Sony XBA-1

[JSBach]

Yesterday my Sony MDR-EX58V died after 5 months of use. Today i suffered the audiphile's worst nightmare, some one lended me a pair of crappy headphones. They sounded like a cheap radio Bach never sucked so bad in SQ

Today after the torture i made my wallet bleed some e-money, bought the Sonys XBA-1, my first audiophile headphones here in mexico they cost 856 pesos, but Office depot had them at 799 pesos so i grabbed the only pair at store

Now the review: first the cable is a J cable, i don't have issues with it, no earbud falling or strain issues.

The infamous microphonics are not so strong, thank god for this, absolutely love the flat cable, no tangles and little microphonics

They come with a cloth bag, silicone tips [normal and noise-isolating (some spongey thingy insde)], a cable winder or sort of i nevr use those things.

They're pretty light weight, the ear tips make a sort of suction effect, nut i know they're nicely sealed. The plug is a 90 degree one Kudos for this.

The SQ, WOW i almost chocked with water LOL i never heard the viola da gamba on Handel's Aria for 2 violins in B flat HWV 338 and subtle details like the harpsichord on the messiah's.

The soft fortepiano intro in one of JC bach's concerti was too good to be true.

Sound is overall balanced in the spectrum, so detailed and natural soundig, yo-yo ma cello suites of bach sounde sooooo damn good, like being in front of him listening, you can her the fingers plucking the lute strings or the quills the harpsichord strings

Bass well bass is present but NOT OVERWHELMING BASS like some other headphones i have owned.

One of my coworkers told me go for the Beats by dr dre, theye amazing. I was LOLing on my inside, "I will not liste to classical on junk phones"

Now something important NO AMP NEED, well at leat using an iPod classic 2009 model as for isolation lol i can't hear myself typing on the computer

NOTE all my music is 192 kbps MP3 CBR encoded fraunhoffer they still sound quite good damn good in fact

Pros
Natural sound
Bass is present but not exaggerated
Loud in an ipod classic
little cable noise
Good isolation with normal tips

Cons
mmmm none so far

[JK98]

Sounds good. 799 pesos is only around $57. Nice price. I have been thinking about buying this, but am waiting for a better price. In the US it is at least $70. I guess if the price here drops to $45 I might buy it.

[The DarkSide]

Nice review,...I like that the bass is there, but not overpowering.

[JSBach]

UPDATE: The Noise-isolating ear tips are a little difficult to put on the IEMS, but they isolate quite well.

ha ha ha i didn't hear my coworkers talking LOL, like those silent-clowns

They don't need burn in as my experience

PS: I tried just for fun, i donwloaded a 128 Kbps MP3 of bach's Fugue BWV 901 played on a french harpsichord... The crappy sound immediately sounded on those headphones

[The DarkSide]

Well, BA iem's never need burn in. If the sound changes that means they're broken. I learned that on ABi,...

[JSBach]

A couple of N00b questions, this is my first pair of ahem ahem audiophile headphones and i'm a little bit worried by some stuff

1. i wind my cord on 4 fingers to store it on the bag it came, i dislike winding them too tight or arround the ipod, i know this can damage earphones of any type, does wrapping thm loosely damages them any ways?

2. I carry my iPod, cellphone and my xba's on the same pocket, I have heard that cellphone RF signal or what ever it is can erase Debit (credit) card magnetic strip, does this RF signal of the cellphone can damage BA's? I am a little paranoic on this

3. I've heard that BA's are more susceptible to drop-damage, eg. dropping them in the desk, i take care of them as it were dangerous weapons

That are all the questions, I have deafness on my right ear, i can't hear well high freqs but in my left i hear perfectly fine, i want to schedule an audiometry to test for an illness, like lead paint poisoning or it's because my premature birth, but anyways i can still hear, a little but yes the diff between dynamic and BA is obvious

Now my sony's XD-100 HI-FI FULL-size cans sound weird to me

[JK98]

You are making me hungry for this, however on principle I really don't want to pay over $50 for an IEM.

[WalkGood]

Thanks for the read ... I’m not surprised you find them very clear and detailed seeing how they have balanced armatures. I too like the sound quality from BA’s, very nice IMHO. I’d love to try them out but hate J cables on any IEM …


Edit:

Originally Posted by JSBach

… does wrapping thm loosely damages them any ways?

Loosely winding the cable should not damage them IMO.

Originally Posted by JSBach

… does this RF signal of the cellphone can damage BA's? I am a little paranoic on this

I’ve never heard that an RF signal can damage BAs and I do not believe that to be true.

Originally Posted by JSBach

3. I've heard that BA's are more susceptible to drop-damage, eg. dropping them in the desk, i take care of them as it were dangerous weapons

While BAs are more susceptible to drops and abuse than dynamic drivers the BAs I own have taken a little abuse but I’ve always been as careful as I can with them and they’re fine after years of use. While I do not know what type of driver sony uses, Knowles which is one of the largest BA manufacturers has some armature models that contain Ferrofluid™ which improves mechanical shock (again, I do not know if that is in your armatures). Regardless they can take some abuse but not constantly slamming them down or any constant abuse.

[JSBach]

Originally Posted by JK98

You are making me hungry for this, however on principle I really don't want to pay over $50 for an IEM.

I am litening rightnow to the Cantata BWV 133, a soprano aria w/violin DAMN I absolutely love the grrrrreat 3D soundstage, baroque violin left ear, soprano middle center right ear

The subtle 'small' sounds sound so clear, the organ is now playing bass wood pipes on right ear, same BWV 133

I have noted that certain songs that used to distort on normal dynamic drivesr don't display that on the BA, for example, the trumpet en chamade [organ register] sound like a metal-reed whistle.

Clean sounding register on a BA, but my dynamic drivers sound like you've poured water ona whistle and the blow sound so distorted and sometimes scratch sounds

Other song is bach's 7th Harpsichord concerto the one w/Harpsichord, 2 recorders, Trevor pinnock conducts english concert. at the end where the flutes play loudin a 'burst' dynamics display a horrible distortion and they crackle, with the BA's the baroque flutes [recorders] sound perfectly clean

[JSBach]

PS i never heard this soundstage on headphones, i have heard that on a portable Travel Soundm, creative speakers i had a while a go

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by JSBach

PS i never heard this soundstage on headphones ...

Are you sure it's wide soundstage or could it be great instrument separation and positioning from the BAs?

[JSBach]

Hmmm i think it's some how the positioning? but yes i can distinguish the virtuoso violin, the oboe and the two sopranos singing

The set of bach's cantatas is the Haenssler bachakademie w/Helmuth Rilling 170 CDs, being German made, it's possible they placed they mics in a good position.

But yes what's true is the small details i took for granted in cheap phones now come to light, the virtuosisitic bach viloin and those sopranos, i never heard well the violin until it came loud enough

[JSBach]

I WILL DO A Better review on weekend, to test them for a little while and make my conclusions, but so far they sound like something i wanted from headphones, crips details and sound separation, i will post pictures of them

[JSBach]

A little off topic but i was listening with my XBAs today at safe volume, and the cleaning staff at office brought a super noisy vacuum cleaner, love my xbas they blocked the roooar.

But i forgot ear safety and removed my XBA from my ears and the loud noise came in a split of a second and i have a nasty riiiiiiiing in my right ear [the semi-deaf ear] a very high pitched tinnitus.

can a sudden volume change damage ears?

[Mikerman]

Yep--but hopefully, all just temporary.

[IDvsEGO]

I picked up a set of these at best buy at lunch just becasue they were the only BA I could get locally just in case I hate them. I listen to a mix of stuff but go in cycles where one genre takes center stage. right now its hip hop. These are serviceable for that. some eq tweaking from poweramp brings the bass out some. For sake of letting these hit their stride I turned on some Explosions in the Sky (theme song for the Friday Night Lights Show). Sounds very nice (trying to avoid hyberbole with only 10 minutes of listening). bass is just like I would like on this kind of track. I am very easily zoning out on the music. Plus these things are damn comfortable for me and that is usally an issue. They have a striaght and narrow barrel though so its not a surprise. I do much better with straight barrels. Every angled set I have had has gone away quickly due to comfort. the shape of the cartilage creates a little rub after about 40 minutes or so. J cord does suck and microphonics are present without the clip. I wouldn't be pissed at the $80 MSRP but I think in todays market they should probably be a little cheaper. If these were $60 they would be a steal.

[JSBach]

I am waiting for your veredict i like them after a week of listening, no dissapointment, yeah the bass is not over powering, but noticiable in a GOOD amount

[IDvsEGO]

I wish they were like $50. Not because of the quality but because I know that I probably wont use them enough to justify the $80 price. I may keep them anyway though because I have been looking for a set with detail. If somebody has a set of xba1 and a151/161 I would love to hear a comparison.

edit - cord is pissing me off already. Jcord should be required to include a shirt clip. I have an extra at home but for now its irritating.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by IDvsEGO

... edit - cord is pissing me off already. ...

Never again will I buy any headphone/IEM with a j-cord so the XBA-1 is a definite no for me. My guess is the sound is some where between the A151s and A161P, so like you say a comparison would be nice. Anyone wana loan me the XBA-1s

[IDvsEGO]

If i keep these i will let you for a bit.