CCA
Christine Fogu
These headphones are actually one of the best I have found in a while. If worn properly, the sound quality is fantastic. The bass is perfect for my heavy music and it has the clarity I need for my gaming. They are easy to use and I love the design and color. The ear bud size is good and they are comfortable to wear.
Seattlerain
These are seriously heavy duty...like Colonel Mustard murdered Ms. Scarlett in the kitchen with the headphones sort of heavy duty. You feel a weight to these when you hold them. The buds are metal but fit comfortably in the ears. The wire is like a rubberized cord and the jack is thick and sturdy. The sound though is amazing. Sometimes I have to take one out to see if the sound is coming from the headphones or the surrounding environment. The sound is though you aren't wearing headphones at all and it is all around you. It is quite cool. Love these and the box is GORGEOUS! Great value and clear crisp sound.
Willie
Better than expected! These have a flat eq, which is what I wanted. I'll be using these for DJ in ear reference monitors. These, in my opinion, are perfect for reference where isolation isn't a deal breaker. While they do have a snug fit (3 optional sizes included), they are not what I would consider isolating.
John W
I've been using wired earbuds on about 50 airline trips/yr for over 20 years, including a large number of high-end and more expensive brands and models. So this sounded like an interesting product to review. The short of it is that both ambient noise isolation and frequency response at the low end (which I prize very highly) depends on the quality and fit of the eartips, and the ones supplied with this product are junk.
Even the largest of the supplied eartips was poor-fitting, yielding low-frequency response at least 10dB lower than the mid frequencies, which makes the overall sound very tinny. Rummaging through my parts bin, I was able to find some decent quality foam eartips (size Large) which brought the low-frequency response up to where it should be. But it was a very tight fit, and I worried that I might break the plastic sound shafts trying to fit and secure the foam eartips, since the shafts are a larger diameter than what I consider "standard". I also worried that my kludged eartips were insecure and might fall off in use.
Using my own foam eartips and a tone generator app on my phone, the bass response actually seemed pretty good down to about 60 Hz before tapering down to almost nothing at 30Hz. My everyday "reference" $100 earbuds from a very well known earbud brand were slightly more sensitive (maybe 5 dB louder) but started tapering off around 70 Hz.
The supplied manual is in tiny print and is even harder to follow and understand because of its very poor English. For example, are the earbuds already broken in at the factory or is the buyer supposed to do it? Impossible to decipher from manual's burn-in discussion.
Finally, I'll point out that because the 2-pin connection between each cable end and the corresponding earbud is not polarized, either by fit or by marking, you have a 50-50 chance that you'll connect them out-of-phase. With speakers or over-ear headphones you can definitely detect this condition (cancellation of low frequencies). With earbuds, your brain may not be able to tell the difference, but I'm just saying...
Bottom line, unless you are very lucky, to get the touted "Monitor" and "Deep Bass" performance, you are going to have to find and experiment with your own set of foam eartips that will fit both the shafts and your ears, or if you don't like foam, then maybe triple-flange silicone eartips (think Etymotic).
Wheres.Waldo
I know there will be a bunch of people that will not agree with this review, but I stand by it 100%. Here CCA could have a real winner. When you look at the packaging, the unboxing, the accessories provided, all for a price under $35 USD, wow, just wow. It is very reminiscent of much more expensive IEMs. You get a box that folds out from the middle. You see monochromatic image of a phoenix and under that one of the best looking single driver IEMs I currently own. The all metal bodies and the deep polished purple color are just perfect. Under the IEMs you get a pouch a very nice cable that other brands with inexpensive IEMs should learn from. There is no kinking and no harmonics coming through the cable. To be fair I only used the OEM cable for a few minutes as I wanted to give these IEMs the best chance to impress, So I replaced them with a 4.4mm balanced for my listening tests. There are also a single set of SML silicon tips. The tips are not bad, but again, to be fair I used some of my personal favorite tips to make sure I got a good seal, Tri Clarion large. With it all set up I plugged everything into my FiiO M21 to really sit and listen to how these sounded.
These could have been a five stars had I not tried a lot of genres. When listening to modern female vocalists you get just enough bass, with enough extension. It is pretty tight, not at all smeared. Up through the mids and upper mids female vocals are clear and not at all fatiguing. Moving on to 60's - 70's rock is where I find fault with the tuning. Unfortunately a lot of my music library is in this era as it is what I grew up with. When listening to The Byrds for instance, the treble was a bit shrill, a bit shouty and as a result a bit tiring to listen to. I could still listen to an entire album but by the end the genre had to change or I had to rest my ears. The overall tuning is noticeably V shaped, it isn't a basshead or treblehead set, somewhere in the middle. fairly well balanced but with a tinge of over emphasis in the treble. If that could be tuned down just a bit these would be a perfect knock-around set of IEMs. Still four stars as they are, depending on the majority of you music library.
I did not try to EQ out the tiny amount of shrillness but these might be a perfect candidate for just that. I did try them with impedance adapters and they were unaffected by that addition. I am going to keep playing with these because for the most part they are fun sounding and I like them depending on what my listening mood, A 2 - 3 db cut in the bright spot and they should be very pleasant to listen to.
Fit was great, these are small enough that even the smallest ears should not have a problem with them. I went on several walks and did not have any issues with them moving or falling out of my ears. They were very comfortable with regard to ear fit. Their small size also meant that they did not stick out of my ears like some bigger IEMs do. I did not experience any driver flex or pressure build up even with extended listening periods.
Mona Leticia
I pitted the CCA Phoenix against my KZ Decet/Sonatas and it performed extremely well all things considered especially with an EQ. Sub-bass was deep and strong. Bass was punchy and tight. Mids were slightly bright while highs sparkled with the help of some EQ adjustment. All of this from a single Dynamic Driver and at a much lower cost. Despite this, the build quality is fantastic with a metal single piece vented cast structure. The polished mirror finish collects fingerprints like crazy though. The stock silicone tips provided a good seal and is comfortable. These IEMs are slightly on the heavy side, but the preformed wire sleeve ear hooks keep them secure. I could use these CCAs as my daily and be satisfied with their performance while not having to worry about losing or damaging them since they don't cost a fortune. They do seem to look and feel durable.
MattG
These wired headphones came in the coolest box. The presentation is great. They also come with a very nice leather(ish) pouch with a hinged metal clasp at the opening. The headphones themselves have a heavier weight to them than I was expecting. The cord is thicker than usual and the earbuds themselves are metal. They fit my ears very comfortably and didn't feel heavy while I was wearing them. They seem like they would wear very easily for extended periods. Overall, they look and feel very high-end. However, for me, they do not sound high-end. I really wanted to like them, but I used them in my weekly rehearsal and only made it through two songs before I needed to switch back to my usual pair. The amount of sound coming from the room through the ears was very distracting and I didn't find the clarity to be good. For me and my needs as a musician, they won't work.
Summer Rain
I’m really not too sure what is going on with the description, but the CCA Phoenix are V-shaped IEMs, and contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t make them bad. These actually sound pretty great. If I had to put it in a few words, I’d say they have an airy and bright signature without drifting into muddiness. The bass is full but not overwhelming. Vocals and podcasts come through clear, and the extra bit of airiness can sometimes give voices an almost ASMR-like vibe.
I’ve been running these with an amp, and to my surprise, they hold up well too- no static at normal or even fairly high listening levels, which is a huge plus since I’m not changing my setup anytime soon. Comfort is also solid: the included tips cover three sizes (small, medium, and large), and with the smalls I was able to game for hours without really noticing they were in. I won't deny they're a bit of a fingerprint magnet though. The packaging is nice too, with a pleather pouch that snaps shut using a spring-like mechanism.
I’d say the Phoenix sit toward the upper end of the budget IEMs I’ve tried. They’re versatile enough for everyday use, gaming, or just casual enjoyment, and if you’re after an all-purpose set at this price, they’re a good pick.
Igor V
I like the design of these earphones!
The audio quality is pretty good, though the bass is not as deep as I expected (maybe I expected too much for the price).
Wires seems a little bit weird for me, but that is personal (I prefer less flexxible).
As a benefit - nice and convenient leather carrying bag.
sandb0xmagician
I got to say first thing first, I prefer a more warm relaxed tuning in my audio gear. Now for the CCA Phoenix which feels premium built with its all metal shell, has a solid cable w/good ear hooks, comes with a travel pouch.. pretty good for the $30 price range
These IEMs follow the harmon curve with a emphasis on brightness. It's not to the point where they are spicy. But for me personally they got fatiguing over the course of testing five songs ranging from metal, rock, hip hop, and electronic at reasonable volume level. But I'll try my best to break each section of the graph down as I can.
Bass - Slight tiny bump in the sub bass, with the mid bass being a tad more pronounced. If you are a basshead, these are not for you. Your brain can understand it's there, but at same time you will wish it was bumped up just tad bit more.
Mids- There is not much to say here besides there's no bass bleed, and they are overall clean with male/female vocals being forward without feeling like it's right in your face.
Highs- They are bright in your face... They are borderline shouty, and sibilant. They are oddly not fatiguing at first, but over time around 20 mins for me... It started to fatigue my ears.
Soundstage - This is the best thing about these IEMs for me. There's little air filters on the sides of the iems that open them up a bit... Don't expect open back headphone soundstage. Though for a around $30 pair of IEMs it's quite good.
Detail retrieval - It's pretty good for the price.
Overall if you like bright tunings then seriously these are great iems for the money, and on a budget. They feel quality made, offers the right amount of accessories. You be hard pressed to find a better pair if you like bright IEMs.
Finally I was torn between making this a 4 out of 5 review but I can't fault CCA tuning these a way I don't like. They give you your money's worth with these IEMS. As for as EQ gos they don't EQ well like a neutral pair, but EQing them is still solid with these... I was able to tame the highs without losing detail, but still not as relaxed as I would like em.. but again that's a me problem.
JBKB
The CCA Phoenix wired earbuds deliver exceptional audio quality that will likely impress you just as they impressed me, particularly given the price point. The earbuds create an expansive sound stage, enhancing the sense of space and positioning in audio, which results in an immersive, three-dimensional listening experience. Achieving this with earbuds can be difficult due to design limitations, so I was genuinely impressed. The CCA Phoenix excels at reproducing mid-range sounds, where many vocal performances sit, adding a slight refinement that brings voices to life. As speaker inventor Paul Klipsch once said 'We live in the mid-range.'
The bass range remain well-defined even at high volumes, with minimal distortion and provides exceptional low-end. Unlike lower-rated models, the CCA Phoenix maintains height, depth, and location without becoming crunchy or distorted at increased volume.
When compared to more expensive earbuds, the Phoenix provide comparable performance and a balanced sound mix that is clear, concise and full range. While they offer a comfortable fit for various ear shapes and sizes and stay in place thanks to an over-ear wire, they do not fit smaller ears as well as larger ones.
These are a great-sounding pair of wired earbuds perfect for work or when I’m traveling! They include a nice carrying pouch and an assortment of tips for different sized ear canals not to mention a quality build and appearance!
