CCA CA10 Review All BA IEM No Dynamic Drivers!
No dynamic drivers is the theme of the new CCA CA10 IEM! They feature a total of five balanced armature (BA) drivers hidden inside a see-through body shell made of clear resin plastic. The front fascia has a lovely teal green tint finish surrounded by an aluminum alloy outer ring.
The CCA CA10 shell features R/L markings, as well as white text engraving ("CA10" and "10 balance armature"), which has been laser printed on the side. It's nice that the branding is subtle (kind of faded)so, it isn't "shouty". The CCA CA10 IEM includes a 0.75mm 2 pin silver-plated copper (SPC) cable with two individually sleeved cores constructed similarly to a 2-core figure 8 speaker cable.
The 2-core figure 8 design makes the CA10 stock cable very rugged and anti-tangle, as well as minimizing microphonics noise. The CA10 cable measures 112cm long (1.1 meters) and features a hard plastic y-splitter located 45cm down the cable. The cable has a gold plated 3.5mm jack connector with a 90-degree rubber plug, which is reinforced with a thick strain relief. The ear hooks are pre-shaped and covered with thick and soft silicone tubing, which doesn't rub against the ears. The earhooks cannot be molded but, they're flexible enough to comfortably mold around the top of the ears. There is no cable cinch or inline mic remote, although a mic version of the CA10 is also available.
More gold plating can be found on the nozzle tip, which is guarded with a metal mesh. The 2-pin connectors are also gold plated and recessed inside the housing, which is made of rubber. The small stubs, sticking out of the shell, are the female pin sockets.
A lot of IEMs, including the CCA CKX, have this "extruded 2-pin stub", while other IEMs such as the Tripowin TC01 have a flat stub. Besides the standard 2 pin cable connection, there is also the MMCX connection, which you get with some IEMs too such as the Shanling ME80 and Tin Hifi T2 Evo. Aside from being able to replace the cable with an aftermarket one, the detachable form factor of the CA10 IEM also allows you to convert them to wireless via an IEM bluetooth adapter (not included).
Despite not having any dynamic drivers, the CCA CA10 are able to reproduce bass, which is boomy due to being mainly concentrated on the upper bass. There is some presence of mid bass but the sub bass is lacking, which makes the bass response less detailed and a lot less energetic than IEMs (e.g. KZ VX10) with a dynamic driver. The CCA CA10 all BA driver setup provides a nice wide (airy) soundstage with superb instrument separation. The mid range takes a noticable back seat, which makes the higher tones (upper mid range and treble) sharper and more pronounced, although not as extended (elevated) as the low end.
The CCA CA10 have low impedance (25 ohms) and high sensitivity (105dB) so, they are easy to drive from a smartphone with plenty of volume and high fidelity (with little distortion). The CCA CA10 are beautiful and more premium that their price tag suggests. The see-through resin design makes the CCA CA10 very durable, whilst providing a cool sneak preview of how the BA driver configuration looks like from the inside.
The clear/turquoise transparency makes the CCA CA10 as visually exciting and appealing as the TRN TA2 although the TA2 IEM is a lot lighter and not as bulky as the CA10. The TA2 earphones weigh 8 grams (without cable), while the CCA CA10 earphones weigh 16 grams (8 grams each). The included cable weighs 15 grams, bringing up the total weight of the CCA CA10 to 31 grams.
The balanced armature (BA) drivers are made by Knowles - the leading manufacturer of balanced armature drivers. The BA drivers include two 30017S BA, one 30095S BA, one 29689S BA and one 22955S BA driver. Accessories include round bore silicone ear tips with a standard bowl shape and nothing else. You can buy the CCA CA10 from amazon or Linsoul Audio website. Check out the review of the Tin Hifi T1S
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