Sony XBA-4

[LifesCompanion]

Quick little background information on the XBA-4 and why I'm doing this review

XBA-4 is Sony's high end/audiophile grade earphone with a focus on a balanced sound signature they retail around $380~ (depending on where you live) 

They are a slightly old model and since a new line of XBA's are coming out soon, they are being sold at around $170~ so it's not as hard on your wallet if you decide to buy a pair. 

 

I decided to do this review since they are selling for relatively low prices, people may be interested in these but are a little hesitant due to the high price. I decided to write this review after using them with my phone (Sony Xperia S) since that's what they're made for - listening on the go. I won't comment on the aesthetics since that is definitely personal taste. 

As a side note, I managed to grab my pair for $100 

 

What comes in the box? 

- the earphones (duh) 

- a plethora of ear buds to choose from (noise isolating and "hybrid") - I'll explain the "hybrid" part later 

- a fancy synthetic leather carry case

- cord adjuster

- warranty information, guide, etc. 

 

The ear buds that are default are the noise isolating ones and they fit me pretty well and while they are noise isolating (little kids on public transport, rambling old people, etc.) they still allow you to hear important background noise such as cars. The "hybrid" ones have memory foam inside them and are comfortable supposed to be better from a safety stand point, however, from my use it feels that the noise isolating tips, common sense and spatial awareness does ultimately trump having ear buds which bleed some noise. But the "hybrid" ear buds do offer a more open feeling sound since they let more of the noise bleed in/out. 

 

The style of cable that Sony has gone for is an anti-drop neck chain design which is a nice feature when you consider the size of the individual ear phone.

 

A feature that isn't advertised is the flat cable... oh man are flat cables nice - they make untangling and therefore storing the ear phones so much nicer but they're not the massive cables you see on Beats which keeps them low profile (ish). Below is a picture of the carry case: 

 

How does it sound?

While it is advertised as a balanced pair, due to the noise isolating features, the sound signature does inevitably become the tiniest bit bass orientated. That being said, the highs and lows are very easy to distinguish and they feel sharp but at the same time smooth (sorry if I don't make sense) however, the mid's felt a little bit left out - they felt slightly lacking (and I mean slightly) however, that may be due to my phone's music player/song (my music taste leans towards alternative, jazz, classic rock and the occasional chill step). 

Comparing to my previous pairs, Bose IE2 and JVC HA-FXD80Z with both being lower end when compared to the XBA-4's, the XBA-4's do definitely shine. However, if your music taste leans towards electronic, house, etc. a pair like the JVC HA-FXD80Z may be better as they are a more bass heavy pair (the highs and mid's are not muddled by the bass though) or if you lean towards acoustic based music, Bose IE2 esque products may be better suited. 

What I find as the most appealing feature of the XBA-4 is that it goes well with anything, I "borrowed" some pop music off the internet and it still sounded excellent with each sound being clear (I am yet to try them with classical music though).

 

Conclusion

While the original price is stupid high, the current retail prices are incredibly low (comparatively) so I do believe that they are an exceptional pair. It ticks the boxes for price, performance and looks at least for me. Can I compare them to other "audiophile grade" earphones? No, why? I don't own any however, I can say that the sound quality improvement is significant. 

Also: ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED, EARS NOT VIRGIN 

Not me ^ I have less wrinkles. 

 

Since it's my first member review, any constructive criticism would be welcome! 

[Sors]

I had these earphones for a while, and I was kinda disappointed for the lack of bass, seeing how they put 2 subwoofers in each ear piece I felt like it was really lacking, I mean I could hardly hear anything on the lower end. 

 

That was until today, when I had to use a Macbook for a while, and I had these on me at the time, I started to listen some music while I was working and WOW, there was a lot of bass in every song, I almost forgot about the work I had to do and just keep checking all the music I had in my hardrive.

 

I always suspected the problem was the sources I had used until now, and I was right, because of the low impedance of these earphones ( 8 ohms ) most sound cards and integrated audio will not drive them well, anyone who wants to use these earphones NEEDS an AMP, I am trying to get a hold of a Fiio E10, but is hard to get in my country, I am sure the sound with it would be amazing, as I always expected it to be with these earphones.