Sony XBA-3 Review

I bought a pair of Westone UM-1's about 2 years back, but never got down to writing anything about them. However, it was then when I found out that there were more than dynamic drivers when I discovered balanced armature (BAs) drivers. Good god I loved them. According to Yu Heng from Jaben (I got my UM-1s from them. They're really great people, go and support them!) I tend to prefer the sound signature from balanced armatures.



When I found out that Sony had a range of BA headphones out, I just had to give them a go.


The XBA-3 is a set of in-ears, which are supposed to cater to people like me who enjoy a little more trebles and mids. With 3 drivers per side which is supposed to deliver better audio clarity as each driver is optimised to deliver a range of frequencies.

The cabling is somewhat flat-ish like what you would see on a pair of Beats and Jays, but not as flat. Its susceptible to some mild microphonics (contact with your clothing creating a kruk kruk kruk sound in your ears), but not as bad as the more common round and hard cables. The good thing about flat cables are that they're supposed to be less likely to create knot-babies.

The cable is at the right length for me, as I can walk around with my iPod in my pant pocket. I'm 171cm tall.

It also comes with a volume control, which works not only on the iPod, but also on my MacBook! Honestly I don't really care for it, not because its bad, but because I have other ways of controlling my volume and I prefer my cables to be cleaner.







***

The buds are somewhat larger than its equivalent at Westone (the UM-3x, which I didn't one bit enjoy) due to its driver arrangement. The main body is flat-ish, but perpendicular to your head so it sticks out quite a bit. You can't really go to bed in these, but it won't make you look funny.



The actual bits that sit in your ear are moulded from a mix of silicone and rubber which is quite hard and can be uncomfortable over the long run. Walking around also introduces a wee bit of microphonics. No luck at Comply yet, but I'm guessing they'll be releasing Foamies once the XBA range gets a little more popular.

As I'm a bit of a jazz and classical person, my test list consists of the following, with a bit of loud stuffs thrown in to test other aspects of the earphones.

1. Chantal Kreviazuk - Leaving on a Jet Plane (YouTube)
2. Inessa Galante - Ave Maria (Youtube)
3. Johann Pachelbel - Canon (YouTube)
4. Katie Melua - I'd Love to Kill You (YouTube)
5. Kenny G - Jasmine Flower (YouTube)
6. Krysler & Kompany - To Love You More (YouTube)
7. Pink Martini - The Gardens of Sampson & Beasley (YouTube)
8. The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody (YouTube)
9. Safri Duo - Crazy Benny (YouTube)
10. 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite (YouTube)

Crazy Benny is just perfect for testing bass clarity. Does help that its a nice piece to head-bang to while I'm feeling stressed out at work.

Bass

With 3 drivers, the XBA is supposed to kick my UM-1's ass in all departments (ignoring personal preference for sound signatures). With Safri Duo's Crazy Benny, the bass was a lot louder, and not as clean as my UM-1. Clean bass is supposed to sound like dum dum dum dum instead of drooooommmmooooommmooooomoooo. Not exactly dirty, but not crystal clear as well.

Midrange

For another reason unknown, the XBA-3 really fell slightly short compared to the UM-1 as it sounded quite tinny as if there was a blanket thrown over the entire driver. The vocals from Kryptonite sounded like any typical earphone that gets thrown in for free with your music player.

Treble

Holy mother of all IEMs, this is where the XBA-3 really shone, all the way at the top. Like a Honda engine tuned for track duty, it gives you its best way at the top. With Ave Maria, there were so many times when I got a healthy dose of goosebumps. Unfortunately (perhaps being a demo unit, perhaps slightly damaged) there were some crackles when her voice was at the highest. Can't fault it until I get a brand new pair burnt in and tested to verify it.

Details

While the bass and mid-range wasn't exactly great, the details the XBA-3 rendered while listening to most pieces were superb. Listening to Garden of Sampson and Beasley made me pay attention to the shaking maracas in the background. Nice.

I also noticed a lot of background instruments in Jasmine Flower which just added up to a more orchestral feel.

Soundstage

With the exception of the horrible bass, the soundstaging of the XBA is marginally wider compared to my UM-1, as I could better imagine where the musicians were seated with Canon. Can't really fault it as you don't really buy IEMs to get wide soundstages. For that, you probably need a nice (and very expensive) pair of over-ears.

Comfort

Not something I'd wear on the long run as the rubber-silicone buds are too hard. I'll probably consider the probability of owning a pair if Comply ever releases foamies for them.

***

At RM899 (MSRP), it is a whole lot cheaper than the Westone UM-3x which goes for about RM1590 and sounds a whole lot better. Its slightly more expensive compared to my pair of UM-1s which cost me a rather dear RM490, but delivers quite a bit more.

The truth about the UM-3x is that I didn't like it as it didn't sound very musical at all, something that the XBA-3 does. It doesn't sound as warm as I would like it to be, then again my UM-1s aren'y exactly the warmest earbuds around. I'm sure it'll perform better if pair up with a decent tube-amp like the HiFiMAN EF-5.

Should you really get one? Yes, if you mainly listen to operas, sopranos or instrumentals then it rewards you in ways you've never thought of. If you're more of a pop music, or listen to Dubsteb then you're better of putting your money in something more accessible.