Tech Review: Creative Sound Blaster Roar 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

TL;DR - if you aren't insanely particular about audio reproduction, and are instead more interested in not breaking your back or your baggage allowance, get the Roar 2.

A year ago I went on what David Attenborough might have described as a frenzy, technolusting after a product I only had theoretical knowledge about, eagerly awaiting the day I would be able to queue up (short one, because obviously I was one of the first), fling dolla dolla bills at the poor staff behind the counter, and dance out of the convention hall with my new-found (still theoretical) love into strawberry fields forever.

I did so, minus the swag bits (because civilization, guys), and went home with the Creative Sound Blaster Roar. And for once, the hype did not disappoint. It performed as it said it would, and astounded as it promised it would.

Courtesy of the awesomely hospitable Creative team, I got a chance to learn more about the Roar 2, and take a review unit home for further testing.

"20% smaller, 10% lighter, 100% sexier" is the tagline they've come up for the Roar 2 - I have my subjective reservations about the 100% sexier bit, but I still think the phrase makes brilliant sense from a marketing perspective. Creative basically said that they looked to shave as much external material and components without changing any of the core internal components that have contributed to the original device's jaw-dropping audio quality. For those considering the Roar for the first time, those internals are a bi-amplifier system separately driving two higher-range drivers, and one woofer with two passive bass radiators on either side that amplify and throw lower frequencies outwards, along with aptX and AAC Bluetooth audio codecs to ensure the best possible wireless sound.

Before I go on, Creative has made it clear, both to me and within their press and marketing materials, that the Roar 2 is not an upgrade, or a Gen-2 product, it is an alternative choice for customers in line with feedback asking for something even more compact, and lighter. Keep that in mind as you read through the rest of this review and assess which is better for you, the Roar 2 or the Roar Classic.

Shaving as much of the chassis off meant sizing down with as little compromise to the product's now famous audio quality. I suppose it is natural that the first thing to go were the metal grills protecting the bass radiators on either side. This along with the reduced overall size does mean that there is less room within the speaker for the bass to resonate, but more on how that affects overall sound later. Creative assures me that the now exposed radiators have been suitably reinforced, and indeed the metal plates are made of beautifully machined aluminum surrounded by a springy flexibie rubber that feels it can take some accidental impact. If it is your thing, the radiators now visibly pulsate to tangibly mesmerize you with almost-holographic Creative logos. Like so:

Other external enhancements: I love that the front buttons are now tactile bumps, instead of being flush with the surface. So much easier for you to deal with your speaker without looking at it, because there should be plenty more important things to do in a party, or indeed, for visually impaired people to use the device. The MicroSD card playback and voice record buttons sets at the back remain the same, but they have removed the alarm button out (I love bells and whistles but that was a vuvuzela right there if you know what I mean) and moved the Roar button to the back, which now functions to cycle between regular, Tera Bass and Roar audio modes. There is also now a switch between USB Audio and Mass Storage modes, to cut out the problem of cranky computers not recognizing your Roar's MicroSD as a storage device. This switch makes it clear what you intend to do - use it as audio output or manage your MicroSD card. Ports remain the same - MicroSD slot, MicroUSB, USB out for charging your device (the Roar uses a 6000mAh Li-ion battery), Aux In and DC In.





If you've read this far, you're interested in the crux of the matter: just how does a sized down Roar perform aurally?

 Maintaining the same innards as its predecessor means that the Roar 2 essentially can handle just about any genre of music you throw at it - classical, opera (not the same), hard rock, jazz, musicals, live recordings, funk, classic rock, electronic, dance. Those are just what I have in my library, and if tests are anything to go by, the list goes on. Nuances that you would think to forgo in a portable speaker surprise you by showing up anyway - the squeak of fretting on guitars, shadow beats on cymbals and drums, breathy harmonics on a flute. These are the marks of solidly crafted mid-high frequency drivers.

The bass continues to be a pleasure to indulge in, and now have throbbing aluminum plates to boot. The massive bass drops in Jamiroquai's Tallulah and Giorgio Moroder's 74 Is the New 24 did prove to be a little beyond the speaker's capabilities, but for one with dimensions similar to that of a paperback novel, the fact that it managed to reproduce half of those drops already speaks volumes (heheh volumes, geddit).

Roar 2 speaker configuration

A key difference between the Roar Classic, as they are calling it, and the Roar 2, is that the two mid-high speakers now accompany the low-mid woofer in firing upwards, as opposed to the front-firing configuration in the Roar Classic.

Roar 1/Classic speaker configuration

This crucial change makes for several things: with the Roar 2's configuration, you are now able to either lie the speaker down for coffee table-type use, or sit up for more directional, party-type use. This, Creative says, is in line with user feedback which requested this flexibility. When told this I nodded with a smile, guiltily wondering how many times I made my Roar Classic sit up, completely forgetting that the two more important speakers were firing right into solid wood or stone. Honestly, it still sounded good, which is why I never had enough cause to doubt I was using it wrongly, if I even did so in the first place.

The down side to this that, from a strictly audio perspective, you do not get the best-of-both-worlds configuration that the Roar Classic offers, firing mid/high frequencies forward while throwing low/mid frequencies upwards and sideways, where it would have more space to resonate. But hey, if you wanted something that can produce great audio at both low and high volumes, with audible bass, wherever the hell it fires as long as you hear it, then get the Roar 2, because it will be less of a strain on your luggage space, or your shoulder if you are hand-carrying it. If you know that you will be using this speaker for evening tunes before bed as much as you will be using them on travel, then get the Roar Classic, because you will most likely appreciate the more carefully projected soundstage the Classic offers.

If you already have the Roar Classic, I wouldn't advise purchasing the Roar 2, unless you have a family member whom you can pass the Classic to - remember, it is not an upgrade, it is an alternative choice for customers.

The original Creative Sound Blaster Roar is available at the IT Show 2015 at Suntec Convention Center Hall 601 for S$198, and the Creative Sound Blaster Roar 2 available in limited quantities for S$249 in black or white, bundled with a really sexy neoprene carrying case. If you are going to pick either products up there, ask for the discount vouchers.

Let your ears be loved with Sennheiser Urbanite

Following a successful run (I think, certainly looks so at the surface but I haven't been following that closely) with their Momentum series of stylish headphones, Sennheiser looks to capture the increasingly discerning youth market (read: #richkidsofsingapore) by following up with the Urbanite range of street-friendly headphones.

As with the Momentum series, the series consists of two main models - an on-ear version and an over-ear version. Each model then has removable remote control cables (1.2m) suited to either Apple or Android devices. These cables will also be available separately, shortly after the range's availability date of 28 October 2014, along with a universal version with slider-controlled volume (ie. analog, not electronic).

Unlike the Momentum series, which is predominantly dressed in leather, the Urbanite range sports denim and canvas fabrics, complemented with highly flexible and durable stainless steel and aluminum parts to travel with you all day. And what's a fashion-oriented line of products without a range of colors? The Urbanite XL (top) and Urbanite (below) don't exactly come in bright, eye-shredding shades, but its options will quite easily coordinate with your wardrobe (this coming from a self-professed fashion dunce, so if you can't even manage to complement light and dark against each other properly then just get yourself the black model and be done with it). It must be mentioned that the earpads are made of velvety material, which makes for a very comfortable rest, but absorbs sweat like a sponge. I foresee this may will cause some awkward moments in the longer run.

Ok, first impressions of the audio quality. I used to shy away from products claiming "extra bass", because no matter how marketing spins it, the sound almost always ends up muddier than a Muk after it's had a dip in the Ganges. I was very pleased, therefore, to note that Sennheiser has not sacrificed its legacy of pristine audio in favor of style. While I unfortunately neglected to check if the drivers for both products were different, the XL/over-ear version definitely provided accurate, tight bass lines, whether you are listening to defined beats in techno or rock, or wider, further-reaching rumbles and pulses in musicals and classical music. Mids are richly defined, and highs rarely, if ever, turn exceedingly sharp. With a smaller circumference, the Urbanite/on-ear version pipied out a more concentrated projection of sound. For me, this seemed to bring about a more packed-in bass that didn't resonate as well as that of the XL. Similarly, while its high-fidelity was quite apparent, the mids and bass felt like commuters jostling onto an already crowded train platform during peak hour, unable to reach their full aural potential. Fellow bloggers who attended the event with me opined otherwise though, so as I always recommend to anyone who asks me about audio, that's my opinion, but try it out for yourself to be sure. I can give you my point of view but I can never hear on your behalf.

The Urbanite (on-ear) will retail for S$269, and the Urbanite XL (over-ear) will retail for S$339. They will be available from 28 October 2014 onwards at the Sennheiser Concept Store at Marina Square (try it out here!) and authorised retailers.

With the range's focus on street style, Sennheiser in Singapore has partnered with "a local independent, multi-label company", SUP Clothing at Haji Lane (I mean, where else right?), to launch the line, by identifying and engaging with fashion-forward people, who will receive the chance to win fully styled outfits along with Urbanite headphones.

Tech Review: Creative Sound Blaster Roar Portable Bluetooth Wireless Speaker

TL;DR: it's good, go get it, mai tu liao.

Given that audio reproduction revolves chiefly around the induced movement of air, when audio products come in small sizes, they have a great tendency to leave much to be desired of its quality. Smaller drivers are only able to move so much air, and that usually makes for a weak, unbalanced or worse, forced output. From time to time, however, certain products find the means to go against the odds of physics to create highly admirable sound within a compact package. I consider myself immensely fortunate to be able to own a number of such products, and the latest addition to the family is the freshly released Creative Sound Blaster Roar.

When this portable Bluetooth speaker was first announced at CES 2014, I noticed news of it but never bothered to read any article that featured it. All of that came back to me when I received Creative's eDM on the then upcoming IT Show, announcing they would be debuting their latest star product, one that has won international recognition, with a 41% introductory discount. A quick search revealed a fresh article on Hardware Zone reporting on their closed-door preview of the device, which I have perused extensively in the lead-up to my purchase. The writers at Hardware Zone take after my heart in their standards for aural excellence, so if they've waxed lyrical about it, that's theoretical reason enough for me to go for it. Check the article out for more technical and feature-centric points on the product.

By the way, having seen the mad sell-outs on the first two days of the IT Show, I went down at noon when the show opened on Saturday and literally brisk-walked to the Creative booth to listen to the device for a grand 15 seconds before zipping to the payment counter to pick up a unit. I thought that kiasuism had gotten the best of me, and was just starting to feel foolish when I found out later that units for the day sold out at 2pm.

BAZINGA. More pre-order information below.

Ok, review. With the product lying down, Creative logo facing towards you, there are two mid/high speakers projecting stereo sound towards you, bass projecting upwards because obviously that's where the least obstruction of air should be, and radiating panels on either side to push the sound outwards evenly. This is something that's really apparent with the device - it's of course easy to tell where the sound is coming from or projecting towards, but wherever you place the Roar, you get a great sense that its sound reaches outwards to fill the space, which I think is well beyond the expectations of many smaller sounds systems, to say nothing of portable wireless speakers.

  

Will you get tight and defined 10Hz bass beats? No. Is the bass tangible? Heck yes, and I think it's something that will continue to impress me for a long while. As for the main pair of speakers, it's got the good ol' signature warmth of Creative speakers, without getting muddy and in fact being impressively crisp, that I so love. I have yet to hear it crackle, and I don't want to make that happen because 1) I would like to retain my precious hearing please and 2) I don't want the police paying me a visit.

Having put everything together in such a compact case, I think the choice for hard metal grills are highly sensible, if not pure genius (which sensibility seems to be as rare as these days). Metal grills will provide due protection to the many speakers and driving elements inside, while ensuring that air is able to move freely.

Here's the thing about the Roar button though. It was made to amplify, enhance and spatially widen the sound so that it still cuts through in larger gatherings and spaces, and that will of course contribute to an accelerated loss in battery life. But there is a marked difference in quality between Roar and normal modes, so great that I would much rather turn the Roar on and reduce the volume, rather than go with the normal mode at a higher volume. Even better audio quality, enhanced for longer reach, which can be enjoyed at lower volume - why would you not take that? I certainly would. Every time. In other words, I would have been happy without an option to un-Roar the speaker.

Quick note: it is mentioned in the manual that plugging the power supply in would further enhance the quality of the Roar mode, and that it is recommended to keep the power supply plugged and running while on Roar mode. While I would gladly endorse the latter statement, I noticed no significant difference between battery-powered Roar, and DC-powered Roar.

Another difference I was pleased to find a lack of is the audio quality between direct playback and Bluetooth playback. I've loaded 320kbps MP3s as well as WAV files into the card, and playing the same music from my phone through Bluetooth, I found only the same sparkling audio quality from it. Be warned: Your mileage may vary on this point.

The sheer multitude of features were also a huge factor in influencing my purchase. Offering not only playback from a MicroSD card but read/write via USB, audio output via USB in which your sound experience can be further tweaked with downloadable software, the ability to answer calls and record either currently streaming music or voice via in-built microphone into the card, and good Lord why has no one thought of this, a USB DC-Out to supply extra juice to your mobile device streaming music to the speaker, this portable speaker has all you need and more, with fantastic audio quality to top it all off.

While I definitely do find the Alarm mode useful (calling-for-attention alarm, not wake-up-at-7 alarm) I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon. Ditto for Life-Saver modes, which play loud noises randomly to keep you awake, although I'm way more appreciative of this feature, since it can help with midnight oil burners who don't want to wake up the next day to find that their report consists of 6 words and a pool of saliva on the table, and more importantly long drives in other countries.

An unfortunate problem of the speaker, even though it technically has stereo output, is the lack of effective separation between Left and Right audio channels. This is due to the fact that the speakers are so close to each other, but I gather you don't really need such details when you are groovin' away at the party. This will be more of a pain point to the discerning audiophiles who just want to bring their music along with them to enjoy. I would have thought that it would be a simple matter of angling the speakers away from each other to pull the audio channels apart, but perhaps that would be detrimental to the effective projection of the sound, which is obviously key in this product and while I well won't argue with.

The speaker is also rather hefty, at more than 1kg. It's kinda like the Alienware of the portable speaker world - while it can definitely be moved around and transported quite freely, you will find the bulk and weight to be the cause of slight annoyances if you're hand-carrying the speaker, even with the carrying case that they're currently giving away free with purchases of the product.

The Recommended Retail Price of the Sound Blaster Roar is S$338. At time of writing, you may still pre-order your unit at S$199, to be delivered from 8 April 2014 onwards, though this extended IT Show promotion will end 10 March 2014. As echoed by many others, it offers tremendous value for money even at its standard price, and at $199 you are getting practically glorious quality and features for pretty much a third of the market price for such products. If you are in the market for a portable audio solution of any kind, you need to have this product in your consideration list.

Tech Review: Sony XBA-H3 Hybrid Balanced Armature Headphones

 One of the natural drawbacks of using earphones is that with 8mm circular drivers or balanced armature drivers, however many, the sound that is piped through, regardless of accuracy, remains rather lateral and flat. You don't enjoy the same experience you get with headphones of larger driver sizes, which get much closer to reproducing the natural sound-stage of the recording - in other words, the placement of instruments within an ensemble, as well as the unique reverberations of the individual locations where the recording took place, whether a stadium with a live audience, a concert hall, a high-ceilinged cathedral or a small studio.

After the boom, and to a certain extent consumerization (lookin' at you Sony, you market spoiler you) of Balanced Armature products in the market, manufacturers of personal audio products have recently turned to exploring hybrid earphones, in which the two dominant technologies of personal audio, dynamic drivers and balanced armature drivers, are combined within a single product to provide the best of both worlds. To this end, Sony has produced the XBA-H series of products.

The XBA-H3 is the highest grade of the series, with one large 16mm dynamic driver to provide the bass, and two balanced armature drivers: a full-range driver, and a tweeter to further drive higher frequencies. Other products in the series include the XBA-H2, with a 13.5mm dynamic driver and a full range BA driver, and the XBA-H1, with a 9mm dynamic driver and a full range BA driver.

In short, the H3s (I'm just gonna call them that cos it's really quite tiring to keep typing XBA-H3s) completely caught me by surprise with its huge soundstage. It scored impressively on clarity, but having tested the XBAs before I already expected it to. To so tangibly feel the breadth and depth of the recording though, is this product's greatest success.



The dynamic driver is tuned to handle the bass, and it does so tightly and impactfully, cutting through the music most delightfully. I've learnt early on that if you were to press dynamic drivers in to your ears such that a seal is created by the diameter of the earbuds, you actually can get very good fidelity from most earphones, including Apple's iBuds. Given that doing so all the time is not at all a comfortable experience, plus the fact that you look like you are trying to block out your own music and therefore quite mad, that is an impractical solution. I would theorize with admittedly no knowledge of this particular field that a lack of free-flowing air and an overly muffled sound prevented manufacturers from simply sealing the sound in and channeling it through silicon earbuds, much like what the H3 does, but with the addition of balanced armature drivers to cover the higher frequencies, plus the innovative addition of an air vent at the back of the housing, this has been all but smartly eliminated.

Continuing their aforementioned legacy of balanced armature drivers, highs are cleanly delivered, and rarely sound sharp to the ear. It took some mad crashing of cymbals in a drum solo to make me start to wince, but it was generally tolerable and should be extra good news to most other users because 1) I am extra sensitive to higher frequencies, and 2) I listen to my music at generally louder volumes.

Now the catch. Yes. Yes there is, much as it pains me to say it.

There is a disappointing lack of mids in the tuning. Funnily enough, the two pieces of music I found completely acceptable were by the Chick Corea Super Trio and Diana Krall, where mids came through in full glorious force, so I suppose if you are a jazz person, mai tu liao, as they say. I did however, consistently notice hints of crackling at mids-intensive portions of the songs, which again may not happen if you listen to your songs at a lower volume. I was doing about 70-75% on the iPhone audio scale. I know I know. But with the other songs I sampled, spanning across Pink Floyd, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Disney, Immortal, Les Miserables and more, there was a resounding absence of mids, which contribute to the soul of the music - the oomph, excitement, richness and warmth. Many a times this made the music sound like cold and clinical renditions.

Driving the earphones are no problem - there wasn't a significant difference between listening from my audio amp, and listening from the iPhone directly, except for the source amplitude.

Here are a list of artistes and songs that I tried out, and my impression of the output from the H3s:

• Chick Corea Super Trio: sparkling, lively rendering, crackling at piano solos, nearly peaking at drum solo cymbal crashes.
• Diana Krall: near-perfect rendition. Both ensemble and solo parts clear as day.
• Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Japanese rock): great Rock-like EQ, but lack of mids = lack of excitement.
• Disney classics: every individual instrumental and vocal part in Disney orchestras and ensembles, which are HUGE (think Under the Sea and Be Our Guest), can be clearly heard. You can quite clearly imagine where each section would be sitting if you were in the conductor's spot.
• Pink Floyd: The stereo bounce in Us and Them was aurgasmic, to say the least. The high reverb in Money's emotive, soaring solo is generously reproduced, although the solo itself felt thin with the lack of mids. Similarly for the scatting in The Great Gig in the Sky, one of the most emotional lengths of senseless yelling anyone's ever done, there was little impact in the output.
• Immortal (black metal): no mids, but extreme metal relies a fair bit on the high mids, so the tweeter sort of saved it by reproducing the gritty crunch of the highly distorted electric guitars.
• Muse (live rock recording in a stadium): no sense of excitement, and this from a mids-heavy live recording.
• Les Miserables: Nicely reproduced, almost captivating. I do play this quite high on the volume.
• Casiopeia (Japanese fusion jazz): anti-climax at electric guitar solo.
• Daft Punk - Random Access Memories: Great tight bass, immersive environment.

Quick note about ergonomics before I conclude: it is quite cumbersome handling. The audio unit itself is already so blocky, you definitely aren't gonna be sleeping on your side with them on. The wires are rather disobedient, especially the top loop around your ear, although I will say it does a mostly good job of keeping itself out of tangles. ... when it doesn't get caught up with the rubber portion of the top loop.



The success of the H3s, therefore, are highly dependent on how sound engineers tune their final mix to be burnt on to the disc, which should not be the case. Even as someone who understands that I have a highly personal taste in musical output, I can't really imagine alot of people appreciating the lack of mids, unless perhaps clarity is a personal preference for you. For audio engineers and other professionals whose jobs require on audio monitoring, the earphones don't have the flattest tuning, but depending on your personal audio consumption tastes and needs at work, this pair of earphones can serve a good balance between both. They retail for a recommended price of S$438, and can be found at Sony stores and retailers around the island. Go to Sony's Singapore flagship store at Wisma Atria to try them out.

Sennheiser HD 598

I've been eyeing this pair of headphones for the longest time. It's luscious creme-colored leather skinning and brown earpads were the first thing to catch my eye (yes yes shallow like that), and when I picked it up to listen to it, I was astounded by the clarity of what I heard.

That was, however, in a Sennheiser store, with properly-amped, high-quality music, and just plugging it to my phone and playing music from the in-built audio circuit does this pair of headphones no justice at all. I was very pleased to be linked up by SG Story to the Sennheiser Asia folks, who very readily sent a pair my way for review.

The Set Up
If I were to actually buy this for myself, it would be sitting in office, where I have placed my trusty little tube amp and 30-pin iPhone dock, which in turn holds my iPhone 4 and pipes its music out via Line Out to my amp when connected.

The Music
Pretty much everything I have. I've been taking a more orchestral slant so I've been listening to alot of operas, musicals, concertos and symphonies. But I've also tried out rock, hard rock, metal, jazz, blues, funk, post-rock, vocals and some pop, wherever my fancy takes me. I try to have my music source in as high a sample rate as possible, so most of them are in 320kbps, but some of my more complex music like concertos and jazz are in lossless WAV, running at 1411kbps.

The Verdict
The defining factor about the HD 598 is that it is open-canned, meaning that air is free to pass through the earcups, allowing for wider sound reproduction as opposed to closed cans, where the air available to transmit sound is limited from what's within the earcup, up to your ear drum. That is, unfortunately, also it's only pain point. Air moves so freely that people around you can pretty much hear whatever you are listening to, and you can still hear everything that goes around you, even a suppressed cough. Some argue that if people can hear what you are listening to, you're listening to it too loud. And with proper amping, the HD 598 can produce all frequencies evenly at low volumes. But for lack of a better phrase, it's quite simply tak shiok when the music isn't completely washing over you. Even feels like a bit of a waste at times, listening to music so softly when you have such powerful hardware. But to each his own. In fact, even with air flowing so freely, your ears start to feel tired, not from the prolonged cupping of the cushions, but if the volume is too loud.

The thing about the HD 598 is that its transducers deliver music so smoothly that it quite often feels flat. That is not to say the music feels lifeless - rather, it's helped me pay more attention to the details of my music, and rewarded that attention by faithfully reproducing every last bit of audio information that the little bits you never knew were there - a cough, a musician shifting in his chair, a slide on the fret, the sigh of a piano's sustain pedal - presents itself to you and delights the heck out of you.

Along with the open-cans, Sennheiser's Eargonomic Acoustic Refinement technology claims to give you the experience of sitting in front of a hi-fi system. Not sure how effective that has been for me. For sure the soundstage can be matched by few within its class, and stereo separation is well-defined, but it can feel very lateral, instead of the more forward placement you would expect from a hi-fi system.

Bass instruments that are often glossed over by lesser audio products - softly rumbling kettle drums, double basses, the lower harmonics of trombones, even some frequencies of bass guitars, are clearly heard with these headphones without getting too overwhelming.

The same can be said for the high frequencies. I have yet to hear something that could push the headphones' high frequency output into "ear-piercing" territory. Cymbal clashes, crashes and bashes, high notes of female singers, piccolos, trumpets and usually painful guitar squeals are all pumped out clearly yet tolerably, allowing you to enjoy musical climaxes without destroying your eardrums.

Mids have an unfortunate chance of getting overshadowed by the higher frequencies, but I've only heard that happen when everything is playing together, for example when chorus and orchestra are both going at full volume. If there is a tenor or baritone singing however, you can be damn sure that they'll cut through and be the centre of your attention. Even if they've been mixed to be in the background.

The recommended price of S$399 is a hefty one to pay if it's your first or second time making the jump to higher quality audio. And it's seldom worth it unless you already have an amping system in place that can provide proper output support. Music forced at loud volume from inferior audio circuits merely sound like wind through a tunnel. Try plugging any high quality headphone to your iPhone and maxing out the volume to see what I mean. Not a pleasant experience, and certainly not an experience worth draining your player's battery for. But if you want to jump into the world of audio goodness, and are willing to pay for an amp, the HD 598 offers amazing value for what you are paying, and should last you a very long time in your journey towards better music.

Sony 2nd-generation XBA Balanced Armature Earphones

When Sony first launched the XBA series in late 2011 (and in Singapore early 2012), its suggested retail prices took many by surprise. Single driver in-ear monitors (IEMs) from well-known high grade audio brands such as Ultimate Ears, Westone and Shure were priced at approximately S$199, often breaking the $200 point. Sony's XBA-1 was priced at S$109. Did they spoil the market? Absolutely. Did they minimize the risks associated with entering the market?

I doubt. Being a corporation of their size they could definitely lower production costs by mass manufacturing, but that would have made for a major loss if it didn't sell. In fact, the 2011 Japanese tsunamis nearly wrecked the manufacturing process, and threw Sony into a delay.

I only have a fleeting impression of the first generation XBAs, since they were mostly tested at the event, save for the XBA-1 that we had each received. This time however, I have been sent all 4 earphones (XBA-10, 20, 30 and 40) to try out, so I can take my time to make my humble judgments on each one.


The Set Up
I decided to test the earphones in 2 different settings - powered by my iPhone (5, if it matters to you) on the go, and powered by my trusty little desktop headphone amp, with my old iPhone 4 as my music source via Line Out. The amp did not make as much of a difference as it usually does because the XBAs have relatively low resistance, but it did help me confirm certain points that I couldn't judge with my iPhone. All models' silicon earbuds were swapped out with the noise isolation earbuds, which includes an extra layer of sponge within the inner flange of the bud to absorb ambient noise. I always start my tests with tracks from Muse's HAARP live concert (hard rock, sharp bass, keyboards, stereo effects, live audience) and slowly branch out after that to jazz, metal, opera, classical and classic rock tracks.

General Good
If I had to describe the series in a single word, it's obvious that clarity is the XBA's main focus. How that clarity manifests itself though... that comes up a little differently. The XBA's extensive range of silicon earbuds, both normal and noise isolating, also ensure that you have the best fit possible. Little things like lapel clips and cord managers also let you customize the way you use your earphones.

General Bad
The wires aren't so much anti-tangle as tangle-resistant. A fair bit of acoustic noise from the cable can be heard, but that can be solved by looping the cable over your ear. The problem with the higher models though, especially the XBA-40, is that the light wires keep popping up when looped around the ear, making you look weird. And slightly loony.

XBA-10 (Full Range, S$98, iPhone version S$118)
The XBA-10's clarity take the number 1 spot out of the four models. Mids were rich and full-bodied, and to my treble-sensitive ears, highs were delivered with sparkling precision, without shredding my ear canals. This actually allows your music to cut through and overpower a fair bit of ambient noise.

However, as brilliantly as Sony's full-range driver handled mids and highs within a single armature, bass, the number one problem with single armature earphones, was still conspicuously missing. This gets slightly better while the earphones are driven by the amp, along with slightly more pronounced mids, but the higher frequencies can get overwhelming before the bass reaches an amplitude of your liking.

Use for: traveling on public transport, plugging in at work or in cafes

XBA-20 (Full Range + Woofer, S$238, iPhone version S$268)
The simple addition of a woofer driver pretty much compensates for what the Full Range driver is missing, and adds bass to your experience, with both drivers operating at full amplitude (if you don't quite get what this means read on to 30 and 40). This can make the earphones too bassy for some ears, but for me and my favourite music, this is an almost ideal output that comes close to matching my triple-driver custom earphones in richness and clarity. For this reason, the XBA-20 wins my vote as the best model of the lot.

Use for: needs specified in XBA-10, your bass-hungry ears, and probably if you listen to hard rock with heavy distortion and overdrive.

XBA-30 (Full Range + Woofer + Tweeter, S$318, iPhone version S$338)
The triple-driver offering adds booster drivers to either end of the audio spectrum, but instead of accentuating the high frequencies, some tuning and volume leveling of the drivers completely flattened the sound signature of the XBA-30. Especially after having listened to the richness of the XBA-20, the XBA-30 seems to withhold the life from my music, pumping it out in a very matter-of-fact way. What it does give you, however, is an incredible soundstage, so wide and distinct that I could clearly map out the placements of sections of a 50-piece orchestra, along with a similarly sized chorus and the main singers. I could tell when singers shifted position on the stage, or when two similarly voiced sections of the chorus were singing different lines side by side (for example, Tenor 1 and Tenor 2). That, to me, is the XBA-30's principal selling point. That said, I hate my music flat (delivered as-is without aural influence of the output device), but if there is some insight that most audiophiles who would consider the XBA-30s like their music flat, then hey, go for gold I say.

Use for: a portable solution to serious music study, listening to how orchestras or bands work and how they place themselves. Or if you are a stickler for flat output.

XBA-40 (Full Range + Woofer + Tweeter + Super Woofer, S$388, iPhone version S$408)
From a manufacturing point of view, the XBA-40 could be said to be Sony's bud-sized trophy. Where similarly-speced earphones cost close to or over S$1000, the XBA-40 retails for just over 40% of that price.

Aurally though, it feels like the XBA-40 falls short of the success it very well should be. Little more can be said about it that hasn't already been articulated for the XBA-30, save for the fact that with the addition of the last driver, the Super Woofer, music with very deep and subtle bass parts, such as that elusive bass drum in classical orchestras, are done justice with a satisfying rumble. That said, it isn't a 100% hit rate, and for bass heavy music like techno and rock, it doesn't really matter as much because the Woofer can more than deliver on the output.

Use for: ultimate music enjoyment if you enjoy your music delivered flat

The packaging. Really love the design and efficient use of space!

Conclusion
Sony's definitely gone in the right direction, and for the brilliant work they have done in commercializing balanced armature drivers for the mass market, I'm willing to shrug off their misses with the 30 and 40. Personally, I think they can make the 30 and 40 even friendlier to a larger crowd of prospective buyers, and I think these buyers wouldn't even mind forking out more than the current price for future iterations, if it can hit their sweet spot.

Sony introduces PHA-1 portable headphones amp

Rather dated news but took me a long time to get my blog going as I like it.

So right on the heels of its second generation of balanced armature driver earphones, Sony announced their entry into the portable amplifier market with the PHA-1 portable headphone amplifier. This news has been out in Japan as early as September 2012, but Singapore will find this product in stores from March 2013 for a recommended price of S$599.

Ideal for the "mobile audiophile" (sounds rather ridiculous when you type it out but goodness knows our numbers aren't scarce), the PHA-1 supports audio signals as high as 96KHz, with 24-bit resolution. Are those specs cool? Yes. Are those capabilities maximised? Not easily, these days.

The amp can also be hooked up to your computer to serve as a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) (in English, better quality music). It has an in-built, USB-charged battery that runs for up to 10 hours when music is piped in through Audio In, and 5 hours through Digital In.

You can hook your player or smartphone up to the amp by the Audio In jack in front, which I along with most other aurally-inclined technophiles tend to discourage, if there are better alternatives.

1. It causes the audio to be double amped. Think of the audio circuit in the amp as a large shiny water pipe with treatments to make the water better, and think of your audio player's audio circuit as a thin, old rusting pipe whose impurities the water carries along with it as it travels through (it's probably not all that bad your player's audio quality but just as a comparison...). Running your water through the old pipe and into the large shiny pipe is merely throwing impurities into the latter - remember it has enhancement features, not decontamination treatments.
2. As a source your player will need to push a strong audio signal, which almost certainly means that you need to pump your player's volume to maximum. Remember that this is usually meant to go straight to your earphones and so uses the full audio circuitry in your player. Nothing like full-powered audio output to burn your player's battery life.

But here's the cool thing about the PHA-1, you can hook your device directly to it via USB. Apple's 30-pin connector, Walkman's connector and a standard 3.5mm jack are included in the package. Sony says that Lightning devices are supported by the amp but that the cable will not be included. With this method your audio source gets piped in via Digital In, and the amp acts as a DAC to pump the music out to your earphones.This is a far better way to process music than Audio In, and maintains alot more audio fidelity, especially if your sources files are lossless types like AIFF, WAV or FLAC. However, it utilizes pretty much all of the PHA-1's circuitry, which explains the higher battery usage.

And Sony says the amp doesn't require burn-in. I haven't had a chance to test this so I cannot verify this at the moment. Take it how you like.

Most of us know Sony to be the company responsible for Playstations, Bravias and Xperias, but my friend pointed out that they started as an audio company after all. This is a cool step for Sony to take, to return to their roots perhaps? But unlike the balanced armature earphones this amp isn't priced below the market rate. S$599 is what a mobile audiophile in these parts would have to cough up, at the very least, for a decent portable amp. Is this a sign of Sony's confidence in what this tiny giant can deliver?

I'll let you know when I've tested this out. Meanwhile, XBA reviews coming soon.