürgen Kraus…Calgary, Canada

Blon BL-05s: These are very articulate playing single DDs also appeal to me through their hideous colour. Probably my most used items of the year (together with the JVCs and Shozy Form 1.4 below). Following the footsteps of the popular Blon Bl-03 – the Blon Bl-05s disappeared fast in the big black hole of anti-hype. And for a good reason: they look like the Bl-05, smell like the Bl-05, measure like the Bl-05, but the Bl-05 had been thrown on the market prematurely, and they sucked. The more distinguished audience may have realized that Bl-05 and Bl-05s have different drivers and sound completely different.

Drop JVC HA-FDX01: Hailed as arguably the best single DD on the market until Dunu Luna and Final Audio A8000 took over, this labour of love was originally only available 665 times….which has extended to above 2000 by now while the price dropped to $200. Carryover from 2019. Still my best earphones because of their organic timbre and great resolution.

TRI I3: Planar magnetic. Something totally different. Big and bold sounding yet soothing. Nothing offensive, nothing dull.

Sennheiser IE 400 PRO ($349): The best of their PRO series. Classic Sennheiser quality midrange. Super ergonomics. Nobody will dislike this one.

Shozy Form 1.4 ($199): The Shozy team somehow got their tuning 100% right. The Form 1.4 simply sound appealing to my ears…warm and fuzzy.

Guilty Pleasure: I pull the $70 FiiO FD1 out for the road: nice’n’punchy.

Vision Ears Elysium in the Endgame category. At 2500 EUR hand made by elfs and some Rhine mermaids in Cologne, out of reach for longer than a week (borrowed). Produce vocals better than real life but also melts credit cards. Cymbals as crisp as Swedish bread…

Perversions and Subversions: the Moondrop Spaceship at $20 beats the Moondrop SSR and SSP…less accurate but the better “junk food” for my ears. Moondrop have a history of undercutting their own mid-tier earphones with their budget offerings…we remember the $30 Crescent and the $180 KPE.

Inasmile Cable Protector: Discovery of the year. 20 cents that protect my fraying Apple cables from total breakage.

I still use the Koss PortaPro headphones with Yaxi earpads for video conferencing and listening when I need comfort around my ears. Also great are the Koss KSC75. Grab all of them when you can, they are affordable standard staples. And my standard full-sized cans are still the Sennheiser HD 600.

Tempotec Sonata HD Pro dac/amp dongle ($40): comes at the price of an adapter – but with all possible adapters to connect this little rascal to anything, including iPhones. Good enough to drive any iem. The very best dongles are the $199 EarMen Sparrow run on their balanced output, and the $120 Earstudio HUD100. In terms of larger portable dacs/amps (with integrated battery), I like the $199 ifi Audio Nano BL, the $149 ifi Audio hip-dac, and the $249 EarMen TR-amp. And I don’t think I need a bigger desktop amp.

Question mark of the year: The KBEAR Believe with their Japan sourced Beryllium drivers were too cheap to be true…which was underlined by some competing cheater Be-less Beryllium earphones and doubt seeded by the Dunu competitor. Hey, but the Luna have that Chi-Fi peak…

Personal Disappointment of the year: the continuing Chi-Fi peak between 2 and 4 kHz that kills western eardrums…TRN are leading the charge…the TRN BA8 cuts steel like butter.

Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir…Munich, Germany

I’ve tried and reviewed more stuff this year than ever, and part of it (actually, most of it) is due to the awful home-arrest that we’ve all succumbed too. Hope things get normal soon, sigh.

IEMs: 

Final E500 ($20): This otherwise “cheap/beater” IEM does one thing better than *anything* under $100 – binaural tracks and gaming. At least it did so until its brethren VR3000 came out, but I’m yet to hear that and that’s got a 4x price tag attached to it. People call the Sony MH755 the best value IEMs, for me it’s the Final E500.

Dunu Studio SA6 ($550): This is a great all-rounder IEM. Great bass for an all-BA IEM, the lower-mids are full and organic whereas upper-mids tread the fine line between forwardness and shoutiness. The treble has good amount of sparkle and air. Great design and accessory pack. Really, hard to pick a fault.

Honorable mentions: Final E5000, Samsung Galaxy Buds, Moondrop Blessing 2, Sony IER-M9, Final FI-BA-SS, Dunu Luna

Headphones:

Koss PortaPro X + Yaxi Pads ($40): Just buy one. Don’t be stingy. Thank me later. 

Sennheiser HD650 ($300): The once and forever king. The HD6XX esp is a no-brainer. Scales better than any headphone I’ve tried.

Honorable Mentions: Hifiman Sundara, Focal Clear, Final D8000

DAPs:

Sony NW-A55 ($200): If your primary need is to run efficient IEMs, look no further. Great ergonomics, actually usable UI, good display, fantastic battery life, and then there’s the MrWalkman mod to turn it even more awesome. The only “budget” DAP I recommend. 

Questyle QP1R ($600): Questyle made the QP1R 6 years ago. It’s still one of the best DAPs out there when it comes to overall dynamics.

Honorable mentions: Cowon Plenue V, iBasso DX160, Sony ZX300

Desktop sources:

YULONG Canary II ($230): One of the best budget all-in-ones I’ve come across. Criminally underrated too which is a royal shame.

Questyle CMA-400i ($800): The all-in-one system I ended up with after countless trials and tribulations. Perfectly aligned to my tastes.

Honorable Mentions: iFi Zen Can, Headamp GSX-Mini

And that’s a wrap. Hopefully 2021 brings us better times.

KopiOkaya…Singapore

This year there are 8 of us, thus there are more choices for our readers to choose from.

This year also marked the year of COVID-19…. Meaning, people are staying home longer and more often, thus they can listen to their gears on desktop systems other than portable music players and phones. Fortunately, desktop gears are much better and more affordable now.

Desktop DACs:

Denafrips Ares II (US$700): I don’t own one but my friend do. If you like natural, organic sound with a huge, deep, tall soundstage and don’t mind its higher price tag, look no further… This is it! 

Topping E30 (US$130): A nice warm-neutral DAC. It doesn’t sound as natural, as organic or has a huge soundstage like the Ares II but it offers great audio at an affordable price.

Note: Extremely sensitive to the quality of power supply used. Make sure you power it with something decent like the iFi iPower X.

Desktop Amps:

Yulong Canary II (US$250): This is actually a DAC/Amp with a Class A amplification stage. It posseses a warm-neutral sound signature with lots of low-end drive thanks to the Class A topography. Very good value and performance consider this is both a DAC and an amp! 

Topping L30 (US$140): My current reference amp… If you have noticed, so far I don’t have any balanced amp in my list. When I tune earphones, I never tune them in balanced, simply because if it sounds good in single-ended, it should sound even better in balanced… Well, this is usually the case! The L30 is great (for me) because it has a gain REDUCTION switch for IEMs with high sensitivity… Not many headphone amps have such feature. This is a very neutral, clean and transparent amp that doesn’t colour the sound of the source. That’s all I ask for when tuning earphones.

Portable DAC-Amps:

FiiO BTR5 / Shanling UP4 / EarStudio ES100 MK2 / Qudelix 5K (US$120 or less): I don’t want to decide which is better. To me, each has its pros and cons but my point is… acceptable Bluetooth quality listening is finally here! Almost everybody owns a smartphone these days, so why not use it as a music player? Some of you despise this idea but c’mon… A TOTL DAP still runs slower than my $150 Android phone operating on Android 10.

Earphones:

Etymotic ER4XR (US$350): My reference for tuning hybrid earphones. If you are familiar with Etys you should know their earphones have a near-neutral Diffuse Field Target tuning. The “XR” version has slightly more bass. 

Etymotic ER2XR (US$100): Similar to the ER4XR except this uses a single dynamic instead of balanced armature, thus my reference when I tune dynamic earphones. The ER2XR has more natural timbre and punchier bass than ER4XR. You can forget about Moondrop SSR/SSP if you plan to buy one. This is better.

Note: Etymotic earphones are to be worn deep inside the ear canals touching the bone… #Etyheads call “deep insertion”. This can cause discomfort to first time Etymotic users but you will get used to it eventually… I used to hate it but I am OK with it now.

Headphones:

Singapore is too damn warm for headphones, unless using air-conditioning while listening to music… Sorry, I am too cheap for that. Electricity is expensive here.

Loomis Johnson…Chicago, USA

TRN STM–$20 wunderkind is not, as Durwood aptly states, a purist’s earphone, and it veers towards sounding over-pixilated and artificial. However, it has that certain toe-tapping rightness that keeps me reaching for it over much pricier “audiophile-tuned” pieces. Did I mention it’s $20?

KBEAR Diamond—you can spend a lot more and get a bigger stage or a richer timbre, but this smooth, highly-resolving single DD is awfully refined for the price, with class-leading coherence and premium aesthetics and build.

Cambridge Melomania TWS—they don’t have ANC, EQ customizability or the bells and whistles of their Apple/Samsung peers, and microphone is sub-standard. However, they sound damn good for wireless buds—and are surprisingly good value at <$99. 9 hour battery life a plus.

Honorable Mentions: Shozy Rouge, Shuoer Tape.

Slater…Cincinnati, USA

Slater is short for “See Ya Later”…and you will see him later…

And This Was The Previous Year:

The post Gear Of The Year – Our Personal 2020 Favourites appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Generic shell shape.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The KBEAR Lark earphone is yet another well-tuned sub-$30 offering with good technicalities and a neutral to slightly warm tonality that works right out of the box.

INTRODUCTION

KBEAR have surprised us in the last two years with hits and misses – good that reviews exist. Read as many as possible to get the complete picture. Their 2020 offerings in the budget segment comprised the 1+ 1 KBEAR KB-04 and the 1+1 KBEAR KS2. The KBEAR Lark addresses the shortcomings for these models in that it adds more coherence and balance to the sonic image.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: 1 DD + 1 BA
Impedance: 16 Ω
Sensitivity: 105 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: 2 pin 0.78 mm
Tested at: $30
Product Page/Purchase Link: KBEAR Official Store

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

The content is surprisingly generous, with a fancy container, plenty of tips, a half-decent cable, and well manufactured earpieces. The earpieces follow a generic standard design seen in many other budget earphones, and would therefore be really boring, was it not for the pretty, thick metal faceplates. These faceplates make the haptic of the KBEAR Lark. I used the white stock tips for testing. Everything is of good quality.

The earphone fit well (as in similar models), are comfortable, isolate well…as you expect from a proven design.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

Equipment used: MacBook Air; EarMen Sparrow; stock cable and tips.

Up front, this is a sonically well designed earphone. The tuner [yes, it was KopiOkaya again] could obviously work with a driver quality good enough to leave the realm of budget U-shape and flatten the bass response. KBEAR had already a recent budget offering with a great stage in their KBEAR KS2 model, which generated contrasting opinions because of its strongly recessed midrange [video summarizing internal reviewer opinions]. KBEAR addressed the recession in the tuning of their Lark which brings the vocals much more up front while still offering a big stage. Yep, the Lark’s graph looks “expensive” – and very similar to the ~$3000 Vision Ears Elysium…and no worries, the Elyisium sounds much more elaborate. It is just to show that KBEAR got their dosage somewhat right…even that “pinna gain” – that notorious curve climb between 1 and 4 kHz – was kept at just above 10 dB (as opposed to 15 dB in other budget models, which results in icepick sounds).

The overall signature of the KBEAR Lark is neutral with some warmth added.

Bass depends a bit on insertion depth (duuuuh!). It is fast, punchy (but not too punchy), and it can be visceral. A solid foundation that is never boomy. Its slight boost above neutral counteracts the upper midrange and helps prevent shoutiness. Sub-bass does not have the biggest extension.

The lower midrange is reasonably intimate, they are certainly not back but somewhat lean. Vocals show some sibilance. That’s where the budget driver comes into play – it is not the tuning. That elevated upper midrange does not drown in shoutiness. Treble is very well extended, surprisingly well. Cymbals are astonishingly presents and well resolving, although their decay is a bit fast.

As to technicalities: drivers are quick which yield great note definition and a great attack. Decay may be a bit fast in the upper registers, but hey, at $30…Stage is wide, tall (something relatively new in the budget realm), and has decent depth. Spatial cues is good, too, and so are  separation and layering. I find the whole package very coherent sounding.

KBEAR LARK COMPARED

The KBEAR Lark shares it shell design with the KZ ZSN Pro X and the TRN STM. Sonically, these are different in that the KZ ZSN Pro is more V-shaped with a rather “spicy” upper midrange whereas the TRN STM is tuned flatter (if you select the red of the three included tuning filters). Flatter means less bass and less upper midrange. This brings out the vocals more in the TRN STM at the expense of the depth of stage. Adding the single dynamic-driver Blon Bl-01 to the mix, it is bassier (as more V-shaped) and therefore warmer than the KBEAR Lark and TRN STM. The Blon Bl-01 may sound slightly more organic but lags a bit in terms of note definition and detail resolution – and it needs third-party tips (I use the black, long stemmed Azla SednarEarfit and perhaps a “better” cable).

Sound-quality wise, there is not much between TRN STM and the punchier KBEAR Lark, they are just slightly different and it comes down to personal preference. The Blon Bl-01 may be more organic than the other two, but is behind in technicalities. All three are ahead of the same-old-same-old KZ ZSN Pro X. I listened to the Lark, Bl-01, and STM for a whole morning and there barely fits a newspaper between them in terms of enjoyment. On the sliding scale from “fun” to “neutral” we go from Blon Bl-01 through KBEAR Lark to TRN STM. The KBEAR Lark offer the best of the two possible worlds.

Out and about, I prefer the KBEAR Lark because of its livelier dynamics and robust low end.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

I am 100% certain that there will be nobody complaining about the KBEAR Lark…unless they had received an early version with that infamous 4 kHz peak (“too bright”). The KBEAR Lark is a well rounded, coherent sounding earphone with a good punch and good technicalities. Hey, and there is no need to purchase another cable and tips. The included accessories work just fine.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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DISCLAIMER

The KBEAR Lark was supplied unsolicited for review. Thank you very much. Following my review, the unit was shipped to the next reviewer.

Get the KBEAR Lark from KBEAR Official Store

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

MORE…

The post KBEAR Lark Review – Lark Ascending appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Overcooked, thumpy bass and treble missing in action resulting in a muffled, congested, narrow sound with overly recessed vocals; subpar accessories; not worth the money.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The KZ ASX earphone is the first super-budget earphone featuring 10 drivers. KZ hold on to a strong V-shaped tuning with the bassy side keeping the upper hand – and a weird, most irritating early treble rolloff. Stay away!

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge Zenith (KZ) have supplied the world with close to 50 budget earphone models since 2014. Almost all of them are V-shaped with a boosted upper midrange and this repetition has been the subject of forum discussions for the last 3-4 years. In order to release even more of the same, they created the spinoff brand CCA. Lately, KZ copied themselves by releasing essentially the same iem under the previous name “upgraded” by an “X”, namely the KZ ZSN Pro (X). With the 10-driver BA model KZ ASX, the company not only has the upper hand in the ongoing driver war, it also breaks into the >$100 region.

I jokingly wrote in June 2017 on audiobudget.com: “…OUTLOOK: we are already anxiously awaiting the release of the KZ ZS7 in September [2017]. They will sport 11 drivers each side and cost $57… And as we start receiving our mail orders from China after long delays, KZ release their ZS9 just in time for Christmas (17 drivers per side; $87)…”

I was not too far off.

Q3 of 2020 sees another batch of KZ earphones flooding the market and generating much interest. The KZ ASX investigated here is their new flagship.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: 10 (1*BA22955s, 1*29689s, 4*30017, 4*31736)
Impedance: 20 Ω
Sensitivity: 106 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 40,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: QDC 2 pin 0.75 mm
Tested at: $100
Product Page:
Purchase Link: Wooeasy Earphones Store

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

Not much in the box: the two earpieces, a cable, 3 pairs of silicone eartips, the paperwork, and a totally redundant plaque. The content is essentially the same as for their $10 KZ EDX. The cable is subpar for a 10-driver $100 earphone, it is the cheapest of cheap: thin, hard, stiff. I have had better KZ cables in cheaper models previously. But it works technically and it has zero microphonics. Strangely enough, KZ holds on to the 0.75 mm standard whereas the world has moved on to 0.78 mm. So it may be hard to find a precisely fitting “upgrade cable” other than a KZ one.

Despite the enormous size of the earpieces, ergonomics is great. The shells fit well in my ears, they are very light, and they were comfortable over longer listening periods. Isolation is good. The eartips with their rather thin membrane worked very well for my ears, too. I always got good seal.

Equipment used: MacBook Air & EarMen Sparrow dac/amp; iPhone SE (first generation).

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

Follow these links for some background information:

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained

The frequency response of the KZ ASX is once again strongly V-shaped. But this time, and against expectations, it is not the upper midrange that hijacks the sound but rather the thumpy, boomy bass. Yes, the low end is very well extended but it is über-authoritative, very visceral, and simply quickly fatiguing for most listeners. And it smudges into the vocals. The low-end adds a dark colour to the sound.

The other weird feature is an extremely early rolloff starting in the lowermost treble. Cymbals disappear in the mix and there is not even chance to get sibilance. Treble extension is essentially non existent.

Squeezed in between both ends is a trough 15 dB below the upper midrange peak where the vocals have to fit in: yes, they are recessed, and very much so. The voice quality is not bad, a bit lean, but there is not enough goodness. And singers disappearing behind drums is not realistic. Yep, midrange transparency and clarity suffer greatly from the bass bleed.

Strangely enough, there is no hotness from the upper midrange plateau between 2 and 6 kHz. All its excess energy is needed to balance the über-bass – however with mixed success. But when the music is light on bass, the upper midrange starts ice picking.

Together, the overcooked bass and missing treble extension create a Sennheiser-type veil which add up to a mushy, lacklustre, narrow overall presentation. A bit of sparkle by treble extension would have done well. It is that lack of treble extension that remains most memorable of the KZ ASX. I wonder what each of these drivers is doing and whether all of them are actually activated and produce sound?

Bass/non-treble also cause the soundstage to be rather narrow with not much depth either, but it is tall (albeit it remains narrow up there). 10 drivers, what can they do for resolution, layering, separation…not much as the bass smears over everything. This drivers once again work against each other rather than harmonizing. The technicalities do not live up to the driver count.

Timbre is initially ok, but with time that muffled, muted impressions takes over.

In summary, to me the KZ ASX are the sonic equivalent of horse blinders crossed with a rusty old car held together by duct tape.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Nothing new in the KZ ASX. KZ continue flooding us with quantity and not quality: more drivers, higher prices, but small sound. The company is stagnant and obviously completely misses the boat while the competition has not been sleeping. The accessories of their $100 flagship KZ ASX are not different from their $10 KZ EDX model and their tuning remains V-shaped…now almost 50 times over. I wonder whether all 10 drivers are actually connected and working…the sound is virtually dead above 6 kHz. Storage bag/container? Nope! I am not sure how anybody can justify spending $100 on this earphone. A driver-count novelty on paper that is totally futile in reality. Earphones such as the KZ ASX give Chi-Fi a bad name. There are much better options out there. Save your money…here you find another opinion on the KZ ASX.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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DISCLAIMER

The KZ ASX review unit was provided unsolicited by Wooeasy Earphones Store. Thank you very much. Following my review, the unit was shipped to the next reviewer.

Get the KZ ASX (or rather something else) from Wooeasy Earphones Store

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post KZ ASX 10-Driver Earphones Review (1) – The Great Pretender appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Apparently same earphone as KZ ZSN Pro; boosted upper frequencies not for everybody; old, generic design.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The KZ ZSN Pro X earphone follows a long lineage of the company’s budget models with its V-shaped mainstream sound and stellar build that has experienced subtle refinement over time. The tuning is still somewhat tainted by the company’s signature boosted upper end that can generate fatigue in some listeners. Caution: may be essentially the same as the KZ ZSN Pro earphone.

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge Zenith is a Chinese company that has provided us with budget earphones since 2014. Their early $5-10 single DDs are legendary (here a comprehensive summary by the Contraptionist). Since 2017, they have also brought us cheap multi-driver hybrids with up to 10 drivers per side. The price of balanced armature drivers had dropped dramatically to make this happen. The company will issue their 50th model anytime soon.

I purchased about 20 models between 2017 and early 2018, but gave up as they always could be described as follows: “extremely V-shaped with thin and sharp vocals buried between variably boomy bass and a hot upper midrange. Great value but not usable for me in the long run”.

I felt the company should focus on decent tonalities and not be involved in a driver war. As it has turned out over the last three years, the number of drivers and sound quality are not strictly correlated. The BAs do not generate the natural timbre of the old DDs. Recently, the DDs saw a revival in Chi-Fi (Tanchjim, Moondrop…) with brandnames such as Sennheiser still sticking entirely to this technology.

After an almost 3-year hiatus I was talked into doing one for the team by reviewing the KZ ZSN Pro X. After all, the predecessor KZ ZSN Pro had seen one of the largest number of visitors of our blog.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: 10 mm DD + 30095 BA
Impedance: 25 Ω
Sensitivity: 112 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 7 – 40,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: 2-pin 75 mm
Tested at: $20
Product Page: NA
Purchase Link: KeepHifi

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

Nothing new here: earpieces, “Starline” eartips, cable, paperwork. Seen many times before. The earpieces follow a proven standard design, they fit well, isolation and comfort are good. Build is also as good as you can expect, the zinc-alloy faceplates look and feel valid. I went for the golden faceplates…nice bling bling.

The eartips work – and have always worked for me. The cable shows zero noise transfer but tangles easily. A low impedance of 25 Ω together with their high sensitivity of 112 dB make the KZ ZSN Pro X harmonize well with any phone. No external amplification needed. I used the KZ ZSN Pro X with my iPhone SE (first generation) and my MacBook Air.

After having owned over 20 KZ models, I have to make them one compliment: their build and their quality control are stellar: I have never had a bad apple, that is channel imbalances etc.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

My tonal preference and testing practice explained

My test tracks explained

Looking at the graph, not much appears to have changed in the last 3 years. The low end is still elevated with a prominent mid-bass hump – and the upper midrange has two broad peaks at 2.5 and about 4.5 kHz up to 13 dB above the trough at 1 kHz. And there is another rather unexpected peak at around 10 kHz.

When it comes to listening, I record an overall sonic refinement however no improvement in the tuning following my 3-year hiatus from KZ. The KZ ZSN Pro X offer a crisp, punchy, and well extended low-end which I find inviting. Gone are the days of strong mid-bass boom…ok, it is still a bit too punchy for some, but overall not bad. The two drivers are fast and the tuning is mainstream V-shape.

But what has not changed is the overshadowing of the the overall sonic impression by the overly boosted upper midrange and that mid-treble peak. These add too much energy (through overtones) to the voices stuck around that 1 kHz trough – which makes them crisp and clear but also somewhat sharp and aggressive, while still being recessed.

The degree of which this happens has been reduced in the last 3 years, not so much by the tuning but by driver quality. The positive effect of this extra energy is the addition of clarity and transparency to the midrange that is only partially real. A nice sonic deception that makes the earphone sound more expensive. The treble comes with some sibilance and splashy cymbals. But the overall tonality is not as fatiguing to my ears as in previous KZ budget models.

Timbre is surprisingly good and a far cry from the plasticky KZ sound a few years back. Soundstage is actually quite impressive. It is wider than deep but deep enough – the speedy bass does not congest the mids and adds to the midrange transparency and a good spatial cues. The other technicalities are also more than acceptable for the price.

WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?

Flatten the curve! But for this sound signature you have the alternative choice of the TRN-STM: same shell design, similar price. In this case, the graphs tell us more than words.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

After my 3-year hiatus from KZ products, I certainly record a refinement in their sonic quality – whereas the build has remained as impeccable as before. But I still think the company needs to cater more to the western taste and adapt their tuning by removing energy from the upper midrange – many ears still find the sound aggressive.

If you already have two handfuls of KZ earphones, there is no need to line up for this one, especially as there are allegedly little (if no) sonic differences between the KZ ZSN Pro X and the previous KZ ZSN Pro model. But for noobs, the KZ ZSN Pro X may be a good introduction to the brand’s offerings.

In summary, these are decent earphones. In the past, the many KZ earphones have ended up in the drawers of their owners (including mine, until they were shipped to charities) when the next models was ordered a few weeks later. Maybe the time has come to consider the current models as keepers and actually use them.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

DISCLAIMER

The KZ ZSN Pro X were provided unsolicited by KeepHifi and I thank them for that.

Get the KZ ZSN Pro X from KeepHifi

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post KZ ZSN Pro X Review – Fool’s Gold? appeared first on Music For The Masses.

CCA has decided to follow others in releasing a “pro” model of one previous IEM, the well received C10 model. The $35 CCA C10 Pro is a familiar recipe, a safe and popular tuning packed into the same shell as their C12. Characterized as a mild v rough Harman outline, the CCA C10 Pro adds some additional sparkle up top and leaner bass then it’s kissing cousin KZ ZS10 pro. If this is interesting or if the color scheme of your favorite sports team is black and gold, keep on reading.

GOOD TRAITS

Familiar design and tuning that made the KZ ZS10 Pro and CCA C10 popular.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Bass articulation; Smooth out the peaks and sibilance.

SOUND

While I never purchased the CCA C10, I do own the cousin model the KZ ZS10 Pro which was well done for this price segment way back in 2019. The CCA C10 Pro seems to be either a C12 minus one driver or a C10 in the C12 shell with design changes. This is all conjecture at this point since I own neither the C12 or the O.G. C10, I can only rely on past discussions on how similar they were.

Tuning is unoffensive and while peaky in some areas, it is a cross between a typical shouty Chi-fi tuning and a Harman curve. The upper midrange is knocked down a few decibels from the ZS10 Pro and the bass is not as thumping. The bass instead is sort of a lazy affair, present in the room but not screaming look at me spectacular. You might bring it home to mom and dad, but you are not going to brag to your friends about it. The KZ ZS10 Pro measures roughly the same quantity, but I feel the quality is better on the KZ. I find the bass sometimes gets drowned out on the CCA C10 Pro, I wish it had better articulation. Occasionally there is some growl coming from the lower registers which helps to fill out the bottom required for some genres. It’s good to have a little oh yeah down there.

Midrange does not sound too forward since CCA decided to keep the peak halfway between 2kHz (Chi-fi standard) and 3kHz (Harman Standard). Vocals sometimes come off a little raspy, not real breathy and there is some sibilance that peeks through (pun intended). On the lower end they sound full and thick with a some bass warming it up. Treble is exciting and not dull, CCA C10 Pro adds some extra sparkle at the tippy top and this probably where they feel the CCA C10 Pro has now earned the “pro” achievement for the additional crispness. Guitars and brass really come alive with this style of treble tuning, and cymbals are very present. We are not talking Nicehck NX7 or KZ ZS6 levels of tearing your face off, just additional sparkle and sizzle.

Soundstaging is wider than deep, timbre is a little sterile and metallic sounding but cohesion is good and the multiple driver configuration allows it to be fairly resolving.

COMFORT / ISOLATION / DESIGN

Fitment is comfortable and stays in place, a pretty standard universal shell making the isolation a tick above average. I do like the color scheme, but this is merely a personal preference. The familiar KZ ZSN , ZS10 pro faceplate has been sharpened with accents. Cable is silver and surprised they didn’t opt for a copper or gold colored cable to match. Don’t take fashion tips from me though, wires are on their way out.

FINAL WORDS

For $35 or so, it’s a good pick but if you already own the ZS10 Pro or the CCA C10 and are completely happy with them, you could skip this refresh. On the other hand if you wanted to add a different color scheme to your collection I say go for it. It’s definitely a crowd pleasing medium V with warm vocals and crispy bacon-like treble. However a word of advice to the manufacturer, if you are going to put “Pro” in the name some of the basics need to be right- looking at you sibilance. Nothing ground breaking but a solid offering.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

Earphones; silver 0.75mm 2 Pin cable; S/M/L eartips

SPECIFICATIONS

Drive unit: 1 Dual magnetic dynamic bass + 4BA (50060 mid, custom mid-high, 30095 tweeter)
Impedance: 24Ω
Sensitivity: 109dB/mW
Frequency range: 20-40000Hz
Cable Length: 1.2m±3cm
Cable conductor: 1.25 4N oxygen free copper plating silver Mic/no Mic options
Earphone interface: CPIN 0.75MM interface

GRAPHS

Left vs Right
CCA C10 Pro vs KZ ZS10 Pro
Impedance Plot

MY VERDICT

Our rating scheme

Contact us!

DISCLAIMER

Volunteered to review this set to see what was new. Get the CCA C10 Pro from Wooeasy over at Aliexpress.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post CCA C10 Pro Review (1) – Not for Noobs? appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Soundwise, the KBEAR KS2 is a bass-enhanced, deep V with a slightly bright, energetic tonality. Soundstage is nicely rounded, with good height and an inside-your-head feeling; however, unlike its KZ competitors imaging is imprecise and location of the performers tends to float uncertainly across the stage. Bass is the real Achilles heel here—it’s deep and throbbing, but shapeless and slow, like a cheap department store subwoofer turned up too high, and there is considerable bleed into and obscuring of the mids (EQing down the bass level reduces bleed, but doesn’t improve the  texture). Mids, as Baskingshark notes, are quite recessed, as if the vocalist and guitarists are standing a few feet behind the front stage, but sound pleasant and clear on acoustic and less bass-heavy fare. Treble isn’t especially extended or detailed, but uncolored and inoffensive; these lack the peakiness and occasional high-end shrillness of the KZ ZST/ZSR/ZSN  and I found them non-fatiguing over extended use. The KZs, however, trump the KBEAR KS2 in terms of coherence and are better-tuned, especially at the low end.

The KBEAR KS2 are a completely different animal than more-refined price peers like the BL-03 or the Senfer DT-6, which have a more seamless presentation and are much better for critical listening but are more finicky and less suitable for running, airplanes, etc. That said, innumerable, comparably priced models from Tennmak and KZ (not to mention slightly pricier models from TRN, BQEYZ, etc.) do the same basic signature better, and the KBEAR KS2 don’t represent especially good value.

Verdict: Inessential

Disclaimer: I received these unsolicited and unexpected from one of Jürgen’s hook-ups.

Get the KBEAR KS2 from KBEAR Official Store or Wooeasy Earphones Store.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

MORE KBEAR KS2 REVIEWS:

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I was surprised at the $69 SRP–on the basis of sonic merit and (plastic) build I would have guessed these were a $20 phone, although <$20 phones like the KZ ZSN or Senfer DT6 are much better tuned, while <$50 models from BQEYZ and TRN leave these in the dust in terms of refinement, timbre and coherence. Thumbs/earlobes down.

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DISCLAIMER

These were loaned to me for my probably unwelcome opinion.

Tested at $69. Get them from HifiGo.

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About my measurements.

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Just in time for Christmas and 11/11 — and NOT even close to year end, I discovered this Christmas tree in a Brazilian hotel in the heat of the day. This gave me the idea to think about which earphones I really liked this year. And I passed this challenge on to my co-bloggers, who quickly supplied me with their choices. Below are our top-rated earphones – in no particular order. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that we only had a small fraction of the Chi-Fi offerings in our hands. Once again, there appears to be little to no relationship between price and enjoyment. For details, please read our respective reviews (as long as they exist), our authors are listed in alphabetical order.

As to the popularity of our reviews with you, the reader: our top-viewed iems this year were (in this order): TRN V90, KZ ZSN Pro, Senfer DT6, Sony MH755, Blon BL-03, NiceHCK NX7, Pioneer CH3, Sennheiser IE40 PRO, and Sennheiser IE500 PRO. Thank you very much for your patronage and interest.

Biodegraded…Vancouver

Sony MH 755

The only pick for me this year is not really from ‘this year’, but it’s only recently that I became aware of it and heard it. The extremely cheap Sony MH755 has a low-bass boost (but not as much as it looks in the measurements) added to an otherwise neutral tonality; has natural timbre through most of the range and with most instruments; dynamics and transients that are high/fast enough yet still smooth enough to be unfatiguing; and good separation and imaging. 

I initially had issues with the fit, but on perservering found the stock tips to work fine. The asymmetric ‘J’ cable is a PITA, but a short cheap extender as pictured in JK’s review addresses the problem, or you can easily pull them apart and fit MMCX or 2-pin connectors (see e.g. here). For the price (many ebay sellers; I got mine here), buy several in case they break. Fakes reportedly abound; consult guides before and after buying.

Durwood…Chicago

Sony MH755 ~$6-9 + recable – K.I.S.S. design with excellent example of a Harman tuning on the cheap. I wonder if I had found this first, do I need CNT, DLC, Tesla, Graphene, cryogentic frozen crystals? Easy to fix the bass level if too much during the re-cable.

BLON BL03 ~$25-30 –This IEM is a jack of all trades, does not specialize in any one thing, ok maybe whack. It’s a sleeper that I  sleep with.

KZ ZS7 ~ $35 – Just a fun signature that is not fatiguing, excellent bass response, slightly recessed midrange but forward enough it is not lost which gives it a wider soundstage. Subdued yet extend treble that does not offend, except for those that like a really rolled off treble. It stops short of fake airiness.

TRN V90 ~$33-36 – Boosted bass should satisfy a basshead, but not the biggest bass I have heard. Everything else is just a wonderfully done V signature in a comfortable package that does not look too flashy. This is a no brainer if you like to bring the fun. If it was between the ZS7 and the V90, I have room for both.

BQEYZ Spring 1 ~$120-140, the naturalness of the midrange, wide soundstage and the micro-details it presents are an upgrade to the typical $50 budget area. The airiness (treble extension) makes this a recommendation from me. The only mark against it is the bass could be improved, but I have plenty of bassy sets.

Simgot EN700 pro masquerading as the “Bass” model $100-150. It shares similarities to the MH755 but a little edgier in the treble and bass is a touch warmer with better rumble.  If the MH755 and the EN700 bass/modified pro could have a baby, yes please. Loomis compares the Simgot EN700 and EM2 HERE.

Jürgen Kraus…Calgary

Blon BL-03: a single DD that was hyped to the hilt, but for the wrong reasons and therefore not much enough. The BL-03 excel by their incredible tonal balance and accuracy, and their natural dynamics. Every time I use them, they stun me. Downside: a bit bright and with poor accessories.

Drop JVC HA-FDX01: hailed as arguably the best single DD on the market, this labour of love is only available 665 times. Like the Blon BL-03 these sound very natural.

Sony MH755: this $7 earphone also reproduces music very naturally without any brightness added.

KBEAR Diamond: A very fast DLC-coated dynamic driver with a natural timbre that beats any budget multi BA in terms of resolution.

TRN V90: great balance, great haptic, great fit…a very pleasant experience on two intercontinental flights.

NiceHCK M6: Once you install the $5 third party filters (as described in my review), the M6 likely offer the cheapest taste of premium imo.

KopiOkaya…Singapore

BLON BL-03 – Cheap, fun tuning. For folks who cannot afford the more expensive Tanchjim Oxygen or Moondrop KXXS but still want that clean, punchy, organic sound.

KBEAR Diamond – KBEAR Diamond is indeed a gem among DD IEMs below US$100. This includes the renowned BLON BL-03, BLON Cardinal/Blue Jay, the hyped Tin Hifi T4 and FAAEAL Hibiscus. Heck! I will even throw in Moondrop Kanas Pro for that matter. How do I describe the sound of Diamond… Two words “smooth” and “authoritative”. Smooth – compare to BLON and KPE, Diamond is smoother overall. Be it treble or midrange. There is NOT A HINT of harshness. Authoritative – Bass digs deeper, slams harder with gusto and body, without sacrificing clarity and details. Compare to BLON, Diamond throws a bigger, wider, taller, more intimate soundstage. To put this into simpler context, it is as if you have upgraded your concert sitting from a $80 to $100 ticket. The stage is still in front, just more up-close with your favorite band or singer. Diamond brings the listener into the music, together with the artists. A definite upgrade to your music enjoyment.

TRN V90 – Hahaha… I shouldn’t have recommend this because I tuned them. But hey! It doesn’t harm doing self-promoting.

Venture Electronics (VE) BIE: One of the most under-rated IEM until recently… If you enjoy the BLON, you will enjoy the BIE. Natural timbre with gutsy low-end that doesn’t cloud the low-mids. Not the most detailed-sounding IEM, but hey you have other earphones to take care of that. Simply, pure fun and enjoyment.

Yinyoo Ash – I know, I know… I tuned these too, but hey, Ash is great if you just want to sit back, relax and enjoy your music. I prefer it over TRN IM2… Yes, both are siblings, with Ash having better treble extension. 

Loomis Johnson…Chicago

NiceHCK NX7—a  very polarizing piece, but they sure don’t sound like everything else.  Lotsa lotsa high end, but it’s the bass that’s really underrated here.  

Budget Division: Senfer UES/NiceHCK Bro—on 11/11, these will be $10, which is just plain stupid.

Slater…Cincinnati

TinAudio T2

If you can get a good fit with its fiddly shell design, this dynamic driver earphone is an incredible value. It is versatile, and can be worn up or down. Some find it a little light on sub bass, but covering the bass vent with a piece of 3M Micropore tape will provide a low end boost.

Blon BL-03

The budget BL-03 has been riding a hype train for the last few months, but I feel the hype is well deserved. A carbon-nanotube dynamic earphone, it was tuned by the same person responsible for the impressive Tanchjim Oxygen. It can also be worn up or down, but to do the latter you’ll need to use a 3rd party 2-pin cable with a straight end and no ear hooks.

Audiosense T800

This is in the mid-fi range ($300), so it may be out of some people’s budget. However, the price is worth every penny, and has been cited as an ‘end-game IEM’ by more than 1 individual (myself included). The T800 packs 8 Knowles BA drivers per side, a solid resin shell, user-replaceable Knowles tuning dampers, and a generous assortment of accessories. The T800’s secret is its vented BA woofer, which provides enough sub bass that will have you doing a double take wondering if the T800 secretly houses a dynamic driver.

Toneking NineTail

Don’t let its odd shell fool you. This is an excellent earphone. It’s ridiculously comfortable, and has front and rear tuning filters for a total of 9 possible tuning combinations. Just keep an eye on the filters though, as some have lost them by not screwing them on tight enough. If you’re looking for a step up from the typical >$50 budget earphones, the NineTail is it.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

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