Up to 84% in savings when you subscribe to The Absolute Sound
Logo Close Icon

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Sony XBA-3 Earphones (Playback 53)

Sony XBA-3 Earphones (Playback 53)

Sony has always liked the letter X. Who can forget Sony’s X-plod car amplifiers and the unfortunate connotations of X-plod when applied to automotive audio? Undaunted, Sony has introduced eleven new models of XBA headphones. XBA stands for “Experience Balanced Armature.” Who knew that experience began with an X?Playback chose Sony’s XBA-3 earphones ($279) for review. These sit one below the top-of-the-line XBA-4 earphones and feature a three-way driver system consisting of a full range driver combined with separate tweeter and woofer drivers. The new Sony balanced armature drivers are one fourth the size of a standard 13.5mm driver, so three drivers can fit in a much smaller housing than conventional designs. The XBA-3 earpiece enclosure features a double-layered housing with an inner magnesium shell to hold the balanced armature drivers and an outer ABS shell to block and absorb unwanted vibrations.

The XBA-3s come with a leather case with a magnetic latch, four sizes of hybrid silicon eartips (SS, S, M, and L), three sizes of noise isolation eartips (S, M, and L), and a cord adjuster. Most of the XBA earphone models are available in an iP version with volume and muting for iPads, iPods, and iPhones for an extra $20.

Unlike many earphones, which have the same length cords for the right and left earpieces, Sony chose to make the cord to the right ear substantially longer than the left. You must wear the XPA-3s so that the longer right-hand cord goes behind your head while the shorter left hand side hangs straight down. If you are used to or need to have your headphone cord trail down your right side, you’re out of luck, unless you purposely switch the right and left earpieces (a practice not recommended by Sony). Also because the cord from your left ear hangs straight down while the cable on your right ear has the weight buffer of your shoulders, the XBA-3s pull more on the left side earpiece.

Sony XBA-3 Earphones (Playback 53)

For proper fit Sony, I ended up using the mid-sized noise-isolating tips, which differ from the silicon hybrid tips in that they have a layer of foam inside that makes them slightly firmer than their silicon brethren. Unlike some of the more compact earphones on the market, the XBA-3 earphones do not fit deep within your inner ear canals; instead, their earpieces rest in the main cavities of your outer ears. Once seated properly the XBA-3 stayed in place as well as any in-ear headphone I’ve tried. No amount of head-shaking or movement had any negative effect on the fit.

 

The XBA-3 earphones look and feel like a premium personal audio product designed with attention to detail. Their gunmetal silver/grey side panels contrast smartly with the chrome back pieces. The two-tone metallic theme is even carried over to the cable plug housing. The permanently attached cable is soft, flexible, and almost completely non-microphonic.

FEATURES/TECHNICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Type: The XBA-3 earphone features closed-back (that is, non-vented) earpiece housing, triple balanced armature drivers, and uses a so-called vertical in-the-ear style design.
Drivers: The XBA-3 is based on three balanced armature drivers: a full range driver augmented by separate tweeter and woofer drivers. The drivers used in the XBA-3 are said to be about one fourth the size of traditional 13.5mm dynamic drivers, thus allowing a three-way design that still has relatively small earpieces.
Double Layer Earpiece Housing: As above, the XBA features a light, rigid magnesium inner shell, which serves a mounting frame for the drivers, with an ABS outer shell that, says Sony, “suppresses unwanted vibrations.”
Noise Attenuation: Sony claims high levels of noise attenuation for the XBA-3, which Sony attributes in part to the XBA-3’s “noise-blocking (earpiece) design,” which promises “a snug, comfortable fit,” and which is said to “prevent sound leakage.”
Signal Cable Details: The XBA-3 features a signal cable made of OFC Litz cord and that comes fitted with a gold-plated 3.5mm mini-jack plug.
Eartip Details: The XBA-3 comes with two types of eartips: four sets of flexible hybrid silicone eartips and three sets of noticeably more firm “noise isolating ear cushions.” According to Sony these eartips are meant to help “your XBA Series (earphones) securely in place—even during strenuous exercise…”

 

SONIC CHARACTER

Lately I’ve been spending quite a bit of time listening through a pair of full-size AKG 701 headphones ($539). Switching to the Sony XBA-3 in-ears after the AKG open-back over ear was less of a shock than you might imagine. Both share a similar harmonic balance and matter-of-fact presentation. The AKGs have more bass and lower midrange power, but the Sonys match them in image precision and overall spatial presentation.

Sony XBA-3 Earphones (Playback 53)

Because it uses a true three-way driver array you would expect the Sony XBA-3 to be a full-range earphone, especially with the impressive published frequency response specification of 4 Hz to 28 kHz. But I found the XBA-3 to have a more truncated frequency response than the printed specs might suggest. The bass is clean and tight, but there’s not a lot of it. Dub, House, Trance and other urban music fans will want to move up to Sony’s XBA-4 earphones ($349)—a four-driver model that is equipped with an extra “super woofer.”

But if midrange clarity is what gets your juices flowing, the XBA-3s will be very much to your liking. While not quite as revealing of inner detail as the expensive Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors ($999), the XBA-3s get close without sacrificing midrange warmth. Perhaps some of this clarity is due to the new double housing design. I heard virtually no hangover resonances from the earphone housing even on highly dynamic and fast-transient material. Even at high volumes I never heard the housing try to sing along.

 

You would expect that with a dedicated treble driver the XBA-3 would handle upper frequencies with no issues. Here, the XBA-3 lives up to all expectations. Their top end is extended without sounding harsh or over emphasized. Especially on symphony orchestra recordings, where you need good upper frequency air to differentiate the upper harmonics, the XBA-3s sounds both relaxed and open.

Dynamic contrast through the XBA-3 earphones is good, but large diaphragm, full-size headphones, such as the AKG 701 or Grado RS-1s, deliver substantially more slam and sense of dynamic contrast. Both macro and micro dynamic contrast is slightly softened through the XBA-3s compared to the Ultimate Ears IN-Ear Reference Monitors or AKG 701s.

Imaging, as the term applies to headphones, is a more personal and idiosyncratic phenomenon that with loudspeakers, but good headphones do produce three-dimensional images of a sort. The XBA-3s image is larger and better defined than with many competing headphones and, especially, earphones. The XBA-3s easily beat the Shure SE 215s in terms of soundstage size and edge definition. The XBA-3s even rivaled the Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors in this performance parameter.

A headphone’s overall fatigue factor is a function of not only its sound, but also its fit. Once I dressed the cable so the left side didn’t pull when I moved, I found the XBR-3s to be one of the more comfortable and low-fatigue earphones I’ve used. In fact, the XBR-3 is so comfortable that more than once I’ve forgotten I was wearing them and stood up while listening at my desktop. It’s a rude awakening getting “dry willied” by your earphones as they pop out of your ears…

MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Listening to dense and ethereal mixes, like what you’ll find on Gregory Alan Isakov’s album, This Empty Northern Hemisphere [Gregory Alan Isakov records], plays into the XBA-3’s biggest strengths. Even when the mix is at its murkiest, the XBA-3 will let you easily differentiate the different instrumental parts because of its excellent midrange clarity. Acoustic guitars and synthesizers remain distinct sonic entities regardless of the dynamics or density of the arrangement.

 

On Griffen Alexander’s The Sound & The Sea album [Griffin Alexander Music], his peaky, overdriven microphone, heavily EQ’d vocals sound hard and spitty, just as they should. The XBA-3 presents his voice, warts and all, without trying to make it sound better or worse. With more euphonic and full-range recordings such as Hamilton De Holanda’s Brasilianos album [Adventure Music], the XBA-3s demonstrate a marvelous ability to render the harmonically rich soundstage in an easy to decipher manner.

At some point in every listening session I put on my own recordings of the Boulder Philharmonic. Lately I’ve been listening to a recent recording I made the day I returned from the 2012 CES of Gershwin’s American in Paris. Through the XBA-3s the woodiness of the xylophone during the opening sections remains intact and distinct from the triangle that is duplicating its rhythmic lines. While the overall dynamic contrast is less than what I hear through Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors, micro dynamics come through with nearly the same fine levels of delineation.

CONCLUSION

Consider this product if:

•You favor a neutral sound with good overall balance.
•You prefer an earphone that rests in the ear but not in the ear canal.
•You like to wear your earphones so the cable goes behind your head.

Look further if:

•You want a headphone with a more robust bass response.
•You prefer a small footprint earphone with an in-ear canal fit.
•You don’t like to wear earphones with a cord that goes down one side.

Ratings (relative to comparably-priced earphones)

•Tonal Balance: 8
•Frequency Extremes: 8(Bass)/8(Treble)
•Clarity: 8
•Dynamics: 8
•Comfort/Fit: 8
•Sensitivity: 7
•Value: 8

BOTTOM LINE

Within the price range of between $250 and $300 a headphone buyer has plenty of options, and obviously the Sony XBA-3 headphones are one of them. While I can’t say the XBA-3s are my absolute favorite headphone in this highly competitive price point, I can say that they combine many highly desirable sonic and ergonomic features into a very stylish package. Aimed more for the audiophile than the pop music crowd, the XBA-3s contain unique and proprietary technology that places them a step ahead of much of their competition.

SPECS & PRICING

Sony XBA-3 earphones
Accessories: seven pairs of eartips (four pairs of hybrid silicon tip, plus three pairs of noise-isolation tips), leather case, cord adjuster
Frequency response: 4 Hz – 28 kHz
Sensitivity: 108 dB SPL/mW
Impedance: 12 Ohms
Weight: 7 g (0.25 oz)
Warranty: 90 days limited warranty
Price: List $279

Manufacturer Information

Sony Inc.
877-865-7669
store.sony.com

Read Next From Review

See all

Adblocker Detected

"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."

"There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."