Last updated on August 28th, 2023 at 09:12 am
CCA is the sister brand of KZ Acoustics which has released a lot of earphones in the budget segment. The tuning of the CCA always seems better than the KZ which made me try out this one where the price seemed very attractive for the configuration it provides. The CST budget earphone really made a great impact among the consumers by its great audio quality. Let’s see whether this one does the same as the CST in the audio department.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | CCA (sister brand of KZ Acoustics) |
| Configuration | 1 x 10mm dynamic driver + 4 Balanced Armature drivers |
| Pin Type | 0.75mm |
| Frequency Range | 7 Hz – 40000 Hz |
| Impedance | 32 ohms |
| Sensitivity | 108 dB/mW |
| Packaging | Simple white sliding box |
| Contents | Earpieces, documentation, cables, 3 pairs of ear tips |
| Cable | Braided, 2-core, brown colored |
| Build and Fit | Metal faceplate over resin body, lightweight, good fit, pressure vents in each earpiece |
| Sound | Balanced with slight treble shimmer and aggressiveness, impressive soundstage and instrument separation |
| Bass | Sweet mid bass, well-rounded, ample thump and body, controlled sub bass |
| Mids | Forward-placed, clean, vocals combined with bass for fullness, good instrument separation |
| Treble | Great extension, shimmer, slight sibilance, good detail, slight roll-off in upper end |
| Soundstage and Imaging | Massive soundstage with height and depth, excellent instrument separation |
| Tracks Used | Starboy, Lost but won, Royals, Blank Space, Sleeping at night, Lonesome Lover, Faust |
| Pros | Balanced tuning, mid bass emphasis, massive soundstage, price |
| Cons | Slight roll-off in upper end, cable quality |
| Verdict | Killer value earphone with balanced sound signature, great build quality, and details, despite cable quality |
| Reviewer | Kathiravan C. (Instagram |
Table of Contents
CONFIGURATION:
Driver: A 10mm dynamic driver + 4 Balanced Armature drivers
Pin type: 0.75mm
Frequency: 7-40000 Hz
Impedance: 32 ohm
Sensitivity: 108Db/Mw
PACKAGING:
It comes in a simple white box which is a sliding type. The earpieces are presented in front as we open the box and the documentation, cables and ear tips are included. The cable is braided and of 2 cores which has strain relief in the end and its brown colored. The ear tips are black colored and of 3 pairs.
BUILD AND FIT:
It’s a usual CCA build where metal faceplate is placed over the resin body. They are lightweight and pretty strong enough. No air gaps are present and molded very well. The fit is really great where they block nearly 70-80 percent of the outside noise. Has two pressure vents in each earpiece.
The cable is of OK quality and the ear hooks are not very flexible so the aftermarket cable might be better to use in the long listening periods.
The faceplate looks very attractive which mentions the brand CCA and the driver configuration. No left and right markings are present but you will find no difficulty in identifying the sides since these are angulated in shape.
SOURCE : iPhone Xr with Apple lightning to headphone jack adapter.
SOUND:
First of all this is a balanced sounding earphone which has a slight shimmer in the treble region and aggressive sounding too.
The very strong aspect of this earphone is the soundstage and the instrument separation. Really amazed by its soundstage considering the price it offers.
BASS:
The mid bass is really sweet in this earphone. The bass is well rounded and has enough thump and body. I would not say it’s bloated but some might feel that way due to its plenty of mid bass. Anyone in search for cleaner bass with good and plenty mid bass then this is the one to get.
The sub bass is adequate and attacks wherever it’s necessary. Quality of the bass over the quantity and that’s what the CCA has done to this earphone.
For example in the song “Only one king” by Jung Youth the bass is clean and tight. The sub bass and mid bass are presented well with control. Definitely the bass is one of the strongest aspects of this earphone.
MIDS:
The mids are presented well too. The bass combined with the vocals gives a sense of fullness and body. The vocals are forward placed and no harshness is experienced during my listening which we experience in a lot of KZ earphones. The vocals are clean and both the male and female vocals are presented well. The balanced tuning of this earphone helped in bringing out the best in the mid department.
The instruments don’t collide with the vocals which is a big positive for this earphone.
TREBLE:
High has great extension and has that good shimmer in the top which brings out the extra details and makes the listening even better. Has slight sibilance but nothing unbearable in condition. I even liked that slight sibilance which gives sparkle to the guitar strings and high hats.
C10 is fairly bright and brings out enough details. They also have a dark tint in the upper end due to the rolled off response in the upper treble region.
SOUNDSTAGE AND IMAGING:
As I said the soundstage is the biggest selling factor for this earphone which is really big and massive. It has both the height and the depth to the soundstage. The instruments can be pointed out even at the far end.
Both the soundstage and imaging are impressive for the price they are providing. It really blew my mind !..
The instrument separation is far better than any earphones at this price point.
TRACKS USED:
- Starboy – The weeknd
- Lost but won – Hans Zimmer
- Royals – Lorde
- Blank Space – Taylor Swift
- Sleeping at night – Caught a ghost
- Lonesome Lover- Max Roach
- Faust – The sad skinhead
PROS AND CONS:
PROS:
- Balanced tuning with mid bass emphasis
- Massive soundstage
- Price
CONS:
- Slight roll off in upper end
- Cable quality
VERDICT:
A killer value earphone for an entry level hybrid with a great build quality with fabulous balanced sound signature, by also providing good enough details.
Despite providing a not good wire this earphone is a hot deal considering the sound and value it provides for the price you pay. If you are in the market for a balanced sounding earphone with good mid bass emphasis and massive soundstage then close your eyes and get this gem!
This Review is Written By KATHIRAVAN.C
Follow him on – Instagram | Facebook
I’m Kathiravan from Tamilnadu. A budding audiophile here with high love towards music and audio equipment. My first experience of enjoying the hifi audio came when I started to use budget chi-fi gears and now it came all along t
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