Something has been niggling me for a few days. I've had the CCA CRA for two weeks, with some tucking in slightly of the high end and low end, with 1dB shelves(really almost negligible broad eqs, to tame the V-shape somewhat), I have been shocked, compared to any other headphones I have ever listened to :
1. These have revealed the most difference as I move from one track to another on an album, and as I move from one album to another, on my reference playlists. For example, If the bass on a song is tight with quick attack and decay, it sounds so different from another bass which is woolly with soft edges, same with every other sound on a track. Depth, how distant things are "virtually" and where they are in the left right panning, and what I would call texture of the sound, is it a percussive element like a piano, or a synthesizer. Like my ears ar like fingers which can "feel" the texture of everything I'm hearing. Cos the elements in the music sound so different, in their texture, smooth, distorted, percussive, ensemble, saturation, I'm not just hearing but "feeling" the music - not as a physical experience of strong vibrations, but an aural one.
2. This headphone has separated the well produced music, that was meticulously done - e.g Celine Dion's album - "A new day has come", from so many other albums that I had thought were decent - like Adele's 21 and 25.
Celine's - I'm alive - the precise start and stop of bass drums, percussions, synths, vocals, all separated and each so distinct in tone, everything reproduced with precision. Never heard anything like this. Man - that girl(now a lady) can sing, and tug at heart strings. My goodness. Visceral. I am definitely a sucker for a good ballad.
Rather than smear everything with the same veil, each element in everything I hear is presented as a unique entity, and the difference between one production and another, is revealed so startlingly - music that is precisely timed, shows this quality with ease.
I have not heard anything that so effortlessly allows the unique texture of everything to shine through. This is what I have been looking for, without knowing it existed. And achieved with almost no EQ, all it needs is proper sealing/placement in the ear.
With good music, i.e the source, a good well produced piece of music, I'm totally transported to another world, where I can hear every single detail, from all around me, above all, the listening is effortless, if the music is well produced.
I hope those who write all those reviews one reads, are also listening to well produced music, that will task the limits of resolution, of the headphones/IEM's they are reviewing. I sincerely hope. Otherwise their opinions of the headphones, are erroneous, cos its more based on the limitations of their reference tracks.
Reminds me of the world of photography, where the image is only as good as the lens. I remember the improvement in image quality as I moved from one old vintage lens to a modern lens. No way to tell how good the camera is, if the lens is not up to scratch, or the image is not in focus. No matter how good the camera is, that will not shine through if the lens is sub optimal, or the subject is not in focus, or the subject has very few features to be capture - like taking a picture of a blue wall with no details. (i.e not enough information to resolve anything interesting)
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